...but never made the final cut.

Today is the day we celebrate the cowardly knight St George killing a baby dragon, what a heroic deed that was. Spitfire certainly doesn't think so!



To celebrate this I thought I would share with you 10 things that could have happened in George and the Dragon but never made it past the editing stage.

1. George aged unnaturally so he could bond romantically with Emily.  He ended up tearing out of his clothes but it didn't really work and was vetoed by my sister who was heavily involved in the early editing of the novel.

2. There was a coven formed of mystics, shamans, warlocks etc from different nationalities there were responsible for summoning Spitfire.  Except for the spell the coven were largely in the way and their roles otherwise in the book were easily filled by the two scientists on their own.

3. Originally a French female spy went on the trip with George and Emily to London.  She was to have a German rival but anything she offered the narrative could easily be distributed to Squadron Leader Andy McKnight and Section Officer Caroline King.

4. The shopkeeper was Chinese. He was called Bai Hu and was the personification of the White Tiger of the West. He was a master with the spear amongst other abilities. In the end I felt it was better not to mix eastern and western mythologies. Although looking forward to the introduction of the Japanese into the war and I guess it becomes inevitable in some way.


5. Group Captain Ford was an expert fencer, having won awards during his time spent at Cambridge. I guess this never changed but the fight in which he demonstrates his prowess was removed as it served no purpose to the overall narrative.

6. The original message between George and his mother overwhelms her and she is taken to the medical room at Camelot.  The coven then seek to revive her.  It was a clumsy attempt to make the coven more useful and was removed when they were removed.

7. The original coven survives the attack on George's uncle's mansion via teleportation.  Teleportation was a magical device I used a few times but it felt like an easy way to solve various situations and the tunnel concept I used in this scene has a much more realistic feel to it,

8. There was a fight on the train home from London which resulted in half a carriage being destroyed. George unleashes his full powers and it's the first time you get a glimpse of what he can do but again it just felt unnecessary and was removed at the beta reading stage.

9. The Dawn Raider encountered a German torpedo boat and destroyed it before it could act.  It was nice bit of action but unnecessary in the overall narrative of the book.

10. The armoured coffins that the German pilots ride in where a very late addition to the novel. A beta reader pointed out the pilots survival rates would be minimal otherwise as they have no magical protection.  The Silver dragons already had their armoured shells so the change seemed logical. It's also an attempt to show a difference between how the allies and the axis treat their dragons.

So there you go 10 things that never made the final cut.

Don't forget if you are interested I'm currently running a give away in celebration of the fact George and the Dragon is 1.  There are 5 signed copies of George and the Dragon I'm giving away.


All you have to do is get yourself over to Goodreads and enter the competition. Easy!

If you know anyone else that might like to win one of the books let them know too!

Phil