Vaughn’s sixth grade teacher, Mr. Raymond, put him and a half-dozen classmates into an advance reading group, gave them each a copy of The Hobbit, and left them to it. Vaughn was never the same again. Finishing first among the group, the teacher bought him a boxed set of Lord of the Rings paperbacks, and he never looked back. The gift sparked a lifelong passion for reading and history.
After college, life intervened. Instead of writing his trilogy, he married his soul mate, and they set about building a successful wholesale business together in Chicagoland. While there, they built a getaway cottage near their favorite shoreline in Southwest Michigan, in a fashion that would make the elves of Rivendell proud. It was the perfect place not only to escape the hustle and bustle, but to bury his nose in epic fantasy novels by the hearth.
After almost twenty years and many milestone achievements in business, the pair grew tired of the hectic life of managing sixty-plus employees. With the mantra ‘life’s too short,’ they moved to their little cottage, and Vaughn finally set about writing his trilogy. He is currently getting his epic fantasy series, The Sundered Nation, ready for publication. Book one is titled, The Severing Son, and is available October 18, 2022. You can purchase it here. When he’s not reading or writing, you’ll often find him cooking, walking with his lab Gidget on his favorite shore, or working in his woodshop.
Email Vaughn at vaughn at vaughnroycroft dot com.
Vaughn Roycroft's Blog 
Tha’s a fantastic story! Kudos to you both, and congratulations in advance on your upcoming trilogy!
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Thanks so much, Denise!
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Good morning, Vaughn. Happy Election Day. (I hope.)
I am delighted to invite you to participate In THE PARAGRAPH CHALLENGE
To accept the Invitation and uncover the rules, please go to: http://mackenziesdragonsnest.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/paragraph-challenge/
CONGRATULATIONS!
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Morning Shawn! Happy Election Day to you, too. Thanks so much for thinking of me! 🙂 Busy, busy day (week, really), but I’ll check it out!
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My pleasure, Vaughn. Love your work. I understand busy, but hope you get a moment to check out somewhere down the line. (no time constrants 🙂 ) Just a way to connect with other writers….
Have a great day!
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Great ‘about’ page…showing your journey thus far. Enjoy your writing life.
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Thanks, Mandy! You do the same! 🙂
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I’m having a blast to be honest!
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Vaughn, I nominated you for the Liebster Award! Check it out 🙂 http://andioconnor.com/2013/01/31/liebster-award/
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Thanks, Andi, I’ll check it out! 🙂
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Good for you for pursuing and living your dream. I too loved The Hobbit as a child (and as a child-like adult). My mom would read Tolkien to me before I went to sleep. Granted I had some strange dreams as a kid I’m sure, but I also grew up with a love for the written word and the whole new worlds made available via books.
Best of luck in all you do, it’s nice to find you,
Christy
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Hi Christy – It’s nice to be found. 🙂 Ah, a fellow child of the Shire. I know what you mean about the strange dreams, but talk about broadened literary horizons. Whenever I hear a young person complain about boredom I feel like putting them in a chair and handing them a book. I was never bored as a kid or as an adult. There’s always easy entertainment near by (especially now that I can carry my Kindle with me wherever I go).
Thanks for reading and commenting. Please come again!
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Your story reaches me, Vaughn. And it affirms something I’ve been thinking and writing a lot about since my memoir was published two months ago: the role of childhood influence in the life of a writer (and the life of an entrepreneur, which is rapidly becoming what writing careers consist of). Bravo to you on living your dream(s). Aren’t we lucky to get more than one?!
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Hey Shirley, nice to see you here! Yes, it took me a long time to realize how much of my life has gone into my writing journey. I learned so much during my business life, but it pales in comparison to what I’ve learned about myself and the world during my writing journey. And yes, I think we are very lucky. It’s been nice meeting you through Get Read and WU, and I’m looking forward to getting to know you better. Thanks for stopping by, and come again! 🙂
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