Archive for writing

Readings and Merry-Making

Thank you to everyone who came out to my signings/ readings at Kitsap Mall Barnes & Noble, Pacific Place Barnes & Noble, and University Bookstore, including several of the Clarion West class of 2014. I truly appreciate it.

Randy Henderson Readings WotF-10

A few shout outs regarding those who attended:
Caren Gussoff Sumption has an awesome post-nano-plague novel coming out in November called THE BIRTHDAY PROBLEM. I’ve read it and worship at the feet of her skill with creating interesting characters with depth. And just to be clear, the novel is about a post-nano-plague world, I didn’t mean it will be coming out after the nano-plague in November. I know nothing of that.http://pinknarc.com/books.htm

Julie McGalliard has a dark and kick butt werewolf novel coming out later this year (with some great spins on the genre) from Per Aspera press called WAKING UP NAKED IN STRANGE PLACES. http://www.perasperapress.com/forthcoming-books-for-2014/

Randy Henderson Readings WotF-17

 

Read more

Share

My Upcoming Readings and Signings – Not Just for Writers of the Future

The point of my readings and signings will not truly be to sell copies of Writers of the Future volume 30 (although that is encouraged), but to celebrate our love of the genre together.

All questions will be answered, many laughs will be had, and many words shared.

And I understand that many folks may have already bought the anthology by the time of the reading, possibly in e-form, or maybe don’t want the anthology for some strange unknowable reason (possibly involving alien probing and the suppression of human emotion through nano technology). If so, bring your copy, or buy something else! I’ll have Other Stuff to sign freely for you if you do.

Let’s share in a celebration of speculative fiction, and support other authors and the bookstore as well (ideally through sale of the anthology which does so much to support new writers, and is also of course a handy way to understand the market if you wish to submit to them; but if you buy any book, that is a good thing in my, er, book).

Perhaps you were wanting to buy awesome fiction from other local authors like: Forged in Fire by J.A. Pitts; or The Age of Ice by J.M. Sidorova; or Hild by Nicola Griffith; or Requiem by Ken Scholes; or The Thousand Names by Django Wexler; or the latest Greywalker Novel by Kat Richardson; or The Creative Fire by Brenda Cooper; or Reflected by Rhiannon Held; or Copper Head by Tina Connolly; or The Book of Joby by Mark Ferrari.

Or you wanted to pick up some mind-expanding goodness, like: Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor; or Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie; or Authority by Jeff Vandermeer; or 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami; or Sister Mine by Nalo Hopkinson; or We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler, or Cory Doctorow’s latest, Homeland.

Or grab the latest (or first) book in a series you are interested in, be it the Dresden Files or Game of Thrones or Divergent.

Perhaps you prefer the comic stylings of Jim C Hines, John Scalzi, or Terry Pratchett, or the magic realism of Charles de Lint?

Or heck, come in and place pre-orders on books like: Hurricane Fever by Tobias S. Buckell; or The Ultra Thin Man by Patrick Swenson; or Last Plane to Heaven by Jay Lake; or Prophet of Bones by Ted Kosmatka.

But again, of course, the hope is to sell many copies of Writers of the Future Volume 30, officially called by The Critic** “The besterest volume ever.”

Hope to see you there, with (some) book or eReader or receipt in hand*.

*No purchase required to participate as a viewer. Mileage estimated based on in-city reading. See book dealer for additional details.
**That’s me. I’m The Critic. I may be biased, but I’m also completely biased.

See my Schedule page for details on upcoming readings/signings/Q&As.

Share

Reddit “Ask Me Anything” for Writers of the Future

Want to know what goes on at the Writers and Illustrators of the Future workshop, what the awards ceremony was like, advice on how to succeed as a writer or illustrator, or my favorite flavor of milkshake?

On May 13th the writer and illustrator winners of this past year will be coming together to answer these and any other questions.  This giant question-and-answer period will take the form of an AMA (ask me anything) on the Reddit fantasy forum.

The AMA will be posted here on May 13th: http://www.reddit.com/r/fantasy/

Those participating in the AMA are:

Megan E. O’Keefe (Writer Winner and the AMA organizer) : Website | Twitter | Facebook

Randy Henderson (Writer Winner): Website Twitter

Anaea Lay (Writer Winner): Website Twitter 

Bernardo Mota (Illustrator Winner): Website Facebook

Shauna O’Meara (Writer Winner): Website

Trevor Smith (Illustrator Winner): Website Twitter Facebook

Terry Madden (Writer Winner): Website Twitter Facebook

C. Stuart Hardwick (Writer Winner): Website Twitter Facebook

Cassandre Bolan (Illustrator Winner): Website Twitter Facebook

Liz Colter (Writer Winner): Website Twitter

Oleg Kazantsev (Writer Winner): Facebook

Sarah Webb (Illustrator Winner): Tumblr Portfolio Facebook

Michael Talbot (Illustrator Winner): Facebook YouTube

Paul Eckheart (Writer Winner): Website Twitter Facebook

Leena Likitalo (Writer Winner): Website 

Kirbi Fagan (Illustrator Winner): Website Facebook

Vincent Coviello (Illustrator Winner): Tumblr

Share

My Writers of the Future Award Speeches

On Sunday, April 13, 2014, I was honored to accept awards from the Writers of the Future contest both as a first place quarterly winner, and then as the Golden Pen grand prize winner. 

I’ll post more about the workshop and the experience itself, but for now, here is a link to the award ceremony.

TRANSCRIPTS of my acceptance speeches (I left out the “ums”) are included below.  

My introduction and speeches begin at 02:07:00 and at 02:46:05.

 

TRANSCRIPT FOR ACCEPTANCE OF AWARD FOR FIRST PLACE:

Read more

Share

Kitsap Herald Interview

I was interviewed for the North Kitsap Herald about winning the Writers of the Future, my novel, and general writing advice.

http://www.northkitsapherald.com/lifestyle/252750391.html

 

Share

Creating Vivid Characters Podcast

Adventures in Scifi Publishing captured and posted a podcast of the panel at Chicago Worldcon 2012.

Vivid Character Building
How do you create vivid characters who pop off the page? How do you avoid archetypes/stereotypes and predictability? Join a panel of writers discussing their techniques and tricks and ask questions of your own.
Carol BergTeresa Frohock, Randy Henderson, Kay KenyonBryan Thomas Schmidt

Listening to it, you can tell I was running on caffeine and more caffeine by this point in the con, but all the panelists were great, and there’s some useful tips and info on creating characters.

http://www.adventuresinscifipublishing.com/2013/06/aisfp-211-chicon-7-creating-vivid-characters-with-carol-berg-teresa-frohock-randy-henderson-kay-kenyon-and-bryan-thomas-schmidt/

Share

Living the Dream – I Sold My Novel

I sold my Finn Fancy Necromancy series to Tor.
Beth Meacham is my editor. Cameron McClure is my agent. And OH MY GOD OH MY GOD is my brain.

In a little over a year, I will be able to walk into book stores and see my book on the Fantasy and Science Fiction shelf.  It’s fraking amazing, and unbelievable, and pretty much anything that happens after this point is pure icing.

Thanks to everyone who helped me reach this point.

Share

Get Your Fae On with Penumbra September Issue

The September Issue of Penumbra Magazine featuring some great Fae stories (including my story “The Beloved Changeling who was Neither”) is now for sale: http://penumbra.musapublishing.com/

Penumbra eZine

Share

How to Be a Happy Writer

My post on How to Be a Happy Writer is up on the SFWA Blog.  Much of it can be applied to life in general, I think.

http://www.sfwa.org/2013/08/how-to-be-a-happy-writer/

 

 

Share

My White Male Writer Manifesto

I could bemoan the injustice of the Trayvon Martin case, but just as easy as it is to blast off a post or tweet saying “I am ashamed of the US legal system” or snark on how easy it is NOT to shoot someone, it is equally as easy for everyone to ignore or quickly forget that — and anyone who doesn’t already agree with it anyway certainly won’t be changed.

 

But here’s what I as a white male can do to work towards a future where all people are treated equally, and truly have equal protection, opportunity, and access to power.

Read more

Share