Meet the Author: A.G. Henley

Item: Shattered Worlds
Author: Lillian

Posted July 31, 2017 by Lillian in Features, Interviews / 3 Comments

Happy Monday y’all! Today is my stop on the blog tour for the Shattered Worlds box set and I am SO excited to have one of the authors here today for an interview. A.G. Henley is the author of the Brilliant Darkness trilogy (which I LOVED) and the first book in the trilogy The Scourge is included in Shattered Worlds.

A.G. Henley is a contributor to Wicked Ink Books’ anthologies, OFF BEAT: Nine Spins on Song and TICK TOCK: Seven Tales of Time, and the author of the Brilliant Darkness series. The first book in the series, THE SCOURGE, was a Library Journal Self-e Selection and a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award. A.G. is also a clinical psychologist in Denver, Colorado. She promises not to analyze you… much. Learn more at aghenley.com

Tell us a little about yourself.

First off, thanks so much for having me! I love talking with bloggers, and I so appreciate your willingness to help authors get the word out about our books.

Okay, so here’s some things about me. I’m a writer of young adult books, including the completed Brilliant Darkness series. The series is dystopian romance and includes three novels and two novellas. Book One is THE SCOURGE, which will be included in the Shattered Worlds boxed set releasing August 8^th! I’ve also written short stories for anthologies, pre-published YA thriller and sci-fi novels, and I’m writing an adult rom-com novel and urban fantasy first in series.

Aside from writing, I’m a psychologist. I have a private practice and work with adults in the Denver, Colorado area. I love the pairing of writing and psychology. Ultimately they involve seeing the world from different perspectives, trying to make sense of it, and contributing to it, one reader or client at a time. For the record, I’m also a mom of two curious kids, the wife of a wonderful guy, a soccer player, skier/snowboarder, and a possessor of hitch-hiker thumbs. To see a picture, go here: http://www.aghenley.com/about-the-author/

What inspired you to become a writer? When did you start writing?

I’ve always loved writing. I wrote my first short story for my aunt, in which the Honeynut Cheerios bee was accidentally swallowed and had to find his way to freedom. I did a lot of writing in college and graduate school, including a looong dissertation about the intersection of psychopathic traits and career interest, but I didn’t get back to creative writing until 2008. I completed a YA time travel romance in 2009 and queried agents, but ultimately decided it should be my practice book. I started THE SCOURGE in 2010, finished it in 2011, and indie pubbed it in January 2012. I haven’t stopped writing since.

Is there anything in your books based on real life experience or is it purely imagination?

THE SCOURGE features a visually impaired teen girl who must alone face zombie-like creatures to save her people. I’m not visually impaired, nor troubled by zombies, so that all came from my imagination (and researching the perspectives of visually impaired people.) However, many of the settings, themes, and other bits and pieces of my books and stories definitely are informed by my experiences. For example, I set Untimely, a time travel thriller novella in the anthology TICK TOCK: SEVEN TALES OF TIME, in Charlottesville, Virginia, where I spent time as a middle school camper. Basil and Jade, a ghost story in OFF BEAT: NINE SPINS ON SONGS, was set on Bainbridge Island, Washington, where my family and I vacationed for two weeks last summer.

What was your favorite part of The Scourge to write?

I loved writing my main character, Fennel, most. I tried to make her fully human, with understandable weaknesses, but also everything I wished I could be, especially at age seventeen. She’s loyal, yet open to new relationships, community-minded, yet able to see when the community no longer has its members’ best interests at heart, easy-going, yet bold when it’s called for, and most of all, courageous.

Writing from Fenn’s perspective as a visually impaired person was a challenge, but it helped me work out how to utilize my other four senses as a writer. I had to try to describe what water smells like, what wild boar tastes like, and how plants feel. It was fun! I also loved coming up with similes and metaphors that a visually impaired person would observe—those based on what we see are much more common.

Do you have any advice you’d like to share with aspiring writers?

Read and write—a lot 🙂 Seriously, those are the basic building blocks of a writing career. Read all kinds of genres, but focus on those you think you’d like to write. Learn the tropes and common plots/characters for the genres, then get creative and try to riff on those with your ideas. Think big when creating a premise. Even if it’s a quiet story, to get noticed in today’s publishing world, you need unique ideas, settings, and characters (preferably all of the above). Observe people around you while creating characters—what are their quirks and foibles? Use them. And most of all create characters that readers will love, or love to hate. Most people read to follow the characters, to find out how they overcome challenges, and to feel the things they feel. Give them all the feels in the your writing!

Now for a fun question…what brand of cereal best describes you and why?

Love this question! I’ll go with Frosted Mini-Wheats. I’m wholesome on one side (psychologist) and fun on the other (author)! Give me a try ; )

Shattered Worlds on 2017-08-08

Escape into twenty-three epic worlds that will leave you breathless.  From dystopian nightmares to gorgeous steampunk and fantasy settings to fairy-tale retellings and beyond, SHATTERED WORLDS has every story you've been dying to get your hands on!  This unique Young Adult/New Adult collection, inspired by the creative minds of today's New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling authors, promises to satisfy your cravings for action and adventure as you experience rune magic and time-travel, overthrow corrupt governments, meet reapers and aliens, battle dragons, fall hopelessly in love, and break ancient curses, right alongside some of the bravest characters in fantasy fiction!  Each book within this collection is exclusive to the set and can't be found anywhere else.  Preorder now for your passport to SHATTERED WORLDS!

The Authors of Shattered Worlds

J.L. Weil, USA Today Bestselling Author
J.A. Culican, USA Today Bestselling Author
J.A. Armitage, USA Today Bestselling Author
N.R. Larry, NYT and USA Today Bestselling Author
Jane Redd, USA Today Bestselling Author
Miranda Hardy, USA Today Bestselling Author
Julie Hall, International Bestselling Author
Cameo Renae, International Bestselling Author
Jen Minkman, International Bestselling Author
Cindy M. Hogan, Bestselling Author
Elana Johnson, Bestselling Author
Rebecca Rode, International Bestselling Author
Audrey Grey
Nichole Giles
Katy Haye
Cortney Pearson
Elizabetta Holcomb
Ali Winters
Kristy Tate
Liz Long
AG Henley
Ainsley Shay
Jay Noel
Emily Martha Sorensen

(Click the author’s name to visit their site!)

Shattered Worlds Giveaway and Pre-Release Party

Note: Due to the high number of giveaways being offered by the authors on the Shattered Worlds website, there sadly will be no scavenger hunt. Many thanks to those who were interested and so sorry for the change of events!