Thank you!

Every morning, I sit down, pour a cup of tea, and sharpen my yellow pencil. On the back of recycled drafts of previous books, I write the next scenes and chapters of the new novel. Spinning worlds from words and adventures from sentences, it is a certain kind of magic, sacred and powerful.

Thank you for keeping me at it.

What we’re doing with these books matters deeply to our world. A generation of young people is growing up with something we never had: a page-turning, binge-worthy, imagination-captivating fantasy series with a nonviolence-wielding, peace-waging heroine.

Ari Ara couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Ari Ara Series is a remarkable example of the power – and potential – of peace literature. You know it from reading these books. I know it from meeting hundreds of people like you in book discussion groups and author talks. I know it from doing virtual visits with students in classrooms across the continent and beyond.

The light that shines in young readers’ eyes as they talk about Ari Ara is phenomenal. Honestly, it’s what guides me through these dark times.

I wrote River Dragon as wars raged. I wrote it as I protested and took other actions to stop them. I wrote it as a prayer for ceasefires and as an action for the culture of peace we so desperately need. I wrote it for all the people like you and me, and Ari Ara, who dare to speak up and stand up for peace.

This is my peace action. Will you join me?

The Community Publishing Campaign is the turning point when the lonely task of writing a novel becomes something bigger. It’s when you take action with me, investing in peace literature, putting your name down as a publisher for peace, building peace culture through another imagination-sparking story.

When you support the Community Publishing Campaign, you make it possible for me to keep writing the novels you love so deeply. Together, we’re showing that:

Peace is a great adventure
True heroes don’t need swords
Nonviolence is a page-turner
The world longs for stories like these

The power of a good book keeps on giving. Ari Ara’s novels will have a life longer than any of us. These Community Publishing Campaigns aren’t just about the launch of a new book . . . they’re also about the lasting and long-running legacy of peace literature we’re putting on bookshelves in homes, libraries, and schools. We’re still reading about Narnia and the Lord of the Rings. Imagine the Ari Ara Series being read by people 100 years from now!

Long into the future, countless young people will grow up reading the Ari Ara Series … thanks to you.

I am grateful beyond words – my gratitude is a beam of sunlight arcing across time and space to shine from my heart to yours. I hope you can feel its warmth wherever you are.

In gratitude,
Rivera Sun
 

Look Inside! Explore the first chapter of River Dragon.

Chapter One: Heir Apparent

Gritting her teeth, Ari Ara waved to the crowd, a fixed smile plastered on her face. The horse fidgeted beneath her, sensing her discomfort and distraction. Her fitted jacket was so stiff that she could hardly move.

Designed to prevent slouching, Ari Ara thought in annoyance, and any other motion unbefitting to a royal heir.

Solid as a suit of armor - and just as uncomfortable - the jacket held her ramrod straight as she rode through the tight-packed streets. Thickly embroidered patterns of river dragons – the symbol of the royal house of Marin – curled around the cuffs, arms, collar, and panels of the jacket. The heavy fabric weighed more than the thin strands of silvermail beneath it. She’d argued against wearing the woven metal garment, but lost. The silvermail protected her from assassins’ arrows. As the double royal heir to two thrones, her life was not merely her own. Her discomfort with the weight of security was a small price to pay for the stability of the world.

It’s worth it, she told herself. When I’m queen, I’ll make it possible to ride through the streets without armor. She grinned, thinking of all the changes she longed to make when she wore the crown. Build peace. Retire the army. Use the money to build schools. Train children to solve conflicts, not fight them. Teach everyone how to make peace not only possible, but inevitable.

Look inside! - You can read the whole first chapter here.

The beta-readers (people who read the early manuscript) want you to know how much they loved this book. Here's what they said about River Dragon!

"Get ready for the ride of your life on the back of this dragon of a tale. You will be surprised and encouraged by the pitfalls and triumphs ahead." –Jenny Bird

“Rivera Sun’s eloquent and timely writing continues to weave Ari Ara’s fate with this latest installment RIVER DRAGON. This time the map opens up to take readers down a snaking river that contains all manner of obstacles. Ari Ara’s dedication to the Way Between reaches a climatic peak alongside her individual coming-of-age, and once again, I couldn’t help but cheer for the heroine of peace! This was a beautiful book and I cannot wait for the world to learn its secrets.”  –Brooke Storry

“River Dragon brings us deeper and further into the world of Mariana and the Way Between than we have ever been.  As Ari Ara grows, her life path itself twists and turns and she must learn to use the Way Between not just for physical confrontations, but also the challenges of growing up. She will encounter her past in ways that change her future, and ultimately shift her destiny.  As a mother, this book was the most satisfying yet, for its complexity, its teenage shenanigans, its heartache, and its deep resounding love.” –Marada Cook

“She’s back!!!  Once again, Rivera Sun delivers a page-turning adventure about young Ari Ara, the teenage heir to a royal throne who decries the culture of war. (Like so many young people in our real world!) Although her commitment to peace is put to the test in this inspiring story of intrigue and hope, our shero courageously confronts the challenges facing all those who dare to wage peace amidst war cultures. In this fifth book of the series, Ari Ara finds herself in the typical angst of teenage years, as she faces almost unimaginable, gut-wrenching choices that threaten her life and the culture of peace that she is so deeply committed to. This epic story inspires and fuels the peace that our hearts know is possible.” –Cindy Reinhardt

Discovering the Ari Ara Series for the first time? Dive in!

River Dragon is a stand-alone book. However, you will WANT to read the whole series! It's fun and fantastic. And it sets up many of the thrilling reveals in this book.

In The Way Between (Book 1), Ari Ara is an 11-year-old shepherdess when the Great Warrior Shulen chooses her to be his apprentice in the mysterious Way Between. Neither violence nor passivity, this aikido-like (non)martial art teaches her inner and outer skills for waging peace. As war looms over the missing heir to two thrones, Ari Ara and her best friend Minli race to find the lost child to prevent the catastrophe of violence from erupting.

In The Lost Heir (Book 2), Ari Ara’s adventures take her into the heart of Mariana Capital, where she catalyzes the indentured water workers to rise up for justice. Exiled for this, she travels to the desert and is swept up in the women’s efforts to make their voices heard once again (Desert Song, Book 3). Growing recognition of the power and potential of the Way Between leads to the establishment of an unarmed Peace Force that works to stop violence on the border  (The Crown of Light, Book 4). At every twist and turn, Ari Ara and her friends use the skills of nonviolence, peacebuilding, and courage to strive for justice and bring their feuding nations to peace.

River Dragon is the fifth novel in the series which also includes The Adventures of Alaren, a companion book of folktales on the Way Between. It can be read as a stand-alone book – although its reveals and plot twists make this a gripping crescendo to the entire series.