Louise Hendricksen

I come from a story telling family. My grandmother wrote about her family traveling from Illinois to Idaho in a covered wagon. My grandfather was a larger than life pioneer. The Indians called him Red Cloud because of his mass of flaming red hair. On long summer's evenings he kept everyone enthralled with tales of his wilderness adventures.

From the time I learned to read, I loved books, so although my family moved several times a year, I learned early on to call the town library--home. School was my next favorite place. In my topsy-turvy world, I found school to be the only factor that remained the same. Each time we moved, the teachers and the buildings changed, but the books and the sense of order did not. To me the smell of chalk dust and furniture polish brought a sense of belonging.

In my teens, my parents settled down in a rough, tough mining town on the Salmon River, called The River Of No Return. Here, I began to write poetry and short stories, which my teachers seemed to think had merit. I graduated, got married, had two children and moved to Washington State.

When my children reached their teens, I became a medical assistant and went to work for a primary care physician on the same day he started his practice. Together, we learned the intricacies of operating a busy medical practice. A few years later, due to my doctor's teaching and all the medical books I'd read, I became the first medical assistant to be certified in Western Washington and the second one in the state.

My work required that I perform a number of microscopic procedures. As a consequence, I became interested in forensic science and it's role in solving crimes. So, when I began a mystery series, I created a feisty forensic scientist named, Dr. Amy Prescott, to be my protagonist. I didn't want my reader to cope with long scientific explanations, so I had Amy perform much of her work in the field, which simplified many of the procedures.

I wrote With Deadly Intent, and started submitting it to editors. Meanwhile, I plotted Grave Secrets and Lethal Legacy. Editor, after editor rejected the series saying,"Patricia Cornwell's books were already out on the bookshelves, they didn't need another.

Undaunted, I completed the other two books I had plotted and added them to the mix. Then one day, an editor from Kensington Publishing/Zebra Books called and bought all three books, including a novelette named, No Cookies for Santa, which was released in a Christmas Anthology titled, Murder Under The Tree.

The month the first book came out, I discovered I had breast cancer. So for the next six months, in between chemotherapy sessions, I sat in the malls wearing my alternative hair while signing books.

To my amazement, not too long after the Dr. Amy Prescott Mysteries began, The American Academy of Forensic Sciences asked me to give a speech about Forensic Science and the Writer at their annual meeting in Seattle. Since Ann Rule also spoke at the same meeting, I thought I'd finally managed to carve a niche for myself in the writing world.

Life lesson learned: Beware of making assumptions.

Shortly after Lethal Legacy, the third book in the series, hit the book shelves, tragedy struck. The owner of the publishing house retired, and his son took over as CEO. He decided not to publish any more paperback originals. Although my sales had been good, they were not yet good enough to rate a move to 'hard back'.

When I realized I wouldn't be able to regain the rights to my published books for a number of years, and discovered no other publishing house wanted to continue the series under those conditions, I was devastated.

However, life didn't give me a chance to weep and wail. My mother grew ill, I became her care giver, and my writing took a back seat. Several years later, Richard Curtis, from e-reads, an electronic book company, contacted me and asked if he could re-issue my previously published books in e-book format after I reclaimed the rights. Knowing the chances of finding a publisher who would be interested in restarting a defunct series was remote, I agreed.

Consequently, With Deadly Intent, Grave Secrets, and Lethal Legacy can now be purchased at e-reads, fictionwise, and at other e-book distributors in electronic format and Print On Demand. In this way, my series books will now remain in circulation as long as I prefer.

Many folks assume that all e-book companies are Vanity Presses and poorly written. Yes, there are a few out there. However, if you investigate, you'll find that getting accepted by a 'first class' e-book publisher, is no easier than it is at a conventional publishing house. All the procedures are exactly the same-except everything takes place in cyber-space by e-mail.

Therefore, after taking note of all the other established writers who have taken the e-book route to publishing, I turned to Wings ePress. In 2009, they released Bitter Vintage(my most recent novel)in electronic format and Print On Demand.

I hope my readers will enjoy reading Bitter Vintage, as much as I enjoyed writing it. The story is set in Oregon's picturesque wine country, and is based on a thirty-year-old mystery that was set in motion by one generation, and now threatens to jeopardize the lives of another. Filled with complex characters, the book is a fast-paced tale of danger and suspense interwoven with threads of romance.

In December, Wingsepress will be releasing THE RIDDLER'S FEARSOME SECRET, a young adult book. During a chill-packed summer at Seacove House, four children encounter sliding panels, concealed staircases, underground passages and...a horrifying secret hidden from the world for many years.

I wrote this book for my grandchildren a number of years ago, ever since they have been urging me to get it published so other children could enjoy a story that kept them spell-bound from cover to cover.