Waiting isn’t my strong suit, so while I said I would post up the next chapter at 20 preorders, I’ve gone ahead and posted already! In chapter four we return to the Otherworld to follow Abbie and Foster as they are being chased by wolves.

Please enjoy! https://www.inkshares.com/books/fae-child/book_segments/chapter-four-4d6a8f

Hello you lovely readers!

One of the few things I enjoy about flying is the ability to write without interruption. It was on just such a very delayed flight two days ago that I was able to pull together this update to let you know what’s going on:

Inkshares and I have finally agreed on a final scene list for The Punch Escrow. I can honestly tell you that getting to this point has been incredibly challenging, but very fulfilling. I was just telling my wife yesterday that I would be frustrated with the editing process, but every single time we do an iteration the story becomes exponentially more clear and exciting. This last round of edits was all about ensuring every beat in the story pops. This picture might give you an idea of the sort of granularity I had to get into when composing this latest iteration of the narrative:

Yep. Our protagonist hears the call of nature, but can’t find a bathroom in order to heed it. Even this seemingly innocuous scene is an important beat in the narrative, otherwise it would not be there. By the time this latest rewrite is done, nearly 80% of the 2nd draft, which itself was 50% different than the 1st, will be entirely rewritten. I would expect there to be less than 10,000 words of commonality between the first draft of the manuscript and this latest one. Crazy, right?

(Yes, crazy)

Incidentally, bathrooms in the 25th are architected to be extremely efficient, absolutely no running water. Waste is dehydrated and recycled, all that remains of what can’t be reclaimed is dust. High pressure air enriched with sanitizing nanos is used to cleanse your nether-regions and hands. Totally sanitary, good for the environment, and unwasteful. We actually have much of the capacity to do this today (okay, not the sanitizing nanos), but bureaucracy inhibits progress. 

In other news, I have submitted to final draft of my short story Morcom is here. for the Too Many Controllers anthology, which will be coming out on the Nerdist imprint, possibly even before The Punch Escrow. It’s a 6,758 word story about a mysterious program developed by Alan Turing, designed for a computer that he knew would not exist for nearly a century after his death. Incidentally, it’s based on a true story! The narrative is told through various press clippings, blog entries, and even Slack chats. I’m very proud, and happy with it.

That’s it for now. Don’t forget to keep up with my twice monthly column on the intersection of science fiction and present reality, The Future Is Now, on Geek & Sundry.

Peas,

Tal

Hello, readers! Exciting news: Witherfist has just reached 30 preorders.

To celebrate, I have something cool to share with you. Below are some concept sketches of the creature known as the pack-dragon. One of these scaly beasts of burden featured in the first chapter of Witherfist, as part of an Isherbani caravan. Pack-dragons are the most common beast of burden in the world of Witherfist and are often used by merchants to transport goods.

The sketches below show various takes on the beast and were drawn by my ridiculously talented friend, Christin Gattuso. You can find a writing project that she’s working on, right here on Inkshares: The Decemvirs.

Christin has graciously allowed me to offer up a print of one of her sketches as a prize. When Witherfist reaches 50 preorders, I will select a reader at random to win this prize. As an added bonus, if you refer someone to purchase Witherfist, this will double your chances of winning. (You can use the ’Recommend’ buttons on the Witherfist project page to refer the book to someone else.) 

Without further ado, the pack-dragon!

~ Jenny

Hello friends

It has been a while, I know!

Here is a recent picture of me so you know I’m still alive.

There is a lot going on but let’s start with what you signed up for, The Catcher’s Trap. This week we are putting the final touches on the cover so the book can, finally, go to the printer on August 30th. Just writing that gives me chills.

You will receive an e-mail with access to the e-version of The Catcher’s Trap on October 8th and the actual book around November 8th. Then we’ll embark on a new quest: reaching 100 reviews on Amazon! (I’ll let you know more about that when the time comes)

On other equally fun fronts. This weekend I’ll be at the Connecticut HorrorFest, so if you are in the area come and visit me. The legendary George Romero will be there, plus many other horror icons. And… talking about horror. I’m writing a campy horror novel called Bad Medicine: Slay it Queen.

Bad Medicine is the story of an up-and-coming New York drag-queen faced with a poorly timed zombie apocalypse. If the idea of a zombie-slaying-machete-wielding drag queen sounds interesting to you, please check out here. You can read the funny and scary first chapter. You can also follow the project for updates.

Finally, I want to bring your attention to another author’s project. Through the video game writing contest that just ended I made a new friend, the talented Jamison Stone. Jamison not only have given me great advice to promote my book, but he also wrote a very kind blurb that will go on the back cover of  The Catcher’s Trap.

“I don’t normally read horror, but could not resist Henriquez’s debut novel. Upon reading, I was reminded why I normally shy away from this genre—The Catchers Trap is truly terrifying. However, what kept me coming back, despite my palpable fear, was the profoundly deep inner journey of Andres, the main character, and his personal transformation during the course of the novel. I have to admit, however, that in-between reading sessions I did have to hide The Catchers Trap in the freezer. So, my one suggestion, before you start reading, make sure you have plenty of room in YOUR freezer. While I cannot promise this will keep you safe from Henriquez’s truly terrifying writing when it is time to close your eyes and go to sleep—you will at least be safer.” —Jamison Stone, author of Rune of the Apprentice

Don’t we all love the Friends reference?

I was lucky enough to read his book Rune of The Apprentice, and I can tell you that if epic fantasy is your thing, this is a must read. The book is available on Amazon so go and get your copy.

That’s it for now, folks. Have a fantastic week and remember:

“The universe is big. It’s vast and complicated and ridiculous. And sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen, and we call them miracles.” The Doctor.