Harrison Jenkins, Author at A Bad Hand

Book Review: The Things They Didn’t See by Angela Shaeffer – A Poignant Story of Grief and Empathy

Why I chose this book This is the first time I had read a book after meeting the author. In fact, I didn’t even know my neighbor, Angela Shaeffer, was writing a book until a few months ago. Meeting her has its […]

Harrison JenkinsAugust 2, 2025August 13, 2025

The Power of a Title: Why A Bad Hand Was the Only Choice

Front Cover: The worst luck If you’ve seen the cover, you already know the first metaphorical reference in a A Bad Hand. I’m sure many literary agents or publishers representing book club fiction or YA fiction authors have already noted that the […]

Harrison JenkinsMarch 9, 2025March 13, 2025

Boy in a police uniform looking at airplanes.

Characters Creative Inspiration

Unofficial Soundtrack: Hero by Weezer

Meeting Weezer I didn’t get into Weezer until I saw their Buddy Holly video. It was much later than it should’ve been. I guess I wasn’t paying good enough attention. Hero was released during the COVID-19 pandemic as a thank you—a tribute […]

Harrison JenkinsMarch 2, 2025March 3, 2025

Inspiration Plotline Uncategorized

What is a Nazar?

You might already know what a nazar looks like. Maybe you have seen one and didn’t even know it. A few years back, everyone from Gigi Hadid to Kim Kardashian and Megan Markle were photographed with nazar-themed jewelry and footwear. Maybe I […]

Harrison JenkinsFebruary 24, 2025February 24, 2025

Cildo Meireles' Babel at Tate Modern in London

Inspiration

Art: Babel by Cildo Meireles

To celebrate our daughter getting her BFA in graphic design (I’m biased but she’s pretty talented), our family visited Europe. One of the highlights was a visit to Tate Modern. Among the many impressive works was an installation by the Brazilian artist, […]

Harrison JenkinsFebruary 2, 2025February 4, 2025

Inspiration

The Unofficial Soundtrack for A Bad Hand

TLDR: Listen to the Soundtrack First, A History Lesson It’s a typical Saturday night in 1990. My best friends and I are sitting on the round stools, headphones on, at the Blockbuster Music listening bar. We spent hours doing this. Even with […]

Harrison JenkinsFebruary 1, 2025February 14, 2025

Characters

Character Portrait: Sora Katsumi

Sora Katsumi (or Katsumi Sora if you’re Japanese, where family name precedes one’s given name) is introduced a few chapters into the book as she meets the Yakuza boss, Hokusai, at a Tokyo coffee shop in the Shinagawa neighborhood. Sora is challenged […]

Harrison JenkinsJanuary 9, 2025February 2, 2025

Characters Motivation

My first step: Selecting the Plot

I haven’t missed a week where I didn’t write to my son an email. He’s working in Chicago right now. One of the features of my weekly email was “the weekly list”. On September 8, 2024, I sent him a list that […]

Harrison JenkinsJanuary 9, 2025February 2, 2025

Characters

Character Portrait: James Webb

As the main protagonist in A Bad Hand, James Webb is an amalgam of at three different people. His passion for baseball and experience as a minor league bat boy was inspired by my son. Like James, nothing could get by that guy […]

Harrison JenkinsDecember 6, 2024December 6, 2024

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