Fred Phillips's Blog

If you haven’t had a chance to read my debut novel “Dreams of Gold and Fire” yet, you can snag it on the cheap this weekend. The ebook is on sale for $2.99 through Monday, Dec. 1. It’s regularly $4.99, so that’s a real Black Friday deal, not marked up and marked back down like most of them.

The book is for kids or kids at heart who still believe that their dreams can come true. You can also catch up on the story before the sequel, “Sons of Gold and Fire,” arrives in 2026. Here’s a little more on the story:

Aron dreams of knighthood and battling dragons, but life in his quiet village means herding sheep and facing his father’s disapproval. When his parents dismiss his ambitions as childish, Aron’s determination ignites into rebellion. He runs away, chasing a chance to prove himself as a knight and protect his home from encroaching goblin raids.
The city tests him and finds him wanting with hostile streets, trouble with local bullies, and a brush with the law that leave him reeling. A kind knight, Devan, offers guidance and sword lessons, sparking hope that Aron’s dreams might come true, for a time. Fleeing new troubles, he stumbles into the mountains, where a chance encounter with a goblin and an unexpected ally lead him to a hidden valley—and a discovery that changes everything.
Aron finds wonder in the valley, forging a bond that teaches him courage and the value of trust. When danger threatens his village, he must decide how to protect those he loves, even if it means risking his newfound friendship.

The post Get 40 percent off ‘Dreams of Gold and Fire’ first appeared on Fred Writes Fantasy.

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Heroes come in many different forms and from all walks of life, and a great many of them will be represented in “Where Legends Walk,” out now from Oddity Prodigy Productions.

My contribution to this collection, “The Fading Storm,” includes its share of “Bang! Pow!” comic book action but focuses more on relationships.

As a teenager, Suzy adores her grandfather, but she’s outgrown his silly stories about being a superhero. When she was younger, she ate up his wild tales and claims that the once-popular comic book character Storm Guardian was based on him and his adventures. Now that his health is failing, she’s struggling with her own emotional reaction to watching the man who was her hero fade away. When a strange woman comes to visit her grandfather, Suzy may learn things that completely change how she views her Papa.

The post Up, up and away to ‘Where Legends Walk’ first appeared on Fred Writes Fantasy.

The post Up, up and away to ‘Where Legends Walk’ appeared first on Fred Writes Fantasy.

The Halloween season is upon us, and for the second year in a row, I’ll have a story featured in Three Ravens Publishing’s annual It Came from the Trailer Park anthology.

Volume 5 of the collection of humorous redneck horror will include my story “In Nomine Patrice.” When she sees a poster advertising a fly-by-night circus in her small town, Patrice raids her stash to take her two sons. They’ve promised elephants, her youngest’s favorite animal, and she’s determined that he’ll get to see a real one. The Circus Infernus, though, will give them more than they bargained for, and it will be enough to test Patrice’s strength, will, and faith.

There’s a bit of a story behind this one, which you can read more about on my Substack page in the coming weeks.

It Came from the Trailer Park, Volume V releases on Halloween. The electronic version is currently available for pre-order, or you can pick up the dead tree edition on release day.

The post Halloween horror from the trailer park first appeared on Fred Writes Fantasy.

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I’m not sure what I expected on release day for “Dreams of Gold and Fire.” After all, I’ve never been here before. But the reality far exceeded any expectations that I might have had.

The day started off with a groundswell of support for the release from friends, family, and folks in my writing circles. The number of people sharing posts and talking about the book was incredible. It seemed like almost every time that I opened one of my social channels throughout the day, I saw a new mention of it.

Then I got a fantastic first review from Upstream Reviews. Graham Bradley had plenty of kind words to say about the book, including these that really hit home for me:

As I read it, I kept thinking “This is gonna be some kid’s Eragon book. It’s gonna be the book that makes him want to keep reading, and he’ll grow as a reader, and he’ll always look back on this with fondness for showing him what he could enjoy.”

That is, after all the ultimate goal, and it would be amazing to be sitting at a convention 15 or 20 years from now and have a young adult come up to tell me that one of my books was the reason he started reading.

But the final icing on the cake came in the early evening hours, when I checked the Amazon rankings to find that “Dreams of Gold and Fire” was ranked No. 1 among new releases in the Children’s Coming of Age Fantasy category. Not only that, it ranked No. 4 among new releases on the Children’s Fantasy Magic and Adventure list, and the three books ahead of it on that list were all new installments of long-running best-selling series from big New York publishers.

No matter where the rankings land tomorrow, tonight I’m humbled and happy. Many thanks to Raconteur Press for believing in my book and making this possible. Also, to everyone who bought the book, shared a post, or talked to a friend about it … Thank you. After all these years of writing, you really don’t know how much it means to me.

Now, I’ll shut up and go get to work on “Gold and Fire 2.”

The post ‘Dreams of Gold and Fire’ debuts at No. 1 first appeared on Fred Writes Fantasy.

The post ‘Dreams of Gold and Fire’ debuts at No. 1 appeared first on Fred Writes Fantasy.

The day is finally here, and it’s a bit surreal. It’s a moment that I’ve dreamed of most of my life. I submitted my first novel to a publisher in 1996, and after years of attempts and disappointment, it’s finally happening.

Today marks the release of my first book, “Dreams of Gold and Fire,” from Raconteur Press. Over the last few months, I’ve shared a lot of information on it. I’ve talked about the path to get here. I’ve shared the inspiration behind the book. I’ve shared bits and pieces of the journey since I received that fateful email telling me that it was going to be published.

I’ve been wondering what I was going to say to everyone when the day got here, and I think I’ll just keep it simple. If the book is something that sounds interesting to you, please go buy it. Share it with a kid — your own, a niece or nephew, a cousin, a friend’s child. If you know that boy who is reluctant to read, but loves dragons and adventure, gift him a copy. If you’re an oldster like me who still longs to find some bit of magic in the world, heck, you might even enjoy it yourself.

The post It’s here: Check out ‘Dreams of Gold and Fire’ first appeared on Fred Writes Fantasy.

The post It’s here: Check out ‘Dreams of Gold and Fire’ appeared first on Fred Writes Fantasy.

Ahead of the release of “Dreams of Gold and Fire” on July 30, I had a chance to sit down with Stanley Wheeler to talk about the future of the series, among other things.

In the interview, I share the journey to get here, a little about my creative process, what it’s like to work with Raconteur Press and more.

Read the full interview.

The post Talking ‘Gold and Fire’ and other projects first appeared on Fred Writes Fantasy.

The post Talking ‘Gold and Fire’ and other projects appeared first on Fred Writes Fantasy.

Today marked a huge milestone for me. I queried my first novel nearly 30 years ago. Today, my first published novel, “Dreams of Gold and Fire,” went up for pre-orders for the ebook version. In a few short weeks, I’ll actually hold the print version in my hands.

Granted, I took about 10 years off from writing and even when I returned, it wasn’t with an eye toward publication. I promise I will tell that cautionary tale one day but today is not about that. Today is a celebration. Thirty years is a long time to wait to see my name on the cover of a book and to introduce the world to characters I created even longer ago. I’m going to enjoy it.

To coincide with the start of pre-orders, Raconteur Press released a small snippet from the book. If you’d like a little tease of what’s to come, hop over to their Substack to read it.

If you’d like to pick it up, head over to Amazon or click the QR code below. (Disclaimer: I do earn a few pennies from Amazon when you use my links).

I can’t wait for everyone to read it, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The post Read a snippet of ‘Gold and Fire’ first appeared on Fred Writes Fantasy.

The post Read a snippet of ‘Gold and Fire’ appeared first on Fred Writes Fantasy.

With pre-orders beginning Friday for “Dreams of Gold and Fire,” I sat down with Raconteur Press to talk about the evolution of the book and the things that inspired me to write it. I also share just a little bit about potential future adventures of Aron and Doubloon.

Below is just a little taste. You can read the full interview on Raconteur’s Substack.

How did you come up with the concept behind your setting?

“The concept for Dreams of Gold and Fire evolved over many years. It started life as a simple short story about a boy who runs away from home and meets a dragon, written by a teenager looking for some magic in the world. The first novel version was inspired by my own son when he was around 7 or 8. He had a penchant for asking super silly questions. When you told him, “that could never happen,” he’d respond with great optimism: “but what if it did?” That pushed the story more in the direction of believing in your dreams even when they seem impossible.”

The post First peek behind the curtain of ‘Dreams’ first appeared on Fred Writes Fantasy.

The post First peek behind the curtain of ‘Dreams’ appeared first on Fred Writes Fantasy.

Some 35 years ago, I created a young farm boy named Aron and a great golden dragon named Doubloon (well, he was Dabloon in those days, because kid me didn’t know the proper spelling) for the first short story that I ever felt comfortable submitting for publication. It was rejected, of course. Many times. I’ve always wanted to share those characters with the world, though, and today, I get the unique opportunity to share the first images of them.

Thanks to the wonderful art of Cedar Sanderson, Doubloon and Aron come to life on the cover of “Dreams of Gold and Fire,” my soon to be released first novel from Raconteur Press.

I’m not going to lie, I squeed at the first look that I got at Doubloon when Cedar sent me an early peek a couple of weeks ago, and I’m not the kind of person who squees … ever. I’ve been dying to share it far and wide since then but was waiting until it was finalized. This morning, Raconteur let the cat out of the bag on their Substack and X feeds, which means that I can do the same.

I can’t wait for everyone to meet these characters and share in their adventures. I’ll have pre-order and release dates to post very soon.

One of my stated goals for 2025 was to have my first book published. In a few weeks, that mission will be accomplished. Now the nervous wait to see if anyone actually likes it. The response from the few people who have had a chance to read it early has been very positive, so I’m hopeful. Here’s to a successful first launch and many more to come.

The post Cover reveal: Dreams of Gold and Fire first appeared on Fred Writes Fantasy.

The post Cover reveal: Dreams of Gold and Fire appeared first on Fred Writes Fantasy.

I’m thrilled to announce that my first published book, “Dreams of Gold and Fire,” will be out very soon as part of Raconteur Press’ Fox Cub Adventure Club line, which is focused on adventure stories for young readers.

The book tells the story of a boy and his dragon, suitable for ages 10-up, but not written down to the grade level. The goal is for them to have fun and enjoy reading it, but to also be challenged at the same time.

More information to come as I have it/am able to release it. In the meantime, read more about my long journey to get here over on Substack.

The post Coming Soon: Dreams and Dragons first appeared on Fred Writes Fantasy.

The post Coming Soon: Dreams and Dragons appeared first on Fred Writes Fantasy.