Bryan Davis's Blog, page 6

The Book Writers Have Been Asking For

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This blog has been dedicated to helping writers improve their craft, and all of my writing tips were once posted here in kind of a haphazard way, leading aspiring writers to ask me to organize the tips and provide them in one reference work.

Now, finally, I have done so. I gathered the tips and organized them in my new book Write Them In: Taking Your Readers on a Hero’s Journey.

As I went through the tips, I realized that they all had a similar theme, to put readers into the adventure, to...

Raising Dragons Anniversary Finale – Clues for the Grand Prize

[image error]Thank you to all who have participated in the 15-years-of-Raising-Dragons celebration. I will draw the winners for the clay dragons and the sew-on patches soon.

Regarding the grand prize, if you collected all of the letters from the posts this month, now you need to know what to do with them.

With each letter, go back one in the alphabet. For example, if you have a letter b, then make it a letter a. If you have a letter f, then make it a letter e.

Once you have altered all of your collected l...

Omega Dragon – A True Omega

[image error]If you have read Omega Dragon, you are probably convinced that I am telling the truth when I claim that this is the last novel in the story world. I don’t want to write another one. Yet, I might add a short story, maybe a “lost chapter” to fill in some gaps in the story world. We’ll see.

This story is a true culmination of events. I tried to bring every story thread together in a final tapestry. I think it worked, though there were some sad moments, such as … well … let’s not include spoilers...

Here Be Dragons – Win a Pair of Dragons

I didn’t get many entrants for this contest, so I’m posting it here. Click on the photo below to go to the Facebook post and enter for a chance to win these dragons.

My thanks to Ophelia for creating these dragons. Check out her Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/ZAOphelia  and her Etsy shop – https://www.etsy.com/listing/230667309/custom-dragon

 

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The Seventh Door – A Twisted Sister?

[image error]I had a lot of fun writing The Seventh Door, especially when Semarimis posed as Darcy and it was difficult to tell which version of Darcy was the real one and which was Semarimis. While I wrote their standoff scene, I wasn’t quite sure myself.

It was also enjoyable to create a story that paralleled Circles of Seven. Even the cover images are similar. It was a bit risky to write a story that was somewhat derivative of my own earlier story, but I think it works well.

Once again, sacrifices abou...

From the Mouth of Elijah – Sacrifices Abound

[image error]A theme that I employ extensively in my stories is heroic self-sacrifice, and From the Mouth of Elijah erupts with that theme again and again. The story highlights heroic males, females, and dragons who suffer greatly in order to help others.

In this book, Lauren comes into her own as a heroic character. Female readers will enjoy going on the adventure with her as she has to deal with heart-breaking decisions again and again.

I also love the striking colors on this cover.

Any comments on this...

Song of the Ovulum – A Tragic Surprise

[image error]When some people read the prologue of Song of the Ovulum, they were shocked. Some even became angry. After the beautiful happy ending of the previous book, learning what Bonnie and Ashley had to endure shortly afterward was heart-wrenching.

But no more spoilers.

The Bones of Makaidos – The Fan Favorite

[image error]I once conducted a poll for all twelve Dragons in our Midst story world books and asked which was the favorite. The Bones of Makaidos received more votes than the other eleven combined.

At more than 670 pages, this book still stands as my longest, and I expect that it will stay that way. It also has what I think is the best cover of the story world’s books. A poster-size image of the cover reveals wonderful detail that you might otherwise miss.

When I finished this book, I expected it to be t...

Last of the Nephilim – Connections

[image error]Last of the Nephilim is my wife’s favorite of the 12-book story world, most likely because it probes so deeply into the Angel character and her decisions. Set in Second Eden, the story provides a parallel to the original Eden, though the outcomes are not quite the same.

In this story, something that I foreshadowed in Raising Dragons finally bore fruit, though I didn’t know at the time that what I wrote was a foreshadowing. Those of you who have read Last of the Nephilim probably know what I’m...

Enoch’s Ghost – A Story that Required a Lot of Change

[image error]Debuting in 2007, Enoch’s Ghost took a long time to incubate.  To learn why, go to this link – http://www.theauthorschair.com/shopping/DimeTwoPennies.pdf

I have been told by many that, in this story, Walter’s visit to the Lake of Fire was one of the most scariest scenes they have ever read, along with Ashley’s adventure in the seemingly endless staircase.

Other scenes touched readers’ hearts at a deep level, prompting introspection and prayer, such as a father’s sacrificial act to save his da...