Author Appleton

Writing. Fantasy. Sci-fi. Mystery

new product

Job layoff upside, publishing updates & audiobook preview

by 4 Comments

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?

The Sea Lord is available now!

by Leave a Comment

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

Share with your friends!

The Sea Lord Francis Drake cover reveal!

by 2 Comments

Coming from Flaming Pen Press February 2018, the epic true story of The Sea Lord Francis Drake.

Fall in love with world history! The snazzy new cover says it all. Prepare for a Young Adult novelization of the life of Sir Francis Drake that does not fictionalize the facts. Originally published back in 1932, this is the first of a slew of old books that I’ve found over the years, which have been lost to contemporary readers. Now, Flaming Pen Press will be releasing these titles into your hands!

Some publishers will take old books like this and scan them, page by page, and release those scanned interiors to their readers. But the text loses its clarity and the general layout ends up feeling forced onto the new pages it is printed on.

Every page of this book has been painstakingly typed out so that a fresh, digital file could be created. The original sketches on the book’s interior have been worked into the book’s fresh interior layout, and artist Benjamin Roque created the stunning new cover.

When I was reading history books as I grew up, I sometimes mixed up the chronological order of historical figures and events. Thus the spine of this book also features the dates Sir Francis Drake’s life spanned. Imagine lining your shelf with great young adult biographies that have the time period stamped on the spine. You can keep them organized chronologically to keep the ordering of events clear in your mind. With each new read, you can place the new title in its proper sequence by chronological date. This has huge advantages for students, parents, and teachers.

The Sea Lord Francis Drake full cover layout

Neverqueen2 available now in print!

by Leave a Comment

The wizard wanted a male heir, but when he saw that the boy born to him was malformed he determined to kill him. Born into a life of cruelty, Valor could easily have fallen into his father’s darkness. Instead he set out to undo the wizard’s madness by covering those around him with the Creator’s compassion and light. The prophets are at work in the shadows, bringing forward the Neverqueen as the next prophetess whose reign will bring hope to the people of Paradon, and to her own people by the Eiderveis River. Her mysterious interactions and judgements will settle a caution and a terror in the hearts of the sorcerers and others who ignore her warnings. Unlikely alliances are formed in this story of hope that rises through adverse circumstances.

In time for Thanksgiving and Christmas, if you enjoyed Neverqueen then here you have the sequel we’ve been waiting for! In paperback this link and on Kindle this link.

Neverqueen 2 now available on Kindle! & coming in Paperback!

by 2 Comments

The wizard wanted a male heir, but when he saw that the boy born to him was malformed he determined to kill him.

Finally Neverqueen2 is at your fingertips! Available now on Kindle and I cannot wait for you to get into this story:

Born into a life of cruelty, Valor could easily have fallen into his father’s darkness. Instead he set out to undo the wizard’s madness by covering those around him with the Creator’s compassion and light.

The prophets are at work in the shadows, bringing forward the Neverqueen as the next prophetess whose reign will bring hope to the people of Paradon, and to her own people by the Eiderveis River. Her mysterious interactions and judgements will settle a caution and a terror in the hearts of the sorcerers and others who ignore her warnings.

Neverqueen2 on Kindle

Tomorrow I will be reviewing the first Print proof of Neverqueen2. As long as it checks out well, it will be released immediately in Paperback! Enjoy! Follow this link to find it on Amazon.

 

 

Official release date for Neverqueen2!

by 4 Comments

You have been impatiently awaiting news on Neverqueen2. That’s understandable; I have not released a new fantasy novel since 2015! I know what you’re thinking, and yes, that’s shameful. I have, now, the official release date for Neverqueen2!

Coming in paperback and on your Kindle reader, Neverqueen2 will be available Friday November 3rd 2017. This book is finally drafted in its entirety, all that remains is to complete the editorial phases.

Teaser:

The wild forests west of the Eiderveis River harbor more mysteries than mankind knew. In the City of Paradon the highwaymen hold unconditional authority and wield it mercilessly. Only one young man, a cripple from birth, can bridge the dark present to the evil past. When finally the Neverqueen arises the Warden will be challenged.

Neverqueen (book 2) The Suffering Chalice will continue the story as begun in Neverqueen (book 1). This series directly relates to the primary series, The Sword of the Dragon, and is targeted to Young Adult and Adult readers.

In preparation for this book’s release I will be making author appearances, this Fall, at schools and other venues primarily in South Carolina. Event schedule will be released when available. If your school or other venue would like to host an event, please contact me via email: spappleton@gmail.com

Q: If you would like to help make readers aware of this book’s release, please let me know!

News: restoring antique books

by 6 Comments

One of my favorite pastimes when I was growing up was driving around with my mother to book sales. Especially sales at the small libraries housed in old New England buildings. Sorting through rows of books to find the types that excited and educated my young mind. It has always been a dream of mine to restore the “lost” treasures I found and read while growing up, and I am pleased to begin with The Sea Lord.

This year I am pleased to begin the expansion of Flaming Pen Press as my family business. Efforts include publishing Neverqueen2, setting up The Sea Lord for publication, and exploring re-opening Flaming Pen Press to original fantasy submissions.

The Sea Lord tells the life and adventures of Sir Francis Drake, whose boyhood home was a beached ship. Written in a very entertaining manner (but not an embellishing one) this work will particularly appeal to young men. Homeschool students will love the fluidity of the prose, as well as the lack of modern twisting of the history to satisfy current social trends. Instead of delivering opinions on Drake the author stuck to the story as history showed it.

I picked this old book up at a library sale many years ago and have since discovered that it has fallen out of copyright. It is a real gem that I know you will be glad you added to your personal library. The goal is to offer it in paperback and digital form.

The trickiest part of the process will be preserving the original illustrations, which brings you the mood and authenticity that I value in this work. Besides that it is a lot of time that I am spending to transcribe the text into a Word document. Some companies choose to scan the pages of old books and release them in that manner, but in doing so they risk loss of text and lack of an editorial eye.

The Sea Lord is merely the first in a large collection of antique books that I will be restoring over the years.

Q: Do you know of any old books that you wish were again available in print form?

2016 Reader Survey! Please participate

by Leave a Comment

Another year has gone by… it’s hard to believe I have published over a hundred posts on this site. Some posts receive a lot more attention than others and honestly it is hard to know sometimes what content you would most enjoy getting from me. As an author, editor, former publisher, and writing coach it is a challenge for me to determine what aspects of my content to focus on. In order to keep me on track I need your help!

This is your opportunity to let me know what you want. You are my audience and I derive great satisfaction from producing content that you like. Not only that, but my writing livelihood depends in part on knowing where to focus my energies. I have a day job, and a busy family life (which I love) but my time is at a premium. My energy needs to focus on completing the projects that appeal most to you so that I can get back to writing full time again, and consequently that will allow me to produce the products you like with greater frequency.

Thanks for sharing your valuable time!

Create your own user feedback survey