Dee Henderson is possibly the foremost Christian author currently on the market. With her incredibly suspenseful mysteries, her believable characters and touching religious moments, it’s not hard to see why her readers keep coming back for more. I have reviewed her most popular series, “The O’Malleys,” here on Families.com, and now I’d like to tell you more about the author herself.
This proved to be a little bit difficult, as Dee is a very private person. She doesn’t share personal details with her fans, preferring to maintain a distance. Given her large fan base and popularity, I think that’s wise. However, by surfing the ‘net for a little while, I was able to find out enough about her to construct the following blog.
Dee Henderson lives in Illinios and is the author of two series: the Uncommon Heroes series and the O’Malley series of romantic suspense novels. Her books have won a host of awards, including the prestigious RITA Award, Bookseller’s Best Award, and National Reader’s Choice Award. True Honor is a finalist for the 2003 ECPA Gold Medallion Award for Fiction, The Truth Seeker and The Protector were finalists for the 2002 ECPA Gold Medallion Award for Fiction, The Guardian won the 2002 Christy Award, Romance category.
When asked for the secret of her success in writing, she says: I’m often asked if there is a secret to telling a good story. Is there a formula?
There is. But it’s not in making yourself into someone else, it’s learning how to define yourself. What do Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Dean Koontz, Patricia Cornwell, and Nora Roberts have in common? You can open a book and read a page and know without looking at the spine if the book is one of theirs. They have a voice – a way of telling a story that is uniquely theirs.
I have a one page definition which defines my voice that both I and my editor use. It’s my target and my ten arrows. As I write my 8th book, I know this formula works. It produces a Dee Henderson book that sounds like me.
Here’s the formula I use. It allows me to turn the huge mountain of telling a story into ten specific things to do:
• Have a 50 page explosive opening event
• Dialogue between people who know each other very well – humor and serious and heart-to-heart talks to balance whatever is happening in the plot
• Have a powerful plot that moves at a page turning pace
• Interesting characters who have depth and three dimensions
• Research details woven into every scene
• You can feel yourself in every scene
• Information comes in small pieces not long chunks
• Have a 30 page action-filled homerun ending
• Powerful 1st sentence for the book
• Solid scene endings that compel movement and have an excellent closing sentence
This is my formula. Your ten specific items will be different.
To create your own formula, read your own stories and look for your strengths. Think about the items every writer uses: Plot, Pace, Dialogue, Character, Description. Identify the things you want readers to remember about your books.
I am not a descriptive writer. So my formula doesn’t have an arrow for description. I write very terse and sparse. I target my arrow to a strength of how I convey information. Pace is very important to me, as are scene openings and closings. They get their own points.
It’s also a diagnostic tool. When my characters feel flat, I look at my formula. I often find the dialog doesn’t convey enough sense of how well the two people know each other. When the pace feels slow, I often find I need to cut down the amount of information and give it in smaller chunks.
Write to a formula. And you will hit a home run every time.
Dee’s favorite books include “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman and “Cure for the Common Life” by Max Lucado.
I had the opportunity to e-mail Dee and ask her for an interview for Families.com. She very graciously refused – with a deadline coming up she didn’t have the time, but she expressed her appreciation for the reviews and sends her regrets.
For a fun trivia game about the O’Malleys, click here.
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