Author Appleton

Writing. Fantasy. Sci-fi. Mystery

fantasy books

Cover reveal! SHARDS IN BELIAL

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I am so excited to reveal (finally) the cover for the first full-novel release in The Sword of the Dragon origins series! Coming Summer 2022, this epic fantasy lands us in the midst of the ancient war, as the unholy trinity of wizards wreaks havoc upon the lands of Subterran.

When the unholy trinity of ancient wizards mysteriously arrived in Subterran, Olympan and the other swordmasters rose from the lands touched by the prophets to fight them at every opportunity. Now, the war has arrived at Olympan’s doorstep, and the most dreaded member of the wizard trinity is behind it. Meanwhile, Ooletta is struggling to accept the role thrust upon her by her people: the role of high priestess. If she cannot accept her fate, then what destiny will she choose?

Promo materials for Special Editions!

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I am excited to share with you a glimpse at the promo materials being created for the release of the Special Editions of The Sword of the Dragon series! Easy handouts are invaluable, thus a new business card is in order. Simply a showcasing of what is to come… and “to come” is coming quickly.

Business card face:

new business card reverse

Card reverse:

new business card front

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?