Inspiration from playing with action figures and The Truth of Tyrannosaurus Rex. January 31, 2023

 

One of the things that gave me the idea to write books for a living was how I always played with my action figures as a kid. A lot of the plots in my books are based around those times my brother and our friends played with them. There were a few times when we were playing with them, and we disagreed about things, and I worked them into the stories. 

I have been a dinosaur fan as long as I can remember, and I was determined to include them in my books, but the hard part was thinking up a creative way to do so. I therefore, expanded on an idea that was likely already used, and that was to have them be found in a parallel dimension, where every animal that existed on Earth thrives, as do mythical creatures such as Elves, Dwarves, hobbits, dragons, orcs, and trolls, but first you have to read it.

All that said, one of the ideas happened when I was in kindergarten. It was just after Christmas, and I was playing with a G.I. Joe command center I got while my brother and a girl from our neighborhood were playing house with their stuffed animals on the other side of the room. I was pretending that Cobra was preparing to attack Nashville (I only say that because that was where we lived at the time) and had a tyrannosaurus rex with them, what that will accomplish is irrelevant. The Joes were deployed to stop them, and while they were going into battle, my brother and his friend had their stuffed animals look over the couch and say, "What's going on out there," one after the other, as I sang the G.I. Joe cartoon's theme song. I told them they were stopping Cobra and the tyrannosaurus. They did not listen and continued to complain, as the battle raged. They eventually literally blew the t. rex's head off and brought it back to their command post to make it the guest of honor at their victory cookout. The stuffed animals continued complaining about how loud their party was. They were invited to join them and have some t. rex meat but declined griping about how their babies were trying to sleep. 

That would be funny, action packed and creative, but I am working on keeping the tone of my stories gritty when it is serious. In high school, when I told my friends that episode they inquired as to what t. rex meat would taste like, and I said chicken. A few guys in my bible study group, said it would probably taste like dragon or Godzilla, but whatever it tastes like, I am sure it will taste good. I look forward to writing that episode, but first I need to finish The Primal Realm, and if you are interested in hearing more stories like that, The Penitent Warrior is available on any Barnes & Noble Nook reader and at Smashwords.com, hope you enjoy.