Hidden Cabin

In the book I'm working on right now. The main character hides out in a hidden cabin in the mountains. I got the idea from a place in the Wasatch Mountains. My ever-so-great-grandfather Green discovered a basin long ago, which was named Green's Basin after him. It has a beautiful meadow with a kaleidoscope of sweet smelling mountain flowers. In the pines on the far side of the meadow is a hidden dug-out cabin. It's really hard to tell it's there except at a certain angle. Here are some pictures.

West side of cabin.

East side of cabin.

Front of cabin.

Step Back in Time

I spent all morning at This is the Place Heritage Park. It is a wonderful place in Salt Lake where they've got authentic pioneer houses and cabins. Yes, the actual ones used by the pioneers that have been preserved and moved up to the park along with authentic furniture and tools etc. It's like a living pioneer village including a blacksmith, barbershop, carpenter shop, print shop, hat shop, shoe shop, grist mill, gardens, livestock, houses and more.

As a fantasy writer I find it an excellent place to do research because it provides all the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feel of pre-technology life. I go there often, and always learn something new. Here are some pictures from today's visit.

The general store.

Pioneer kitchen

Some of the animals.

Carding wool.

Spinning.

Weaving.

Plants used to dye the wool.

Super Fun Vacation

I just got back from a great vacation to the Oregon Coast. The weather was sunny and cool, just perfect for time at the beach, boating on Devil's Lake, fishing, and attending a wonderful contracts and copyrights workshop. Here are some pictures. :)




Devils Lake where my son caught a beautiful (and tasty) rainbow trout.


The Beach Haven House we stayed at for a week.


The Newport Aquarium we visited.


The beach on a beautiful day. Not crowded. We had this whole section pretty much to ourselves. Flew a kite, built a sandcastle, found a bunch of seashells.


A sea otter at the aquarium. They were so very cute.

Dragon Codex Song Lyric Contest

Calling all libraries! Got any bards in training? Here's your chance to put that talent to good use. Libraries, and kids and teens 8-14 years old, are welcome to enter the Green Dragon lyrics writing contest -- and explore the world of dragons. Entrants will write lyrics set to the story of the Green Dragon, and the winning lyrics will then be set to music tied in with A Practical Guide to Dragons and the books in the Dragon Codex series.

 

This is a great summer promotion for reading programs; you might offer it as a group writing activity, or have kids write on their own and have a contest to pick the entry you think is best to submit.

 

Lyrics about the first four dragons in the Dragon Codex series -- Red Dragon, Bronze Dragon, Black Dragon and Brass Dragon -- provide the start of the song, and can be found below.

 

Now it’s your turn to tell the Green Dragon's story in lyrics. We’ve provided:
The chorus and the lyrics about the first four dragons plus music for the winning lyrics.
Tips on how to write great lyrics (it’s a lot like writing poetry!).
A fact sheet about Green Dragon with information from A Practical Guide to Dragons and from the new book in the Dragon Codex series, Green Dragon Codex.

 

Check your library for these and all the Dragon Codex series books. Now your group can be the bard and give us the words!

 

The contest is open to legal residents of the U.S. and Canada. No purchase necessary to enter. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. The contest will be open from 12:01 a.m. (PST) on June 26, 2009 until 12:00 a.m. (midnight) (PST) on August 9, 2009. The winner will be announced on or about September 1, 2009. To enter, email Raab Associates at info@raabassociates.com the text of your lyrics along with your Library Participation Form and the Entry Form for each participating child/teen, which you'll find at www.mirrorstonebooks.com. By participating in the contest, participating library and each entrant agrees to be bound by the Official Rules.
Once the contest is done, we will record the final stanza and credit the winning library and the first name (or team name) of the entrant when we announce the winner. The song will be posted at www.mirrorstonebooks.com.

 

The winning library will receive two copies each of:
A Practical Guide to Dragons
Red Dragon Codex
Bronze Dragon Codex
Black Dragon Codex
Brass Dragon Codex
Green Dragon Codex (newly published this summer!)
2 Practical Guide calendars and an assortment of bookmarks.
Plus each member of the winning team will receive one copy of A Practical Guide to Dragons and the Green Dragon Codex!

 

Read the Official Rules here. And don't forget to study the Dragon Song lyrics we have started it off with and also check the website for tips to help you create a winning entry!

BYU Writer's Conference

This past week I attended the BYU Writing for Young Readers Conference. It was totally awesome. I got to attend a class taught by Tracy and Laura Hickman. I learned so much from them. We talked about the Campbell Monomyth and Dramatica Structure.

The other students in the class were terrific to work with and wonderful writers. I enjoyed every moment with them.

Here's a picture of me with Tracy and Laura and also a picture of my friend Janice Kidd with them as well.

Super Cool New Dragon Book

I'm super excited!

My friend, Clint Johnson's book is coming out the end of this week!!!!!

I've already gotten my hands on it, and it is an awesome book. For those of you who have read my books, Red Dragon Codex and Brass Dragon Codex, and loved them, you won't be disappointed with Clint's Green Dragon Codex. It has all the adventure, excitement, and lovable characters as other books in the series. I think I'd go so far as to say this is one of the best Dragon Codex books of all.

Here's Clint's announcement about his launch signing and more info about the book:

For those who don't know me, my name is Clint Johnson. My first nationally published children's novel, Green Dragon Codex, is releasing June 9th.

I just wanted to let you all know that my first book signing will be Saturday, June 6th, from 2:00-4:00 pm at the King's English in Salt Lake (1511 South 1500 East). I'll date all books as well as sign them, documenting that the signature comes from my first ever signing. I've included a press release about the book below.

For more information see my web site, http://www.clintjohnsonwrites.com/. If you know someone who might be interested, please forward this on.

Thanks! Clint

Green Dragon Codex
A huge new fantasy adventure with an even bigger question—
are dragons good or evil, and do they have a choice?

“So much fun to read…I love the humor in this book, the adventure, and the many twists and turns. And most of all I love the characters and how real they become. Highly recommended.”
---James Dashner, author of The Thirteenth Reality and The Maze Runner Series


Master scribe R. D. Henham is back, this time with assistant Clint Johnson, revealing another untold story of dragonlore: Green Dragon Codex (Mirrorstone, hardcover, $9.95, 978-0-78695-145-1). A playful romp mixing mystery and adventure in the best-selling Dragonlance realm, Green Dragon Codex makes real every child’s dream of having their own dragon—only this baby dragon comes with secrets, powerful enemies, and one terrible truth: he is destined to be evil.

The book follows Scamp Weaver, a boy too different, curious, and creative not to trip upon adventure some time in life. But when he discovers a dragon’s treasure chest it launches him upon a journey in which he, his brother Mather, and best friend Dannika debate whether an isthmus is where pirates bury their treasure, summon a chicken from other dimensions, and even drop a cow on a dragon—and in the meantime dare to address the basic question of good and evil: is our nature predestined or do we chose who we become, and can even dragons make that same choice?

Study and curriculum guides developed according to Granite District curriculum are available at www.ClintJohnsonWrites.com, along with chapter annotations, information on school visits and other resources for teachers, and much more. (Some material not available prior to release.)

Green Dragon Codex hits store shelves nationwide June 9th, 2009.

###
About the Authors:
R.D. Henham returns in a unique series on dragonkind, The Dragon Codices, a tie in to the New York Times best-selling A Practical Guide to Dragons. The author is a master scribe at the Great Library of Palanthas and (rumor has it) a wizard of terrifying power and unstable temperament who finds having a few ogres at hand useful.

Green Dragon Codex is assistant scribe Clint Johnson’s first published novel. He is a college writing tutor who has conducted over 2,500 individual sessions in his career, mostly with students who were not ogres at all. Mostly.

About the Book:Green Dragon Codex
By R.D. Henham (Clint Johnson)
Published by Mirrorstone
On Sale Date: June 9, 2009
Price: $9.95
Distributor: Random House
Hardcover, 256 pages
ISBN: 978-0-78695-145-1

Evil Overlords of CONduit

Evil Overlord #1: Paul Genesse (seen here with me at our book signing)

Paul had his book release party for The Dragon Hunters on Friday night at the convention. In true Paul style he held it up on the 15th floor where he could look down through the clouds into the Void and ponder what winged monsters might come up to attack him. I feasted on Pizza, chocolate, and cookies while I waited in the eternally long line of his rabid fans waiting for a moment to bask in his evil overlordly presence (and get a signed copy of his book).

More Evil Overlords: Paul Genesse (again. He truly is evil), Howard Taylor, Dan Willis, L.E. Modesitt, Dave Wolverton.

Howard Taylor had his book launch party at CONduit as well. More pizza. More cookies. More chocolate. He even had this fluffy little eclairs that tasted like heaven. Two thumbs up from me. And his newest book. Scholck Mercenary: The Scrapyard of Insufferable Arrogance is terrific. I loved every page of it.

I really enjoyed Dan Willis's panel, On Writing. He had a lot of great material to share, and I can't wait to implement it in my own writing.

Dave Wolverton did the Main Address on Saturday where he talked about stories that appeal to the collective consciousness because of genetic memory. Way good stuff.

Late Saturday night a bunch of us got together, and I got to hang out and listen for scraps of wisdom from L.E. Modesitt. Truly an icon in the field.

On Saturday, I got to be on a fun panel about marketing YA/MG fiction with my editor Stacy Whitman and a bunch of my favorite YA/MG authors: James Dashner, Mette Ivie Harrison, Julie Wright, Dan Willis, and Sandra Tayler. We had a great time.

Sandra has a terrific new picture book out called Hold Onto Your Horses. The best picture book I've read in a while. Check out the website.

I also got to do a reading along with Aleta Clegg whose new book will be coming out soon. And then I got to do a book signing with Paul. A lot of fun there. Of course you never know what's going to happen when Paul is around.

Quite a memorable weekend.