Clinton’s Stephanie Henry adds whimsy and romance to her books

CLINTON – Stephanie Henry writes adult fiction, paranormal and urban fantasy with more than a hint of romance.

She is a prolific writer, having written five books in five years.

It’s “a bit of motivation, mixed with a lot of imagination, and a passion to write down my thoughts, because that’s the only way to get them out of my head.” I write when I get a spark of creativity that makes me conjure up characters and/or ideas in my head that I can’t stop thinking about.

“Sometimes when I start to solidify it, that spark of creativity dies out and I lose motivation to keep going. Other times that spark ignites and spreads, and it’s almost like I’m riding his tails. horse, just for the ride, excited to see where this is going. When this happens, the will to create seems inherent,” she added.

A Clinton native and 2003 graduate of Clinton High School, Henry said she has always loved writing.

“From an early age I would write stories, then later, as a teenager, I would write poems,” she said. She never intended to become a writer professionally – even though she went to college for it.

Briefly leaving Clinton to attend college in western Massachusetts, Henry became homesick and transferred to Fitchburg State University, becoming a professional writing major (with a minor in psychology). .

“Even making this decision, I didn’t think I would use it to become an author. I was thinking more about writing,” she said.

But “a writer’s imagination runs wild, based on the tropes he loves and the types of characters he loves or loves to hate.” She thought she couldn’t be worse than some of the things she had read, “so why not give it a try?”

This led to his debut novel “What Doesn’t Kill Us”, closely followed by “The Story of Us”, about supporting characters from his first novel.

Two of his books are a series — “C-Vac” and “C-Vamp,” about a cancer vaccine gone wrong, published before the pandemic — but were almost a trilogy. She said the latter was “by far the hardest book for me to write”. Where before she had the luxury of dismissing a story that didn’t flow easily, she felt an “obligation” to her readers for a conclusion.

It took longer than Henry would have liked, but she “feels these books reflect my best and most creative work”.

Her most recent book is a “second chance romance” titled “Tiny Pieces.”

Henry lives in Clinton with his fiance and two children from his first marriage, Brody, 11, and Carly, 8. She said her children bragged so much about being an author in school that their teachers asked where they could buy her books.

“It’s nice to know that I’ve accomplished something they can be proud of,” she added.

His parents have owned a local transportation company, Clinton Livery, for nearly 40 years. This is where Henry works full-time managing senior and medical transportation services. She said she would “love to write full-time in the future” if it was sustainable, but she’s happy to help her family at the moment.

All five books are self-published and have received critical acclaim online on popular book blogs and by literary social influencers, and she’s been featured on a Worcester news channel (in addition to five-star reviews on Amazon). They are also sold in bookstores nationwide through a distributor.

Henry does book signings and local readings – or she did before COVID. She was asked to book out-of-state signings and was able to do one, but it’s been too difficult to travel around the country since.

She also had a short story published in a young adult anthology. She is currently writing another short story which is a YA murder mystery.

For the next publications, she is thinking of making anthologies or embarking on traditional publishing. While self-publishing allowed him to retain creative control, it was very expensive; Henry had to hire editors, designers, and even book cover models, then pay for advertising and marketing.

Still, she said the book industry “has been a crucial and invaluable resource”, with everyone she’s hired providing “advice and insight into what makes a book successful…c is the best learning tool I could have imagined”.

Her community of fellow authors and all of her family and friends at Clinton have been critical to her success, she said.

“Clinton is a great community full of supportive people,” she said. “The biggest benefit of being an author, for me, is the sense of pride and accomplishment. There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when you type those final words that complete your novel.

She advises people who want to become authors to “put your ideas out there and start writing. You can always edit later, but nothing will be finished if you don’t start.

Henry’s books can be purchased in hardcover, paperback and digital versions on Amazon and online at Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Scribd, Thalia and Apple Books.