A new project in the works!

I haven't posted on my author page lately.  Sorry about that, but I try to save posts on here for things pertinent to my writing (or writing in general), publishing, appearances, etc.

Well, after more than a year's searching, I finally found the songwriter responsible for "Jesus Saves" performed by Hannah Blaylock and Eden's Edge waaaaaay before they were famous (or on the verge of stardom!!).  Last Fall during the 2010 NaNoWriMo, I started a story based on the song, but wanted to be sure I had his okay before moving toward publication.

Today, Steve Smith gave his okay and I hope to have the new story ready for this year's Gathering of Authors in Texarkana!  This is my first "derivative work" venture and I am very excited to bring the characters from the song into life through the stories of their lives!

Thanks so much to Mr. Smith!

My Inbox had bad news (Borders Goodbye)

The letter from the CEO was actually a series of images in my Yahoo! mail:

STARSNSTRIPES - Gets you 20% off my books!

Wow!  Lulu.com is offering a special for the 4th of July!  If you're looking for a fun summertime read, check out my book, "Summer Breaks!"  And, if you use the coupon code STARSNSTRIPES when you check out, you get 20% off!  PLUS, I am offering it at a 40% discount!  That is a total of 60% off!! Wahoo!

Get your copy here: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/summer-breaks/11904667

Let It Not Be Said - A poem of sorts

Our preacher, Perry Johnson, examined what would be worse than going to Hell after we died.  The answer: taking someone with you (or causing someone to go).  That weighed on my heart pretty heavily.  After all, I happen to believe that after we pass on from this world, our spirit (or soul or whatever word you choose) passes to either Heaven or Hell.  I also happen to believe that the deciding factor into which place one ends up is based on the belief that God sent His son, Jesus, to the earth in order to teach and lead us to Heaven, then die on the cross and rise again.  Jesus, and God through Him, also made it clear that those "playing church" were an abomination to God and Heaven.  I have a lot of friends and family on many of the social networks I hang out on, and I never want it said that I did not tell them about the way to Heaven.

Oh, I know a lot of my friends and family are not believers and will most likely never be.  But, if there is something I say that happens to cause even one to stop and think, maybe even reach the same conclusion, then posting this and sharing my belief is worth it.  I am not one to force my beliefs on anyone.  In fact, I have quite a bit of enough "well-rounded education" to live by the creed: Question Everything.  Why question everything?  Because, only by examining various angles and aspects of anything anyone tells you, can you truly know what it is YOU believe and WHY you believe it.  No one should believe that Jesus is the way to Heaven just because I say so, or because they read "John 3:16" plastered all over the walls of the world.  By the same token, no one should suffer an eternity in Hell because *I* neglected the simple act of TELLING it.

That is where this "poem" comes into being.  Let it not be said that I never told my friends, family, friends-of-friends, or anyone else that happens upon this post, that I did not tell them about Jesus.  And, if you want to know more about what I believe and why, or you want to talk to someone who is much smarter than I am about these things, let me know and I'll pass along your info to my pastor or our youth minister.  Whether you agree or disagree, love me or hate me, if you've read this far, you cannot truthfully say that I never told you that believing in Jesus and His resurrection was the way to eternal Heaven.
-----------------------
"Let it not be said" - David Henderson

Let it not be said
From here on out
That I did not say
Or scream or shout
That the way to Heaven
Is an easy route.

Let it not be said
From this day forth
That I did not make
A stand of worth
That the way to Heaven
Is there from birth.

Let it not be said
Of my own blame
That I did not share
What is ours to claim
The way to Heaven
Is by Jesus' name.

Believe in your heart
That God loves you
And He sent His son
To show it true
And that His son died
And rose anew.

Though the way to Heaven is easy
The path is hard.
Salvation is not
An "easy life" card.
Troubles and triumphs lie in wait,
For even Jesus' hands are scarred.

Let it not be said
Of me in this life
That I did not tell
My friends, or family, or my wife
Of the way, the truth
Or of the Life.


(copyright 2011, David W Henderson. All rights reserved. Please contact me: davidinark@yahoo.com for info, interviews, usage, etc)

2011 Fall Gathering of Authors!

Wahoo!  Just got the word yesterday that the 2011 Fall Gathering of Authors will be held on October 22, 2011.  This will be your chance to head to Texarkana and meet authors from the four-state region as well as some nationally-known writers! 

The night before, there will be a benefit dinner for St. Jude's hospital and all money raised at the Gathering (through raffle ticket sales) will go to benefit St. Jude's.  Many authors also make a portion of their book sales a donation as well.

The event is tentatively scheduled to be held at the Four States Fairgrounds in Texarkana like last year, but we'll know more as the time gets closer.  Of course, I'll keep you posted!  Looks like some fun changes are in store, too!

Gimmie Five!

Five Minutes.  How long is that?  Not long at all, right?  I mean, come on.  Five minutes is probably about the amount of time you spend in the restroom.  It's the length of about two commercial breaks.  It's about the amount of time it takes to go from laying in the bed to falling asleep for some folks.

So, what else can we do in five minutes?  I found out while reading "Immediate Fiction" by Jerry Cleaver.  Heck, these days, the book is even available on Kindle!  I digress.  In the book, Cleaver gets the writing juices flowing with a Five-Minute daily exercise.  The agreement one makes with oneself is that for 30 days, the writer promises to take just five minutes to write something. Anything.  Actually, when first starting out, the writer isn't supposed to write anything - just relax and let go for five minutes.

So, I am taking the challenge.  Each day during my lunch hour at work, I am taking five minutes to write.  So far, nothing of substance has materialized, but that's okay.  I am jotting ideas, exploring characters, writing jibberish in some cases.  But, I am writing.

I challenge you to try it yourself.  As Cleaver says in his book, by a year's time, you could easily have written 100-150 PAGES of text.  For someone who "can't" write or who "doesn't" write, you may find yourself face-to-face with the start of a novel or a collection of short stories or a book of poetry!

Word Play: Six-Word Headlines

If you enjoy writing, there's a pretty good chance you've heard of things like "The Six-Word Challenge." The most famous of these is Earnest Hemingway's "Baby shoes for sale, never used." It is amazing how just six words can bring such immediate and heavy emotion.

As a twist on that, I thought I would jot down a six-word headline in which the acronym tells a different story. This has three components to it: It must be six words, It must create a "non-jibberish" acronym, and The acronym must contradict the headline being touted. Don't ask why. This is something I do when the urge pops in my head.

So, quickly, I came up with this one:

Hero Escapes Deadly Ice-Encrusted Dagger (HE DIED)

So, now you give it a try! Make up your own or feel free to improve on mine using the same six letters in your acronym!