Blog Archives
Aliens in Disguise
Those who accept the authority of the Bible and embrace a Christian worldview take different positions on whether God might have created intelligent life on other planets. This question has been debated at least since Thomas Aquinas discussed it nine centuries ago.
Scholars who believe extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) physically exists see it as a display of God’s creativity and power. They argue that a God who so obviously enjoys creating, a God of unimaginable power, should not be expected to limit His creative expression to just one planet and its one species of spiritual beings.
Hugh Ross
In my post on May 14th I talked about UFOs and my fascination with them. In my last post I talked about the death of my future. Today, I want to talk about the death of evolution in my writing.
Let me explain.
I was ecstatic when I heard the announcement way back in 1986 that Gene Roddenberry was bringing a brand new version of Star Trek back to television. Star Trek: The Next Generation promised to fulfill all of my nerdy science fiction dreams. Granted, the first season was rocky thanks to a writer’s strike. But, the following seasons were profound. And, the best cliffhanger of all times in television occurred at the end of the third season when Captain Picard appeared on the Enterprise view screen and said, “I am Locutus of Borg”. Read the rest of this entry
Why I Write
One of my more thoughtful poses contemplating the great American novel.
There is a memory I cherish of a young boy, age 8, walking across a dusty, hot playground. I was that boy and I led a single file line of my classmates towards a small, wood framed house perched on the back corner of our elementary school property in rural Blanchard, Louisiana. It was an old house with worn wooden steps and only one door and one window. As I walked up the stairs, my heart raced and my hand trembled. I opened the old, wooden door and a warm, redolent breeze flowed over me. From inside this house the fragrance of paper and ink and glue; the very blood of books filled my nostrils and I sighed in utter contentment. Here was the universe: here was magic and fantasy; here were worlds and geographies for me to explore; here were men and women and children from the past and all their brave and terrible deeds; here were Books.
In the corner sitting behind a wooden desk was a slight woman with short, dark hair and a ready smile. Mrs. Asbhy stood up and motioned to a nearby shelf of our local branch of the Shreve Memorial Library.
“Bruce, I found a special book for you. You should try it. It is science fiction.”
Of Demons, Deluges, and Disney
I am stranded in Orlando, Florida.
I am stuck on Disney property.
Now, I love Disney. But, as my late father once said, “I may be thirsty but I don’t want to drink from a fire hydrant.” I’ve had a wonderful time here with my daughter, Casey (for her birthday) and my sister, Gwen and her daughter, Rhonda. But, my wife was supposed to fly down yesterday and my sister and daughter fly home and I will be lucky if flights resume tomorrow.
Which only goes to show that too much of a good time is just that. But, the cast members here are making the best of a bad situation — lots of rain and record low temperatures as wells as cancellations of flights necessitating extensions of room reservations. Today, for instance, it is drizzling rain and about 45 degrees. If you know Florida, you know that a cold rain in Florida is miserable!
On another note, I received a very nice email from a fan. Yes, a fan! I seem to have those. She loved “The 11th Demon” and wanted to know when “The 10th Demon” would be out! Those are wonderful words. But, let me clue you in on a little insight to the publishing industry. Books must sell. Publishing is a business. And, for number 10 to show up, I have to sell lots of number 11!
I will soon begin a marketing campaign, so hopefully more people will here about Jonathan Steel and his exploits. I have been asked to write a guest post for Speculative Faith, a website devoted to Christian Speculative Fiction and I will keep my readers posted. Maybe some word of mouth will boost my book sales. If not, then Jonathan Steel’s story may end with the 11th demon even though there are ten more books in the pipeline.
I’ll tell a sodden, shivering Micky Mouse you said hi!
Remember, you can order all three books at a discount at www.11thdemon.com .
Don’t Forget Friday Night!
BOOK LAUNCH — This Friday!
This Friday night from 6 to 8 PM come by the Well, the coffee shop of Brookwood Baptist Church (corner of I-49 and Bert Kouns) and have a free cup of coffee and a snack. I know that many of you have Christmas parties and such, so the event is a come and go affair. I’ll be giving away some gift cards and I will email them to the winner so you don’t have to be present to win.
My latest book, “The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos” will be available at a low price of only $10.
In fact, I will have all four books there. My first two books in the Chronicles of Jonathan Steel and my book, “Conquering Depression” — a timely book for this time of year and for this time in history!
So, here is the deal.
Each book individually is $10.
Or, you can buy three books for $25!
Or, you can buy four books for $30!
If you are in a hurry, I’ll have some pre signed books so you don’t have to wait in line. Just grab the book, pay for it, and grab a snack before you leave.
I appreciate all of my readers and I am hoping to make this third book a real success for the Jonathan Steel series to continue. If you don’t live in the Shreveport area, I am planning on asking the local LifeWays in Shreveport, Austin, and Abilene to have a book signing. I held a book signing in Austin and Shreveport before but my son, Sean and his wife, Jenn now live in Abilene and I’d love to show up there for a book signing. You might want to mention this to your local LifeWay!
Also, I am planning on contacting the book store at First Baptist Church Orlando for a book signing sometime in January – February, 2014. They have been so good and faithful to let me sign books and I can’t wait to return to the area!
Hope to see you Friday night. Oh, and yes, the Ark of Chaos will be on the premises along with a creature from the depths of well . . . let’s just say, it’s beastly on the inside!
(A free tee shirt for each buying customer!)
“The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos” Book Launch December 6th!
Formal Announcement:
Bruce Hennigan debuts his third book,
“The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos”
Friday evening, December 6, 2013
from 6 to 8 PM at The Well, the coffee shop of Brookwood Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Brookwood Baptist Church is at the corner of I-49 and Bert Kouns. (www.brookwoodbaptist.com)
Not only will the new book be featured, but the first two books and Conquering Depression will be available. Bruce will be signing all four books.
Books are $10 each at the book launch only (This is a saving of up to $5 per book).
Book Launch Special:
3 Books for $25
4 Books for $30
Sign up for free giveaways!
There will be a special announcement about a new, upcoming book!
Come and enjoy free drinks and snacks!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Almost Ready for the 11th Demon?
Well, I just sent the final galley proof corrections for the text and the cover of my latest book back to my publisher. That’s right! “The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos” will soon be available! I don’t have a firm release date but it should be within the next month. When the final cover comes back to me, I’ll post it.
For those of you who have not read my first two books, this book will be a continuation of the story of Jonathan Steel. You can enjoy this book without reading the first two, but I highly recommend getting the first two books BEFORE you read “The 11th Demon”. Both books are available from links at this site. They are in ebook format for iBooks, Nook, and Kindle. And, they are in paperback form as well.
Tentatively, the paperback format of “The 11th Demon” will retail for $19.99 and the ebook for $3.99. And, if you would like for me to come to your area for a book signing, let me know. Right now, I haven’t planned for a launch party as in the past because our coffee shop at Brookwood Baptist Church is no longer open at night. I will have to come up with different plans!
Now, some of you may have an obscure former book entitled “The Ark of the Demon Rose”. Portions of that book have been adapted into this newest story. But, trust me, you will NOT want to miss the new book. It has all new story lines. I reveal Cephas Lawrence’s backstory. Why does he collect ancient books and documents on demons? Who is in the mysterious picture on his desk? I reveal the cause of Theophilus’ fall into drugs. What did he do in his past that filled him with such self loathing that he gave up his church and turned to a life of drugs? And, why does he call Jonathan “Chief”?
Oh yeah, let’s talk about Vivian. I hate her. Do you? She is a pain in my side. The woman is a devious ingenue! What made her that way? Where did she get her demons? What happened in her past to make her the evil thing that she is? Well, you’ll find out!
“The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos” is a very personal story. It is a settling in of my characters. It is about their growing relationships and Jonathan’s acceptance of his inevitable role to battle demons. It is revelatory and there is a very important flashback that asks more questions than it answers about Jonathan and his relationship to his father, “The Captain”.
On top of that, this story is a slow, smoldering burn building to a rip roaring climax that, I hope will leave you turning the pages as quickly as possible.
Halloween is coming and there is no better time than now to read some scary books. Pick up my first two books and remember “The 13th Demon” is the first book! Read them in the next few weeks and get ready for the arrival of “The 11th Demon”! Keep an eye on this site for the formal announcement of its release.
And, in the meantime, whatever you do, DO NOT OPEN THE BOX!
I’m Back!
“Dad, I feel normal for the first time in years.”
This one statement drove me to tears. My daughter feels normal. My daughter acts normal!
I haven’t posted in weeks. My family has been in survival mode for so long. Life happens and it is not always good. My son and his wife made a major move to a new town and new job situation. My daughter finally agreed to have some testing performed thanks to her two best friends who agreed to accompany her. The stress level has been beyond 10 for so long I don’t know what it feels like to be normal. But, I will try and become familiar with the feeling again.
My daughter, Casey, in her long protracted battle with migraines and seizures has finally found the perfect medication combination and over the past three weeks my wife and I have watched her blossom and bloom. We have our daughter back! Sorry, but I have to keep the tears off the keyboard. I’ll be back in a moment.
Okay, so I want to thank my blog readers for their thoughts and prayers during this time. Casey is back to her normal self, something we haven’t seen in years.
Through all of this, I have continued to work on my next two books. For the readers of the Chronicles of Jonathan Steel (both books are great summer reads if you haven’t tried them!) I will have the third book available by the end of October, first of November. I am keeping my promise to you, my readers, of having a book out once a year in this story arc.
I am also finishing the final manuscript chapters for the update to “Conquering Depression” with my co-author, Mark Sutton. More on that in the near future, but I am so excited about the opportunity B&H Publishing is giving us to update this book and bring it into the 21st century!
That’s all for now. I’ll be blogging again very soon. I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. God is so good!
Just a teaser:
The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos
Just when Jonathan Steel thought he would get a break, he discovers that his mentor, Cephas Lawrence has purchased the house once owned by the evil Robert Ketrick, once in league with the thirteenth demon. And, trapped within the walls of the house’s basement is a dark secret that threatens their existence. When Vivian Darbonne Ketrick arrives in Shreveport to locate the Ark of the Demon Rose, a new evil organization appears to rival the Council of Darkness. Soon, Jonathan, Josh Knight, Cephas, and Theophilus King find themselves involved in government conspiracies, evil powers, and in the clutches of not one, but two powerful demons! What is in the Ark of the Demon Rose? Why is Vivian looking for it? And, who are the mysterious white eyed minions of evil who make Vivian look like a Girl Scout? Find out in the latest installment of the Chronicles of Jonathan Steel in “The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos”. Available this fall.
Bruce Hennigan 
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