Tag: Dragons

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – TY DRAGO

On By eSpec BooksIn AUTHOR SPOTLIGHTLeave a comment

These interviews are related to our GHOST AND GHOULS AND OTHER CREEPY THINGS campaign. For those just joining us, we are crowdfunding three projects on Kickstarter and also taking some time to introduce you to our participating authors, some of whom are new to eSpec. The campaign has launched! Check it out to see how we’re doing, and what awesome rewards are left to be had!

eSpec Books interviews Ty Drago, author of the novel Rags.

eSB: This is a unique book and somewhat difficult to define cleanly. How would you classify Rags, and why?

TD: It’s a fair question. On its surface, Rags is horror. There’s plenty of blood and plenty of scares. But on a deeper level, it’s a twisted coming-of-age tale. There’s a subtext of teenage empowerment and burgeoning power that smack of an origin story as well.

eSB: Without spoilers, how did you come up with the idea for the novel?

TD: I’m a Jersey Boy, born and raised. I grew up visiting the Jersey Shore, including Atlantic City. I remember Steel Pier. I saw the diving horse and walked in many of the places that Abby does in the book. In a lot of respects, Atlantic City today is a ghost of its former glory. There’s a sadness to the place that, when I visit, always calls out to me. I often find it a city of desperation and forced smiles as less and less of it returns with each passing year.

Strolling at night on the boardwalk, with the ocean roaring in the darkness and the casinos rising like monoliths against the sky, one can easily imagine a dark avenger moving through the shadows, looking for… what? Some shred of the once-glorious past of “America’s Playground?” A fading memory of music and laughter that isn’t accompanied by the bells and curses of the gambling floor?

Anyway, that’s more or less how Rags was born.

eSB: Your main protagonist is Abby, a teenage girl, what about the story inspired you to write from a perspective so different than your own? What challenges did you face in capturing the authentic feel you managed?

TD: There’s the old adage of “write what you know.” And I agree, to a point. More and more, however, I find myself asking, “But where’s the fun in that?”

Why did I write a novel told from the perspective of an orphaned sixteen-year-old girl from the streets? I guess because I wanted to see if I could. Pushing your own boundaries is, or should be, what art is all about. I poured everything I could into making Abby as authentic as possible. It wasn’t always easy. Since I had pretty much zero personal experience to draw on, I had to instead look to articles and novels about inner city life, especially works written in the early 1980s. Abby and her foster family were born from what I found there.

eSB: Do you foresee writing more stories with this character or in this world? Whichever your answer, why?

TD: Rags is a stand-alone book. That said, it has the “hook” for a sequel in it. But don’t ask me what such a sequel would look like. Should I ever find myself in a position to consider writing one, the story would have to be much more than simply “The Further Adventures of Rags.” I would need to find a new and (hopefully) unexpected way to sharpen my avenger’s edge, if you’ll pardon the pun.

eSB: Rags felt very much like a superhero origin story to me. Was that intentional and is there a reason behind the choices that lead to that?

TD: As I said earlier, I think Rags is definitely an origin story, of a sort. But I don’t think “superhero” applies. Rags is a creature of violence, too dark a character to even qualify as an anti-hero, at least as the term is typically understood. I wanted to avoid “redeeming” Rags. Instead, I tried to use him to explore the darkness inherent in all of us. No spoilers, though!

eSB: The novel takes place in Atlantic City, in the early 1980’s, how much of your personal experience did you draw on to recreate such an iconic city, and how much was research?

TD: When I’d resolved myself to telling this story, I went to the Atlantic City Library. There, I partnered with a librarian and, for some hours, the two of us poured over old newspapers and magazines. There’s surprisingly little documentation from the period just prior to the blaze that destroyed Steel Pier in December of 1982. What I’ve written is cobbled together from old brochures, tourist maps of the pier, and from forgotten articles in forgotten publications.

eSB: Have you ever incorporated aspects of your own experiences in your fiction? Tell us about it.

TD: I don’t know about “experiences.” Frankly, if some of the “experiences” in my novels had happened to me personally… well, that would be pretty awful!

That said, I do pay homage to people in my life. For example, in the Undertakers Series, the female lead, Helene Boettcher, is named after my wife. And some of the kids are named for children I grew up with. In Dragons, my SF novel that came out last year, Andy is named for my son and Kim and Shelton are named for my daughter and son-in-law. In the new one I’m writing, the heroine is named after a dear friend.

eSB: What haunts you as an author?

TD: These days? Pretty much nothing. But for a long time, I dealt with the angst of having to keep a day job and still pursue my true calling. It’s an old song in the writing world: you can’t make a living writing, but you don’t want to make a living doing anything else!

But, now that I’m retired and writing full-time, I guess you could say I’ve finally overcome that hurtle. I feels good, and I pay back whatever fates have given me this opportunity by being as prolific as I possibly can.

eSB: You are also the author of the Undertakers series, about kids killing zombies.  What drew you to appreciate the horror genre? What inspired you to write in it?

TD: Horror’s fun. It’s as simple as that. Of all the arts, writing is the most intimate; every “performance” is entirely one-on-one, author and reader. That intimacy allows for an emersion on the reader’s part that the author, if he or she is worth their salt, takes full advantage of. I like to creep out my reader, present them with a dark and grim scenario and then pull them along with me through that scenario, showing them a little more, page by page, as the tension builds. Doing so is both my responsibility and my privilege in this covenant with my reader.

eSB: Other than horror, what other genres do you write in? Tell us something about your other works and what makes those genres different from writing horror.

TD: Horror isn’t all I write by any means. A science fiction novel of mine, Dragons, was released by the good folks at eSpec Books in 2021. There’s also Torq (2018) and Phobos, way back in 2004. I’m currently finishing up a new novel that’s set in the very near future. More on that later. And I’ve authored two historical novels. One, called The Franklin Affair (2001), was my first published novel. The other, The New Americans, should be coming out in 2022, I think.

eSB: What is your least favorite aspect of being an author, and why?

TD: LOL! Okay, here’s the truth of that. My “First Read” is my wife, Helene. It’s been this way for decades. I write a novel, make it as perfect and clean as I can, and then give to her to edit. She usually gets the third or fourth revision. Then she proceeds to pick it apart, challenging anything from word choices, to characters, to entire themes. She’s ruthless and thorough. Yet, after she’s done, the final book is always stronger for her efforts—”forged in fire,” you might say.

Still, every time I hand her a story, a part of me shrivels up inside…

eSB: Could you tell us about one of your most amusing experiences promoting your books?

TD: I used to guest speak at a lot of middle schools while promoting the Undertakers. Overall, I visited nearly a hundred of them in six states from Maine to Kentucky, and gave talks on writing, ran workshops, and did Q&As in front of a total of about 60,000 kids between the ages of 9 and 13. Some of the questions and comments I got were nothing short of hilarious. One girl at a school library booksigning made the loud comment that “You’re so relatable!” Another boy told me he wanted me to add a water cannon to an Undertakers story and give him full credit for the idea, with photo. Yet another penned a truly disturbing piece of flash fiction for a workshop: “Three starving men boarded a boat to cross a lake. When they reached the other side, there were only two of them, but they were full!”

eSB: What is one thing you would share that would surprise your readers?

TD: My younger fanbase is frequently stunned when they find out how old I am. I’ll be sixty-two in 2022, which makes me even older than their parents! It came up dozens of times at those aforementioned school visits and, whenever I revealed my age, a shocked murmur would travel through my audience that always tickled me.

eSB: What are some of your other works readers can look for?

TD: There’s a plan in the works to release my historical novel, The New Americans, sometime in late 2022. This is a “family saga” that’s based on a series of cassette tapes that my father made right before his death in 1992. The story is loosely based on my grandfather’s life as a Sicilian immigrant struggling to assimilate in 1915 America.

AND I’m excited to report that my newest novel, Checkmate, is just about ready for prime time (I’m dating myself with that metaphor). This is a near-future retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel. It tells the story of a gender-fluid vigilante who uses disguise, guile, and plain old chutzpah to expose corrupt politicians, all told from the perspective of the young journalist assigned to investigate this person’s crusade.

eSB: As a horror author, where do you find support for your writing?

TD: I recently joined the Horror Writers Association and have been slowly immersing myself in that organization and its community. It’s one of the most supportive and passionate writers groups I’ve ever come across.

On a broader note, however, most of my support as a writer comes from my wife, Helene. She’s believed in my efforts from the beginning, and has devoted her time, her emotional energy, and her considerable intellect to help get me to where I am. I’ve dedicated more than one book to her and named one of my heroines after her. These are all worthy gestures, but insufficient to truly express the depth of my love and gratitude. It’s no exaggeration to say that you would not be reading these words if not for her.

eSB: What advice would you give aspiring horror writers?

TD: Follow the Five Rules of Writing! What are they, you ask? Well, they are this: 1) Write; 2) Finish what you write; 3) Edit what you write; 4) Submit what you write for publication; and 5) Go write something else.

Do that, over and over, without giving up—and you’ll get there, regardless of the genre.

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?

TD: Well, I’ve started working on an audiobook of Dragons, read by Yours Truly. And Helene and I are planning a new season to our podcast “Legacy.” This one will focus on the efforts to publish and publicize The New Americans.

eSB: How can readers find out more about you?

TD: I’m all over social media. You can also email me at tydrago@live.com. I love it when people reach out!

Ty Drago

Ty Drago is a full-time writer and the author of ten published novels, including his five-book Undertakers series, the first of which has been optioned for a feature film. Torq, a dystopian YA superhero adventure, was released by Swallow’s End Publishing in 2018. Add to these one novelette, myriad short stories and articles, and appearances in two anthologies. He’s also the founder, publisher, and managing editor of ALLEGORY (www.allegoryezine.com), a highly successful online magazine that, for more than twenty years, has features speculative fiction by new and established authors worldwide.

Ty’s currently just completed The New Americans, a work of historical fiction and a collaborative effort with his father, who passed away in 1992. If that last sentence leaves you with questions, check out his podcast, “Legacy: The Novel Writing Experience,” to get the whole story.

He lives in New Jersey with his wife Helene, plus one cat and one dog.

Learn more about Ty Drago:

Website  *  GoodReads  *  Amazon  *  BookBub

Follow Ty Drago on social media:

Twitter  *  Facebook  *  Instagram  *  TikTok  *  YouTube

eSPEC EXCERPTS – DRAGONS (2 of 2)

On By eSpec BooksIn eSPEC EXCERPTSLeave a comment

We posted an excerpt from this book earlier, but that was pre-edit and we now have a cover, so I wanted to give another sneak peek. Enjoy!

FB-Proof-New-Dragon

TWO – Days 1-2

Conceal and Protect.

Those words, always capitalized in my mind, were drilled into my head from toddlerhood—so much so that I, as Tony and Bonnie Brand’s son, grew up thinking of it as our family motto. Back when I was in fourth grade, I learned about familial coats of arms. Afterward, totally jazzed, I drew one for my family. It depicted a fire-breathing dragon shooting flames out over a charred and blackened field. I even wrote the words “Conceal and Protect,” very carefully, above it in big block letters.

Eight-years-old and largely friendless, I showed this “masterwork” to my mom, who immediately paled.

“It’s beautiful, sweetheart.” My father was at work, and we were alone in the house. Even so, I remember the way my mother looked furtively around as if worried that someone might see. “You’ll be a great artist someday if that’s what you want. But… this isn’t something that you can ever show to anybody.”

I was crest-fallen, pun intended. “But… I thought we could put it above the fireplace!”

Without warning, Mom pulled me into a desperate hug. “I wish we could, Andy. Your father and I would be so proud to have it there. But it’s too dangerous. We’ve talked about this.”

I squirmed and pulled away. “Dad says we shouldn’t be ashamed of what we are.”

“And he’s right,” Mom replied tearfully. “But we’re not the only ones in danger.”

“Why do we have to hide? If we’re not supposed to be ashamed, then why are we always hiding? I’m so sick of hiding!”

She looked at me, stricken, and suddenly my newly found, pre-pre-adolescent fury vanished like smoke.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“No, I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you want to be like the other children. But you’re not. Our family is Kind, and we need to remember how few we are and how many they are. Andy, human beings scare so easily, and they always strike out at what scares them. This means that to live among them, we have to try to appear human… even though we never will be. But it’s not about shame. It’s never about shame.”

Now, alone in this strange cell, my mother’s words echo. That day’s conversation was a pivotal one, grimly transformative, and I never forgot a word of it.

We have to try to appear human… even though we never will be.

This, of course, is how my captors must see me.

Inhuman.

When I wake up after being “vectored,” whatever that means, I’m stretched out on the tile floor where I fell. The room is unchanged. I have no idea how long I’ve been asleep. Hours, certainly. Maybe longer. Without a clock or window, time’s a bit of a mystery.

What isn’t a mystery is how hungry I am.

“Hello, Andy.”

The Voice—yeah, I’m capitalizing it now—makes me jump a little. I try to hide the reaction and don’t reply.

“You must be hungry.”

This time, not replying’s harder. My stomach growls.

“No? Well, let’s skip breakfast then.”

“Wait!” I call, jumping to my feet. “Yes, I’m hungry.”

I immediately hear a scraping sound, and another wad of paper lands on the floor in front of me.

“Breakfast is waiting. All we ask in return is a little cooperation.”

My stomach growls louder. “What do you want me to do?”

“You know the answer to that question.”

“So… what? You’re not going to feed me unless I obey?”

“Cooperate,” the Voice corrects patiently.

I glare down at the new wad of paper. Then I kick it into the corner with the first one.

“No hurry, Andy. When you’re hungry enough, just say so. I’ll keep your food warm.”

The Voice goes silent.

I wait, but it doesn’t return.

Time passes furking slowly. The growling in my stomach deepens. I struggle to ignore it. Drinking water helps. Every so often, I go to the sink and fill my belly from its tap. But the feeling doesn’t last and, before long, I have to pee like a racehorse. After a while, I get into a torturous rhythm. I wait until my stomach’s too empty to bear, and then I drink myself full and, later, pee myself silly.

Rinse and repeat.

It makes for a brutal day. I keep expecting the Voice to return, maybe to tempt me, first with lunch, then dinner. But it doesn’t. They’re letting me, as my mother sometimes likes to say when I’m being a snot, “stew in my own juices.”

It frankly sucks.

But they want me to break Conceal and Protect.

And. That. I. Will. Not. Do.

Eventually, and without warning, the lights dim. They don’t go out completely. If they did, I’d be in pitch darkness in this windowless room. But they drop low enough that I sense this is supposed to be “nighttime,” that I made it through a full day without eating. I wish I could call it a win, but every second of the ordeal feels like a minute and each minute like an hour. And I have no reason to think the night’s going to be any easier.

I do my best to sleep. Cramps twist my guts, forcing me to lay curled up in a tight ball.

I’ll never know how, but eventually, sleep finds me.

In the “morning,” after a fitful night of pain and terrible dreams that left me sobbing in the dark, I awake to find a big bowl of oatmeal waiting for me.

I run to it and eat greedily, shoveling the food into my mouth with the included spoon.

As I do, the Voice says, “You’re a stubborn young man.”

I don’t reply as I lick the bowl clean. I half-expect to vomit, but I don’t. The stuff tasted like paste, thick and sticky but easily digestible. Maybe they don’t want me puking either.

Nice of them.

“This would all go so much easier if you’d just cooperate.”

“How?” I ask.

“You know how.”

“What I know is that you want me to somehow start a fire without a match. If you’re expecting me to use my heat vision, then I suggest you try a big guy in a cape and with a red “S” on his chest.”

The Voice says nothing more.

Sometime later and without ceremony, my lunch arrives.

Ty Drago

Ty Drago is a full-time writer and the author of eight published novels, including his five-book Undertakers series, the first of which has been optioned for a feature film. Torq, a dystopian YA superhero adventure, was released by Swallow’s End Publishing in 2018. Add to these one novelette, myriad short stories and articles, and appearances in two anthologies. He’s also the founder, publisher, and managing editor of ALLEGORY (www.allegoryezine.com), a highly successful online magazine that, for more than twenty years, has features speculative fiction by new and established authors worldwide.

Ty’s currently just completed The New Americans, a work of historical fiction and a collaborative effort with his father, who passed away in 1992. If that last sentence leaves you with questions, check out his podcast, “Legacy: The Novel Writing Experience,” to get the whole story.

He lives in New Jersey with his wife Helene, plus one cat and one dog.

COVER REVEAL – DRAGONS

On By eSpec BooksIn COVER REVEALLeave a comment

This has been a busy year! We share with you the cover for Ty Drago’s Dragons, an exciting science fiction take on the lore.

Dragons 6 x 9

Cover art and design by Mike McPhail, McP Digital Graphic.

They aren’t what you think they are…

Conceal and Protect. His whole life, Andy Brand has been taught to hide his true self from everyone around him, for his own safety, and that of his Kind. But all the pretending in the world can’t shield him from powerful people who already know what he is…and what he can do.

Kidnapped and pushed beyond his limits, Andy comes out blazing.

However, all is not as it seems and he soon finds himself struggling to navigate a maze of lies, otherworldly wonders, and deadly betrayals that will test not just his power, but his courage and intellect as well.

For lives are at stake, and only a Dragon can save them…

Ty Drago

Ty Drago is a full-time writer and the author of eight published novels, including his five-book Undertakers series, the first of which has been optioned for a feature film. Torq, a dystopian YA superhero adventure, was released by Swallow’s End Publishing in 2018. Add to these one novelette, myriad short stories and articles, and appearances in two anthologies. He’s also the founder, publisher, and managing editor of ALLEGORY (www.allegoryezine.com), a highly successful online magazine that, for more than twenty years, has features speculative fiction by new and established authors worldwide.

Ty’s currently just completed The New Americans, a work of historical fiction and a collaborative effort with his father, who passed away in 1992. If that last sentence leaves you with questions, check out his podcast, “Legacy: The Novel Writing Experience,” to get the whole story.

He lives in New Jersey with his wife Helene, plus one cat and one dog.

PROS & CONS – WEIRDNESS ABOUNDS

On By eSpec BooksIn PROS & CONSLeave a comment

Welcome to our newest series. I don’t know about you, but those of us who at one time marked our schedules by which convention we were attending that month are really feeling the impact of these transformitive times.

Conventions are where we connect with our friends, our fans, and our family by choice. For those of us that find fandom our natural habitat, their absence is felt even more deeply in this time of isolation. Online events help fill that gap, but it isn’t quite the same.

Pros & Cons hopes to share stories of cons gone by from the authors and industry professionals around which those events shape themselves. We hope you will join us.

Weirdness Abounds by Ty Draco

Weird things happen at writers’ events.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve attended plenty of conferences, workshops, and retreats and they’re all awesome! But the fact remains that whenever you get a bunch of artists together, sometimes peculiar things happen.

Two cases in point:

While attending a conference, a young man approached me in the hospitality suite. Apparently aware that I was an ALLEGORY editor, he asked, “I’ve written the greatest short story of all time. Want to see it?”

Reading his earnest expression, I replied, “Well, sure!” I mean, how can you turn that down?

So, he handed me a single sheet of paper. On it were his name, address, and email. Then there was the title in bold caps, which read simply “EVERYTHING,” and a byline. And nothing else. Zilch. Nada. Zip.

I stared at the paper and thought, This has to be joke. It’s not even a very original joke.”

When I looked up, his earnest expression now included an odd glint. “Do you get it?” he asked. “By capturing nothing … I’ve captured everything!”

Yeah.

“Um … I don’t think we’re the right market for this,” I commented.

His expression fell. Sourly, he mumbled, “I thought you were an editor with vision.”

Well, that ticked me off. So, I replied, “Oh, I have vision, and my vision tells me there’s no words on this goddamn piece of paper.” Then I handed it back to him and added, rather snarkily, “Thank you for submitting your material. We regret it does not suit our present needs.”

That really happened.

Here’s another that really happened. At a separate conference, I took part in a “murder mystery theater” event. There were maybe eight of us, each in character. I played the big, menacing orderly in an asylum. I was also, as it happens, the “murderer.” I hammed it up shamelessly and the entire evening was a blast.

The next morning, however, a woman approached me in the hotel lobby. I didn’t know her, but she told me she’d seen last night’s show and wanted my help with something.

Apparently, while in the bar afterward, she’d been approached by a man who’d ended up accosting and frightening her. From what she said, the incident bordered on assault – a shitty thing to have happened and I immediately commiserated.

Then she asked me to go up with her to the guy’s hotel room and beat the crap out of him for her.

I remember gaping at her before finally replying, at little lamely, “Uh … I’m a writer.”

She immediately apologized for disturbing me and left.  I felt bad about it. I still do. But folks, I’m not Jack Reacher. I’m a practicing Quaker and I’ve never hit another human being in my adult life. But she’d evidently seem my “act” and had decided that I was the guy to defend her honor.

Maybe I’m a better actor than I thought.

Anyway, that’s two. I’ve got plenty of others. Ask me about the time I was slapped across the face by a Tor editor in public or about my ghost experiences at the writers’ retreat in the Catskills.

Trust me. Weirdness abounds!

Ty Drago

Ty Drago is a full-time writer and the author of eight published novels, including his five-book Undertakers series, the first of which has been optioned for a feature film. Torq, a dystopian YA superhero adventure, was released by Swallow’s End Publishing in 2018. Add to these one novelette, myriad short stories and articles, and appearances in two anthologies. He’s also the founder, publisher, and managing editor of ALLEGORY, a highly successful online magazine that, for more than twenty years, has features speculative fiction by new and established authors worldwide.

Ty’s currently just completed The New Americans, a work of historical fiction and a collaborative effort with his father, who passed away in 1992. If that last sentence leaves you with questions, check out his podcast, “Legacy: The Novel Writing Experience,” to get the whole story.

He lives in New Jersey with his wife Helene, plus one cat and one dog.

eSPEC BOOKS AUTHOR READING SERIES – 8/30/20

On By eSpec BooksIn eSpec Books Author Reading Series, KickstarterLeave a comment

As a special treat, we have sneak peeks at two upcoming novels, melding myth, lore, fantasy, and science fiction, as well as a good ole’ romp with a space pirate novel that is already available. We hope you’ll enjoy them all. If you are interested in the books, they can be purchased or supported via the links provided.

If you are an author and would like to participate in one of these series, please visit the eSpec Books Author Reading Series Facebook page for details.

The eSpec Books Author Reading Series

Megan Mackie reading an excerpt from her upcoming novel, The Devil’s Day, funding now on Kickstarter.

You can always find help at the Lucky Devil.

Rune Leveau—emerging Talent and one-time corporate prisoner—knew that better than anyone. She’d rebuilt her life at the Lucky Devil bar, with her Aunt Maddie’s help. Now, in her aunt’s memory, Rune continues that legacy. But when it is time for the Devil to collect his due, Rune could lose it all…

With the days counting down until she must defend her claim to the House of Magdalene—including the bar—Rune and her partner, the cyber-spy St. Benedict, hunt for a way to defeat her challenger, the fire Talent, Abraxas. Instead, they uncover long-kept secrets. But do they hold the key?

No matter what, the Devil will have its Day…

Ty Drago reading an excerpt from his upcoming novel Dragons, funding now on Kickstarter.

For one young man and others of his kind, their very existence is a long-held secret.

But someone knows.

Someone not above kidnapping to learn about the secret society of dragons, though they wouldn’t recognize the reality if he was walking beside them.

To them, the answer is the end of the world. To Andy, it is staying alive.

Ask yourself, are you Kind?

The eSpec Guest Author Reading Series

David Lee Summers reading an excerpt from his novel, Firebrandt’s Legacy, published by Hadrosaur Press. 

Ellison Firebrandt fights the good fight for Earth. Under a letter of marque, he raids the ships of Earth’s opponents, slowing down their progress and ability to compete with the home system. On the planet Epsilon Indi 2, he rescues a woman named Suki Mori from a drug lord, only to find she isn’t so happy about living a pirate’s life. However, when the captain finds a new engine that will make him the most successful pirate of all, Suki is the only one who can make it work. Now Firebrandt must find a way to keep his crew fed and his ship supplied while relying on a woman who barely trusts him and while every government in the galaxy hunts him to get the engine back! 

All purchase links in these posts are Amazon Associate links
and we do receive a token commission if you should purchase via these links.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – TY DRAGO

On By eSpec BooksIn AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT, KickstarterLeave a comment

eSpec Books interviews Ty Drago, author of the YA science fiction novel  Dragons, which is currently funding on Kickstarter.

eSB: Dragons has a very unique premise. Would you mind sharing a bit about it with us?

 TD: I’ve always felt an admittedly goofy affinity with dragons. After all, my last name is simply Italian for “dragon.” But the giant scaly lizard thing’s been thoroughly explored, and often brilliantly, by authors from Tolkien to McCaffrey. So, when I decided to set out to write my own “dragon” story, I started by looking for a wholly different approach. I settled on the idea that dragons aren’t giant monsters. Instead, they’re people, homo sapien draconus, whose existence has been embellished and twisted over the millennia due to humanity’s fear and awe. Dragons, you see, have power.

In Dragons, the titular characters don’t “breathe fire.” Instead, they’re able to generate incredible amounts of thermal energy, so much so that, if one of them is killed by violence, often this energy escapes in a cataclysmic eruption that can wipe out an entire city. It’s a terrible responsibility that these gentle people live with every day, and they deal with it by hiding themselves away amidst the mass of unknowing humanity, living quiet lives in quiet communities, never drawing attention, and never revealing what they are and what they can do.

Similarly, over the centuries, the governments of the world have (mostly) resolved to leave this tiny, scattered, subspecies in peace. They’re simply too dangerous to be used. That is, until they aren’t. Throughout human history, there have always been those who believe they can control that which would better be left alone. And its from this hubris Dragons and its hero, Andy Draco, were born.

eSB: Is this meant to be a stand-alone novel, or do you envision more books in this universe in the future (no pun intended)?

TD: It’s a stand-alone, but with the hooks for a sequel should that opportunity present itself. As a working writer, I don’t like to “close doors” from a storytelling standpoint. You can never know for certain what’s going to really resonate with your readers, and so I see no reason why Andy’s story can’t continue.

eSB: You are a veteran novelist of both science fiction and horror, how does this book differ from the others you have written?

Ty Drago - Undertakers-RotCTD: Dragons is an adventure tale, one filled with twists and turns. But, at its heart, it’s about the loss of innocence, and how one young Dragon must reinvent himself when everything he loves is ripped away. It’s also the first YA I’ve written in which – well – sex happens, just “fade-to-black” moments, of course. But still, you won’t find that in Torq or The Undertakers!

eSB: What challenges do you face as an author straddling not only genres, but demographics?

TD: It’s all about voice. It took me years, literally, to find the correct voice when writing for middle grade versus young adult versus adult. All three offer their own unique challenges and nailing down your narrative style for each is really the key to connecting with your readership. That’s the most valuable advice I could offer to any novice writer. The voice is ALL!

eSB: If there is one thing you would do differently in your writing career, what would that be and why?

TD: If I had it over again, I’ve have started sending out simultaneous submissions far sooner than I did. For years, I submitted to one editor at a time and, with the response times running into months, you can grow old and die waiting to make your first sale. Yes, I know some editors/agents frown on simultaneous submissions – but folks, you’re trying to sell a book here, and you don’t have all day.  So, in this instance and this instance only (at least in the publishing business), I find it better to ask forgiveness than permission. If you have a finished story, polished to a mirror’s shine, then determine the right markets for it and then hit them all at once. Then, while you’re waiting, go write something else.  That’s the job.

eSB: You’re not just a novelist, but a publisher in your own right. Can you tell us something about Allegory Magazine?

TD: I started Allegory as “Peridot Books” back in 1998.  Since then, it’s grown to be one of the “grand old ladies of the internet.” Over the past two decades, we’ve published hundreds of short stories by new and established authors from around the world and I’m fiercely proud of the work we’ve done and continue to do. We accept no commercial advertising and are an entirely volunteer organization. Our donations-based business model covers our expenses (IP and domain fees, author payments, etc), but that’s it. With us, it isn’t about profit, it’s about the writing. So, if you write solid SF, fantasy, or horror, check us out at http://www.allegoryezine.com.

eSB: If there was one dream project you could work on what would it be?

TD: I just finished it. It’s called The New Americans and it’s a collaboration with my father, who passed away from cancer in 1992. Before he died, he left behind a series of cassette tapes on which he’d outlined a novel based on my grandfather’s experiences as a Sicilian immigrant who came to America as a boy in 1915. It took me almost thirty years to work up the will and the courage to tackle this story and it’s been the most challenging project of my life. But it’s done now and being marketed around. Incredible, really. If anyone wants to know more, they can check out my podcast “Legacy: The Novel Writing Experience.” It’s kind of a novel-writing tutorial, told through the lens of my father’s tapes and my efforts to turn them into a book. It’s available wherever podcasts can be found.

eSB: Could you tell us about one of your most amusing or joyous experiences promoting your books?

TD: Back when The Undertakers series was in full swing, I used to visit a lot of middle schools. I mean, a lot. To date, I’ve been to more than seventy of them in six states from Maine to Kentucky, and I’ve spoken in front of something over 60,000 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. At one of these events, just before being invited to begin my talk, they sat me down in the front row of their auditorium and performed for me a play based on the first Undertakers book. I sat there watching these kids in humble astonishment and I’d be lying if I said there weren’t tears in my eyes. To this day, it’s the single most gratifying experience I’ve had as a writer.

eSB: What is one thing you would share that would surprise your readers?

TD: Three of the four main characters in Dragons are named for my children!

eSB: What are some of your other works readers can look for?Ty Drago - TorqCover with Text - Blue - 1000

TD: Check out Torq. It’s a dystopian YA superhero novel that came out in 2018. Torq was published through Swallow’s End Press and you can find it on Amazon. I’m also in the process of turning it into an audiobook podcast! Then, of course, there’s the five-book Undertakers series, which has been optioned for the big screen!  

eSB: How can readers find out more about you?

TD: I blog, though not as often as I should. But feel free to visit me at tydrago.com. And please, if you do, leave a comment and say hello. It’s nice when people do that.

Ty Drago

Ty Drago is a full-time writer and the author of eight published novels, including his five-book Undertakers series, the first of which has been optioned for a feature film. Torq, a dystopian YA superhero adventure, was released by Swallow’s End Publishing in 2018. Add to these one novelette, myriad short stories and articles, and appearances in two anthologies. He’s also the founder, publisher, and managing editor of ALLEGORY, a highly successful online magazine that, for more than twenty years, has features speculative fiction by new and established authors worldwide.

Ty’s currently just completed The New Americans, a work of historical fiction and a collaborative effort with his father, who passed away in 1992. If that last sentence leaves you with questions, check out his podcast, “Legacy: The Novel Writing Experience,” to get the whole story.

He lives in New Jersey with his wife Helene, plus one cat and one dog.

eSPEC EXCERPTS – DRAGONS

On By eSpec BooksIn eSPEC EXCERPTS, KickstarterLeave a comment

An excerpt from Ty Drago’s upcoming science-fiction YA, Dragons, funding now on Kickstarter.

PART ONE: THE PRISONER         

ONE – Day 3

I wake up with a start, thinking three things in rapid succession.

First: This is a weird dream.

Second: Wait a sec. This doesn’t feel like a weird dream!

Third: Oh … furk.

My mom wouldn’t approve of that last one.

With a gasp, I sit up on the mattress.

I’m wearing an orange jumpsuit. On my feet are these little white gum-soled canvas pull-ons, without a doubt the ugliest shoes I’ve ever seen. Don’t ask me why, but it’s those pull-ons that tip my mind’s scale from “confused” to “scared.” But then I look around, and “scared” ratchets up to “terrified.”

I’m in some kind of futurey-looking cell.

It’s a cube, maybe twelve feet to a side. Glowing squares in the ceiling cast an artificial light that makes the flat gray walls look, if possible, even flatter and grayer. Every inch of every surface, ceiling and floor included, is made up of featureless metal tiles.

There’s no door, no windows, and no furniture. In fact, the only things in the room, besides the foam mattress, are a square pedestal sink and a somewhat shorter, square pedestal toilet. No soap, no towel. Both the sink and john look like they’re made of the same gray tiles as the walls.

I climb to my feet, half expecting something bad to happen when I do.

When nothing does, I try the sink faucets. The water’s cold. I cup some in my palms, and drink. It tastes clean but slightly “off,” almost as if it isn’t real water but more like someone’s idea of what water should be.

Very End-Of-2001-A-Space-Oddessey. The book, not the movie.

The toilet works – well, like a toilet. No answers there. With no towel in evidence, I dry my hands on my jumpsuit-ed legs.

Above the sink is a small mirror. Except it’s not a real mirror but just a rectangular grouping of those same square tiles. Only these are polished somehow, so that they give me back my own reflection.

More futurey weirdness.

My complexion’s sallow, the way I get when I spend too much time playing vid games. If this was home, my mom would be all over me with epithets like, “You’re not getting enough rest!” and “You’re not getting enough sun!” I once considered asking her if she wanted me to take long afternoon naps in the backyard.

But, as I recall, I kept that particular snark to myself.

Where are my folks?

Do they know I’m missing? They must, and are probably crazy with worry, even crazier than most parents would be in such circumstances, given – everything.

I’m suddenly, bizarrely glad that I wasn’t kidnapped out of my home, like the Lindbergh baby was. Otherwise, I might be standing here in this cell worrying that whoever took me also killed my parents.

Or worse.

“Okay,” I say aloud, trying not to sound scared. “What’s the deal?”

I don’t expect an answer.

Which is why I almost jump out of my skin when I get one.

“You’re in no danger.”

I don’t scream. Honestly, I don’t.

But I do whirl around, searching for the source of the voice. It sounded mechanical, disguised. That could be a good thing. If my captors don’t want me to be able to ID them, then maybe they don’t intend to murder me after they get the ransom.

You know, the ransom my folks can’t afford to pay.

Except a ransom motive is only the best-case scenario.

Questions tumble through my mind, lots of them. I pick the most obvious. “Where am I?”

The reply is both immediate and unhelpful. “Safe.”

“Great,” I say. The voice seems to come from everywhere at once. I can’t even tell if the speaker’s male or female. “Not what I asked, though.”

“All your questions will be answered eventually. Are you hungry?”

“No.” Though I am.

“Thirsty? We can do better than tap water.”

“No.” Though I am.

“Then what are you?”

“Pissed off.”

“This must all be very confusing.”

“Confusing? You furking kidnapped me!”

No immediate response. So, I wait, trying to ignore the twist in my gut.

“All this is for the greater good. Soon, everything will be explained to you.”

“Why not now? I don’t have anything else on my calendar.”

“Not quite yet.”

“Listen, if you’re looking for ransom, you snatched the wrong kid.”

“We know exactly who we ‘snatched.’ You’re Anthony ‘Andy’ Draco, eighteen-year-old senior at Haddonfield High School in New Jersey, Class of ‘2099”

I feel my mouth go dry. “If you know all that, then you know that my folks aren’t anything like rich!”

“We’re not interested in money, Andy. But we’ll address that later. For now, I’d like you to do something for me.”

Here it is. The big ask. Will they demand that I strip naked? Could all this be some kind of perv party? I can’t spot a vidcam, but they know I used the sink just now, so they must be able to see me. Besides, they changed me into this jumpsuit, which means they’ve already seen my junk.

Unfortunately, bad as a sexual angle would be, there are worse possibilities.

“What kind of something?” I ask, trying to sound more impatient than scared.

There comes a gentle swoosh from above. I glance up in time to see something drop out of a square hole in the ceiling and land at my feet. A moment later, a tile slides over the hole and blends in with the rest, indistinguishable.

Do all these tiles move?

Wary, I look down at the thing that fell. It’s a crumpled piece of paper.

I reach for it.

“Don’t bother. It’s blank.”

“Then what’s it for?” I ask. Though I know. Of course, I know.

“I want you to burn it.”

My stomach lurches.

“What?”

“I want you to burn the paper,” the voice repeats tonelessly, as if reciting the time of day.

“I…don’t understand.”

“You understand perfectly, Andy. I’m aware of the rules of your people, but these are extraordinary circumstances. As far as any potential damage, these walls have an extremely high heat tolerance. Believe me when I say that there’s zero risk.”

“Believe me when I say that I don’t care.”

“I can appreciate that. However, we do need to see it.”

“See what?”

“See you burn that wad of paper.”

“Okay. Fine. Whatever. But you’re going to have to give me a lighter.”

Silence.

“Or, I don’t know, a match?”

“I was really hoping you wouldn’t play this game.”

I look balefully around, struggling to seem genuinely confused. “I don’t know what you want from me!” I whine. It’s a good whine, one of my all-time best. “How am I supposed to start a fire without even a lousy match?”

“I’m disappointed, though I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”

I make a show of being exasperated. I scowl. I huff. I throw up my hands, putting all the “What the furk do you expect me to do? into it as I can.

“Burn the paper, Andy.”

“How?”

“Burn it.”

“I can’t!”

“Of course, you can and we both know it.”

With a frustrated cry that I think sounds genuine, I kick the wad of paper into a corner of my cell. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re a lunatic!”

“All right. Obviously, this was too much too soon. Let’s try again later.”

“What? Furk later! I want to go home!

“The fastest way for that to happen is for you to cooperate.”

“How can I cooperate when what you’re asking doesn’t make any sense?”

“Why don’t you get some rest? I suggest you lay down on the pallet. I don’t want you to get hurt when the vector takes effect.”

“The what?”

“Lay down. For your own sake.”

“I’m not doing anything for you! I don’t know what any of this is about, but I want nothing to do with it!”

“Your call, I suppose.”

A moment later, the world starts spinning. Alarmed, I try to steady myself. I can’t. Whatever’s happening to me is happening fast. Darkness closes in. As it does, a single horrific understanding wracks my already overtaxed brain.

They know! My God…they know what I am!

Then I hit the floor hard and stay there.

Ty Drago

Ty Drago is a full-time writer and the author of eight published novels, including his five-book Undertakers series, the first of which has been optioned for a feature film. Torq, a dystopian YA superhero adventure, was released by Swallow’s End Publishing in 2018. Add to these one novelette, myriad short stories and articles, and appearances in two anthologies. He’s also the founder, publisher, and managing editor of ALLEGORY, a highly successful online magazine that, for more than twenty years, has features speculative fiction by new and established authors worldwide.

Ty’s currently just completed The New Americans, a work of historical fiction and a collaborative effort with his father, who passed away in 1992. If that last sentence leaves you with questions, check out his podcast, “Legacy: The Novel Writing Experience,” to get the whole story.

He lives in New Jersey with his wife Helene, plus one cat and one dog.