What's in this episode:

Henry ball recently published his debut novel, Sister of Sorrows. It’s set in Louisiana and tells the story of woman’s struggle to provide for her family.

In our conversation together, Henry shares that he always wanted to write a book about his challenging upbringing, influenced strongly by his indomitable mother, Delores. Henry explains the backdrop to Sister Of Sorrows, and as he says, "there was a story there I needed to know". 

Henry Ball didn't intend for it to be, but writing this novel was a very cathartic experience and helped him process some very difficult memories.

The road to publication began with writing coach Lisa Tener, who then recommended he take it to editor Stuart Horwitz of Book Architecture.

Stuart is credited with shaping the book into the great story it is today, and Henry Ball shares how he found the editing process to be a period of growth and learning, as it should be with all talented editors. 

For book design and formatting he went to 1106 Design, who took Henrys vision for the book and created a beautiful cover, which Henry talks about in our conversation. 

Henrys love and respect for his mother, Dolores, is evident in how he talks about her, and I hope my children talk about me this way when they are adults! Whilst Henry's father was on the scene, he was not a great example of fatherhood. 

As Henry says, his father exemplified the kind of father he didn’t want to be. 

We talk about balancing work, family and writing. Henry acknowledges how hard this is and that while things move slowly, but they do move. 

Not only is Henry writing sons of sorrows, the sequel to sister of sorrows, these also writing a non-fiction book with his business partner and co-owner of their publishing press, Storey press. 

As a result, he writes what he can when he can, rather than fulfilling our daily target. 

Whilst originally working as a discovery rights are, Henry ball has gravitated towards a more structured approach without lining, and he explains why he made this transition. 

At the time of our conversation, sister of sorrows hadn't been published. I'm pleased to say the book launched on 23rd December 2020 and you can find it on Amazon.


Links mentioned in this episode:

• Sister of Sorrows, Henry Ball
• Book website - Sisterofsorrows
• The Bleacher Report 
• Deborah Dahlmann, Editor - Facebook Group
• Stuart Horowitz, Editor - Book Architecture
• Lisa Tener, Editor, Ghostwriter, Co-writer - Facebook Group
• Billy Cannon - Billy Cannon - Wikipedia
• Book Design, 1106 Design
• Alessandra Torre - Goodreads Webinar Registration — Alessandra Torre Ink

Associated Blog Post:

• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/henry-ball

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