GETTING HIS JUST DESSERTS A man who jilts women ends up dead in this Angela Henry mystery By Lovette Chinwah, Springfield News-Sun Staff Writer September 5, 2005 "No one had to rescue her," Angela Henry said of the heroine in her book, The Company You Keep. But Henry, a reference specialist at Clark State Community College, found her heroine—or at least the storyline for her book—in a news story about a man who jilted many women. Henry said the tale unfolded in her imagination in answer to a simple question: What would it be like if men like him got their "just desserts?" "I had the ending figured out before I started writing the beginning, and when I write, it plays in my head like a movie," Henry said. "I've always been an avid reader. I read everything—mystery, romance, horror," Henry said. But mysteries always captured her imagination. "Mysteries are kind of modern-day morality stories," she said. Henry said when it comes to mysteries, she is more interested in the "back story" than the actual crime. The back story summarizes the events that directly lead to the story and its story form, according to the online version of the Dramatica Dictionary. Henry's favorite mystery authors include Walter Mosley, Valerie Wilson Wesley, Barbara Neely, and Janet Evanovich. In her writing she seeks to add an extra twist. "I was not finding characters that I could relate to as a black woman, especially in mysteries," Henry said. As a result, she founded MystNoir to promote African-American mystery writers. Black Issues Book Review Magazine featured her website; USA Today.com named it a "Hot Site" and Arts & Entertainment Channel's Mysteries.com named it a site of the week. In The Company You Keep, the first in a three-book series involving heroine Kendra Clayton, Henry weaves a tale of an ordinary girl turned sleuth. Thrust into solving the mystery of her friend, Bernie's ex-boyfriend's death, Clayton encounters numerous challenges—including Bernie's tentativeness about having her ex's killer pursued. Henry, a graduate of South High School and Ohio University with a bachelor's degree in English literature, finished her manuscript in 1999. The writing took four years, but the total process took about 10 years. "I just wrote it when I felt like it," she said. "I wrote it for me and kind of hoped it would appeal to other people, too." Henry self-published her book in 2002 through Pagefree Publishing under the title,"The Pleasure of His Company: A Kendra Clayton Mystery," but the book had limited distribution. An honorable mention in Writer's Digest 10th Annual self-published competion award, "made me realize that the book was good enough to be published," she said. But she said it was difficult to find a publisher. Then she sent the first three chapters to BET in 2003. "You don't have to have an agent to submit to BET," she said. But she had forgotten about the whole process until the day she received a call from SEPIA, a publishing division of BET. The editor told henry that she liked the book and wanted her to send the remaining chapters. Henry has since signed a three-book deal with BET, which is unusual for a first-time writer. BET changed the title because the initial title sounded too much like a romance book, Henry said. Henry's favorite character is Joy Owens. "She was so unlike me," Henry said. Henry was going to kill her off but decided against it. "I liked her too much, so I could not kill her," she said. Henry's favorite part of the book is Kendra's encounter with the killer in a bathroom. The details are in the book; but in the end, Kendra does not need rescuing. Henry recently finished the second book in the series, Tangled Roots. Among Henry's other credits is an honorable mention in Ebony Magazine's 10th Annual Gertrude Johnson William's Writing Contest for her short story, "Peaches of Mercy." Though Henry shies from the limelight, she has some help in that area from friends and colleagues. "They kind of toot my horn when I am too shy to do it," she said. Photo: Marshall Gorby/News-Sun