hank quense

About

Award-winning author Hank Quense lives in Bergenfield, NJ with his wife Pat. They have two daughters and five grandchildren. He writes humorous fantasy and scifi stories. On occasion, he also writes an article on fiction writing or book marketing but says that writing nonfiction is like work while writing fiction is fun. A member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, he refuses to write serious genre fiction saying there is enough of that on the front page of any daily newspaper and on the evening TV news.

He has three collections of short stories and four novels currently available. He has written a series of guides on fiction writing and another one on self-publishing and marketing a book. He also lectures on fiction writing and self-publishing.

Hank has initiated a series of lectures and workshops to share his expertise in creating fiction and publishing books. Create A Short Story is a 4-session workshop in which the participants design their own short story. He also gives a two-part seminar on Self-publishing & Marketing a self-published book.

He has a number of links where you can follow his work and his occasional rants:

Hank’s Blog:http://hank-quense.com/wp

Strange Worlds website:http://strangeworldsonline.com/wp

Follow him on twitter: http://twitter.com/hanque99

Facebook fan pages: https://www.facebook.com/StrangeWorldsOnline

Murdo

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Description

When Jessica Bryant pesters her wealthy parents to allow her to have a dog as a pet, the answer is a resounding "No"; but they soon come to regret their decision when thier home is broken into one evening whilst they are out and their daughter kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnappers, in the form of four seedy and incompetent characters wearing Disneyland-type masks, take her hostage and keep her incarcerated in a place from which there appears to be no escape. However, they reckon without the resourcefulness of our heroine, and the courage of a wonderful stray dog who comes to her aid and whom she names 'Murdo'. And so begins an exciting and humurous accounting of the couples' adventures together as they consistently foil and outwit the abductors whilst on the run together. This is a lovely story of the friendship between a girl and a dog, bringing out themes of responsibility, camaraderie, redemption, salvation and self-sacrifice. It includes some wonderful dialogue sequences as Jessica teaches her new four-legged friend how to communicate with her, with additional delightful conversations between the animals when a rabbit and a sparrow join forces with them in an effort to outwit the kidnappers and restore Jessica safely back to her parents' home.

Story Behind The Book

The premise behind this book is that stories don't pop into the author's head fully formed. A story is the product of many hours of patient work on the different facets that are needed to build a compelling story. These major facets include character building, plotting, motivation and finally, story design or construction. The book addresses those facets and simplifies the author's struggle by including design forms that can be used to guide the processes of character and plot development. I'm sure some people will claim I am stifling creativity with a design process. I disagree. Nothing in my process stifles creativity; rather the process channels the creative ideas so that more time is available to the author to be creative.

Media Links

Press release announcing the availability

🔗 http://www.prlog.org/10622424-now-available-build-better-story.html

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Reviews

Build a Better Story is the perfect companion for anyone looking to start writing fiction. The explanations are clear and to the point, and help to simplify the many complexities that are necessary to transform a good story into a great one. With hints and tips to prevent those ‘first-timer’ mistakes, this book is essential for new writers and old hands alike. Emma's editing: Emma WalkerHank Quense shares the design process for writing a book of fiction. Quense encourages writers to develop the idea for the story rather than jumping into the writing. I found his process fascinating. He recommends the author develop the characters, plot, setting and other elements of the story prior to starting the first draft." Quense’s process continues with flow charts, etc. His idea is to be organized. He continues his book by discussing motivation, patience, character development, etc. This book is thin but he covers it all. He even offers flow chart examples and how to use daytime TV to improve your writing. I like to be organized, and I can readily see where Quense’s design process would work. The text is written in an easy to read and understand style. I can see how this book would benefit authors, especially new authors. I highly recommend this book to all writers."<div> </div>

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