IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON KING – Why I Wrote It

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had this idea swirling around in my head of knights and dragons, young heroes and cool magic.

Over the years I toyed with a lot of different ideas but nothing really stuck until around 2003.

It was then the idea came to me and one little story evolved into The Fallhollow Chronicles, a Young Adult trilogy that spans worlds and simultaneous dimensions.

The trilogy is steeped in love: love for family, love for boy, love for girl. Even ideas and things that don’t seem possible to attain, yet we desire them with all of our hearts. I wouldn’t necessarily call this greed, as greed tends to have a selfishness about it.

The trilogy, however, is not about selfishness. In fact, it’s about how not to be selfish. What it means to sacrifice everything you love for those you love, even if it means war and death.

The first novel, IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON KING, and its subsequent sequels, revolves around three teens: David and Charlotte and Eric. They each have their own significant problems in dealing with loss, life, death, and war.

Each one perceives the world differently because of their upbringing, of what they’ve had to experience.

No three stories are the same. They all have their own baggage. But despite their differences and beliefs, they are bonded in one common goal: life, love, goodness, hope and freedom must prevail over evil, no matter the cost.

I wrote the story based on something my father told me once. My dad was a military man. He’d served in the Navy then in the Army.

He saw WWII, Korea and Vietnam twice. He’d seen the best and worst of humanity up close and personal.

He was deeply devoted to being honorable, for doing what was right. To protecting his country, his family and freedom.

A modern day knight, if you will. He told me once that he would give his life a hundred times over if he thought his death would save me, my brother, my mom, the world, from whatever evil lurked out there. Talk about the ultimate sacrifice.

My father passed away two weeks to the day before my twelfth birthday. Through the years I remembered what he’d told me and I never could get it out of my head.

Sacrifice. For love. For honor. For country. For family. For freedom.

Is it any wonder why my own trilogy carries the theme? As usual, my teens have their own ideas of what love and sacrifice mean, and based on their own experiences, have different ways to deal with both.

They also find themselves disagreeing with one another when faced with fighting the real evil that has the power to destroy them.

Each plan has its merits and pitfalls, which only leads to the butting of heads and making impossible decisions that will please everyone involved.

Not an easy task for three headstrong teens who think they have the answers to conquering the world.

Each step they take, each decision they make will define them, break them or make them stronger. It will also make them understand the real meaning of love and sacrifice, and that you can’t have one without the other. Ever.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON KING is slated for release by Month9Books in early 2016. I hope everyone marks it on their calendars. It’s sure to delight fans of young adult fiction, fantasy, dragons, knights and quests steeped in love, determination and honor.

You can find me at the following:

• www.j-keller-ford.com
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Thank you for giving me the opportunity to write about my trilogy.

I greatly appreciate it.