Dragon Offspring and updates!

AuthorAppleton on October 13, 2019

This has been a crazy busy couple of months for my family and I! We sold our house and are in the middle of buying another one. Our house is not topsy-turvy, but I’ve been doing a lot of moving and preparation work. In the midst of all that I have made excellent progress on the second book for re-release in my primary fantasy series. Dragon Offspring (The Sword Of The Dragon book 2).

Originally I planned to just give the original edition a polish and quickly re-publish it. Dragon Offspring will now release in an Extended Edition like I have done with Swords Of The Six! The story made a couple of time-jumps in its original published form. The jumps did not originally bother me too much, but they were in part a result of the traditional publishing process. The publisher had asked, for the sake of production costs, that I keep it under 120,000-words, which is exactly where the word count ended up.

Now that I have full creative control again, I have decided to flesh out the story as it originally could’ve been. I must say I am very pleased with the results. This expansion is deepening the interactions of Ilfedo, the Warrioresses, and Ombre. Instead of an author narrative it now has scenes so that you can picture the events as they play out.

In my new house I will have a dedicated writing office. Something I have dreamed of for a long time! A spot that I can surround myself with everything that lends to my creative flow. Also, I will be able to set up my audio recording equipment and start fiddling more with that. I have so many projects to do and such limited time to do it each week, but if I chip away at it the work will all get done.

I wanted to give you guys and gals an update on my planned projects, so here goes:

The Sword Of The Dragon series: After I publish the Extended Edition of Dragon Offspring, hopefully in time for Christmas, then I will start polishing Key Of Living Fire. Followed immediately by The Phantom’s Blade. Finally with all of those books re-published, I will delve into finishing the next book, the one that everybody has been clamoring for for the last five years. “In Search Of Dragons” will pick up where TPB left off.

Neverqueen audiobook. I really want to produce audio versions of each novel, but the production costs are prohibitive at this time. If I can manage to record and produce it myself in a professional manner then that will greatly expedite the process.

Besides these fantasy projects I will get back to writing my YA sci-fi series Star Train.

Q: Feel free to offer feedback or your hopes for what comes next!

Story perception and Star Wars

AuthorAppleton on September 7, 2019

The other night I was sitting down on my couch just enjoying a few books. One of them was my collection of marvel Star Wars comics. As I was leafing through the story of A New Hope I started showing my three sons a couple of scenes that were not included in the movie. As soon as they acknowledged that I was correct, I pulled up the deleted scenes of that original movie. They were quite fascinated to see that the concept was based on unused footage from one of my most loved films.

Have you ever wondered why Luke Skywalker greeted his friend Biggs as if he was an old friend at the end of A New Hope? Well originally Biggs had a larger role in the film, specifically a rather detailed interaction with Luke Skywalker while he was on Tatooine. But all that was removed in the final cut and never included in the 1998 version. But you can still find it in the old comics and of course in the deleted scenes on the Blu-ray.

I think this offers an excellent example of the superiority of written story over a film. You can include so much more detail because your screen time is not limited. It offers greater character development and a vaster universe.

Star Wars bridges every media now. Whether it is video games, books, movies, tv shows, audiobooks, or comic books Star Wars is represented. It is fantastic! It offers a view into that story world that is the envy of many a creator, including myself. But it also serves as a model of success.

For fans of all the older Star Wars content I am thrilled to enjoy it in its many forms. I will admit that I have played the games, watched the movies, read some of the comics, and of course I have read many of the books!

Depending on which media a new fan finds Star Wars through, their perception of the story will be different. For someone who picks up the comic from the original Star Wars they will understand the whole story of Luke Skywalker and Biggs. But for someone like me, who first saw the movie, I was missing the opening of that story. Once I found it it was like seeing the story again for the first time.

Eventually I plan to do similarly with The Sword Of The Dragon series. I would like to add comics, audiobooks, and who knows?

The variety of material now available Star Wars makes it a vast fictional universe. With the addition of the Mandelorian live action television series I am curious to see what happens next. Personally I’m anticipating the Obi Wan Kenobi series also. Not all of the material has been excellent, but the originals were and it gives me hope for the future of those stories.

Q: Which storyworld with several media types do you get absorbed in?

Swords of the Six (extended edition) now available on Kindle

AuthorAppleton on August 1, 2019

It’s here! At last the extended edition of Swords of the Six is up on Amazon, and priced at just $2.99 as an easy intro to The Sword of the Dragon series. Purchase link for Swords of the Six extended edition.

A warrior from the distant past is brought back to protect the daughter of the dragon prophet.

In a time when wizards are growing in power, a fabled warrior will return to bring about their downfall by protecting an innocent child.

The world of Subterran has been torn apart by the war of the Trantureen, a trio of deadly wizards who arrived out of nowhere. Only the prophets can guide the world back into a lasting peace.

The dragon’s life is in his blood. In a world torn apart by betrayal, Xavion is tasked with protecting what is most precious to the prophets: the human daughters of a dragon.

With the life of the dragon flowing in her veins, Dantress holds the future of mankind in her womb. But for a daughter of the dragon to fall in love and give birth to a living child, she must be willing to give up her own life.

The world’s fate hinges on Xavion’s steady loyalty to the prophets and Dantress’s love for an unborn, innocent life.

Writing updates!

AuthorAppleton on July 12, 2019

The rewrite of my first novel is 50% completed with edits! This is a much more meaty book than the original. It has jumped from the original 85,000 words, to now a staggering 130,000 words.

Specter figures more prominently in this than he did the original book, and Ilfedo is introduced far earlier. You will get a glimpse of his relationship with his father.

In preparation for publishing Swords of the Six (expanded edition) I have been preparing an Encyclopedia (of sorts) for The Sword Of The Dragon series. Everyone wants a pronunciation guide but I want one that is more flexible for expansion as I write more of these books, adding new characters and places.

You will now find two new pages on my website. The first is for The Sword of the Dragon series enyclopedia with pronunciation guide, and the second is for Maps. Maps were the second most requested item from my fans.

Some of the content on these pages will inevitably be incomplete, but I believe this will be a lot of fun for people to look through.

I hope you enjoy this idea, and if you have suggestions feel free to comment!

When stories understand their audience

AuthorAppleton on June 26, 2019

Expectations. We are people of expectations whether we want to admit it or not. When we go to read a book or watch a movie we have an expectation of the story that must be made if we are going to positively reinforce it to people that we know.

When I started off my writing career I did my best to craft a story that would resonate with a broader audience. But truth be told I didn’t understand how to do that, and now I understand that you should not do that. The story doesn’t necessarily need to be divisive but it should be thought-provoking and challenging to folks of a different world view.

Someone who picks up a harlequin romance is going to have a different expectation than one who is looking for a Christian Amish romance. On the one hand a conservative reader might appreciate the lack of physical description and sexuality in an Amish romance. But on the other hand another reader might have an expectation of realism. To them the Amish romance is rediculously tame, to the point that they find it unrealistic and cannot enjoy the story.

Reader expectation is everything.

For those of you who have watched the first Maze Runner movie, you will appreciate what I’m about to say. If you thought that it was a dystopian along the lines of the Hunger Games, as I did, then when movie two came out you were severely disappointed when it turned into a zombie apocalypse. Your expectations were let down and you felt deceived.

Amidst the muck of politically-charged media-driven fiction, a few stories highlight what’s beautiful.

When I say muck, I am referring to that moment when I was watching a show with my kids, in this particular case it was the show Voltron, when the last episode introduced a gay couple wedding. I am referring to the Netflix original series the dragon prince, which had a great story going for it but in the second season decided to introduce a prominent lesbian couple. In the absence of strong traditional male-female romantic interests these pointedly emphasized relationships reek of political correctness. Thankfully there have also been some examples recently of stories that do themselves service by understanding their audience and delivering a story that their audience loves because it resonates with their values.

As a parent, I find it increasingly frustrating when I cannot simply enjoy the show without worrying that a politically charged message is going to be thrown in my kids’ faces.

This post is not a rant. It is not even a disparagement to those types of stories that I find offensive to my kids. Although I will note that my kids were the first to find it confusing and offensive because it went against their very nature. It is interesting that in the simple thinking of children is often found the greatest truth.

As a writer I have often struggled to understand my own audience. Even now as I am re-writing my first novel I have struggled with some elements of the story that could’ve been crafted in a mature fashion, but instead I wrote in a simplistic way so as not to offend certain readers. I have experimented with re-writing some of those sections of the story in a more adult manner, and in some respects the story is far better for it. But I will let the readers be the judge. My job is to make people think without breaking down their sense of morality. If my stories are successful than they encourage my readers in the ideals that they strive to live out.

I think that the recent Toy Story 4 was a fantastic example of a creative team who understood their audience. I saw an interview on the BBC where someone was complaining about the “lack of diversity” in the characters. Her complaint was laughable really, because it centers around a bunch of toys! But I found it interesting that she complained about one toy that didn’t seem as strong to the feminist perspective. In my opinion that element of the story was what made the film as great as it was. And you know what? My kids absolutely loved it.

When a creative team understands the audience that they are appealing to, then the story resonates and impacts the audience’s soul. If, instead, the creative team seeks to placate a critic, then the story loses its punch.

I am fascinated by this. The closer we get to strongly-set morals, and the closer we get to a familiarity in the story that challenges us and makes us stronger or encourages us, the more impact that story has on us.

For some people that set of morals is going to look entirely different than it does for another audience. But that’s okay. Not all stories are made for all people. Neither should they be.

Controversy generates hype. Similarities create relationships. Relationships are built on trust, and relationships only grow deeper the longer they last.

Q: What expectations have you recently enjoyed or found disappointing?

Insider glimpse: Burn those cards!

AuthorAppleton on June 3, 2019

This is going to be a very short post! But it will amuse me to give you an insider view of what happened. Remember those business cards I promised?

Yeah, not happening! I ordered them and they came in looking the worst of any business card I have ever ordered. Why? Too little real estate crowded with too much text and graphics! They just will not do. You can only read them with a magnifying glass, so I am going to re-design them and order a fresh printing.

That’s it. A short and laughable glimpse into the struggles of a writer/publisher. Have a great day!

Brightburn: crafting an evil generation

AuthorAppleton on May 24, 2019

A disclaimer is in order before I proceed with this article. No, I have not watched Brightburn. But I have watched the cultural shift over the last decade or so from hero-centric to villain-centric fiction and this review of Brightburn confirmed my concerns: Plugged In Online Brightburn review As creatives in media, whether that be film or books or audio, it is our responsibility to realize the impact our work has on future generations. Are we creating the culture that we want to live in? Or are we drowning our children in such a negative outlook of humanity that they have lost all faith in it?

Are we looking to the good or to the evil? We know that the answer is not in the evil and yet this is what an increasing percentage of our media does explore. What if we looked to the evil?

I have long said that the books that made the greatest impact on me were those which gave me a hero to look up to who was more than I am.  Exploring the evil for the sake of shock value is it hindrance to the growth of any future leader. Historically those who were fascinated by evil became evil themselves.

There is a very simple truth here: we become what we eat, we become what we read, we become what we watch, and we become what we listen to. We become the sum of those that we associate with, and we become the balance of those that we study and look up to.

When you read Harry Potter do you want to be Harry, or are you drawn to the vileness of Lord Voldemort? When you watch Star Wars do you find yourself rooting for Luke Skywalker, or are you drowning in the darkness of the emperor and Darth Vader?

Great writers know that we do not follow trends. We create them. We are writing the culture of the future into existence. We are writing to the generations of the future. Our work is immortal, to a degree, and the responsibility weighs heavily upon us.

I hope that it weighs heavily upon us all.

Thankfully there is still a lot of original content being produced that lays out a bright future. A better look at humanity. A future full of hope and not of fear. As for me, my novels are an exploration of the greatest that we can be. The greatest that we were created for.

We need awareness raised as to how creative content impacts younger minds. And, even, the effect it has on mature ones that are fairly steeped in evil content. It affects us all whether or not we want to admit it. Everything should be done in moderation. Everything should be considered with wisdom.

Q: What kind of world will today’s Brightburn-like content create?