Claire Youmans first went to Japan in 1992 and was immediately captivated.  After years of travel and study, she continues to be charmed and amazed by a fascinating history and a culture that's both endearingly quirky and entirely unique. She is a retired lawyer who now lives in Tokyo. Her family, including her daughter and two grandsons, live in Seattle, USA.

In 2014, she started Tales of the Meiji Era with The Toki-Girl and the Sparrow-Boy's unparalleled blend of historical fantasy in the first book of the series, Coming Home.  She continues exploring the combination of history and folklore to share her love and fascination with a very different country and culture. 

Exciting adventures continue to unfold in this delightful fantastical yet historical world as social and political changes expand, technology explodes, and two very unusual children grow up.  



The Toki-Girl and the Sparrow-Boy

The Dragon King flew toward the Dragon Queen. She was so involved in blasting the Umi-bozu with her fire that she didn't see him coming until he was almost upon her.


"Ryuujin?" She glanced at him and scorched another Umi-bozu. "What are you doing here? Get out of my way. I am fighting Kraken!" She dove at another one. "Soon I will get their leader!"


"I came to see who dared make a storm in my lands, and found this." Ryuujin, the Dragon King, glanced over to where their daughter and her bird-human friends reunited the waterlogged humans with the surviving ships. There would be more work for them all, for while the Umi-bozu army had stalled, there were still ships foundering and ships still under attack. He admired the way Rizantona was expertly scorching the Umi-bozu with her flames. He began amusing himself by hitting the ones further away, those still attacking ships, with bolts of lightening.


Chapter 73