THE FLAMING PEN

Drawing Maps for Fantasy Novels

2012-01-27T23:15:00.003-05:00

Recently I decided to take up sketching again. Eight years ago I sketched maps and concept illustrations for my planned books. I've finished two maps. One for "First Queen," a novel I proposed to my publisher. And another for the third novel in The Sword Of The Dragon series, which is set to release in March 2012! Drawing my own maps is not only fun, it saves me money and helps me put my own vision on the paper instead of trying to get an artist to render it for me. I sketched these first on paper, then scanned them into Photoshop, and finished with touch-ups and some more sketching using my Wacom drawing tablet.

B&N in Milford CT, 80 books sold!

2012-01-10T22:42:00.002-05:00

It is safe to say that I have held a lot of signings at various bookstores, and in many states. I have had mixed success. Independent stores tend to have far less foot traffic, so I sell far fewer books in that venue. I used to have great success at Borders book stores, but now they are out of business. Barnes & Noble is the king of present day brick and mortar book stores. I've been focusing on selling through more B&N locations. The first B&N I signed at had only ordered 15 books, and I sold them out in a matter of an hour and half. The next store I sold out their 40 books, and the next was over 50 sold. But this past Saturday I went to Barnes & Noble in Milford CT. They had 80 books in stock, some of which sold prior to the event, and my signing completely sold them out! This is the most copies I have ever sold at a book store and I was so thrilled. I have other B&N signings booked, and I am going to book more of them. ....Anyway, I need to get to bed. Just wanted to update my faithful blog readers (-:

How To Sell Your Novel. Tip #1

2012-01-05T22:34:00.003-05:00

Having several years' experience in retail sales, and having achieved great success with it, I was well positioned to sell my books when they were published. I think if I had to give tips on how to sell your novel (especially at book store signings) I'd start with:

Don't be pushy. Establish a relationship through a short dialogue. Your potential buyer will be inclined to hear you out on your product if you do this. Take an interest in the customer, and they will take an interest in your book.

Artists: Does a lack of organization come naturally to us?

2011-12-29T06:27:00.000-05:00

I am a naturally disorganized person. It can be frustrating because, when I was growing up, I admired people who could keep everything they needed to do in its proper order.

As an artist, I tend to let things pile up instead of dealing with them in an orderly fashion. "Why?" is the question I've always asked myself. But I think I know the answer, at least part of the answer.

Whether you're a writer or an illustrator, you're an artist, and your art is very important to you. You nurture your art, mature it, then present it to the world. I am a homebody. I like to be left alone, for the most part, left to my writing. I bury myself in the story worlds I'm crafting.

In order to create, I bring together a lot of elements. Those elements are sometimes rough and unrefined. I sketch characters and creatures, and jot down character and plot ideas. Some ideas I toss aside for future reference or use, while others I expand upon. It takes a lot of material to create even one finished novel.

But the process to that finished product is . . . well . . . messy!

My mind is almost always working on story ideas. This post ties in, somewhat, to my previous post, because one of my solutions has ended up being the iPad. It serves as my alarm clock, sends me notifications of appointments, and allows me to add events to my calendars instantly. I highly recommend for those artists out there who struggle to keep organized, think creatively on how to take advantage of today's technology to better organize your writing life.

It has helped me.

iPad2: an empowering writer's tool!

2011-12-28T13:59:00.003-05:00

I bought myself an iPad2 a few months ago. It was hard to fork over the $500 plus but now I can say, beyond a doubt, it was a worthwhile investment. It runs flawlessly, which has sold me on Apple products. It is so well built that when I accidentally dropped it on the floor, the screen didn't even flash. Oh, and I love the 10-hour batter life! Fantastic!
As time goes on, I'm sure I'll discover many other uses for this wonderful tool, but for now it has:

Simplified the process of updating my social networking pages
Enabled me to build story ideas on-the-go with apps like Writers App (pictured above)
Placed a library at my fingertips with iBooks. I am now reading more than I have in years.
Allows me to take video and photo wherever I am. This has been very useful for book signing events because I used to always forget to bring my camera.
Allows me to display covers and art for my current and upcoming book releases at book stores and schools.

The iPad2 has put everything at my fingertips, freeing me up to write more often and it has simplified my point-of-sale conversations.

Schools (day 3) and BN signing

2011-12-07T21:53:00.003-05:00

What an amazing day I had today! First I returned to Wawasee Middle School and sold 38 books. Then off to Milford Middle School where I spoke to a couple hundred students and sold 26 books. Finally I went off to Barnes & Noble and had another successful signing. Although I didn't get the exact count, I think I sold 23 books. Not a bad day's work! Praise God!

Wawasee Middle School (day 2)

2011-12-06T17:01:00.002-05:00

I had an awesome day at the middle school today. This time I gave seven presentations... that was a whole lot of talking! The students are very receptive and I greatly enjoyed my time there. The best part of the day? I sold 42 books! Adding in yesterday (16 sold) I've sold 58 so far, and tomorrow I'm returning for an hour just to hold a signing for students who still want to buy!

I don't think I have enough books for this trip... I'm going to have to have more shipped out here!

Wawasee Middle School visit Day 1

2011-12-05T16:19:00.002-05:00

I sold 16 books today, spoke five times, and will be returning tomorrow, to Wawasee Middle School. The picture is of me with a student; a fan who said I am his favorite author. It is an amazing feeling whenever someone tells me that.

Bender's Parable Store -sold out!

2011-12-04T16:19:00.003-05:00

We're in Indiana now. The Christmas tour began on Friday!
First I had a couple of signings in New York. I sold 28 books at Bender's Parable Christian Store yesterday. I sold out the books they'd ordered, then had to bring in some from my car to keep the event rolling! This location was great, with an especially large selection of good books. After wrapping up my signing at Bender's, we drove to Indiana. Most of my signing events are booked in the northern part of this state. I have several public schools, as well as Barnes & Noble, and Family Christian locations.
The drive here was eight hours (a long trip after signing books for five hours). Along the way I stopped at a gas station to fill my tires, but instead of filling the tire with air, the thing took some out!
Tomorrow I'll be at a middle school.

Upcoming Christmas events!

2011-12-01T11:41:00.002-05:00

I've had a lot of people ask me where they can buy signed books during the month of December. If you live in northern Indiana, or in Connecticut, you'll have multiple opportunities!
For a list of my events in Indiana (as well as a couple in New York) you can reference my Events on my facebook page. If you don't have facebook, I've listed the events on the right column of this blog.

For those who live in Connecticut, meet me at these Henny Penny gas stations in the week leading up to Christmas!

Henny Penny in Madison CT, 12-6pm December 21st
Henny Penny in Southington CT, 12-6pm December 22nd
Henny Penny in Niantic CT, 12-6pm December 23rd
Henny Penny in Uncasville CT, 12-3pm December 24th

Why don't I offer Christmas specials on my books?

2011-11-23T14:57:00.003-05:00

As Christmas nears, I've noticed several of my fellow authors are offering special deals. These deals go something along the lines of this: Purchase title "X" for only $5... and have it signed by the author!

I'm not posting this to discourage my fellow authors, or to put them down for choosing to offer these deals, but I've often been asked to share my sales techniques. So here is my take on why doing those deals is a bad idea.

Retailers give my books shelf space and exposure to new readers every day. I can either reward them by encouraging people to purchase only through the retailers, or I can make a higher profit margin per book by selling directly to readers. 1) Sales made through the retailers show up on my royalty checks, which impresses the publisher, which in turn translates to future contracts. 2) Sales through retailers help keep the stores in business, which in turn means that we authors have more opportunities for the all important book signing events. 3) Beating the price of retailers who sell my books, puts me in competition with them, rather than a partnership.

An important part of wise salesmanship, is developing and then maintaining good relationships with your retailers. These points are invalid for an author who decides to go 100% e-books, or focuses on driving Amazon sales, but for a career author publishing through traditional houses, my advice is: Do not put yourself in competition with the retailers! They can be your best friends.

What would you like to read more about on this blog?

2011-11-22T12:29:00.002-05:00

In a recent post on Michael Hyatt's blog, he listed advice on what topics novelists should blog about. Quite honestly, I have not been as consistent with my blogging as I'd like to be. In fact, most of the time my posts seem rather random and all over the place.

So I am asking you to give me feedback. I want as many of my blog readers as possible to tell me what you like, what you don't, what draws you in, and what disinterests you. I have been seriously considering revamping my online marketing strategy to center around my blog. A blog can be a lot more versatile and reach many more people than I have, so I need to give it better focus.

This is your opportunity to weigh in. Do you want more advice/tips on writing? Interviews with publishing professionals? Insights into my writing days? More details on how I am marketing/selling my books?

What strategies have you found successful with your own blog?

Star Wars: Revan ...the novel

2011-11-17T12:46:00.002-05:00

I am not much of a video gamer, but since I was a kid I've been a big fan of Star Wars. And I played both of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games on my PC. The character of Revan was ingenious, truly an original icon in the SW universe.

When I heard they were coming out with a Revan novel I was very excited. I pre-ordered it and received it two days ago. 3 o'clock this morning I finished it!

This is a well-crafted novel. The characters are believable and the concepts are fascinating. It felt a lot more epic than some of the recent SW novels I've read. Also the ending was completely unexpected; it leaves you wanting to know more. This book is really about Revan, a sith named Scourge, and another jedi (who SW gamers will know as the Exile). I highly recommend this book. I may even re-read it. The insights to the ancient emperor were startling. I have listened to a couple of the other SW Old Republic novels on audio book, and they were equally good. But this one is definitely my favorite!

Amazon and the Changing Face of Book Publishing?

2011-11-14T15:46:00.003-05:00

Back in October the New York Times had a most interesting article. You can read the article here. After you read the article, I'm sure you will draw your own conclusions, but it puts me in mind of all the speculation out there.

What does the near-future of the book publishing industry look like? I think Amazon is overestimating its ability to monopolize the market. They have a lot of clout on the retailing market, but do they have the trust of the consumer? Traditional publishing houses have succeeded by creating brands that readers trust or follow. Yes, Amazon can sell a whole lot of product, but that is not the issue. Traditional houses create art, and art is what people want. Amazon wants to position itself as publisher, retailer, monopolizer. But if everything was grown on the same branch of monetary return, books could not be as diverse or unique.

The above mentioned article in the New York Times states rather accurately that Amazon is trying to position itself as a direct competitor to the major publishing houses. But I think they miss the point, or rather Amazon is overestimating their pull. Is it possible that the big publishers will start pulling away from Amazon, placing their high-demand products with other vendors? I'm not saying it will happen, but it only takes the right situation--just one step too far--If Amazon were cutting out, or perceived to be cutting out the major houses, that could force their hand. Anyway, I'm merely speculating...

Certainly the industry is changing, but not as much as we think. There are new faces in the market. New, smaller publishing houses meeting niche markets. The recent acquisition of Thomas Nelson sent waves through the Christian publishing industry. I myself am curious how all these changes will change the market and the industry, yet I'm eager to watch.

...Now I have to sit down and write. I have a novel to finish! (-:

HowlSage: a review

2011-10-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

I met Brock Eastman at the International Christian Retail Show this year, and was aware that he had a few books coming out. He asked me to consider writing an endorsement and sent me his book HowlSage.

Being a particular reader, especially when it comes to fiction, I warned Brock that the content of the book didn't sound like something up my alley. The story follows a youth in his earthly battle against demons coming out of Hell... literally. It sounded too dark for me and, as I began to read it, the opening of the book was slow.

However, after the first few chapters the story began to roll. I began to enjoy the characters and the developing plot, which moves along at a nearly-perfect pace. Not so much action that I felt exhausted, but enough to pull me to the next page, and the next.

I heartily endorse HowlSage. It is original and, though the themes are very dark, the light of redemption in this story is just as bright!

Identifiable Characters

2011-10-26T18:34:00.004-04:00

Powerful story-telling requires identifiable characters. The reader needs to relate to the experiences and/or reactions of the protagonist(s), and they need to find themselves repelled by the antagonist(s). For an author this can be tricky, but I think one key to identifiable characters is focusing on the character's life experiences.

You could say that I place a lot of emphasis on history; in this case, fictional history; those background details which provide character motivation and enhance the story-world. In life, our experiences shape us. But, depending on our reaction to them, they can improve, strengthen, weaken, mold us. Or, if we are a steady individual of pure logic, such as Spock, our experiences will leave an impression but change us little.

In my recently-released novel, The Sword of the Dragon: Offspring, I had a lot of fun with the characters. In particular, I enjoyed Caritha, Rose'el, Specter, and Ilfedo. I have come to know those characters better and thus their stories are proving easier to tell. Again, characterization, the best kind, is all about history!

The sketch above was original artwork by Amber Hill for Offspring. It beautifully conveys the friendship of Oganna and Vectra (who you'll read about in Offspring)!

Day 1: Fort Wayne, IN

2011-10-09T21:47:00.003-04:00

Today was a very quiet signing at Family Christian Store in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I only sold four books, but I feel that the sales I made were valuable ones because I really connected with a couple of people. The young man pictured above with me and my son, was one of the few purchasers. But he reminded me of a couple of good friends of mine, and, as I always say: Even if I sell only one book and make one new fan, that trip was worth it!

The store manager was very friendly and we discussed a Christmas tour idea that I am very excited about. More to come on that later.

Off to Northern Indiana (again)!

2011-10-06T21:58:00.004-04:00

Sorry, dear blog readers, I have neglected to update you in a long while! But that is because I've been busy finishing up a long series of signings at gas stations, and, more recently, setting up my Fall book tour. Signings at the gas stations went very well. I sold a lot of books.

But with my second novel shipping from the printer October 10th, it is time to really get the ball rolling on promotions. There is something to be said for the fact that I lost momentum when I signed my book to AMG because of the time-gap until its re-release, and that I had really nothing to sell in the meantime. But there will be no more breaks like that.

Take a glance at the list of signing events I have lined up thus far for the next couple months. (You can locate the events' list either on the sidebar in this blog, or on my facebook fanpage). I ordered a banner for an upcoming library signing (pictured above). It turned out really nice. Also, I created a new bookmark that I'm sending out to the bookstores ahead of my events (pictured below with By Sword By Right copies). Various Barnes & Noble locations, as well as Family Christian bookstores, and a couple independents, are slipping these bookmarks into customers' bags in the days leading up to my signings. It is my hope that this will increase foot traffic into the stores, customers looking specifically for my books.

This weekend I'm heading to northern Indiana, again. It is a real hot spot for my books, with more opportunities I still need to take advantage of at a later date.

Update!

2011-09-07T14:00:00.002-04:00

My publisher has provided me with the final cover for my second The Sword of the Dragon novel, Offspring! If you have already ordered this book, you should receive it sometime toward the end of this month.

Also, I am almost finished writing the first The Sword of the Dragon novella, titled Daughter of the Eiderveis! The story is turning out great. I think my readers will really enjoy it, especially the insights I give into the origins of the battle between Albino and Hermenuedis. This novel fits comfortably after The Sword of the Dragon-book three-Key of Living Fire. You can keep track of my word-count progress on the right hand side of this blog.

New author at Flaming Pen Press

2011-08-23T14:12:00.003-04:00

A lot of people have asked me what will be the next book that I will publish with my company Flaming Pen Press. Well, here it is, Out of Darkness Rising! This is a novella, an allegorical one. Gillian Adams is the author and she captivated me with a unique story that follows the rise and fall of the Deceiver, or from the Fall to the Resurrection.

My policy is to publish only books that inspire me. The story has to hook me, and this one did.

The artwork for this cover was done earlier this year by Jared Sloger.

As to my own books, don't worry! I'll be updating everyone soon on the continuations in The Sword of the Dragon series. AMG Publishers is going to release Offspring sometime in September.

In the mean time, pop on over to Gillian Adams' blog and congratulate her please! http://ofbattlesdragonsandswordsofadamant.blogspot.com/

New Artwork for "Offspring"

2011-08-04T19:02:00.005-04:00

Due to the objections (of a couple buyers) to the original cover art for The Sword of the Dragon: Offspring, this new piece was created. The artist is, as before, Kerem Beyit, and I think he has outdone himself. I actually like it better than the original.

This artwork issue was the only thing keeping Offspring from hitting the market. Now that it is ready I am praying the publication process will be timely. Many readers are eagerly anticipating this book and I'm eager for them to read it.

Swords of the Six available on Kindle

2011-07-30T01:39:00.002-04:00

I just found this on Amazon and a lot of people have been asking me, "When is your book coming out on Kindle?" Well, it appears to be available now so go check it out (-:

Pre-readers speak up!

2011-07-29T12:41:00.002-04:00

My second novel should hit bookstores sometime in August. Due to the cover art changes its former publication date in July was cancelled. But, in the meantime, here is what pre-readers are saying:

"The Sword of the Dragon series just got better! The suspense and mystery that ended Swords of the Six builds to new heights in Offspring as the daughter of Dantress takes the reins of the story. Offspring explored more of this brilliant fantasy world, reminding me again of the incredible world-building skills of its author. The characters latched onto my heart and didn't let go, mystery reigned, the battles built with intensity, and I definitely choked up at the end. Seriously. The book propelled me toward its ending and didn't disappoint. Fantastic. Truly original in every character, species, and plot element, Appleton's pen submerged me in a new world, driving out all memory of my own, and when I returned, left me scrambling for book three. If you like a story that makes you think, a story that submerges you into a real world, you will love The Sword of the Dragon series." -Nathan Petrie (Kentucky)

“I was swept away by Scott Appleton’s engaging tale. He has achieved the rare feat of creating strong, unique characters who follow their own path instead of trying to recreate old legends. Many books claim to be ‘in the tradition of Lewis and Tolkien,’ but Appleton has earned that distinction by blazing his own path in modern fantasy. I look forward to more books by this original author.” –Julie Dick (Wisconsin)

Boyscouts' sleepover @ Dodd Stadium

2011-07-23T23:20:00.004-04:00

There wasn't a huge crowd at Dodd Stadium for tonight's game, but I had a whole lot of fun signing books there. I sold 26... not bad at all! Great actually!

I met a couple fans who are eagerly waiting for my second novel, having already read the first one. It is exciting to see the anticipation and energy building around my books. God is blessing!

I am way in the background in this photo with a bunch of my family and the Tigers baseball team mascot. He wandered from spot to spot among the bleachers and the suites shooting his super-soaker at whomever he chose! So much fun (-:

Borders is liquidating

2011-07-19T00:01:00.002-04:00

It is official, unfortunately and catastrophically: Borders bookstores will be closing their doors. It looks like this will be happening in the next couple months. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7658970.html

I was so sad to hear this. I grew up shopping there and for a year I enjoyed great success selling books to their customers (my novel) at signings.

Goodbye, Borders. ...Now I only wonder how long Barnes & Noble can survive. Or, will they sink too?

ICRS 2011 in Atlanta (part 2)

2011-07-13T23:32:00.003-04:00

The show ended today. I am tired! But it was such a great experience. I made new contacts and met people who I'd previously only known online. I think I signed around 150 books.

I have two bits of news that are awesome, and one that is disappointing:

Swords of the Six is selling very well! So well, in fact, that it is right behind Bryan Davis's two new novels and ahead of all their other fiction. Praise God! ...I'll give more details later as I discover them.
AMG Publishers wants to sign me on for the rest of The Sword of the Dragon series. They are very happy with how it has been received and I feel honored to write for them.
Now the other bit of news isn't calamitous, but it does sock me a financial blow that is hard to swallow at this time. A few book buyers have complained that they find the cover for my second novel to be offensive. I don't see it, but in order to keep those buyers happy I am commissioning a different piece of art to be used on the cover. Hopefully it will turn out as good or better than the first one. But this sets back the release of the novel, so don't expect it before August.

Tomorrow morning my wife and I are driving back to North Carolina, and from there we'll head home. It has been a wonderful trip. I feel that I know the people at AMG a whole lot better now and understand better how to work with them.

I signed a lot of books. They were free, so as long as people lined up they received copies. I handed out lots of business cards ahead of time and it paid off. There were a lot of book buyers and store managers in the lines.

This last picture is of me and the designer of my original novel cover, Kirk DouPonce. It was really one of those moments when I felt I had met a new friend. Some people in the industry are a great to know, others leave an impression... He is such a great guy!

ICRS 2011 in Atlanta (part 1)

2011-07-11T21:17:00.004-04:00

Wow has this been an exciting couple of days! So far I've met a lot of other authors, spoken to book buyers, and received a lot of Free books (totally something that I didn't expect). I am pictured above with Jenny L. Cote, and below with Ted Dekker.
Since I was young I've enjoyed episodes of the tv series Touched by an Angel, and my wife and I had the pleasure of meeting Roma Downey!
Ah, yes, and here is proof that I finally met Wayne Thomas Batson! ....I'll have more news later. Right now I need to get upstairs and spend some time with our wonderful hosts here in Atlanta, GA.

Henny Penny in Saybrook, CT

2011-07-03T01:11:00.005-04:00

I finished a book signing today at the Henny Penny gas station in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. This weekend, I sold 34 books! My average sales at the gas stations have been right around that number and I'm very happy with the results. The Saybrook store is one of the 'tighter' locations. I had to put the banner behind my little display in order to fit, and I frequently had to dive to the side to let customers and employees pass. But the advantage to that was the customers couldn't miss me! The picture below will gives a better angle of the store's interior (as you can see, it is rather narrow).Next weekend I'll be heading to Atlanta for the International Christian Retail Show . . . I can't wait! But in the mean time, I have to finish edits for The Sword of the Dragon-book 2-Offspring.

First Fruits of my Endeavors!

2011-06-27T12:26:00.006-04:00

June has been a full month. Every weekend I've had a couple book signing, with most being at Henny Penny gas stations. Through the gas stations alone over 300 copies of Swords of the Six have sold, and that number continues to climb!

I am starting to see the fruits of all my marketing push. A lot of people have heard about my book because they saw it somewhere (most often at the gas stations) or because someone told them about it. So far since the book's release March 1st I have handed out over 2,000 business cards. These cards have my book cover on the face, with the website, my email, and book teaser on the reverse. They are super cheap to print (because I order 10,000 at a time) and are very effective in getting the word out.

Next month I will be at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, CT. They are expecting over 2,500 people for the boyscouts sleepover and I will be holding a book signing there. More on this later.

Also, I'm really enjoying the occasional review of my novel. Today AMG sent me this link to a review by a Christian teacher in Oregon. Enjoy!

The Challenge of Making a Living as a Writer

2011-06-05T22:22:00.003-04:00

Only a few thousand fiction writers in the US make their entire income off of their writing. The rest, like me, have a day or night job. I have been doing the math and have come to the conclusion that I average only 50 cents per book sold through my publisher. In contrast to that, when I self-published Swords of the Six, I made a few dollars off each copy sold.

Digital books (such as Kindle) offer the opportunity for authors to make more money off each copy sold. I can make 70% on a Kindle book. So even if I sell it for only a few dollars I make good return. This is exciting!

So does this mean that I should throw out the traditional publishing market? After all, many authors are now talking about self-publishing their books instead of continuing with their traditional publishing houses. But these authors already have an established market; people know to look for their books because the traditional houses have already spread word to their markets.

My plan is to do both. I am going to continue writing for traditional publishing houses to grow my readership, and I'm going to self-publish other titles on the side. Hopefully between the two I can bring my writing income to where it needs to be, sooner rather than later.

May trip to Indiana and New Hampshire

2011-05-15T00:28:00.009-04:00

This week I made a trip to northern Indiana to speak to middle school students. Pictured above, I stand with the students at Lakeview Middle School in Warsaw, IN. The newspaper did an interview, which article here: http://www.timesuniononline.com/main.asp?SectionID=82&SubSectionID=353&ArticleID=55023

This last picture is after a successful signing at Barnes & Noble in Manchester, NH. My wife and I (and my son) had a crazy week. We went to a middle school in Indiana on Friday morning, then drove about 16 hours to make it in time for my booksigning at the store on Saturday. The store had 40 books in stock and I sold 36 of them! Praise God!

But today I am relieved to be back at home. The trip was good, but I'm ready to run a bit slower for a little while.

The trick to combining speech tags with action beats

2011-05-10T12:57:00.004-04:00

Speech tags and action beats are a sometimes hotly debated subject. I know that in my personal experience I go back and forth on how to best utilize them.

Recently something happened that spotlighted this issue for me:
I was driving back from a book signing in New York. I was tired and a bored, so I stopped at a Barnes & Noble in Albany. There I purchased a mocha and the Star Wars: Deceived audiobook. The first thing that stuck out as I listened to the phenomenal read-aloud was the numerous instances where the author used speech tags, and often combined them with his action beats. I thought at first "This is distracting" but the more I listened the more I realized how well this worked. The writing was strong even with the numerous speech tags, stronger perhaps than it would have been without them. When I arrived home and returned to writing my novel, I let my mind flow freely, as if I was verbally telling the story. This worked extremely well. At least, I am happy with the results.
Below are a couple instances from my 2012 novel The Key of Living Fire (AMG Publishers):

Action beat only:
Cromlin laughed and the sound of it chilled Specter’s bones. “The power of living fire resides here, doesn’t it?” The creature slowly turned its massive head and gazed at Specter. “Were you attempting to stop this man from escaping with the Key [spoiler removed]?”

Action beat with speech tag:
The dragon was silent for a long while, then he angled his boney head downward and said, " I believe our beloved Specter followed the traitorous Auron into... [spoiler removed]"

Q4U: What is your opinion on this? Do you prefer no speech tags, few, or do you like them? Do you enjoy the combination of speech tag and action beat?

Looking ahead Writing Projects

2011-04-28T18:50:00.002-04:00

Today marks a landmark in my third The Sword of the Dragon novel. I passed 100,000-words! The novel is coming along beautifully with new insights into characters such as Ilfedo and Specter. The story is a bit daunting, from a writing perspective, but that is due to the loads of great story still to tell.
This novel will have been finished by the end of May and I have been seriously considering what project to accomplish next. So I have reached the conclusion that I will finish an offshoot novel to The Sword of the Dragon series. My plan is to publish The It'ren On Eiderveis River as a full-length novel this Fall. I will make it available in paperback and on Kindle.
Also, since I am planning to attend the American Christian Fiction Writers conference in September, I'm hoping to finish my science-fiction political thriller Starmist.

Back from New York

2011-04-24T12:17:00.002-04:00

My trip to Johnson City, NY was very productive. My wife wasn't able to accompany me on this trip, as she had a previous commitment singing in our church cantata.

I sold 40 books and met a lot of great people. The staff were particularly friendly. I've been to this store once before when I met Bryan Davis at a signing he held at this location. They have a great selection of books and gifts; a very diverse and thorough inventory.

The manager wants to arrange a follow-up event, probably end of Summer when my second novel has come out.

Now I need to simplify my schedule for the next few weeks. I need a breather and I need to finish my third novel. This has been a hectic time but a very rewarding one, too. ....So now I'm off to prioritize my to-do list.

My trip to Peoria, Illinois

2011-04-20T01:55:00.003-04:00

Last week my wife and I (and Andrew of course) were in Indiana and Illinois. One of my fans, Nichole (pictured above on the right) spread the word that I was coming to Peoria, IL. I started off with a signing at the Hoerr's Berean Christian bookstore on Thursday night. I anticipated ahead of time that a signing on that particular day was not going to be crazy busy but I still sold 7 books.
Next I had a booth at APACHE Homeschoolers Convention. The event was not very busy but we still sold around 50 books. The best part of the trip was meeting Nichole and her family (who were extremely hospitable). We stayed with Nichole's cousin, Evie (who was very friendly but with whom we hardly had time to visit) and at some point soon I hope to return there and visit some middle schools.

I also got to meet Jay Wile (pictured with me above). He wrote the high school Biology course that I took and I just think his work is fantastic. I was thrilled to meet him.

These last two pictures were taken by Nichole during the Convention.

E. Lyme Middle School in CT -success!

2011-04-08T15:29:00.005-04:00

I spent the last three days giving ten presentations to middle schoolers in East Lyme. Of course I was aiming to sell books, too! And boy did it sell; the kids bought 92-copies of Swords of the Six! Next week I'll be in Illinois for a short tour.

per school request, faces not shown

Barnes & Noble in Hadley, MA -Sold Out!

2011-04-02T15:55:00.002-04:00

The drive to Hadley, Massachusetts was almost two hours. Lots of time to listen to my music CDs. The terrain up there is quite beautiful; rather mountainous, and the weather was beautiful. The store had 15 copies of Swords of the Six in stock, and a steady flow of customers allowed me to sell and sign every last copy in just over 2 hours. Even with all the driving time I got back home just after 3 o'clock with time for some writing. Praise God for a great day!

Book 2 Cover Reveal!

2011-03-29T12:55:00.002-04:00

I hope this is a feast for your eyes... I love this cover! There may be slight alterations before it goes to press, such as the title text, but I think this is just a fantastic cover. At my recent book signing I had a lot of fun telling people to look for my second book to come out July 15th. This book turned out so well, I can't wait for everyone to read it!

Morning Star in Warwick, RI -Success!

2011-03-26T19:02:00.002-04:00

Morning Star Christian Bookstore in Warwick, RI ...my first signing event for the AMG Publishers edition of Swords of the Six! The store hasn't had success with book signing events... until today.
The store manager, Joe, was very friendly (in fact the employees were really great). I will be returning to this store in the Fall to a do a follow-up event and introduce readers to my second novel.
They had 25-copies of my book in stock and Kelley and I sold 17... a figure I was thrilled with as the first part of the day was fairly quiet. Andrew (my son) contributed with smiles for every customer (-:

Store manager Joe, myself, and Andrew

The Criticism We Learn From

2011-03-22T14:01:00.002-04:00

A recent encounter with an unusually critical book reviewer brought on the longest thread of discussion on my facebook fan page, to date. A few people commented that I, as the author, should walk away having learned from the reviewer’s criticism.

That is an interesting discussion and a question authors should ponder: Whose criticism should we listen to? And from whose criticism can we learn?

The answer to that is twofold (in my opinion) and here is why:

· Listen to fans’ criticism
Some of you might disagree with me on this point because often readers disagree with the professional critics. However, I write for my readers and I am growing a following, so it is for this audience that I write. If you know your audience and, more importantly, are creating your own following, the stories you write are the kind of stories they will read. Ultimately it is your readers who decide if your book sells or fails.

· Learn from Peers’ criticism
This includes editors, and published authors whose work has sold successfully. A good editor knows how to judge a manuscript because he/she has seen what works in writing, and what does not. Published authors have a working knowledge of writing. They’ve jumped through the proper hoops and been judged, and now their work is on the market.

On another vein, is there any criticism that we can not learn from, or that we should take with a grain of salt?

· Unpublished writers
I was sitting in a class under Steven James and he advised aspiring authors not to join a critique group, unless that critique group was led by a published author. He also advised people to avoid taking college fiction writing courses, unless the course was taught by a published author. That was some of the best advice I ever heard given. How can you learn from someone who has not passed under the publishing industry’s scope? That would be like a guitarist learning from John Smith. “If you want to perform in Nashville you need to do this, this, and this…” when in fact John Smith has never made it to Nashville. If, on the other hand, you take advice from Johnny Cash (yes, I know he is dead, but I like his music so he’s my example) you will be on track to learn from his success.

· Blog book reviewers
There are so many book reviewers out there today, most of them on blogs. Some are professional, some are amateurs. Don’t misunderstand me, I have found many good blog reviewers who have never been published. But these are not industry professionals and, as such, we should not take their harsh criticism to heart.

The most valued criticism comes from those who place great importance on reviewing in a charitable manner. If it is a Christian reviewer, I expect them to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit. If they don’t like a book they should say so with honesty, but it should be in a spirit of encouragement and not a tearing down of that author’s style and craft.

I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks on my thoughts!

Jill Williamson reviews "Swords of the Six"

2011-03-08T14:20:00.003-05:00

Here is a new review of my first novel posted by Jill Williamson, Christy Award-Winning author of By Darkness Hid. I really enjoyed this particular review because Jill was honest and didn't spoil any of the plot.
Anyway, check it out everyone: Novel Teen Swords of the Six review
Thanks to Jill for the review!

The adventures begin!

2011-03-06T00:40:00.002-05:00

Swords of the Six is finally available from AMG Publishers! I received my author copies last week and I've already begun selling copies. From this point on I need to focus again on my writing and promoting my books. I am well situated to live inexpensively while still holding a decent hourly job, and writing and selling my books. My third novel in The Sword of the Dragon series is coming along now. I passed 85,000-words and I'm aiming for it to be a bit longer than my second Sword of the Dragon novel (which is coming out July 15th).

I'm looking into writers' conferences and am strongly leaning toward attending the ACFW conference in St. Louis this year. My objective would be to connect with other authors, primarily, and meet some of the editors that interest me.

I went door-to-door in a local neighborhood and handed out a letter to folks, informing them of my book and asking them to check it out on Amazon and at stores. Out of 30 homes, I sold one book immediately and several more said they will check it out online. I think the trip was worth it (about and hour-and-a-half). I'm planning to do it again but this time visit a couple hundred houses.

Good night everyone! Let the adventures begin!

Swords of the Six -reader review

2011-02-17T11:13:00.003-05:00

AMG Publishers sent Swords of the Six to press last week, and my editor tells me it will be in stock at their warehouse the first week of March. In preparation for the release, I'd like to share this review from a reader (who read the self-published edition):

"I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. Many people try to write a novel like Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and really they don't succeed. While I know that wasn't the inspiration from it there is the same feeling to this book. Appleton has a lot of talent. He writes so elegantly that it really surprised me how much I was into the story. While this is considered "religious fantasy" I really think with the exception of a few areas that it really doesn't have. I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. Many people try to write a novel like Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and really they don't succeed. While I know that wasn't the inspiration from it there is the same feeling to this book. Appleton has a lot of talent. He writes so elegantly that it really surprised me how much I was into the story. While this is considered "religious fantasy" I really think with the exception of a few areas that it really doesn't have that feeling. It's not pushing the whole religion on you. As I said it reminds me of how some people assume the LLW is religious fantasy. There are some areas that seemed a little wordy and draggy but overall I enjoyed the characters; they weren't too developed but I think it was the whole developing a great story that made you feel good and think. It was a nice change of pace from the heavy fantasy that I read and there were a few surprises and good feelings. I'd read more of Appleton given the chance. Swords of Six is a great start to what might be a wonderful series." -Cindy

Swords of the Six (AMG Publishers)

2011-01-31T12:56:00.002-05:00

Are you ready for it? Have you drooled over the forthcoming The Sword of the Dragon series?

Book 1 Swords of the Six is just four weeks away from store shelves, and Book 2 Offspring will be on its heels in July.

Some readers have told me that (SOTS) this was the best book they ever read, others have numbered it as one of their favorites.

The cover image is presented in this post. It turned out awesome! I will be hitting stores and schools, as I did before, to push this series to success. The time is almost here.

The Writing Dilemmas

2011-01-06T12:03:00.003-05:00

For every season of life there is an end; a time to take that next step in the direction God would have you go. I am soon coming to that point... again. The year before last I quit a full-time hourly job and hit the road, selling my novel. Some people thought, many believed, that I was either careless or crazy. But I knew that it was in my best interest, and in God's will, to move on... and that meant taking a risk.

Now I am stuck between two hourly jobs, both demanding time I would prefer to spend writing my next novel. I really enjoy one of them, because it involves writing, but with my brain scattering to the four winds I am a bit frazzled. Next month the fruit of the risk I took in going on that book tour, will be realized; my first novel will release from AMG Publishers on February 11th. Soon thereafter, within months of the first, the second novel will release. I am full of anticipation and, for a little while dread filled me, too. Questions of "What if it doesn't sell well?" "How am I going to devote the time needed to promoting it?" "How do I balance providing for my young family and traveling?" I have finally smacked myself across the side of the head. "Wake up! God is in control and this is what he has brought you to." In a very real sense it is time to smell the roses.

I don't believe in chance successes. I believe hard work bears fruit, and perseverance and patience wields a mighty sword of success. So, beginning today, I am going to start booking a tour of schools in New England. It has taken seven years to get to this point, from that omniscient POV manuscript I wrote. I want to write and promote full-time, again! Well, it won't happen by itself, so... time to get down to business!

A shipment of brand new books!

2010-12-24T15:18:00.007-05:00

I just thought I'd post a couple photos, as I received a shipment of my anthology, today. What a nice Christmas present!

Christmas: Do you resent giving?

2010-12-24T01:39:00.004-05:00

Christmas. It is my favorite holiday, and merely one day away.

The economy has left so many people, including me and my family, with a leaner Christmas than normal. At times throughout the past month I've had bouts of self-pity, wishing I could lavish things on my wife and other family members. But God has been reminding me that the greatest gifts I can give are not material in nature.

Tonight at the factory job (I do that three nights a week) I wished many of my fellow employees Merry Christmas. I was horrified by the number of responses I received, like: "I can't wait for it to be over." Or, "I don't have the spirit for it this year." But mostly what it boiled down to for everyone was that they couldn't buy all the gifts they had hoped to.

We are such a materialistic society. We are such a selfish and ungrateful people. God has given us so much and, yet, what is our response? "I can't buy Johnny the Xbox this year... this Christmas isn't going to be the same."

Seriously, that is the kind of thing I heard people talking about. It is as if (and I believe it is probably true) the child's expectations are purely material. They have not been raised to believe or recognize, with any accurate and fair judgment, that the act of giving is of far greater value than the gift itself.

But on the part of the giver of the gift, there is also a lesson to be learned. And one that I am glad God has chosen to make me realize again. For if I do not buy gifts at a small sacrifice in time and money, what value do they have? What benefit is there for the giver's soul? Everything we do in life can be an act that pleases God and giving is an art that we must master. For, in order to emulate Christ, we must give joyfully and even eagerly, anticipating the reward of seeing someone else receiving that which brings them happiness (even if that happiness is but brief).

So, this Christmas, remember that Christ laid down his life with joy, seeing our salvation as a great enough reward for his sacrifice. And give to others with the same heart as His.

Have a very blessed and merry Christmas, everyone!

Now Available on Kindle!

2010-12-13T01:06:00.005-05:00

Merry Christmas!

For those of you Kindle readers out there who enjoy short fiction, primarily in the speculative genre, my anthology is now available!

This book is great for carry-along content.

Click here to purchase By Sword By Right for a mere $2.99

THE TALE OF TROY

2010-12-02T02:20:00.002-05:00

“Tell me a story Dad! Please don’t put me to bed before a story.” Little Andrew puckered his face and his father laughed. To his wife he said, “Do we have time for a story?”

“If I do the dishes,” she replied. She shook her head and clacked her tongue, though the hint of a smile was on her face. “I dare say that without us womenfolk around nothing would ever get done. Not the dishes, not the table, not dinner.”

“Ah,” Andrew’s father said. “What makes you say that? After all, don’t you remember the story of Troy?”

Andrew’s mother frowned. “Of course I remember. But I fail to see what Troy has to do with cleaning and dinner.”

Little Andrew bounced on his father’s knee. “Tell me. Tell me the story of Troy!”
“And then you will go to sleep?” his father asked. He waited until Andrew nodded and then he cleared his throat and leaned back in his reclining chair. “This will be a very short story,” he said. “But I think you will like it.”

Andrew’s mother leaned against the doorway to the dining room, holding a towel in one hand and a wet bowl in the other. As she wiped the dish dry, Andrew’s father began the story.
“A long, long, long time ago the women of the world told their husbands, ‘You would never get anything done without us.’

So a large number of men left their homes and crossed the sea near the land of Greece. And on a distant shore they built a magnificent city, which they named Troy.
But one man, a man by the name of Paris, returned across the sea and stole a beautiful woman. He brought her into the magnificent city of Troy and called her his wife.
Across the sea the Greeks got into their ships and set off to take the city of Troy. They wanted the city and they wanted the woman. ‘We’ll tear that there city down if we have to,’ they declared.

The Greeks landed on the distant shore and saw the beautiful city of Troy, the city built by men, and they waged a war against it. They burned Troy to the ground and it was destroyed forever.”
Andrew opened his mouth to say, “Wow!” But his father shook his head as if thinking to himself and said, “A great many men built the magnificent city of Troy, they finished it. But it took only one woman to quickly bring it to ruin.”

Andrew’s mother kissed his father and pinched his cheeks. “I should slap you for such a preposterous story! Tssk! Tssk! Now you’d better tell him the true story of Troy and leave out all the silliness.”

“Ah, but the only reason you react that way,” said his father. “Is because Troy is the Achilles’ heel for women!”
* * * *
Note: I wrote this out very quickly and thought I'd post it for feedback. How would you rate this as a children's story, say for age 4 to 9?

The Story I Want To Read

2010-12-01T01:56:00.002-05:00

In my writing travels I've run into a lot of aspiring authors who ask me to read a portion of their work. I often oblige because I do love getting a look into fresh material and finding that occasional diamond in the midst of the wooden cogs.

What most turned me off with most writings was the lack of originality. I could tell that so-and-so had read such-and-such-a-book and been inspired to invent something along similar lines. When I told them that honestly I thought their work lacked originality they were at first taken aback. Perhaps they didn't expect forthright critisism, even though they'd asked for it, but writers owe that to each other and so I do my best to deliver. Also, I personally prefer to hear an educated critic over a flatterer. After all, where does the flattery get me? Nowhere. It certainly doesn't push me to do better, to improve and revise, revamp, and master my craft.

Often at the base of an unoriginal work is a desire to write something that will sell; something the reading public has proved it likes. The most common example I've seen is vampire romance fantasies resulting from Twilight.

Today I was reading a bit of C.S. Lewis, a paper he wrote titled (something like) Three Ways to Write for Children. I found myself smilng as I read because Lewis ran into the same situations as I and had the same response. He told one woman that he didn't care for an element of the story she'd written. She replied that she didn't either, 'but that is what children like nowadays.'

Lewis went on to state that he didn't write his stories to what children wanted, rather he wrote the stories he would have loved to read as a child.

Ah! A kindred spirit of mine, at least in this respect.

How can a story have meaning to the reader if it has little or no soul from the writer? I have found myself of late thinking too deeply on what my readers would want in my novels. It did not used to enter my mind prior to signing the book contract, and if it did it was inconsequentially small an issue. But we all have the desire for acceptance and approval . . . and praise.

I have a novel in progress and I've been struggling to write it as best I can. Tonight I am determined to put the soul back into my writing. The story will be exactly what I want to read and, in the end, I believe I will be a happier novelist for doing so. And my writing will be own original work without trappings of commercialism.

Making a Blue Photo of myself/or a fool of myself?

2010-11-23T00:57:00.002-05:00

You decide! I saw Brock Eastman's contest and had to do a quick photo so here it is. Should I submit it to his contest... or is this to vampirish? (-:

Visit to Mystic Seaport

2010-10-30T22:53:00.002-04:00

We visited Mystic Seaport today (that being Me, my wife, and Jacob Parker). It was a really nice relaxing day. I've been to the Seaport before but not since I was a kid so this was a lot of fun! I'm really enjoying having Jacob stay with us. The house has been lively and we have common interests.

The Election is Coming

2010-10-30T00:43:00.002-04:00

Tuesday is election day and I can't wait for it! Our country's leadership is pushing us down a dangerous road. We have a chance to put people in office who haven't been there before and therefore have something to prove to themselves and to the public. I urge everyone to vote conservative on Tuesday... Let's toast to the Tea Party! I hope they oust the liberals and put this country on a God-honoring path.

The Joy of New England Library Book Sales!

2010-10-09T23:19:00.002-04:00

When I was growing up my mother took me to numerous library sales and we would pick through the heaps to find the cast off treasures! Mostly we searched for non-fiction. She for cookbooks and self-help books, while I for histories, biographies, and sciences. I also picked up juvenile mysteries (Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, etc.) and horse books (Walter Farley's series, and Margarite Henry). It's amazing what you can find at book sales. I once picked up Stanley and other African Explorers printed in the 1880's for $1! And at that same sale two volumes on the America Civil War printed during and at the end of the war (1862 and 1866 respecively).

Today my mother took me out for the day to a couple library sales. I didn't find anything as rare as that. But for around $15 I obtained a bag full of great books. Among them The Phantom Tollbooth, The Indianapolis, and a couple volumes by Winston Churchill. My mother found a book for me that I had never heard of and which I am looking forward to reading. It is fairy stories from all over the world. From what I saw I think it will be a fresh dose of imagination for me... but that book is at my parents' house because I forgot to take it out of her car when she brought me home. Oh well, I'll get it tomorrow (-:

Three Encouraging Events!

2010-10-05T01:21:00.003-04:00

I've been in a rut lately. My writing has suffered because my mind was pulled in a couple unexpected directions (including my 15-year-old dog looking ill).

But God dealt me an encouraging hand these past few days.

First, two pre-orders of Swords of the Six (AMG) were received by Amazon!

Second, the first novel (other than my own) that I published through my company Flaming Pen Press, is a finalist for the Moonbeam Awards! Congratulations to Jacob Parker, author of Kestrel's Midnight Song.

And, finally, as a result of the Moonbeam Awards nomination, a Christian fantasy author contacted me . . . and he lives in Connecticut! Praise God! I have felt quite alone out here sometimes. I have many good friends and lots of family, but I need encouragment from fellow writers as well. I love to network, especially with Christian authors, and this could be just the boost to my creativity and drive that I have desperately needed.

Time to Order!

2010-10-01T02:32:00.005-04:00

Ok everyone! The time has come to start ordering your copies of Swords of the Six.

I have placed the order information at the top of this page. All you need do is order the novel and then email a copy of your receipt to me. I will send your prizes promptly.

Notice that you can receive a Free copy of my forthcoming anthology By Sword, By Right if you order two copies of Swords of the Six.

And, finally, I would like to know your opinion of these incentives. Does this entice you to place your amazon order, or not?

What about my blog Followers/readers?

2010-09-25T14:47:00.005-04:00

Here we are in late September and my mind is running wild on how to make the biggest sales impact with my novel Swords of the Six. It will be released in February 2011... only four and a half months away.

I want to spring a large number of pre-orders (a few hundred would do the trick). I'm thinking if I can get half of my facebook fans to commit to buying one copy each that should do the trick. I'm also going to invite my facebook friends. Between the two of those I have somewhere around six hundred people. But getting them to actually do it . . . it always sounds easier than it is.

The fact that the book is available for pre-order on Amazon for only $10 should make my task far easier. So what about all of my blog followers? Will you place a pre-order for my AMG novel? It won't cost you much and you'll be helping a good cause (-:

Here is the link to pre-order Swords of the Six from Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Swords-Six-Sword-Dragon-Book/dp/0899578608/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284236403&sr=1-1

I am going to unabashedly push this book into everyone's hands. I want it to be a hit with the publisher so that they will want another four novels to follow up the first three.

What kind of an incentive can I offer people to pre-order? Ideas . . . throw ideas at me, please!

Books, especially book covers

2010-09-17T13:22:00.002-04:00

This post will be given in two parts Yesterday I set my mind on finishing the cover for By Sword, By Right and I'm very pleased with how it turned out! Now I am trying to decide between releasing this in hardcover for $13.99, or in softcover for $9.99. It is approximately 140 pages, not a large book but a fun size.

The original short stories that I wrote exclusively for this book include two science fiction pieces that I am really excited about:
Abacus One is a futuristic missionary tale of a world off-limits to Christians. One daring space captain takes the risk to bring the gospel to the isolated and unreached children from Earth.
The World Reborn is an imaginative, original take on space travel, where individuals travel from place to place inside space bubbles.
Carriage Angel ...I wrote this one for myself and those fans of mine who enjoy romance as well as jaunts a hundred years into the past.

Swords of the Six (AMG Publishers)
I know many of you are as eager as I am for my AMG novels to release. If you would like to pre-order the new expanded The Sword of the Dragon-book 1-Swords of the Six, it is available on amazon for a whopping $10.19 per copy! Pre-order by Click Here

Please ignore the fact that the wrong cover image is up there. AMG is creating a different, more snazzy cover.

From the Hand of God

2010-09-13T00:00:00.002-04:00

Many of you will recall that last year my wife miscarried our first child. Perhaps that has made today's miracle even more special to me . . . to both of us. One child awaits me on the other side of death, and one I will likely precede to Christ.

At 4:46am September 12th, I caught my first-born son. My wife and I have named him Andrew Stephen Appleton. He was a long, painful delivery. My wife labored over 36-hours. But boy was it worth it! The feeling of fatherhood is still unreal, like living in a dream from which I'll never awake. God is so good. I pray he gives my wife and I the wisdom and will-power to bring 'Andy' up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

New, Fun Websites!

2010-09-02T23:00:00.000-04:00

For quite a while now I've been shopping around the web, and among people I meet, for a great website design. That is, without success until now:

There is an awesome online software called Wix and I have used it to create new websites for both myself and for my company. Check them out:

www.TheSwordoftheDragon.com

www.FlamingPenPress.com

And, of course, let me know what you think! I was especially pleased with the way the FPP site turned out. The greatest part about the Wix software? I can easily edit both sites, change them around, etc, and as often as I like. The former Flaming Pen Press website used a Wordpress software and I could never figure out how to do anything fancy with it.

"By Sword, By Right" -my forthcoming project!

2010-08-31T01:56:00.003-04:00

After my recent post I received 100% positive feedback on my idea to create an anthology of my short fiction (both published and not).

The idea has bounced around in my head ever since I printed out my short stories and placed them in a binder for my personal reference and enjoyment about three years ago. The idea since received needed incentive when a couple people asked me about my short stories. I mentioned my idea to publish an anthology and they immediately said they'd definitely buy it. After I posted about it on my blog I received an email from a woman in Virginia saying she'd like to get it for her grandsons.

Since most large publishing companies don't touch anthologies, and because I want this done in a timely fashion, I will publish this through Flaming Pen Press. My target release is Christmas 2010 and that shouldn't be too difficult to achieve (especially considering that most of the stories are already edited and publishable). However, I am going to throw in some unpublished pieces that I want to share . . . and I am working on ideas for a couple additional pieces to top of the pie!

Here is the initial cover design. The title I've come up with is By Sword, By Right which I believe bags the variety of stories contained therein (fantasy, science fiction, allegorical, biblical, inspirational). I'd love to hear everyone's impressions!

What to do, what to do . . .

2010-08-29T13:25:00.003-04:00

What to be or not to be? I keep finding myself working on projects other than my novel series. Not that I've been working more on the odds and ends writings, but I have been pouring a lot of mental energy into them.

Today after church a couple of people expressed interest in seeing a collection of my short stories published in book-form. The idea has crossed my mind many times but for some reason I've never seen it through. Perhaps it is because I feel my short stories are so varied that they don't fit a common theme and I'd like to have that in an anthology. However, I'm seriously considering doing it anyway. The short stories range in genre from fairy tales, fantasy, science fiction, biblical, and allegory. I have several unpublished works that I never showed my fans, including pieces written a long time ago . . . like five years ago. In one tale there is a good dragon by the name of Valorian, which, I'm sure, many of my fans immediately recognize as the villainous creature in Swords of the Six. I like the name so much that I used it in my novel.

So, the question lies out there for my readers to consider: would you like to see an anthology of my short stories? It would include Moses and the Lamb, Splintered Sacrifice, The Woodland King, The Little Children Come, and the Trapped in Imagination stories 1 and 2.

Author Interview: Donita K. Paul & Evangeline Denmark

2010-08-16T13:51:00.010-04:00

I recently came across an children's fantasy book by Donita K. Paul and her daughter Evangeline Denmark. Both of them agreed to be interviewed on my blog. This adorable book is illustrated by one of the illustrators that worked on the Ice Age movies. Make sure to explore The Dragon and the Turtle website after reading this interview! It is one of the best designed, most attractive I've ever seen.

Hi Mrs. Paul and Mrs. Denmark,
Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. You have recently co-authored a children's book titled The Dragon and the Turtle. What is the story and how did you come up with the idea?

Answer: The Dragon and the Turtle is about a lost turtle and the dragon who helps him find his way home. Along the way, Roger the turtle and Padraig the dragon learn that making friends with someone different from you can yield unexpected rewards.
The idea came from a bedtime story I told my boys one night when they couldn’t go to sleep.

Mrs. Paul, You are well-known as the author of the Dragon Keeper Chronicles, which seemed to target young adult readers. How did you decide to make this transition into writing for children, and how difficult was it to alter the grade level of your prose for a younger audience?

Answer: I have always wanted to be a picture book author. I love picture books. My collection of picture books fills three seven foot bookcases. As to changing grade level, younger children are actually my forte. I majored in elem. ed. with an early childhood development emphasis. My son and daughter have told me (kindly) that preschool is my peer group. And I believe good readers are hatched in families that read aloud. Picture books are what we read aloud and therefore promote literacy.

Mrs. Denmark, I understand that you are Mrs. Paul's daughter. Please tell us what it was like to create The Dragon and Turtle as a joint effort.What were the greatest advantages to doing this together?

Answer: We had a lot of fun working on The Dragon and the Turtle together. Roger the lost turtle sprang out of my brain, and Mom added his helpful friend Padraig the dragon. The two characters took off from there—just like two little boys ready for adventure.
As far as advantages, well, aside from getting to work on a fun project with my mother, I also reaped the benefits of her expertise in the writing field, and education and child development. I can’t think of anyone better suited to write a children’s book, can you?

No, I can't! It's wonderful.

Mrs. Paul and Mrs. Denmark, There are many fantasy books on the market but not so many, that I know of, specifically for children. Did you find any hurdles in getting a publisher interested in this project?

Mrs. Paul’s answer: actually most picture books are fantasy. Look at Skippy Jon Jones, Dr. Seuss books, the Gingerbread Man. When we speak of fantasy for those over 8, we enter another genre, and that type of fantasy is less prolific in children’s literature. This would be knights, dragons, wizards (although there are plenty of witches), and magic as seen in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Then you narrow the spectrum by going into Christian Fantasy Books and it is hard to find anything available. There are some heavy-handed allegories, supposedly for children. Our easy-in to the publishing of a fantasy book was the fact that I had parents, teachers, older siblings asking for a picture book about dragons for their little ones.

Mrs. Denmark, In your biography you mention sharing Roger and Padraig stories with your sons. Do you get inspiration from sharing stories with them, and how did they react when they heard your book was getting published? (-:

Answer: Absolutely, I get inspiration from them. Without my boys, Roger and Padraig wouldn’t exist. But it’s not just the fun, little boy outlook and play habits that inspire me. Their needs inspire me as well. They both need to learn how to be a good friend, and Roger and Padraig stories are a more fun way to do that than a lecture.
As for getting excited about the book being published, they thought it was cool but really didn’t grasp it until they saw Vincent’s initial sketches. That’s when they started to understand that Roger and Padraig were going to be more than just our bedtime stories. We did all squeal in the foyer the day the UPS guy delivered our first copies of the book.

Mrs. Paul, How does this project compare to your previous works? It has been my observation that younger children tend to greet new stories with greater energy and enthusiasm. Is this project equally rewarding, or more so?

Answer: You should see some of the teenagers jump and gyrate and exhibit extreme enthusiasm for another dragon book. Little people do this too, but over and over. The books are differently rewarding. I love the shine in young children’s eyes when they settle down for story time. I love the way teens and older kids can articulate what has touched them. For both, I relish the opportunity to open their hearts to Godly principles.

Mrs. Denmark, I'm sure many people are wondering: Are you going to follow in your mother's footsteps? Do you plan on writing many more books, do you have ideas that may turn into young adult fantasy novels?

Answer: Yes, I do hope to follow in Mom’s footsteps. I have several adult novels completed and an idea for a YA series. I love writing. It’s in the genes.

Mrs. Paul kibitzing: It truly is in the genes. Evangeline is the third generation writer. Her son already shows a tendency to story-making as well.

Mrs. Paul and Mrs. Denmark, Thank you for participating in this interview. I believe this project has great potential for success in the market, not only today but as a generational classic. In closing, where can readers learn more about The Dragon and the Turtle?

Answer: We’ve just launched a website for Roger and Padraig. www.dragonandturtle.com We’re so excited about interacting with our readers there. We have games, crafts, recipes, and a “fridge” space to display our readers’ artwork.

NEW WEBSITE!

2010-08-10T13:42:00.002-04:00

Finally I found a site to create an attractive website for my author pages. Check it out: The Sword of the Dragon

Secular or Christian Fantasy (part 2) Author Worldview in Fantasy Novels

2010-08-06T14:03:00.006-04:00

In a previous post I talked a bit about The Lord of the Rings and what a slew of responses I received! It was invigorating. However, upon listening to the many comments, I realized that I need to break ground at a new point if the discussion is to have any logical continuity.

Each and every one of us comes from a unique background. Whether we admit it or not the way our parents were raised, the way they raised us, and the people we grew up with made us the individuals we are today.

My father was raised in a large Catholic family but became a born-again Christian when he was in his late teens. My mother was raised in a Protestant home with, again, a large family. Not wishing to let the public school system raise their kids, my parents homeschooled me. My father worked long, hard hours to provide for his family, and my mother served as homemaker and teacher. I grew up in the kind of family many kids only dream of. My father was the most patient, kind man I know. My mother was gentle and a patient teacher, but also a consistent disciplinarian. If I were to summarize my growing-up years, I’d say I was raised in a very loving, disciplined home.

Watching my parents I strove to attain their dedication to family and God. They were the finest examples and I attribute my success as an author mostly to them. My father was such an incredibly hard worker that I always felt I could never keep up with him. I wasn’t as physically motivated as he was so I turned my energies into academic pursuits. And when I decided to write for a living, it didn’t enter my mind that I would never finish the project or fail—because by example I had learned that perseverance led to success and that the road is not easy, but it is worth it.

There have been a lot of blog posts, recently, written by publishing professionals warning authors not to set their hopes too high on success. They say that success does not always come, that only a few writers make it into the elite number of full-time career authors, and so it is better to think “realistically” . . . then they proceed to detail all the intricacies of the market, how it’s changing, and remind everyone that there are few very successful authors.

This troubles me to no end. Why? Because I was raised in a home that trained me to believe in my dreams, to KNOW that I could succeed at anything I set my mind to, and these professionals would rather focus on the business end, rather than the passion behind the art.

When in 2008 my novel was rejected by the publisher, rather than letting it bring me down (though I admitted a level of disappointment) I worked hard, studying the intricacies of creating my own publishing company. My goal was to sell a thousand copies of my books, by hand if necessary, getting it out there into the public until at some point a major publisher offered me a contract. And that is exactly what I did. But was it chance that led to my success? Was it that the right wind just happened to catch my sails and push me in the right direction? No, it was perseverance and patience. Consistency was key, consistency in my childhood trained me to achieve and never accept failure.

One of my favorite movies is Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan and my favorite line is when Captain Kirk says, “I don’t believe in no-win scenarios.”

Well, neither do I. And whenever an aspiring author asks me what they need to do to get published and make their book a success, I tell them it is a lot of hard work but that if they persevere they can succeed (and they mustn’t seek shortcuts).

I say all this to point out that I believe every author has a message in his/or her stories, whether apparent or not, their world-view plays an inevitable role in their writing. Tolkien came from a Roman Catholic background and so his Lord of the Rings and other such works do have an all-powerful god, of sorts. But the Roman Catholic church is strong on form; their worship is full of rites and rituals to which they strongly adhere. So, in The Lord of the Rings, wizards such as Gandalf utter spells that are keyed to certain form, certain ordering.

Donita K. Paul in her Dragon Keeper Chronicles has wizards. But her background is, I believe, Protestant Christianity. Her characters don’t, to my recollection, utter spells. Instead they have abilities to interact with their environment within the confines of Wulder’s will.

J.K. Rowling is, by all accounts I’ve read and from every interview I’ve seen, a secular Humanist. In keeping with her world-view, Harry Potter knows no God, and determines right from wrong based on how the situation affects him and those he loves. He uses the same magic as the dark wizards, just for a better cause.

Bryan Davis author of Dragons in Our Midst also falls under Protestant Christianity (though he would be careful to distinguish his beliefs from the majority). But his protagonists gain special abilities through their dragon ancestry, though at times Merlin seems to wield almost magical powers.

Phillip Pullman is an interesting one. He is an atheist and he once stated in an interview I read that he was using his book The Golden Compass to ‘…kill God in the eyes of children.’

In my own novels I am seeking to be as faithful as possible to my world view. My protagonists have difficult sacrifices to make to reach their goals, and all powers are either from Creator God, or demonic worship.

I have seen many Christian fantasy writers whose work makes me cringe; not because of the writing, but because of their use of magic in the story. I’m sure that the Egyptians looked upon Moses as a magician for all the signs he wrought, but he always attributed credit to God. I find very few fantasy novels have an accurate, pure worldview. And for those of you who think otherwise, yes, I think Tolkien’s work falls into that category. Don’t be offended: he wrote it, you didn’t. I can still enjoy these other works, but I must evaluate them based on a consistent, God-honoring worldview.

The Outline and Me

2010-07-28T15:12:00.002-04:00

Well, I've done it; in writing my third novel I've found that (due to time-constraints imposed by my hourly job) I need to organize The Key of Living Fire in order to get it done and keep the plot-line amazing. So far the novel is around 53,000-words. I'm hoping for between 115 and 130k in the final manuscript.

The problem I ran into was the plot twists multiplied and I couldn't keep track of them all, or, rather, I was close to forgetting key elements as I wrote new material. The outline I'm forming is almost 2,000-words, which seems rather lengthy to me. The story is growing into something I will be proud of and I think the outlining is proving to be an indispensible tool.

Perhaps I'm turning into an Outliner? (-:

If I Was A Bachelor

2010-06-30T22:23:00.002-04:00

My wife has just started selling her handmade items online via an Etsy Shop (which you can find here http://www.etsy.com/shop/handmaidgifts). She is working on baby blankets and tonight I admired the red and gray colors of the new blanket she's crocheting. "Honey," she said, "that is pink and purple."

Well, I am color deficient, not color blind... an important distinction (-: but my color senitivity is better some days than others. I guess today is a worse color day. I don't get bad hair days, just bad color days!

So I told my wife. "Wow. It's a good thing I'm not a bachelor. If I were I could be buying pink and purple bedsheets!" Oh my, and could that extend into towels and curtains? Thank God I'm married and she is just fine with colors!

By the way, guys, before you go off saying "he's color blind" with big googly eyes, remember that around 70% of us are--most just don't know it. So when you singles get married, let her choose the colors (you'll be better off that way)!

P.S. I got a good deal of writing done today. Just check out my wife's picture here for proof and look for the word count at the top right on this blog. The big dictionary is an original 1878 (great dictionary).

Another great "Swords of the Six" review!

2010-06-28T01:18:00.002-04:00

I have Google alerts . . . and so I am always 'alerted' to mentions of my book on the web. Check this one out:
http://splashdownreviews.blogspot.com/2010/06/swords-of-six-by-scott-appleton.html

The Writer's Block syndrom

2010-06-23T15:36:00.003-04:00

Working a full-time job plus overtime hours and operating my own publishing company is a big task. One of my readers recently requested I write a post about writer's block and, because that subject has been heavy on my mind, I think now is the propper time to address it.

Sometimes I believe that writer's block exists and sometimes I think it is all in my head. When I go to schools I frequently receive questions relating to how I create characters, how I invent the story ideas, and how I overcome writer's block. I like to say that writer's block does not exist and I sincerely believe it does not. Recently with all the work I've been doing outside of my writing I have not made the time to sit down and write. In some ways it feels like my creativity is cut off for a period of time and I'm just waiting for it to come back. But experience has taught me that I can always work out of writer's block. If I sit down to write and my mind simply blanks on the topic or manuscript I am working on, then I switch tracks to another subject.

In the past I have sat at my computer, mind blank. It may sound too simple, or even funny, but I wrote a letter to myself from my computer.

Computer: Hi Scott, how are you today?

Me: Well, I have some time to write, but my mind is blank.

Computer: What story do you want to work on today?

Me: Well, I was thinking about working on my second Sword of the Dragon novel. But I'm not sure what to write next.

Computer: Hold it! Slow down. Tell me what happened recently in the manuscript. What have you written so far?

This is one of the most effective ways I have found of working out of writer's block. It is my belief that the brain simply wears thin on frequently visited works, so you have to freshen it with something along a different story-vein, line of thought, or genre, etc.

I remember a particular day when I couldn't think of anything to write in my novel. So I started typing a story about a writer who had a deadline and couldn't get his imagination rolling. Before I realized it I had over a thousand words in a long short story titled Trapped In Imagination ...and that story is one of my fans' favorites.

So if your mind is burned out along one track, try refreshing it by thinking along another vein. The brain simply gets tired. Give it a rest, but make sure to exercise your writing skills at the same time. And remember to prioritize your writing. Other things (jobs in particular) pull me out of my creative vein and I have to work extra hard to get my writing done.

Hope this is helpful everyone!

Contract Signed!

2010-06-17T13:22:00.003-04:00

It came in the mail a couple days ago--the contract for my first three novels from AMG Publishers! Now that it is signed I will send it off to them. This is a big moment for me. I've been working toward a contract with a publisher for several years now.

For those of you who've been asking "What can I do to help promote Swords of the Six" I have some news for you. AMG's director of marketing is going to focus on viral internet promotion. What does that mean for you? Well, AMG is going to produce banner ads and other goodies that you can plaster on your blog, your website, or anywhere else you please on the web. When the time comes to put those banners out there, invite your friends to become fans of my facebook fanpage, invite them to use the banner ad for Swords of the Six, and invite them to invite their friends to do the same. By this means we have the potential to reach millions of readers--but I'll need your help to do it.

There will be a new website for my series soon. AMG is creating it and they already bought the website domain.

All of this means that Swords of the Six is now going out-of-print from Flaming Pen Press--until its re-release through AMG. For those of you who are among the 3,000 people who own the 'original' version of my novel, keep that copy safe... it's going to be valuable someday!

I'll be sure to keep all of you updated!

Excellent Review of "Swords of the Six"

2010-06-09T12:38:00.001-04:00

A wonderful review of my first novel just appeared. If you haven't already, do check it out!
http://fantasydreamer12.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/swords-of-the-six-by-scott-appleton-review/

The Lord of the Rings: Secular or Christian Fantasy?

2010-06-04T10:58:00.006-04:00

My recent post received several comments regarding my classification of The Lord of the Rings as a secular fantasy and I think it's time to address the issue. What makes a story Christian? Is it honorable characters, clean story, or an accurate representation of the Christian/biblical worldview? I believe a story is Christian if it attempts to stay within the Christian worldview, which I will attempt to demonstrate The Lord of the Rings does not.

The Bible condemns sorcery; there is no such thing as a 'good' wizard.
The world Tolkien created is polytheistic; one mighty god and various lesser gods created the Earth and one of them warred against the rest. This brings Tolkien's world closer in illustration to the Greek mythology rather than biblical teaching where God alone created all.

Tolkien dismissed claims that his books were an allegory. He wrote fantastic fairytales and meant for them to be enjoyed as such. An important fact is that Tolkien stated in his introduction to The Lord of the Rings that he did not mean it to be an allegory. Why then do people turn around and say that Tolkien did write it as allegory? Yes, his Roman Catholic background played into the story, but to present an allegory was neither his intention, nor his result--and on another note, Roman Catholisism teaches salvation by works (contrary to Christ's message). There has been a trend in the CBA of publishing books on "Finding God in..." These titles (the ones that stand out in my mind) include The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and The Matrix. I believe it is because we want to justify supporting or promoting secular inventions that we find appealing. But if we have to justify them shouldn't we rethink what we are doing? And if we have to write a book on how to find God in decidedly not Christian stories, shouldn't we ask what motivates us to do so? The Lord of the Rings falls into the same pot as Harry Potter; we have a dark villain practicing sorcery, and a valiant hero who also practices sorcery. That is not to say that Tolkien's story lacks merit (I believe it has much) but it doesn't attempt to deliver an allegory and should, therefore, be accepted as a fairytale.

In contrast to this, consider the Narnia series. No one that I have met denies the strong allegory in those stories. Christ and His sacrifice were presented in a powerful way and any 'magic' wielded by heroes/heroines seems to be accredited to Creator God. In fact, some secular readers are uncomfortable with the allegorical elements. And I know some have been uncomfortable with elements in my novel. Why? Because if an author writes the gospel truth with conviction, delivering the truth to the best of their ability in their fictional stories, it will convict the unbeliever.

In my writings I have attempted to attribute strength to the Giver of might. My inspiration for the 'magical' elements where the heroes and heroines are concerned, are the biblical accounts of Moses and Aaron, and others. God gives power to those who serve him.

Now I know many people will disagree with me on my perspective on LOTR, but I am only basing my conclusions on the author's stated intent. If you wanted Tolkien to call it an allegory, sorry but he didn't; he did the opposite.

P.S. I am a fan of Tolkien's work. He was a master storyteller.

Can't help but wonder...

2010-06-01T01:30:00.005-04:00

Can't help but wondering...

A couple weeks ago contract negotiations with AMG Publishers closed with pleasing results. In a short while I will be ending production of "Swords of the Six" and transfering that privilidge to AMG. The publisher expects to release "Swords of the Six" this November and I find myself wondering, with great anticipation, what the new cover will look like and the new interior design. The publisher agreed to use the same artwork, so I can expect to see the dragon image on the new book.

I am eager to begin promoting the new book--and the forthcoming two sequels. The success of my self-published book gives me great hope that, once released, I can continue to give it into the hands of fantasy readers everywhere. I've noticed that most of my readers are fans of secular series such as Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings. But, now, with AMG backing my series I expect to grow my audience with readers of Christian Fantasy (Dragons in Our Midst, The Door Within, and Narnia).

AMG Publishers asked me to provide material for sales, marketing, and book cover copy, and catalogue information. They had some pretty challenging requests, namely succinct sales lines/pitches. Here is a glimpse of what I worked out:

Described my book in 25 words
A dragon prophet seeks justice and hatches human daughters from eggs, paving with holy sacrifice the path to conquering an ancient evil.

Described by book in 50 words
Betrayed in ancient times by his choice warriors, the dragon prophet sets a plan in motion to bring the traitors to justice. One thousand years later he hatches human daughters from eggs and arms them with the traitors’ swords. Either the traitors will repent, or justice will be served.

This has been a great year. I'm looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in the coming months!

Switching Cars

2010-05-22T12:04:00.002-04:00

Life has a way of throwing things in my path when I least want it to. Well, it would be more accurate to say that I believe God orchestrates things to happen in order to help me mature.

This week I started an hourly night job, full-time. My friend's wedding is today. I planned to take Friday off for his wedding rehearsal and work the days leading up to it. But on Thursday my wife and I drove to a nearby dealership, intending to look over future car buying options. As I parked our '92 Oldsmobil it died! To make a long story short I ended up buying a 2005 Toyota Camry. It was hard to spend the money on it, but worth it. Every time I've made a trip somewhere in the past few months the possibility that the old car would break down was at the back of my mind. But now I have something reliable and pristine! It makes me feel good about myself.

In a way, my writing career is a bit like my car troubles. Every so often I've had to shift vehicles in order to keep my career on track. First it was AMG's rejection after two years and my subsequent founding of Flaming Pen Press. Then I quit my hourly job, took a five month book tour, and AMG offered a contract. Now I have the contract and have nothing to sell over the summer so I've taken an hourly job again (something I really do not enjoy because it pulls at my creative process). But God is in it all and the publisher says they should be able to release my first title in November--originally they said February, so this is better.

Book Party: KMS

2010-05-18T14:26:00.001-04:00

Today is the day! Follow this link to win free books at the exciting party for Kestrel's Midnight Song by J.R. Parker http://www.livestream.com/kmsong

Progress & Plans

2010-05-17T00:16:00.002-04:00

Writing, writing, writing... ah how I love it! But unfortunately my schudule will likely slow things down on my third novel "The Key of Living Fire". I managed to reach the 50,000-word mark today, which is very satisfying.

Now I have a couple other things on my agenda. 1) I was invited to write a guest blog post for Sue at www.SelfPublishingResources.com My plan is to get on that Tuesday. 2) Bryan Davis asked me to endorse his upcoming book "Masters and Slayers" (AMG Publishers) I want to start reading that tomorrow 3) I need to get cracking on my website; currently I have a couple pages I'm happy with and other that need lots of work. I'm also considering the possibility of going with a 'brighter' color scheme.

The New Camera! Gotta love it!

2010-05-12T17:45:00.003-04:00

This summer I'll be shooting a wedding. For the occasion I purchased the Nikon D200... and I'm loving it! The pictures below I shot at the beach in Harkness Park (here in Connecticut). These don't represent the best I can do with this equipment. But I'm just starting to get used to it. So far the transition to this (from my D70s) has been simple. The controls are similar and the vertical battery hand grip works like a charm, allowing easy portrait-style photography. The photos below were shot using a manual focus 300mm Nikon lens. When I can afford to purchase an autofocus (with sufficient speed and accuracy) it will facilitate crisper photos.

Word count in a novel: Can't find the words?

2010-05-07T11:59:00.003-04:00

Brevity was never my strength, not when it came to writing. I remember formulating stories when I was a child and telling them in the tent to my siblings. I drew on historical events and anything else I found fascinating in books I'd read or that our mother had read to us. The tales I made up grew as I told them, idea built upon idea and I felt the need to share those ideas, follow them through to their logical or illogical conclusions!

Have you ever noticed how lengthy most old books are? By old I'm speaking of volumes from early 1900's and, of course, the 1800's. I have a number of old books and I, unlike some people, read them. They are wordy, detailed and often delivered powerfully. They were written with great care, often taking years to complete. I say all this to try and make the point that those writers were used to spending the time to compile their stories and placed as much information as they desired in their novels.

On my recent post one commenter stated they are having difficulty writing longer pieces. I often say that it takes a lot of material to make a novel. And it does. When I write I sit down and meditate on the story, the characters, and the setting. As each bit of that story formulates in my mind I write it down and I slow my thinking process in order to put down all the details that create the scene I picture in my mind.

To avoid brevity: fill your mind with all the details of the scene you are writing and then put it down as it comes to you. Don't worry about the end of the story, don't force it, let the story flow with vivid detail that will bring it to life for your readers. Only when you settle your mind into the river of imagination, soaking in it, encouraging all ideas to blossom . . . Build it with care, with artful design, and then it will not suffer from brevity.

Word count in a novel: How much should it matter to a writer?

2010-05-06T18:42:00.002-04:00

Browsing the writing blogosphere it is impossible to miss the number of aspiring authors who are posting information on their current works, including their word-count goal for the manuscript. But when I come to a manuscript I do not limit the word-count. So far I have completed three manuscripts and with each of them I approached it for the story and tried to focus as little as possible on the word-count. I think aspiring authors are hoping to fit their works into various publishers' guidelines. They know the average word-count of their novel's genre and they work hard to fit it into that mold.

Focus on word-count distracts me as the author. If you ask me "What should matter most when writing?" I'd probably answer "Tell the story for yourself; write what matters to you." My first novel (Swords of the Six) was approximately 80,000-words. Last week I sent it to AMG Publishers and included a new segment that brings it to about 85,000. My second novel was a monster to work with, by comparison. It is 120,000-words.

With my current project "The Key of Living Fire" I'm estimating it will finish around 120,000-words. But I won't hold myself to that goal. My focus is relaxing into my story, not forcing it but letting it flow onto the page. Currently I have almost 50,000-words... but I'm not even into the meat of the novel yet! The story is pretty evenly split between Ilfedo, Oganna, and Specter. But the first 40,000-words is only Specter's story-arc.

When writing it is important to remember that it is an art. I do it because I love putting the words on paper and on my laptop, seeing them flow and manipulating them to deliver a memorable tale that people can treasure for generations. My advice to aspiring authors is just write. Don't force the story into a box too small (or too large, depending on the story).

Make a piece of art that you can treasure. If it matters to you, if you treasure it, you'll be passionate about it. And if you are passionate about it then others will catch your enthusiasm and you'll meet with success.

Plainfield Central School in Connecticut

2010-05-05T01:17:00.002-04:00

It seems like forever since last I spoke at a school. Today my wife and I went to Plainfield Central School. Literally five minutes down the road from where we are currently living. I don't know how many students I spoke to. I estimate in the vicinity of five hundred. They brought through the sixth through eighth grades.

Next week I am returning to this school to do a creative writing class. I've instructed the students who desire to participate to bring a 250-word fiction piece with them. I will be critiquing their writing and offering advice for improvment. This I greatly look forward to!

Tomorrow I will be working on my third novel. The word-count has passed 46,000 and I am extremely pleased with how "The Key of Living Fire" is turning out! I am expecting to hear from AMG Publishers this week, in particular regarding the particular release dates of my novels.

. . . more coming on that later!

"Offspring" cover design!

2010-04-26T21:46:00.003-04:00

The manuscript is written, the cover art is finished, and now the cover design has been completed. Kirk DouPonce, designer extraordinaire!

I've been discussing the details with AMG Publishers. Within the next few weeks I'll be posting more definite news related to that! ...In the mean time I'll continue working on "The Key of Living Fire" and some other projects.

"Offspring" cover art completed!

2010-04-19T11:13:00.003-04:00

Here it is, finished at last! Today artist Kerem Beyit finished this piece for the cover of my second novel The Sword of the Dragon: Offspring. I gotta say I love it! He did a fabulous job in a few weeks' time. So I sent this off to Kirk DouPonce, the same designer who put together the cover for Swords of the Six. He'll have the cover design to me in the next week and then I'll plaster that everywhere I can to get people hyped!

Because AMG Publishers will be releasing my books, rather than Flaming Pen Press, I'm not sure if they'll use the cover design. But I want to spread it around anyway. The contract is taking a while and, because I make my living at this, I cannot afford to wait. I have always strived to be prepared and so I am proceeding as if I don't have their offer on the table. That way I can focus on one task at a time... and try to ignore the exciting reality of the contract.

Desensitizing the Public to Sin: it is a constant work-in-progress

2010-04-17T13:23:00.004-04:00

There is no shortage of TV shows nowadays. But what is in short supply are wholesome, artful, well-written shows. Since Star Wars: The Clone Wars hit the big screen I have followed it avidly. The characters are believable, the animation is awesome (and a welcome departure from anime) and the episodes are packed with thoughtful stories that add greatly to the depth of the Star Wars universe. It is meant as a kids' show, but I'm not the only adult who thoroughly enjoys it. I've met a lot of people as a travel to various book signings and most of them agree: this show is terrific.

Most recently I watched two episodes involving the Zillo beast. Wow. I loved it! How do they manage to pack so much into twenty minute episodes?

When I think of awesome sci-fi shows I think Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis. But Clone Wars continues to deepen both in characterization and in plot. It is definitely one of the best shows out there.

TV producers cram a lot of junk into most of the shows available today. Between sexual scenes and numerous foul language they desensitize us, the viewers, so that they can throw increasing lewdness and vulgarity into our minds. I'm ashamed to admit that I overlook a lot of elements in shows, including both of the formerly mentioned. I just want to relax and enjoy myself. I don't want to be fighting all the time to purify my mind. But that is the problem, isn't it? We want to be entertained and we empty our minds of everything else to focus on the show or the film. We sit back with a bowl of popcorn (or in my case chocolate chip cookies) and sponge in everything: the sex, the vulgarity, the lewdness, and other sins.

That is a great part of my reason for enthusiastically endorsing this tv series Clone Wars. I can sit back and truly enjoy it without worrying what will be subconsiously seeded in my mind. If I could shake the hands of this show's producers, I would. And I'd encourage them to keep it wholesome. Here is a show I can enjoy with my coming kids and isn't dumbed down--and that is a rarity.

"One Night With The King" -a movie review

2010-04-16T10:02:00.003-04:00

Last night my wife and I watched a movie she has been curious about for some time. It is "One Night with the King".

I really enjoyed it. There were some big-name actors such as Peter O'Toole. And the story began not in Babylon but in Israel during the reign of King Saul. Some of the historical facts were mixed up, some altered. But overall it was an insightful look into the captivity of Israel.

I especially appreciated the side story involving the eunichs. Though I don't know what source material, if any, the author of the book this was based on used for the scene of pressing men into eunich-hood.

Much of the movie felt over-dramatic, but in an entertaining way.

If you watch this movie you might, however, be bothered by one blatent contradiction of the biblical story: in the movie King Xerxes never sleeps with any of the women. In fact he doesn't even sleep with Esther until their wedding night. But we know from history in the Bible that each and every one of those young women went to the king on their appointed night. After he slept with each of them, including Esther, he made his choice...based chiefly on her physical attributes. When I read the Biblical story I see a tale of love that grew after he took her.

Overall I really did enjoy this movie. I will watch it again. It has a unique mood, likeable characters, and a fairly intrigueing plot.

3,000 BOOKS SOLD!

2010-04-07T11:07:00.004-04:00

I am very pleased to announce that today (one year and seven days after I first published my novel Swords of the Six) it has passed 3,000-copies sold!

Wow! When I consider that 6 out of 10 novels ever published never sell over a thousand copies, and when very few self-published books sell more than a hundred copies, I feel like leaping through the ceiling! This is an acheivment of which I am very proud.

There are several people who helped make this possible through their encouragment and positive outlook. I want to thank my parents, my brother Brian, my sister Laura, my in-laws, my friend James... But most of all my lovely wife. She stood by me while I quit my hourly job and took us on the road to promote and sell my book in over a dozen states from the east coast to Missouri!

I also want to take this opportunity to thank God for giving me hands to write, a brain to imagine, and the will to do things for a higher purpose.

artist Kerem Beyit Cover art for "The Sword of the Dragon: OFFSPRING"

2010-04-06T11:40:00.005-04:00

It has been an up and down year in regard to searching for the right artist to illustrate the cover for my second novel, the sequel to Swords of the Six. For personal reasons the artist I had given the job decided to opt out. So I started looking around for someone who could achieve a fantastic job in a professional way and short period of time.

Early this year I worked with Halil Ural to get a cover image for J.R. Parker's novel. Halil was apprenticed to established fantasy artist Kerem Beyit. So I approached Kerem and he agreed to do the piece. It is turning out fantastic. Kerem Beyit is from Turkey and you can see a host of his work at http://www.theartofkerembeyit.com/

Here is his preliminary sketch for my book cover (I think it is the best version yet!)

SoTS book review

2010-04-01T22:27:00.001-04:00

Here is a wonderful review of my novel Swords of the Six

http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2010/03/swords-of-six-by-scott-appleton.html

"How to Train Your Dragon" -Movie Review

2010-04-01T14:21:00.003-04:00

*****

What a great movie! Really I was surprised by the clever story, great characters, and funny dragon designs. The title made me wary of it; it sounded simplistic. But from the opening scene as the dragons capture the vikings' sheep and the character Hiccup narrated the whole mess, I was hooked!

I highly recommend this. Great film!

National Book Tour--the End

2010-03-29T11:40:00.002-04:00

At last I am back in Connecticut. It has been a busy but profitable five months. I drove through NY, NJ, PA, IN, IL, MO, TN, MI, AL, GA, SC, NC, VA, DC, and of course up the rest of the east coast to CT. I spoke to thousands of students at both middle and high schools. I met Suzanne Collins aunt, Michael Jordan's high school librarian, artist Dion Williams, author L.B. Graham, singers Shane & Shane... and made some great new friends in writing circles.

It has been one year since the release of Swords of the Six and we have sold 2,972-copies! In January, while in Indiana, I completed writing my second novel Offspring. And in February I met with AMG Publishers and soon after they offered me a three-book-contract, which I intend to accept.

I'd like to extend a special thank you to the host families and couples who housed my wife and I so that I could avoid hotel costs.

So what is next: First is my least favorite thing Taxes are Due. Then I have to decide what to do for work this summer. God has blessed and I am hoping to find venues to sell my book during the summer. Most schools are going to be out and they are my chief source of income. Also on my agenda, I am continuing work on my third novel The Key of Living Fire and plan to have it finished sometime this summer.

Brogden Middle School--Dudley, NC

2010-03-23T22:03:00.002-04:00

My final event for this tour is a middle school here in eastern North Carolina. Today I spoke to around 140-students. So far sales have been very light. But I had a fun time and the Librarian for the school took a lot of pictures and some video. Click HERE to see the photos and article.

National Tour & "This's a Messed Up Country!"

2010-03-22T10:40:00.006-04:00

I know, the title sounds somewhat fatalistic, but actually I meant it in a positive way. I had a booksigning at Borders-Stonecrest in Charlotte, NC this Saturday and sold another 13 books. Thanks to Lisa for giving me a very warm welcome to her store. That was the last event in the western half of the state. Now I am on the eastern side of North Carolina. Tomorrow I'll be addressing students at Brogden Middle School and I'm really looking forward to it. Not only will this be the last school on this tour, but the media director emailed to say she read the book and really enjoyed it. It's always great to have feedback from my readers. So far out of around (I'm estimating) 1,000-readers, only two have said they didn't care for my novel. Check out this recent email I received from a new fan:
Mr. Appleton,
...I'd like to ask you about your book. More specifically, when will the next one come out? I read the first in one day (unfortunately typical for me), and I'm REALLY READY to read the next. I can't wait!It was very good, a little suspensful, dramatic, etc, etc (i could go on for quite a few emails, but you wrote it, so of course you know). I even cried when *SPOILER DELETED* I haven't done that since I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix. There is no notice in the first book (or at least in my copy) that says if you have any idea when the next will come out, so I was just curious...Thank you, -Emily C.
~~~~~
On another note: I was appauled by the passage of the Health Care bill by the house yesterday. I spent hours watching both sides present their arguments. The result? I learned that much of the hype concerning Obama's administration is based in fact. Between sixteen and eighteen thousand new IRS agents will ensure mandated, government-approved healthcare to citizens of the US. But the illegals don't have to pay and they get the same benefits. Wow! I seriously wonder if it is worth while to have US citizenship anymore. If I became an illegal I'd have the right to choose what I pay for, at the very least.Let me quote from the first "Mummy" movie from the Americans, only I'll say this about America "This's a messed up country!"

Most Successful Book Event!

2010-03-18T13:38:00.002-04:00

Brown Middle School in Thomasville, NC gave me a wonderful reception. The media center director, Mrs. Murphy, arranged for just about every class to hear my talk. I spent the last two days giving eight separate presentations and then followed up with a two-hour signing today.

My wife and I have never sold as many books as we did at this school: A grand total of 139-books!

In other news: I have over 250 fans on Facebook

North Carolina tour

2010-03-14T18:50:00.003-04:00

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I've landed in North Carolina and am staying with relatives in Lexington. This week I visited Central Davidson High School. Sales weren't that great (I think I sold around 25-books) but there was a small group of very enthusiastic aspiring authors and writing enthusiasts. They sat around my table and we had a great time. I answered their questions on writing, reading, and publishing, and marketing as well.

Today I visited Waldenbooks in Southern Pines, NC. As it turned out Sundays are usually a slow day for that store. I was only able to sell 7-books. But I was very impressed with the positive atmosphere and knowledgeable staff. I plan to return when I tour this way again... on a Saturday, though, not a Sunday.

My tour is almost over. Seems like only a month ago I left Connecticut. In reality that was in November. Only a couple more weeks and my wife and I will be home. Both of us are looking forward to that.

Well, I'll sign out for now. I'm reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (which is very entertaining so far) and I picked up a Star Wars novel that intrigued me titled CROSSCURRENT

Ebooks, Kindle & the Prophets of the Publishing World

2010-03-05T17:28:00.002-05:00

Those who know me personally will attest that I enjoy reading Star Wars novels. A couple months ago Amazon.com made the Kindle reader available as a free application for PC. I installed it on my laptop and recently downloaded "Ylesia" a novella available exclusively on ebook. The story continues a thread not quite wrapped up in a paperback Star Wars novel that I quite enjoyed.

The book was super cheap and I am quite enjoying, but I'm finding pros and few cons to reading on the Kindle. On the book's very first page a glaring grammatical error drove me a bit crazy. Editorial oversights is the largest concern I have with digital books. Why? Well, publishers are able to 'skip' several phases of production that, currently, give time for the author and editors to spot and correct mistakes that were overlooked in the first edits. Electronic books eliminate the galley copies that always need approval prior to the final printing.

On the other hand I like the layout of the text, both comfortable to read and easy on the eyes. When I close the Kindle it automatically saves my place. When I open the Kindle book again it opens to the last page I was on, thus eliminating the need to mark my place.

But would I buy a Kindle? Uh, I don't think so. I'd love to have one, but I cannot justify spending $300 on that gadget.

Someone asked me, recently. "Aren't you concerned that digital books will destroy authors' careers?" I answered "No." I'm actually very excited about the digital age of books. If properly marketed a digital book has the potential to reach far more readers than a physical book and in far less time. Let's say an author published a novel digitally. Let's say they had a million orders for their books. Maybe they only make twenty cents off each copy, but that is $200,000 in one shot. Granted, that is a lot of copies, even for a digital sale. But I don't think it is unrealistic, especially for an author who has established their audience.

Now, I do differ with many people in the publishing industry on one important thing: I believe physical books will also remain in demand. I expect to see large print runs of books all but eliminated--but there is a savior for the physical book. That is Print On Demand technology. Many large publishers already utilize POD (not POD Services, but the POD Technology). In all my travels I have found the majority of readers are in love with the physical print. Even if they own a Kindle they still buy a physical copy of the book. For a business trip they bring their Kindle, but for reading by the fire they turn the physical pages of a printed book. Retreats into far-off vacation spots where they don't want to be reminded of technology--there are so many reasons to believe the physical book will survive and thrive alongside the digital version.

Ultimately readers will decide. They created the demand for physical books. If they demand then someone will print. In the mean time I'm enjoying the battle of logic going on in the publishing world. Someway, somehow, the digital reader is going to make prophets out of some of us!

Wrapping up GA tour

2010-03-03T18:23:00.005-05:00

Well, the time is almost here. Monday my wife and I will be leaving Georgia and heading to North Carolina for the next leg of our tour. I was telling her today that I remember looking at this tour in November/December and the end felt so far off. Time has flown, partly due to the success I've met with.

The last two days I've made visits to Oconee County Middle School. So far I haven't sold as many books as I normally do, but I have met a number of new fans, including readers who raved about Swords of the Six. I've been enjoying my visits there and will make a final stop there on Friday. Tomorrow I have a follow-up visit to Peachtree Charter Middle School (where I sold 71-books in one morning). I'm curious to see how many more kids will stop in and get a book tomorrow. The reception there was quite phenomenal.

On another note, totally unrelated to my book events and writing, I wanted to include this picture of my wife. She is really starting to show now and I'm getting very excited. It'll be nice to have a little one... She doesn't think this is the best phot but I like it! (-:

Snow-days

2010-03-02T21:50:00.002-05:00

Hey, readers take note: my blog has 50 followers. I feel like saying it took long enough, but I know that's because I don't spend as much time hunting other people's blogs. I'm too busy writing and promoting my book (-:

Today I went to another middle school. I spoke with a large group of kids (somewhere between 100 and 150, I think). Then the falling snow started sticking to the ground and they cancelled school for the day! I'm beginning to really see that it is true what people say; the southern US is not used to snow. This is at least the second time that snow ruined what could have been a great signing day.

...Ah well, I am back there tomorrow and the weather looks good for it.

Submissions and Solicitation

2010-02-27T09:17:00.002-05:00

A couple questions were put to me after my recent post. I'm going to try to answer them fully in this post.

Question 1: Someone asked if writing credits from their childhood should be included in a query letter. Here are my thoughts and how I, as editor at FPP, feel about references to items published when the writer was a child:

If I receive a letter that states "I had several short stories published when I was a child and even a small book" that may grab my eye. But if that first statement is NOT followed up by "and I have continued to publish short stories through the years. My work has appeared in Lightning Flash Fiction, Blizzard Magazine, and Seafish Digest (note: these magazines do not exist)" If I don't see particulars on where that writer has been published I cannot determine if the magazines are credible. Also, notice that I made the writer say they have 'continued to publish short stories through the years'. A six-year-old is not going to write the same way as a twenty-year-old, so I need to have proof that the writer has continued to hone their craft. Most importantly, if a writer has indeed continued to write and get published in recent years, then I know that writer is dedicated and will work hard for my company.

On the other hand if I receive childhood credits and it ends there.... Then I must act on the evidence presented, which tells me they had a phase where they wrote, but time has proved they aren't dedicated to it. I would, most likely, pass that writer up for someone who has recent credits to their name.

Question 2: What is a solicited submission in contrast to an unsolicited submission? This is the first time someone has asked me this. The answer is simple, however. An unsolicited submission to a publishing company is when the publisher did not solicit/ask/invite the author to submit their work for review and consideration for possible publication. Unsolicited submissions of query letters and/or manuscripts are automatically discarded by publishing houses, unless that publishing house has specifically invited unsolicited submissions (which never happens with manuscripts, and rarely happens with query letters). Why? Because the author either did not do his research, or is trying to slip past the necessary steps to submitting his/her work.

Any writer who sends a manuscript to a publisher without prior invitation by the publishing house demonstrates a lack of knowledge and/or courtesy. By reading books on the submissions process writers learns what not to do.

When I approached AMG Publishers back in 2006 with my manuscript, I did so at a writers conference. I scheduled a slot of 15 minutes to 'pitch' my book to their acquisitions editor. Then, when I met with him, I pitched my book and waited for his yes/no. His answer was an invitation to submit to the company (making my submission Solicited by the acquisitions department). A solicited submission carries a coveted stamp of approval. For the next two years I went back and forth with that publishing house.

The most important thing that I did as an unpublished writer was to read and study on writing, and the publishing process. Too many writers send me query letters that tell me (by what they don't understand) that they have not done the necessary research. That is an immediate turnoff and I pass on to the submissions that show the writer is taking the time to do things professionally.

Atlanta Homeschoolers & Sending Rejection Letters

2010-02-25T12:37:00.006-05:00

Today I spoke to a number of homeschoolers. They set me up in a Church which was literally around the corner from where we're staying in Atlanta. I ended up speaking for over half-an-hour and then answering questions in-depth for another half-hour. I was hoping to put the audio on my website but it says the file is too large, so I'll have to explore other options of sharing that with everyone. (If anyone knows how to put an hour-long presentation [mp3 format] on my website, I'd appreciate your input). A guy from the church set me up with the sound equipment and even arranged a second mic for the audience to use when asking questions. And there were a lot of intelligent questions... which I thoroughly enjoyed answering.

On a side note: I sent out another rejection letter today to an aspiring author. This one was especially hard because I could sense the author's heart was in the right place and they had a passion for their subject. But the query had a few problems. So I'm going to offer a couple tips to all would-be future-submitters to Flaming Pen Press (and this can all be avoided by simply taking time to read books on crafting query letters and books on publishing).

Two Rules:
1) Don't tell the editor that your writing is excellent; that can be an immediate turnoff. If your writing is excellent then hunt down endorsments from professional writers and then include those endorsments in your query.
2) Don't include writing that you did in your childhood as credits. This does not interest a professional. Only include credits that entail a professional took note of your work, ie. magazine stories.
3) A Tip: Keep the teaser about your story and its content succinct, and give specifics on how you intend to market your book. Don't say you'll do store signings, give us a list of contacts you can use and/or methods you will employ to reach the necessary people who can put your book in readers' hands.

It feels strange to be on the other side of the submissions fence. But I remember all too well the many rejection letters (most of them generic, instead of personalized) that I received. The most important thing to remember is not to get discouraged. Learn from your first query and move on; improve. And research the market extensively. The path to publication has little to no shortcuts (and no author that I know has taken them). It takes years. But those years prove to the publishing world that you will persist and that you are determined to succeed.

Reading, Editing, Publishing & book signings

2010-02-23T20:02:00.003-05:00

Yes, in a way all of the things in my post title are related. Last week was very hectic for me. I visited two schools and spoke to over a thousand kids.

The first was a small Christian school but it was a fun, easy presentation. I talked about my writing and publishing journey and what I've accomplished, then I told them about my novel. Then I took questions and they kept me busy the next half-hour answering them.

I spent the next three days at Gainesville Middle School. That event had been a bit difficult to arrange at first because the media center informed me that most of their kids came from lower class and probably wouldn't have money to buy my book. But I spoke to over a thousand enthusiastic kids and had the opportunity to address the ESL (English as a Second Language) students. The ESL was a very different experience for me, but several of the kids bought books and one of them even did a rather accurate sketch of me in profile. It was very rewarding and, as it turned out, there were a majority of Christian teachers in the school (which gave me an amazing opportunity to speak more openly about the faith behind my stories). The school Librarian gave me this large basket of bottled water and snacks (which both my wife and I greatly appreciated!) and they also payed me for coming. Travel expenses have been rough, so that was a great blessing.

On Friday I signed at a Borders and did very well...sold just about every copy of my book that they had. Saturday I had a rather quiet signing in a nice, but slow, mall. But two separate people came in just to see me. One was a young girl and her family. They said they'd looked up my info online and were so enthused they decided to meet me at my next event! The other person was a teacher who also works in the bookstore. She wasn't working but came in to see me because she was loving my book and wanted to buy four additional copies for her students! Then, as she left, she bought me a book to read by a GA author. No one had ever done that and I've actually been enjoying the novel she bought me: The Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry; it's a thriller (not for younger readers).

Sunday proved to be a short drive, 12 minutes down the road to a Borders. They only had a few copies of my book in stock. But, as it turned out, a fan was already waiting for me. Some of my books had sold off the shelf and I talked to this fan for a good long while. It is rewarding to hear people praise my writing and share how much they are enjoying reading my creations. I sold out that store and sold another 15-books in addition...which the store now owes me for (-:

These past couple days have been refreshing; no events. I finished looking over the edits for "Kestrel's Midnight Song", got in a little reading time, and perused blogs to search out new followers for my own. Artist Dion Williams is beginning work on the color version of the "Offspring" image... I still can't get over what an awesome job he did with it. It is absolutely perfect!

My mind keeps going over the story in my third novel. I knew that once I finished writing my second one my mind would start hammering for me to finish "The Key of Living Fire" ...well, it is. I guess I'll just have to find the time to write it. At least I'll be ahead of the game; when I sign the 3-book-contract with AMG the books will be all but finished!

Artwork for "Offspring" -new artist!

2010-02-21T19:06:00.003-05:00

I met this awesome Christian artist while on tour. His name is Dion Williams and he has agreed to do color illustrations for my upcoming books through AMG Publishers! I want to maintain continuity between all the novels. Let me know what you think about this image... I love it and I'm looking forward to seeing it in color.

This image delivers a beautiful feel to it. Doesn't it? (-: