Martyn Perry's Blog: Writing a bestselling book (whilst working full-time)

So it all started over 5 years ago whilst I was bored one afternoon. Whilst sitting with a brew and doing nothing other than staring into the abyss I had what I though was a really cool concept. Imagine if the success and unique stylings of that kids phenomenon Pokemon was backed up by a really good story? Those brilliant bright drawings and cartoons all based on characters and creatures that originated from a bestselling Young-adult book? It'd be one hell of a combination.

To start proceedings I wanted to create a story about a subject matter that didn't interest me i.e. dragons. I felt that I could make my story feel different to the typical dragon starring fantasy book by virtue of the fact that I wasn't a fan of those books. I never read them, I didn't like them, and Game of Thrones hadn't hit my radar at that point.

Whilst everyone and their dog refer to J.K Rowling and the Harry Potter series as inspiration she did manage an amazing feat, to make everyday normal people of all ages read about wizards, witches and magic. How did she do this? By not churning out the typical fantasy fare you'd associate with those subject matters and by proxy alienating the masses. She got people on board by writing these fantastical characters in incredible circumstances in an almost real sort of way. This is what Dragon Zoo would be. As real as a story can feel considering it involves dragons.

Dragon Zoo: Night of the Prowlers is just the beginning. A short story which actually takes place around Book 3 in the overall chronology of the Dragon Zoo universe, this is the chance for readers to get acquainted with the style of my writing and to get a pretty good idea of what to expect from further installments.

The next story being released is called Dragon Zoo: Apocalypse, a novella set in the near future of the Dragon Zoo universe. Again I'm going nowhere near the beginnings of the chronology of this series with this release, skipping to Book 5 in the series with the fall-out of the events from the Dragon Zoo trilogy.

At the time of writing DZ: Apocalypse is just going through some final edits before release, so expect to start reading sometime before Christmas 2015.

Remember, Dragon Zoo isn't created to simply appeal to just fans of classic fantasy stories. Be sure to join the adventure and see what a fast paced, thrilling, action adventure the Dragon Zoo universe can be.