Category Archives: Breaking News
Local Authors at Upcoming Book Fair!
On Saturday, October 28 the local chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers will hold a “Wholesome Book Fair” at Barksdale Baptist Church. It’s a great opportunity to get books for Christmas presents. And, I will be there with ALL of my books. I reached out to C. D. “Chuck” Sutherland, the president of our local chapter for an interview about the upcoming book fair.
What is the “Wholesome” Book Fair?
The October 28th Wholesome Book Fair, being held at Barksdale Baptist Church in Bossier City, is an opportunity for the community to look at and choose from a wide selection of books written by local Christian fiction authors. While not all of the books displayed fit in the traditional category of “Christian Fiction,” the vending authors have agreed to limit their selections to books that do not contain profanity, graphic sex, gratuitous violence, or other objectionable material. It’s a safe place for attendees looking for material suitable for general audiences, young adults, and children. Family safe.
What is the ACFW?
Founded in 2000, the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) is a professional organization devoted to meeting the needs of new and seasoned authors alike by training in the craft of Christian fiction, educating in the market, and advocating in the traditional Christian fiction publishing industry.
Engaging its members through online classes, email discussion loops, genre loops, special writing/editing/polishing month-long programs, critique groups, a wealth of resources, contests for both published and unpublished Christian fiction writers, and the premier Christian fiction annual conference, ACFW impacts writers and the stories they create.
With nearly 3,000 members, ACFW has 30 local chapters across the country and an online international chapter. ACFW offers a venue for readers of Christian Fiction to learn more about their favorite authors and discover the vast array of choices available from the Christian Fiction market in general.
ACFW helps writers tell their stories by inspiring them to partner with God in the creative process, learn the craft, and find their audience.
I understand you are the president of the local ACFW chapter. Can you tell me more about the local chapter?
To join any local ACFW chapter, you have first to be a member of the national organization. Joining a local chapter gives you a chance for fellowship, prayer support, and encouragement face-to-face, not only during monthly meetings but also during other events, and of course, many members develop life-long friendships with other members. ACFW Louisiana has a robust Professional Development program, which focuses on developing writing skills, and we have three annual projects: the Wholesome Book Fair, an Annual Aspiring Writers Workshop, and an opportunity to volunteer for an Authors Posse that collaborates with a local publisher to produce an annual anthology.
I understand the local chapter puts out an anthology of short stories each year. Can you tell us more about that?
Our annual anthology project functions much like a graduate course in creative writing. Each year, the volunteers agree upon a common thread, which provides unity for the collection. Then the authors produce their short stories, which are in turn edited by the entire posse. Editing is a tough job, but the process matures a writer, making them better at the craft of writing. Based on the collective editorial inputs, the authors, in turn, refine their stories, which are compiled into an anthology by a local publisher.
The anthology becomes the centerpiece of that year’s Aspiring Writers Workshop. Because the workshop and the anthology are a community outreach effort, the eBook editions are offered for free at Smashwords.com. https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NWPLLC
Over at Amazon, printed editions, including some hardcovers, are available for purchase. You can usually find your best prices by buying directly from individual authors selling signed versions in various venues—like the Wholesome Book Fair.
What are some of the books you will be featuring at the Book Fair?
Each vendor has the leeway to display the books they choose. I intend to offer my Antediluvian Steampunk series, which is an amalgamation of literary Biblical fiction and traditional Science Fiction, the last six years of our Christian Fiction anthologies, and a Children’s picture book about the Christmas Candy Cane—maybe a couple of others.
We have other authors who have written more books than me. Marguerite Martin Gray has at least seven novels in her Revolutionary Faith and Garden in Time series. I’m not sure how many of those she will present. Our chapter has a member who is a doctor and author of no less than fourteen books on depression and supernatural thrillers. I’m sure he’ll display some of those. Susan Hiers Foster, our Vice President, has published two children’s books dealing with tough issues like a mother in a nursing home and how to deal with bullying and forgiveness. We have several authors of multiple genres: Victorian Romances, Spy Thrillers, Time Travel, Folksy Humor, and others; the common thread is that they are all wholesome. The list of vendors is still growing; again, the vendors are empowered to display whatever they believe complies with our definition of “wholesome,” which should mean people looking for Christmas gift books will be in the right place to do that.
What do you hope visitors will get from coming to the Wholesome Book Fair?
Primarily, I hope attendees will find suitable books for their family and friends. Printed books are a bargain compared to other options. Plus, they can provide hours of entertainment. For children, books are generally used over and over, as they enjoy the familiar feel of a good story. An additional hope is to let people know there is an emerging culture of good books of all genres written with a Christian worldview for them to enjoy.
Where can people find out more information about the Book Fair and the local chapter of ACFW?
We’re on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=acfw-louisiana, where you can find general information about us.
Additionally, anybody can email their specific questions to ACFWLAWholesomeBookFair@gmail.com, which includes authors interested in getting a vendor’s slot for 28 Oct.
Free Books!
Three weeks until Christmas!
THE 4TH DEMON: THE TRIAL OF THE 3RD DEMON
First, there was some delay in the availability of my newest book on Amazon and other portals. The books are now available and if you cannot find them by doing a search for “The 4th Demon: The Trial of the 3rd Demon” then search under my name. Also, you can go to hopeagainbooks.com for links to the book. And you can go to my Author Central Page on Amazon to find the books, https://www.amazon.com/Bruce-Hennigan/e/B0055JCM3O/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk .
THE 13TH DEMON AND THE 12TH DEMON
So here’s the deal. Charisma Media has ended their Realms imprint and returned the bulk of printed copies of “The 13th Demon” and “The 12th Demon” to me. Right now you can only buy used copies on Amazon so don’t do that! They will charge too much. And the ebooks are not available. I am working on combining these two books into the first volume of “The Chronicles of Jonathan Steel” with new, additional material I was forced to eliminate by Charisma’s draconian editorial process. But that will be after the first of the year.
So I am giving away the first two books for free! That’s right! I have about 40 copies of each and I am bundling them together and will ship you both books for free. All you have to do is pay for shipping and handling fee of $10! This is a good way to introduce others to the world of Jonathan Steel. And, you can start ordering right now. Just go to this PayPal link and place your order. Note that I will be shipping BOTH books, not one or the other. If you already have a book, just give the other away. Again, I only have about 40 copies of each book so don’t delay. Note that the price will be listed as $1 because I have to put a price on the invoice and the shipping will be listed as $9
https://py.pl/m555K — link for purchasing the two books.
CASEY’S SPARROW TEE SHIRT FOR EPILEPSY AWARENESS
Now, to the other issue, my daughter’s tee shirts. If you have read my blog posts in the past, you are familiar with Casey and her life long battle with epilepsy. She has designed an “Epilepsy Warrior” tee shirt to raise money for epilepsy awareness and she will give the proceeds to the Epilepsy Foundation. We have sold about half of the minimal 50 shirts so far and have eight days left in the campaign. Go to https://www.bonfire.com/caseys-sparrow/ and order a tee shirt, a hoodie, or a long sleeve tee shirt.
Thank you for supporting my writing and thank especially for supporting Casey’s efforts to raise epilepsy awareness!
Weigh Your Heart!
I was very depressed trying to watch a Hulu show, “The Patient”. If you made it through the entire series you know why. Dark, depressing, hopeless, filled with despair and the most subtly violent murders I’ve ever witnessed. I wanted to chain myself to a dark, basement bedroom floor by the end of the thing!
And watching the first part of that series changed my approach to writing. I’ve been working on the next two demons in my Chronicles of Jonathan Steel trying my best to keep them in separate books. That didn’t happen. The story of the 4th demon is so intertwined with the 3rd demon I had to combine the books for one LONG book. It will cost a bit more but that is because of the added cost of printing and producing the book by my distributor, Ingram.
Read the rest of this entryDemoneyes!
As promised, the next book will be out on Monday, November 22nd.
Can Jonathan Steel complete all three tasks demanded of him by the “unholy triad” of the 7th, 6th, and 5th demons in time to save Joshua Knight’s life? Can Joshua Knight keep the mysterious Pandora from taking over his mind while he is fighting for his life? To save Joshua Knight, Jonathan Steel must become an ally of a serial killer and locate the arcane Ark of the Demon Rose. In the process, his past comes back to haunt him. Was he once an assassin? What price is he willing to pay to save his son? With time running out, Jonathan Steel betrays all that he has come to represent and must walk on the side of the demons!
At the end of “The 7th Demon: The Pandora Stone” I left my readers in a bit of a cliffhanger and I promised I would have the next book by December 1. Well, it is here! “The 5th Demon: Demoneyes” will be available on Monday, November 22nd! Print and ebook versions will be available.
This book takes the reader deeper into the mind of Josh Knight and his battle with Pandora. The battle for Joshua Knight’s life continues as Jonathan Steel tries to complete the three tasks given to him by the unholy triad. Jonathan Steel must break down the barriers of time and space itself to achieve his goals. And, all the while, he must walk a thin line between betraying his allegiance to God and walking on the side of the demons!
Christmas is upon us and this book will make a good gift along with the accompanying “The 7th Demon” book. My readers may notice there is no “The 6th Demon” book. There are three demons featured in two books. This will also be true in the coming final two books. Each will feature two demons. That’s right! I will finish the Chronicles of Jonathan Steel in two more books.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Because, Jonathan Steel will not!
78 Years Ago, a Day That Will Live in Infamy.
Four elderly men stood before me. They had asked to talk to me and I was very, very nervous. One of them was shaking with emotion and all I could think of was somehow I had offended them with something I had written in the play they had just seen.
Let me explain.
In 1993, I was the director of the drama ministry at Brookwood Baptist Church. We produced four dinner theaters a year and my staff liaison requested we sell season tickets for the 1994 season. I was growing tired of writing, directing, and producing plays with a rural flair. I wanted something more modern and urban. I decided on the three plays leading up to our holiday dinner theater for 1994. Then, I wrote down a simple explanation for the fourth play, “The Night Gift”. It would take place in an urban setting, a newly constructed high rise in downtown with a penthouse office.
The members of that office would find themselves stuck in the penthouse office on Christmas Eve and in the process discover they didn’t get along as well as they thought. That was it. A simple story. I would worry about the details later and write the play sometime during the summer of 1994 in time for the holiday dinner theater.
Read the rest of this entryWhere are Stories Born?
In 2011 I was in the midst of delivering on a five book contract with Charisma Media. During the year, I worked on three books at once. The first book was already in Charisma’s hands and I went through the months long process of editing with a professional editor, designing a cover, and approving the final book. The second book was the one I would turn in at the end of the year in its final format. I was editing and writing the final manuscript. The third book was the next book in the series and I was outlining, researching, and writing the rough draft.
So, why in the midst of this would I decide to write two short stories a week? Simple. I had to keep my creative juices flowing and to do so, I availed myself of a wonderful website no longer around called “Storypraxis”. My editor, Andy Meisenheimer was involved in the website and the premise was that every couple of days or so, a story prompt featuring a word or a phrase was released. You then had about 36 hours to free write a short, short story based on the prompt. No editing. Just free write and get it down on the screen. Then, you uploaded the story and if it was “good” enough, it would be featured the next month in the site’s digital magazine.
I recently ran across all of my short stories from that brief time. From the stories I wrote over a year’s time, I chose 63 stories to share with my readers. I have put them together in a short book entitled “Praxis Makes Imperfect?: Prompting Your Story” available at this link.
If you are interested in writing, I challenge you to take a look at the writing prompts. They are listed in the front of the book. Sit down and just let your imagination flow and see what comes out of the inspiration from the word. Then, if you are at all interested, check out the story I wrote from that prompt. Some of the stories are ridiculous. Some are almost sublime. I used this process to explore characters, ideas, what if questions, and possible novel ideas. Some of the short stories ended up in my novels. Others are waiting in the wings impatiently, the characters tapping their toes with arms or tentacles or appendages crossed waiting for me to unleash them into the world of my stories. Patience beings. I will get to you!
So, enjoy this little book. See what stories the prompts inspire in you and write, write, write! Bleed all over the page! Let your imagination soar! And, then judge for yourself I managed to soar. Or to crash and burn!
Now, back to that hunchback wandering in the catacombs looking for that certain book of arcane secrets . . .
First Orlando Book Signing
First Baptist Church of Orlando is a large church; a large campus; a large membership; and a pastor with a large heart. This shouldn’t be a surprise. He’s a Louisiana boy!
Mark Sutton called me about two weeks ago and wanted to know if I could be in Orlando on Sunday, October 28th. I had a full schedule the week before that Sunday. I had a doctor’s visit on Monday, a Reason to Believe Chapter meeting Tuesday, a speaking engagement for my friend Chan Hearron to his high school senior class Wednesday afternoon, my radiology practice meeting Wednesday night, a speaking engagement for Laveer Financial Management meeting to over 100 people Thursday night . . . AND we were driving to Dallas Friday morning to meet with my son and his wife and their two foster children for a long weekend of fun and grand parenting (and Aunting for Casey). Whew! And, somehow, I was to magically appear in Orlando on Sunday morning!!!!
Well, the Lord knows what is happening in our lives. Turns out I could fly nonstop from Love Field Saturday afternoon from Dallas to Orlando nonstop and then fly back to Dallas Sunday afternoon and we could drive home to Shreveport Sunday night.
Holiday Update
As we move into the holiday season I want to remind everyone of a book that would make one of the best holiday presents. “The Homecoming Tree” is set in Shreveport, Louisiana at the beginning of World War II and features a powerful and moving story of a young boy coming of age and a man who has lost touch with his morality. Filled with historical references of northwest Louisiana’s involvement with the war effort, this story will not only educate readers but will entertain readers. Let me just say if you like “It’s A Wonderful Life”, the movie, you will like “The Homecoming Tree”.
So, check out the “Books” tab on how to get your hands on the ebook or the printed book. And, stay in touch as Mark Sutton and I are planning a book signing before the end of the year when he releases his new fiction book, “Pitfall, Book One: Angel Wars”. More on that soon!
Read the rest of this entryBeware of Scams!
Well, I just found out if you search for my new book, “The Homecoming Tree” on Amazon, it takes you to a link in the U.K. selling for much more than the cost and taking two weeks to ship!
Use this link and choose the Amazon version for $19.99.
Seems like a scam of some kind to me! I don’t know how to fix it. If any of you deal with Amazon and know how I can make the main link the default, let me know.
Also, It’s not too late to register for the “Hope Again: Conquering Depression Seminar” this weekend at this link.
The Holidays are Here?!?
I’m facing major surgery on December 4th. That’s just three days short of the anniversary of the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Whenever this time of year approaches, I jump into full Christmas mode beginning on November 1. But, this year will be different. Christmas celebration for us will be dialed back a bit.
So, I have already put up our “Homecoming Tree”. It is not yet decorated and sits in our living room waiting for its mantle of shiny decorations. This year, Sherry has decided to dig out all of our vintage Precious Moments decorations. Some of these date back 40 years! Decorating the tree will be quite nostalgic!
I guess it is fitting that this is the year I release my novelization of “The Homecoming Tree”, a play I wrote and directed at Brookwood Baptist Church in 2005. In looking back through my photographs of that play, I found one of my father. Sean, my son, took those photos on black and white film and when we developed them, yes, developed them — not digital, the developing process left artifacts on the photographs. These artifacts resembled what you would see on a genuine old film. Here is the photograph of my father as he is looking up at the set for the play.
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Bruce Hennigan 
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