Tag: independent author

The first time they met – An excerpt from “Forever Avalon”

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This week, I’ll be signing copies of The Dark Tides at my first book signing at Barnes and Noble in Easton, Penn., on Wednesday, May 20, at 7 pm. I thought I would kick things off with an excerpt from my the first book in the series, Forever Avalon. This is the book that started it all for me as an independent author and, for anyone who hasn’t had a chance to read it yet, I want to give you a glimpse into the world of Forever Avalon as you to read about the first encounter between the Gil-Gamesh and his family, just after they arrived on the island.

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_“We need get moving and get you somewhere safe before more bounty hunters come looking for you,” he said as he walked past them and down the beach. “Everyone, follow me.”

“No!” Stephanie shouted. “We aren’t going anywhere with you until you tell me who you are, what’s going on here and where the Hell we are, because this certainly ain’t Bermuda! I mean, I appreciate you saving my life and my children’s lives, but we’re not going anywhere with you until I get some answers,” she demanded.

The Gil-Gamesh stopped in his tracks. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head and sighed. “You’re still as stubborn as I remember,” he said as he turned around and stared at her. “And still as beautiful too.”

Stephanie was stunned by what he said to her. Puzzled, she started to look at him very closely. She pulled her children in close, as if to protect them. “What? What do you mean? Who are
you?”

The Gil-Gamesh reached up, pulled the metal sheath off his face and dropped it to the ground. He pulled the hood of his cloak down, revealing long brown hair, peppered with streaks of gray at his temples. His face was older since they last saw him. He had a beard now with streaks of gray running through it. It covered a face they remembered as neat and clean-shaven. In his eyes, they saw something familiar. There was a look of pride … one of caring and love.

Stephanie saw her husband, Bryan Drake. The children saw their father, and he was alive. The shock was overwhelming, but the joy even greater.

“Daddy!” the children shouted in unison, running over to him. He knelt down and reached out—hugging his children close—feeling the warmth and love he thought he’d lost. He held them in his arms, his grip tighter and stronger than they remember, as he kissed each one of them.

“I’d never thought I’d see these wonderful faces again for as long as I live,” he exclaimed as tears welled up in his eyes.

Hunter held his father’s face in his hands, pulling it so Bryan would look right at him. “What happened to you Daddy?” he asked.

“Yeah, when’d you get all medieval?” Rose chimed in.

“You’ve got that 80’s rocker look with your hair, Dad. It’s so retro,” Ashley added, stroking her father’s hair.

Bryan just smiled and laughed. “Well, it’s a long story.” He stopped and looked past the children over at Stephanie. She stared at him and wondered if what she saw was real or just an illusion.
Bryan let go of his children and walked over to her. He took off his gloves, reached out and touched her face.

“Still as beautiful as in my dreams,” he told her, sweetly and sincerely. She reached up and touched his hand. She spied the wedding band on his finger—the one she put there over 20 years ago.

“Bryan, is it really you?”

He pulled her close and kissed her passionately. She’s hesitant but melted in his arms when she realized it’s really him. Stephanie wrapped her arms around him and returned the kiss, reigniting the passion and love she thought she’d lost.

He released her, still looking into her eyes. They’re both crying as tears ran down their cheeks. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed waking up to this face.”

She smiled at hearing that. “No, I look terrible,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. Then, reality sank back in and a thousand questions came to mind.

She pushed off him and got very serious, very fast. “Bryan, what’s going on? Where the Hell are we and why are you dressed like that?” she demanded.

The kids then chimed in with their questions. “What were those creatures? Were they really trolls?” Ashley asked. “How did you make that dragon appear? Are you a wizard or
something?” Rose inquired. “Those swords are so wicked … can I see them?” Hunter jumped in.

Bryan put his hands up to quiet them down, “Sh-h-h … all right, listen to me,” he said. “I know you have a lot of questions, but right now, I need to get you somewhere safe.” Stephanie tried to interject, but Bryan interrupted her. “Listen to me, Stef; there are more hunters like Biscuit out there looking for you,” he said, calling her by that familiar nickname he always called her.

“And I can’t protect you out in the open like this.” He walked down the beach in the direction he was heading before. “There’s a lighthouse just a few miles down the beach,” he said pointing
the way. “You’ll be safe there, and I promise, once we get there I’ll answer all your questions.”

Stephanie looked at Bryan, not sure whether to believe him or not. “Please Stef, you have to trust me. This is not the time or the place to sit down and talk. We need to get moving … now!”

She saw the honesty in his eyes and sensed the danger he mentioned as being very real. She didn’t want to endanger her children, so she had no choice.

* * *

I hope to see you there at my book signing. I always love the opportunity to speak with people about the story behind my book series.

Writer’s Block and, uh, well … How to get past it as quickly as possible, nor not!

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writers-block-text-cubeI’ve been sitting here for the past five minutes, trying to figure out what to write my next blog about, but I hit a wall. Writer’s block can be a royal pain in the … Wait a minute, that’s it! Writer’s block!

Writer’s block can and always will be the angst of anyone who spent time writing everything from a term paper to the great novel; but it’s especially frustrating for new authors like me. You have all these great ideas swirling around your head but every time you try to put pen to paper or hands to keyboard, it just won’t come out.

When I started writing my first novel, Forever Avalon, I found it rather easy to write. During the two years I spent writing, the words flowed quite freely. That changed when I started writing the next book in the Forever Avalon series, The Dark Tides.

Before I go any further, I need to provide you with a little bit of background on my novels. Forever Avalon is about a Sailor who falls overboard during a storm at sea and finds himself on the magical island of Avalon. A year later, his family follows him and ends up on the island with him, but time passes differently on Avalon so one year for them has been ten years for him.

That being said, when I started writing the next book in the series, I originally wanted to do a prequel, focusing on the 10 years Bryan MoonDrake spent on Avalon before his family showed up. It started out easy for me. The story flowed as easily as my first novel. Then, I hit the wall.

No matter what I tried, I just lost my train of thought. I spent months writing about 1/3 of the book and I was stumped with a bad case of writer’s block. Nothing helped getting me back on track, so I just walked away. I had to take a step back for the time being until I knew where I wanted to go with the story.

I knew the story I wanted to tell but I just couldn’t translate that on paper. It was so frustrating. All the while, I kept having thoughts and dreams of the next chapter of the story, picking up where I left off. Then … Light bulb!

I started writing again, but this time I continued the the adventures of the MoonDrake family as their daughter Ashley returned to Avalon with her new husband Andrew for a honeymoon on a medieval fantasy world.

The problem was, I didn’t want to lose the huge amount of work I already put in on the prequel. That’s when I decided to use those pages as flashbacks to help move the story along. This was something I saw before in a great novel by Robert McCammon called The Wolf’s Hour.

In my 30 years as a journalist and author, I have found that the best cure for writer’s block is to walk away, collect your thoughts and then get back in there and break though. You have to keep writing, no matter what you do.

Writer Meme

I also realized that you always have to go with your gut. I ignored the idea of continuing the Forever Avalon story right where I left off because I had my heart set on writing a prequel. It was because of that writer’s block that I finally put myself on the right path and was able to writer The Dark Tides.

Do let writer’s block stop you from finishing your work, use it get yourself on the right track and tell the story you were meant to write.

Adding faith and religion to novels without preaching to the choir

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faith-3I want to start out by saying that this blog post is not meant to demean or insult anyone’s faith or religion, quite the opposite. I want to talk about how I incorporated my faith and religious beliefs in my novels as a writer.

When I was deployed overseas, the one thing we were regularly briefed about was to never talk politics or religion with people we encountered in the foreign ports. These were considered taboo as they can change the tone of a discussion rather quickly, and I tend to agree, especially in this day and age. In any discussion about religion, you might find yourself hit from the left and the right.

I don’t really consider myself a religious person. I believe and put all my faith in God for what happens in my life but I have been hurt by “organized religion” on more than one occassion so I distrust the church. I have found myself coming back to it, though, through the teachings of Joel Osteen. His sermons are quite inspirational and are giving me hope in the church again.

When you try to translate faith into writing, it can be rather difficult: Your “one-on-one” connection with God is very personal and you don’t want someone to get angry reading your book if they’re looking for a fantasy novel and instead find a Sunday School lesson. I approached it to reflect my own faith through the faith of my characters.

Here are a couple of examples. In my book, The Dark Tides, as Captain Edan O’Brian is about to take the Morning Star on a cliff run , he recites an old Sailor’s prayer:

“Though my sails be torn and ragged and my mast be turned about; though the night wind chills me to my soul. Though spray stings my eye and the stars no sight provide, give me just enough Lord ‘til morning light to hold.”

This was a simple prayer yet it conveyed so much about a Sailor’s faith in God to help him through the worst conditions. That was the same faith I carried with me through my 23-year career in the U.S. Navy.

Another great example from The Dark Tides is Sarafina’s prayer before the goblin attack at the Battle of Merlin’s Pinnacle:

“Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. My fortress, my high tower, my deliverer, my shield; and the One in whom I take refuge. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit … Amen.”

This was a warrior’s prayer and, as most of my fellow veterans can atest to, is an example of faith and courage before impending battle. These prayers were the best way I found to profess my own faith in God through my stories without turning them into a sermon.

That’s how I believe faith acts within our lives; a simple yet profound belief that God is there for you, in good times and bad. It is that faith that carries us through our life and into the next. Whatever your faith may be, I hope you are blessed in all that you do.

The great search for what to write about, better known as “Research Hell”

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The-writer2-e1374715549958As both an instructor at the Defense Information School (DINFOS Trained Killer!) and a guest speaker to high school students about writing, I always stress one thing above all … RESEARCH! Youcan’t write the next “Great American Novel” unless you do your research and to that I say, thank God for Google!

I don’t know how I survived high school, college and military “A” school without the internet. I can remember looking things up in gigantic volumes of Encyclopedia Britannica, both at home and at the local library, whenever I had a paper due. Even though they were outdated after a few years, you had to reference them in practically everything you wrote about.

After the internet and home computer came online, the best source for research was Microsoft Encarta. I remember buying it for my home computer so my kids had an available reference tool without having to go online. In the days of 56 kbs, the internet was slow moving and tedious, especially when all we had was dial-up.

Research is the key for any writer, and not just about your subject matter. For both Forever Avalon and The Dark Tides, I based a lot of my story on my own imagination and characters I played during my informative years of Dungeons and Dragons. That’s when I discovered I had a lot of holes in my story that I needed to fill.

So I began researching mythologies of every culture from Norway to Germany and Britain to Africa. I learned how to curse in Viking and used a latin translator program (thank you University of Notre Dame) as the basis for spells. I can’t even begin to imagine how long I would have had to spend in my local library, looking through book after book, tearing through the card catalogue to find every last bit of research I needed.

That’s why I said “thank God for Google!” As much as many of us hate the “Big Brother” aspect of the internet giant, they are an invaluable tool for the writer. Add to that dictionary.com, because you always need to find different ways to say words in a story to avoid repitition.

Most of all, remmeber where every story begins … in the heart and soul of the writer. As I’ve said before, the Forever Avalon series came from recurring dreams after long hours of D&D while deployed thousands of miles from my family. It was in that emotional void that I found the story I was waiting my whole life to tell.

“How the Japanese influenced my life as a writer” or “My childhood was fueled by Anime”

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speedracer2

There are many things in geekdom today that have been influenced in some way, shape or form by Japanese anime. It fills cartoons today as it did when I was a child. Before the days of cable TV, cartoons were mostly relegated to Saturday mornings. During the week, it was only found on UHF (that’s Ultra High Frequency to those born after 1980). That’s where I found my love for anime.

Speed Racer, Marine Boy, Gigantor were all English dubbed anime from the Far East. There was even Ultra Man before there was something called Power Rangers. They had wild animation, catchy theme songs and out-of-this-world adventure for a young developing mind to suck in. These shows are to me what Bonanza and The Andy Griffith Show are to my parents.

These shows are what I got up early to watch before going to school and raced home to watch after school. When I watch them today, it evokes such emotion and memories of childhood. I know that sounds cliche, but it’s absolutely true. These are the stories of my childhood.

And the best one of them all was Star Blazers. In Japan, it was called Space Battleship Yamato, named after the great battleship that sunk during World War II. Where I remember names like Wildstar, Nova, Captain Avatar and Leader Desslok, they had Kodai, Yuki, Captain Okita and Leader Deslar. It didn’t matter what language it was in or their names, it was one of the best animes ever made.

argo-3Best of all was the ship, the Argo (or Yamato for purists) was my Enterprise. It was a sleek battleship with retractable wings, a third bridge underneath the hull and a KICK-ASS weapon in the Wave Motion Gun. Nothing can compare to the thrill of watching them fire that weapon. It was nothing short of awesome!

The show was riviting, with every episode ending with the countdown for the “Star Force” to complete their mission. I couldn’t wait until the new season started as they faced peril again, this time at the hands of the Comet Empire, but with the aid of a super-powered alien woman whose voice sounded like marshmellows soaked in honey. It was another clash with an alien super-power against a ship and crew that couldn’t be destroyed and would never give up.

When I think back to these animes, I can’t believe how much they influenced me as a writer. Yes, the stories were a little cheesy, overly cliched and highly predictable but I loved them. They taught me the basics of any good story … Have a beginning, middle and end; be consistent throughout and see the humor in every lesson about life.

Anime today has it’s good and bad but, in my eyes, it can’t compare to what I grew up with. They recently made a live action Space Battleship Yamato and, though I loved seeing the ship in all its glory, the story was nothing like the original. I think that’s the key.

Five things I’ve learned about self-publishing

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self-publishing-in-india-whySelf-publishing my novels has been a learning experience for me, and I will admidt an expensive one. Between my two books, “Forever Avalon” and “The Dark Tides,” I’ve put out a little over $10,000 in publishing, travel expenses, setting up book signings, a publicist and more. To some people, that’s probably right up there with people spending thousands of dollars on extreme Christmas decorations or collecting Ty Beanie Babies.

I have to admidt, it wasn’t an easy decision for me either. As much as I love writing, I know that publishing these books has to be beneficial for me and my family, not just a boost for my ego. I honestly believed that my stories about the world of Forever Avalon can and would bring that financial success to me. That’s why I decided to self-publish.

When I first started the process of finding someone to publish my book, it was a completely different story. I honestly thought that once someone read my manuscript, I would get that call, sign with an agent and be able to retire, spending my days writing about the things I love. However, that wasn’t how it happened. Rejection letter after rejection letter showed me I had a lot to learn. If I wanted to see my story in print, I’d have to pay for it myself.

So what did I learn from this experience? First and foremost, be prepared for the expense of self-publishing. If it’s something you truly believe in and want to pursue, be prepared for the cost. There are a lot of little expenses you don’t realize once you start down that road. I’m talking travel expenses, book signings, advertising and publicity, not to mention editorial changes and corrections. In the end, they all add up.

Second, don’t rely on spellcheck when editing your book. Most self-publishers don’t edit your novel unless you pay per word. I missed so many errors in my first book I had them pull it to make the corrections before re-issuing it. This then falls back to the extra costs I talked about before. When you’re doing this on your own, you’re not going to catch every mistake, so make sure you have an extra set of eyes looking over your manuscript.

Third, pick a good publisher. There are many companies out there for self publishing, but the best ones are associated with big name publishers and offer a large variety of services, not just formatting your manuscript and slapping a cover on it. Do your research and you can find the publisher that fits you best.

Number four, patience is a must in self-publishing. I found myself checking numbers and sales each and every day. You can’t delude yourself into thinking that your book will be an overnight success, selling millions of copies in the first month. You’re one book in a world where thousands of books are published each and every year. You have to find your niche and hope they like it.

Last but not least, never give up on yourself or your book. Being a writer isn’t easy and, for those of us working hard at our craft, it takes a lot of dedication and practice, practice, practice. Keep writing and believe in yourself and your novel. As my wife always tells me, “Put your faith in God and the rest will fall into place.”

Faith and family, that’s what it’s all about.

Fantasy – What a Wonderful World!

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Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer and cartoonist.

Theodor Seuss Geisel was a writer and cartoonist known for his children’s books.

According to the immortal Dr. Seuss, “Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.” There’s an element of truth in what he said that we can relate too.

When I was growing up, I was always called a dreamer, living my life in a fantasy world. I would watch cartoons and read comic books, even into adulthood. It never really bothered me, and today, it turns out it’s actually cool to be a geek.

That being said, I think fantasy is the best of all the genres because of its ability to cross over from one genre to the next. When you look at James Cameron’s Pandora in “Avatar” or George Lucas’ many worlds in the  “Star Wars” series, it sits on par with the wilds of Westeros in “Game of Thrones” or Middle Earth from Tolkien. These are worlds created from the minds of these amazing writers.

That’s what I love about fantasy … It can be anything you want it to be but it is usually grounded in some form of mythology. That’s why I chose Avalon and characters from Arthurian legend for “Forever Avalon” and “The Dark Tides” novels. It gave me a great base on which to build my fantasy world.

Though the names and places are familiar, the world in which the sit is all my own. From the depths of the Gilded Halls of the Dwarves of Avalon to the splendor of The Elven Kingdom of Alfheimer and the darkness at the heart of Blackbriar Forest, this is my world … My Avalon!

I will admit, it helped being a “Dungeon Master” in my youth but that just brought it all together under one dungeon, so to speak. To put it quite literally, my imagination was blended together like a fruit smoothie, pouring out onto the pages of my novels.

This past week, I was speaking to a group of high school students at my alma mater, Phillipsburg High School in Phillipsburg, N.J. They asked me about my favorite authors that inspired me. I said the usual, J.R.R. Tolkien and Michael Moorcock, but I left out some of the most influential.

Ridley Scott's "Legend" from 1985 starring Tom Cruise.

Ridley Scott’s “Legend” from 1985 starring Tom Cruise.

C.S. Lewis, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs took us to far flung worlds out of time and space. Their words still resound today in books, movies and television. That’s what it means to be a great storyteller!

One of my favorite fantasy movies is Ridley Scott’s “Legend” with Tom Cruise; not really considered a blockbuster but a visually stunning film. Seeing Tim Curry as the Lord of Darkness is an image seared into my mind whenever I think of something that represents evil. The Elves, Fairies, Goblins and creatures were perfect in its simplicity and that’s the beauty of it.

That’s what I put into the design of my interpretation of Avalon … Simple yet memorable. I think of it as simply stated in this quote by author and cartoonist Lynda Barry … “We don’t create a fantasy world to escape reality. We create it to to be able to stay.” Truer words were never spoken …

Creating the world of Forever Avalon

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It’s easy to create something when you’ve got such a great subject to work with. I remember watching movies like “The Adventures of Robin Hood”, “Excalibur” and the first animated version of “The Hobbit” as a teenager. Right then and there, I was hooked on swords and sorcery, fantasy and adventure. I grew even more enamored when “Dragonslayer” came out in 1981. I saw that movie over and over again when it was first released. The special effects for the dragon were remarkable.

The world of Forever Avalon might have come from long, sleepless nights of Dungeons & Dragons, but it was built on something that already had a mythology. The story of King Arthur, Merlin, Morgana le Fay and the Knights of the Round Table was steeped in legend across time in many different cultures.

It was in those myths and legends that I came up with the concept behind the series … What happened next? They say there is always fact somewhere behind the myth, and that led me to one simple question: Why doesn’t magic exist in our world anymore?

Of course, the answer is because it now exists on Avalon. When King Arthur died, Merlin saw this as an end to the “Age of Magic” in our world, but magic was all he’d ever know. He had to take precautions to keep magic and those “touched” by magic (dragons, Elves, Dwarves, etc.) alive forever.

This is where my story begins, with Merlin using his powers to bring everything magical to the island of Avalon. Now I know that in most mythology, England is considered Avalon, or more specifically Wales. That may be, but my Avalon had to be somewhere separate from the real world. So I created Avalon as an island unto itself.

I have to admit that by doing this, I am cheating a little. Instead of creating an entirely new world like the Westeros in Game of Thrones or Middle Earth in The Hobbit, I’m using one that already existed. I think of this as more of a comfort for readers, making it easier for them to immerse themselves into the story without needing a lot of back story to fill in the gaps.

Plus, you add to it the many different cultures and interpretations of a single mythological creature and you come up with hundreds of varieties to choose from. Lord Bryan MoonDrake, the Gil-Gamesh, is a DragonMage and Lord of Dragons. In researching this part for my novels, I discovered thousands of varieties of dragons from every corner of the planet.

This is why I built my world of Forever Avalon and The Dark Tides around established mythologies. People from India, African, Scandinavia and anywhere else in Europe will find something they can relate to in my novels. To me, a world of magic, Avalon is a refuge for all types of magical birds, beasts and dark dwellers.

Take a step into the world of Forever Avalon and I know you will find something in there just for you!

The magic behind the “Forever Avalon” series

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“Imagination is the beginning of creation,” according to George Bernard Shaw. Where does the imagination begin and where will it take you next? For me, it started with a game.

I began playing Dungeons and Dragons in college in the early 1980s. I had always been interested in medieval fantasy, magic and the supernatural and this was an opportunity to escape the monotony of college and work by spending long weekends doing nothing but ordering pizza, drinking beer and playing D&D with my friends.

I took my books and dice with me when I joined the Navy in 1983. I found many Sailors who played and we formed a tight-knit group, playing on off-duty hours in whatever space we could find, from the mess decks to an aircraft elevator maintenance room.

This is where the Forever Avalon series began. It started as a recurring dream. I was a young Sailor, separated from his new wife and child by thousands of miles of ocean. When you combine that with 16 hour workdays and 3-4 hours of D&D, it can lead to troubled sleep.

I started having these dreams about falling overboard in a storm and finding myself on an island of medieval magic and fantasy and trying to survive in this new world. Eventually, my family came into in my dreams, as a way of bringing me closer to them during the long deployments at sea. It seemed like every time I went to sea, the dream was right there with me. Even after I stopped playing D&D, I still had the dream throughout my 23 year career in the Navy.

My last deployment was in 2001 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. It was then I decided to start writing it down. It was a long process, putting together the dream as one story.

I used my family as inspiration for the Drake family in Forever Avalon. Their unique personalities, quirks and mannerisms made it easy to create these characters. Lord Bryan MoonDrake, the Gil-Gamesh, was based on the last character I played in D&D. He was a Half-Elf Fighter/Thief/Magic User who wielded two swords, wore a cloak of invisibility with many pockets that acted like a “Bag of Holding” and a dragon as a familiar. This was the beginning of Forever Avalon.

I also wanted to fit my story into a mythology that was familiar to people. That’s when I decided to incorporate the Authurian legend of Avalon, Merlin, Percival and Excalibur, taking a “what happened next” approach in the mythos. This completed my book and, to tell you the truth, once I finish my first novel, the dreams went away and I never had it again.

After I published Forever Avalon in 2009, I immediately started writing my next book in the series. I originally wanted to do a prequel, to tell the story of Bryan MoonDrake’s life on Avalon before his family arrived, but my heart wasn’t into it. I wanted to continue the story where I left off. So I took the pages I already wrote for the prequel and used them as flashback sequences to help tell the story of The Dark Tides.

Like the title says, “Avalon is forever” and I want to continue telling the story of the MoonDrake family wherever it will take me.