​We'll be at the weekend street fair from Friday to Sunday, November 16th through the 18th. The event runs from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day. Antonio Simon, Jr. will be in attendance to sign autographs, speak with the media, and ensure a memorable time will be had by all who pass by Darkwater's booth.

Be sure to swing by! We are the best in Miami's independent fiction!

Nicholas Paschall's hitting the road again! This time, he's bringing with him the latest in his Broken Gods series: Travails For Teyuna, released earlier this year. Come out to see him November 10th at Half Price Books, located at 125 Northwest Loop 410, San Antonio TX 78216. A big thank-you to Half Price Books for hosting this event!

It was bound to happen eventually. We're just surprised it didn't happen sooner.

In case you haven't been following along, the two head honchos here at Darkwater Syndicate are fantasy authors. Dragons feature prominently in their works, and the dragons in their stories couldn't be any more different. Over the years, this difference of opinion has led to heated discussions, near-fistfights, and the errant thrown shoe.

Today, the two seek to resolve their differences in a debate over whose depiction of dragons is the most accurate. But before we get into that discussion, let's introduce the debaters.

[MODERATOR]: Mr. Simon will begin the discussion. If you would...

[ASJ]: Gladly. If you're going to talk about dragons as a viable race, you need to take a page from science and see what works and what doesn't, from an evolutionary standpoint. Dragons can't be big, lumbering, cold-blooded brutes for the same reason dinosaurs aren't alive today. Why? Much as that fiery death-comet helped speed things along, any creature designed along the same lines as dinosaurs would be inefficient, and nature has a way of making inefficient creatures go extinct.

That's why I put forth that dragons: (1) are warm-blooded, (2) small, (3) intelligent, and (4) social.

Warm-blooded animals can live in almost any environment. What's more, their level of activity isn't dependent on their body temperature. An iguana caught in a freak cold snap will likely become so sluggish as to fall out of its tree, where it will lie helpless, unable to move until the temperature rises.

The dragons in my fantasy books have built a country of their own that is jockeying for advantage on the world stage. The series is set in the age of sail—massive trade fleets exploit foreign markets, dodging pirates to bring home a wealth of cargo. 

​The dragons' culture is unique in a world largely inhabited by humans, but it's also fragile because of all the new ideas they're being exposed to from foreign sources. Dria, a dragon princess and the female lead, understands that sticking to tradition will only stagnate her people; but leading her people into the modern day will introduce new ways of thinking that risks forever destroying their heritage.

[MODERATOR]: Mr. Perez, you have the floor.

[RPP]: Thank you. Maybe it's because I'm old, but I'm a traditionalist. For me, dragons are: (1) big, (2) ferocious, and (3) exist to make a point. That last one topic may sound a bit esoteric, but I'll explain fully when I get there.

Why big? Why not? What you have to keep in mind, at all times, is that you are writing fantasy. Fantasy is not constrained (or often concerned with) such real world concepts as true-to-life physics. Maybe, if you were writing hard science fiction a la Asimov, you would be obliged to "show your work," as my grade-school math teachers used to say in our long division lessons. Otherwise, the genre allows you to magically do away with such things, so far as you can push the reader's suspension of disbelief. Thus, if you want big dragons, you can have them, because you're writing the story.

Why ferocious? For the same reason the dragon exists in your story in the first place. Let's look at the technical aspects of writing a story. You need to ensure that every character serves a purpose. If you're writing a story where a knight must save a princess from her nasty dragon captor, the audience expects that at some point there's going to be a big, bloody fight between these two characters. How better to ramp up the drama and show off your hero's prowess than by having him vanquish a mighty opponent? Here, the dragon character serves a discrete purpose—to make the hero look good. That's its purpose, the point you're trying to get across. The dragon is there because it reminds you to cheer for the good guy. Why else do you think St. George and the Dragon has been painted so many times across the Renaissance by so many different artists?

​Each of the dragons encountered serves a purpose in the overall story. Cyan, the main character, is an impulsive jerk who'd sooner lop off heads with his battle-ax than shake your hand. He's on a quest, only, he doesn't actually know that what he seeks is something far greater than what he's set his sights on. Without spoiling the biggest twist in the book, through battling the dragons, Cyan comes to grips with the most negative parts of his life, and—however inadvertently​—learns why he's been wrong for so long.

[MODERATOR]: Thank you, Mr. Perez. And now, to Mr. Simon for the rebuttal...

[???]: Stop! Stop right his minute!

[MODERATOR]: Ladies and gentlemen, please stand by as there's been an unforeseen interruption to today's discussion. Someone's approaching the microphone table... And who might you be?

[AM]: Pardon?

[MODERATOR]: This is a discussion of dragons in fiction. Simon describes dragons as being small and social, while Perez describes them as big and scary. Whose book are you in?

[AM]: I don't think you thought that through completely before speaking.

[MODERATOR]: So... then how are you here?

[AM]: I walked. My office is two doors down the hall. Look, I'd really appreciate it if you could keep it down in here—I've got a stack of submissions I need to get through by this Friday...

[MODERATOR]: Well, I... I mean, yes, I... I'm sorry. We'll try to be a little quieter. Oh, but before you go—would you consider yourself small, lightweight, and warm-blooded; or huge and ferocious?

[AM]: My coffee's getting cold.

[MODERATOR]: Well, that's all the time we have, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for tuning in to our discussion, and good bye for now. Please keep the discussion going and let us know what you think in the comments!

Our ambitious horror anthology Postcards From The Void is only days away from its September 30th release. To celebrate, we're giving you a taste of the horror to come with these four free stories. Click their covers to download them to your Kindle. And to all who enter these blighted places, beware...

Alone, with only a few dollars in his pocket and a decent grasp on English, he struggles to make ends meet. Eventually, Ramiro is recruited into a counterrevolutionary movement formed in Miami to oppose Castro's regime. In a blink, young Ramiro goes from penniless immigrant to soldier of fortune with a weekly paycheck. There's just one problem: he's a staunch pacifist, but he doesn't let this fact keep him from spending the money he's given.

Mr. Perez's memoirs will be chock full of anecdotes, some heartbreaking, others laugh-out-loud funny. The book will be published through Darkwater Syndicate in 2019. Be sure to check back regularly for more information.

Our friend and fellow author Mark Meier was kind enough to host Antonio Simon, Jr. on his blog, Meier-Writers.com. In it, Antonio discusses his first novel, and what he had to overcome to get it published.

​Go see the full interview, here:

Open Call #1: Genre Fiction Novels
Darkwater Syndicate is looking for novels in the genres of: fantasy, sci-fi, thrillers, and comedy. Non-agented and simultaneous submissions are welcomed. To be considered, you manuscript should:
- Be an original, previously unpublished work.
- Be between 60,000 and 100,000 words, roughly.
- Not contain any copyrighted material, such as directly-quoted song lyrics or a passage from a book not in the public domain.
- Compensation: Authors selected for publication will receive a generous publishing contract.

Open Call #2: Automotive Horror Short Stories
​Darkwater Syndicate is looking for automotive-themed horror short stories for an upcoming anthology. Non-agented and simultaneous submissions are welcomed. To be considered, you story should:
- Be a fresh take on automotive horror—no rehashes of "Maximum Overdrive" or "Christine."
- Feature a stand-out vehicle—a classic car, an American muscle car, a tricked-out import, and so on.
- Incorporate into the plot a brief description of the vehicle, including make, model, and model year.
- Be between 3,000 (absolute minimum) to 6,000 words (flexible for longer works).
- Not contain any copyrighted material, such as directly-quoted song lyrics or a passage from a book not in the public domain.
- ​Compensation: Authors selected for publication will receive $25 and a paperback copy of the book.

When you're ready to submit your work, hit the big button below and you'll be taken to our submissions form.