Subscribers: My early Christmas gift to you!

AuthorAppleton on November 24, 2014

Nothing keeps you connected to the content on my site like subscribing to my Email list… And this week I released a new product, an Ebook on writing, as a Thank You to all my subscribers. But that is only one reason you should be on this list.

Here are 3 benefits to subscribing to my email list.

  1. Weekly blog posts straight to your inbox, focusing on Family-Friendly Fiction
  2. The Writer’s Scrapbook: 10 Tips to Fantasy Storytelling eBook for Free! This little book is packed with writing advice that I’ve gleaned over the years. This is not your typical book on writing. I take it from the perspective of a Christian author trying to create meaningful content.
  3. Exclusive content offers and updates related to writing and my novels.

The Writer’s Scrapbook. I am so excited to put this Ebook in your hands. Many, many people have asked me for writing advice and have questioned how I can write fantasy as a Christian author. Packed into this short book is potent advice I have formulated to encourage you to understand the writing process and even how worldview impacts the stories I create.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner! I have some cool posts planned and a couple of fun announcements coming soon.

Thanksgiving inspired fiction: What if?

AuthorAppleton on November 17, 2014

It’s amazing how historical events shape present-day culture. One example being Thanksgiving. Are writers taking full advantage of historical inspiration for fiction narratives?

The above picture is from the animated movie Free Birds. I felt it was appropriate because it was a humorous take on Thanksgiving. The turkeys hijack a time machine and travel back to the original Thanksgiving. Their goal? To take turkey off the menu!

This simple film had me thinking about the endless possibilities we have with fiction. There is a lot of lost opportunity here. What about fiction based around Christmas and even Easter? I love to ask the question “What if?” With these two words you reveal a universe of possibilities.

What historical narratives would you like to see fictionalized?

Will God open these RV Bus doors?

AuthorAppleton on November 12, 2014

Today I found an RV bus conversion on Ebay that looks like it will fit my family’s needs perfectly. As it turns out the owner is a Christian and a Pastor down in Oklahoma.

My wife and I would covet your prayers. Please pray that God will open these doors. We’ve been waiting for something like this for the past two years.

The price is perfect. If it is not this one I am sure God will make that clear, but for now I need to come up with the funds necessary for a purchase this size. I’m hoping to avoid financing charges because here in Connecticut the insurance cost would skyrocket on something like that.

At the moment this is a bit up-in-the-air but I always get this sense of spiritual freedom whenever I’m moving in the right direction and this bus does feel like the right decision. My family will travel full-time with me as we tour the country and share my books with youth from coast to coast.

If you are curious to see the inside of the bus, take a look at the pictures at this Link!

3 Interesting Ways for a Villain to Die!

AuthorAppleton on November 10, 2014

In most contemporary fantasy fiction there is a primary villain, and by some means the hero must kill that villain. The beauty of fiction, however, is the ability to take inspiration from historical events to produce an unexpected plot. Like when I was writing my first novel Swords of the Six… I wanted something different for the villain’s end.

Here are three ways for a villain to die!

  1. Killed by the hero
  2. Betrayal
  3. Suicide

A great example of the first option would be Narnia where Aslan slays the White Witch. The second option was very effectively portrayed in one of my favorite novels Star Wars: The Last Command when Grand Admiral Thrawn is killed by his trusted Nogri bodyguard. And as for suicide I found it to be a powerful way to show how remorseful Kesla was for his sins in Swords of the Six. I derived the idea for Kesla’s end from how King Saul of Israel fell on his own sword when he knew that the Philistines had overcome him.

Question: What are some of your favorite examples of how villains died in fiction?

4 Reasons Why I think Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys helped shape family fiction

AuthorAppleton on November 3, 2014

Were you one of those readers that got hooked on the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery series? It is important to understand what made those mysteries so accessible to us and here is why:

The Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mystery stories drove home traditional family values with characters who were morally upstanding. (Quite the contrast to the majority of contemporary fiction.) Growing up I recognized that something about those series grabbed people in an extra powerful way. Interestingly, here are four areas where they differ from most contemporary fiction:

  1. Both series showed strong-willed characters who were passionate about helping people, including saving people in need.
  2. Nancy, Frank, and Joe treated their fathers with the greatest respect and had strong relationships with them.
  3. Nancy, Frank, and Joe chose friends who were responsible and motivated.
  4. They also LOVED to read and research.

We need more fiction like that. We need NEW fiction like that. Unfortunately the book industry leaders think they know better. I’ve been told that in order for young adult fiction to sell it needs to do much the opposite of these things. Specifically the adults must be inconvenient annoyances.

My response to this? What is the purpose of those books? As an author I want to motivate and inspire. But most publishers want to follow the trends. Well, I pray that God keeps some of us authors from doing that so that you, the reader, can be convicted, inspired, and motivated to uphold good family values.

Question: Do you think authors should cave to popular wisdom, or write the stories that encourage readers to stand for what is right?