Helen B. Henderson's Blog, page 52

Let's Meet A Dragon #MRWHook #MFRWAuthor

Spring cleaning brought with it a look at some of my old topics. This interview was originally posted on Linda Restatt's blog, but since quite a bit of time has passed, it has been updated. And now to the interview.

An amber dragon playfully soaring above signals the arrival of my guest. Wind from its wings ripple my hair and send up whirls of dust. A silvery voice that could only have come from the great creature echoed in my head. But the words were not intended for me, but another?

Friend Branin, let me talk.

A moment later the dragon landed and flipped his wings along his back. I am Llewlyn. My soul twin Branin will join us shortly, until then if you don’t mind, I’ll visit with you.

Sitting on a rock and pulling pad and pencil from a valise, I swallowed hard. Honored Old One Llewlyn, welcome. I’ve never interviewed a dragon before. What should I know?

When some humans are born, more than one soul comes to life. The human, which are called dragshi, have a twinned dragon soul. When the dragon awakens, so does both the human and dragon magic. When I awoke many years ago, Branin acquired the ability of flight. Like the other dragshi, we share one body in space in time and are able to change forms with the other at will. Although the dragon halves don’t interfere in the human world, today I wanted to stretch my wings. So here I am.

It must be great fun to soar amidst the clouds.

Llewlyn’s deep-throated laugh showed a sense of humor. Then his tone took on a somber note. I have learned much from my human soul brother. With ability comes responsibility. The dragshi protect the innocent--man, woman, and child.

Llewlyn, I’ve heard you and Lord Branin are on search. May I know what for?

The mental contact vibrated with tension and a sense of desperation. Branin and I are the last of our kind. We have waited over three hundred years for our mates, but there have been no signs of another dragshi’s birth, let alone that of a female. Branin and I are alone. The true human women whose paths have crossed ours do little to lighten my soul brother’s loneliness. Although the women understood a dragshi can never truly love one of their kind, that we wait for a human female whose soul is twinned to my mate, there is one who refuses to accept the truth.

Black eyes glared at me. Lady Broch of Ky’Port means to become Branin’s handfasted mate--with or without his willing cooperation. A low growl came from deep in the dragon’s throat. I don’t like her.

My reporter instincts leaped onto what the dragon left unspoken. Before I could summon the courage to pursue the question, Llewlyn looked skyward and when he returned his attention to me, the dark sadness seemed to deepen. Soon Branin and I must return to the confining walls of Cloud Eyrie. Thank you for the diversion and if you hear of a girl named Anastasia who can talk to dragons, please let one of the dragshi or a member of the Ceoltier Guild know.

Be assured, honored old one. I will do as you ask.

The dragon disappeared in a white mist. The dark hair and gray eyes of the man who walked out of the concealment fog meant one thing--Lord Branin had returned to his own form.

Greetings Helen. I’m glad the weather broke today so we could take a turn outside. Thank you for humoring Llewlyn. He doesn’t get out much these days, what with the winter winds trapping everyone inside sturdy stone walls. Soon I will escort Crisiant, one of the true dragons, on a long journey. I’m sure she and Llewlyn will have much to talk about.

Branin took a seat on an adjoining rock. Whether it was a lingering after effect of the transformation or Branin himself, but his mere presence overwhelmed. Anger flickered across his face as he glanced at the sky. I’m sorry to have to cut this short, but I see the ranks of clouds are closing. There is time for one more question.

Lord Branin, Llewlyn said to watch for a girl named Anastasia. Who is she?

A hint of sadness flickered in his eyes. I don’t know.

A white mist surrounded Branin and when it dissipated, the amber wings of Llewlyn’s dragon form towered over me. There seemed but one way to end the interview and I bowed my head. Thank you for the honor of the visit.

It is our pleasure, came back the silvery tone as I covered my eyes against the shower of dust that accompanied the dragon’s takeoff. 

And the final message sent my heart soaring on dragon wings. There are more tales from the Eyrie. I am proud of Talann and Glynn, and there are also stories from our past and legend.



The Dragshi Chronicles - action-filled, romance-laden fantasies . Read in sequence or as a stand-alone. Click on the cover at the top of this page or excerpts or the title below for buy links.

Hatchling's Vengeance (Book 4)
Hatchling's Mate (Book 3)
Hatchlings Curse (Book 2)
Dragon Destiny (Book 1)
First Change : Legends From The Eyrie

~till next time, I hope you'll check out the dragshi and visit the other authors in the hop.

A Refusal, Windmaster Legend #WeWriWa

​ 
Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Visit the other participants on the list and read, and comment on their 8sunday posts.


​Today's excerpt is from Windmaster Legend, a love story set in the world of The Windmaster Novels. To set, the scene, it is the night of the captains' summer gathering. Leod saw a woman sitting off by herself. He's offered her wine and asked for a dance by saying, "A man only has the opportunity once in his life to have such a beautiful companion, let alone one bard-trained.”

However, his desire for her companionship doesn't quite go as planned. And now the SundaySnippet.

* * * *

The slight tightening of the woman's lips gave Leod little insight into what he had said wrong. Still, he held the smile that had won over so many women.
 
His target still didn’t submit. Instead, she gave a slight shake of her head. “I appreciate the compliment. However, I am quite content where I am. Maybe you should return to the dance.” Her head-to-toe scan of him added to the fire building under Leod’s skin. “There should be someone there suitable for you.”

* * * * 
 
Ebook Buy Links / Paperback links

I hope you like the snippet I shared for Pelra this week. Be sure to read the other Weekend Writing Warriors blogs and the #SnippetSunday authors for more great reads. ~till next time, Helen

Been There, Done That #mfrwauthor

Welcome to week 33 of the MFRW 52-week challenge. The topic is "Giving and Taking Advice - How it can hurt?"
Why did I pick the title? We've all been there. An inadvertently voiced comment about something you're working on and suddenly you're in for a twenty- or thirty-minute lecture on how XX should be done. It doesn't matter the topic or even whether you yourself are considered knowledgeable in the area, there is always one in every crowd who knows everything about everything. So should you wholeheartedly implement their advice or take it with a grain of salt. If a point sounds true, holds up to additional research, and is helpful, go for it.
However, the prompt also covers the flip side. My first thought when I saw the prompt was to think about the hundreds (or thousands) of how to books about writing your novel. They range from short pontifications about one person's experience getting published and may have no relevance to your genre or situation. Others may be scholarly or well-researched and filled with examples. A single fact or hint might make the difference between a good book and a great one, or getting you out of a slump.
Doesn't sound like a bad thing? However, every writer is different. What works for one might not for work another because of their personality, genre, learning style, and even what project(s) are in play. My favorite line in my lectures on outlining, is that the various forms in my novel notebooks and series bibles are tools. Not every project needs every form. I wouldn't want to go back and do an in-depth storyboard for a book that is already running at 150 thousand words. However, creating a spreadsheet of four or five pieces of each information for each character could reduce potential errors such as changing the color of a character's eyes or hair, or mixing up names and locations between books and series.
Another point with advice. You can get so caught up on reading other's suggestions that you don't actually get any writing done.
Advice is only as helpful as it fits your needs. Don't get caught up that you're doing something wrong just because another author. Or it may not even be an author, one of the worst encounters I've had regarding advice was with an author who had just signed their first contract and had not even gone through their first round of peer reviews or professional edits. As I always start my critics, "Use or toss as you will. It's your voice."

Hope you'll stop by and see the other posts on the topic.

~till next time, Happy Writing. Helen

Read a Good Book - It's National Read A Book Day

Specialty calendars list all kinds of days. There are two that I plan to celebrate. On August 9th I celebrated Book Lovers Day. It's time to reprise the love of books with National Read A Book Day (September 6.)

A definition of bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Accordingly a bibliophile is an individual who loves books. Quite often it refers to a collector of antique or first edition books. In contrast, a term sometimes used derogatorily is "bookworm," defined as someone who loves books for their content, or who otherwise loves reading. Whatever ever you consider yourself, books offer escapes from our daily lives, offer inspiration and information.

How to celebrate Book Lovers Day Src: https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/book-lovers-day/

In order to truly appreciate Book Lovers Day, one must only find a story and read it. Maybe you wish to dive into the unknown with a good mystery, or see magic in a high fantasy setting, or be enthralled in a steamy romance. The individual genre of your reading is not the big piece of this, just that you do read is. Maybe a visit to your local library is in order? After all public libraries existed even way back in the Middle Ages, but they didn’t really let many folks take books home. The librarians in those days chained books to shelves or desks in order to prevent theft of the carefully hand-written tomes. Many librarians will gladly help you find a title to read, giving a brief explanation on what it is about if they have read it, or giving it a little flip and reading about it quickly in the synopsis. But no matter your preference, if you read it at home with a cup of tea, share a book meeting with friends or go to the library and make use of the wonderful pieces on those shelves, just enjoy your reading, revel in the book and find a way to read during Book Lovers Day!

What is your favorite book? 

Of course that might be an unfair question. It could be what is your favorite book at a particular point in time. The author you loved as a young adult as you read coming of age stories may no longer be as your favorite

How will YOU Celebrate? Check out the Tuesday's Titles column or posts tagged with the #MFRWHooks in this blog for a selection of interesting books by talented authors. A post about one follows later today.

If you love fantasy, click on the FREE READS button in the sidebar.

Or, maybe you'll consider one of my works. There is the dragon shifter series, the Dragshi Chronicles, the sword and sorcery series, the Windmaster Novels, and the stand-alone fantasy and anthologies. Click on the cover in the banner for buy links, excerpts, and first chapters.








Off to flip pages and read. ~till next time Helen

Read a Good Book - It's National Book Lovers Day

Specialty calendars list all kinds of days. There is one that I plan to celebrate - Book Lovers Day.

A definition of bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Accordingly a bibliophile is an individual who loves books. Quite often it refers to a collector of antique or first edition books. In contrast, a term sometimes used derogatorily is "bookworm," defined as someone who loves books for their content, or who otherwise loves reading. Whatever ever you consider yourself, books offer escapes from our daily lives, offer inspiration and information.

How to celebrate Book Lovers Day Src: https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/book-lovers-day/

In order to truly appreciate Book Lovers Day, one must only find a story and read it. Maybe you wish to dive into the unknown with a good mystery, or see magic in a high fantasy setting, or be enthralled in a steamy romance. The individual genre of your reading is not the big piece of this, just that you do read is. Maybe a visit to your local library is in order? After all public libraries existed even way back in the Middle Ages, but they didn’t really let many folks take books home. The librarians in those days chained books to shelves or desks in order to prevent theft of the carefully hand-written tomes. Many librarians will gladly help you find a title to read, giving a brief explanation on what it is about if they have read it, or giving it a little flip and reading about it quickly in the synopsis. But no matter your preference, if you read it at home with a cup of tea, share a book meeting with friends or go to the library and make use of the wonderful pieces on those shelves, just enjoy your reading, revel in the book and find a way to read during Book Lovers Day!

What is your favorite book? 

Of course that might be an unfair question. It could be what is your favorite book at a particular point in time. The author you loved as a young adult as you read coming of age stories may no longer be as your favorite

How will YOU Celebrate? Check out the Tuesday's Titles column or posts tagged with the #MFRWHooks in this blog for a selection of interesting books by talented authors. A post about one follows later today.

If you love fantasy, click on the FREE READS button in the sidebar.

Or, maybe you'll consider one of my works. There is the dragon shifter series, the Dragshi Chronicles, the sword and sorcery series, the Windmaster Novels, and the stand-alone fantasy and anthologies. Click on the cover in the banner for buy links, excerpts, and first chapters.








Off to flip pages and read. ~till next time Helen

Life is for Living #MFRWauthor

The official topic for this week's post of the 2019 MFRWAuthor Challenge is whether "For an Author, Life Exists Outside of Writing."
The answer would have to be a definitive yes. The time when an author could just write a book, send it to an agent or publisher, and then sit back and collect the royalty checks are long gone. There is more to writing as a business other than just putting words on paper or typing a story into a word processor. Outside of the writing itself, there is a whole 'nother world of marketing. But I won't go into that as this post is going to be purposely short to allow more space for National Book Lovers Day.
Another reason why life has to exist outside of writing is our friends and families, the organizations we belong to, the things we like to do. In essence, a multitude of things outside of creating characters, the worlds they live in, and their tales.
A final reason why writers need an outside life is to refill the well. writing can be emotionally exhausting and we not only need to leave the worlds we created to find our own balance, but also to find inspiration for the next project. That's my few thoughts on the topic. Hope you'll stop by the other authors in the challenge to see theirs.
~till next time, Helen

Hooked on Hatchling's Mate, Breathe #mfrwauthor

To set the scene, against all orders, Talann swam across a flooded river to save women and children stranded on a hill. After successfully taking across a rope that served as the foundation to tow a barge back and forth. The women, children, and horses across, Talann is returning to the safe side of the river with his stallion, a mare and her very skittish colt. The makeshift barge capsizes and its precious contents are tossed into the raging waters. Talann's rescue is just the beginning.

Excerpt:

A moan escaped Glyn the sight of the unconscious man’s blue skin. “He’s not breathing.” All the years training by the various weaponsmasters surged forward. “Kynan, help me. We can help Talann breathe until Lexii sets the broken ribs.” She dropped to her knees. Deep breaths calmed her shaking hands enough to hold his head steady. <I’ll keep Tal from moving. Ky, you place the bones.>

<Hurry,> Lexii sent. Fear darkened the dragshi’s tone.

Lexii is worried about more than the death of a friend, Glyn realized. One day, Talann is supposed to be her mate.

As soon as the twisted limbs were arranged to as close a position as normal, Kynan backed away. “Now, Lexii,” he yelled. “Use your healing fire.”

The golden head lowered to Glyn’s level. Air sucked down the dragon’s throat in a noisy gulp. A heartbeat later, Lexii released it as a stream of blue fire. Light encompassed both Glyn and Talann.

“Hang on, Talann,” Glyn whispered.

Silver voices rang in Glyn’s head. Is Talann going through first change? No, she corrected. It must be Lexii and the rest of the dragshi calling out to him. Binding his body and soul to each other with the force of their will—and love.

Again and again the flames played over Talann. Beneath Glyn’s hands, she felt the crushed bones meld together, returning to their prior strength and form. Without a command, Kynan knelt down and pressed on Talan’s chest. He repeated the action a second and a third time.

“Breathe, Talann,” Glyn cajoled.

<Live my son,> his parents sent.

Another fragment of training, this time from the healers rather than the ceoltiers, flickered into Glyn’s mind. Leaning over, with two fingers she pinched Talann’s nose closed, and mouth to mouth forced air into his lungs. Every third push of his chest, she gave her breath of life.

Soon nothing in the world existed except Kynan’s, “Now,” ordering more air for Talann. The specter of death lingered in the air. Talann’s skin remained pale, his body unresponsive.

Despair whether their efforts could bring Talann back to life chilled Glyn’s soul. She grabbed onto the last thread of the mental link between them and threw the full force of her will into one final command. <Talann, return to us> Again, the unbidden sentiment, Return to me, whispered into being only to be quashed. Talann is Lexii’s. He cannot be anything but a friend.



 ~ ~ ~
Hatchling's Mate - From their birth it was expected that Talann’s and Lexii’s destiny would be entwined. However fate had other intentions. Lexii and Talann could not stand to be together.


Ebook Available at:   Amazon   Kobo  Walmart
One click to more ebook stores

Paperback:  Amazon   Barnes&Noble

Click here for another excerpt and a free read of the first chapter.

An Open Letter to My Readers

An Open Letter to My Readers

First off, I want to thank everyone who has read my books, whether ebook or in print. For those who read it in digital format, were you one of those who lost your ebooks when Microsoft Store retired its book category? I hope you'll consider repurchasing your favorite from the Windmaster Novels or the Dragshi Chronicles. Either in print of from another distributor.

Full links can be found by clicking on the covers at the blog page.

Again, thank you for your support and I invite you to hang out with mages, fly with dragons, and visit worlds of imagination.

Helen







 

An Open Letter to My ReadersFirst off, I want to thank ev...

An Open Letter to My Readers

First off, I want to thank everyone who has read my books, whether ebook or in print. For those who read it in digital format, were you one of those who lost your ebooks when Microsoft Store retired its book category? I hope you'll consider repurchasing your favorite from the Windmaster Novels or the Dragshi Chronicles. Either in print of from another distributor.

Full links can be found by clicking on the covers at the blog page.

Again, thank you for your support and I invite you to hang out with mages, fly with dragons, and visit worlds of imagination.

Helen







 

My Dinner Guests Are... #MFRWAuthor

Welcome to week 31 of the 2019 challenge. The topic is "Who would you kill or die for to have dinner with? So how to answer it?
I admit that I am not one of those people who fawn over musicians, sports figures, or reality show stars. Sorry, Harrison, Cristopher, Eric, Brad, Sam, Sean, and Johnny, you'll have to find your own repast. 
So maybe I should consider someone less in the public eye. Over the decades of my professional careers I shared meals with of leaders of their field as well as co-workers whose companionship and friendship I've cherished.
Or I could pick favorite authors to sit around the table. I have enjoyed so many great books over the years that this topic basically came down to writing down my favorite authors on a wheel. Five spins, five selections. More on this thought was in the 2018 challenge, Too Many Books, Too Many Authors.

After additional consideration, I think I'd rather have dinner with some of the characters the authors created. But what would I feed a dragon?
A final option that came to mind resulted from my age and the number of funerals that have been held this year. It would be a reunion of friends and family who have passed beyond the veil.
I have no good answer to who I would kill or die to have dinner with. Maybe the other authors in the challenge do. Hope you'll visit them, and if you love great books, read last years post to see which authors I would share a meal with and the method of determining them.
~till next time, Helen