Interview with Author Rick Henry

Recently, I read author Rick Henry’s story titled ‘The Hail Mary Confession’ and it blew my mind! I felt like I was watching a movie in my head!

This two-part psychological thriller follows the story of Donna Moreau and her 19-year-old son, Chris Moreau.

Review

Rick has a knack for keeping his readers on their toes. This was such a compelling and captivating story without any dull moments. The way Rick portrayed the transitions between characters was so smooth and very creative.

Donna’s character intrigued me right from the beginning. She was very mysterious and the way she dressed was very questionable. She also had principles and rules that she followed which she expected Chris to follow as well.

If that wasn’t enough for you to keep reading, Donna often experiences certain hallucinations and also has frequent nightmares which it’s always the same horrifying things that happen.

She hasn’t been to church in 20 years but now, she’s there and ready to confess. The only problem is, she doesn’t remember what she did. She only knows that she did something so gruesome and she needs to confess it.

What did Donna do?

Why can’t she remember it?

Who was/were her victim(s)?

Does it have something to do with her nightmares?

Would you be able to handle the gruesomeness of what she did?

Read the story here to find out! This is the link to Part One of ‘The Hail Mary Confession’. Part Two is linked at the bottom of the page of Part One.

Interview

Now that you’ve read the story, I bet you’re wondering who the genius behind this brilliant masterpiece is!

Let me introduce you to author Rick Henry! He was born in 1960 in Bakersfield, California, which is actually known as the Country Music Capital of the West Coast.

As amazing as that is, there is also a genre of country music called the Bakersfield Sound. Country music legends Buck Owens and Merle Haggard were from Bakersfield. Rick’s mother even personally knew Merle Haggard!

From 1984 to 1994, Rick was the singer in a Rock and Roll band and wrote more than 100 songs! After quitting the music industry, he sang in a Gospel choir where he made some amazing lifelong friends.

Apart from music, Rick is also talented in designing websites and restoring old photos.

His career as an author began when he joined Vocal in May 2021 and he immediately knew that’s who he is. His speciality is writing psychological thrillers and has a passion for writing music reviews and coming up with playlists.

Rick did a lot of research for his most recent psychological thriller, ‘The Hail Mary Confession’ which was published on 27th June 2022.

Now, let’s move on to the interview.

Dharrsheena: Hello Rick, it’s so great to have you! How did you get the idea for this story? What was your inspiration?

Rick: I asked my friend Irene to send me a topic for a story and an object that should be included in the story. We did this before with the story ‘The Pinky Promise’ and it turned out great. This time, the topic that Irene chose was, ‘Confession’ and the item was a ‘Poetry Book’. 

Dharrsheena: That’s fascinating! You mentioned doing a lot of research for this story. Tell us more about your research.

Rick: I researched every aspect of this story as my goal was to be as authentic as possible. Such as all the street names, the church and the restaurants mentioned are all real places. I researched common surnames in New Orleans and gypsy names. I researched the gypsy lifestyle and clothes that a female gypsy would wear.

I also researched different types of mental illnesses, hallucinatory drugs, the Catholic Church and so forth. I even looked up the name of the vehicle that a paramedic drives in an emergency call. I researched even the smallest details.

Dharrsheena: That’s quite an extensive research. Your story was pretty long. How did you focus on seeing the story to completion?

Rick: Well, that's an interesting one. I pretty much wrote the entire story in my sleep. I was very sleep-deprived during the entire time I wrote the story. I am my mom's 24/7 caregiver and often do not get proper sleep. I would write for about 2 to 3 minutes and then fall asleep with my finger still on the keyboard. I would probably sleep for 5 minutes.

During the entire time I was asleep, I would think about what I was writing at the moment. Sometimes I would see the characters' faces and hear their voices. I would repeat this process over and over, write for 2 to 3 minutes then sleep for 5 minutes. Eventually, I would end up falling asleep for a few hours and during that longer sleep, more of the story would flesh out.

Dharrsheena: That sounds so exhausting! Were there any challenges you faced in writing this story?

Rick: Just that it took a long time to write. About two and a half months. I kept thinking, "Okay, this would be done tomorrow", and then it would be four days later and it still wouldn’t be done.

Dharrsheena: Were there any unexpected reactions to your story?

Rick: Yes, one in particular, my friend, Irene, who gave me the prompts for the story. At the end of Part Two, I mentioned Irene for giving me inspiration for the story and that she wrote the poem ‘My Abyss’ that was featured in the story. I also mentioned how I felt that the story is not at all what she would have expected it to be.

After she read the story, she texted me and she was very disappointed and disturbed. She said the story reminded her of a real-life situation that made her very sad. It just really disturbed her. She even took it further and asked me to remove her name from the story. She said that she wanted nothing to do with this story. Her response shocked me.

Her reaction was as if I had done something really horribly terrible. My feelings were hurt as I put a lot of time and effort into this story but she was adamant. She absolutely wanted nothing to do with the story and she requested a few times that I remove her name in the comments at the end of the story.

Several hours later Irene did come around and she complimented me on writing such a powerful and believable story. She said it really caught her off guard and it really did disturb her but at the same point, she acknowledged how well-written the story was to actually cause such a deep emotional reaction from her.

Dharrsheena: That goes to show what an excellent author you are. Who is your favourite character in the story?

Rick: I like Tillie. She is such a colourful and flamboyant optimistic character.

Dharrsheena: I liked Tillie too! As an author, how would you like to be remembered? 

Rick: As a writer who is unpredictable.

Dharrsheena: You definitely are unpredictable. Are you working on anything new at the moment?

Rick: Yes, I am working on my Superhero story but I am having problems getting that going as the name I had chosen for my Superhero is already in use. I am also working on something a little different, a new short story which I am calling my ‘Hallmark Movie’ story. I also have ‘Dear Xylo (Issue #5)’ in the works. I finally did a music list of the pivotal British Band Roxy Music – which should be published before this interview hits the public.

Dharrsheena: That’s really interesting and I’m a huge fan of your ‘Dear Xylo’ series. Do you have any advice for authors and writers out there?

Rick: Discover your voice and your strengths, and fine-tune them. Stick with what you do best but challenge yourself to grow. 

Dharrsheena: Is there anything you would like to add?

Rick: Over the past year and a half writing has been an escape for me. I’m my 85-year-old mom’s 24/7 caregiver. She’s completely blind, has advanced stage dementia and suffers from major depressive disorder. Her world is now darkened and she is lost. As her only constant, I try my best every second to bring light into her life. It breaks my heart to see her like this. I’ve never been the type to get depressed but this emotional roller coaster hits me hard sometimes.

My mom’s blood pressure goes from one extreme to another real quick. She would be fine but an hour later her reading would be 58/42 which hinders her movement and she gets very lethargic. After two hours, it’ll be 165/95 which makes her very fidgety and scared. This in turn makes me very scared. I’ll try my best to remain calm and give her medications to bring down her blood pressure. Her blood glucose level is another roller coaster ride.

These fluctuations in her health take a huge toll on my emotions. Then there is the physical side. My mom isn’t able to stand or walk without 100% assistance. I go in circles daily moving my mom to and fro different places like her bed, the toilet, the chair, her wheelchair and the car. Transferring her from her wheelchair to the car is by far the toughest. At the end of the day, I’m physically and mentally drained.

All these things that I do for my mom are very hard work but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love my mom very much. She’s such a wonderful and generous person. She came from a background of poverty and is the only one out of five girls that made it out. She never forgot where she came from and thus is always looking for ways to help others let it be a homeless person who needs a warm meal or a person who needs someone to vent to.

My mom has never failed to be there for those in need. I have an abundance of respect and love for her. She more than deserves everything that I do for her. She is a shining beacon, a superstar, amongst the living here on Earth.

Dharrsheena: Your mom must be very proud and grateful to have you for a son. That’s it for the interview. Thank you for your time.

Rick: Thank you for having me and a huge thank you to my readers for all your support!

If you missed it earlier, here is the link to Part One of The Hail Mary Confession. Part Two is linked at the bottom of the page of Part One.

Here is Rick Henry’s author page. Feel free to browse through these fantastically written treasures of his.

__________________________________________
Thank you so much for reading this! 🥰 If you liked my writing, please leave a comment, click the heart and subscribe for free!

You might enjoy this as well: