The Beginning:

By July, 2010, the last word in Dragon’s Cure had been written. At that point, I sat back amazed. In August, I printed out each one of the stories on an ink jet printer, flipping the pages over to print double sided, and then put them into report folios. I created a cover page and read them to the kids. Then I handed them to a friend. She read through them, handed them to her husband who handed them off to their voracious twelve-year-old son. He in turn gave them back to his parents asking, “Where’s book five?”

Book Five:

Somewhere in the mix of printing, reading, and giving the books to my friends, an idea had formed, and I began writing again. The story-line had moved along where all the new characters had been introduced and all the old characters had been visited at least once, when writer’s block set in. No matter what I tried–re-reading all four previous stories, re-reading what I had written, drawing pictures from the stories–nothing worked. The story sat on my computer until Spring of 2015.

A Turning Point:

At the end of March, 2015, I signed a publishing contract! I sat amazed that Dragon’s Future had managed to make the cut. My friends who read them back in 2010 weren’t surprised. They encouraged me. So, when editing came about, and we discussed how to market multiple books, I asked about putting the first chapter of Dragon’s Heir at the end of Dragon’s Future. When my publisher discovered there were more in the series, they eagerly accepted them. That meant I needed to finish writing book 5. So, back to the computer I went. This time not only was there a boy interested in my books, but a publisher and a deadline of sorts!

With enthusiasm, I jumped back into the world of Dragon Courage. I enjoyed getting to meet my characters again. I asked questions about new characters, took notes about where things needed to go, and then hit that horrid spot–the place where I had always stopped. It got me again. I stopped. Nothing would connect what I knew had to happen with that point in the story. So, I backed up. I hit delete and took out a scene. Another idea came to me, and suddenly, the story flowed again. I had a purpose with the storyline.

The Purpose:

Writing Dragon’s Posterity held challenges. I live in a household of two women and four men. Asking forgiveness and granting forgiveness generally comes easy to me, but I’ve seen my boys struggle with it. To be able to say the words “would you forgive me” is like pulling teeth! I wanted that to be the theme of the book, but I couldn’t understand the struggle of saying those words. I had to get into the mind of my characters and figure out why would it be hard. As the time came at the end of the book, the words flowed. I understood the pride they had to set aside to accept they had done wrong. And so, the book wound down. The last scenes played out.

Next Step:

I sat back surprised and nervous. Would the story flow or would everyone be able to tell where I had stumbled? Did I still have the same story-telling ability that my publisher had enjoyed in book one? I didn’t know. This summer as Dragon’s Cure went live, I sent Dragon’s Posterity out to beta readers. The first had never read the series before. She came in strictly new. Her input was invaluable! I will ever be indebted to her wisdom. After adjusting the story, I sent it to a another beta reader. This one was a fan of the series. However, she’s honest. Up until that point, Dragon’s Revenge was her favorite book. She returned Dragon’s Posterity with the words of encouragement that it was her favorite of the series!

Today, I have the privilege of presenting to you, Dragon’s Posterity, book 5 in the Dragon Courage series. It is now live on Amazon in kindle format. Nook and iTunes will go live on Friday. May you enjoy it as much as my beta readers, and may your dragon fly true!

Where do I get my ideas?

I can get an idea from a sign, from someone else, or from watching television. This most recent one came because of anime. Over the last year, my husband and I have been introduced to anime. Sword Art Online, Ano Hana, RWBY, Angel Beats, and now Your Lie in April have all been played across our TV thanks to our almost nineteen-year-old. As I’ve watched, I’ve realized that all good writing has similar components. I began to wonder what a short story would look like.

The process

An Item

Once I had an idea of a short story with some form of the hero’s round–hero has his world fall apart in some way, tries to put it back together through multiple trials, world comes back together but the hero has grown and changed–then I needed my hero. I began to think of swords. The sword slowly took shape in my mind. A large hand and a half sword. One that would look unwieldy but once it touched your hands it fit.

This came from the many hours I’ve stood at the sword merchant with my son and my husband. After hours upon hours and years of saving, my husband finally purchased an Irish long sword. Sitting on display was the matching dagger. This dagger was huge! It could be a perfect hobbit sword! However, the moment I placed it in my hand, I gasped. It fit perfectly! It wasn’t too big or too clumsy. The pommel seemed made for my hand. The joy of holding it still resonates with me. Therefore, I know what I am saying when I described the sword for my new story.

My sword needed a name as did my character who would wield the weapon. I described my sword to my husband and son. The two of them began to think. Then my husband suggested Kingdom Defender as a name. I loved it. There were so many possibilities now. I could write about a paladin or a father defending his home.

A character

Now that I had a sword, I needed a person who would use it. I began to think through the possibilities. Again, they were endless. At the same time, I found a blog post about anime characters and the sixteen personality traits. I had been introduced to the personalities by my fourteen-year-old son. The website he used gave descriptors to the initials. I didn’t remember I was an INFP, but I could keep “Mediator” in my brain. I looked up the personalities and found “Defender” as a personality type! So, my character will be a Defender in title and in personality.

As I thought of the character, I thought of a man, but yesterday afternoon as I drove home and mulled over my story so far, I wondered why I was limiting myself. I could have a girl defender just as easily as a man. It caused me to ponder.

A reason for defending

Who or what is Defender protecting? If it’s a guy, is he defending his home or his kingdom? Is he fighting for a king or is he protecting his family? If it’s a girl, is she protecting a kingdom or is she fighting for her child? All are good questions, but I don’t have an answer to them yet.

Other characters

After I answer these questions, I also have to think of other players in the story. Who will they be? Since I had pulled up the personalities, I thought it could be fun to just throw some different personalities together and see what they did. I began to think of the many plot lines that did this–Star Wars, The Hobbit, Serenity, and The Lord of the Rings to name a few. So, to go with my defender who is quiet, shy, humble, practical and loyal, but who is reluctant to change, and can take things too personally, I decided an “Entrepreneur” would work. What’s an Entrepeneur? It’s someone who is smart, energetic and very perceptive, but who enjoys living on the edge and doesn’t think about what others feel all the time.

Who is this character going to be? I have no clue. I don’t even know if it is a male or female. I’m open to suggestions.

My mind

Many people think the life of an introvert is quiet and nothing much happens. However, in my daily life, even when I’m on my own, or better still, especially when I’m on my own, my mind is full of activity. I may be writing a blog post in my head or trying to figure out Bennu’s next move in my Ancient Egypt story, or now I might have a Defender banging on the inside of my skull with his sword saying, “Let me out! Tell my story!” If it’s none of these, I’m carrying on conversations on Facebook or Twitter. My life is anything but dull!

As for this Defender, what do you think? Is it a girl or a boy? How old is he or she? What or who are they defending? Why? I’m open to suggestions. You never know, maybe your idea will be used in the story. Leave your comments and share. Add to the Defender’s voice so I can hear the story and tell it.

“The best way to convince, persuade, teach and inspire is with a story.”

In my sixth grade class, I had girls in tears because of words said. I finally settled the students into their desks and I told a story of a shy, insecure sixth grade girl and how words hurt her. You could hear a pin drop in the classroom, a rarity with that group of kids. My seventh grade students were ready to start a family tree project. They could present their own family or the ‘perfect’ family, and they needed to use photos of some sort. The requirement for using clip art and other pictures from online was to site their sources. There were groans and questions of why. I told them a story, this time with pictures. I opened my file on my computer with my art. I showed them the drawings I had done, and asked how I would feel if someone else claimed those photos as their own. The story stuck; not a single person who used clip art failed to site their sources.

As I look through history, it is the storytellers who wove the morals into the fabric of society. People don’t like rules, but they love a story. So, the storyteller would create a story to give evidence to the rules. Aesop and his fables is one of the famous ones. Others line archaeology hallways. What child would listen to their parents saying, “Avoid the sneaker waves”? And yet, every one would sit and listen enthralled to the story of the beautiful Native American princess Ewanua who was warned of Seatka, the evil ocean spirit, and yet at night she wandered to play on the beach with her dog, Komax, and her cat with kittens. She did not head the warnings of her elders and was lured into the ocean. Parents then would point offshore to the princess, immortalized in stone, staring out to sea with her cat and the kittens in a basket and Komax, on low tide, sitting on shore howling to get everyone’s attention.

Legend of Face Rock

In modern times, stories still resonate with our hearts. As authors, our values, morals, and intents come across in what we write. Authors may say they have no intention of sharing any moral story or that their story isn’t an allegory; however, their beliefs color their writings. Take the two most well-known for the modern day high fantasy, Tolkien and Lewis. Tolkien did not want to create a Christian book; yet, his beliefs shone through his writing. Lewis, on the other hand, wanted to share in a story his beliefs. He succeeded to the point where many now just see the story and not the morals behind the story.

As I wrote the Dragon Courage series, I had my own children in mind. I wanted them to learn some lessons, but knew that the best way to do it was as author Antonia Felix said, in a story. So, I began writing. Each book has different themes that resonate with the reader. It was with great pleasure that I read the review from Sandra Stiles stating, “There are subtle lessons and themes throughout the story about friendship, trust, courage, and abuse of power.” I had fulfilled my desires. It was even more satisfying to hear that I had done it in such a way that she “read this book much slower than [she] usually read[s] because [she] wanted to savor every word and didn’t want it to end”. That was exactly what I had wanted to do.

As you finish up this summer, take some time out to curl up in your favorite reading place, whether that is under a tree, at the creek or lake, on the beach, sitting around the dinner table, or cuddled up on the couch or in your favorite reading chair, and read a new book. Dive into a different world and see if your eyes are opened to new truths.