Scott Appleton's Blog, page 14

Building "The Sword of the Dragon" brand: What's the advantage?

When I released the first The Sword of the Dragon novel I hoped to write the seven books and then expand with offshoot storylines in stand-alone novels and new series, much as Star Wars and Dungeons & Dragons have done.

We're looking at a fourth book in the main series to release later this year (titled In Search of Dragons) from AMG/Living Ink Publishers. I am maintaining control of many of the rights, therefore the Neverqueen series is releasing from my own imprint Flaming Pen Press. We will release Neverqueen 2: The Suffering Chalice in or before November 2014. I am excited for other books that I  am planning as well, including a novel detailing what happens to Specter after he secures the Key of Living Fire and vanished through the portal.

The advantage is that the story never has to end and as resources increase we can branch out into audiobooks, video games, and eventually other mediums.

I've placed a poll on the blog sidebar so that you can vote which title you'd like to see in audiobook format first.

Marcher Lord Press sold... to the Laube Agency?

As are many in the Christian speculative fiction market, I am quite stunned by the announcement that Jeff Gerke has sold Marcher Lord Press (MLP) to the Steve Laube Agency.

Looking around the web I see a lot of speculation and mostly disappointment surrounding this announcement.

Clearly the concern is that MLP will lose its edge, and I quite agree that this is a genuine concern. With Jeff at the helm the company has pressed into daring ground and, it can be argued, Jeff himself has become the MLP brand.

I am not a fan of vampire fiction, but I applauded Jeff's decision to publish Vampires In Space because it showed he was publishing the stories that appealed to him, not what was necessarily the most marketable and CBA acceptable fiction.

On a fantasy fiction note I was encouraged to see Jeff create Hinterlands and subsequently release A Throne Of Bones. While I did not find the writing of that particular title to be stellar I was excited that Jeff might pursue some books that could be the Christian answer to Terry Goodkind's The Sword of Truth series.

If I may be allowed, I will voice my concern:We geeks are sensitive creatures and we like consistency. We like the brave and the bold who venture "where no man has gone before." And that means venturing outside the style and scope of the CBA market.

If the new Marcher Lord, Steve Laube, is to succeed with this endeavor then he has to become a very approachable person. Jeff was that and feedback I received from those who interacted with Steve was that he does not have that general reputation. However, my agent (Amanda Luedeke) holds him in high regard and that counts for a lot in my book

This is not a swing at Steve; I believe he can make MLP succeed and I applaud the risk he is taking. But I will be interested to see if his approach to the brand takes the Jeff out of it. I will be interested to see whether the new Marcher Lord Press concerns itself more with what is acceptable to the CBA than what is desirable to its geek following. It is a tricky proposition and I am hoping it does not.

Steve Laube will be holding a discussion on his agency's blog regarding this acquisition on January 6th (a Monday) and I am extremely interested to see what he reveals for the company's direction. http://stevelaube.com/blog/

Obviously this is a hot topic right now with many of us, so please comment if you are interested in discussing!

2014... Looks like a good year!

For a recap of notable The Sword of the Dragon occurrences in 2013:
Contract signed with AMG Publishers/Living Ink Books for In Search of Dragons www.TheSwordoftheDragon.com re-built and looking sharp! Neverqueen 1 released on readers and in PaperbackWhat we are looking for in 2014:
In Search of Dragons paperback published by AMG/Living Ink Books (hopefully in the Fall) Neverqueen 2 release in Fall/Winter My goals:
Write new fantasy novel Soul Of Ironwing Finish writing sci-fi/steampunk novel Star Train  If there is room in my busy life after all this I hope to start the ball rolling on audio books for Swords of the Six and Neverqueen .

Merry Christmas-- What a crazy month! (and The giveaway winners!)

First off, I have yet to write a new blog post on a particular subject related to fantasy and so I want to send you over to Speculative Faith's site. I wrote a guest article for them and have enjoyed the feedback I received from it. The post is here: http://www.speculativefaith.com/2013/12/20/will-the-real-master-stand-up/

This month has been C-R-A-Z-Y
Neverqueen released on Amazon in print and kindle editions (Very excited about it!)Christmas 31 author scavenger hunt endedI moved my family down to Groton CT into a nice townhome (Which we love!)My wife is due with our third baby on Christmas Eve (Hoping baby waits until next week)If you entered the giveaway for Donita K. Paul's book or the necklace, I have announced the winners in the comments on that post. And I wish to repeat that information here as well. My apologies for this taking so long. I should have had the winners selected a couple weeks ago but with the move things have been hectic around here.

WINNERS OF MRS. PAUL'S GIVEAWAY
Book winner is... Angie
Necklace winner is... Rachel Meyer
CONGRATULATIONS WINNERS!
Please email me with your full name and address so that Mrs. Paul can send your prizes! Email the information to: spappleton@gmail.com