Droids & Dragons Author, Stephen Thorn

Stephen Thorn

Pub 518 welcomes Stephen Thorn, a poet and storyteller from Pennsylvania, USA. When we asked Stephen to tell us a little about himself, his reply was, "I can be somewhat verbose and windy, so you might not have enough room for some of them. (chuckles)"

Of course, we always have room for someone who writes great prose. Stephen started writing poetry about his pet. "My first poem was four sentences about my parakeet.  It was a class project, and I think it was in second grade." 

His inspiration to write poetry involved two big factors. "First, my mom was a Sunday School teacher, and she wrote songs, poems, and skits for her classes (young children).  Seeing her doing it, and hearing the beautiful results, made me want to do that too.  I was very fortunate that she, and other members of my family, read to me; later she encouraged me to choose books that I liked.  That helped me learn how to tell a good story."

"Second, I was born after the big folk music boom, which was after the country-western boom, and my family played albums of both for hours at a time.  Hearing story-songs taught me the way to do them, and to this day I often write story-songs, although I don't write music."

Stephen is a well-published author. He has more than a dozen short stories and poems published in anthologies or online magazines, starting with a non-fiction article in the early 80s on treating venomous snakebite in the wild. 

"I've had a regular column in a local church newsletter and was secretary for a different church years later.  In that capacity I often contributed essays, prayers, poems, etc.  I don't write novels, but in winter 2025 I published a collection of my stories and poems, "Tales from Tarrabee Moor', on Amazon."

We asked Stephen what author had influence his writing style, and his answer was, mom. "She has a huge influence on my style."

His favorite author is Richard Matheson, followed by Stephen King. "Frankly, most of his novels don't grab me, but at short stories he is truly a mammoth talent!  My favorite poet is Robert W. Service.  His poems of life in the Klondike during the Gold Rush are some of the best poems I know. Give yourself a treat:  Read his poem, "The Man from Eldorado."  THAT is how you write a great poem, my friends."

Writers find inspiration everywhere. With Stephen's 'Droids & Dragons' poem, "The Master of the Dragons in the Land of Elefree", it sort of hit from out of the blue. 

"Somehow the name "Elefree" just floated up in my brain, and I began playing with it.  I was in college then, and castles/dragons/mystical topics have always fascinated me.  The idea of a country called Elefree, where there were dragons that had been tamed and turned into the king's (pets? beasts of burden, like horses?) seemed like a cool story.  Seeing an old man tending to these dragons just seemed like the right thing, and it all kinda flowed together from there. Not really sure.  I like the names I gave the dragons: Blaaragard, Windisfree, and Dall.  I pictured Dall as a gentle dragon with jade-green scales; he's smart and loyal as a hound.  Windisfree is sky-blue and has tremendous wings, very large for a dragon.  Like an albatross he can sail on the wind for weeks at a time, and there he is happiest.  He can fly higher and farther than any other dragon in all of Elefree.  Blaaragard is the king's 'war horse.'  A black behemoth, he towers over the tallest turrets of the king's castle.  His natural weapons are fearsome and his courage is limitless.  Barely controllable, he is the animal the king rides into battle, and just the image of this gleaming ebony monster would put almost any army to flight."

Stephen doesn't have a favorite book, per se, but the three books he has reread most are "Skeleton Crew," "Night Shift," and " 'Salem's Lot" by Stephen King.

Stephen's thoughts on his writing, "I think I write very natural speech/dialog and am very good at descriptions." "The Master of the Dragons in the Land of Elefree" is a lyrical and intriguing poem that is enjoyed by all of us at Pub 518.

Droids & Dragons is available on Amazon and drops 9/25/2026.