I know this can be confused with the fiction book by Patricia C. Wrede, but my Searching for Dragons will be a nonfiction cryptozoology book, not a fantasy about magical dragons. How will it differ from the first two editions of Searching for Ropens? (It is the third edition of that book.) In several ways:
- It will not be a cross-genre of religion-cryptozoology with true-life adventure; it will be cryptozoology/true-life-adventure, with an emphasis on cryptozoology.
- It will have new eyewitness sightings, including some outside Papua New Guinea.
- It will have improvements and additions to the text, probably including at least a few corrections.
- It may have more details from the adventurous expeditions of other explorers.
From the most recent version of the Title Page (quite different from previous editions of SFR):
Searching for Dragons
The True Story of Modern Pterosaurs
With the election of an African American president of the United States of America, who could dispute the decline of racial prejudice in Western society? Yet one remnant of that bigotry has continued to haunt us, preventing many Westerners from learning from dark-skinned natives in remote countries.
With the writings of Isaac Newton, who could dispute the rise of Western science in a world long mired in superstition? Yet one remnant of bigotry against one of Newton’s beliefs has continued to haunt us, preventing many Westerners from learning from those who believe the Bible true, as did Newton.
. . . These pages extol discoveries by a few light-skinned Americans whose belief in the Bible led them to interview eyewitnesses of apparent living pterosaurs, especially the discovery of high credibility in testimonies of eyewitnesses, many of whom are dark-skinned natives in a remote country.
Believe what you will about Darwin’s writings on the common descent of all life on earth. But these pages extol the credibility of natives whom Darwin would have thought less evolved than himself, natives some Westerners consider superstitious and unworthy of belief when their testimonies appear to contradict the extinction assumptions that support Darwin’s ideas. Believe what you will about Darwin, but most native and Western eyewitnesses that we have interviewed have been found credible.
In previous post about this cryptozoology book, I mentioned November for a possible publication date. That now seems unlikely, but I will try to get it finished before Christmas, even if the official publication date turns out to be early in 2012.
I have also made just a start at a new book, with a possible title of “The Meaning of Living Pterosaurs.” That will be a religious book, with not doubt about the genre.