Not so long ago, in what we colloquially call The Real World, a boy named James tended to ignore advice from his parents, his grandparents and his aunt. He would do things like give away his own presents to others.
“How can we get him to listen?” his aunt Theresa wondered. Then an idea occurred in the form of a wise old dragon named Farloft. Who could ignore a dragon? And so, Theresa Snyder typed out a story starring Farloft and a little boy with the name of … James.
Artwork by BlueKite-Falls of Deviant Art.
The book, James and the Dragon, gave rise to a series called the Farloft Chronicles, for not only was the dragon charming and wise, he was a veritable fountain of stories.
Theresa Snyder added herself as one of Farloft’s human friends in the second book, Kingdom of the Last Dragons. The series carried on with Dragon Deception, Too Many Dragons, and Three & a Half Dragons.
Artwork by Sarah Hyndshaw.
Back in the Real World, Snyder’s student workers at a school print shop encouraged her to promote her books through social media.
Snyder told blogger Sherry Rentschler, “When they found out I was self-publishing they immediately set me up on Twitter. They said I would be great at it, because I love to chat. They were right.”
Then the Fantasy World intersected with the Real World.
“Farloft found me and he wanted to tweet too,” Snyder said. “He loves being on Twitter the last Friday of every month and because he is old and wise, he can say just about anything he wants to. He is a great mouthpiece. He can push his books or my other books and no one gets tired of listening to him.”
“Folks know him, they look forward to his visits, they expect the same Farloft in the books as they find on Twitter,” she said in an interview with Lisette Brodey. “Because he is in his own kingdom in the books and not in modern times I have to be vigilant and not let his character drift far from how he would react to any question on Twitter. It has made his tweeting very interesting. He is over a thousand years old and very wise. He has been asked to solve problems, mediate disagreements and give sage advice on Twitter.”
Artwork by BlueKite-Falls of Deviant Art.
During a Twitter chat, one of Farloft’s fans, Charlotte Ashlock, asked the author how she and Farloft met. Lo and behold, the answer came forth in the sixth Farloft adventure, Dragon Memories, Dreams & Reflections. Upon its publication, Ashlock was invited to visit the author at her home, where she received a pleasant surprise—which she reveals in her blog. (Certainly not here. Who am I to spoil her story?)
Author Theresa Snyder knows how to handle hungry dragons. Photo courtesy of Charlotte Ashlock.
The next #FarloftFriday Twitter session is this Friday, June 24. Farloft himself will visit @TheresaSnyder and chat to the extent of Twitter’s 140-character limit. Now you, too, can tweet with a dragon.
For more information about the Farloft Chronicles and Theresa Synder’s other works—plus a review of James and the Dragon by two school kids—watch Denise-Marie’s Fairy Tale Access podcast:
Posted online June 17, 2016.
Click here for a five-star review of James and the Dragon. To listen to the story, click here. To buy the story–which is encouraged because feeding dragons is expensive–click here or here.
