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 …
Category: Writing
I’ll Take a Little Monster with my Magic Please.
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) …
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What’s all the fuss about prologues?
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 …
Help…I Have Too Many Old Cookbooks!
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 …
Evil is as evil does…but is it evil enough?”
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. …
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J.L. Henker, Author 