Carey Green is a Christ-follower, husband, dad, retired pastor, marriage & family coach, and internet entrepreneur. He believes that a good story can change lives…after all, Jesus told stories too! His biblical counseling experience enables him to put real-life personal struggles into the lives of my characters. His biblical teaching experience enables him to weave the truth of scripture into those struggles. The wide range of authors he’s read has helped him learn different ways of creating memorable characters. He believes that Christian fiction isn’t just a way to make a living, it’s a tool to lead people to think about deep, personal issues and apply God’s truth to their lives.
In this interview, Carey talks with us about his series, The Dragon Slayer Chronicles...and particularly the final book in the series, Dragon Slayer: Sacrifice.
FF: What inspired the story in your book?
The original idea for this series was sparked by my children’s insistence that I write down a handful of stories I told them when they were little. The original premise for those stories was to feature characteristics like creativity, courage, and boldness in facing obstacles in life. But once I started writing, the childish stories I told them morphed into YA/Adult level stories that deal with real-life issues and the integration of faith in God.
FF: What can you tell us about the main characters in your book?
You meet Hon (the main character) in the first chapter of the first book. He’s a small boy who awakens in the middle of the night to a raging fire in his home. A dragon has attacked his village and everyone is scrambling. In the confusion, he’s snatched up by the dragon and carried away, stripped from his home and his family. As Hon grows up in an adoptive family, his life is filled with loss, grief, and confusion as he fights to overcome the terrible circumstances of his childhood to rid the land of the dragon menace. He encounters many people, real-life situations, and challenges to discovering faith in the face of tragedy.
FF: Which character surprised you the most?
One of the supporting characters in the book is Fiona, a young woman who was horribly abused as an infant, resulting in her being crippled for most of her life. The way her character developed surprised me because I found in her a strength and courage of faith that most people would not think possible. I learned a good deal of bravery and courage myself as she played her part in overthrowing the dragon masters’ attempts to rule the lands.
FF: Why do you think storytelling is such a powerful way to share truth?
Stories enable readers to step into the shoes of the characters to face the situations of their own lives honestly. A well-written character will portray the struggles we face as human beings and give us the ability to face our own fears, doubts, questions, and concerns. Injecting God’s truth into those scenarios provides a new perspective or challenge to the conventional, human way of dealing with life and opens the door to new categories of faith and living.
FF: What can you tell us about your next book?
The series is now complete. Readers will be entertained in a gripping, enjoyable way while being exposed to the real-life challenges to faith and living that we all encounter at some time in our lives. The use of Biblical principles and passages introduces truth-based understanding of those situations.
FF: Answer only 1 of these questions:
What kind of research did you do for this book?
FF: How do you get into the right frame of mind to write for your genre/audience?
The research required for this book came mainly from my own life experience as a Pastor. I have walked alongside people in varied circumstances, encouraging their faith, and helping them understand God’s truth in some of life’s most difficult situations. I’ve always found the truth as revealed in the scriptures to be adequate for every need and sought to approach my writing with that same confidence…but without being “preachy” or sappy.
FF: What do you want readers to take away after reading your book?
I want readers to finish my series with a greater appreciation of the sovereign, good, and loving place God the Father and Jesus our Savior play in our lives. My prayer is that stronger faith and a more resolute determination to honor God IN the trying times of life results.
FF: What are the biggest challenges for you as an author writing in your specific genre?
The biggest challenge I’ve discovered is that though my books are framed in a medieval time period and include dragons and evil masters, I wasn’t interested in including magic, sorcery, or anything outside the context of what might really happen if dragons existed in real life. That makes it a bit difficult to categorize my book. In one sense it’s fantasy, but in another, it clearly isn’t.
FF: What authors or books have inspired you as an author?
I’ve always enjoyed Charles Dickens. His ability to create the most bizarre, but at the same time, engaging and loveable characters has always appealed to me.
FF: How has your faith or world view impacted the way you tell stories?
I tell stories with a firm foundation of truth underneath me. God’s view of the world is reality, so I want to challenge my characters (and therefore my readers) with that reality. My belief is that with God as our foundation, overarching concern, and highest aim, we can navigate life in a way that honors Him, which is what matters most in life.
Dragon Slayer: Sacrifice
The Dragon Slayer Chronicles #3
Carey Green
Independent
Genres: YA/Teen, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date: March 24, 2022
ASIN: B09WHSK28B
ISBN-13: 979-8439330911
Book Summary:
2 Dragon Masters and their beasts are dead. 2 more still plague the land
And the dragon slayers have paid a high price for their victories. A child has been lost, psychological terror has struck, and a traitor is among them.
The battle will test their courage and their faith as they fight to rid the land of the dragon menace and restore the rightful ruler, Lord Kendrick, to his throne.
But Silas the Screw has a surprise they know nothing about. His mighty red dragon has hatched two of her offspring and they will soon be ready to join their mother in oppressing the land.
What sacrifices will be required to overcome the scourge?
CLICK TO BUY
Buy Dragon Slayer: Sacrifice from Amazon HERE!
Dragon Slayer: Beginnings
The Dragon Slayer Chronicles #1
Carey Green
Independent
Genres: YA/Teen, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date: March 10, 2014
ISBN-10: 1495234894
ISBN-13: 978-1495234897
Book Summary:
Dragons have been forgotten, relegated to the realm of legend and myth. But tales of horror circulate among the common people. Rumors of their attacks float on the night wind. They are a fearsome presence that haunts the memories of the old and the nightmares of the young.
They are forgotten, but they are not gone. The dragon masters wait, a dark force lurking in the shadows of every land. They will have their opportunity. They will rise.
A young boy is stripped violently from his family and thrust into the conflict between dragon masters and feudal lords. Through tragedy and loss Hon is swept into the conflict while battling the fear and pain that grips his own soul.
Dragon Slayer: Beginnings is a story of life and the growth of faith in the midst of loss. It’s about the battle every person goes through to become more than their past has destined them to be.
He is the first. He will be the best. He is the Dragon Slayer.
CLICK TO BUY
Buy Dragon Slayer: Beginnings from Amazon HERE!
Dragon Slayer: Rising
The Dragon Slayer Chronicles #2
Carey Green
Independent
Genres: YA/Teen, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date: April 8, 2015
ISBN-10: 1511645687
ISBN-13: 978-1511645683
Book Summary:
Dragons are rising…and behind the beasts is a sinister group, led by the will of their ancestors, waiting for centuries, until the time to rise. The four Dragon Lords lurk in shadow and mystery, guiding events to bring about their rise to power and the domination of the known world. Their power grows with each passing day. The terror of their vicious beasts fills every land with fear and darkness.
Carefully hidden, an unlikely group of brave souls rises as well. Their aim: to destroy the Dragon Lords and their fearsome beasts before every land is subjected to their evil. Led by a young man haunted by a childhood encounter with a great red dragon, each of them is destined to discover that danger not only rises from the Dragon Masters, but also from their own sordid pasts.
They know the danger. But they also know what will happen to their families and the land they love if the evil of the Dragon Lords is not stopped.
Set in a Medieval / Dark Ages earthlike world, this series tells the story of a boy, orphaned when a dragon attacks his village and kills his mother and how he becomes the leader of a band of dragon fighters who make it their aim to rid the lands of the evil beasts and their masters, adherents of an ancient ancestral cult. The story ranges across 4 different lands set in forests, icy mountains, desert kingdoms, and wide river valleys.
You’ll meet rogues, knights, mercenaries, and Lords, evil rulers and their henchman and be plunged into the inner workings of conspiracies to overthrow kingdoms and dominate peaceful populations. Battle scenes include dramatic fighting against terrible odds, including swordsmen, archers, foot soldiers, and masters of martial arts.
CLICK TO BUY
Buy Dragon Slayer: Rising from Amazon HERE!