About the Book

Book: Demolishing the Stronghold

Author: Allen Brokken

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Release Date: November 4, 2023

Lauren, Aiden, and Ethan finally found respite for their whole family in the grove surrounding the Wellspring of Life. However, the threat of the Dark One’s forces still looms over the Heathlands, and lighting the tower of Light in Blooming Glen is their only hope of cleansing their land of The Darkness once and for all. While the family plans a surprise attack on the stronghold at Blooming Glen, the Bishop calls forth the Calamitous Drake, a monster forged from the essence of The Darkness in the corrupted heart of the Iron Mountain. In the midst of the battle, the monster scatters the family, leaving Mother, Uncle, and Tye in the hands of Lord Refi’Cul and the evil giant Skull Crusher who aims to make Tye his wife and become the Master of the Heath Wardens

The children must take to the skies to forge a weapon capable of defeating the Calamitous Drake. Will Lauren, Aiden, and Ethan’s faith give them the strength to Demolish the Stronghold?

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Becky Dempsey

Do you set a plot or prefer going wherever an idea takes you?

I generally just get cool scenes in my head that I want to write. Like I wanted a cool Dragon appearing scene in this story and then a battle in the air and a few others. I laid those out in what I call a flight plan and sort of ordered them together in something like a logical sequence. Then see how the characters end up putting them together.

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.

What would you say is the easiest aspect of writing?

Do you pen down revelations and ideas as you get them, right then and there?

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.

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 for 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.

How long does it usually take you to write a book?

About 40 hours to draft a 300 page novel. Another 40 to tweak that draft so it’s ready for my editor. Then 40 once it comes back from those edits, another round of edits and another 40 to finish it off. So roughly 160 hours. But that spans about 9 months from November to July.

Where do you get your ideas for your books?

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.

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. I have also used the names and personalities of their actual childhood friends as well.

Anything else you'd like to share?

Demolishing the Stronghold was super fun to write because I got to really play around with a bunch of creative stuff. Creating an Airship vs. Dragon showdown was really one of the highlights of the series for me.

About the Author

Allen Brokken is a teacher at heart, a husband, and a 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 to volunteer roles in children’s ministry and youth development. Now that his children are off to college, he’s telling stories and sharing clean humor on social media.

More from Allen

As I worked to close out the Towers of Light series, I had to work hard to develop something new and different that still fit the 1800s frontier setting. I had a lot of pressure from my readers to bring a dragon to the prairie. On multiple occasions, I had to remind my biggest fans that there aren’t any dragons on the prairie. But they were insistent that dragons make an appearance.

So, as I put the final touches on the previous book, Wellspring of Life, I thought that the censors spreading evil could bring evil things into the world to corrupt the prairie. So, the concept of a dragon formed from the censor’s smoke made a lot of sense. But what would a “Smoke Dragon” be like? I shared the idea with my Realm Makers critique group, and they helped form something that early feedback says works well. The dragon’s name, The Calamitous Drake, is also an homage to a line from “The Hobbit” that refers to Smaug as a great calamity.

With a dragon flying about, I also had to devise a way for the kids to engage it in the air. This took significant research as I didn’t want to introduce giant eagles or something else that didn’t exist on the frontier. As I investigated different options, I discovered that hot air balloons were more common in the 1800’s than I thought. It turned out they served in minor roles during the Civil War and used a technology they called a gasifier to fill them up. I took some artistic liberty with that, and Lauren, Aiden, and Ethan now had a way to get off the ground to meet the dragon in the air.

This story was so much fun to write, and early reviews from my biggest fans say it was the perfect end to the series.