One Dad's Journey To Becoming A Fiction Author by Carey Green, Author of Dragon Slayer: Beginnings

Print Length: 270 pages
Publisher: Christian Home and Family (March 15, 2014)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00IUMGOPU

Buy the book: Amazon

Dragons have been forgotten, relegated to the realm of legend and myth. But tales of horror circulate among the common people. Rumors of their attacks float on the night wind. They are a fearsome presence that haunts the memories of the old and the nightmares of the young. They are forgotten, but they are not gone. The dragon masters wait, a dark force lurking in the shadows of every land. They will have their opportunity. They will rise. A young boy is stripped violently from his family and thrust into the conflict between dragon masters and feudal lords. Through tragedy and loss Hon is swept into the conflict while battling the fear and pain that grips his own soul. Dragon Slayer: Beginnings is a story of life and the growth of faith in the midst of loss. It’s about the battle every person goes through to become more than their past has destined them to be. He is the first. He will be the best. He is the Dragon Slayer.

It's quite a humbling reality to be able to say, I'm just releasing my first novel, "Dragon Slayer: Beginnings," I can’t fully express just how exciting it is! In my mind, it's pretty amazing, considering that it's one of the last roads I ever thought I'd be traveling.

My personal story starts where a lot of author's stories begin: I LOVED to read as a kid. My mom would take us to the library on Saturdays and we'd come home with piles of books (sound familiar?). I remember enjoying the fantastic tales of Dr. Seuss and Bill Peet. They're some of my favorites to this day.

As I grew older, I got started playing a fantasy role playing game with some friends of mine, and that led me to a new season of reading. I stayed up late into the night reading Poul Anderson, J.R.R. Tolkien, Piers Anthony, and Mary Stewart to name a few. There was something about the fantasy worlds and colorful characters those authors created, that set my mind racing.

Like every kid, I grew up. I went to two colleges, got married before I was finished, and started adult life, never thinking that I'd become an author. For over 20 years I served as a Pastor in various churches around the United States, and began developing curriculum to go along with things I was teaching. I guess you could technically say, that's when I first became a writer. But what I was doing then was non-fiction, and there's a world of difference in that, and what I've done in putting together my first novel. Nevertheless, it helped me learn how to communicate, using the written word. In fact, I think writing for the purpose of teaching helped me hone my skills in ways that wouldn't have happened otherwise.

When my kids got to the age that they could understand and appreciate a good story, a strange transformation happened. I became a story teller. At first my stories were nothing more than a fun thing we did on road trips, to pass the time. My adolescent interest in the fantasy genre came back to me, and I decided to tell them a series of stories about the same character; a young boy who became a dragon slayer. They were known as the "Hon Stories," and they became the bedtime-stories-of-choice in our growing household.

At that time, every one of the "Hon Stories" followed the same basic plot:

•  Hon would hear of a dragon that was menacing a village or region
•  He would go on a journey for the purpose of slaying it, rescuing the people.
•  In the process, He'd discover that each dragon was unique, and therefore his tactics in defeating it had to be unique.

I always filled the stories with mystery, tension, and scary situations. My kids loved them!

Growing older, my kids looked back on those stories with fondness, and eventually encouraged me to put them into book form. For a very long time, the pace of life didn't allow me to write anything. I didn't see myself as a fiction writer anyway, so I put the idea out of my mind. But, as I wrote more and more non-fiction, the "fiction bug" finally bit me. I remembered my kids' encouragement to put the "Hon stories" into print, and I began writing.

It's funny; the plot, story, and theme of my first novel, "Dragon Slayer: Beginnings," hardly resembles the stories I first told my children, and it makes sense why that's the case. Those stories were too simplistic. They were for bed-time entertainment, and were produced spontaneously, right out of my head. They wouldn't have been substantial enough for a full-blown novel, much less a series. So I took the main characters and idea, and I worked the stories over, developing the characters into more than stereotypes, and the plot into more than a predictable series of bedtime stories. Now, the story has got dramatic tension, loveable (or hate-worthy) characters, and a sense of intrigue that I believe is going to keep people coming back for more.

But something else interesting happened as I began writing fiction. My teaching bent came full circle and integrated itself into my novel writing. I wasn't interested in just telling stories for the sake of telling stories. I wanted to write something that could impact the way my readers think, feel, and live. I believe that the written word, and especially the power of a good story, can change a person's life. Jesus obviously believed that. He told "parables," stories based in everyday life to illustrate eternal truths. In "Beginnings," I've tried to do the same thing, but with a slightly different approach.

Hon's life is like any other. He experiences losses, tragedies, joys, and sorrows. He struggles to make sense

of it, and he fights to overcome his own shortcomings and sins. He's a very flawed character, but one who's fighting to become more than his life and experiences have made him to be.

I'd love for you to pick up a FREE copy of the first three chapters of the first book, "Dragon Slayer: Beginnings." (http://books.noisetrade.com/careygreen/dragon-slayer-beginnings) I hope you like it.

I'm also doing a book giveaway, that I'd love for you to enter. You could be the lucky person who wins a signed copy of the book! Go to www.DragonSlayerBook.com/win to enter. 

Finally, I'd also like to give you a FREE promotional poster (shown to the right), in exchange for your email address. (LINK: www.DragonSlayerBook.com/RTposter)

Before I wrap things up, I'd like to say thanks to Amy, here at Reading Teen. Amy, you've been very helpful and more than encouraging. I'm honored to be able to tell my story to your readers.


Thanks - Carey Green


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carey Green is a follower of Christ, husband, dad, grand-pop, author, speaker, marriage and family coach, and a handful of other things. He lives with his family in the mountains of Colorado. You can find his book, "Dragon Slayer: Beginnings" on Amazon. Feel free to contact Carey to chat about writing, faith, family life, or whatever. Carey@DragonSlayerBook.com . He loves to interact with folks who read his books!