I switched from the bird app when the Nazis arrived and found a home on Threads. It struck me how appropriate that name is. There is a fantastic and diverse community of #womensupportingwomen, especially in the writing community #bookthreads. Threads were not always just a cute social media name but an integral part of women’s …
The other morning I was getting ready to go out and spotted a slip of paper from a fortune cookie sitting on the corner of my desk. I remember collecting it months ago and had forgotten about it. Somehow, on this particular morning, it magically showed up. As a person of an age where every …
Continue reading What If I Told You You’re Never Too Old to Follow Your Ultimate Dreams?
A few days ago, I took my first fall hike into the woods to enjoy a spectacular November day in Northern California and look for signs of mushrooms. It's a little early for mushroom season, but we had a decent rain about a week ago, so I was hopeful. We found a smattering of early …
Maybe we shouldn't have named our cat Leo. He certainly thinks he's king of all things...like my laundry. He's right in the middle of it when I throw it on the bed. I literally have to shut him out so I can put on clean sheets and fold my t-shirts. His other talents include fetch, …
Continue reading Capricious Cats, Thunderstorms of Thor and Other Unsolvable Mysteries
I didn't really start writing until I semi-retired, which gave me more time to pursue my dream of producing a novel. Since I started this process over five years ago, I've had many doubts about my sanity and the wisdom of starting a writing career later in life. A FogCon Panel on It's Never Too …
Continue reading Too Old to Start Writing? Balderdash! Age is Your Badass Superpower
Do you remember the first comic book you ever bought? I can picture the creaky metal comic stand in front of the neighborhood market that I passed on my way home from school, still feel the touch of my fingers on the covers, remember the thrill of picking out one to take home. I still …
Continue reading Fantasy Writer Seeks Comic Book Heroes for Action and Adventure
Smashcut. Sounds fun doesn't it? Gonna 'Smashcut' that chapter! Not a screenwriter, so it was new terminology to me; describes an abrupt cut from one scent to another); a neat little tool that I’ve apparently used unknowing in my fiction writing. And something similar: a classic Jump Cut (cut between the exact shot, creating the effect of …
I’m sure you’ve seen them…the questions on Twitter about peoples favorite apocalyptic (or if you prefer, dystopian) novel. It got me to thinking about how and when this bent in fiction got started. I admit, I was a bit surprised. You’ll see some pretty famous names from the beginning: Mary Shelly (not THAT novel, but …
With Halloween behind us, I've been thinking about the fascination we have with monsters. They attract us in all forms, from literature to movies to on-line gaming. I'm not a big fan of horror, but I love a little dark with my fantasy. My current WIP doesn't have any traditional monsters (just some dragons allies) …
Continue reading I’ll Take a Little Monster with my Magic. Please.
So what do you think? Hate them or love them? Think its old school? Don’t care? Personally, I’ve never been bothered by prologues. I think they can add dimension and interest at the beginning of a story that might be hard to build in elsewhere. Besides, George R. R. Martin (Game of Thrones) has shown …
So what does a fantasy writer need with a bunch of old cookbooks? In my defense, of course, I have a cookbook project planned. I want to resurrect the old recipes from the basements, attics and secondhand stores of America. No modern, fancy ones with glossy pictures by famous chefs for me, but the ones …
Here's the dilemma...how "dark" you should go with your evil characters. I realized that my "bad" character is certainly dark and wicked...But is she EVIL enough? One thing I've learned over the last two years of crafting and completing a first draft (Cave of Whispers, due out late 2019), is that (mostly) there are no rules. …
Continue reading Evil is as evil does…but is it evil enough?”
A little over three years ago, I decided to fulfill a lifelong dream to write a novel. My current fantasy story idea came from a dream image, so that's how it began. I sat down, asked my characters what the image was about and started writing. They haven't let me down. The story has found …
Continue reading I need a what? Can’t I just write? ::sigh::
J.L. Henker, Author 