Kevin Henry Would Love to Have Dinner With....

This is still my favorite blog I’ve ever written. I like updating it on every tour I do. Here is the latest update:

Who would you invite to a dinner party if you had the choice? Here's my list of the guests for my Writers Dinner. Mark your calendar, men. I'm sure the invites will be going out soon.

Joss Whedon (50) - Writer. Director, Producer. His current credits include The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, two of the biggest movies. Ever. Past credits include Buffy and Firefly among others. He is a third generation writer for TV and the movies. What more do I need to say? Amazing awesome.

J. Michael  Straczynski (60) - Writer and producer. Pulled together Babylon 5 continuity despite some vast corporate adversity. Has done comics, animation, all the good stuff. (Who ya gonna call? The Real Ghost Busters cartoon!)

Steven Moffat (53) - Writer and producer. Currently head writer for Doctor Who and has been involved with the new incarnation since it's restart in 2005. He wrote the scripts for the movie The Adventures of  Tin Tin and is responsible for the BBC show Sherlock. And don't forget, he's Scottish. The accent alone will be worth having him over for dinner.

If Mr. Moffat is not available I'd pick Russell T. Davies (52) - Former head writer for Doctor Who and was deeply involved with the series Torchwood.  He's Welsh, so he might like some of my obscure references. Maybe not.

N. John Smith - I'd love to have someone involved in the StarGate series, another well-crafted series, on the list. Smith was the one with the longest tenure so I picked him.

Jim Butcher (43). He is my current (living) author-hero. I'd like to ask him questions about The Dresden Files being made into a TV series, although there was only one season of that television series. . I'd like to talk about his feelings of the changes that were made to his original concept. It certainly was not the same look and feel as any of his books.

If Mr. Butcher isn't available I'd pick Gregory Widen - He sold a story that was made into the movie Highlander. Then the concept went viral before that was even a legitimate term. It spawned additional movies and a television series, none of which he wrote or was involved with that I could see. I’d ask the same sort of questions about the changes to his ideas.

Who did I forget? I'm sure there are plenty, but for now this will be a good start. Besides, I'm not sure where I could host that many people, especially if they all bring wives, girls friends or guests. (My guest would be romance writer Samantha Lucas. You should check her out!)

Amber Legacy

Amber Gifts Series

Book 3

Kevin B Henry

Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Time Travel

Publisher:Champagne Books, Burst

Date of Publication: November 03, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-77155-209-7

Number of pages:  78

Word Count: 25,000

Cover Artist: Ellie Smith

Tag line: A simple research project goes horribly wrong once murder and time travel get involved.

Book Description:

Mitchell and Crystin are living on the west coast of Florida in the Seventies. He has the beginnings of a loving family and couldn't be happier. It’s remarkable how quickly things can change. Perhaps the fate of a Teithwyr Amser is to never be stable, never find love without defending it against the rest of the world, against evil and against the fabric of time itself.

A simple TV documentary will spin Mitchell out of control as he first attempts to prove the filmmakers wrong and then ultimately find and protect his new family from a monster of his own creating.

Available at Amazon

Excerpt:

Part of me was like some detached, immature schoolboy. I was the hero, bound for adventure and looking for the infamous villain with hope of making all things right and returning to the hearth fires of my home, victorious. I was Robert Downey Jr. playing Sherlock Holmes. I was John Wayne playing almost any role. Hell, I was David Tennant playing The Doctor.

The problem was, I wasn’t playing, and if I wasn’t real damn careful I was going to end up playing John Wayne in The Cowboys or even worse, William Shatner in Generations. God, please make my death scene more interesting and meaningful than that. These thoughts poured through my brain as I walked across the street.

By the time I reached the opposite side I exuded cool, matter of fact demeanor and displayed no heroics. Simple confidence was my copilot. Caution was my mantra. I had an almost-wife and a beautiful baby girl to return to.

I took a winding path that led me to Commercial Road. The darkness was all engulfing. More than half the lampposts were not functioning. It cast every turn, every alleyway, every alcove in total blackness. I walked cautiously but without any appearance of trepidation. I did not want to appear an easy target.

Women of questionable morality approached and quickly departed. I was polite, but firm in my refusals. There was certainly no questioning their hygiene or their state of inebriation. A very high percentage of the female residents of Whitechapel turned to prostitution. Most began as a way to make a living, but as they turned more and more to alcohol to erase their memories, the act became more about the next drink and less about the money. Most could be had for the cost of a shot of gin, about fifty cents.

The first victim, Polly, went out one last time the evening of her death because she thought she looked exceptionally well. She had a new bonnet. She had no teeth, but the hat made all the difference, I’m sure.

I found the cut off that led south from Commercial Road and made the turn. Less than a block down this street was the Socialist Club and adjoining the club was a small open courtyard. As I walked toward the club entrance, I heard a sound I can only call a muffled gurgle. I sprinted the rest of the way to the courtyard opening. There, lying on the ground was Elizabeth Stride. Kneeling beside her was the one and only, Jack the Ripper. He was nothing I had ever expected.

The man stood as I came to a halt at the courtyard opening. He was much shorter than I would have expected. I had envisioned a mixture of Vincent Price, Frank Langella, in his early films and just a hint of Malcolm McDowell, again from his younger days. This Ripper was none of those.

As I mentioned, he was not tall, perhaps five foot six, no more than five foot seven. He was portly. That is the only word I can use to describe him. While his clothes fit well, they could not conceal his amble midsection, nor his arms and hands, which I can only describe as doughy.

His face surprised me the most. I had expected to see an angry, scared, possibly deformed individual. Jack’s face was almost angelic. It was round, and I would swear it appeared to have baby fat in the cheeks.

His eyes were sharp, clear and a grey color. He was perfectly clean-shaven, his light-colored hair trimmed short and well groomed, perhaps with lard, since styling mousse would not arrive for many years. I would have expected to see him in a cathedral pulpit or perhaps in a bank, not hunched over the fresh corpse of an unlucky prostitute.

About the Author:

From an early age, Kevin B. Henry was a voracious reader. His collection of science fiction, fantasy and mystery books bring tears of envy to the eyes of many small community libraries.

Kevin has worked as an educator, technology specialist and day laborer most of his adult life. During all that time he lived the life of a frustrated author. That it took 30 years for him to piece together the series, Amber Gifts is a testament that the best meals need slow cooking to bring out the flavor.

The Amber Gifts Series begins with Amber Gifts. The second story, which is really the first, is Amber Prelude, and is available now. The third story, Amber Legacy continues where Amber Gifts left off. It will be available in November 2015. All are published by the wonderful folks at the Champagne Book Group. A fourth story is in the process of being written.

Kevin is a natural story teller, so it’s logical that he lectures occasionally. Topics range from the implementation of cutting edge technology hardware to the creation, modification and use of e-books within education. He constantly pursues research to expand his range of possible topics. His most recent research revolved around the aerodynamic properties of reindeer. He’s also been known to include little known facts and trivia within his presentations. Did you know just 146 years ago today the Union Army marched into Atlanta. It took longer than anticipated. They were delayed by a traffic jam on I-75 and the toll booth on Ga. 400

He continues to live in the Mid-West without human or domesticated mammal companionship.

Amber Gifts Series: www.ambergifts.blogspot.com

Champagne Books www.champagnebooks.com

Twitter:        @Kevin_Henry

Facebook (Amber Gifts)  www.facebook.com/AmberGifts