Ben Hennessy's Blog, page 2

LonCon3 & Harrumph.

Last weekend we held the book launch for The Whisper of Dreams at LonCon3. As my first large convention, the sheer scale of it at the London Excel was mind-blowing. Various estimates put the number of attendees over the five day event at between 8-13 thousand, depending on how you tally it.

I joined Sara-Jayne, the owner, and fellow IQ authors Matthew Munson and David Wilkinson for the event. We shacked up in a hotel in Barking for the weekend, invariably making about a hundred trips to the lo...

Cover Art Too.

I made a post back in 2012, when we revealed the cover art to Queen of the World, and explained that when I first saw Jeremy Hanna’s work it reminded me of a comic book. I was thrilled, and the cover got a lot of excellent feedback through various social media. Rightly so. It was eye catching, had a unique style and utilised an interesting blend of colours. The scene invited the reader to follow Sarene through that forest and onwards, encouraging you to witness her journey through Tamir.

As th...

That’s not kosher.

I have a beef with the idea that people who don’t believe in God are somehow lesser people, due to the Ten Commandments. There are some brilliantly infuriating videos on YouTube from militant Christians, saying that non-believers are sheep who are ‘too lazy to commit themselves to the rules of our Lord’ and are just immoral fuckwits. I’m not an atheist – I probably fit the agnostic definition better, since I like to think there’s something more than this life, I just don’t know what it is – a...

Harry, you naughty boy.

Another fan fiction story has been picked up for publication. Anna Todd, a 25-year-old woman from Texas, has secured what is reported to be a ‘six figure contract’ for the publication rights of her web story, ‘After’, currently available to view on Wattpad.

The twist this time is that, rather than being a derivative of an existing fictional IP, Anna’s story is related to Harry Styles of the pop band One Direction. Specifically, the story relates his imagined romance with a young girl named Tes...

Watch the world burn.

I research some weird stuff for writing.

I’ve researched horse tack, the history of plates, how to make a stew without utinsels, crop rotation, the first historical use of the word ‘Fuck’, the height of Genghis Khan, the calorie content of rabbits, fletching, diamond tipped drills, capital punishment between the 12th-15th century, the ballistic range of crossbow bolts, communication techniques of the deaf and mute, sign language, gigantism, Aleister Crowley, post-traumatic stress disorder, roc...

Ding dong.

I’ve got one of those brains that just won’t shut the fuck up.

It’s irritating at times. I read a lot and (used to) write a lot, although mainly the reading is outweighing the writing these days. I read articles, biographies, anecdotes, discussions and arguments, essays. I watch documentaries and shows, lectures, podcasts. I try and fill my brain with as much pointless knowledge as possible in an effort to keep from dwelling on the important stuff too much. Call it life-procrastination. Want t...

Diggy diggy hole.

Here is a blog post. I’ll explain what came before it.

I woke up today with the intention to write. That’s been the plan for months now. Once my night-shift contract ran out I was going to come back to Essex, take a few days to get my body clock fixed, and then from January 6th I’d write full time. I’ve been making a bunch of promises to myself and claims to anyone who’d listen that I was going to be an arty creative type for the first half of 2014. My bank balance looks surprisingly healthy a...

Three spooky five me.

For those of you who were paying attention to my Facebook page over the last few weeks, you might have noticed a few strange things happening. Pictures being posted of blurry trees and handwritten scribbles. Videos of my classic Hollywood profile making odd statements. A couple of weird audio recordings. Then eventually a film of me with wicked possessed eyeballs and a link to a short story detailing how we’re all doomed. I spent twenty quid on those contacts, by the way.

So what was it all ab...

How to write a successful television show I will hate.

I watched about six minutes of The Mindy Project yesterday, while making a cup of coffee. It was on whatever channel was already selected when I turned the TV on, and I wasn’t going to be in the kitchen long enough to warrant checking for something else. I had kettles, spoons and cartons to deal with.

So with water heating up, accompanied by that gentle rumble of science happening in a jug, I experienced six minutes of utter tripe on a screen. I really don’t know what it is exactly that upset...

Sailing seas of instant cheese.

I think I’m going insane.

Hi, by the way. It’s been a while.

When you tell people you work permanent night shifts, people usually respond with something like ‘Oh wow. That must be pretty terrible.’ Which is true, to an extent. The work itself is fine – it’s a job I enjoy – and you can get your body to behave and sleep through the day if you’re sensible about it. But everything outside of the job becomes a problem. Having a social life is tricky. Getting eight hours of sleep in one hit only happ...