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Writing. Fantasy. Sci-fi. Mystery

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Insider glimpse: Burn those cards!

June 3, 2019 by AuthorAppleton 1 Comment

This is going to be a very short post! But it will amuse me to give you an insider view of what happened. Remember those business cards I promised?

Yeah, not happening! I ordered them and they came in looking the worst of any business card I have ever ordered. Why? Too little real estate crowded with too much text and graphics! They just will not do. You can only read them with a magnifying glass, so I am going to re-design them and order a fresh printing.

That’s it. A short and laughable glimpse into the struggles of a writer/publisher. Have a great day!

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Transcribing old books improves writing

September 4, 2017 by AuthorAppleton Leave a Comment

We learn best by following in the steps of those who have succeeded before us. We see our greatest improvements when we seek to learn from those who we admire and respect. A recent project (that of transcribing old biographies) has made me realize that this is an awesome tool in the writer’s learning process.

Over the past couple months I have been sitting down with one of my favorite biographies, a young adult focused title published circa 1932. A wonderful piece of writing that I have long admired. As I prepare this title to be published through Flaming Pen Press, each and every sentence is mine to type into a Word document. It seems tedious at times, yet it has served two benefits that are invaluable. First, transcribing the entire biography is helping me retain the content of the book. The story of Sir Francis Drake is being freshly engrained in my mind. And who doesn’t want to better know world history? I certainly do!

Secondly, through typing each and every word, I find my subconscious learning from the author’s entertaining, albeit antiquated, style. The structuring of her sentences, the way she developed her characters, and the genuine, rather than superfluous, feel to the book’s content.

We learn best by following the best examples of our writing craft.

Q: What methods help you improve your writing?

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You have different gifts

March 6, 2017 by AuthorAppleton 9 Comments

It is a blessing to recognize artistic beauty in all its forms, like the variety of expression. We each can find inspiration in our unique spiritual and life journey.

A spirit of gentle submission to the glory of our created condition. Written words contribute songs, stories, and films.

With Flaming Pen Press there are so many things we can accomplish. I believe in dreaming big. But dreaming doesn’t build reality. Action is necessary to achieve goals.

Hiring people to provide jobs and pool their creativity. I’m starting by outsourcing for help in transcribing the antique books awaiting their inclusion in the Flaming Pen Press library. What an awesome opportunity to be helped and also provide jobs.

It only grows from here.

Managing these endeavors is exciting. It’s taken years for the how behind the vision to become clear. I am done trying to do it all on my own. I cannot. To grow, my business needs me to get out of the way and take opportunity to shift burdens on other gifted individuals.

Setting up the business to free myself to write and direct projects. Fingers in the pie-in-progress, so to speak, yet without disturbing it.

Q: What are your gifts and passions?

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A New Era of Classic Science-Fiction Films

April 27, 2015 by AuthorAppleton 2 Comments

From asking around I gather that many people have not yet watched Christopher Nolan’s addition to the science-fiction genre. In spite of its seamless special effects, powerful acting, and engaging characters, Interstellar reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey in more ways than one.

Interstellar takes its time with the plot. It does not drag but it is certainly slow enough to turn off those who are hoping for another action adventure. This is not to say that it doesn’t have its share of action, yet the action forms the backdrop. This movie focuses on the characters and the meshing of the present and the future of humanity.

2001: A Space Odyssey, if you have not watched it, is one of the original sci-fi classics. Great acting and ground-breaking special effects. But as far as a piece of entertainment goes, this was a dreadfully slow story. It made the long scenes in the original Star Trek movie seem fast-paced by comparison. The best portion of the plot takes place when a robot decides to murder the ship’s crew. The strangest part is when the main character enters some otherworldly state and ages even to his death… then to be seen orbiting Earth, in space, in a bubble, returned to his infant form!

In my personal opinion contemporary science fiction films have in large part lost their unique “art” of demonstrating the patient and studious nature of scientific exploration. Too often the action rules out. One scene jumps into the next, leading to one big explosion or something similar. I appreciated that Interstellar did not fall into this trap. It catered to the sci-fi enthusiasts with great visuals, brain-twisting theoretical science, and left enough mystery to feed speculation.

Interstellar represents a small set of films that I will add to my classic science fiction films, which have to be innovative and thought-provoking. Prior to this film the only movie I could place in this group was The Europa Report, a lesser-known albeit worthy addition that follows the first expedition to Jupiter’s moon through only the eyes of the ship’s cameras.

I love space opera sci-fi, like Star Wars and the recent Ender’s Game. But throw something at me that makes me think and blends in some fun theoretical science… that is the heart of the cake. After the frosting I still want to dig into a good cake and find that its layers are just as pleasantly surprising.

Question: What do you think of theoretical science as the basis for compelling sci-fi films?

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A Hard Decision

December 8, 2014 by AuthorAppleton 2 Comments

Last month I found a Bus RV conversion online. It met all the criteria in what I was looking to get to put my family on-the-road again. I committed to going down to Oklahoma and checking out the bus and then buying it. My plane ticket was purchased but…

Sometimes God closes doors for reasons that we never know, and sometimes we find out why he does later on.

My wife and I have an exciting announcement: we are having another baby Summer 2015. I am so excited to become a father again!

Prompted by this realization I went back over our finances and factored in setting aside the money for the baby, as well as the payment for the bus. There is also another factor that God wants me to stay open to but right now I cannot divulge. Unfortunately the financial figures for buying the bus just didn’t add up. (To my shame, because I should have factored the possibility of another baby in). I am convinced that God will be able to use us more effectively if we are debt-free, so I am trying hard to stick to that.

The pastor who owns the RV Bus was very gracious in his response when I called to let him know I had to back out from purchasing it. But calling him to say I was backing out was the most difficult decision I made this year. Please pray that God brings along the right buyer for his bus as it would be a tremendous blessing to his family.

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Welcome to the AuthorAppleton blog!

May 26, 2014 by AuthorAppleton Leave a Comment

As a Christian author of fantasy and science fiction, I have been blogging for a number of years now and one thing has become apparent: As my audience grows it becomes more difficult to maintain consistency across multiple media platforms. It is necessary to have One place on the web where I can focus my energies to encourage, enlighten, and enliven my audience.

Initially the goal of this website is to be a consistent source of new content and engage my readers. Here is the plan:

  1. A Weekly blog post every Monday
  2. New PDF books available through AuthorAppleton.com
  3. In the next couple years I plan to add a Podcast

It is my hope that you come to appreciate my candid approach to family-friendly fantasy and science-fiction. You may not always agree with my perspective but I hope that you will enjoy the discussion my perspective starts.

Welcome to my blog!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: author appleton, new blog, scott appleton

Site Introductory Posts Scheduled!

May 22, 2014 by AuthorAppleton Leave a Comment

Thank you for coming by! On Monday, May 26th the introductory posts for AuthorAppleton.com will be released, and a new post will release every Monday thereafter.

Keep your eye out for great fantasy and science-fiction reads and always consider what you read. Consider what is good, honorable, and right; be cautious of how fiction shapes your worldview! I pray God’s blessing on what I write here and on what you read here.

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Introduction!

October 29, 2013 by AuthorAppleton Leave a Comment

Welcome to the Blog-Centric website for wholesome fantasy and science-fiction. Here we will converge all of my writing to give it focus and meaning!

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New release!

Now Available! The Sword of the Dragon series book 5

Progress on projects:

“Shards in Belial” (The Sword of the Dragon Origins) 52,700-words

“In Search of Dragons (The Sword of the Dragon book 6) 6,400-words

“Father Mouse” 7,996-words

“The Soul of Story” audiobook 62%

“Neverqueen 3: The Queens Two” (Fantasy) 200-words

“Specter” (Fantasy) 1,000-words

“The Star Train” (Science-fiction 27k-words

“Ironwing” (Fantasy) cover designed!

“Dragon Offspring” audiobook

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