"Wellspring of Life" by Allen Brokken

 

About the Book

Book: Wellspring of Life

Author: Allen Brokken

Genre: Middlegrade Christian Fantasy

Release date: November 4, 2022

Lauren (12), Aiden(9), and Ethan(5) have been reunited with their mortally wounded Father. But, they must take him to the Wellspring of Life before it’s too late.

The Dark One suffered a massive loss when twelve-year-old Lauren and her younger brothers Aiden and Ethan rescued their father from his clutches. However, the battle left Father horribly burned and barely hanging on to life. However, they found a clue to his salvation, the fabled Wellspring of Life.

As the children trek across the wildlife of the prairie, take sides against them to drive them off their path. Meanwhile, the giant known as Skull Crusher hunts them mercilessly while seeking to master the Darkness so he can destroy the family once and for all.

New friends join them in their quest to save Father, but they could also choose the Darkness and lead them further astray. The children’s mission to save their father will fail if they can’t find the Wellspring of Life in time. Will they have the faith to stay on the narrow path to redemption?

Author Interview 

1. Do you set a plot or prefer going wherever an idea takes you?
I start with a high-level idea or concept I want to get across. Once I get that
down, I create what I call a flight plan or a series of major events I’d like to
happen. Then I stich it altogether.

2. What, according to you, is the hardest thing about writing?
Time on my hands. When I have no deadlines or far away deadlines, I just end
up with fanciful ideas bouncing around in my head with no outlet. Give me a
deadline, even a self-imposed deadline and words fill the page.

3. Do you need to be in a specific place or room to write, or you can just sit in the middle
of a café full of people and write?
I write while I travel. I’m most productive on an airplane. Something about the
general discomfort keeps my brain sharp. However, I’m a really big guy and I
can’t usually use my laptop or I’m beating people up with my elbows. So, I’ve
taken to writing books on my phone keyboard. Something like 30% of the first
draft of Still Small Voice was written on my phone. However, due to COVID-19
my traveling stopped and so it really changed my practices. For the most part I
write in my home office where I have a monitor flipped on it’s side portrait style
so I have more room to work with big edits.

4. When did it dawn upon you that you wanted to be a writer?
As a kid I always had an active imagination and took to writing as soon as I
learned how. I began the Towers of Light Series as a story to my kids. I was
traveling for work 4 days a week and spent a lot of lonely nights in hotels across
the country. I started writing a story about them in a fantastic setting and then
shared it on the weekends. They loved it.

5. Where do you get your ideas for your books?
I used my kids as a starting point. How they might react in fanciful situations.
Then it kind of grew from there. In a lot of cases I was trying to not be the typical
elves, dwarves, and troll’s fantasy. So, I had to think a lot about what I was doing
when I decided to introduce fantastic new races into the story.

6. What is your work schedule/routine when you write?
I write best early in the morning or on an airplane. When I have a deadline, I
build a chart of what I need to get done and then drive that as many days a week
as possible early in the morning.

7. Do bits of yourself/friends show up in your characters?
The kids in the story are my kids. That was very intentional since I was writing a
story about their adventures. What’s cool about Wellspring of Life is I was able
to ad in some of my kid’s best friends as characters in this one. I had a lot of fun
sharing how the story turned out with them as well.

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Allen Brokken is a teacher at heart, a husband and father most of all. He’s a joyful writer by the abundant grace of God. He began writing the Towers of Light series for his own children to help him illustrate the deep truths of the Bible in an engaging and age appropriate way.

He’s dedicated 18 years of his life to volunteer roles in children’s ministry and youth development.  Now that his own children are off to college he’s telling stories and sharing clean humor on social media @allenbrokkenauthor, and through his website allenbrokkenauthor.com.

 

More from Allen

Wellspring of Life was a blast to write! As a writer, one of the things I’ve had to contend with is that my characters rarely take me on an easy linear path from the start of a book to the end. As I work on a story, things tend to develop organically, and suddenly, the story’s conclusion is very different than when I put the first word on a page.

That’s where I found myself at the end of book 4 in the series, Armor of God. Unfortunately, the devastating way Father was wounded wasn’t in the original outline of the story or the series as a whole. So I had to write a whole book to determine if he survived. I also wanted to collaborate with a good friend, K. A. Cummins, author of the Snowglobe Travellers series, on a possible crossover. These combined to let me try out some new things as a writer.

For example, Wellspring of Life has a glitter bomb, a murder of wicked crows, and no good egg stealin’ prairie dogs, to name a few of the twists and turns you’ll find in this book. The kids also meet some new friends along the way. I enjoyed this the most because the new kids reflect the personality of my kids’ best friends from our homeschool co-op. Despite these kids now being off to college, we all had fun brainstorming their roles in the story.

Speaking of homeschool co-op, the book is dedicated to the Wellspring Homeschool Co-Op that my kids grew up in. Their verse is Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart because it’s the wellspring of life.” I couldn’t find a more appropriate theme for this book that deals with the consequences of an unguarded heart.

So I hope you take the time to pick it up, because it’s a wild ride across the prairie with a message of redemption I’m sure your family will enjoy.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 9

Texas Book-aholic, November 10

Inklings and notions, November 11

Blossoms and Blessings, November 12 (Author Interview)

deb’s Book Review, November 12

Locks, Hooks and Books, November 13

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, November 14

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, November 15 (Author Interview)

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, November 15

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, November 16

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 17

For Him and My family, November 18

A Reader’s Brain, November 19 (Author Interview)

For the Love of Literature, November 20

Lights in a Dark World, November 21

Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen, November 22 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, Allen is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://www.celebratelit.com/wellspring-of-life-celebration-tour/