Showing results by narrator "Deren Hansen" in All Categories

Sam Clemens, leading the U.S. Army's expedition aboard his amphibious steam-truck, the Jim Smiley, has a mission: to ensure that the Kingdom, with its air-ships and rumored phlogiston guns, brain children of the Madman Orson Pratt, enters on the side of the United States and peace.

In 1775, the colonists in British North America - Americans, really - began a fight for independence that would last nearly a decade, and which resulted in a new nation.

James Oglethorpe and the “Georgia Trustees” founded the Georgia colony as a haven for Britain's poor and unskilled, where they could live, learn a skill, and become productive members of society. However, the best of intentions often do not come to fruition, and the Georgia colony was no exception. Rather than a debtor's haven, Georgia became a military stronghold, involved in border wars, wars with Native Indians, other colonies, and France and Spain.

This guide explores the structural underpinnings of character and characterization in terms of mythic cycles of transformation like the hero's journey and the virgin's promise. Once you understand these patterns, your characters will ring true, and your listeners will believe in them, too.

In 1607, three small ships - the Discovery, Godspeed, and Susan Constant - arrived on the shores of the eastern North American coast and established the first successful British settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. For two centuries, colonists faced the challenges of life in a new world - weather, Native Indian attacks, starvation, and disease - to establish the strongest economy in the American colonies.

This book surveys the colonial and revolutionary history of the Pennsylvania colony from the day William Penn founded the colony, through decades of political disagreement among members of the Penn family, and between the Pennsylvania government and its citizens. Those disputes resulted in groundbreaking political principles, many of which became the foundation of the new federal government when the US became independent.

Adventures in Colonial America is a 13-part series focusing on the history of each of the original 13 American colonies from their founding, through expansion, the American Revolution and ultimately the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

The Supplement to Volume VII expands the story of the Virginia Colony and discusses the important contributions of its founders, from the arrival of the British at Jamestown in 1607, through the economic expansion, and turbulence of the 18th century. Included are discussions of the investors and explorers who were members of the Virginia Company, such as John Smith, George Percy, and many others. The lives and teachings of Virginia's early religious leaders, and the movement from the government-backed Anglican religion to other Protestant faiths are also discussed.

New Hampshire was founded through land grants issued to John Mason and Fernando Gorges in 1622. Unable to create a formal government for several years, the colony was split in two, each with its own governor. However, the divided usually fall and realizing their weakness, they sought protection from Massachusetts. Although New Hampshire was governed by Massachusetts, the Massachusetts legislature allowed New Hampshire some self-government.

Maryland was founded as a haven for English Catholics, persecuted by the Protestants in England and the English government as well. However, the intent of Maryland's founders was never fulfilled because of feuds between Catholics and Protestants and the eventually takeover of the colony by the British government, turning it from a proprietary colony to a royal colony under the control of the British government.

Like real life, the writing life is filled with contradictions and perplexities. The world of commercial publishing is counter-intuitive, and writers dive in weighed down by misconceptions, delusions, and unrealistic expectations. Perhaps because most of us write in some form every day, we believe we can - and should - write a book. We also assume writing is the hard part, and once our manuscript is finished publishers will line up for the privilege of delivering it to the world. This is why many people who say they want to write really mean they want to have written.

We all know how to tell stories just like we all know our native language, having heard both since we were born. People, however, who study their native language discover there's much they misunderstood or simply didn't know. The same is true of story when we look at it more carefully. With topics that include the theory of story as model, the fractal key to narrative complexity, and the art of the long form, this volume will show you the essence of stories and storytelling.

Jack Saunders just wants a new start after a messy divorce. He doesn't bargain on a wrong turn and a breakdown in the Arizona desert. A beautiful girl coming to his rescue on a classic Indian motorcycle might mean things are looking up. Or, they might be turning really strange in a town that time forgot, with friendly people willing to die for a cause...to save a founder's statue.

For good or ill, once money enters the picture, you become a professional writer: even if you've never received a penny for your words, as soon as you try to sell them - to agents, editors, or the public - the nature of many of your social relationships changes. People will no longer care about you; they'll only care about what you and your writing can do for them. This guide looks at all the people who will be involved in buying and selling your books, what you need to understand about them, and how to deal with them.

Being a professional writer involves more than mastering the craft of writing and the art of storytelling. There are the constant challenges of managing your own expectations as a writer, dealing with other people in the industry, maintaining your creativity, and running what is, in truth, a small business.

In order to master the craft of writing and the art of storytelling you must internalize the rhythms of the human experience and the ways we share that experience. There are deep and consistent patterns in the ways we tell stories, weave narrative illusions, and develop fascinating characters.

We generally associate creativity with spasms of brilliance, even though waiting for inspiration is like waiting for lightning to strike - it happens, but it's rarely predictable or repeatable. Committed, long-term relationships don't simply happen. More than just hard work, it takes discipline and wisdom to keep a romance alive. The same is true for creativity. This book is about the discipline and wisdom of creativity, particularly as it applies to writers.

This guide explores artisan publishing, a new approach to creating and releasing books where the focus is on quality and the integrity of the author's editorial vision. The path of the artisan isn't a shortcut to fame and fortune, but it is the best way to create something you'll be proud of and in which your readers will find lasting value.

In terms of objective reality, a work of fiction is an elaborate lie. No writers think of themselves as liars simply because they write fiction, but that's the fact of the matter. And no other writing guide will admit to teaching you to be a better writer by showing you how to be a better liar - at least in a narrative sense. A good lie rings true. Verisimilitude, or the appearance of truth, is critical in a novel because audiences start the book knowing it is fiction.

19th Century Navajo preschooler Walks With A Stumble wants nothing more than to be a great chef someday. The only problem is, well, he walks with a stumble. While trying to help, he loses most of his family's food stores for the winter, and Walks With A Stumble then learns that the only way to achieve your dreams is to just be yourself.