Blog Archives
Writing In Between
Before we go looking for the 11th demon, here is a glimpse of the possible cover of my upcoming book, “The 1st Demon: Imago Diaboli”. Full cover reveal is coming soon.
It took several years but I decided to self publish my first two Jonathan Steel books through iUniverse and then, BookPros. BookPros was a fantastic company. They mainly focused on marketing and publicity but then got into the “hybrid” publishing business. They only took books they decided were marketable and a writer had to go through the same process of presenting a book proposal as they would have to get a contract with a traditional publisher. However, beyond that point, I had to fund the project just as anyone would with self-publishing but the advantage was the excellent marketing and publicity program.
BookPros released “The 13th Demon” and “The 12th Demon” and both were successful. In fact, it was my success with BookPros that led ultimately to my third agent and a five book contract with Strang Communications (Now Charisma Media).
My local Barnes & Noble was kind enough to allow me to have book signings for both books and then asked me to participate in a unique event. Our manager for the Barnes & Noble asked several local authors to come every Saturday in the month of November and write a novel. We had about six of us sitting at a large table in the store with our laptops working on a novel. Potential authors were invited to come by and join us.
I first met Winnie Griggs at this event. Winnie Griggs is an award winner writer of book series (https://www.winniegriggs.com/) and she spoke at our recent Aspiring Writer’s Workshop conducted by our Louisiana chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers. Our little group sat around the table and for a few hours every Saturday worked on novels. Anyone could come by and talk to us and ask questions. Winnie gave a short workshop on writing a novel.
By then, I had two books finished of my twelve demons and was working on the third book. It would be about UFO’s and ETs. But I wanted to do something that was an “in between” work bridging the second and third book. I had left the reader in a bit of a cliff hanger at the end of the second book. And the third book would begin a couple months later. I decided to write a story connecting the two books and it would not contain one of the twelve demons.
I also wanted to try an experiment. I would write each major scene from a different character’s point of view in first person. This would force me to get into the heads of each character and learn how to speak in their voice. By the end of November, I had finished what would become “The Ark of the Demon Rose”. I ran it through Xlibris with no intention of actually selling the book. It was short, but still long enough to qualify as a novel. I had a dozen or so copies printed and gave them away to my supporters. Free. No cost.
Now, I was years later and producing those five books for my contract. What to do with this book? After conferring with my representative, we decided I would retcon that book into the lineup of twelve demons. It became “The 11th Demon”. I worked very hard with Strang to rework and re-introduce the first two books. I have written about the difficulties of having to shorten the word count of those books making them less than what I had intended. This led to my recent release of the re-edited books as “Demon 13: Dark Covenant” and “Demon 12: Wolf Dragon”.
I have now re-edited that original “Ark of the Demon Rose” as “Demon 11: Ark of the Chimera” and here is the cover. It is now available at all outlets. If you have purchased prior copies of “The 11th Demon” still available from Westbow Press, this book has new content and is different from that original book. Westbow continues to provide that original book and I have asked for it to be returned since, technically, I own the copyright but that is a lesson for another day. I recommend seeking out “Demon 11” if you want to see more of the original content.
Tomorrow, evil will reign from the skies!
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
He Will NOT Let Go!
I am broken and sobbing as I sit here before the bright and brilliant screen of my computer. It has been a hard summer and early fall. Health issues have clouded the sunny world I usually inhabit. Pain and fatigue have blunted my optimistic outlook on life. In the midst of the pain and crises of the past few months, there have been moments of rapturous joy. We finally closed the book on the cause of my daughter’s seizures and now, on a new medicine, she is finally blossoming and growing into the full person God intends for her to be. That alone should be enough to fill my cup with joy and thanksgiving. But, I am, after all, a Hennigan. My late brother once repeated a phrase from, of all places, HeeHaw (if that name means nothing to you, count your blessings!). “That Hennigan luck strikes again — if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all!”
The rosy outlook I have on life is but a patina barely covering my pessimism and paranoia. I am always looking over my shoulder or waiting for the other shoe to drop. I can’t relax and just accept that God has finally answered my prayers for my daughter. What does that say about my reliance on God? God’s answered prayers just aren’t good enough? Isn’t it so typically human to focus on the bad at the expense of the good work God has brought to our life? When God delivers we are immediately grateful but then we, like Oliver, hold up our bowl and say, “Please sir, can I have some more?” When is God’s bounty every good enough?
I have had several brushes with death this summer. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t quite that bad. But, at the time, I wasn’t so sure. Crushing chest pain cannot be taken lightly. Sky high blood pressure isn’t something that will be cured with a couple of Tylenols. My poor wife has suffered through so much with me, with our daughter, and with her mother this summer. Through it all, she has managed to maintain a sense of total and complete reliance on God. She is fortunate to not have the Hennigan “luck”. I thank God for her every minute of every hour of every day.
Which brings me back to now. Here I am sitting before my computer. My co-author Mark Sutton and I have finished an update to our depression book. The cover has been chosen. The bios are adjusted to reflect the changes in our careers since 2001. The release date is set in stone. This is happening! Mark has completed his final edit of the book and sent it to me and now it waits patiently for my final ministrations. This should be one of the happiest moments of my writing career.
But, all I can see are the cracks in the cement. I am flailing away at my other book, “The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos” trying to get that book out before the end of the year. I am dealing with publicists and cover designers and editors. I am excited about the book. I think it is, hands down, the best book I have ever written. I am stoked about the message — the care with which God protects us from the enemy and his lies. The indisputable fact that God has placed His hand on us and has given His angels the charge of protecting our fragile state.
But, I also know the reading market has softened when it comes to these type of books. Maybe it is the glut of zombies and vampires and magic and fantasy in the world right now. Maybe Christians are tired of reading such Christian speculative fiction. I don’t think so. God is in the Story all around us. I have made sure God is in my story; my book. But, will anyone buy the new book? Will all of my hard work be for nothing? Am I just wasting my time and God’s time?
Such doubts haunt me. They make me pause as I begin to place my hands on the keyboard. These thoughts seize my mind; frigid now and cold in despair. Walk away, Bruce. You are a failure. This is a waste of your time. Go watch television. Go play a video game. Go eat something. Forget this fight against the enemy.
Do you feel my despair? Has this ever happened to you? Just when you are on the brink of massive success in the name of God, you give up and walk away?
Then, like a spark of warmth and light; a flickering ember of hope rose from the ashes of my perceived failure. I stumbled (Right! As if there are really such things as coincidences!) across Laura Story’s newest album. Her song, “Blessings” was a salve for our wounds when we were dealing with our daughter’s illness. There in the list of songs on her newest album was a simple title, “He Will Not Let Go”. I clicked on the song in iTunes and listened — and wept! Here are the lyrics:
It may take time on this journey slow
What lies ahead, I’m not sure I know
But the hand that holds this flailing soul
He will not let go
There may be days when I cannot breathe
There may be scars that will stay with me
But the deepest stains, they will be washed clean.
And He will not let go.
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay
When grief has paralyzed my heart
His grip holds even tighter than the dark
I’ve heard it said
This too shall pass
The joy will come
That the hurt won’t last
So I will trust
That within His grasp
I am not alone
For He will not let go
Go to http://www.laurastorymusic.com and purchase this new album RIGHT NOW! Listen to every song; every word. For here in this song, God has brushed away my pain and my sense of failure. God’s light chases away the dark, smothering lies of the enemy. God shows me in the struggles and triumphs of another believer’s life that I too can be victorious over this moment of paralysis.
And so, I put my hand to the keyboard.
I put my mind to the task of putting BOTH books out there. Someone needs to hear the message God has placed in the simple words of this broken man; this sinner saved by grace who is walking a path he never chose to walk.
Each word I type, each thought I convert to words on this page; each drop of blood that falls from my wounds leads to the foot of the cross — to my Savior. When I feel gravity grip me and the fall is coming I stop for a moment suspended in doubt and I close my eyes and I see the nail scarred hand reaching out and taking mine in its terrible but powerful grip and I remember with tears in my eyes and endless gratitude in my heart that He will not let go!
Bruce Hennigan 
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