This morning, I started posting Steven George & The Dragon, a story I published commercially back in 2011. I'm also running the story on my website for my Patreon patrons. Here's the blurb:
ONCE UPON A TIME, there was a dragonslayer named Steven George. When Steven is sent by his village to slay the fearsome beast, he suddenly realizes that he doesn't know what a dragon looks like, where it lives, or how to slay it. But Steven's village has fostered the talent of telling tales. Steven trades once-upon-a-times with the people he meets along the way and each remarkable story leads him a step closer to understanding the true meaning of his quest.
If all that looks like a dragon may not be a dragon, then it follows that all that is a dragon may not look like a dragon.
Steven travels the Endless Road, journeying for a time with a melon farmer, a village idiot, a tinker, a woodcutter, a company of knights, a merchant, a thief, and a gypsy. Thinking he has lost his way and nearing despair, he discovers that all roads lead to the dragon.
This is a no-sex collection of fairytales that have their roots in my daughter's bedtime stories years ago. I thought I'd share a couple of fun things about how it came about.
I'd sit to tell a story to my daughter at bedtime each night. I would start the story, "Once upon a bicycle..." or "Once upon a pickle..." only to be interrupted by my daughter to correct me by saying "Once upon a time, Daddy. It starts once upon a time." Okay, I got that corrected but as the stories progressed, I tried to get her involved in the telling. "There lived a little girl named..." and I'd wait for her to fill in the name of the girl and other details about her. Once, I said "There lived a little girl named..." and my daughter said, "You pick." I continued right along. "Once upon a time there lived a little girl named Upik." And so it went until my daughter could pretty much tell me the stories.
We adopted a rescued greyhound. As enthusiastic owners, most of our Christmas presents that year were greyhound paraphernalia. I didn't mind because my college mascot was also a greyhound and I already had some maroon and grey alumni clothing. But I got a great sweatshirt from my daughter that had a stylized greyhound on the front. Great shirt! I was coming out of the gym one day and sat in the lobby to wait for my wife and daughter to come out of the locker room. A little girl about 4 or 5 just seemed to be fascinated by my shirt, wandering closer to look and then running back. I finally asked her if she liked my shirt and she nodded. I said, "It's a greyhound dog." She looked very disappointed as she said, "I thought it was a dragon."
So, there you have the key elements that went into the writing of this story. It will be posting two chapter-stories every three days.
I can't give you information regarding an eBook as SOL rules now state that we can only promote eBooks available on Bookapy. This is a platform that I need to set up and start releasing books on but have not yet worked on. Somehow I missed that memo. Since I have over 30 books to set up on Bookapy, it will take me a while and this one is a low priority as it has been commercially available for nearly ten years. I'll get it done and will announce it here as it comes online.
Right now, I need to cue up the remaining chapter stories in this book for release here on SOL.
Be well!