Introduction to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Introduction to Frankenstein by David Sheppard, Volume I in the Tales of the Mythic World series. In the summer of 1816, five young people came together on the shores of Lake Geneva to spend the summer. It would be one of the most important events in literary history and result in the creation of a work that would never go out of print. That work is the novel Frankenstein. This is the story of how it all happened, and the tragedy that struck in its aftermath. Provides short biographies for Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Polidori. Painstakingly researched and thoroughly documented. 134 footnotes.

Available on the Kindle.

Also available in other formats and on Apple’s iBooks store.

The Escape of Bobby Ray Hammer, A Novel of a '50s Family by David Sheppard

The Escape of Bobby Ray Hammer,
A Novel of a ’50s Family
by David Sheppard.
(Now Available Online)

The Escape of Bobby Ray Hammer is a second generation Grapes of Wrath novel in that Bobby’s parents migrated to California during the 1930s, the “Dust Bowl” days. Bobby is entering his senior year in high school and eager to graduate and go on to college to get out of his rural farming community; however, he realizes he must resolve the family problems that originated, he believes, with the death of his older brother before he can fulfill his dream. Little does he realize the trail of misery he will cause as he uncovers the family secrets that led to his brother’s death.

David Sheppard is the author of the non-fiction works Oedipus on a Pale Horse and Novelsmithing, and the fiction trilogy The Mysteries, A Novel of Ancient Eleusis. He holds a bachelor’s from Arizona State University, a master’s from Stanford University, and has also studied American Literature at the University of Colorado.

Richard Sheppard is a fine artist and freelance illustrator. His book The Artist on the Road, Impressions of Greecehas just been published by Qwerty Press. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and a Bachelor of arts in painting and drawing from Arizona State University.

The Mysteries, A Novel of Ancient Eleusis - Volume One: Daughter of Darkness

The Mysteries, A Novel of Ancient Eleusis.
Volume One: Daughter of Darkness
by David Sheppard
(Now available online.)

The Mysteries, A Novel of Ancient Eleusis is a trilogy set in ancient Greece at the time of the Persian invasion. In 480 BC, fifteen-year-old Melaina’s biggest worry, she thinks, is wishing to follow Artemis and remain virgin when her mother and grandfather want her to marry and became a priestess. But when the Persians invade, the gods themselves have plans for Melaina, including carrying a divine child and divining for the Greek fleet in a battle to determine the salvation or ruin of all Greece.

Historians constantly remind us that in 480 BC, when the great Persian Empire invaded Greece, King Xerxes planned to expand his dominion to the Atlantic Ocean, and if Greece hadn’t repulsed the invasion, Western Civilization, together with its democratic institutions, would not exist. Today we would be Oriental. Much has been written about the invasion, but little concerning heroic women. According to Herodotus, feminine influence in the form of the goddess Demeter was a deciding factor in the famous battles of Salamis, Plataea, and Mykale. Thus, the female spirit played an unheralded role in the salvation of democracy.

The Mysteries, A Novel of Ancient Eleusis - Volume Two: The Dadouchos

The Mysteries, A Novel of Ancient Eleusis.
Volume Two: The Dadouchos
by David Sheppard
(Now available online.)

The Mysteries, A Novel of Ancient Eleusis is a trilogy set in ancient Greece at the time of the Persian invasion. Historians constantly remind us that in 480 BC, when the great Persian Empire invaded Greece, King Xerxes planned to expand his dominion to the Atlantic Ocean, and if Greece hadn’t repulsed the invasion, Western Civilization, together with its democratic institutions, would not exist. Today we would be Oriental. Much has been written about the invasion, but little concerning heroic women. According to Herodotus, feminine influence in the form of the goddess Demeter was a deciding factor in the famous battles of Salamis, Plataea, and Mykale. Thus, the female spirit played an unheralded role in the salvation of democracy. The Dadouchos Volume Two of The Mysteries, concerns this feminine influence as personified by the priestess of Demeter and her daughter, but Kallias, the Torchbearer of the ancient Mysteries (Dadouchos) heavily influences much of the action as the Greeks attempt to eject Persia from their homeland.

Novelsmithing, The Structural Foundation of Plot, Character, and Narration

Novelsmithing, The Structural Foundation of Plot, Character, and Narration
by David Sheppard
(Now available online.)

This book is intended to provide the beginning novelist, or perhaps even the experienced novelist who has lost his way, with a discussion of the underlying structure and methods of novel writing. The completion of the first nine chapters should provide the author with a rough draft for his novel. The ideas developed in this book concern basic storytelling and could just as easily apply to narrative non-fiction, theatre and screenwriting. (Previously titled Jungian Novel Writing)

Oedipus on a Pale Horse

Oedipus on a Pale Horse, Journey through Greece in Search of a Personal Mythology
by David Sheppard
(Now available online.)

When David Sheppard was twenty years old, he was considering a literary life, kicked off by an extensive trip to Greece, when a potentially deadly encounter with his father derailed it and set him on a different course that resulted in a career in aerospace working Space Shuttle projects and NASA missions to the outer planets. Now thirty-two years later, he fulfills that life-long dream by traveling for two and one-half months alone in Greece. He has come prepared with a thorough knowledge of ancient myth, and an intimate knowledge of the archaeological landscape.