Author Randy Henderson has won L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Award for 2014! Henderson, who had previously amassed a series of honorable mentions, won with a story called “Memories Bleed Beneath the Mask,” which will be published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 30.
Henderson’s describes his debut novel, Finn Fancy Necromancy, as “a one-two punch of Awesome by a robot gorilla wearing enchanted gloves of Happiness.” Look for it from Tor Books in February 2015! Find out more about the book below.
Finn Fancy Necromancy will be the first in a series of darkly humorous urban fantasies, following the adventure of Finn Gramaraye. As Henderson says:
“[I]t is about a young necromancer wrongly exiled from our world in 1986 who returns twenty-five years later hoping to reconnect with the girl he loves, only to be immediately framed for murder. In order to clear his name, he must deal with sasquatch mercenaries, evil PTA witches, mobster gnomes, and worst of all, his dysfunctional family.”
“His brother Mort who is running the family necrotorium business now, his brother Pete who believes he’s a werewolf, though he is not, and his sister Samantha who is, unfortunately, allergic to magic. And he’s got Zeke, a fellow exile and former enforcer, who doesn’t really believe in Finn’s innocence but is willing to follow along in hopes of getting his old job back.”
Henderson, who refers to writing as a “psychological disorder,” spoke about his inspiration (and gaining a thick skin) in an interview for the WotF:
“Both my winning submission and my novel are stories that draw heavily from my own experiences and interests. So I guess there’s some truth to writing what you know, at least what you know and believe in emotionally. And the discipline I learned by writing and submitting to markets like Writers of the Future in spite of the rejections definitely helped me grow as a writer so that I could write the novel that I did.”
The Writers of the Future Contest began in 1983 and attracts entries worldwide in science fiction and fantasy. Twelve quarterly winners receive prizes and publication in an annual anthology, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future.
Congratulations to Henderson, and to all the finalists!
