Category: Books

Wings of Wisdom Book Signing Event

Roderick’s Perilous Journey — Wings of Wisdom #5

In Roderick’s Perilous Journey, the fifth installment in the Wings of Wisdom series, a Welsh dragon is forced out of familiar skies and into the cold logic of another land—Russia. Within that tension, Roderick encounters Snegurka, and when her life becomes endangered, his journey ceases to be geographic and becomes personal—measured in choices rather than miles.

Book Signing — May 17

The event will include the full Wings of Wisdom collection, presented in hardback editions only, though this new story will also have paperback editions available, alongside series-linked artifacts:

  • All five Wings of Wisdom books available for purchase
  • 3D-printed dragons representing each installment in the series
  • Illustrated bookmarks tied to individual stories

Featured Author: D.B. Hopson

D.B. Hopson will also be present with the full Realms Unwritten collection.

The Realms Unwritten series functions as a counterpoint to Wings of Wisdom: where one constructs narrative, the other asks readers to construct their own.

Plus Ultra Coffee

The signing will be hosted in collaboration with Plus Ultra Coffee, at Bradley Square Mall, in Cleveland TN, where new drink concepts are currently in development.

The signing starts at noon and continues until closing. Come on out to get a yummy treat, have a chat, and take home a story.

Additional note for attendees: One Piece Day — July 18 will follow later in the season at the same location; definitely something to put on your calendar!

Closing Note

Wings of Wisdom continues to expand as a series centered on journey-based storytelling: dragons placed in unfamiliar geographies, each story anchored in a distinct emotional or relational challenge, and each setting shaping the rules the characters must learn to survive within.

May 17 marks the next point of entry into that evolving world with one more coming in the future!

Explore New Worlds: Writing Prompts for Imagination

Stack of writing books, notebook with sketches, quill, ink bottle, and coffee mug labeled 'Writer's Coffee' on a wooden desk

I have a very clear memory of being a freshman in high school, sitting in a chair that felt engineered for discomfort, while an English teacher—well-meaning, patient, and entirely unaware of the chaos she was about to unleash—gave the instruction:

“Sit still. Think of something. Then write about it.”

That was it. No scaffolding. No guardrails. Just me, a blank page, and a brain that—being the brain of a fifteen-year-old boy—immediately supplied ideas that would not have survived five seconds under fluorescent classroom lighting.

So I sat there.

Thinking.

Editing myself before the pen even touched the page.

And, as you might expect, writing absolutely nothing worth keeping.

That experience stuck with me a long time. Not because it was particularly traumatic, but because it was so common. The assumption was simple: creativity appears on command. That if you give someone a blank page, they’ll know what to do with it.

Some people can. Most people don’t.

I certainly didn’t.

So, years later—after enough writing, enough false starts, enough projects that went somewhere and plenty that didn’t—I started thinking about that version of myself again. The kid staring at the page, knowing he wanted to write, but having no real way in (at least not one that was appropriate for THAT setting).

That’s where Realms Unwritten started. Not as a grand plan. Not as a product line. Just as a solution to a very old, very familiar problem: Where do I begin?

The first book was always going to be fantasy. No surprise there.

Fantasy was the genre that first convinced me stories could be larger than life without losing their grip on something human. It gave me permission, early on, to imagine without apology. So building a collection of prompts rooted in that space felt less like a decision and more like returning to a place I already knew.

From there, things expanded.

Science fiction came next—though less in the polished, clinical sense and more in that classic, speculative vein. The kind of ideas that ask what if and don’t immediately try to tidy up the answer. Space, time, strange technologies, stranger consequences. The playground gets bigger, but the questions stay just as personal.

Then came robots. Not because I had a lifelong plan to write a book about robots specifically, but because subgenres started to interest me in a different way. Strip things down. Focus the lens. See what happens when you take a single idea—artificial intelligence, autonomy, identity—and turn it over from every possible angle. It’s a narrower door, but it opens into some interesting rooms.

At that point, I did what any reasonable person does. I pivoted entirely.

The pirate book exists, in large part, because my wife and I grew up loving Treasure Island and the particular brand of chaos that comes with it—especially the version involving felt, music, and questionable nautical accuracy (MUPPETS). The Age of Sail has its own rhythm, its own vocabulary, its own moral gray areas. It felt like a space worth exploring, even if it meant swapping out starships for ships that leak in more traditional ways.

And then, finally, I circled back to something that had been sitting in the background for a while: spies, detectives, and the whole shadowed world of intrigue. The kind of stories shaped by dim lighting, sharp dialogue, and people who rarely say exactly what they mean. There’s a certain appeal to that tension—the push and pull between the detective and the femme fatale, truth and deception, control and collapse. Gunsmoke & Glamour ended up being less of a detour and more of a natural endpoint for this first set.

Taken together, the first box set of Realms Unwritten is exactly what I wish I’d had back then:

Not instructions. Not rules. Just doors. Open one, step through, and see what happens next.

A practical note, since it’s come up more than once: all of these prompt books can be ordered in a left-handed format. No awkward binding fights, no ink-smudged compromises. If that’s something you need, just reach out to me or Megan directly. We’ll make sure it’s printed that way and shipped out by hand.

As for what’s next—there will be more prompt books eventually. The well hasn’t run dry.

But for now, I’m stepping away from prompts for a bit to focus on a different project: a collection of science fiction stories set in an original universe that’s been quietly taking shape in the background. Different pace. Different demands. Same underlying question: What happens next?

We’ll find out.

*The links below will take you to Ingram Spark where you can buy the book at a discounted price and, for your reference, authors typically get more money from Ingram Spark than KDP so when given the option, I highly recommend buying from Ingram.

Book cover for 'Realms Unwritten: Gunsmoke & Glamour', featuring a vintage illustration of a man in a fedora and a woman behind bars, with green text outlining the title and description.

Realms Unwritten: Gunsmoke and Glamour: Buy Now

Cover of the book 'Realms Unwritten: Boundless Buccaneers' featuring a ship sailing near a tropical beach with palm trees.

Realms Unwritten: Boundless Buccaneers: Buy Now

Book cover titled 'Realms Unwritten: Consciousness in Code', featuring an illustration of a robot holding a surfboard in front of a serene ocean landscape with clouds.

Realms Unwritten: Consciousness in Code: Buy Now

Book cover for 'Realms Unwritten: Echoes of Tomorrow' featuring a futuristic robot-like figure in a space suit with a helmet, standing in a desert landscape with a large white structure in the background. The title and subtitle indicate it's a visual writing prompt book for students, creatives, and authors.

Realms Unwritten: Echoes of Tomorrow: Buy Now

Book cover titled 'Realms Unwritten: Illustrated Fantasy Writing Prompts' featuring a mystical landscape with ancient ruins, surrounded by lush greenery.

Realms Unwritten: A Visual Writing Prompt Book: Buy Now

One more run

Ford Mountain Publishing, LLC

Book : Echoes of Tomorrow

“The industrial zone never sleeps” prompt

New Ramadi – more officially known by its interstellar registry, ARK729c – blinked into existence beyond the transteel canopy, filling the void with its dull grey color like a balloon inflated at the speed of light. Well outside orbital approach PNR, the freighter, a heavily modified Doshi-Hellmen P700 Voidcruiser, immediately fired breaking thrusters after its Q-Drive bubble collapsed the leviathan craft back to subluminal speed; drive pylons retracted into its kilometer long hull between cargo containers, while cone-shaped ion housings flared to life, blazing blue-white fire in the darkness – all automated processes, choreographed with mathematical precision via the vessels onboard navigation A.I. in tandem with New Ramadi’s Orbital Traffic Control.

To the uninitiated, the void beyond appeared wholly devoid of anything – it was a void, after all. Deep-space drivers knew better, of course; any driver worth his protein-packets would. Space was anything but – especially on orbital approach or departure. Rookies would fret over something obvious like micro-roids or uncharted debris fields; as far as Winston-117 was concerned, it was the other drivers you really had to watch for.

Locked into his command throne – which was just a chair, the padding eaten away in places by decades of use and mistreatment, thanks to prior owners – 117 took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Neural-linked to the freighter’s sensors, his ice-blue eyes slowly scanned the heavens above the grey-white planet, cataloging every blip of traffic as the ship’s systems synced with uploaded data; everywhere he looked, the seemingly “empty” void filled with Ident markers – velocity and bearing, mass, corporate and government tags.

The sheer number of contacts forced a groan from deep in 117’s chest. Gonna be stuck here for at least a month, he grumbled silently, double checking his flight itinerary – scheduled months ago, relative-track, before his departure from Oman-Prime – 60 odd parsecs away. Sure enough, he was right where and when he was supposed to be, smack dab in the height of tourist season. Why would anyone want to visit a planet wracked with ion storms and week-long solar storms, 117 shook his head.

The QER crackled to life suddenly with a blurt of static wash, courtesy of the systems intense stellar winds. “Inbound P700 designation Tango-Lima-Victor-Four-Niner-Fife, this is OTC how copy?”

117 cleared his throat before he keyed the mic. “Control, this is Four-Niner-Fife, good copy, requesting an approach vector.”

Cut thrust and wait, 117 guessed bitterly.

“Inbound Four-Niner-Fife, all lanes are full – post retro-burn cut thrust to station keeping only and hold at two-zero-zero kilo.”

Yeah, that figures.

117 managed to keep from sighing across the ‘net, even as he complied with control’s instructions; there was nothing else he could do – other than cause an interstellar pile-up or drop ninety-million tons worth of cargo – both of which would get him fired, to say the least. “Control, Four-Niner-Fife – post RB to station keeping, hold at two-double-oh,” he replied quickly. “Wait estimate?”

“Inbound Four-Niner-Fife, uh…two to three weeks, minimum. Control, out.”

Winston-117 leaned his head back with another groan, while the myriad display screens clustered around the command deck flickered to life; each one crackled with news-feed uploads, entertainment options, weather data, and of course, a never-ending deluge of commercial advertisement. 117 watched the news reel, which seemed focused on Ramadi’s atrociously over-populated, over-taxed industrial infrastructure; the scene glitched with static interference but clearly showed a wide-angle view of one of dozens of massive shipping/receiving towers – its bulk disappeared into the red-golden-grey smog high above. A bot – all chrome and jerky movements – stood amidst a flurry of automated transporters, heavy lifters and bulk elevators.

“…And as the Local 999 Dock Worker Union strike continues, New Ramadi’s skies are literally choked with freight transports forced to sit idle for weeks on end. With the influx of tourists on the rise with Ion Season fast approaching its zenith, government officials are growing increasingly concerned with basic amenities approaching critically low levels; even with every port operating at capacity like here at Liberty Spike behind me, there seems to be no end to the backlog of freight. The dockmaster here, Mr. Abdul Raansti, had this to say:”

The scene cut to a series of panoramic shots from low-orbit, the camera angle panning along the hulls of several different deep-space haulers. “The situation is beyond absurd at this point; if Parliament won’t allocate the necessary funds needed to support logistical infrastructure that our population needed decades ago, our children will suffer the consequences and our economy will implode. And look up! Can you not see the hundreds of ships stuck in orbit? One can only imagine these poor drivers stuck out there! We had a guy sit for almost two months, he was running out of protein-packs,” a male voice during the imagery.

“And here is Representative Alicia Docline, senior chairwoman for Parliament’s Interior and Trade oversight committee, responding to the situation during a press conference this morning,” the bot announced, before the image cut to the identified woman.

117 snorted as he reclined, wondering what kind of nonsense the politician would spew.

“We are aware of the logistical problems we face and have several options mid-negotiation at this time, next question.” The spokeswoman, Docline, answered from behind a row of hovering microphones and monitors; her vat grown skin seemed overtight, stretched across a skull covered in an intricate wrap of braided silver hair. Like most politicians, she seemed an absurd caricature of humanity – an empty puppet dressed in finery – speaking for someone else, as someone else, without a modicum of empathy or understanding of what those beneath her socio-economic status suffered.

The feed imagery changed back to the bot, outside the dock; the camera angle changed to pan around the perimeter of the facility – protected by high fencing and industrial barricades, a vast crowd had gathered. “These are the union workers on strike, some have marched and stood for days, others for weeks when the strikes first began. For the first time in human history, these workers have ceased all non-autonomous operations -demanding higher wages and better healthcare – an act some Parliamentary members have been rumored to call ‘seditious’ and even ‘treason’. Time will tell how it all plays out. Back to you, Bob.”

Winston-117 turned the channel to Auto-Trader Extravaganza, a game show about millennia-old machines from Old Earth that he had no interest in watching; he turned slightly to the vid-corder built into the Q-Net console to his right instead, which activated with a flick of a switch. “Hey boss man, this is 117 out here at Ramadi. You might want to send a replacement or a supply skiff, because I’m looking at an idle time of at least a couple weeks before unloading and have no idea when I’m going to get a load out of here. Sucks, I know, but hey – I’m just a clone, and you sent me out here in this tug with the bare minimums. Let me know, good buddy.”

That’ll rattle his cage, 117 smirked, and fired the vid off into the digital ether.

It wasn’t his problem if he died out here, wasn’t his problem if the cargo sat in low orbit for the rest of recorded human history either. As a clone, 117 didn’t have much in the way of rights or choices; he was legally bound to the dictates of his Prime – who happened to be just another greedy, immoral human, like most of them – so 117 really didn’t care one iota which way things played out.

With nothing better to do than wait, 117 reclined in his throne, hands folded behind his head and kicked his feet up on the console. The local star, a blue giant of insanely bright intensity, was due to breach the night terminus any minute – already turning the dense grey atmosphere of New Ramadi into a haze of blue-white fire. Satellites, ship hulls, ion trails, even speckles of loader-lifters twinkled at extreme distances like motes of dust in sunlight; each played a tiny part in an eternal dance of physics to feed and sustain a population on the brink of economic collapse.

117 shrugged to himself.

Nothing lasts forever; I guess. 

BY DUME

Embracing Difference: Tools for Effective Leadership

Difference Forms Us. That’s the Point.

Some things take a long time to be ready to say out loud.

Formed by Difference is one of them.

The book began in doctoral research — interviews, analysis, long hours of trying to understand what actually happens when people from different cultures work together toward a shared mission. But its real roots go further back than any dissertation.

They go back to twelve years of living and working in East Asia, navigating multicultural teams firsthand, learning to read rooms differently, making mistakes that no framework could have fully prepared me for, and slowly coming to understand that leadership across cultures is not a skill you acquire. It’s a posture you develop — over time, through humility, through paying attention, and through being willing to be changed by the people and places around you.

Living abroad doesn’t just expand your perspective. It exposes your blind spots. It teaches you the difference between knowing about a culture and actually having to work within one. It forces you to ask whether the instincts you’ve always trusted are genuinely wise — or just familiar.

Those experiences, alongside years of careful research, became the foundation for this book.

Look at the back cover and you’ll find Queen Anne’s lace — delicate, common, easy to overlook. Most people walk right past it. But it’s worth pausing over, because Queen Anne’s lace is a study in the importance of knowledge and timing. Used correctly, in the right amount at the right moment, it has genuine medicinal value. Used incorrectly — wrong dose, wrong context — it can be deadly. The difference between remedy and poison isn’t the plant itself. It’s knowing when and how to use it.

That’s not just botany. That’s a picture of multicultural leadership.

Each person in a multicultural organization carries something real and valuable — a perspective, a communication style, a way of seeing problems and building relationships that is genuinely their own. These are not quirks to be managed or edges to be smoothed down. They are God-given. They are part of how people are made. But like Queen Anne’s lace, the question is never simply whether to bring that gift into the room. The question is when, and how, and how much — and whether the leader and the organization have created the conditions that make it safe to bring those things forward at all.

When we learn to steward the unique voices and personalities in a multicultural organization — when leaders know how to draw those voices out and when followers know how to offer them well — the result can be something genuinely rare: an organization that is sharper, more resilient, and more human than it would ever be if everyone in the room thought and led the same way. But when those same differences are mishandled — poorly timed, misread, suppressed, or weaponized — the same organization can find itself on the edge of something that looks less like a team and more like a civil war.

The difference between those two outcomes is not luck. It is not good intentions. It is knowledge, humility, and the willingness to do the hard work of leading across difference rather than around it.

That’s the heart of this book.

The insights in Formed by Difference came from open, honest conversations with leaders and team members navigating multicultural organizations right now — not hypothetically. People managing real miscommunication, real tension, real questions about whose voice actually matters and whose gets quietly filtered out. Their stories are woven throughout these pages, alongside my own (though without names and specifics to protect identities). What emerged is not a clean success narrative. It’s a practical and deeply human examination of what it actually takes to lead across difference.

The book is built on a conviction I hold deeply: difference does not weaken organizations. It forms them. It sharpens them. It prepares them to function in a world that is no longer optional about interconnection. The question is not whether your organization will encounter cultural complexity. The question is whether your leadership will be ready when it does.

Along with the book, readers will receive access to a companion toolkit — fourteen practical tools built around the book’s fourteen chapters, designed to move concepts into action not someday, not in a training seminar, but this week, in the specific context you’re already in. These tools have been developed, tested, and refined over years of application. It was important to me that the toolkit remain free. If someone genuinely wants to lead better and build a culture where people from diverse backgrounds can flourish, I am not going to put a paywall between them and the tools that might help them do that. That would contradict everything this book is actually about.

Growth should be accessible. Leadership development should be practical. And learning to steward difference well — in ourselves, in our teams, in our organizations — is not a program to implement when resources allow. It is a requirement of faithful leadership in this world.

My hope is that Formed by Difference will serve as both mirror and map — a mirror that helps leaders see what they’ve been missing, and a map that offers tangible steps forward. Not perfection. Just faithful, consistent movement in the right direction.

This book carries years of research, travel, conversation, mistakes, and conviction within it. Releasing it feels both vulnerable and right — which probably means it was worth writing.

If you’re curious, you can find Formed by Difference here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GPZ2MZ8G

And if you’d like to talk about it in person, I’d love that even more.

Join us at Bradley Square Mall on March 1st, starting around noon for the Pokémon Day Mini Convention. Ford Mountain Publishing will have a booth set up — whether you’re interested in leadership, storytelling, children’s books, or just want to stop by and say hello, we’ll be there.

Join Us for Pokémon Day and Book Launch News

There’s a special kind of excitement that builds when a story you love is about to spread its wings again — and we are absolutely thrilled to share that the fifth installment in the Wings of Wisdom series is on the horizon!

✨ Roderick’s Perilous Journey Is Coming Soon!

The upcoming fifth book in the beloved series, Roderick’s Perilous Journey by M. M. Elmendorf Hopson, featuring breathtaking illustrations by Leo Chen, is nearing completion — and we cannot wait to place it into the hands of young readers and families.

Roderick’s next adventure promises heart, courage, challenge, and the kind of wisdom that has made this series such a meaningful experience for readers. With Leo Chen’s luminous artwork bringing every page to life, this newest chapter will carry forward the warmth and wonder that defines Wings of Wisdom.

While we had hoped to debut it at this year’s Pokémon Day celebration, it won’t quite be ready for launch by this Sunday’s event. But the wait will be short! The book is expected to release soon after — and we encourage everyone who’s eager to follow Roderick’s next great adventure to keep an eye on the Ford Mountain Publishing website and social media channels for the official release announcement.

Trust us — you won’t want to miss it.

🎉 Join Us at Pokémon Day – March 1st!

Even though Roderick’s Perilous Journey won’t make its first appearance just yet, there will be plenty to discover at the Bradley Square Mall in Cleveland, Tennessee this Sunday, March 1st!

🕚 Booth Hours: NOON – 5:00 PM

Here’s what you’ll find at the Ford Mountain Publishing booth:

📚 The exciting Realms Unwritten series by D. B. Hopson
📖 Newly released 2nd editions of the first four Wings of Wisdom books
🔖 Brand-new bookmarks
🎨 Fun coloring options for young readers

Every purchase comes with a free bookmark, and visitors will also have the opportunity to receive signed copies of their books — a wonderful keepsake for readers and collectors alike.

A whimsical illustration of a smiling dragon holding a bouquet of flowers, set against a scenic landscape with mountains and a pagoda. The text reads 'Everyone Can Change.' and 'Ford Mountain Publishing.'
A black and white illustration featuring a warrior resting beside a dragon in a mountainous landscape, with text that reads 'Even warriors need rest between battles.' and 'Where legends rest.'
An open book resting on a wooden surface with a scenic mountain background, accompanied by the text, 'The page is waiting for you.' and 'Tell your story, your way.'
A serene landscape featuring misty forest trails with trees and a path, accompanied by inspirational text about personal journeys and writing.
A serene landscape featuring two figures sitting by a campfire in front of mountains and forests. The sky transitions from blue to warm hues, with the text 'Your story is someone else's light.' and 'FORD MOUNTAIN PUBLISHING' at the bottom.

We love connecting with our readers in person, sharing stories, and celebrating imagination together. Pokémon Day at Bradley Square Mall is always a lively, joyful event, and we’re looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new friends.

The wings are spreading… the journey is beginning… and Roderick’s most perilous adventure yet is almost here.

Stay tuned — and we’ll see you Sunday! 🕊️✨