Interview

[Ken]

Interview with Author Jim Henry
Hosted By Accredited Author Ken Donaldson


1.I have seen you, as I am sure many other readers are familiar with you from the self-publishing forums, give us a little insight into your background as a writer.

I wanted to write as soon as I learned to read. I began writing fiction at age 11, write stories all through my teen years and into my 20s, but following college I went to work as a journalist, and spent the better part of eight years writing news stories other people wanted me to write. In my mid-30s, I was victim of a violent attack, but the positive that came from that is that the flood gates of my creativity opened, and I began writing and publishing novels. Since then, I have written and published several novels featuring Antiquity Calais, as part of the Universal Life Force Series, and I have also branched out into humorous non-fiction titles in the World According to Crash Series.


2.Tell me what other authors do you enjoy, who inspired you or influenced you the most to become a writer?

J.K. Rowling and Richard Bach are the two authors who most significantly influenced me. I began reading Rowling books to my oldest son when he was five, and he is now 15. Richard Bach has been a favorite of mine for decades, writing such classics as Jonathan Livingston Seagull, One, Biplane, among many others.


3.What made you decide upon the genre you are currently pursuing?

Just like in the Harry Potter books, in which the wand chooses the wizard, I can say that this genre chose me. In the aftermath of my assault, I had a vision of the man who attacked me, but he was uncharacteristically dressed all in black, complete with a cape, which the real guy never would have warn. In my vision, I saw him drawing energy from the ground to conjure a huge tsunami in the Atlantic Ocean. The wave grew to unprecedented heights, and when it crashed, the entire east coast, from Portland, Maine to Key West, Florida, was under water. The vision was so intense that I had to write about it, and it lent itself well to scifi/fantasy.


4.What is special about how you write. Do you have any set routine of method you follow?

I wish I could say truthfully that I write frequently, but my bread and butter is teaching writing right now. I write when I get the inspiration, which seems to be in the later part of the year. I also participate in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) each year in November, so if nothing else, I know I will be writing a lot in November.

While I did not write Antiquity Calais: Standing at Armageddon during NaNoWriMo, each subsequent book in the series came during that contest. These include Antiquity Calais Ascending Olympus, Antiquity Calais & the Children of Light, and the upcoming books Antiquity Calais & the Wrath of the Cryptids, and the Sojourners' Quest for Antiquity.


5.What is the future plans you see for your writing next?

I have not decided yet which project to pursue for the next NaNoWriMo. A lot has changed in the Universal Life Force Series since I wrote the original Antiquity Calais & the Wrath of the Cryptids, and I am considering the wisdom of rewriting that book, rather than revising the original draft. Or, I could actually write the last planned book in that series, tentatively titled Antiquity Calais & the End of Days. I am leaning toward the rewrite.

I have a non-fiction piece I want to write too about a very real-life experience I am currently enduring. I cannot go into details, but when it comes out, it will be most revealing.


6.Do you have any brief thoughts in passing you would like to share with the readers?

I am not one of these volume writers, who cranks out book after book. Instead, I tend to nurture my creations, so when it comes out, it is as good as it can possibly be.

I do wish you all the best in the future. Certainly has been a real pleasure Talk with you Jim. That is where we conclude this Interview.