The Circle of Life and Death
The cover is done. I’ll share it with my readers on Monday. For today, here is a photo. This is the Lyceum theater in London and it is featuring the Broadway production of “The Lion King”. Lots of construction is going on about the theater.
On the far side of the entrance there is a small, winding alleyway and at night being down that alleyway can be a bit dicey. It certainly was for Jonathan Steel and a grisly crime he witnessed sometime in his past.
A flashback of that night changes everything for Jonathan.
Dog Sledding Anyone?
Did you know you could once ride a dog sled at the “top of Europe?” Jungfraujoch is an amazing area in the Swiss Alps where, during winter, visitors have a dozen sports to enjoy. The top of that mountain is just a train ride away.
In “The 8th Demon”, there are still dog sleds to be found on the top of this mountain. It is because of these dog sleds that Jonathan Steel was able to survive a horrendous tragedy. It won’t be long before we find out all about that “tragedy”.
A Mysterious Window
Ten days to two weeks for the final book cover and then “The 8th Demon: A Wicked Numinosity”, the 6th book in the Chronicles of Jonathan Steel will be on its way into my readers’ hands.
For today’s photograph, there is an open window into a top floor room in a building on the Seine River in Paris, France. This little open window leads into a small apartment. In that small apartment a stranger is fighting for his life. Who is he? Who is he fighting? What will be his fate?
It won’t be long, now.
Jonathan Steel Returns!
He’s back!
In the image below, you can see what Jonathan Steel saw during a flashback vision recounted in my upcoming book, “The 8th Demon: A Wicked Numinosity”. In the photo, you can see Parliament and Big Ben from one of the “capsules” of the London Eye. The London Eye is a large Ferris wheel type structure giving a bird’s eye view of London, England.
Why was Jonathan Steel on the London Eye and who was he with? You won’t have to wait much longer. The final manuscript is finished and the book is laid out ready for publication. It will take a couple of weeks to complete the cover art and then I will release the book before the end of May.
Numinous 2020
It’s been a long time since I have posted a blog. At the end of every year, you hope and pray the next year will start off well. Such has not been the case in our situation. We have had some real health challenges in our family. Thankfully, none have involved my personal health but these challenges have occupied everyone’s time. Life keeps on happening!
In the midst of all of this, I have managed to launch a new publishing imprint, Hope Again Books with my co-founder Mark Sutton. We have released three books since September: Hope Again: A Lifetime Plan for Conquering Depression, Pitfall by Mark Sutton, and All Have Sinned by Marcus Buckley.
Read the rest of this entryNew Feature
Hey, guys, we are trying to find different ways to make our books available. Check out Mark Sutton’s new book at this link.
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 entryTailgate with Mark Sutton!
Well, it happened. When Mark and I planned his book signing to launch his new book, “Pitfall”, I was afraid there might be a ball game that day. And, now, of course, we all want to see LSU beat the stuffing out of Georgia.
So, we have moved Mark’s book signing back by one hour so you can run by and visit with Mark and Donna and pick ups some really great books for yourself and for Christmas presents. Mark will have his new book, “Pitfall” available. We will also have copies of our “Hope Again” book on depression in a special package with Deluxe LifeFilters. And, I will have all of my books available, especially my Christmas book, “The Homecoming Tree”.
Check out this link for more information. So come by for complementary coffee, drinks, and snacks and then get home in time for the kickoff (Or, if you want to visit longer, you should make it home by the end of the first quarter!) Hope to see you there!
Where 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 . . .
Upcoming Book Signing!
I never dreamed of becoming a publisher.
I just wanted to get my books out there for people to read without all the hassle and delays I have experienced in publishing four books through traditional publishing.
It started with “The 11th Demon” and I’ve managed to publish five books through my 613media,LLC. And now, Mark Sutton and I have published “Hope Again: A Lifetime Plan for Conquering Depression” through our LifeFilters, LLC company and its imprint Hope Again Books.
There are two stories I can share about this new book. Mark and I had the honor of holding a book signing at First Baptist Church Orlando and Oasis Church in Daytona Beach. We sold almost 200 books between the two events but that is not what drove me to my knees in humility.
At one of the events, a person approached Mark and said he had come to church that day to tell God goodbye. He would then end his life that afternoon in total despair. Now, Pastor David Uth’s sermon was absolutely amazing and powerful. But, the sermon combined with the encouragement to purchase our book helped him to overcome his despair. He is now doing much better!
At the other church, a parent purchased a book because his middle school child, yes, his CHILD asked him to buy him a copy of the book. A week later, the parent shared his child was devouring the book and it was helping them deal with depression. A middle schooler!
Only God can take credit for this! Our traditional publisher had given up on our book and had taken it out of print. As I shared in an earlier post, an email from a woman in South Africa found our book and it “saved” her life and that email prompted us to publish a third version of “Hope Again” on our own. And, I am so glad we did! God is still using our stories of depression to help others.
Now, Hope Again Books is releasing another title! Mark Sutton has written a powerful and exciting work of fiction based on the wars in heaven that led to Lucifer’s fall.
Entitled “Pitfall”, this new book will be released in a special event on December 7th at Brookwood Baptist Church in the Well, the church’s coffee bar/book store. You can come and go from 3 to 6 PM. The address is 9014 Brookwood Church Way, Shreveport, LA 71106 and we are at the corner of Bert Kouns and I49.
Hope Again Books will be sponsoring free coffee drinks and snacks. Mark will be signing copies of his new book and we both will be there to sign copies of “Hope Again: A Lifetime Plan for Conquering Depression”. I will also have copies of all seven of my books.
So, come on by and celebrate the release of Mark’s new book.
Bruce Hennigan 
You must be logged in to post a comment.