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H.B. Henderson (b. 1 Feb 1949) is an American author who writes mainly in the realm of fantasy. He is best known for his action fantasy Adventuress series of books which star the female hero Lucinda Mossbow, and became a staple of fantasy literature of the early 1970's, adapted into the television series Lucinda Mossbow: Adventuress, which featured Henderson as consulting producer.

Outside of the Adventuress saga, Henderson has written several other books both within and outside the realm of fantasy. Since 1988 Henderson has published under Tor Fantasy, where he has written epic high fantasy series for a variety of different audiences, such as the young adult fantasy Travelers series and the child-oriented Dragon Book series.

Childhood and early works (1949-1968)
Henry Blake was born on February 1, 1949 in Brooklyn, NY. From primary school, Blake had taken up an interest in reading both fiction and nonfiction, especially with historical themes. Blake was fascinated by history, especially ancient civilizations as well as Medieval Europe, interests which would become major influences for his novels. In addition to reading, Blake enjoyed movies and television shows, and has cited Walt Disney's films as an influence as well.

Blake's first incursions into writing began as early as 1960, when he began writing sports fiction, though later switched to literary fiction. In high school, Blake published short stories in his school's newspaper. In 1967, during his freshman year at Hartwick College, Blake published a few of his poems and short stories in a portfolio under the name of "H.B. Henderson", the first known use of his pen name.

The Adventuress series (1968-1974)
Blake had started work on a fantasy epic in 1963, but left it largely abandoned when he made the shift to literary fiction. He would sporadically revisit fantasy throughout high school, but he kept his main focus on his short stories. In college, however, after submitting his portfolio, H.B. Henderson began serious work on his action fantasy Adventuress stories. Set in the land of Cervidae, the stories revolved around the adventures of huntress Lucinda Mossbow as she embarked on a quest to avenge the death of her father, who had been killed by the dark prince Samwell. Henderson began publishing the first set of Adventuress stories in 1968 in the literary section of Hilltops, Hartwick College's official magazine. The stories became a favorite among Hartwick students, and Henderson was given several awards at his graduation.

The last chapter of the Adventuress serial was published in Hilltops in 1970, and Henderson was ready to pitch his story to a publishing company. After both Scholastic and Doubleday had passed on the story, Henderson finally had Simon & Schuster agree to publish Adventuress. Because of the length of the original story, Simon & Schuster insist that Henderson divide it into three separate novels, starting with The Valley Huntress, which was published in 1971. The novel covered the events from the start of Lucinda's journeys to the death of Samwell.

Upon its release, the Valley Huntress was a critical success, and quickly became a favorite among fantasy fans. The New Yorker crowned Henderson as "The successor to Tolkien". JRR Tolkein, who was still alive at the time, would die in 1973, the same year that the second book in the Adventuress saga, The Great War of Tylos, was published. Covering Lucinda's adventures during the great war between the kingdoms of Tylos and Clydatia, the book was another fantasy bestseller. The final volume in the Adventuress trilogy, The High Prince of Sin, which ended with Lucinda defeating the chaotic beast known as the Goat, was released in 1974. While the book was not as successful as its predecessors upon release, it did gain praise from critics due to its satisfying conclusion to the epic.

The Ovaria books (1974-1982)
With the release of The High Prince of Sin and the initial conclusion of the Adventuress saga, Henderson initially decided to leave Lucinda and the land of Cervidae behind. Henderson began work on new stories exploring different sub-genres of fantasy, beginning with Awakened, a portal fantasy novel involving a boy from New York City named Bradley O'Neil being struck by lightning and waking up in the land of Ovaria. When it was released in 1977, Awakening was a flop due to its lack of action and its lighter tone than the intense tone of the Adventuress books.

Henderson intended to continue to use Ovaria as the primary setting for his future novels. In 1980 he wrote and published Wizard of the Black Mountain. Involving the adventures of three young siblings and their dog as they journeyed to the Black Mountain to defeat the evil wizard Dreja, Wizards of the Black Mountain was dark and much more serious in tone. Critics, convinced that Henderson had merely re-skinned The Valley Huntress, panned the novel, causing it to sell poorly and quickly go out of print. Since then, both Awakened and Wizards of the Black Mountain have become extremely rare and hard to find, unavailable in bookstores.

Television and continued Adventuress saga (1982-1991)
In 1979, NBC approached Henderson with an offer to produce a television show based on his Adventuress novels. Henderson, who was still writing Wizards of the Black Mountain at the time, approved of NBC's idea, hoping that a show based off of his works would spark interest in his work again. Henderson was given the position of consulting producer and production supervisor for Lucinda Mossbow: Adventuress, and oversaw production of the show at NBC's studios in New York City and Burbank. He approved many of the concept sketches and the casting of commercial actress Samantha Bell as Lucinda Mossbow, and visited the set to personally observe shooting.

Lucinda Mossbow: Adventuress first premiered on NBC on October 28, 1982. Initially, Henderson was pleased with the amount of effort which NBC had put into bringing his books to television, though he feared that they would take creative liberties, as he wanted the series to be as true to the books as possible. However, due to the show's enormous budget, NBC threatened to fire Henderson if he did not allow them to cut costs. Henderson agreed to allow NBC to lower its budget, as long as the show spanned all three books. Lucinda Mossbow: Adventuress finished its run in 1986, closing with the events of The High Prince of Sin.

Though Henderson had left Simon & Schuster when he began work at NBC, Lucinda Mossbow: Adventuress had received high ratings, and Henderson saw a resurgence in popularity during the late 1980's. He made the decision to continue the Adventuress saga and in 1988 published Forest of Bones, the fourth book in the series, for Tor Publishing. Then, in 1991, Henderson published the true final Adventuress book, The Crystals of Oyaron. Both books sold moderately well.

Controversy
Henderson's books, especially the Adventuress saga, have been subject to controversy upon the time of their release. The Valley Huntress was published at the peak of the second-wave feminist movement, and many critics accused it as exhibiting hyperfeminism, as Lucinda was an overpowered female protagonist who only fought men. Feminists also criticized Henderson, seeing Lucinda as oversexualized, as the original 1971 cover of The Valley Huntress featured Lucinda in an outfit reminiscent of a bikini. This was fixed in the next two books, as the cover art featured Lucinda wearing less revealing outfits.

Adventuress saga

 * The Valley Huntress (Simon & Schuster, 1971)
 * The Great War Of Tylos (Simon & Schuster, 1973)
 * The High Prince of Sin (Simon & Schuster, 1974)
 * Forest of Bones (Tor, 1988)
 * The Crystals of Oyaron (Tor, 1991)

Other Works

 * Awakened (Simon & Schuster, 1977)
 * Wizards of the Black Mountain (Simon & Schuster, 1980)
 * Rise of the Travelers (Tor, 1994)
 * War of the Travelers (Tor, 1995)
 * The Green Dragon Book (Tor, 1997)
 * The Red Dragon Book (Tor, 1999)
 * The Yellow Dragon Book (Tor, 2000)
 * The Blue Dragon Book (Tor, 2002)
 * The Purple Dragon Book (Tor, 2003)
 * The Gold Dragon Book (Tor, 2007)