Author Appleton

Writing. Fantasy. Sci-fi. Mystery

Books

Job layoff upside, publishing updates & audiobook preview

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Despite the craziness resulting from the worldwide spread of COVID-19, this has been a wonderfully productive season for my publishing efforts… and it is going to be extra productive these next couple of weeks! Why? Because my day job has laid me off due to the virus. The doors are closed and I will be home for at least two weeks. What does this mean for my writing, audio, and publishing efforts? An influx of creative time that equals writing and recording heaven for this introvert!

It is time to update you regarding the release of the new edition of Key Of Living Fire, building of my private audio recording studio, recording Swords Of The Six audiobook, and the updated edition of The Phantom’s Blade. Not only that, but having the series all re-released with their matching covers and updated content . . . puts me in position to write the next novels!

The new edition of Key of Living Fire is being published this week. It has been slightly expanded, and of course matches the new covers! Distribution is being set up through Ingram, so you will be able to buy the book anywhere books are sold, whether online or in a brick and mortar like Barnes & Noble. Also, this is being made available on Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, and others.

The Phantom’s Blade is being released this month as well! There is no real content change to this title, only a redesign to bring it in line with the other books in the series. Like the others, this will become widely available in the next few months, both in print and in ebook formats.

  • HOME RECORDING STUDIO

The other bit of news is no less exciting. After many hours of careful planning and hard work, I have finally built an audio recording booth. It is tucked in the closet in my office, which makes it easy to record away from the busyness of home life. After all, I have five kids from the ages of two to nine. The recording booth allows me to shut out exterior sounds, keeping the audio clear of interference. It is a simple setup. Just a folding chair and a Blue Yeti microphone on the shelf made for it. Of course, you can see that I have a pop filter set up as well. My greatest challenge is keeping my kids out of it when they are supposed to. They think this is the biggest thing since dark chocolate!

While I am on the subject of audio recording, I have the first three chapters of Swords Of The Six recorded. I thought it would be nice to provide you with a sample, so here it is!

“The Beginning of Things” from SWORDS OF THE SIX

What’s next? With the original novels in The Sword of the Dragon series back in circulation, it is time for me to buckle down and write book five, In Search of Dragons. There are a couple of other writing projects I cannot wait to dig into, including the standalone fantasy novel The Dragon’s Eye Diamond . . .. But I am getting ahead of myself and the first project is In Search of Dragons.

Expect updates from me more frequently this month.

Due to my being home for a couple of weeks (maybe longer) I will be applying many extra hours to 1) publishing Key of Living Fire 2) publishing The Phantom’s Blade 3) recording Swords of the Six audiobook, and 4) finally delving fully into writing In Search of Dragons (The Sword of the Dragon book 5).

Q: Which project are you most looking forward to?

I need your input for Swords of the Six special edition

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As the details come together for the special edition release of Swords of the Six I would highly value some feedback at some options I am looking over! I thought of doing this as a poll, but for some reason I can’t find that function at this time. Yep, my technical know-how just went brain dead. So instead you can just comment with your preferences on these options:

  1. Hardcover or Paperback?
  2. 6 x 9-inches, or 5.5 x 8.5-inches?
  3. Author introduction, or not?
  4. Should I include a glossary of names and places with a pronunciation guide?
  5. Chapter titles, or simple numbering?
  6. Should I incorporate my map drawings (same look and style as in Neverqueen)?
  7. Audiobook: dramatized reading, or read by the author?
  8. Any additional ideas? I’d love to hear them!

Announcement: The Sword of the Dragon series rebrand!

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For over a decade now I have been writing and publishing fantasy novels and what a rewarding thing it is! My first novel was originally self-published, then sold to a traditional publishing company. This change carried with it some positives and some unforeseen negatives. By releasing my rights to AMG Publishers I lost marketing control and, starting a few years ago, that company suffered some setbacks and my first three novels have hung in limbo ever since. The result? My writing career took a big stumble that was beyond my power to fix. But the good news is: all of that turned around this week!

I have often said that I think the biggest mistake I made in my writer career was to sell my first novel to a big publisher. But I was young and flattered by the recognition, and eager to let others shoulder some of the burden of marketing and selling my work. At the time of the sale to AMG my first novel, Swords of the Six, was rocketing to success. My wife and I were full-time on the road and I was selling to bookstores and schools in several states. The momentum was building just as I’d hoped it would. But when I signed the contract I had to stop production on my first novel (until the publisher could re-release it). I had to get off of the road and settle into a regular job while waiting for the book to be published again.

This week I have acquired the rights to my first three novels from AMG and I am so excited for what this means! Total creative control is now back in my hands and I can market and sell the books wherever the opportunity presents itself.

Swords of the Six, Offspring, and Key of Living Fire will be published with new designs and the stories themselves will receive fresh edits! Each sequential book in the series will be published with the new design as well.

Swords of the Six (special edition)

The e-book editions were overpriced through the other publisher. With Flaming Pen Press we will grow the digital reader audience and drop the price to a competitive level. This is a market that I feel my books have largely ignored and in which I see a lot of opportunity.

Print editions will now include both a paperback and a hardcover option. I love a nice hardcover edition! Which I know many of you collectors out there will appreciate.

Audiobooks will come last. I know I have been promising audiobooks for a couple of years now, and tying the new design to e-book, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook will make everything easier to find in search engines and sites.

When AMG published my second novel their buyers objected to the cover art that I had commissioned for it. It was absolutely stunning. A depiction of Oganna kneeling in the cave when she lifts her sword Avenger and her blade boomerang out of the stone floor. Now, at last, I can release the Offspring cover as I wanted you to see it with that artwork! Offspring will also be retitled Dragon Offspring. A subtle but important title change.

Over the next couple of months I will start releasing these new editions, beginning with Swords of the Six. For you, my readers, this means my novels will become unavailable for a little while. During this transition the new editions of The Sword of the Dragon novels will be designed and prepped for publication. Big things are in store! Let’s bring this epic fantasy journey into fresh territory.

Q: Which part of this change interests you the most? 

How to write a satisfying story

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Recently I read Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card for the first time. Truly it is a fantastic read. Deep characters that stick with you from page to page, interactions that keep you hooked, and concepts that are epic on a galactic scale. But other than thoroughly enjoying the story, I recognized something about the writing that was instructional for me as an author. Orson Scott Card crafted such a complex set of characters and events that it would have been easy for him to leave some story threads hanging… instead he managed to satisfy all threads, leaving me fully sated and eager to pick up his other books.

Many editors and writers refer to loose story threads as cliff hangers. It is the tendency of fresh out-of-the-gate writers to use cliff hangers at the end of every chapter, sometimes almost every scene. I’ve even heard that recommendation made on stage by professionals, and I’ve read it in some well-meaning books and on some blogs.

Don’t get me wrong! Cliff hangers are a powerful story tool. However, it is taxing on the reader’s brain to leave a million story threads unfinished. The trick is to leave enough threads hanging that it sucks the reader deeper into the story when you are writing a series of novels, while also wrapping up enough threads to satisfy them.

My recommendation is to treat the story as a mixture of completed threads and of loose ones. This way the reader is pulled in, finishes the first couple of chapters, feels satisfied and intrigued, and is able to go to sleep without that frustration of, “But why did this part of the story happen? It was the middle of a scene! Shucks, now I can’t sleep.”

Have you noticed that television series of today rely on serialized storytelling instead of the older Twilight Zone type of stand-alone episodes? Television is (many often forget) written before it is produced, making it worthwhile to compare not only books but also television and movies. While it is wonderful that series like Stranger Things can develop such well-written stories that leave you on the edge of your seat, I personally find it exhausting. I want to know the end, so I have often binged on the series I enjoy. But the result is this lasting angst that it took that many hours of my time to understand all of the threads in the story.

If you ever watched Star Trek: The Next Generation you will understand the power of episodes that contain a satisfying story arc. They still carried you on to the next episode, but they did not require a cliff-hanger to do it. Instead they relied on great characters whose lives you wanted to follow. They didn’t force incomplete stories on the audience because they were confident of the mood, message, and concepts.

Q: Which books, movies, or television series leave you feeling uplifted and most satisfied?

The Importance of Professional Fiction Editing

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You know how they say “Good things come to he who waits”? This is true of so many, many things. And it is a guide to trust when embarking on your writing journey.

Whether you are just starting out, or you already have published writing under your belt, here is something to always remember. Learning is a never-ending process, no less with writing than with other things in life.

I have heard so many stories, and seen so many examples, of new writers who are so eager to get their first book published that they release it to the market before it is ready. There is a reason that professional vetting works.

When I submitted my first manuscript to a professional editor she tore it up! Not literally of course, but in the digital sense, yes. Nearly every paragraph had two paragraph’s worth of editorial suggestions and corrections. She pointed out so many weaknesses in my syntax that I felt like giving up. The age-old self-pity. “I’m not good enough. I’ll never be good enough. What does she mean by this and that?” When I finished licking my wounds and studied the points that she had made, I tried applying the changes she had suggested and using it as a formula to improve my entire manuscript. The difference was astounding. Suddenly I understood that some of my writing studies had meant things differently than I had interpreted them.

Suddenly I knew that with patience, humility, and sweat the story could come out better than I had realized it could be.

There are no shortcuts in publishing success. Take the long road if you wish to succeed. Your first work is your first impression on readers.

With thousands of books to choose from, readers will feel no qualms if they ignore your next books in favor of books that impressed their imagination.

In fantasy writing it is essential to Show more and Tell less. Be concise where possible. Choose pointed descriptions. And bring your characters to life through engaging Scenes. My first book went through four editors. Yep, painful! Yes, oh so beneficial.

I have recommended this book before but I am going to do so again. If you want to strengthen your manuscript read Self-editing for Fiction Writers and then hire a professional to give you an editorial review, or a full line-edit. Taking the time to do the right things before publishing your book feels painful, but in the long run you will be grateful you did. If you are interested then check out Path to Publication. I’ve had the honor of helping several now-established authors take their manuscripts to the next level.

Q: Have you considered the benefits of a professional critique, review, or full edit to your manuscript?

No note too small!

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During a recent conversation  with another fantasy enthusiast and writer I was reminded of the importance of note-taking. Even if you have a partial idea for a story or a character, or even a scene, or sometimes a setting… Jot it down immediately.

A pile of sketches and notepads filled with incomplete but promising story ideas are the  foundational materials for The Sword of the Dragon series. I believe that with every writer that pile continues to grow at a rate faster than it is creatively possible to keep up with. In other words, you will always have more story ideas then you have the time to write them.  And this is as it should be.

The creative process, at its core,  requires the mind to be free to explore all story possibilities. Without this freedom the writer becomes trapped in the expectations  they perceive from either their editor, their publisher, or even their reading public.

Keep it fun! Don’t forget that you are a writer because it’s in your blood and you love it.

Very few people want to read material from a gloomy person.  And writing should be a gateway to leading people on fantastical journeys that inspire them to be better individuals than they are.

What some people refer to as writer’s block can often be overcome by referencing your old notes and sketches. These bring the stories you are trying to create to life in your own mind, reigniting your creativity.

Q: How do you use notes and sketches in your creative process?

 

The Sea Lord is available now!

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You’ve heard me talk about this book before, so I won’t go over all the details again. But you need to check out The Sea Lord Francis Drake now available in Paperback and on Kindle from Flaming Pen Press! Fact is often stranger than fiction, so goes the saying….

I must agree, because factual tales are the inspiration behind all of my fictional endeavors. The Sea Lord Francis Drake was one of my favorite books that I read as a teenager, but because the publisher and the author let its copyright expire this book has been all but lost to the public. It has been my joy to apply minor edits to this book, restore the old illustrations, and get a snazzy entirely new cover designed as well, for this, one of my favorite reads. To read more about this book and its unique features please refer to the Flaming Pen Press blog.

Paperback is $14.99 and Kindle edition is $2.99

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Now writing: In Search of Dragons

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Recently I was commenting to my wife how I feel scatterbrained and have undertaken too many writing and publishing tasks. (That wasn’t the way I worded it, but you get the gist). I told her I was thinking about narrowing my focus to just my publishing company’s website because my efforts are split between Flaming Pen Press and my personal writing projects. She wisely responded something along the lines of, “But you are your brand. People want more from your books and that’s what you should focus on.” Again, I’m paraphrasing, yet the point is that she was right.

I remember back in 2009 when I self-published my first novel Swords of the Six. That thrill of accomplishment and the response from readers gave me energy to power through the first several years of traveling and writing. Now there is a boatload of experience under my publishing belt and yet, with each new writing project I still feel an initial inadequacy. These fantasy novels are like parts of my soul and with each one writing it is difficult, painful, and a joy.

It is time to delve into my next The Sword of the Dragon novel. In Search of Dragons picks up where The Phantom’s Blade left off. One of the most fun aspects to this project is that I get to pull from my old source material, a manuscript for the entire series which I wrote thirteen years ago. It’s hard to believe it has been that long. I am keen on writing these characters and their stories with the same fascination that I wrote them back then. Sometimes the pressure of knowing that many readers are already eagerly waiting for me to finish the book can put a damper on my story focus, but ultimately everything is an exercise in discipline. And I can never have enough discipline in my life!

This will be the seventh novel I have written in The Sword of the Dragon world, and the fifth for the primary series. Wow! It’s hard to believe the journey has come this far. The original manuscript was 130,000-words divided into chapters that are now the building blocks for The Sword of the Dragon world. So far we’re over 500,000-words into the novels and there’s lots more to cover!

Returning characters for In Search of Dragons include Ilfedo, Oganna, Ombre, Honer, Ganning, Vectra, Escentra, and the creature Ulion. Introduced will be (at long last) the dragon Venom-fier, who was first mentioned in Albino’s prophesy at the end of Swords of the Six.

“Dragon great, dragon fool
One wise, the other cruel
Venom-fier, to man a friend
The other may be his end.”

Q: Which character are you most excited to see again when In Search of Dragons is published?