Madison Gets Her Book

Last spring, my granddaughter, Madison (I call her Miss Magoo) asked me to write a book she could read. In keeping with my genre, I wrote a mystery suitable for third graders on up. The Title is "Who is the Bully". It stars the daughter of one of my adult detectives Maggie Johnson, daughter of Prof. Bob Johnson. I kept my Miss Magoo in the dark about it being finished. On December 9, 2013, her mom, Renee and I stopped by her class with the approval of her teacher and the school principal. Of course, she didn't know we were coming. We interrupted their reading time.

I presented the book to her in front of her classmates, to her total surprise. Her teacher asked if I would read a couple of chapters for her class. Which I did. I gave a copy to the Library and now all her classmates want to check it out to read.

Here are a couple of photos. The first one is of me and Madison looking at me as I am reading. The second is of her class, with Ms. Johnson, her teacher behind her and I.

Just Arrived

Yesterday, UPS delivered my first copies of my new book, Who is the Bully.

Please stop by my Website and order your copies today. Or if you go out to Amazon and get the paperback as a gift you can download a free copy for your Kindle. Here are the links: Scott Hendricks Author or Amazon . It is also available in other electronic formats. And soon to be available in all book stores.

Writing is a Lonely Sport

I woke up at 4:00 AM, rolled over saw the time, went back to sleep. Woke up again it was 4:10. Tried to sleep some more -- alas I figured it was fruitless because my mind was racing with ideas for my new mystery novel I am writing. So I am up with coffee in my hand or at least close by writing.

Writing is such a lonely sport. It is you, your pen and the ideas swimming around upstairs. Your hand is moving in compulsively, too bad most of the time it cannot keep up with the commands of the brain, especially if you want to read it later on. It is as if the mind is feeding off the flow of an unseen spring.

It is quiet. Lynda and our beagle, Roxy are still sleeping. It is a perfect time to let the mind roam that thin line where reality decides to step aside for a little while and let the pool of fresh ideas spill forth, only to be refilled anon.

I surely hope you all have a wonderful day and not filled with murder and mayhem like my mind is doing early on a Monday morning!

Mentor a Young Writer

I encourage all of you to mentor a young writer. In this day of truncated words, abbreviations that can barely be understood without a lexicon of texting in your back pocket and less face to face time, it is important to preserve the English Language. How as writers do we accomplish this? We write, and write, and write some more, until that final sentence before our maker calls us home. We can also help a young writer to find their words.

Why is that important, you may ask? We owe a debt to our readers to bring forth a fresh voice and new way to look at the world. You may ask what is the reward? If you have to ask that then you aren’t ready to mentor. The rewards are enormous and some are even self-fulfilling. For me, the reward is watching a young person grow and to find their words. For me, the reward is having someone to share with ideas, thoughts, and dreams; and then to have some shared with you. For me, the reward is keeping me writing — even if it is one word, one sentence, one paragraph, one page, one chapter. It keeps my pen moving and the ideas flowing. It also keeps me young.

How does it keep us young? I am sixty-four years young. I like to tell everyone that I am twenty-one; but the body just isn’t cooperating. Hearing new fresh ideas, helps to keep my ideas fresh and new. As you already know, my granddaughter asked me to write a book she could read. I have used my two young protégés to review my first children’s book to make sure it is age appropriate and touches on subjects that they can relate to. Both the mentor and the protégé end up winning in the relationship. To see how this works, I recommend that everyone who loves to write watch the following movie: Finding Forrester staring Sean Connery and Rob Brown. It is probably at the top of my list of favorite movies that I have seen.

Thank you, Jacob and Maggie for letting me help you find your words. You can’t begin to imagine how much it has helped me to keep mine fresh and flowing.

Book Signing August 25, 2013 You are Invited

My books have arrived and I am all set for my book signing event at Zandbroz Variety in Downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA on August 25, 2013 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

The Power of Our Words

As wordsmiths we play, arrange and inspire with the words we so love. I would be lost if I could not write and read. I am going to share with you just how powerful these words can be -- Remember, it is not what we say; it is all about how we say it. Please view the video!

"The Power of Words"

Become a Literary Pathologist

This past week, I have been focused on being a reader. Since Monday, March 4, 2013 I have read three books. I really enjoyed the stories; but more than that I spent the time looking at how the story was written from a reader’s point of view.

So, I ask you (my readers) when was the last time you dissected a book? When was the last time you were a Literary Pathologist? Then, when was the last time you applied that to your own work?

Remember, we are not only writers! We are dreamers, weavers, bards, teller of tall tales, wordsmiths, publicists, publishers, business owners, and marketing departments. It is our responsibility for putting a product on the market that the reading public wants to read. If we don’t do that, we are being dishonest with ourselves and our art. Sure there is that altruistic notion that why don’t we do art for art sake.

I propose, we smiths of the written word have an obligation to those who are readers of the written word. In today’s world and unlike the world up through the first half of the 20th Century, art will remain undiscovered if we the artist does not promote our art and produce art that the reading public wants to read. We all have our genre of what we like to read and what we like to write. Get to know your genres as well as you know yourself. Don’t forget to research what works and what does not work within your genre.

As wordsmiths, our art is the weaving of the story that is rattling around that orb we call a skull. I feel a wealth of stories bouncing off the inside of my cranium with unrelenting potency. Our job is not to reinvent the stories. Our job to weave it in such a way our readers will draw themselves into the story. We have to respect our readers.

Our art requires us as artists to make our stories interesting and moving forward at all times. I enjoin you all to become Literary Pathologists. Without pathology of the written word, we become a self-indulged bore. Let’s find what stimulates our reader’s appetites!