Indie Book Story

The Dragon Prophecies

by M T Meiklejohn

M. T. Meiklejohn shares how ancient mysteries, the natural world and a difficult season shaped Cassie's first adventure.

A young glassblower’s apprentice discovers an ability she can’t yet explain - opening up for her a world of hidden knowledge, new friendships and returning dragons.

Wonder-filled Curious Warm Adventurous

Explore the story

Ancient walls and a world of hidden knowledge set the scene for Cassie’s discovery.

Author conversation

With M T Meiklejohn

M T Meiklejohn answers our questions about The Dragon Prophecies

We asked about the book’s origin, cover, writing process, atmosphere, and intended reader experience — then shaped those answers into this feature.

Origin

Why this book exists

In details shared with IndieBookStories, M. T. Meiklejohn traces The Dragon Prophecies to interests she has followed for years: ancient cultures, the natural world, crystals and energy, and the places she has encountered while travelling. Those ideas became questions at the heart of the story: what if knowledge once available to everyone had been hidden, and what might it take for ordinary people to rediscover it? Dragons offered a way to bring that lost knowledge back into a world that had almost forgotten them. As Meiklejohn puts it, the book is about “discovery, friendship and questioning what we’ve been taught to accept.”

On why this book exists

“I've always been fascinated by the natural world, ancient cultures and the idea that there is much more to our world than we can see or fully understand.”

On why this book exists

“I wanted to explore what might happen if knowledge that was once available to everyone had been deliberately hidden, and what it would take for ordinary people to rediscover it.”

Behind the book

The human story behind it

On courage

“Writing became a way for me to step outside the pressures of everyday life and lose myself in another world for a while.”

The story began in a challenging period of the author’s personal life. Meiklejohn wrote at home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, where stepping into Cassie’s world offered some distance from everyday pressures. That escape became a sustained creative commitment: in six months, she had completed a first novel and laid the foundation for a five-book series. The author shares this background without making it the story’s subject; it offers a glimpse of what writing the book meant to her. For readers, that context sits alongside a tale of friendship, curiosity and learning to question what seems settled.

A great dead tree stands among the moss-covered ruins of a quiet, abandoned city. — A lifeless tree and forgotten city hint at the darker mysteries within the story world.

Reader experience

What kind of journey is this?

Meiklejohn describes the book as character-driven adventure fantasy, with the world’s history and magic revealed as Cassie encounters them. Cassie begins as someone who experiences the world differently, without yet understanding her abilities; readers learn alongside her as she travels with Jewel and Bolkin and forms a bond with Drago, a newly hatched Little Dragon. The pace of discovery is part of the appeal: the author prefers secrets to unfold naturally rather than explaining everything at once. Humour and warmth, especially in the friendships and Drago’s antics, balance darker moments and difficult choices. Ancient mysteries, a hidden history and the promise of dragons returning give this first book room to open into a larger story.

Inspired by the story world

A visual glimpse into the book’s atmosphere

The images around The Dragon Prophecies draw from details M. T. Meiklejohn shared with IndieBookStories: ancient architecture, flowing energy, a newly hatched Little Dragon and the natural world. Together, they offer a glimpse of the book’s sense of wonder while leaving space for readers to imagine its wider world for themselves.

A small newly hatched dragon looks out from a broken eggshell as its tiny wings unfold.

A First Glimpse of the World

A newly hatched Little Dragon meets the world for the first time.

A young apprentice watches delicate glowing threads connect trees, water and stones.

Energy in the Living World

A quiet image of Cassie’s gift for seeing connections in the living world.

Twisted bare branches of a great dead tree rise above overgrown ancient city ruins.

The Forgotten City

The author’s image of a great dead tree at the heart of a cursed city.

Reader response

How readers may feel

On how readers may feel

“Most of all, I hope they finish with a smile, a few questions still turning over in their minds, and a strong desire to discover where the journey takes them next.”

Meiklejohn hopes readers will feel they have shared an adventure with Cassie and her companions, and grown attached to the people and world they meet. The book may suit a reading mood that welcomes wonder, friendship and questions about the connections between people and nature. The author also hopes readers finish with a smile and a few questions still turning over in their minds. An important part of the adventure reaches a resolution here, while the larger mystery of the dragons’ return continues.

Reader fit

Who this book is for

This first book in The Return of the Dragons may appeal to readers aged 13 and over, as well as adults who enjoy fantasy built around a young protagonist’s gradual discovery of her abilities. It is a fit for readers drawn to ancient mysteries, hidden knowledge, dragons, warm friendships and worlds that reveal their history bit by bit. Meiklejohn’s interest in the natural world and connections between people, nature and energy informs the setting and magic. Readers who like an adventure with humour and wonder, but also darker moments and difficult choices, may find a welcome place here.

A useful note

Who this may not be for

Readers looking for a standalone story that closes the larger mystery may want to know that this is the opening of a five-book series: an important part of the adventure resolves, but the dragons’ return remains an unfolding question. The book may also be less suited to readers who prefer every piece of a fantasy world explained up front. Meiklejohn lets its history and secrets emerge as Cassie discovers them.

Cover story

Behind the cover

On the cover

“More than anything, I wanted someone looking at the cover to feel curious about what lay beyond those ancient walls.”

The author describes the cover as a glimpse into a world beyond the ordinary. Its ancient architecture points to the forgotten knowledge and mysteries running through the story; Cassie and Drago bring its friendship and wonder into view, while flowing energy reflects Cassie’s ability to see unseen connections. Meiklejohn wanted viewers to feel curious about what lay beyond the walls—to imagine a world larger than the one in front of them and want to explore it. The book does not carry illustrations throughout, leaving room for readers to picture the world for themselves.

Author

M T Meiklejohn

Profile details supplied to IndieBookStories.

Writing room

From the author’s desk

Meiklejohn wrote The Dragon Prophecies at home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, completing it in six months. She shares that this was a particularly challenging time in her personal life, and that writing offered a way to step outside everyday pressures and enter another world. As she developed Cassie and her companions, the story grew beyond one adventure into the foundation of a five-book series. The author’s account brings a personal note to the book’s expansive beginning: a story that became somewhere she could lose herself, and then something larger to share with readers.

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