Author Appleton

Writing. Fantasy. Sci-fi. Mystery

Backstage Pass!

Now Available! “Neverqueen” Revamped!

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Revamping the Neverqueen book turned out even better than I had hoped. The presentation of the spine text combined with the new cover art make it feel larger.

I hope all you fantasy readers are as excited about this as I am! This book is one of my best pieces to date. The story turned out just the way I envisioned it. A little mystery, a little edge-of-your-seat danger, some new creatures… but in the familiar setting of the Eiderveis River, as first introduced in Swords of the Six.

Question: Do you know someone who would like this book? (-:

Backstage Pass! New cover revealed for “Neverqueen”

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After the negative feedback I received on the original cover for Neverqueen, it was time to start from scratch. Give Neverqueen a look as classy and other-worldly as the covers for The Sword of the Dragon series. Ready for the full reveal?

Thanks to all of you who voted on the 99Designs poll to help me choose the final design. Your feedback was critical in helping me make the final decision. The next step is to get this version into print. For the time-being the other edition will be set as out-of-print until the new files can be uploaded to the distribution channels. In the meantime, I am planning the artwork for Neverqueen 2. It is my hope that this sequel will be ready for release in time for Christmas.

Question: Which of my upcoming releases are you most excited about? The Sword of the Dragon-book 4-In Search of Dragons, or Neverqueen 2: The Suffering Chalice?

 

 

What defibrillators have in common with a Writing Career

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A powerful jolt of electricity can get a dead engine running again. A defibrillator can make the human heart beat again. Everything needs a “jumpstarter” every now and then. My writing career took a few blows these last few years and sometimes it feels like I’m down for the count. But I’m not.

Urgo in Stargate SG-1

Remember that episode of SG-1 when Urgo is influencing the team’s decisions. “Try the paddles,” he says to Teal’c. So Teal’c grabs the defibrillator paddles and moves to use them before he is stopped. Really it was a funny episode!

My agent recently gave me the news that my publisher backed out of publishing the fourth book in my series The Sword of the Dragon. I can’t say this shocked me. I know that the publishing market has been struggling. But it still comes as a disappointment and I have to reassess some things. Before I get all of you worried, the rights for In Search of Dragons have reverted to me and I will be publishing it next year. Only difference is it will release from my company, Flaming Pen Press. Neverqueen sequels will also be released under FPP (more and exciting updates coming on this soon).

I have been eager to get back onto the road with book tours. I especially miss visiting middle schools. The interaction with fans was unparalleled and the excitement and interest it generated in my books was a constant source of strength and inspiration for my writing and my writing career.

On the upside I still have my literary agent. She has all the connections necessary to sell my manuscripts to publishers. On the downside working full-time in sales combined with family life leaves very little time to get my writing done. I have plenty of projects in-the-works, but I need to get them finished.

Take it from me there is nothing like pressing onward toward living your dream. I’ve lived it a couple of times. Right now I’m on sabbatical until I can work the kinks out so that I’m back out there nonstop writing, promoting, and selling. God will open the right doors as long as I keep working at it! (-:

Question: What discouragements have made you feel like ‘throwing in the towel’ on your dreams? 

Backstage Pass: The Author-Reader connection

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Recently I was informed that a young reader of mine who’d been struggling with cancer passed away. The moment I found that out really hit hard and reminded me of how precious life is, and how blessed I am to be able to bless some people in a small way. When I have had the opportunity to visit middle schools I have found the interaction with the kids to be unparalleled in inspiration and encouragement.

There is more to writing books than simply putting stories out there. Most writers don’t do it for the money (because it is sparse and hard to come by in this profession). Most do it for the love of telling the stories and sharing them with people who will care about those stories.

A best selling author once told me that he would not continue to write if no one was reading his stories. At the time I did not understand what he meant. I felt that no matter what happened I would always want to write stories, if only for the fun of it. But now that I have this personal connection to readers across the US and in even some in Canada and other countries, I understand what he meant. Writing has become a ministry of sorts. The stories I create have the ability to touch lives, encourage people, entertain them, and sometimes to pull their minds away from their own troubles.

That is the connection that an author has to their readers. And it often leads to a strong emotional link so that we care about one another.

Question: Do you feel personally connected to the authors you read?

3 Reasons to Follow Our Dreams

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It seems that many of us settle for things in life. Even when we have a clear idea of what we like to do, what we love to do, and know why we want to do it.

My dream has been to get back to full-time writing. It’s a challenge because the initial income is less than ideal and the focus required means that I must be willing to sacrifice in order to make that happen. I must be willing to move to a part of the country where I can afford to comfortably support my family on a writing income and that means moving away from family and friends. Uproot in order to plant my family where we can be used by the Lord in a far more effective way.

So many things can pull us away from and even make us sacrifice our God-given dreams. Do you want to be an author? A pastor, a missionary, an artist, a musician? It is going to require sacrifice and mental drive, a drive to succeed in spite of the messages to the contrary from the voices inside ourselves.

Here are three reasons we need to follow our dreams:

  1. To remove ourselves from our comfort zones so that we can grow in deep and meaningful ways
  2. To find greater fulfillment in life by doing the thing we are passionate about
  3. And, perhaps most importantly, to better the world with the gifts that God has given us

Question: What obstacles stand in the way of you achieving your dreams?

Backstage Pass! Does “Neverqueen” need a new cover?

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Last week I signed books at a homeschool conference in Ohio. It was my first opportunity to sell print copies of Neverqueen, my newest release. One thing I noticed: people did not “fall in love” with that book when they looked at the cover… And that is the first time that has happened for me with ANY of my books.

It turns out that many people just don’t love the cover (my wife and my mother among them). Some people at the conference even thought it looked creepy and evil! Obviously this is not the mood of the story and not the impression I want to leave with prospective buyers. This is an epic fantasy tale with a bit of a mystery, too.

For that reason (and so that it will tie in better with the style of The Sword of the Dragon covers) I am seriously considering commissioning a new piece of art to completely change the look and feel of this work. I love the story and I know readers will, too, but we need a cover people want to set on their book shelves.

I do not want to be one of those authors who cannot take criticism and learn from it, even change things to improve them. This cover is one alteration that I think is needed.

Question: Do you love the Neverqueen cover? Does it draw you in? How does it compare to the other covers in The Sword of the Dragon series?

Backstage Pass! My Writing Machine

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My father was fond of two sayings: 1) Life isn’t fair, and 2) You get what you pay for!

I’ve owned my share of laptops and I work them hard. I think my laptops average seven hours of operation per day. My first was a Dell Inspiron which I purchased for $700 back in 2002. I wrote my first complete manuscript on that laptop. The manuscript was titled The Lore of Etina, that I later renamed The Sword of the Dragon, which of course became the source material for my first novel series. In 2006 I upgraded to a Toshiba. I cannot remember the model but it was a good machine and I paid about $1,400 for it. That one lasted about three years and I replaced it with a cheap Toshiba from Walmart. I will never do that again. The keyboard was not very responsive, the screen had poor resolution, and the hard drive died within a month!

I had been researching Toshiba’s gaming laptop line and I decided to take the plunge. I invested about $1,600 in a Toshiba Qosmio and that is my writing machine! The keyboard is responsive, the screen resolution is fantastic, the encasement is aluminum, and I upgraded it with a Solid State Drive to optimize its processing power. This laptop is big. And I know I am in the minority nowadays, but I do like a large machine.

Question: What is your Writing Machine?

Backstage Pass! Why I Killed Dantress

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There are 3 elements that are key to a great story. Those elements are love, honor, and sacrifice. If you ask me “Why did Dantress have to die in Swords of the Six?” I will tell you that the scenario met all of those criteria.

This is very hard as a writer. It is always a challenge to create a story and spend time creating a character you love… and then be willing to kill that character off. Dantress had to die, for the good of the story. The consequence of giving birth would be that she must give up her life blood to the child in order for the child to live. What better way to endear Dantress to those around her? She became the epitome of self-sacrifice in the story. She was willing to give up her new life with her husband in order that her daughter could live.

From the perspective of the hero, Ilfedo, his wife was his dearest treasure. But because of the sweet gift of his daughter, his earthly purpose continued.

You have to have love, honor, and sacrifice. Eliminate any of these elements and the story suffer.

Question: What stories stand out in your mind because of one character’s selfless sacrifice? Does it endear the story to you and make it more memorable?