About the Author and His Son
In 2017, when my son, Asher, and I were driving to school, he asked me to tell him a story about superheroes - a common request during our daily commute. Tired of the violence that typified our superhero stories at that time, I agreed to tell a story about a young superhero named BlackDragon if Asher supplied the story’s conflict and agreed to one rule – no violence.
After a rudimentary discussion about the basic elements of a story, including what constitutes a story’s conflict, Asher picked the topic of our very first story: BlackDragon was upset because he had to get a new bed – a real life frustration Asher was experiencing at that time.
Every weekday for the next year, I told impromptu BlackDragon stories based on the conflicts Asher provided. And, after Asher exited the car for school, I would continue my drive into downtown Austin, recording that day’s story on my phone to be transcribed later. You’ll find many of the stories we told here, including the story about BlackDragon’s bed, which has evolved some since the initial telling in the car, the recording I did on my way to work, and the year of editing I conducted on the back end.
May you and your family enjoy reading these as much as we enjoyed writing them.