Top 5 Phone Messages Sandy Has Left For Friends
Or…The Dragon suggests how to get DNA from members of Duran Duran…

Get to know your fantasy author, Sandy Lender, a little better! It states in my bio that I’ve been obsessed with the rock group Duran Duran since about 1984. This is true. Here are some phone messages I’ve left for friends to illustrate the point.


5. What are you doing… (This is a frequent message followed by a specific date and the instructions to return the call immediately. The receiver of the call usually hyperventilates because it means Sandy is inviting the individual to a Duran Duran-related event on the specific date left in the message.)

4. Guess where I am! (Depending on the level of excitement and the pitch of Sandy’s voice, this usually involves a Duran Duran event.)

3. We are about to meet the band! (This is always enunciated very clearly and usually means Sandy is with Jennine or Christine—or both—and the universe is shuddering in a way that causes an earthquake in the eastern hemisphere while Sandy and her accomplice(s) stand outside a VIP room door where various members of Duran Duran await certain chaos.)

2. John Taylor gave me the flu. (Sandy said this one with entirely too much joy before puking.)

1. I have John Taylor’s DNA inside me! (This is an honest-to-God message that doesn’t imply what you think it does—it merely means Sandy got the rock star’s barely used water bottle after a concert and, of course, drank from it.)

Do you leave strange messages for your friends? Whether it’s stalker-related or not, there are probably funky traditions you all have. Share!

"Some days, you just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Duran Duran, fantasy author, DNA, John Taylor

Exploring the Pen Name
It's Another Pseudonym Birthday Person...
(During the month of June, here at Today the Dragon Wins we explore the use of pseudonyms. Don't forget to participate in the discussion in the comment field to enter the contest for a copy of the eBook versions of Choices Meant for Gods and Apparitions. Details were posted June 1.)

Today I must pause in our guest posting to honor another birthday boy. This is the 48th birthday of John Taylor, the bass guitarist for Duran Duran. Anyone who's even heard my name must know I'm an obsessed fan. Notice the enormous cheesy grin on my face in the picture above. Yes, put me in between John Taylor and Nick Rhodes and I suddenly become "giddy with joy". That was just a month ago...and I've not quite recovered yet.

What does this have to do with our pen name discussion here at The Dragon? Why, guess what Mr. Taylor uses! Now, to be very truthful, he just uses a portion of his name, not his full birth name, so perhaps calling that a pseudonym isn't totally accurate. You decide. But I think he chose wisely given his profession.

Any Duranies out there want to weigh in on the debate? Which sounds better for a bass player rockin' out in the '80s, '90s and today: Nigel Taylor or John Taylor? Oh, yes, and everyone who has any familiarity with my fantasy trilogy just did a double-take.

Let me post the disclaimer here: Choices Meant for Gods is entirely a work of fiction. The NAMES, characters, places, and incidents depicted therein are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual event or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Having said that, I should explain that Joshua Nigel Taiman of the Choices fantasy trilogy encompasses many characteristics of not just a celebrity rock star, but of a certain Mr. Edward Rochester of Jane Eyre fame, and of himself. Nigel is Nigel...not anyone else. If you'd like to be the judge of that, you can pick up a copy of the novel anywhere fine books are sold (you probably have to order it by now) or on Amazon. You can get the electronic version for less than $4 at my publisher's site.

But John Taylor is celebrating a birthday under his pen name today, so I'd like to use this blog to say "Happy Birthday from one of your many crazed and adoring fans!"

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

Tags: John Taylor, Duran Duran, birthday, Jane Eyre, Edward Rochester, pseudonym, pen name, Nigel, dragon

Ultimate Writing Inspiration
Or...today is John Taylor's birthday

Back on June 20, 1960, Nigel John Taylor came screaming into the world. And God said, "It is good."

All forms of inspiration then began in earnest. Writing, drawing, painting, photography, music, everything that requires inspiration or a muse or creative thought...it's a go because this incredible man is in the world. How else do you think I got through Choices Meant for Gods? (Oh, and you can still get your copy of my debut novel at http://www.amazon.com/ or my publisher's site at http://www.archebooks.com/ under fantasy authors.)

And that's what I've got to say about that. :)

Happy birthday to John Taylor, the bass guitarist for Duran Duran!
Can I get an amen?


"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

Tags: John Taylor, Duran Duran

Signing Things

Or...The Dragon discusses signing some more

I'll be tired of this topic in about five minutes and you won't have to read it any more. Promise. But I'm in New York now for my fabulous Duran Duran weekend. I'm signing a copy of Choices Meant for Gods for a couple as soon as I get done blogging here, and I'll be signing some more tonight at the hotel. This is the productive part of the weekend for us writer types. The bizarre picture above is a collage of items John Taylor (one of my muses you'll never hear from on this blog) signed for me back in December.

If you'd like an autographed copy of Choices Meant for Gods, you first have to pick up a copy. You can do that at http://www.amazon.com/Choices-Meant-Gods-Sandy-Lender/dp/1595071652/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-9789252-2115947?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182005771&sr=8-1. Logistics are easy to work out from there!

"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

Tags: Choices Meant for Gods,John Taylor, dragon