About the Book
Book: Demolishing the Stronghold
Author: Allen Brokken
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Release Date: November 4, 2023
Lauren, Aiden, and Ethan finally found respite for their whole family in the grove surrounding the Wellspring of Life. However, the threat of the Dark One’s forces still looms over the Heathlands, and lighting the tower of Light in Blooming Glen is their only hope of cleansing their land of The Darkness once and for all. While the family plans a surprise attack on the stronghold at Blooming Glen, the Bishop calls forth the Calamitous Drake, a monster forged from the essence of The Darkness in the corrupted heart of the Iron Mountain. In the midst of the battle, the monster scatters the family, leaving Mother, Uncle, and Tye in the hands of Lord Refi’Cul and the evil giant Skull Crusher who aims to make Tye his wife and become the Master of the Heath Wardens
The children must take to the skies to forge a weapon capable of defeating the Calamitous Drake. Will Lauren, Aiden, and Ethan’s faith give them the strength to Demolish the Stronghold?
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About the Author
Allen Brokken is a teacher at heart, a husband, and a father most of all. He’s a joyful writer by the abundant grace of God. He began writing the Towers of Light series for his own children to help him illustrate the deep truths of the Bible in an engaging and age-appropriate way. He’s dedicated 18 years to volunteer roles in children’s ministry and youth development. Now that his children are off to college, he’s telling stories and sharing clean humor on social media.
More from Allen
As I worked to close out the Towers of Light series, I had to work hard to develop something new and different that still fit the 1800s frontier setting. I had a lot of pressure from my readers to bring a dragon to the prairie. On multiple occasions, I had to remind my biggest fans that there aren’t any dragons on the prairie. But they were insistent that dragons make an appearance.
So, as I put the final touches on the previous book, Wellspring of Life, I thought that the censors spreading evil could bring evil things into the world to corrupt the prairie. So, the concept of a dragon formed from the censor’s smoke made a lot of sense. But what would a “Smoke Dragon” be like? I shared the idea with my Realm Makers critique group, and they helped form something that early feedback says works well. The dragon’s name, The Calamitous Drake, is also an homage to a line from “The Hobbit” that refers to Smaug as a great calamity.
With a dragon flying about, I also had to devise a way for the kids to engage it in the air. This took significant research as I didn’t want to introduce giant eagles or something else that didn’t exist on the frontier. As I investigated different options, I discovered that hot air balloons were more common in the 1800’s than I thought. It turned out they served in minor roles during the Civil War and used a technology they called a gasifier to fill them up. I took some artistic liberty with that, and Lauren, Aiden, and Ethan now had a way to get off the ground to meet the dragon in the air.
This story was so much fun to write, and early reviews from my biggest fans say it was the perfect end to the series.
Author Interview
I began the Towers of Light Series as a story for my kids. I was traveling for work 4 days a week and spent a lot of lonely nights in hotels across the country. I started writing a story about them in a fantastic setting and then shared it on the weekends. They loved it.
Q: Do any of the novel’s characters hold a special place in your heart?
Allen: Of course! The main characters are based on, and named after, my three children.
Q: Do you have a favorite quote from this novel?
Allen: “Your Iron Sister at your service little brother.” This comes at a point where I had a really dramatic entrance that I was trying to kind of pull of the Marvel Comics heroic jump into the scene to save the day. I just loved how the whole scene came off. It’s very cinematic and I hope that makes it into a movie some time.
Q: If the novel was made into a movie, who would like you to see play the main characters?
Allen: I don’t know that I have a dream cast overall, but I hope that some day Stacey Bradshaw who does my audiobook narration could be Mother in the story.
Q: Would you share something about yourself that most readers wouldn’t know?
Allen: My first big publication was a letter to the editor of the Marvel Comics Star Wars Comic #84.
Q:What are you reading now?
Allen: A friend of me put me on to a contemporary thriller called The Judge. It’s out of my normal genre and reading tastes, but I’m really enjoying it.
Q: Who is an author you would recommend to anyone and everyone?
Allen: I like funny kid books. Something that takes the edge off. Iggy and Oz: The Soda Pop Wars, by JJ Johnson, or I’d Punch a Tiger in the Eye for You by Ben Wolf come to mind. In my genre, I have a toss-up of who I admire most right now. I love Wayne Thomas Batson’s allegorical style. But I think Robert Liparulo does a great job of dropping scripture naturally in the story in a way that just feels authentic.
Q: What do you like to do when you aren't writing?
Allen: I play a lot of games. Lately, it’s a mix of XBOX, No Man’s Sky to be exact. I’ve got a gaming group and we’ve been playing online for over 20 years. We’re mostly all over 50 now and a bit slow. We call ourselves Team Fail and our motto is “Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory since 1999.” For my 50th birthday, we all got together in person, and it was a blast. I also play Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures battles with my eldest son on Sundays after church as a way to make sure we stay connected now that he’s out of the house.
Q: Where can readers find out more about you and your novel?
Allen: On my website towersoflight.net. I am also on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Blog Stops
Artistic Nobody, November 11 (Author Interview)
Fiction Book Lover, November 12 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 12
Texas Book-aholic, November 13
Locks, Hooks and Books, November 14
Guild Master, November 15 (Author Interview)
Lots of Helpers, November 15
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 16
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, November 17 (Author Interview)
Blogging With Carol, November 18
Blossoms and Blessings, November 19 (Author Interview)
For Him and My Family, November 20
A Reader’s Brain, November 21 (Author Interview)
For the Love of Literature, November 22
Lights in a Dark World, November 23
Beauty in the Binding, November 24 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate his tour, Allen is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
Link for giveaway: https://promosimple.com/ps/28d36/demolishing-the-stronghold-celebration-tour-giveaway.
My children and I enjoyed this series. Quite an interesting interview, too!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview. This looks like a great novel.
ReplyDelete