Author Appleton

Writing. Fantasy. Sci-fi. Mystery

AuthorAppleton

Christmas specials: sale and giveaway

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I am running two promotions this week in honor of the Christmas holiday! One is for Neverqueen and one is for my very first novel Swords of the Six. Feel free to share these opportunities with your friends and family.

Kindle limited-time offer: now through Thursday Neverqueen is available on Kindle for only $0.99 Please note that the Kindle app is available on practically all digital reading devices.

Book giveaway: As my wife says, “What’s better than a sale? How about a giveaway?”  This Christmas I’m giving away a signed paperback copy of The Sword of The Dragon novel that started it all: Swords of the Six.
Entries will be accepted through Wednesday, December 16th at 11:59pm. We will then randomly select a winner and announce it the night of Thursday December 17th.
You can earn additional entries by sharing this contest on Twitter and Facebook!

Click here to view this promotion.

 

Short stories this Christmas!

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Christmas is my favorite time of year. When I was growing up I populated my wish list with books. One thing I dreamed of was writing books that other people would want to put on their Christmas lists. It was five years ago now (which is hard for me to believe) when I had signed a publishing contract with AMG Publishers and I had no books to sell until they released Swords of the Six. In the time between I bundled together my short stories into a new book titled By Sword By Right. It sold surprisingly well for a collection of short fiction, and ever since then I’ve always referred to it as my bathroom reader.

Originally this book was available in paperback as well as on Kindle, but the distributor I had placed it with charged an annual fee so I discontinued the print version. From time to time I still receive requests for By Sword By Right in paperback, and now Amazon’s platform has enabled me to re-release it in time for Christmas!

There is something magical about short stories. From my perspective they are more difficult to write. Everything for me turns into a long-form writing. Short stories usually sit in my “idea bucket” to be later transformed into novels. But with By Sword By Right I put my journey as a writer under the x-ray machine. I included stories that were some of my best writings, and some that were written prior to the launching of my writing career.

For Christmas this year if you are one of those readers who wants something to take into the bathroom or into a closet for a quick read, By Sword By Right has an assortment of fantasy, science fiction, fairy tales, biblical, and even allegory. This book demonstrates the diversity of my writing interests and will give you an idea of where all of my stories will take you. From dark underground worlds to surface utopias, and even into the interstellar divides.

There is no limit to where the imagination can take us. And we can explore the depths and heights of imagination through short stories in the moments that reading longer fiction prohibits.

Q: Do you enjoy short speculative fiction?

A new writer’s biggest mistake

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First-time writers are fun. They are full of energy because they are crazy enthusiastic about the stories they are creating. I have found this particularly true of those who write fantasy. It is interesting what holds many of these writers back, and it is a problem they can overcome.

Some people think that the biggest problem with new writers is that they don’t edit their writing well, or that they don’t spend the time revising and changing things in the manuscript to craft a stronger story. But both of these things are symptoms of the bigger problem and the most common issue with writers who aspire to be published authors.

There are so many times that I have been approached by aspiring authors. They have many questions related to publishing, selling their work, and editing. I have been told that I am an approachable person and I do try to be. When someone has questions and enthusiasm for writing I want to help them. Writing and publishing are long, challenging processes filled with mystery to the outside observer. When possible I like to pull back the veil, revealing the ins and outs of the process so that others can more speedily learn what I struggled with.

Often, but not always, I run into an issue when this happens. The writer will ask for my advice and I will give it. But they are quick to dismiss what they don’t want to hear and zero in on what they want to hear. They have trouble accepting professional criticism.

A writer’s first work is going to lay the groundwork for their career. If you have taken professional criticism and polished your work it will make a good first impression on readers. But if you have not then you will lose readers’ trust, your work will barely sell, and your future writing career will prove even more difficult to build.

Professional criticism is the single biggest boon to an aspiring writer. If a writer is unwilling to humble themselves to accept criticism they will not grow, they will not improve their craft, and they will have little to no respect among their writing peers. Certainly they will hold no respect with publishing industry professionals.

I liken these writers to a vacationer making a mountain trek through the snow. Instead of following the footprints of their guide they choose to strike out on their own, seeking a better path.

It is foolish to neglect criticism and to listen only to what we want to hear. We only grow and improve when we are uncomfortable. It forces us to change things, it forces us to conform to a better way.

Certainly there is the challenge of retaining our own unique creativity, but ultimately writers are born not made and if we seek counsel from mentors accomplished in what we are endeavoring to do, we can succeed.

Find a guide who has gone before you and listen humble to their advice. If you want to be like them someday and succeed as they have you will need to listen to their advice.

Q: Do you look for mentors to help you grow in your life?

Breaking George Bailey this Christmas

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Every Thanksgiving I look forward to watching It’s A Wonderful Life. When I was growing up my parents knew how to throw a great Thanksgiving. They cooked a fantastic meal and invited a bunch of family over. My Dad would, at some point later in the day, flip through our limited selection of channels. Besides watching the parades, I remember him stopping when It’s A Wonderful Life came on. And I now try to make that movie a part of every Holiday season.

The tale of George Bailey is such a sad one. He has wonderful friends and he is endearing to almost everyone he meets. He is genuine, honest, and fair. Yet he lacks confidence in himself. He dreams big but always puts the dreams of others before his own, and in doing so he loses everything. By his generosity and fairness he makes friends with the poor and the sick. And when his uncle could go to jail for fraud, George takes the blame. Even at his lowest point he does the good thing, continuing his good deeds despite all expectations to the contrary.

The most beautiful thing about this story is that George does not broadcast his good deeds to everyone. He never “toots his own horn” but rather turns the spotlight onto those he has helped. I prefer to watch this movie in black and white as the absence of color is an artful way of emphasizing that the story is not about the lights and glitter, but rather about the hearts of people.

Why do I bring this up now? Yes, it is Thanksgiving and the Christmas season is practically upon us. But I have recognized within the fictional character of George Bailey the struggles of all honest, hard-working men who never get credit for what they have done. They do what is right because it is what they must do. It is the character they have established within themselves.

Contemporary fiction is filled with a lack of faith in the human spirit. Everyone is shown as liars, cheats, and backstabbers. But I am tired of that kind of story. I want more George Baileys. Characters of people who are broken, brought to the very end of their hope, yet still do the right thing by the people around them. This Christmas I want to revel in the spirit of good deeds and restore my faith in humanity.

We live in such a pessimistic world, yet there is so much good going on all around us. We need only look for it in others and in ourselves. I believe God has given us that ability.

I love how It’s a Wonderful Life demonstrates the true reward of doing right by people and doing good without expectation of reward. When it appears that George Bailey has nowhere to turn it is the poor, the sick, and his family that come to his aid. Kindness reciprocates kindness. We live in a world of great fear, but if we reach out with love we will see love return to us.

This Christmas let’s remember the real reasons this season is special. Let us leave behind the greed and the selfishness in favor of sharing Christian love with all people.

Q: Did It’s a Wonderful Life similarly impact you?

The Phantom’s Blade now available!

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My new fantasy novel is available in paperback and on Kindle! From across the sea the Maiden Voyage has failed to return to the Hemmed Land, leaving Ilfedo to wonder at the fate of his beloved Warrioresses… This story focuses on Ilfedo as none of the previous novels have. We see him for the grief-ridden man that he is… and we see his choice to rise above that grief and rejoice in the choices he’s made.

The Hemmed Land is in political confusion thanks to Vortain’s dissidence. As mayor of Ilfedo’s chief city Vortain holds great political sway. He openly opposes Ilfedo’s proposal to form a rescue expedition to bring the people of Dresdyn to the Hemmed Land, and regards the young woman Ilfedo brought back from the Hidden Realm with deep suspicion. Even more strong is his opposition to Lord Ilfedo’s declaration that, as the albino long ago prophecied, the entire population must seek a new homeland.

Holding himself to a promise, Ilfedo will not be swayed from seeking the people of Dresdyn. His allies are strong now. Few in the land hold the wisdom of Brother Hersis, and fewer still command the same respect in the military as Lord Ombre, and none have risen so high in the esteem of the people as Oganna.

An expedition launches to seek out the people beneath the desert sands, and only Ilfedo truly recognizes the nature of the enemy they face.

Please share with your friends and fellow fantasy enthusiasts! Christmas is a great time of year to continue this epic story.

How past success motivates current endeavors

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It’s amazing looking back over the past six years. So much has changed. I am a goal-oriented person and I am pleased to see that most of my goals have been reached. With the release of The Phantom’s Blade this past week I now have five published fantasy novels. It is important to reflect on what we’ve accomplished. It sets our mind in a positive way, looking ahead to greater things to come.

I can remember the thrill of holding my first copy of Swords of the Six in my hand. It was a dream come true. And somehow that feeling is duplicated every time I hold a copy of a new release in my hands. Each book represents numerous hours of thoughtful, sometimes painful attention to story and detail. Trying to make each book a work of art is always my goal.

Every time I hold a copy of one of my newly released novels in my hand I feel thrilled and relieved. Finally the hard work has paid off. Finally I can share with readers the story that has been banging around in brain, screaming to be released. Each story is a piece of my soul, as it were. A sharing of my deepest convictions, conflicts, fears, and hopes.

Storytelling is a beautiful thing. The task of writing a new novel is enormous. Each time I begin the journey the end seems insurmountably far off. But when I look back at the works I’ve already published I find encouragement and it helps me persevere until the task is completed.

Q: Do you get a thrill when you craft a story? Or when you read a new book that impacts you?

The interrupted writer

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A writer is an artist and as such when we are writing our creative process is subject to the same rules as any other artist. We can be interrupted, discouraged, and our creativity can be drained. Writing takes patience and time. If you’re a writer who has been interrupted, or if you are someone with a writer in your family… you need to read this.

Many times I have found that people who are close to me have the greatest difficulty in giving me that space to be creative. When I am sitting in front of my computer or a notebook for an hour or two and I have written nothing, I can understand why they approach me. I’m sure from their perspective it looks like I am either bored or being lazy. But the opposite is true.

These times of quiet are necessary to producing a great piece of writing. It is not dissimilar to a painter staring at the blank canvas, staring for hours, contemplating, envisioning what they can create. A writer needs that time just as much as the painter does.

Requests by family members to help with a chore or run an errand may seem insignificant, but they are not. The creativity that was flowing for that last hour, once interrupted, is difficult to recover. Portions of story that I was piecing together, conflicts of emotion that I was envisioning for my characters, all of that is put in jeopardy when I am interrupted.

To the observer the writer is a fragile, unpredictable creature. Once interrupted they might turn in anger, or they might respond sweetly to you. They might even seem to display profound sadness.

These reactions are true of me. When writing I am unpredictable. I am best left alone. The creative process drowns me in a universe of emotions that are unfulfilled and until the creative process has finished I am in the same emotional state that I am dwelling my mind upon.

When you interrupt the writer you do not know if you are speaking to the hero, the heroine, the weak, the strong, or even the villain. The writer is all of these things as they write. They become all things for their story so that their art is perfected.

Q: Are you the interrupted writer or the interrupting family member? How true is this for you?

Backstage pass! the value of interior design

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People do judge a book by its cover. It’s a fact, like it or not. Thus the high priority on a good cover. Hiring a professional artist is a must… But the next impression is just as important and that is the look and feel of the book’s interior. This week I wanted to do something a bit different by highlighting what a good typesetter can do for a novel.

You know the feeling. As a reader you walked into your favorite bookstore and began perusing the shelves for that fresh read. If you are like me the title is the first thing that jumps out at you. You pass over the boring titles (and the ones that scream copycat) and your eyes pause on something that interests you. You pull it off the shelf and immediately resist the urge to let the bile out of your stomach. Yep, the cover is just plain awful. Some author’s niece did it and it screams amateur. Subliminally you are now weighing the possibility in your mind that the author took just as little care and consideration for the content on the pages of that book. You are likely going to flip it open to try the first page (or a random one if you’re one of those kind). But the layout of the book looks as if it were pulled directly off of its MS Word document. The font is all-to-familiar, the chapter headings bland, and the margins are not justified. Your impression? This isn’t worth my time!

You know the other feeling too, of that title that catches your eye. The cover that gives you that Wow factor. Then at last (with one eye closed in case you’re to be disappointed again) you open the book. This time the book’s interior design, layout, and the typesetting are tight. Thus, undeterred you read the first pages with a lot more faith than you did in that amateurish book.

I say all of this to point out that some people are really good at what they do. They have a gift for turning something ordinary into a work of art that will delight the reader’s eye. Sometimes I have made the mistake of looking for the cheap out when it comes to book artwork, design, and typesetting. Yet constantly I see that hiring professionals to produce a great product builds my brand far better than if I cut corners.

For my first book and my two recent novels I used Katherine Lloyd. If you are interested in seeing what a professional does with a book I highly recommend you check out her website: TheDeskOnline Recently Katherine finished typesetting The Phantom’s Blade for me, which will release November 6th 2015. The product looks terrific and gives that touch of artistry that will really make reading this new novel a pleasure.

Q: What books have impressed you with their presentation, and which have turned you away?