writer

When You Buy a Novel

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When you purchase a novel, you’re buying more than a story. You’re getting a writer’s sweat, tears, and time—all the hours of weaving and wondering, imagining and telling, the seemingly endless rewrites and edits, the frequent frustration in search of the perfect word, phrase, paragraph, or plot twist, the moments of reflection, the periods spent falling in love with characters, exploring their foibles and flairs, the angst over causing harm to those beloved imaginary friends that live and breathe in the writer’s mind. Neatly tucked between the covers of that book, you’ll find a writer’s dreams and love and truth and hopes on display for the world to see. Poured into each page are the priceless echoes of a soul and the unscripted longing of a heart. —Diana Henderson
© copyright 2021 Lillian D. Henderson

No Act of Creation Is Lost

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My niece Michelle Johnson Fairchild is a brilliant artist. A few years ago, she expressed how difficult it was to paint over a piece she had done that never sold. She couldn’t always afford new canvases, so she undertook the heart wrenching task of choosing a painting to leave behind in favor of something new. This is what I told her….

I believe that every painting, poem, story, collage, sculpture, and burst of creation you bring into being is written forever upon the heart of Creation/Creator. Songs long forgotten, art never viewed except by the soul who fashioned it, poems we write only upon our hearts—all acts of creation—reverberate throughout the universe and settle into the consciousness of all life.

Stories and art live in the ethers and the collective as well. Once upon a time around 1988-89, I actually began writing a series of novels that involved a boy coming into his power and a villain who was an evil wizard with a name very much like Voldemort! I kid you not!! After a Hugo and Nebula award winning author critiqued my first chapters and outline and told me this book series was going to be huge and would change the world, I shrank from the story in fear and let it go because I wasn’t ready for that. It all seemed much too big for me at that time. Shortly thereafter, on a train in 1990, J.K. Rowling conceived the idea for Harry Potter, which involved the same themes and similar characters and settings. I learned that creation will have its say one way or another.

Stories that linger in the consciousness of the planet will be written by someone. Poems, art, songs, and all creations will come to fruition somehow. And nothing is ever gone. Once born even in the imagination of a single soul, the song is written into the Cosmos and becomes a part of the infinite expression of Creation. That’s what I believe anyway.

copyright 2022 Lillian D. Henderson

Sleepless Nights

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I can’t count the number of sleepless nights I’ve had over the last few years—never by intention. How often I’ve watched the darkness fading and the sunrise flourishing. I wrote this poem on such a night/morning.

So early the night bats still skated across the dawn sky—
Their silhouettes racing past in near silence,
The rapid flutter of their wings barely perceptible.
The cloak of night lingered on the shoulders of *Eos. 
A misty blanket of ether remained close enough to almost settle the overwrought senses.
Almost.
Feeling the coming morning, songbirds filled the air with their prayers to the light.
They were the true believers, the keepers of faith,
Always giving praise to the sunrise,
Holding the hope for a new day.
I would sing with them if I could find my voice
After a night forsaken by sleep
Amid the turmoil of too much thought, unwritten stories, and unrepentant rhymes
Begging to be expressed and released into the void.
I almost envied the sleepers quiet in their beds,
Those unawakened souls never plagued by the infinite questions,
Unaware of the potency of every sunrise.
Words filled my head unbidden 
In this meandering stream, this maddening dream, 
Longing for sleep on the edge of daybreak.  —Diana Henderson 

© 2022 Lillian D. Henderson

*Eos is the Titan goddess who personifies the dawn in Greek mythology.

photo of bats flying at dawn

Every Tree Has a Story

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Every tree has a story for those who know how to listen with the heart. Deep roots tell the old tales of forest friends long gone, of whispered winds and screaming gales, and a million bird songs. Ancient trees hold the Earth’s secrets, the buried memories of times gone by, of every screech owl’s cry, of all that transpires beneath the illumined sky. They stand a silent record to the footfalls of each soul who passes, and they remember from the seedling’s first stretch until they breathe their last beneath the treasured sun. Cherish them and they may whisper into the quiet longings of your heart and share the wisdom of all they have seen in their time among the green. —Diana Henderson

Every tree has a story for those who know how to listen with the heart. Deep roots tell the old tales of forest friends long gone, of whispered winds and screaming gales, and a million bird songs. Ancient trees hold the Earth’s secrets, the buried memories of times gone by, of every screech owl’s cry, of all that transpires beneath the illumined sky. They stand a silent record to the footfalls of each soul who passes, and they remember from the seedling’s first stretch until they breathe their last beneath the treasured sun. Cherish them and they may whisper into the quiet longings of your heart and share the wisdom of all they have seen in their time among the green. —Diana Henderson

copyright © 2019 Lillian D. Henderson

The Song of Life

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Excerpt from my book Archangel Book of Days: A Year of Daily Inspiration and Blessings:

“All of life has a song. Each star, planet, plant, mineral, animal, and human exudes a harmonic that is heard always by the angels and by Spirit. This great chorus resounds throughout the universe, yet the Creator knows and hears each single note, each soul, each life among the infinite multitude. In the deepest silence of your sacred heart, you may hear a quiet hum or a soft tune played as if far in the distance. The song of your soul calls to you. Listen today for its gentle calling and remember who you are.”
copyright © Lillian D. Henderson

Living Among the Trees

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I’ve spent my entire life with trees in close proximity. In the 1980s, I lived on 20 acres filled with beauty. Trees surrounded me on all sides, and a creek meandered through the land. I recall a large moss-covered stone that would have made a perfect seat overlooking the brook. Of course, I never sat there. Something so old deserves respect. The forest held such peace. Grandfather Poplar was first born on that land, inspired by those trees and a crooked yellow poplar that lived among them. Poplars grow tall and straight, so a bent one stood out among the other trees. Almost two decades later I turned the story into a novel, as my writing teacher had suggested. I finally mustered the courage to publish it a decade after that. I invite you to read Grandfather Poplar if you haven’t. You may come to see trees as more than silent, stalwart plants and recognize the magic that lives in them and in us.

In Dark Times, Create.

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We’re all creator beings in one way or another. We co-create our lives and constantly shape our reality. The choice we have is to do so consciously or unconsciously. We can place our focus and thus infuse our thoughts with what we dread or with a finer vision of beneficial, loving outcomes.

While I do my best to maintain an awareness of where I place my attention and direct my energy to what I seek rather than what I wish to be free of, I confess I don’t always succeed and sometimes end up steeping in sorrow or fear. I know from experience where the way out of that state lies.

When I feel depressed or worried about the future, I write. Leaning into my creativity shifts my mood. These days, I’m writing feverishly, seeking to create a better future through words and imagination.

Whether you’re reading or writing, books are indeed a powerful means by which to alter perceptions and change the world. As the tenth doctor (Doctor Who) once said, “You want weapons? We’re in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world!”

Today, I’m working on the second book in The Michael Saga: Learning to See in the Dark. With this series, truly with all my work, I’m writing the way out of these shadow times and into a reality where we rise into healing for ourselves and the planet. May it be so.

Pantser or Outliner?

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Do you know what a “pantser” is? It’s an author who writes by the seat of their pants, meaning without detailed outlines. I’ve always been a pantser. Going in, the basic plot lives in my mind, and I have a strong sense of the main characters, but I allow my intuition and creativity to guide the unfolding story. Sometimes that involves surprising turns. Recently, a new character arose with an enticing plot point that shifted my direction and expanded my vision for the novel. I’m so excited to be writing this new aspect of the story. Welcome to The Michael Saga, Kamalani! This photo (purchased from iStock) looks a lot like how I imagine him. He’s a singer-songwriter and musician from Hawaii whose voice awakens listeners to the truth of their souls!

Some famous pantsers include Stephen King, Diana Gabaldon, George R.R. Martin, Margaret Atwood, Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Ernest Hemingway, and Mark Twain.