Helen B. Henderson's Blog, page 47

D is for Diomharid

For today's post in the A-Z in April challenge I decided to showcase a city from the world of Windmaster. Diomharid is a legendary city that is said to rise every 100 years from the depths of a mountain lake. The mountain itself is a dormant volcano that is part of a chain that runs through the middle of the desert.

Magic is part of Diomharid's legend. In a time before time, a mage named Belrum walked out of the desert. He created the school of magic and formed the Council of Mages. Then as an old man is said to have returned to the desert and a city with golden gates called Diomharid.

Image by Smim Bipi from PixabayInspiration for the city was Shangri-la. Except instead of traversing snow-filled mountain passes to reach the city, water and magical wards protect Diomharid. Only someone with talent can see the truth of the city beneath the waters. 


And to get to it, you have to find the way through the illusions and pitfall traps of the underground maze of tunnels. More on Diomharid will be revealed when Windmaster Golem is released in autumn 2020.




Click on the button to find my next post in the challenge.  Remember, it won't be live until midnight after this entry.
 
If you're interested in following other blogs in the A to Z in April challenge, click on the logo for the master list of the other participants.


~till next time, Helen 

C is for Crafts #mfrwauthor

Welcome to Week 14 of the MFRW 52-week challenge. The topic is "Hobbies Outside of Reading." I'm also doing the A-Z in April challenge and decided to kill two birds with one stone. The original title for the post was "Something other than reading? What's that?" But it was changed to reflect the alphabetic focus of the April challenge.
My first thought on activities outside of reading was "you mean there are hobbies outside of reading?" To be immediately followed by writing. But that would imply writing is a hobby, not a profession or a business.
I've dabbled in various types of handcrafts over the years. Time restrictions and arthritis have reduced the amount of time devoted to them as has the amount of time, effort, and energy given to my role as a caregiver.

Instead of repeating the information as to the types of hobbies, feel free to visit the earlier post. And as a teaser, a few samples of my work.



Be sure to see how the other authors answered the question, "Hobbies Outside of Reading." https://mfrw52week.blogspot.com/
Or for the "C is for " posts, click the name for the other blogs in the A-Z Challenge.


~till next time, Helen

B is for Bashim

While the "bad guys" in my novels get their due, they don't always get the publicity. So, "B" is for Bashim from the world of the Windmaster Novels. What to say about him?

In appearances, he is an imposing figure, slender with dark hair in tight ringlets. He comes from the House of Pirri, one of the world's major trading houses. His magic is strong, however, he refuses to adhere to the tenets of the Way to the point that the Council of Mages was going to bind his powers. Something Bashim will not tolerate.

Even when he assumed the mantle of the Oracle of Givneh, Bashim was not satisfied with stealing the will of the followers. He wanted more--he wanted Ellspeth. As she was the only person with emergent powers, he wanted her for his apprentice. And was ready to use magic to achieve it, with or without her agreement.


Read Windmaster to join Ellspeth as she hears, 
"Come to me, little wizardling. Join me or die."



A sidenote about the bad guys (or gals) getting their proper recognition? I don't know what it says about me, but the letter "B" in the 2019 April A-2 challenge also covered a villain, the Lady Broch.


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Click on the button to find my next post in the challenge. Remember, it won't be live until midnight after this entry.
 

If you're interested in following other blogs in the A to Z in April challenge, click on the logo for the master list of the other participants.


~till next time, Helen 

A is for Awww

I don't know where the inspiration for the topic came from. I write fantasy, not children's books or sweet romance. Sword fights and evil mages don't make for awwww moments. Maybe it was the picture I saw on social media of a dog wearing a plastic cone after a visit to the vet. The awww came from a cat curled up in the cone and sleeping next to the dog's head as if comforting his friend.


Then I saw a soldier. Her desert camouflage made me realize the why of the title. Heart and Sand is a multi-genre collection of twelve tales of those who served on the battle front, and the stories of the loved ones left behind who preserved the homefront. "The Walk" is a contemporary short story and tells of events that are reenacted every day, especially around the holidays.

In an airport walkaway, a grandmother holds a sleeping child. The reason the grandmother is the caregiver is that the child's mother had been recalled back into military service and deployed overseas. The awww comes when the child awakes, sees someone walk from the crowd of deplaning passengers and asks, "Is this my present?"

Sometimes the question is the answer. Heart and Sand - available in print and ebook at Amazon. A more complete list of ebook sellers is at books2read.

Click on the button to find my next post in the challenge. Remember, it won't be live until midnight after this entry.

 

If you're interested in following other blogs in the A to Z in April challenge, click on the logo for the master list of the other participants.



~till next time, Helen 

Cars-The Only Way To Go

Welcome to Week 27 of the MFRW 52-week challenge. The topic is "Your destination is within 1500 miles, fly or drive."

Let's see. Spend 17 hours in a car or fly. Making the trip via airplane sounds quick and easy until you look at the details.

A one-hour drive to the airport. Two hours standing around to get through security. Between headcounts, seating passengers, taxi time and deplaning at the destination, figure on another two hours. There is no non-stop flights, so add in a few more hours catching a connecting flight. Then there are the seven official hours listed on the airline schedule. You're not making the trip to visit the airport, so there is the additional travel time to the end destination. Altogether figure on a 14-hour day.


Image by Holger Detje from Pixabay

I chose to make the trip in a more leisurely two days by car. Besides, a car allows for detours to visit interesting sites and outlets malls.
 
~till next time, Helen

Up the Lazy River #MFRWAuthor

Welcome to Week 12 of the MFRW 52-week challenge. The topic is "If you won the $10,000 lottery."

Shortly after I moved to my current town, a neighbor the next street  over won a multi-million dollar lottery. I never met them. By the time the banner went up in the window of the local grocery where the ticket had been sold, the people left town. But the event did spark a lot of "What if?" dreams.

In terms of today's dollars, ten grand isn't really that much. It won't buy you a new car -- only the downpayment. 

Jewelry? Depending on the carat quality, a ring for one finger.

Courtesy of Pixabay.
If I won a $10,000 lottery, I originally thought of a special vacation. The winnings wouldn't be enough for a 60-day around the world extravagance. The winnings would only cover a much shorter, river cruise, maybe up the Mississippi or the Colombia and Snake River. However, that sounds good to me. Especially since I would be able to afford the amenity of my own balcony to sit on and watch the shore go by. Then the world changed so no cruise unless I'm paddling my own canoe. So for now I'd put the money in the bank for a special something in the future. Maybe to take a great-grandmother to see her new great-granddaughter.


~dreaming of winning. Until next time, Helen

Be sure to see how the other authors answered the question. https://mfrw52week.blogspot.com/

A-Z 2020 Challenge Reveal - Fantasy From Land to Sea

Thirty posts is a lot. I usually do the Marketing For Romance Writers 52-week challenge. However, that is only one post a week not one a day.

This post is supposed to set the theme for the April A-Z challenge. The posts will focus on the characters and settings of the Windmaster Novels and the Dragshi Chronicles, with a touch of the writing life tossed in for variety.

The dragshi are more than just a man or woman. Each are two beings–one a dragon, the other a human–sharing one body in space in time and able to change forms with the other at will. Their world and the adventures of the dragon shifters are recorded in the Dragshi Chronicles.

Off to start singing the alphabet song. Hope you'll join me April 1st for "A is for XXX." Here is the master list of blogs joining me in singing the alphabet song. 

~till next time, Helen

Dark to Work, Dark to Home #mfrwauthor

Welcome to Week 11 of the MFRW 52-week challenge. The topic is "Keep Daylight Saving Time." The prompt left open for interpretation the meaning of "keep." It could be remain on daylight savings time all rear round or whether or not to have daylight saving time at all.

Courtesy of Pixabay.
One of the reasons given to keep daylight saving is that you have an additional hour of natural daylight in our afternoon schedule. In reality? The sun was just rising when you drove to work. There was not enough light to make driving safe and comfortable as it would be in full daylight. And depending on which direction you were driving, you started out in pitch black night, then turned a corner and drove the rest of the way with the sun glare. And of course, it was so low on the horizon that the slipped between the shield and brim of your cap blinding. And when you drove home, it was in the dark. So I saw no benefit of the "more daylight in your day."
To me the biggest con to changing the time, even if it is only by 1 hour, is the disruption of our body clocks. It can take days or weeks to adjust. For some, however, the time change can have more serious consequences such as depression or heart attack.

Then there is the confusion regarding television schedules and the mental adjustment as to when a show is on, a problem that can continue until the shift off (or into) daylight saving time.

Daylight saving time began over a 100 years ago. The world has changed, our lives have changed. Do we still need to "spring forward and fall back?" For me I'd rather be on standard or saving all year round.Pick one and stay with it.

~till next time, Helen

Be sure to see how the other authors answered the question.

Out and About at the Loft

I sent a postcard from the loft. Just follow the below link to read it. I talk about writing life, legacy, and of course my books. Several characters make an appearance including those from the upcoming release in late 2020.

https://seeliekay.blogspot.com/2020/03/this-week-in-loft-author-helen-henderson.html

~till next time, Helen

A Necessary Evil #MFRWAuthor

Welcome to Week 10 of the MFRW 52-week challenge. The topic is "Editing. Love it or hate it."

As a writer, I've worn many hats. Feature story writer, correspondent, novelist, and short story writer. No matter the length, nor whether fiction or non-fiction, they all needed editing. Over the years, I've had other experience wearing the editor hat. I not only had to edit my work work, but I worked as an editor in a corporate environment. There it wasn't fiction, but corporate documents, presentations, catalogs, and marketing literature.

There are two main thoughts on the act of editing. You might think of it as a final polish, just making your good work better.


Then there is the other attitude. That you are ripping to shreds the story you just worked so hard to finish.


As to whether I love or hate editing? I think it depends on the time and the project. But no matter what, I know editing is a necessary evil.

~till next time, Helen


Be sure to see how the other authors answered the question. https://mfrw52week.blogspot.com/