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Archive for about the series

Dragon Slayer Beginnings fantasy fiction

FICTION FUNDRAISERS: Expanding the eternal impact of the Dragon Slayer series

Posted by faithforward@gmail.com 
· Wednesday, December 9th, 2015 

Fiction can change lives.

I truly believe that because of the impact stories have had on me personally. Our brains are wired for story. Our souls long to be part ofa grand tale and thankfully, in Christ we are.

For that reason, and because my books are laced with eternal themes, it’s important to me to get the books into the hands of people who will actually read them. If I could afford to simply give them away, I would (and I CAN afford to do that with electronic versions, so if you know someone who could truly use one but can’t afford it, let me know.)

Dragon Slayer Beginnings fantasy fiction

Book one in my fantasy fiction series

But I think I’ve found a way to expand the ministry reach of the series, even with paperback copies, in a self-perpetuating manner.

Fiction fundraisers

My idea is pretty simple: I would partner with non-profit groups I believe in (En Gedi Retreat is an example of one I’ve already approached) to see if they would be interested in promoting my first novel to their donor list, email list, or via their website and/or social media for a predetermined period of time. Over the timeframe of our partnership the non-profit gets all the profits from that book’s sales (after costs).

The benefits as I see them?

  1. I’m able to help a cause I believe in.
  2. The cause is able to provide a God-honoring, life-changing resource to their constituents.
  3. The book’s Amazon sales rank gets a boost, therefore becoming easier for all “searchers” to find on Amazon, thus extending the reach of the books organically.
  4. The other books in the series are placed on the radar of the entire list of constituents as a possible additional purchase in the future (it IS a series, after all).
  5. The increased income for me that comes from #4 enables me to do the same thing again for another non-profit, a even offer the books as a free gift in certain cases.
  6. The increased notoriety of the books that comes via increased Amazon sales and a growing fan base makes this sort of non-profit partnership more desirable for future non-profits to consider.

I really think this could work

Fiction fundraiser partnerships I’d be interested in…

There are lots of non-profits I’d love to support in this way. Some ideas I’ve had so far…

  • Youth groups
  • Crisis pregnancy centers
  • Community missions or homeless shelters
  • Churches
  • Pastoral support agencies or retreat centers (like En Gedi)
  • Christian camps
  • Niche ministries like Dave Roever

I’ve never heard of anything like this being done but I see no reason it couldn’t work. And the better it works the more in-demand and more effective it could become.

Do you have any contacts with non-profit leaders or organizers who might be interested in this idea?

I’d love to chat with them about the possibilities. Now that book #3 is underway there’s even more reason for me to get excited about out of the box ways to use these fictional fantasy tales to change lives.

In order to make it easy for the non-profit organizers to feel good about the partnership, I’d want to gift them e-book copies of all the books in the series so they could know first-hand what they’d be promoting. I’m also eager to provide a clearly written agreement that outlines the partnership as well as verification from my Amazon sales amount of the non-profit’s “earnings” during the partnership period.

If you think you might be able to make some introductions that could help me get this idea rolling, here’s how you could do that:

  • Share this post with your non-profit organizer/leader contacts.
  • Introduce me to them via a cc: email – carey (AT) DragonSlayerBook (DOT) com.
  • Share this post repeatedly on social media, along with your personal encouragement for others to read it. You may know somebody who knows the one person who could skyrocket the idea.
  • Comment below to let me know who I could contact to get the ball rolling.

I would love to hear your thoughts about this idea. I’m sure somebody out there could improve upon my basic ideas. Comment in the section at the bottom of this post to offer your tweaks.

Categories : about the series
Dragon Slayer Book 3

The 3rd novel is in the works

Posted by faithforward@gmail.com 
· Sunday, December 6th, 2015 

It’s been almost 7 months since book #2 in the Dragonslayer series was released.

I figure it’s time to get moving on the final installment.

I’ve had ideas and scenarios clanging around in my head for book #3 for a very long time.

I’m starting this next week – first on the outline, then once I’m happy with its general shape I’ll probably dedicate at least an hour each morning to filling it in chapter at a time.

I might even take one of my writing retreats in the months following Christmas.

10,000 words per day?

It may sound unrealistically ambitious, and probably is, but a lot has been written of late about how to get as much as 10,000 words written per day.

One of my new internet friends, Shelley Hitz, teaches writers how to increase their writing speed, so I’ll probably grab her book before I get started. Though most of the “write faster” books out there nowadays are written as a help for nonfiction authors, I think there is plenty to apply as a fiction writer. I’m hoping to apply some of those principles to get #3 completed in record time.

I appreciate your prayers about that as I get going.

I truly believe that fiction can be a powerful tool for the transformation of people’s hearts.

Jesus used parables (fiction) to communicate truth. God used visions (fiction) to communicate His plans. We humans have been made creative beings who are able to tell and appreciate the power of stories (fiction).

My prayer is that the LORD of creation will use my simple stories to pass along His truth and change lives.

Thanks for your support.

Categories : about the series, the writing process
Tags : book 3, dragon slayer, fiction, power of writing

Fantasy fiction from a Christian perspective – DS 2 releases May 1, 2015

Posted by faithforward@gmail.com 
· Thursday, April 30th, 2015 

Writing fantasy fiction is not as easy as I once thought…

a young J.R.R. Tolkien, fantasy fiction author

a young J.R.R. Tolkien, fantasy fiction author

So says I, author of now 2 novels out of an originally planned 5 (It’s since dwindled to 3. It’s all I can muster at this point in my life).

But it’s been a lot of fun, regardless.

I’ve always enjoyed fantasy fiction, especially growing up. By the time I was in Jr. High school was reading Tolkien, Piers Anthony, and others. It was a very fun time for my growing mind…

But I never dreamed I’d be writing my own fantasy fiction series. That is, until I had kids.

These fantasy fiction stories come from the same place that many authors find their inspiration – stories they told their kids when they were small.

I don’t know how I decided to tell the first story to the kids. It was probably a lark on a car ride home from church or a friend’s house.

Dragons sounded good, so I created this character out of thin air: Hon, the Dragon Slayer.

Each installment of the story featured this brave, resourceful Dragon Slayer who fought a different dragon (of a different color and with varying breath weapons) in each story.

They were fun, childish stories then, with Hon winning every battle, never getting seriously hurt, and being the sterling hero that kids appreciate.

I remember the car rides home from various places and the kids yelling, “Daddy, tell us a “Hon story!” Those were the first iterations of these books.

These fantasy fiction books have come a very long way from their original inspirations.

Now the “Hon stories” have become 350+ page adventures, full of real-life issues that challenge the reader on a deep level.

I know, because writing about the issues in these books challenged me on a personal level.

There are struggles with loss, hope, anger, tragedy, faith, and the goodness of God in all of it. And I try really hard to address those things without coming off as “preachy” or sanctimonious.

Reviewers of the first book have said that I’ve done a pretty good job of it. I’m thankful for their encouragement.

These Christian fantasy fiction books are available… almost…

Dragon Slayer Beginnings fantasy fiction

Book one in my fantasy fiction series

If you’d like to get your own copies of book one “Dragon Slayer: Begnnings” with it’s new and improved red cover, it’s available in ebook or paperback at http://amzn.com/B00IUMGOPU

The new book (at the top of this post) releases tomorrow – May 1, 2015 in both ebook ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VU6XGHC ) and paperback (https://www.createspace.com/5423699 ) formats.

I appreciate any feedback on the books and would also be totally blessed if you are able to pass the word along to anyone you think might be interested.

You can use the social media buttons on this post to do that.

And also, if you could leave a review of the books on Amazon once you’ve read them. That would be great too!

Most of all, I’d appreciate your prayers for this new series to break into the fantasy fiction market so more lives can be impacted for the kingdom of God!

There’s nothing that would matter more to me.

Thanks for your encouragement and support!

Categories : about the series, release information

Dragon Slayer: Rising is now available for Pre-order on Amazon

Posted by faithforward@gmail.com 
· Thursday, April 9th, 2015 

If you’ just can’t wait (even though you’ll have to wait until May 1st, 2015) you can pre-order the Kindle version of “Dragon Slayer: Rising” and it will be delivered to your Kindle or Kindle account on May 1, 2015.

How can you do it?

Click the big yellow button!

preorder button

 

And if you’d be so kind as to pass along this message to others you know might be interested – I’d appreciate it!

Categories : about the series, release information
Tags : amazon book, dragon slayer, pre-order, preorder

How I decided to write a YA/Adult Christian fiction novel

Posted by faithforward@gmail.com 
· Friday, February 7th, 2014 

WHERE DID DRAGON SLAYER STORY IDEA COME FROM?

The Dragon Slayer Chronicles are stories I told to my kids years ago, made up on the spot for evening story time.

They’ve encouraged me for years to write them out, which has proved challenging, since they were made up in the first place. But, the more I’ve thought about the idea, the more appealing and compelling it has become. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at fiction, so this is my chance!

It’s been fun to get to know the characters that have only floated around in my head in the past. It’s also fun developing them, and the storyline, as I go. Yes, that’s how I write. I only have a rough outline in my mind when I begin… and it changed many times due to what came out as I wrote. Strange, I know… but it worked for me.

WHY FANTASY FICTION?

The genre choice comes in part from the fact that these are stories I made up for my kids. But it also probably stems from the fact that I read lots of fantasy fiction novels growing up. I just like the genre. Buy it’s not a “true” fantasy novel. Here’s why…

WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT THESE BOOKS?

Three main things:

1) Unlike most fantasy, I’m trying to keep these books as firmly based in reality as possible. No magic, sorcerers, or eerie, unearthly things going on. The only exception to that might be the reality of the spiritual realm (God, angels, demons), which definitely exist in my books, but I haven’t decided yet if I’ll make it overt (ala Ted Dekker and Fran Peretti). We’ll see.

You might say, “But the main character fights dragons. DRAGONS! That’s not very realistic.”

I beg to differ (sort of).  The book of JOB (in the Bible, Job 41) describes a creature that spits fire and puffs smoke and sounds like, well, a dragon. I believe the Bible to be true (not mythical) and therefore believe that these creatures did exist at one time. I mean come on, we have Bombadier Beetles that can shoot boiling hot liquid out its backside…. why not dragons that can spit fire?

2) I believe good fiction helps us think about and respond to real life. I’m seeking to make these books about the journey of a boy into the realm of manhood, including the element of personal faith. Though the world in which Hon does his thing is entirely fictional (even geographically), I’ve tried to base the circumstances and events along the lines of what happens in the real world.

I am creating characters who are real, flawed, have struggles, and feel the weight and pain of their own losses, failings, and sins. Hon is no different. In the struggle with his own humanity he’ll also battle to have faith in God through Christ, in the very real circumstances of his life – good and bad. It might be helpful to think of Hon as a “real person” in a “different world.” The same needs we have are the needs he has.

I’m not going to be formulaic in how I present faith-based topics (a sign of “bad” Christian fiction, in my opinion) but I’m not going to shy away from the need to struggle through the issue of personal faith either. I’m also very clear about the gospel, every person’s need for it, and the reality of God.

3) Over the course of the series I want to use these fictional accounts to address biblical real-life issues that are important to the family. Life. Death. Relationships. Communication. Courage. Manhood. Womanhood. Parenting… and the list goes on.

WHEN IS THE FIRST DRAGON SLAYER BOOK GOING TO BE AVAILABLE?

The first book, “Beginnings” should be available for purchase March 15, 2014. Right now I have it in the hands of a “writing coach” and am taking a break from even looking at the book.

WHAT FORMATS ARE YOU GOING TO PROVIDE?

I’ll be providing MOBI (Kindle) and hard copy (paperback) at first… possibly EPUB as well. I’ll likely move it into other electronic formats over time. The books will be for sale on Amazon, with links to Amazon here on the website.

I LOVE WHAT YOU’RE DOING. HOW CAN I HELP?

If you like the idea of what I’m trying to create, you can help by spreading the word. I’d love to see the book-launch week get an overwhelming response… and that can’t happen without you.

What that means is:

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  • PRAY that God will guide me and bless me as I write. It’s hard work and I want to do it as unto Him.
  • Use the social media buttons at the bottom of this post or on the share page to, well,  share this page with others in every social media channel you use.
  • If you see me  post about the book on Facebook, Google Plus, or Twitter, please repost it, like it, plus 1 it, retweet it, whatever applies.
  • Share the posts you see on social media channels. The more you share it the more people will see it to make the book launch in the Fall a success.
  • Email your friends and share this link (www.dragonslayerbook.com).
  • Encourage them to sign up for the “Fan list” at the top of this page so that I can let them know when the book comes out. Everyone who does will be entered to win a signed copy of the book (paperback). Feel free to enter yourself as well!
  • Do you know of anyone who would be interested in reviewing this book on their blog or podcast or radio show? Make the introduction!
  • Do you know anyone who might be interested in interviewing me about the book (podcast, radio, TV)? I’d love the opportunity, and would be forever grateful!
  • PRAY that the LORD will propel this book into a place of prominence in the Christian fiction marketplace so that I can lead others to think about the real issues of life through these stories.
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Thanks for your support, enthusiasm, encouragement, and prayers regarding this project. Your comments are welcome below!

Categories : about the series
Tags : Christian adventure, christian fiction, Christian novel, christian YA, How did I write my book, how to write a book, story ideas