The 11th Demon Surfaces! Bruce Hennigan Interview!

Welcome back! We're here today with a special guest: author Bruce Hennigan--a huge monster kid as well as the author of the "Christian Horror" Jonathan Steel Chronicles. Often described as a sort of "Jason Bourne versus demons" this is a wild series that doesn't pull the punches on its creatures. Bruce and I served in the trenches at Charisma Media and he's been incredibly supportive of my work over the years. I love having him drop by and I'm super excited that this week marks the release of his new monsterpiece The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos!

Greg Mitchell: Bruce, welcome back! Tell us what you've been up to since our last interview!

Bruce Hennigan: I have just released my third book in the Chronicles of Jonathan Steel, “The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos”. It’s been just over a year since the second book came out. Since then, I’ve switched publishers and it was a real struggle to get the third book to the marketplace. But, with this new publisher came a new freedom to expand my story beyond word count limits imposed by my previous publisher. So, it gave me a freedom to write the book I would want to read, not a book that had to fit very narrow parameters.

Starting over with a new publishing venture is always difficult. You have to convince the new guys that “this ain’t my first rodeo” and, as a published author, I kind of know what to do. Still, it’s really hard work to bring a new publisher in on something that I am so passionate about. I’ve spent the past six years with my main character Jonathan Steel so I know the potential of my book series. Selling that anew to the next publisher is always a challenge.

GM: Don't I know it! :p

BH: I also have signed a contract with B&H Publishing to release an update to my book, "Conquering Depression”. My co-author, Mark Sutton and I have finished the updated manuscript and the new book will be released in the fall of 2014 as Hope Again: A 30 Day Plan for Conquering Depression. So, let’s just say I’m still working very hard on writing, publishing, marketing, editing, blogging, tweeting, and building a platform to promote the new depression book and my continuing Chronicles of Jonathan Steel all while trying to keep up with my day job as a physician in the field of radiology. And, in this day and age of Obamacare, it isn’t easy being a physician!

GM: Busy indeed! On to the new book. Jonathan Steel is back for another round with Hell's worst. What's in store for him this time around?

BH: The third book, The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos is the next step in Steel’s battle against the demons on the Council of Darkness. In the second book, The 12th Demon: Mark of the Wolf Dragon, Steel finds a new partner in Theophilus King and the court mandates that Steel and his mentor, Dr. Cephas Lawrence are now guardians of Cephas’ nephew, Josh Knight. The four of them go back to Louisiana only to discover that Cephas has purchased a new home for his collection of evil artifacts and that home was the house once owned by Robert Ketrick, the host for the 13th demon in my first book, The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye.

Steel isn’t too happy about moving into Ketrick’s old house but they have no choice because it doesn’t take long for the next demon on the Council to move in on the territory of the 12th Demon, banished to hell in the second book. Soon, the 11th Demon shows up on the scene and takes on the demonic form of a chimera, a monster with the head of a goat, the head of lioness, the body of a lion, and a fire breathing serpent for a tail.

Of course, Steel’s old nemesis, Vivian Darbonne Ketrick is back searching for an artifact from Ketrick’s collection of evil torture devices known as the Ark of the Demon Rose. Steel doesn’t realize what is still hidden within the walls of Ketrick’s old house!  With the Ark, she hopes to control the Council of Darkness and force the members to give her a seat at the table. But, the 11th Demon has plans for the Ark. And soon, a new force of evil arises in competition for the Ark, a remnant of a once secret society from the time of the early church. This secret sect practices magic and misdirection and doesn’t flinch when it comes to killing off anyone who stands in its way.

Steel is soon dropped right into the middle of this mixture of evil and chaos and must confront the 11th Demon before he can open the Ark and release chaos on the world.

GM: Wow! Talk about action-packed! How has reception been on the series so far? Has that affected the direction you've taken the series?

BH: I am so blessed to have a very dedicated following. I get emails every week asking for the next book in the series. Switching to a new publisher always brings a delay of two years between books, so I have had to push very hard to release the third book within a year of the last book to please my fans. I can tell you that encouragement from my former editor, Andy Meisenheimer, and encouragement from my readers has allowed me to make my book series fresher and more scary than I ever thought I could get away with. In fact, I have taken some chances with my story line and with my characters because I feel safe with my readers.

With this new found freedom, I’ve upped the scare quotient, so to speak. No gratuitous violence or gore, but the store has more gripping and realistic elements. In a way, I’ve gained some freedom to take the series in a direction I’ve always wanted. You’ll be able to tell this in the latest book when we see the once stalwart and righteous Cephas Lawrence makes some very questionable choices near the end of the book that will come back to haunt him later on.

GM: You've spoken a bit about switching publishers and a new sense of freedom it's given you in a storytelling sense. What other changes has the changeover brought about?

BH: You know, Greg, I find it interesting that a few years back, Michael Hyatt, the former CEO of Thomas Nelson made the statement that Christian speculative fiction (CSF) was the fastest growing sub-genre. Unfortunately, this in no longer true if you look at the sales numbers and talk to authors like the two of us who have been burned on our prior contracts.

This past February, I had the good fortune of attending the PLATFORM conference and sit next to Michael. We discussed what I call the implosion of CSF at major publishers. He wasn’t too surprised. He encouraged me to go the route I’ve chosen for now, Westbow Press. His advice was to take control of the publishing process for myself as the traditional publishers just don’t seem to know how to market CSF. Be an entrepreneur, he said. Go it alone and make it work!

Let’s face it, our kind of fiction gets stuck right next to Amish Romances in the Christian fiction section. As a man, I wouldn’t darken that shelf with my presence looking for a good, scary book with “redemptive” values. I’d go back over to the horror section. But, our books are labeled Christian fiction and would never be placed where they should be placed in the book store, that is, right next to Stephen King’s works.

It’s even more frustrating in the ebook marketplace. Who is going to browse through “Christian fiction” to find a Christian worldview based book of horror or science fiction or fantasy? CSF is this animal that the readers crave to ingest and yet the online and brick and mortar bookstores don’t know how to handle these books. We get lost in the shuffle and so the traditional publishers get burned and even the good ones willing to take a chance on an entire imprint of CSF like Charisma have to make tough business decisions and stop taking on new books and new authors in that genre. It is frustrating as you are all too aware of.

That being said, as I mentioned above, being in the driving seat I can write the book I truly envision without word constraints or “reading levels”. Westbow is a self publishing entity but they are very robust in imposing some limits on language and content. That being said, I was able to “get away” with a lot more in my current book that the first two books. One of my characters has an intimate encounter in The 11th Demon and while I did not describe it graphically, I know that previous publishers would not have allowed me to have such a scene no matter how “sterile” I could make it.

GM: I understand that this is meant to be a 13-book series. I think the last time we spoke, you had it planned up to Book 5. Where are you at now? Any hints at what's to come?

BH: Under my old contract, I had already written the first four books. But, now that I am no longer limited to 75,000 words per book, I can go back and add in content I had to remove. In The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos, I brought back a character I took out of the first book and I was able to bring back some flashbacks cut from the first two books. 

GM: Neat!

BH: In fact, this third book is a good “settling in” type story. The reader gets to know so much more about my characters as I write each scene from a first person point of view from the POV of each of the six major characters.

That being said, I am re-editing the fourth book, The 10th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone back to its original length, almost twice the word limit of the first two books. In so doing, I am able to build the story to a climax that will spin off into a science fiction themed series called The Node of God. Trust me, very few publishers would touch that so I’m going it on my own! The first book in that series is titled, The Node of God: Darksyn Rising.

GM: So Jonathan Steel is getting a spinoff series?! I had no idea!

BH: The 10th Demon is about UFOs, extraterrestrials, and one of the coolest monsters I’ve ever created. In fact, after a pivotal scene in which Steel has to face off against this creature in a totally dark cave hundreds of feet underground, I had trouble sleeping! I love it!

The fifth book, The 9th Demon: A Wicked Numinosity is partially completed and I am glad I didn’t go ahead and finish it while under contract. I’m bringing back a major character from the first three books that is, shall we say, presumed dead and the story will culminate at Stonehenge. Lots of paganism, Wicca, alternate reality just to whet the reader’s whistle.

The sixth book, The 8th Demon: Night of the Skinwalkers is partially completed and takes Steel and company into a totally different direction exploring the creatures and monsters of our own North American Indian heritage.

Someone asked me about zombies and, yes, the seventh book will feature a zombie like creature and explores voodoo in the deep South. In fact, every book in the entire 13 book series is outlined and ready for me to settle in and write. Of course, story elements will change as I complete the individual books but my over arching story is canon. I have already written the third to last book as it reveals ALL of Steel’s lost memories and sets up the final two books.

So, you see, Greg, I have lots of stories left in the Chronicles of Jonathan Steel. The first four books will complete an over arching story that will set the stage for what I call “Phase 2”, the next four books in which we learn some very disturbing history of our main character, Jonathan Steel. The reader will NOT like where these books are going, I guarantee it! But, if they hang with me through the last books in the series, I will bring it all around to a satisfying conclusion.

Once this series is done, I am already planning Steel’s next “adventures” as a private investigator. Think of “Night Stalker” meets “Fringe”! So, no rest for the weary. 

GM: Wow, this is all really exciting. I had no idea how extensive you had this series planned.

BH: This is why I need anyone interested in these types of stories to please, please, buy OUR books! Show the industry that we have a following. Let’s shock them into reality. Unleash the monsters! Yeah!

GM: Hey, I'm all for more monster fiction :) Speaking of which: Lots of supernatural shows on TV these days! It seems that there's an explosion of horror genre television. Even the mainstream audiences are being pulled into, what is generally described as, a niche market. What do you think the draw is to the horror genre? Why can't we turn away?

BH: Greg, I am an apologist, or one who defends the truthfulness of the Christian faith, and I’ve been asked this type of question many, many times. Why are we so obsessed with the immortal evil monsters? Why is it that we refuse to believe in God, but we glut ourselves on zombies and vampires and werewolves?

It boils down to a simple need. We crave a connection with the divine, with the eternal. Our “God shaped vacuum” is there because as Paul wrote in Romans, we are without excuse for refusing to believe in God. The evidence of His existence is overwhelming. When we look at the creation we see God’s fingerprint everywhere. And yet, in our current self centered, “me” absorbed, hedonistic, narcissistic society we refuse to submit ourselves to the authority of a Creator. We have chosen to be our own gods. Again, Paul predicted this in Romans

And yet, we crave the eternal. Since we have abandoned the truth of the Scriptures and God, we must find something to fill that void. Enter the vampire; the zombie; the dark creatures of the night that eclipse the good in our souls. We find them repulsive and yet alluring. And, we try to recreate them in a lighter image — Twilight for instance. No wonder stories about these “lite” version forms of the evil creatures fail. They can never exist in the light. We can’t drag them out of the shadows without revealing their true nature. And, when we look into the face of pure evil, it serves to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt there is pure good and that comes only from God. His existence is inescapable and these lesser forms of immortality are faint echoes of the reality of God’s existence.

And thus, we are caught suspended between darkness and light refusing to accept the goodness of God and willing to embrace the darkness of the shadowy creatures of our imaginations; our vain thoughts; our arcane inner self. Sorry, I wax profound or profane, depending on how you look at it.

I think this is why CSF is SO important right now. We can write about these creatures in the context of redemption; silhouetted against the light of God. We can bring a glimmer of hope to the endless desperation around us. Press on, I say. We MUST continue to write about the dark creatures of our souls only so we can point our readers to the light of the Savior!

GM: Good insights. You and I are on the same level when it comes to our love of monsters. Seen any good monster movies lately--whether they be newer ones or older ones?

BH: The last 12 months have seen some interesting movies. I enjoyed Pacific Rim better than I had anticipated. I managed to get through RIPD and it wasn’t too terribly bad. Of course, we have the main stream Hobbit and its “monsters” and I’m looking forward to Smaug. Thor had a few monstrous creatures. World War Z was better than I’d hoped but the zombies were merely fast moving, mind herd zombies.

But, I’d say my favorite guilty pleasure so far is Sleepy Hollow.

GM: Me, too! I find myself unable to turn away, ha ha. 

BH: I love the demonic creatures, “Sulu” with his head on backwards and the Headless Horseman — yeah! What a strange show but I can’t miss an episode! The new Dracula is still up in the air for me. I like that it brings back the true evil nature of vampires and the luscious set pieces are great backdrop. I’m just not sure where the story, so bizarre, is heading. I am looking forward to Helix, the new Syfy show set in Antarctica. Shades of The Thing, I hope.

And, I am a Whovian — obsessed with Doctor Who. I and my daughter dressed up as characters for the 50th anniversary movie in our area. Doctor Who has some interesting monsters. The creature from “Hide”, the haunted house story was promising but ultimately turned out to be (spoilers, sweetie!) a spurned lover. A return to the Ice Warriors showed promise. And, of course, there are always the Daleks! Exterminate! I’m looking forward to the return of the Silence, the Cybermen, and my favorite Who “monster”, the weeping angels in the Christmas special. Geronimo!

 

GM: Time to sell some books. Where can folks pick up the new Jonathan Steel adventure?

BH: You can check out my own website, www.steelchronicles.com and order the books at a discount. I’ll ship them. Or, you can find all three books, including the newest, The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and it’s available as an ebook through both vendors. You can get your local bookstore to order it.

Thanks for having me on your site, Greg. It’s been a pleasure.

GM: It was great to have you back, Bruce, and super informative. I can't wait to read The 11th Demon and I'm pleasantly surprised and very intrigued about the plans you have for this series. Your passion is certainly an inspiration to me in my own writing, sir :)

That's it for this one, folks. Check out Bruce's books. The man writes from the heart and a real love for his subject matter. As for me, it's back to my cave and more writing, writing, writing!

'Til next time!

Interview with "12th Demon" author Bruce Hennigan!

Just in time for this ghoulish part of the year, Christian Horror author and apologetics speaker Bruce Hennigan releases his new book The 12th Demon: Mark of the Wolf Dragon from Realms Fiction today! Bruce has been a real supporter of my Coming Evil books, so it was a thrill and honor for me to get to read his latest. The 12th Demon continues the supernatural supsense of Bruce's debut book The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye, where man-of-action Jonathan Steel battles the forces of the occult. Bruce was kind enough to return for another great interview. Now, without further ado...

GM: Bruce, first off, welcome back to the blog! It’s been a year since we chatted about your debut release The 13th Demon. What’s been going on for this past year?

BH: Thanks for having me back, Greg. The past year has been pretty exciting. I’ve had the opportunity to speak at several venues on Christian Speculative Fiction and Christian apologetics in addition to promoting The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye. My first book has gotten pretty good reviews and I’ve been just as busy writing the third and fourth book in the series. I’ve also been working on an update to my non-fiction work, a book on depression. And, I’ve been busy with writing dramas and working with a local filmmaker to produce one of my movie scripts. A lot is going on and sometimes I meet myself coming and going.

GM: The new book is out! The 12th Demon picks up where the last book left off. Tell us about the book. What can the fans of The 13th Demon expect in the sequel?

BH: More monsters. More horror. More blood. And, more redemption. The story picks up literally a couple of weeks after The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye. My main character, Jonathan Steel must find a way to help the teenager, Joshua Knight. Cephas Lawrence, the older “mentor” to Steel is Josh’s uncle and the story picks up with a meeting between Steel and Josh’s attorney to determine the guardianship of the boy. But, before the meeting can get underway, an assassin from Steel’s past shows up and shoots up the restaurant where they are having lunch.

Steel’s past comes roaring back into the fray and his amnesia proves to be more frustrating than ever as he has to face this assassin from his past. She proves to be not only a bitter enemy, but a former love interest! Then, out of the woodwork, Rudolph Wulf emerges from Eastern Europe to claim the territory of the 13th demon. He clashes immediately with Vivian Darbonne Ketrick who also claims the territory of the 13th demon. Wulf is in league with the 12th demon and has developed a special blood that gives his followers “vampire majick”.

When Josh’s girlfriend joins a vampire clan, he goes back to his old ways in order to “save” her and ends up in the clutches of Rudolph Wulf. Steel not only has to find Josh and face off against another demon, but he also has to fend off Vivian and the assassin, Raven. The story builds to a climax in the caverns beneath Mount Kogain where a cadre of monstrous beings waits to become a vampire army under the direction of Rudolph Wulf.

Greg, one of my goals in my books is to introduce the reader to key issues that impact the life of a Christian. I deal with the idea of forgiveness and the “unpardonable sin”. Can you do something so heinous, so horrible that you go beyond God’s ability to forgive? Good question and I hope I’ve answered it in the story.

GM: Halloween is blessedly upon us once again, and your book has its fair share of some gnarly monsters! I had a great time imagining some of the nasties you’ve described in this book. What struck me as really neat, though, was not only do you have the sort of exaggerated “Hollywood vampire” in here, but you also delve into the very real vampire subculture. Do you moonlight as a vampire or was there some research involved?

BH: I keep my coffin in the pool house. I like the sound of running water.

I have been fascinated with vampires my entire life. I’ve talked about this in my blog, but growing up in the country with a brother who is a taxidermist I was surrounded by the macabre. His “shop” was filled with beady eyed, fanged monsters that glared down at you from the walls when you walked in. And, the floor was covered with raw flesh, bulging eyes, skulls, skeletons and the like. It was far too easy for me to imagine werewolves and vampires lurked in the dark shadowy woods around my house.

 

GM: Nasty!

BH: For the book, I did a lot of research into the myth behind the vampire, specifically Vlad, the Impaler. Why was he called the Impaler? Where did that practice of impaling come from? How was it related to vampires? And, where did the vampire myth originate? Lots of good questions. I tried to weave a historical narrative into the book that traces the practice of impaling from its origins right up through its influence on the development of crucifixion and then its use by Vlad, the man upon whom Count Dracula was based. Greg, I thought the fictional accounts of vampires were pretty ghoulish. But, history is far more disturbing. It is amazing what we do to our own fellow humans! I really had to filter a lot of the disturbing practices or the reader would really be horrified. The reality was horrific enough as I wrote it.

GM: I know in writing sequels for me, it’s sometimes difficult at first, putting myself back in the world of my characters. Did you have trouble picking up the threads again to continue the Jonathan Steel Chronicles or did it come right to you?

BH: Greg, my problem is not picking up the threads, but holding back on the big “reveals”. I want to tell Steel’s story right now. But, it is better to entice the reader with bits and pieces of his story.

J. J. Abrams, who created Lost and directed the new Star Trek movies, refers to his “mystery box”. I heard him give a talk to TED about a box his grandfather purchased for him at a magic store. The box was a “mystery box” in that it contained a random assortment of magic tricks and on the outside there was a huge question mark. Abrams never opened the box and he keeps it in plain view at all times to remind him that the best stories are in pursuit of what is IN the “mystery box”. I know what is in Steel’s “mystery box” and it is very easy to pick up the threads again and move forward with the story.

GM: In The 12th Demon, we learn a little more about Jonathan Steel’s past. Is it your plan to reveal a little bit about his mysterious origins through every novel, or only when appropriate.

BH: When I began The Chronicles of Jonathan Steel I knew from the start I would tell his story. Since he has amnesia, I had to sit down and construct his backstory from start to finish. Then, I took that backstory and divided it up into segments of “reveal” for the reader. Each “reveal” will be at the heart of the story of a book in the series. As we move through the books, more of Steel’s past will be revealed filling in not only his story, but the story of the twelve demons as well. For, both stories are intricately intertwined!

GM: In our last interview, you mentioned that you had the end of the series written in advance, so that you knew where everything was leading up. Has that planned stayed in place, or do you find yourself revising the ending as you discover new things during the writing process?

BH: I know what is in Steel’s “mystery box”. There are hints along the way; tiny clues as to what is really going on with this man and his “amnesia”. And, as the stories progress, I will give more and more clues. As you mentioned, I’ve already written the last THREE books in the series to make sure I know where I am headed with the story. Hopefully, Greg, my readers will keep buying the books and I can tell all 13 stories!

 

GM: No doubt! I want to read them all and see how this storyline concludes!

 

BH: In the planning phases for the series, I have placed very gross markers along the way. As I am writing the stories, those markers come into focus, so to speak. The changes I make along the way are more on the order of fine tuning than huge plot changes. Sometimes, as the story progresses, I feel the need to move one of those markers to an earlier or later point in the overall story. I just finished the final draft of the fourth book, The 10th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone and decided to move a major character development from later into the series to the fourth book. It was very painful but in the context of the immediate story it made so much more sense to do this NOW! So, I took a risk and I did it. It will sends some ripples down the line into the future books, but I think the changes will make for a better overall story arc.

GM: What’s next for Jonathan Steel? What terrors might he face in The 11th Demon?

BH: The 11th Demon will be a bit of a departure from the feel of the first two books. From a technical point of view, I’ve written the book in first person point of view from the point of view of each of the main characters. I did this on purpose so I could get to know them better. I get inside the head of Steel, Josh, Cephas, Vivian, and Theo. It was a blast playing around with how they think and how they talk. And, the story is a bit more intimate; not as epic but every bit as powerful. You’ll learn a lot about Vivian’s past and why she became the witchy thing that she is. You learn about Cephas’ dark secret and why he pursues evil as he does. And, there is a flashback to the very beginning of time and space itself from the point of view of the 11th demon. Oh, and we get to meet another group of evil beings that kind of put the Dark Council in the shadow; a rival group to the Council vying for the attention of their dark Master! I’m hoping The 11th Demon: Ark of the Demon Rose is out next October!

GM: What other projects are you working on these days? I know you have a career in non-fiction as well.

BH: I have been approached by one of my publishers to update my book, Conquering Depression. I’m hard at work with my co-author, Mark Sutton, on bringing this book to the publisher as soon as possible. The book originally came out in February 2001 and the world has changed so much since then. I was at a conference recently and most of the participants were below the age of 35. I was shocked how many of them claimed they were depressed! Of course, most of them were Christian “artists” and you and I both know how artists can get pretty emotional. After all, it is our skewed view of the world as it should be that often “depresses” us. And, that is why we create; why we write or paint or draw to try and redefine this broken world in view of our connection with the Imago Dei, the image of God. The brokenness presses on us and when we cannot fix this world, that friction; that fission is what drives our emotions often downward instead of upward.

Sorry, I waxed poetic, there. But, this book I believe will be so important. Even after 11 years, we still get emails almost every week that the book “saved my life”. How do you even begin to articulate a response to that? I just thank God that He used my huge failure for His Glory and to help others.

I am also pursuing some other genres of fiction with my agent, specifically historical fiction and a couple of detective stories. I am continuing to work on drama. I’ve been writing church based drama since 1989 and I’m still active at the state level in the creative arts in a church setting. I speak at our state drama festival every year. This year, I’m working with children’s dramatic pieces.

I continue to work with Christian apologetics and I speak every chance I get in an effort to equip Christians with the tools they need to defend the Christian faith in this godless age. When you consider that some studies show that up to 75% of teenagers will lose their faith by the time the complete college, it shows how poorly our churches are preparing them to face their inevitable intellectual slaughter.

GM: Thanks for taking the time to stop and talk up the new book, Bruce. Any parting words?

BH: Greg, you and I both know how hard it is to get the word out about the kind of books we write. Christian speculative fiction is the fastest growing sub-genre right now but the books stores, and frankly, the publishers don’t know how to market these books. They don’t know what to do with them. And yet, there is a huge demand for these kinds of books. I would like for your readers, and mine, to get the word out. Buy our books and give them as gifts. Ask libraries and church book stores to carry them. Champion Christian speculative fiction before we are a dying breed. So, go out and buy both of Greg’s books and pick up my new book, The 12th Demon: Mark of the Wolf Dragon.

Greg, thanks again for having me on the blog. I can’t wait to read YOUR next book!

 

GM: Indeed! Some big news on that is just around the corner!

 

In the meantime, check out Bruce's new book. It's available in print and Kindle formats!

Catching Up

For those keeping score at home, I've got a couple things floating around the internet.

First up is a piece I wrote tracing back the inspirations behind my take on "Christian Horror" to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You can read that over at edgy suspense writer Estevan Vega's site.

Also, fellow Realms author (whom I intereviewed right here) Bruce Hennigan posted an excellent and well thought-out review of Enemies of the Cross. It's a real thrill to see that someone "gets" it.

It's tremendously fulfilling to see that the Trilogy is making progress, but the journey--and the work--is not yet complete. We still have one more book to go! I'm grateful for the support of those who have taken this strange ride with me and I hope we can bring more along.

Starting April 2, I'll be posting my behind-the-scenes "end notes" on Enemies. Don't miss it! But, be ye warned: It is full of spoilers. Want to start reading the book today? Here are some handy links to the Kindle and Nook versions. Enjoy.

Interview with Christian Horror Author Bruce Hennigan!

It's October, folks, and what better way to celebrate the season than to settle down with a good old-fashioned monster tale. Since you've all already read my book (you have read it, right? :p) I want to direct you to Bruce Hennigan and his new frightening tale The 13th Demon in stores today courtesy of Realms Fiction!



I was familiar with Bruce as a reviewer, as he offered some fine insights into The Strange Man when it was featured in the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour. Doing a little background check, I discovered Bruce was an author as well, specializing in that odd realm of "Christian Horror". When I found out a month or so later that my very own publisher had picked up Bruce's book, I was super-excited. In honor of today's release, me and Bruce sit down to talk about his book, the struggles we've shared in writing in this sub-genre, and chatting it up about Halloween, monsters, and all things kewl.

Greg Mitchell: Bruce, thanks for coming by! Tell us a bit about yourself for the readers at home.

Bruce Hennigan: I don’t want to reveal everything about myself. That might land me in an institution! After all, if you are an author you understand that there is a darkness in us that fuels our imagination for good or for bad. And, in my darkness there are monsters!

GM: Of course!

BH: Okay, so my alter ego is that of a doctor, a physician practicing in the field of radiology. I really do have X-Ray vision! It took me four years of college, four years of medical school, and four years of residency but now, I can see through just about anything! Not really. I rely on diagnostic imaging for that. But, my true love is writing.


I started writing when I was 8 and I haven’t stopped. I love to write poetry, mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. I live in Shreveport, Louisiana with my wife, Sherry. My son is married and getting a master’s degree in Austin and my daughter lives at home and is going to college. They know I’m not quite right so they tolerate my writing.

I have a book of children’s plays “Montana Holmes Adventures in the Bible” published by Contemporary Drama. I co-authored “Conquering Depression: A Thirty Day Plan to Finding Happiness” by B&H Publishing. Now you know where the darkness comes from! I was the drama director for my church for fifteen years and in the time wrote dozens of full length plays and over 150 short dramas as well as screenplays for many short films.

Out of my doubts and questions and the relentless questioning of my medical colleagues I have become a trained apologist through Reasons to Believe and I am a Certified Apologetic Instructor with my own denominational convention. I am also a graduate of the Arthur Murray School of Dance (something to escape to while in medical school).

GM: Your book—The 13th Demon—hits stands today. Exciting stuff! What’s the book about?

BH: I have a background in apologetics, or the defense of the Christian faith. And, as I learned all the cool stuff that makes Christianity true and rational, I wondered why hasn’t anybody written about this? One of my favorite authors was Michael Crichton and he wrote these fast paced books with a scientific core of truth. My favorite is The Andromeda Strain and next, Jurassic Park.

I wanted to write a story that used some of this information and I realized our society really doesn’t accept that evil is real or that demons exist. So, why not start with the basics. That is where The 13th Demon came from. It’s about a mysterious man, Jonathan Steel, with amnesia traveling the countryside looking for people who are under the oppression of evil; people for whom there is no rational help. His real goal is to locate a creature known as “the 13th demon”. This creature brought tragedy to the life of Jonathan Steel. He goes to help a pastor in a small town whose church has come under the possession of evil in the form of vile creatures such as giant spiders and a few other creepy things I don’t want to mention for fear of spoilers. When Jonathan Steel arrives, he discovers his nemesis is in this church and he sets out to put together a team to confront and defeat “the 13th demon”. In the process, he has to examine his motives. Does he really want to help others? Or, does he just want revenge? He discovers that the evil events in this small town are intricately woven into his past and he must confront the man behind the creature, an evil businessman who has ties to the ancient world of the Aztecs and their practice of human sacrifice. Somewhere hidden in the small town is an arcane altar craving for fresh blood! It is the Altar of the Spiral Eye. The book has elements of horror and mystery and romance and a touch of science fiction, and, oh yes, a few monsters thrown in!

GM: Wait, giant spiders, human sacrifices, Aztec cults, and an altar craving fresh blood? I'm sold! How many books have you got planned for this series? How far are you along now?

BH: When I first tried to get the book published, I ran into the typical barriers most speculative fiction writers do in the Christian fiction realm. This was way back in 1999. But, one editor really liked the story. He said the problem was, “No one in the CBA will ever publish this story.” But, he asked me a simple question. Are there twelve more demons?

I hadn’t really thought about it at that time. I was looking at a trilogy at best. But, as the possibilities of telling thirteen stories with a specific demon at the heart of the story would allow me to really explore all the cool apologetic stuff I had learned. I saw the possibility of exploring many of our modern “myths” such as vampires, werewolves, zombies, UFOs, extraterrestrial life, voodoo, Wicca, virtual reality, and any number of cool paranormal phenomena and use those elements to convey the truth of Christianity. So, there will be twelve more books. I have a five book contract and the first four books are written. The others are outlined. And, I’ve written two books near the end of the series, one that details all of Jonathan Steel’s past and the last book so I would know where I’m headed.

GM: That's encouraging to hear. I always love it when the authors of my favorite series know where they're going. Otherwise, they tend to ramble or chase rabbits. I like me some clear direction :p So, what was the inspiration behind Jonathan Steel and his adventures? Take us back to the beginning.

BH: The story for The 13th Demon seemingly came from out of nowhere. I had finished writing a non-fiction book, “Conquering Depression” and decided to take six weeks out of my writing schedule and read. At the end of that six weeks, I was going to pick up one of my two dozen novels in various stages of development and finish it. During that time I had two “what ifs” come up. What if an assassin or mercenary became a Christian? How would he change? How would he deal with his past? And, the other question was, if a Christian lost his memory, would he still be a Christian? Does the conversion experience transcend mental damage? I filed those away. Two other factors in the book were my love of apologetics as I mentioned above and my recent battle with a recalcitrant group of church members who didn’t want to relocate our church from a declining neighborhood to an up and coming area. I was the vice chairman of that committee and I was amazed at how many of our members “worshiped” the building!

The last night of my six weeks found me empty and directionless. I had not been able to get excited about any of my books. So, I turned to God in desperation and prayed for guidance realizing that I may never write anything again! I woke up the next morning with the story of The 13th Demon in my head. I started writing on August 1st and finished on the 31st. The book came out of a combination of “what if” questions, a real life situation, my desire to use apologetics in a creative way as C. S. Lewis had, and a huge dollop of divine inspiration.

And, the book would give me the chance to write about monsters! The Dialing for Dollars 3:30 Movie had a lot to do with it. I grew up in the country and every day when I came home, an afternoon movie was always shown on one of our local channels. Those films featured a monster movie from the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. I would make myself a mayonnaise and mustard sandwich (we were kind of poor and didn’t have lunch meat) and a glass of chocolate milk and I would hunker down in front of the television and get the willies scared out of me.

GM: That sounds heavenly. Seriously...well, without the mayonnaise and mustard sandwich. I prefer to enjoy my horror with a glass of milk and cookies.

BH: I was always fascinated with science fiction and monsters. My scariest movie of all time growing up was Attack of the Crab Monsters where giant crabs on an island would pinch people’s heads off, eat them, and then telepathically lure the other people into the caves with that person’s voice. To this day crabs really creep me out!

GM: We’ve got something in common in that both of our books were originally self-published before being picked up by Realms. Were there any unique challenges in making the journey from self-publishing to traditional publishing? Is there anything different about this version than the original?

BH: My frustration with getting the book published came out of a lack of understanding by traditional Christian publishers of a growing market for Christian “speculative fiction”. I saw early on that with the popularity of the Left Behind series, Christians were ready for something gritty and more realistic. It took someone like Ted Dekker to break through that glass ceiling for those of us who write this kind of fiction.

My delays in getting my book published were due to this factor and having two agents in a row who dithered away my time and never did the job they promised to. One was a fraud. The other refused to represent fiction! Six years passed after the book was written wasting time with agents and a clueless publishing industry. In desperation, I decided to self publish. My rationale was to get the book out there and see if I had an audience. If the audience responded, I would have a track record. If not, I’d go back to my X-rays and be a happy, but frustrated doctor. I self published The 13th Demon in 2006 and hired a marketing firm. The book sold fairly well for a self-published book. But, I was very pleased when reviews came in saying things like “I can’t believe this is a self-published book. It’s too well written. And the cover is too good.” I knew then I had a chance. I hooked up with the Cadillac of self publishers, BookPros for my second book, The 12th Demon: Vampyre Majick and that was when one of my author friends recommended four different agencies. I contacted all four literary agencies and the best of them took me as a client. Of course, it helped I had a book by B&H Publishing on depression. But, the track record of my two self-published books gave me credibility. My new agent, Jeff Jernigan of Hidden Value Group took my third book and within a month we were contacted by Realms. Four months of back and forth and negotiation resulted in a five book deal and they wanted to pick up the first two self published books.

Now, having a contract and with some breathing room, I went back and rewrote major portions of the first two books. By this time, I had four books finished and I had a better idea where the story arc was headed.

GM: Same here. That really gave me the opportunity to go back and add little touches that would be paid off later in the series.

BH: I was able to fine tune and tweak both books. Both books are much, much shorter. That was my main frustration: being held to a word limit. I had to excise entire characters from both books to make them shorter. In fact, reading my first book now, I can see the fine scars where I did the plastic surgery.

GM: I share your pain, ha ha.

BH: I know what is missing although the story holds together much better after having worked with my excellent editor, Andy Meisenheimer. In fact, Andy did something that was very dangerous. He said, “Make it scarier!” And, so both books are much scarier than the originals and, yes, have a few more “monsters” in them!

GM: That's incredible! I think my editors would be too scared to give me that charge :p

This being the glorious Halloween season and all, I’d be remiss not to talk about some of your favorite Halloween memories. Do you have any—that is, I’m assuming since you’re writing a book about demons and monsters, Halloween is a special time for you :p

BH: My favorite year was when I dressed up as Beetlejuice. Full makeup and hair – the works! My kids were tiny and I had a blast driving through MacDonald’s and asking the girl for a Happy Meal. Being in drama and theater and having a best friend who dabbles in horror makeup helped. My favorite Halloween was the year we created a “Christian” themed haunted house called Eternity House and populated it with all kinds of evil beings from the past. We took this really tall guy and created a neck stump and shoulders to build up his height. We brought his shoulders down to his real arms and it looked like Goliath was holding his severed head. People would walk into the room and think Goliath was slumped in the corner with his severed head in his lap and then the eyes would open and he would talk! They ran like frightened sheep! Lots of creepy makeup for the demons in hell, too. We had a blast.



I still dress up every Halloween. This year, I’m going to be the Witchking from Lord of the Rings. I have a replica of the actual sword in the movie. Not the plastic one. The real sword!

GM: That's ambitious. I'm planning on going as a dime store Dracula :p

BH: I was eight and dressed like Wolfman, one Halloween. I lived out in the country and I was outside waiting for dark so we could go Trick or Treating. My brother was a taxidermist and he lived on the same property as my parents. He would take all the “offal” down in the woods and dump them out. Those scraps attracted some strange creatures. I was standing in my driveway when suddenly this cacophony of howling came out of the woods. I was paralyzed with fear! The howling grew closer and all I could think of was the wolfman was coming! Out of those woods burst a pack of wild dogs fighting over a deer skull. They had the spine and skull stretched out between them growling and howling and they were coming right toward me! I didn’t move a muscle and the dogs swirled around me, howling and snarling and fighting with each other and moved across the yard into the woods on the other side of my front yard. That was the most scared I think I have ever been. I took off the wolf man costume and I was Superman instead! To this day, werewolves frighten me far more than vampires. In 2009 we went to London and I stood at the top of one of those escalators leading down into the Underground (subway) where a famous scene from An American Werewolf in London was shot. I couldn’t go down the escalator! We walked another block to a different entrance. That is how strongly werewolves frighten me.

GM: I love werewolves. My favorite monster growing up. What were your favorite scary stories or movies growing up? How has that changed since you’ve gotten older, or has it?

BH: I guess you gather that my favorite scary stories were from those old monster movies. Frankenstein (1930’s), The Wolfman, Dracula, The Blob, those crab monsters, The Black Scorpion, the UFOs from Invasion of the Flying Saucers (You know, the one where the UFO crashes into the Washington Monument). I read science fiction voraciously and when I was old enough, moved on to Stephen King.

As I have gotten older, the movies that “scare” me do so more through suspense or psychology. I still recall the first time I saw Alien in a dark theater! That movie ruined my underwear. But, this may sound silly, but the movie that was most frightening to me in my late teens was Jaws. I had to get out of a lake in central Louisiana after I saw the movie because I was convinced there was a shark in the water! I loved Aliens but that was because it was more action oriented. I loved Jurassic Park although the book was much better to me than the movie could ever be. The Thing still haunts my nightmares and I’m debating whether or not I can take the prequel! I could go on and on. But, I would say the two books that frightened me most and that I have read more than once just to see how the author did it were The Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. I still think the movie adaptation of Silence is the most faithful and well done movie adaptation to date.

GM: I get asked this question a lot, so let me turn the tables a bit: Have you experienced any push back from the Christian community over your macabre subject matter? Likewise, how does the horror community react to the overt Christian elements?

BH: Just yesterday I got this email from a local Christian radio station. I had bought an ad for my upcoming book launch “party” here in Shreveport and the person had an issue with me calling my book “Christian horror”. “You can’t do that.” She said. So, I pulled the ad.

Way back in 2000 I gave my manuscript to a fiction editor for a large publisher. I met with her in person and she was well aware of my manuscript for “Conquering Depression” and my freelance writing for an online publication with LifeWay “Extra”. She was so excited about The 13th Demon. She loved the entire concept and couldn’t wait to read the next book. But! There was always that, But! Then she went on to tell me how my book was too violent, too edgy, too far out on the fringe for the CBA. That was when I found out what the CBA was. “I love your book, but let’s face it. No Christian publisher will EVER publish this book.”

GM: I've heard that before.

BH: I ran into that time and time and time again over the ensuing six years. To his credit, my first agent who later turned out to be a fraud and was being prosecuted for it, believed in my book and thought I had a chance to get published because of the popularity of Ted Dekker, at that time a new author on the scene. But, he got nowhere. I still don’t know for sure if he ever really submitted my book proposal to publishers!

Now, what is very interesting is my second book about vampires received some amazingly positive reviews from the secular book review community. They were not put off at all by the Christian elements. Of course, I wasn’t too heavy with the “preaching”, if you will. I let my character’s Christian worldview carry the story. And, the apologetic elements were presented in a very objective fashion with convincing science or history. One book reviewer even admitted that he was going to rethink his revulsion toward Christianity because of my book! He said “If a Christian author can be this honest with his work and not back off from the reality of evil, maybe there is hope for Christianity. I am willing to reconsider my opinion of Christians.” Now that was astonishing!

GM: Wow, that is fantastic. What a testimony!

BH: I was hoping my book would have just that kind of reaction to a “cross over” market and have an appeal to non-believers and skeptics.

Of course, my greatest frustration is having my book tucked way back in the corner with the other Christian fiction books instead of being with the horror or science fiction or fantasy sections! I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about.

GM: I do. It's like the kiss of death. No joke, I went to my local Hastings and the "Christian Fiction" section was tucked in the very back of the store. Waaaay back there, in a tiny little corner. People who would like the horror of our stories just don't seem interested in walking to the "Christian" section of their bookstore. It's a buzz kill, I guess. Horror is often equated with rebellion and going against the norm--I sometimes fear those people see a horror novel in the Christian section and it might as well have a big ole stamp that says "Your Mother Approves of This Book" :p Not cool.

Okay, got off on a tangent! Despite those obstacles of trying to get the horror world to take us seriously, I still see that the “Christian Horror” sub-genre is really starting to grow. What do you think is the draw of these types of stories that blend fear and faith?

BH: Fear is the driving force in our culture. It has been since 9/11. Politicians have mastered the “fear factor”. Reality shows rule due to the “fear factor”. But, does our fear have a face? Is there something real and tangible to fear? We can’t put a face on terrorism. Osama Bin Laden doesn’t wander around on our streets and a terrorist could be anybody!

So, our fear has to have a face. It has to be visible so we can deal with. How to do that? Take those things we fear the most and give them a body, a voice, a visibility. I thought vampires were passé after Anne Rice wrote them to death. But, now vampires are manageable, sparkly, even loving. That which we fear can now be embraced. But, we still fear it. A little. At least we fear the evil side of the, uh, evil that is now good. See how confusing it has become. We live in a time of postmodernism and relativism. There is no such thing as absolute good and evil. And yet, God has put eternity in the hearts of all men. We know evil exists. We have a morbid fascination with it. It is there for us to see but it can’t be real.

So, we put it in our movies and our television shows and our books.

Christians are not immune to these changes. Most churches today emphasize missional work, good deeds, changing community through love. You don’t hear hell and demons and the devil preached very often. Hell is off limits! But, we know it’s there. We feel the breath of demons every day. We see the effect of evil all around us. As Christians we should have no doubt evil is real. But, Christianity isn’t what it used to be.

I think this need to explore the dark side of our nature fuels the desire of many Christians to read our kind of books that mix the reality of evil with the reality of Hope. This is one reason why I want to capitalize on that desire to read compelling stories about spiritual warfare to take the opportunity to tell Christians we have sound, evidential, rational reasons for what we believe. Don’t take what our culture holds up as “truth”. It doesn’t even believe there is truth. And, they believe that to be absolutely true!

I think you said it best. Our stories mix faith and fear. We thrive on fear. It thrills us. But, we subsist on faith. It guides us and sustains us.

GM: Great thoughts. Fear is something every human being lives with and horror is a great safe place to explore that and face it. Thanks so much for hanging out with us, Bruce. Best to you and The 13th Demon.

You can keep up with Bruce at his website at www.brucehennigan.com or find him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/SteelChronicles. He's known as brucehennigan on Twitter, as well.

Thank you everyone for reading and be sure to take a look at Bruce's book.

Also, stay tuned to this very site. On Halloween Eve, I'll be posting a special treat--the first ever excerpt from my upcoming sequel Enemies of the Cross! You won't want to miss it! Make the monster-most out of your October, and to help you along, we take a page out of Bruce's book and look back on a classic! Enjoy!