Helen B. Henderson's Blog, page 10
March 19, 2024
Out and About at BWL, It's Fun Until It Isn't
Some thoughts on writing life over at the BWL Authors Blog. Hope you will stop by to check out "It is Fun ... Until It Isn't."
~Until next time, Helen
And don't forget Fire and Redemption, now available to pre-order.
March 16, 2024
Cover Reveal - Fire and Redemption
It's here. I love the cover for Fire and Redemption. Even if Medraut isn't my favorite character, he is a striking image. If you haven't already found the tear stone, maybe seeing it in the full cover will help. Without further ado, the fully unveiled cover.
Ebook available now for pre-order at Amazon https://www.amzn.com/B0CY7ZDFBJ and Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1537238
~till next time, be sure to check out Fire and Amulet, Book1 of the Tear Stone Collectors.
March 15, 2024
A Dream and a Warning, Fire and Amulet, #wewrwa
Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the weekly hop for everyone who loves to write ... and read. From Fire and Amulet, Book 1 of my fantasy series, The Tear Stone Collectors. And now the SundaySnippet.
Excerpt:
Deneas opened her eyes to a darkness unbroken by even the faint glow of the crescent moon. Unease permeated her being. Her mother’s presence filled the empty house. The echo of words hung in the air, elusive and refusing to be captured. Her finger grazed her cheek where warmth from the light touch of a kiss still lingered.
The dream was obviously a warning, but of what remained unknown. The nightmares had been coming more frequently since the new moon, growing stronger each night. “Tonight’s was the worst.” Although she didn’t mean to do so, the words came out in a whisper.
* * * *
Fire and Amulet Available At Sales Sites
I hope you like the snippet. Be sure to read the other Weekend Writing Warriors blogs and the #SnippetSunday authors for more great reads. ~till next time, Helen
March 12, 2024
Hooked on Fire and Amulet, Last #MFRWhooks
To get in the mood for the upcoming release of Fire and Redemption, a few lines from Fire and Amulet using the Bookqw "Last."
To set the stage, Trelleir has abandoned his home to join Deneas on her quest to slay a dragon. His cave is sealed to prevent the villagers entering, so he guides Deneas through the underground passages of a hidden exit.
Excerpt:
The circle of pale light that marked the end of the latest tunnel grew larger with each step. It provided just enough brightness to silhouette Trelleir’s frame. “Not long now,” he said.
Deneas barely heard the encouragement above the low rush of water. She breathed a sigh of relief. If it hadn’t been for Trelleir’s stolid support, the journey through the interminable darkness would have been unbearable. Softly voiced directions in her ear and his hand on hers guided her around one last series of stone pillars and onto a narrow ledge. “It will take a moment or two for your eyes to adjust.”
Repeated blinks cleared away some of the haze. Several more revealed that the world outside wasn’t shrouded in fog, she was looking at it through a living curtain of water. The tunnel opening was behind a waterfall. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
Available in Ebook or Paperback at Amazon
Additional sites at Books2Read
March 5, 2024
*** 50% OFF *** It's Smashwords Read an E-Book sale...
*** 50% OFF *** It's Smashwords Read an E-Book sale week! The Windmaster Novels and the Fire and Amulet is 50% off until March 9th! It is a great time to hang out with wizards, fly with dragons, and journey fromSmashwords
March 4, 2024
Hooked on Windmaster Legend, #bookqw Second, #MFRWhooks
A forbidden love. An impossible quest. The accusation of witchcraft. Can love survive?
A snippit from Windmaster Legend using the Bookqw "Second." To set the stage, Iol arrives at his first command. However, Loch Bird isn't at her berth.
Excerpt:
A pinprick of light flickered in the darkness. Iol stared at the void beyond the dock. His intense watch resulted in capturing a second and a third flash, but he was unable to see the source.
The moon rose above the trees, limning the clouds with a dull glow. Its light showed a distant shadow that solidified into the recognizable shape of a hull. A breeze caressed Iol’s skin. Any stronger and the waves would push Loch Bird shoreward, smashing into the docks. Looking at the sky, Iol estimated he had only two candlemarks until the winds shifted towards Berife. And with the change, they would shove the vessel farther away from the shore.
Iol envisioned an even worse scenario. His ship caught in one of the north-south currents until she went aground against the rocks at the far end of the lake. Each wave would crash the ship again and again until nothing was left but splinters. I won’t lose my first command. Not before I even get aboard her.He stripped and dove off the end of the pier. The shock of water still cold despite the summer heat stole his breath. He stripped and dove off the end of the pier. The shock of water still cold despite the summer heat stole his breath.
~ *** ~
Purchase Windmaster Legend at Amazon or these sellers. And don't miss the rest of the Windmaster Novels. Find more on the entire series from the pull-down menu above.
February 27, 2024
Hooked on Windmaster Legend, #bookqw Detail, #MFRWhooks
A forbidden love. An impossible quest. The accusation of witchcraft. Can love survive?
A snippit from Windmaster Legend using the Bookqw "Detail."
To set the stage, when Pelra takes a friend shopping for a pair of promise tokens, she is overcome with the desire to purchase a set herself. But there are many problems with her her dream of a wedding.
Excerpt:
Pelra casually flipped through the sketches to see if one matched her vision, but none had a ship worked into the leaves. The only trees in the book ended in a leaf, not a stylized ship. If she wanted a tree, it would have to be custom made. Fighting back her disappointment, she looked at the gold rings, but her gaze kept returning to the wooden tokens on the wall. One ear tuned to Analese’s final arrangements, she gently turned over one of the wood pieces. To her surprise, the other side was not blank, but held a detailed carving of a horse. I don’t know why he hides the designs, but now that I know…
Three pegs down she turned over a pair of bone squares. Her breath caught. Her action revealed an engraved tree, with the carving highlighted by a dark blue ink. And like the tree in her vision, the leaf on the end of both branches was a stylized ship.
Why do you need a promise token? reality argued. Now the tone became strident. Let alone one with a ship instead of a leaf.
Pelra refused to acknowledge the nagging worry. She hadn’t picked out a mate, let alone asked him. What if he refused?
Propriety brought up another problem. How could she go against the custom of the man making the proposal? But in her heart, Pelra knew that any man she chose would not allow an out-dated tradition to prevent their handfasting.
~ *** ~
Purchase Windmaster Legend at Amazon or these sellers. And don't miss the rest of the Windmaster Novels. Find more on the entire series from the pull-down menu above.
February 22, 2024
Thirteen Things - Who Are The Characters
This Thursday Thirteen asks the question, "If (Insert title) novel was made into a movie,who would play the role of your hero and heroine? Or the bad guy?" I do want to say that the actors I had in mind for a given role may not be who ended up on the cover. That could be for various reasons such as the publisher or cover artist's choice or which artwork might be available. That doesn't mean that the choices below aren't still in my imagination. After you read the candidates, feel free to look them up in the banner to see the interpretation that appeared on the cover. Just remember, the cover people were restricted by stock photo companies, not open to the entirety of the real world.
Lord Branin of Cloud Eyrie (The Dragshi Chronicles)
Several men were considered to portray Lord Branin, including James Coburn, Shawn Connory, and Dolphin Lundgren.Some would be fine for the Branin of Dragon Destiny and Hatchlings Curse, but they would definitely be too young for him in Hatchlings Mate and Hatchlings Vengeance. I finally had to put all the names onto a wheel.A spin and the winner is <drum roll, please> Christopher Lambert.
Anastasia of Clan Miller (The Dragshi Chronicles)
Deciding on Anastasia was even more difficult. Part of the issue is that the character is a young woman in Dragon Destiny, but is several decades older by the final book of the series. A recommendation by those who’ve read the Dragshi Chronicles wasLindsay Wagner, who portrayed the Bionic Woman. My own personal choice for Anastasiais Amanda Tapping. Although she rocks blond hair in the Stargate series, the dark hair of the long-lived Helen Magnus of the Sanctuary series sold me that she was a great choice.
Talann (The Dragshi Chronicles)
Like Lord Branin Llewlyn, several men to portray him immediately came to mind. They were allperfect--until I realized they were all the leading men of my younger days, and that contemporary readers would consider them too long in the tooth for therole. So I looked around at the leading men of today and like his father there were multiple competitors. One is Chris O’Donnell. While his hair in his current role on NCIS is shorter than the style customarily worn by the dragshi, other character traits, including sense of responsibility and duty, and a great brood, yells to me “Branin.” Then there is Christian Kane of The Librarians, Almost Paradise, and Leverage.
A spin of the wheel and <drum roll, please> the winner is Christian Kane.
Glynnes (The Dragshi Chronicles)
It was a choice between Hillary Swank and Angelina Jolie. Yes, I know that these beautiful women might be counter-intuitive for a character who hid her own beauty, but they work if you saw them in character in Boys Don't Cry and Salt. And Jolie could definitely handle the martial arts required in Glynnes life. I will leave it up to you, the reader, to choose.
Lord Dal (The Windmaster Novels)
From the very beginning, there was only one man in my mind when I wrote the Windmaster Novels. From the Highlander series (and a recently watched episode from Relic Hunter, Adrian Paul.
Captain Ellspeth (The Windmaster Novels)
The captain of Sea Falcon and Windmaster was one of my first characters. And as they often say, your first is always special. Who do you think should play her? She is a strong woman, prefers the short sword to the long one, and can play a flute as well as she can wield a sword.
Deneas (Tear Stone Collectors)
Sometimes you can create a character, you don't have a specific individual from the real world in mind. Deneas is such a case. You might have general features such as height, build, hair and eye color, but no actress that you can point to as inspiration or clip and put on the wall above the desk. Unlike Glynnes, Deneas never had to hide either her inner or outer beauty, except to fend off the unwanted advances of the head slayer or his son so that meant I had more options. While doing an online search or turning on the television, sometimes there is the character. She might be a little younger, or a little older. For Deneas, I recommend a Jennifer: Jennifer Garner (Alias) or Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games) or Katheryn Winnick (Vikings).
Trelleir (Tear Stone Collectors)
Trelleir is rather new to my world. Fire and Amulet was only published in 2022. It's sequel, Fire and Redemption, is scheduled for release April 2024. His dragon form would be animated. His human form would be portrayed by Tom Ellis or Keanu Reeves. Using the inspiration from his role as Lucifer Morningstar, the winner is Tom Ellis.
Colwynn (Imprisoned In Stone)
Since another actor received the nod for Trelleir, Keanu Reeves gets this role. I think he would also do well as the imprisoned mage, Dylan.
Gareth (Imprisoned in Stone) It took a while to come up with a good man for the role, especially since (spoiler alert) he dies. Finally I decided on <drum roll, please> Patrick Swayze.
Gabha and Geren(Tear Stone Collectors)
There are more than just main characters in a novel turned movie. Gabha and Geren are a father and son team of blacksmiths. One option was to picture one author at two different ages. Or use a real father-son duo. The casting call goes out to Dan (Bonanza) and Dirk Blocker (Black Sheep Squadron.)
Medraut (Tear Stone Collectors)Like Trelleir, Medraut is a new addition to my list of characters. His first appearance is in the upcoming Fire and Redemption. Here is Medraut in his dragon form. As far as the humans? Nicolas Cage, Jack Palance, and Lee VanCleef each have their own contributions.
Honored Old One Llewlyn
Representing both the true dragons and the dragon soul twin half of the dragshi, Honored Old One Llewlyn. No human character is necessary for Llewlyn as Branin of Cloud Eyrie, his human soul twin was already covered. The visualization was easy. LLewlyn was an amber dragon. Among the fun parts of writing the Dragshi Chronicles were seeing how the dragons' personalities were similar to, yet distinct from that of their human soul twins. The gold flecks sparkling in Llewlyn's black eyes give a hint of the part of his nature he shows the special humans he calls, "Friend."
As to the voice behind the personality? Complete with the (at least for this purpose) Highland accent, the voice I hear in my head when Llewlyn speaks is that of Shawn Connery.
I hope you enjoyed this Thursday Thirteen. I hope you will come back again. If any of my published titles intrigue you, click on the cover in the banner or for the series, the pull-down menu for blurbs, excerpts, a free read of the first chapter, and of course, buy links.
~till next time, Helen
https://newthursday13.blogspot.com/20...
February 19, 2024
Hooked on Windmaster Legend, #bookqw Strong, #MFRWhooks
A forbidden love. An impossible quest. The accusation of witchcraft. Can love survive?
A snippit from Windmaster Legend using the Bookqw "Strong."
To set the stage, Iol stands before the ruling council of the House of Pirri to present proof of his completed task.
Excerpt:
“Objection.”Iol watched red darken Faeld’s neck. He had never seen anyone silence the councilman before.
“I object to this man’s testimony,” Faeld yelled. “By point of order, this man is not of Cszabo. He has a known history of bearing false witness, even under oath. Not only that, he is suspected of multiple attacks against our house including one in which I personally witnessed.”
Despite the murmurs supporting the request, the oldster sat stone-faced, then gestured Leod to continue. “Honored councilmen of the House of Cszabo, my ship, Cluaran Lèana, sank because it was sabotaged by Iol so it wouldn’t survive the storm that Pelra brought up. The charge of murder should be upgraded to kinslayer. Pelra was involved, I am her kin. Since Iol is a co-conspirator, that makes him a kinslayer.
The urge to scream, “Liar,” was so strong, Iol had to fight to keep his face impassive. I will have a time to rebut the accusations. Whirlwind thoughts of how to counter the lies swirled before disappearing into a black void. There was no defense he could raise. Not even the fact he was on the other side of the continent didn’t matter when magic was accused. He tried to read the council’s reactions. Why are they even listening to Leod?
Leod’s smirk and the corresponding looks of guilt on two of the councilman’s faces provided the answer. He’s bribed them. The hatred on one of the other councilmen gave another reason. Word of the petition for a handfasting must have leaked out. And the councilman was known for his hatred of Pirri.
~ *** ~
Purchase Windmaster Legend at Amazon or these sellers. And don't miss the rest of the Windmaster Novels. Find more on the entire series from the pull-down menu above.
