Nothing to Lose Indeed!
“Here, Bruce, let me help you with that.”
I watched the hands of my friend, David Boswell, piece together the metal frame for my banner. In that moment, I was back in time almost thirty years. David and Alan Young, tool belts dangling with “Power” built one of the most impressive sets for our church drama. Scaffolding reached high over the stage area and along the front, a facade representing Jerusalem unfolded.
David and Alan had worked their magic again! I looked into David’s intense blue eyes as he helped me with this current simple project. He must have read my mind.
“You remember that scaffolding?” He said twisting two pipes together.
“How could I forget. You and Alan almost had no idea what was going on top of the scaffolding.”
“The entire choir!” His mouth fell open in shock. “I was praying it wouldn’t collapse. No one told me the choir would be up there.”
I laughed. “David, you built that scaffolding. I knew it would hold.”
David merely laughed. “The Lord held that thing together.”
We finished the frame and I had to hold back tears. For you see, David Boswell fell off the roof of his house over a decade before and suffered brain damage.
Martha Boswell, David’s wife, is a member of our local Louisiana chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers. She had brought her books to GeekD Con a few weeks ago and David helped us set up the booth. I had her fastest book, “Nothing to Lose” but had to confess to her I couldn’t get past the first couple of chapters. The story, while fictional, echoed the tragedy of Martha and David’s life. But as we sat and shared so many stories of the struggles in our lives, I realized how important is was to finish that book.
And I did! It is wonderful, encouraging, uplifting. I shared my experience at GeekD Con with our local chapter at our latest monthly meeting. For me, selling books had been the main goal. But God had other plans. Imagine that! As many of you know, I have an adult daughter with epilepsy. So many people wandered up to the booth and after a short conversation, I realized they had someone in their family with epilepsy! I was able to share words of wisdom and encouragement with them.
But Martha! Oh my! She engaged everyone in conversation in such an easy and nonthreating manner. And she had information about TBI, traumatic brain injury. I was shocked at the stories we heard about people with traumatic brain injury.
“Nothing to Lose” is a wonderful story about a family suffering from a father and husband who undergoes a traumatic brain injury. The story is tough to read, but essential reading. Martha has written a beautiful, aching tale of love that overcomes adversity. Not just the love between two people but the love of God.
In 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about how we have this “treasure” in jars of clay. That treasure is the Gospel of Jesus Christ as evidenced in our changed lives. The challenge is the jar of clay. It is not pretty. The potter has placed their own imprint on the jar. And jars crack and break. And even broken and cracked, those jars can still be used to touch the lives of so many.
Martha’s book can be found here. And don’t miss David’s cooking class on Facebook, Supper on the Shelf! Pick up “Nothing to Lose” because you have everything to gain!
Prelim GeekD Con
With lots of blood (real blood), sweat (lots of sweat) and a few tears I am set up for GeekD Con. It is now 3 in the afternoon and the gates open at 5. Martha Boswell has set up her table in my booth and we are ready to spend some time visiting with people and hopefully selling some books.
If you have a chance, come see us this weekend. Second Floor Captain Shreve Ballroom.
Mark Sutton’s “Matrix”
I was attending a church growth conference at Saddleback Church in California in the year of our Lord, 2000. Most of my church staff was present and I was invited along as the head of our drama ministry. Most of my breakout sessions involved using drama in church ministries and I was headed for a session when Mark Sutton, my pastor, stopped me.
“Bruce, we’re going back to the hotel.”
“Who?”
“You and me.”
“Why?”
“Because they have The Matrix on pay per view.”
I remember my mouth falling open in shock. My pastor, the man who insisted his entire staff spend four days in California for a church growth conference wanted to to back to the hotel and watch “The Matrix”. But, I have always respected the authority of my senior pastor so I joined him. We watched the move and he loved every second of it.
Mark passed away in January of this year from a failing lung transplant. Mark was the best communicator I have ever met. His imagination was endless as the many dramas we wrote together testified.
But despite his seeming gentle nature, he loved movies. Gory movies. Violent movies. And he was very glib about it. “The more violent and gory, the better!” And the only person he could get to go with him was me. I don’t like ultra-violence. But neither of our wives liked movies. And our children were too young for theses type of movies.
I recall one time, he wanted to go see “Starship Troopers”, the ultra violent science fiction movie made by Paul Verhoeven. We arrived at the theater and realized we were the only ones there. Mark insisted on sitting in the third or fourth row. Closer to the action, he said. There we sat as the credits rolled and the first violent scene appears. To my shock, Mark began talking to the movie!
“Really! Come on. You can do better than that!”
Now, I insist on silence in the movies. Sean, my son, would talk constantly during a movie making sure I just saw the scene we had just seen. His mantra was:
“Hey, Dad.”
“What Sean?”
“Did you see that robot?”
“Yes, Sean.”
“Hey, Dad.”
“What, Sean?”
“Did you see who that robot shot?”
“Yes, Sean.”
“Hey, Dad.”
I called these the “Hey Dad what Seans.” By the time he was in middle school he grew out of it. Thank you God! Now, he has a son who, well you can guess.
By the time we were thirty minutes into the movie, we were both loudly commenting on each scene. It was like some weird episode of Mystery Theater 3000! At times I was certain blood, body fluids, or water from the infamous co-ed shower scene splattered on us.
When all was done, Mark smiled and laughed. These movies were cathartic for him. Having to constantly be on his best behavior as a pastor, deprived him of moments when he could just let down for a bit. But with me, he was in a safe zone.
In 2001, we took our two daughters to see “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” We both had read the book in our teenage years. Our daughters were around 14 at the time. They loved the movie. They sat between me and Mark and I remember leaning over and looking at Mark with this silly grin and he would give me a thumbs up. Not because the movie was too violent but because it was such a beautiful and well done testimony to the book. After that movie, we both transitioned into attending movies with our daughters. No more Starship Troopers.
Mark has gone on to his eternal reward now. But before he passed away, he had the joy of writing two fiction books. Pitfall is a story about the war in heaven that leads to Lucifer’s downfall. And Demon Undertow is a murder mystery set in a mythical city based on Daytona Beach, Florida. In both books, he used violence but to a much muted degree than what we saw in the movies.
This weekend, I will be at GeekD Con with my books and Mark’s two books. I have a few print versions and I will also have a special ebook bundle for both books. Come celebrate Mark’s love of writing, and fiction, and books like “Lord of the Rings.”
No blood. No body fluid. No co-ed showers! Just good, clean fun!
I hope to see you there.
Works In Progress, and Geeks!
I am wrestling with the choice. The War Doctor or Indiana Jones? Or, maybe a Jedi Knight. What should I cosplay this weekend at GeekD Con? Last year, I was the War Doctor and met Jack Barrowman, known to Whovians as Captain Jack Harkness.
But this year, I will have a booth for my books and more on that below. Most probably, I will just be in a teeshirt and pants to combat the heat. All three cosplay costumes are quite warm!
The question has been asked: What am I working on now that “The Chronicles of Jonathan Steel” is official finished? Is this the last time we see Jonathan Steel? Probably not.
Currently I am finishing up the third book in the “Jack Merchant Medical Mystery” series. And I am working on the first book in the “Node of God” series. I have teased bits and pieces of this story throughout the Chronicles. “Node” features characters from the Chronicles: Cephas Lawrence (who is supposed to be dead), Arthur Knight, Josh’s father, who disappeared in an escape pod, and Theo King who we last saw in ancient Jerusalem. How? Well, be patient.
There is also a special book I’m working on. Not fiction. True life.
My daughter Casey suffers from epilepsy since she was 8 and is now 39. Over these trying years, I have yearned to write a book to help people and their loved ones suffering from this disease. And what we have learned also applies to anyone with chronic illness. My good friend, David Boswell, suffers from traumatic brain injury (TBI). In talking to his wife and caregiver, Martha Boswell, I discovered that most of the challenges they have faced are very similar to Casey’s challenges. And so, my family has agreed it is time to write this book.
And there is another series I am working on with the tentative series name, “Dr. Christmas”. More on that later but the first book has the subtitle: The Broken Boy.
Years ago, I started a novel for my daughter, Casey and unfortunately the premise was far too similar to a certain movie that came out not long after I started the book: Toy Story. So I put it on the shelf. Now, I have three very special grandchildren so I am hoping to finish the book for them by Christmas: “There’s a Mom Under the Bed”.
Another special treat will come from “Ruby”, a young woman who has written her life story about her struggles. I am helping her and her family finish her book and you will hear more about that later.
This weekend, join me on the second floor at GeekD Con. I will have my books, coupons for ebooks, special mugs, stickers, and some giveaways. Martha Boswell will be joining me the booth with her fiction books and information about TBI. (She has promised to wear a costume!) Here is a link to a YouTube interview about her and David’s challenges.
And “King” Gabriel will have cards listing how to access his books and YouTube channel. That link takes you to an interview with me.
One more thing. Eileen Keir Copeland has written a wonderful fantasy book, “Bowsinger” which I reviewed in the past. Eileen is recovering from a serious illness and is doing very well but cannot be present. I will have ten of her print books available for purchase! Here is a link to her book trailer.
Can’t wait to see all of you this weekend.
I was a geek and a nerd before nerd was a word!
Buckley Station
The road has changed.
I remember it as much bigger with larger hills. But the landscape is unchanged. We drove along Blanchard Furrh Road through small hills and winding turns toward Walter Jacob’s Nature Park just west of the sprawling village of Blanchard.
I grew up in these hills and woods. With anticipation, I couldn’t wait to see the brick facade to the abandoned Buckley Station. Way back in the 1960’s, Buckley Station was a pumping station for natural gas. And the employees had wonderful benefits. A couple of dozen houses were built around a circle on the wooded hill next to the road to the station. In the center of this circle of houses was a huge playground. And not far behind the houses was a private lake and clubhouse for parties and large group gatherings. No one could use those facilities but the people who lived there. What was cool to me as a ten year old was the step like construction of the sign. I could climb up the two levels above the ground.
That’s me in our front yard and right across the highway was the wood around that romantic lake.
Calling All Geeks
Last year at GeekD Con I met S. K. Davidson. Amidst the anime and Star Wars and Star Trek and Voice Actors she had a table featuring her book, “An Unforeseen Genesis”. I paused to talk to her and she shared her book was “clean”. On more gentle questioning, she told me she was a Christian and her science fiction novel was written from the point of view of a Christian worldview. I read the book and it is VERY science fiction in nature with inspiring concepts.
Inspired, indeed, I have chosen to have a table at this year’s GeekD Con. I will be featuring my 18 books primarily focusing on “The Chronicles of Jonathan Steel” as he battles demons. I will also have my Jack Merchant Medical Mystery Books and the prequel to Jonathan Steel, Death by Darwin.
I’ll have some special merchandise if anyone is interested and I’ll be on the second floor where it is much quieter and not as chaotic. Come by and visit. Remember I have just released the last book in “The Chronicles of Jonathan Steel”, “The 1st Demon: Imago Diaboli”.
I have special ebook offers through Bookfunnel. You can purchase any of my books as an ebook and download it to any reader.
I am currently working on two projects. First, I am halfway through the third book in the Jack Merchant series, “Slice Fatigue” and I am working on the first book in the Node of God trilogy, “Darksyn Rising”.
If you come to GeekD Con, come by and say hello. I’d love to see you!
We Hold These Truths . . .
Today, I want to share a short story I wrote for our American Christian Fiction Writers Louisiana Chapter collection.
You can find the book at this link. My story is a cautionary tale of a future in which our freedoms have been significantly curtailed. And so, in celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
Self-Evident
By
Bruce Hennigan
Our helmet lights illuminated a pitch-black corridor filled with broken marble and stone. Jackson paused beside me and held up his arm to study the sensor readout on his wrist display. His ordinarily white environmental suit was covered in gray dust from the carnage around us. Although decades had passed since the last battle, the damage still appeared recent.
“Branson, I’m pretty sure we are finally in the right place.” He said over the radio.
I consulted my own readout. My name, Lieutenant Mary Branson, blinked above a tiny dot on the map of the interior of this building marking our location. We had climbed over broken stone and collapsed ceilings for almost an hour now. “I hope so. Our air is getting low, and the radiation exposure is climbing. We have about twenty five minutes. Then we have to bail.”
Read the rest of this entry“Disclosure Day” Discloses Truth
I don’t think I have seen the gushing, positive reviews for a Speilberg movie for years like those about “Disclosure Day”. I went alone on Friday to see this movie along with about twelve other people. I was prepared to be thrilled, encouraged, and emotional moved.
Here is what I took away from the movie.
The existence of alien life doesn’t threaten the belief in God. Something I have long held to.
If we paid more attention to others’ needs and hurts, a process the movie labels “empathy”, this world would be a better place.
There has been and will always be an underlying threat of war as long as the human race exists. This is despite the process of empathy.
The last word of the movie is the most powerful word of the movie.
Speilberg can still show without fail the range of human awe and wonder in the average human face.
The government hides secrets it believes will protect the human race. But perhaps those secrets also benefit the development of weapons.
Emily Blunt is an amazing actress.
I have always felt that cardinals carry a special message that God is watching over us.
So, is it the best movie Speilberg has made? If I did not already believe in the power of empathy, the existence of God, and the hope for our future this movie delivers, it would be the best movie. But I already believe these things. But our current culture has lost its way.
Our culture celebrates self: self love, self care, selfies, selfishness, self, self, self. We have lost the basic common sensical notion of Jesus’ call “to love each other as you love yourself”. We miss the point the Good Samaritan is not about the Good Samaritan. It is about the cold, uncaring response of the priest and the judge that leave the poor man to die in the ditch! They were supposed to be the cultural representatives of love and compassion. Instead, they cared only for themSelves!
I am getting the notion that our younger generation is having a break through moment turning their backs on this self centered cultural emphasis and realizing you can never get help if you don’t help others first. Do unto others, well you should know the adage. That came from Jesus also, by the way. In fact Jesus said His followers would be known because “you love one another”. Show love. Demonstrate love. That means considering someone else before yourself. So counter-cultural. Maybe it’s time we protested in support of unconditional love and empathy instead of resorting to violence.
Seems like there was a certain pastor who preached that message back in the 1960’s and because he said, “I have a dream” he was assassinated.
I’ve gone on too long. Younger generations have too short of an attention span to read this entire post. I can’t blame you. We’ve made you that way. We don’t teach patience. We teach instant gratification. Now is already too late.
Go see Disclosure Day and pay very close attention to what is said. Every word. You will be encouraged, filled with hope, and walk away with a heart full of the desire to empathize with those around you. It may not be the best movie Spielberg has made. But, it the most important movie for our times!
Is Reading a Book About Demons Dangerous?
I am often asked why a Christian reader should purchase a novel about demons. After all, isn’t reading about demons exposing oneself to the influence of Satan?
Let me clue you into a disturbing fact: if one is a Christian, one is already under the influence of Satan!
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Ephesians 6: 12,13 (And verse 13 is why I call my publishing entity 613media).
If you are a Christian and you are totally unaware of the influence of Satan in your life there is a good chance he has you right where he wants you! J. Warner Wallace of coldchristianity.com calls most people in our culture, apatheists. They just don’t care about God or demons or religion.
But for those who have dedicated their lives to following Jesus Christ, we are in a battle between the forces of good and evil. True, God and his angels are on the winning side but Satan and his fallen angels (demons) are making headway in today’s culture. Ignoring spiritual warfare is to relinquish the battle to the enemy! For example, 26% of Americans identify as “nones”, someone who has no identification with religious issues. This means that over one quarter of Americans do not believe there is a God!
My “demon” books do not glorify Satan or his minions. Rather, these books expose the nature of demonic influence in our lives. Each book is built around an important tenet of Christianity and discusses methods and means to protect oneself from the influence of the enemy.
Here is a graphic that illustrates the widespread influence of the forces of evil in our world.
In my fictional accounts of spiritual warfare, my broken, angry hero, Jonathan Steel, faces off against humans hosting powerful demons from a “Council of Darkness” dedicated to opposing the plans of the followers of Christ. Each book features an important spiritual concept and, usually, a cultural “deception” to divert attention from the work of the Lord,
My books do not contain profanity or gratuitous violence. They can be read by teenagers and people of all ages. One of the main character is a teenager. Let me tell you two stories about the genesis of these books.
Way back in 2010, I visited Abilene, Texas with my good friend and apologist, Michael Licona. He asked me to interview a man who had experienced a near death experience and to comment on the medical side of his experience. The specifics of that story, I’ll save for another day but the evening of the first day, a group of us were eating at a local Tex-Mex restaurant. Jessie, the man who had experienced significant trauma, had survived, and had a religious epiphany said he often saw “Dad”, as he called Jesus, walking around the room and speaking to him. You can imagine this doctor had a bit of skepticism about his visitations!
Jesse sat across from me at the table and suddenly stopped talking and looked over my shoulder. I glanced behind me. No one there. He looked back at me and said, “Dr. Hennigan, what does the number thirteen have to do with you?”
Salad fell from my open mouth. “What did you say?”
“Dad said to ask you about the number thirteen.” He said innocently.
I had never met Jessie before that day. He had no way of knowing I was coming or who I was. Let’s just say, he was not tech savvy. I was in the final stages of publishing my first book with a traditional publisher and no one knew this, not even Mike Licona,
“Well, I am about to publish a book entitled ‘The 13th Demon’. I turn in the manuscript in a couple of weeks.”
He smiled and looked back over my shoulder and nodded then his gaze met mine. “Dad said no matter what happens do not let Satan stop you. And that is why you have two guardian angels.”
Affirmation from God I was on the right track from the most unexpected source! The second story is creepier. Sitting in my office in one of our satellite hospitals, I had accessed the internet on what was then only a dial up connection. Hospitals are notoriously way behind time on tech! Deep in the weeds planning my next novel on vampires, I opened a search result link. The screen went completely black and from the center an image emerged. Bulbous eyes, fangs, forked tongue comprised a demonic face that grew and grew. Suddenly, the image overlapped the edges of my laptop screen! The things was coming OUT of my laptop! Impossible!
I slammed the lid shut and removed the battery (an option at that time with Powerbooks). Gasping for breath, I called my co-author and pastor, Mark Sutton. I told him what had happened. Was I going crazy? He didn’t hesitate in telling me, “God must really want you to write these books. Satan is pulling out all stops to stop you.” The follow up to this experience was my week in the “demon” house in Austin while finishing “The 12th Demon” about vampires. But I’ll save that for later. Let’s just say, that face that came out of the laptop? It became very physical!
I don’t mean to boast that my books are “God ordained”. But, I believe without a doubt I was inspired to write a series of books accessible to Christians and non-Christians exposing the underside of evil. Including my last book in “The Chronicles of Jonathan Steel”, “The 1st Demon: Imago Diaboli” there are twelve books. One for each apostle, one for each demon on the Council of Darkness. Note I am considering the prequel book, “Death by Darwin” as part of the series as it introduces Jonathan Steel.
I encourage you to consider reading my books. I assure you will learn quite a bit about spiritual matters, spiritual warfare, how Satan works, and most importantly how God is all powerful and has already won the battle.
Blessings.
The Last Book, the 1st Demon is here.
“The 1st Demon: Imago Diaboli” is now available through all book outlets online. If you go to this link you can find links to each site that offers the book.
As I stated in a prior post, this book has taken longer to write than most. I went back and read all the prior books in “The Chronicle of Jonathan Steel” as well as the prequel “Death By Darwin”. I even reviewed my Jack Merchant books as characters from those two books feature in this final story. Below, I will reveal the second chapter of the book for those who have read and those who have not read my books. In this chapter, Jonathan Steel and his main love interest, Ruth Martinez (from Death By Darwin) are driving from Shreveport, Louisiana to Austin, Texas. During the six hour drive, Jonathan tells his story to Ruth. The chapter not only recounts many of the developments from the prior books, but it also illustrates their growing relationship. Just a WARNING, this chapter contains many spoilers so reader beware.
Thanks again for all who have supported these books in the past. The final book contains many “tropes” that have become fairly common place in the last 20 years but I stuck with the story I outlined way back in 2000. If story beats seem all too familiar, I wrote them first!
Read the rest of this entry
Bruce Hennigan 
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