Blog
Independence
Today we celebrate when our founding fathers said no to unconstrained executive power.
Today we celebrate when our founding fathers said no to the idea that any one man could decide the law for himself.
Today we celebrate when our founding fathers said no to a king whose authority to deny the people their rights was so vast that it could not be checked by the judiciary . . .
Rage
Controversy sells.
This is bad for artists, bad for writers, bad for people trying to share their creation.
Unless of course, your creation is controversy. . . Then you’re in luck.
Social media algorithms have a lot of us confounded. The fact is, I can post a nothing picture of my face and get a certain number of likes and interactions.
I get way more if I post a picture of my dog’s face (but seriously… LOOK at that face) . . .
Sausage
My vision for the world of Jesse Barrow grew out of some close friendships, two friends in particular who grew up in rural Alabama. Now, obviously these close friends weren’t around in 1911 rural Alabama, but as someone who studies history, I’ve always been fascinated by how our past affects our present. And the older I’ve become, the more I’ve been fascinated by how our present informs how we view our past, which then, paradoxically, informs our present. Both the past and the present can distort the truth . . .
Advokat
I’m excited to announce that my short story Advokat won the 2021 American Bar Association Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Fiction! . . .
Outlet
I’ll be honest… I’m tired.
This semester of law school started the first week of January and finished Friday. Between school and work, I’ve been going six and seven days a week for 18 weeks.
To say I learned a lot in that time would be a drastic understatement.
I learned about…
Tooth
I want to apologize in advance for any grammatical or philosophical loopyness contained in this blog post. I had a stubborn wisdom tooth pulled two days ago and am still dealing with a good bit of pain and, hence, medication.
But there have been some things that have been on my heart/mind the last little bit that I wanted to try to express.
2020 has been some year, no doubt. And as it counts it down, I’ve had a little bit of a chance to reflect, and I’m going to try to shed some light in what’s been an eerily dark tunnel for many of us . . .
Release
Cast No Shadow is out today!!
Available in paperback, Kindle, & Kindle Unlimited.
I am thrilled to finally be able to share this story with you…
Shadow
A brand new short story, Cast No Shadow, comes out on Friday and the usual jitters have overtaken me.
This is probably my favorite work that I’ve produced to date. I feel like it’s honest, raw, and asks some important questions. It’s undoubtedly the most gritty thing I have written, and I think the ending packs a good punch…
Mission
A small excerpt from a short story in progress. Enjoy!
…A moment later he tossed the black bag on the passenger seat of his pickup and started up the old, faithful truck. Down the row of trailers, under the orange lights, a few teenagers straddled their bikes and drank cheap beers. They nodded to him as he waved to them...
Primordial
The following is an excerpt from an untitled, in-process work. Hope you enjoy!
Do we love the ocean so much because it’s our primordial home? It’s possible that the roots of our deepest psyche go back that deep, to the day when one of our earliest ancestors crawled out from the abyss onto dry land...
Machine
I’m afraid of wasting things. Time. Money. Resources.
Yet I seem to do a lot of precisely that.
I procrastinate when there’s work that could be done.
I buy another cup of coffee when I’ve already had three.
I lose pens all the time...
Taxes
I may need professional help.
Because taxes are a nightmare.
I’ve been working on setting up a small business and I’m confused. And terrified.
Complex
This may sound like a weird thing to say, but, I do my best not to argue with my characters. I’ve finished my first novel, The Wages of Grace (coming January 2017!), and I must admit, if it’s nothing else, it’s honest.
I had a few trusted people read the manuscript when I was done with the first proper edit, and I had a lot of good suggestions. I took them all to heart and some I even implemented. However, when it came to character’s motivations or specific things they did that maybe didn’t seem to fit their profile, I was really torn. Some of the suggestions were very good. They were rational and made sense. They just didn’t feel right, though.
Voices
A blank page is terrifying.
Sure, it symbolizes new beginnings and endless possibilities.
But for someone like me—someone with deafeningly negative internal voices when it comes to creativity—it can be more than a little daunting.
Welcome
Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
My name is Brandon Dragan and I am an author, filmmaker, and recovering musician. I live in the Nashville, Tennessee area with my wife and best friend in the world, Jami and our two amazing daughters, Natalie and Brooklyn.