LeRoy's Blog

  Others might call her an influencer but I chose empath. She is not a telepath, cannot read minds, or directly communicate. What she can do is "help" others to make choices. Unknown to them, of course. Vendors offer samples, those with treats share, and she is only beginning to use her empathic power. This book took a long time to write and to get right after several false starts over the years I think all writers have a fistful of earlier work that serves as the outline of future a book. There are several of mine waiting to be finished. I like this one.  I wonder if other writers take the time to be critical as they complete a novel. For me, I think of myself as a storyteller who is trying to improve my writing ability. Each book is better, the characters more bold, the settings more complex. As good as I think this one is, the next will be better.    

It seems like months since I've published my last book or posted here. Well, for a couple of years an idea had been running around inside my head and finally I decided to act upon it. I am almost finished with a book about what happens after a pandemic sweeps across America and only a few survive. But I didn't want to rewrite all the other books on that subject. I needed mine to be different. Besides an interesting main character, I needed a different set of circumstances and of course, twists and turn in the plot. There are many. It took nearly a month to devise one, but I hate to read books when I know where the next chapter is going. My wife made me a beautiful cover and I'll put it below for comments and suggestions. Please, if you have anything to say, don't be shy.  

After a time-out to write other things, I went back and wrote the beginning of a new series of Dragon Clan books. The timeframe is set well after the first series, the evil Breslau have made good on their war efforts and now rule Princeton. The characters in the new series are older, more mature, the stories more complex. Of course, there are new dangers and enemies. The challenge of writing the first book of the new series was trying to balance information from the first. Going too deeply into the past will bore the readers of the first series--not providing enough information will leave new readers hanging. The references to the earlier series were reviewed and rewritten endlessly, and hopefully it all fits together. The second book of the series if far easier to write. It feels like writing about old friends. I've already had compliments and jeers for the new series, but we'll see where it goes from here.  

As of 3/22 the final (for now) book of the Last Dragon series had been published by Kindle. Altogether, almost a half million words and it feels great to have it completed. I think this is the best book of the four, and the best I've written. We've (my wife) also redone the covers of all four books so they are similar--and much improved.

The Last Dragon Book Four is coming along slower than anticipated because of another book I'm working on. The Dragon Clan Series never concluded because there seemed more to tell. However, it was feeling repetitive and needed time to percolate in my mind for where it should go. Setting aside all the obvious answers, and without revealing any spoilers, the Dragon Clan lost the war with Breslau. (sorry) Three generations later, the remnants of the Dragon Clan are scattered far to the east. However, it seems Breslau may again be expanding their territory and moving east. The new series has more of an adult theme, the characters are older, however I hope to keep the parts of the first series that you enjoyed intact. Several questions about the first war have been resolved and I feel better about that. When inspiration about the Dragon Clan is short, I move to The Last Dragon, which is nearly half finished and it goes deeper into the characters of Damon and Kendra than the earlier...

The Last Dragon: Book Three is now on Amazon Kindle as of 11/15 at: The Last Dragon: Book Three      My Beta Readers (the people who catch all my mistakes) also tell me what they would like in the next book, how to resolve issues in the present one, and add their thoughts so the overall end product is becoming more of a community project--with far more scope and ideas than I could ever come up with have my thanks. I read EVERYTHING they say and make the needed changes.      I can always use more Beta Readers. You don't have to be an English major or need to correct grammar or have any previous skills other than to read and provide feedback before publication. If interested, use my personal email, leroy.clary@gmail.com        Use the same email for complaints, criticism, suggestions, compliments, or to have me read your book. (No gore, zombies, or smut).      The act of writing a book should be fun. It takes the wr...

The story got bigger in this book I just published. However, the next book will be told from the viewpoints of two people, in two different locations, and it will answer to some of the lingering questions. One of the interesting aspects of writing in this time period is the research of how things were done. Limited travel, with the average person never moving far from their homes--much like some of my friends in Texas.😀 Food, and seasons. I'm so used to grapes that the idea of them only being available a few weeks of the year is hard to believe. With all of the physical differences, people are people. It is easy to turn them into caricatures, but harder to give the hero failings and fears. To demonstrate emotions instead of saying "he is sad" but instead, "wiped a stray tear without anyone noticing". In short, to like a book, you have to like (or hate) the main character.    You can find this book, or any of my others at LeRoy Clary's Author Page ...