Meet Henry Snider | Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Henry Snider and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Henry, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Well, writing is a bit of a calling. There’s the constant joke among writers that we write so we don’t become serial killers. The flip side to this statement is that often we’re still killing the people who have wronged us, only in print form.

For me, writing has always been the best part of daydreams and nightmares. I’ve always felt the need to share what’s going on in my head. So, it’s not so much an act of a thought process, but a need to share my dreams.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What I’ve been told is that my characters feel real, so what happens to them feels important. I can honestly say that I’m

This is a tough one to really dip into without a fast summary of the last 35 years. So, buckle up, kids, we’re taking a trip down memory lane.

In 1995 I was in Community College (PPCC) and in a creative writing class. I’d always loved writing and wanted to expand of my grandfather’s stories he’d written. I met Hollie Johani (now Snider) there. Out first discussion was an debate about horse tack that’s still going on today – hack vs. snaffle (I’m right, BTW). Three days from that we kissed on April 1st – April Fools Day. Seven days later I proposed. Hollie didn’t let me get the whole proposal out before saying yes…then giving me a twenty minute lecture on why I didn’t propose ten days earlier on the day we first met. We married three months to the day from our first kiss and just celebrated our thirtieth anniversary this year (July 1st, 2025).

We created the Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group in 1996 with fellow author John Irwin with the goal of helping good writers become better. During that time we were recognized as one of the top 100 websites by Writers Digest and received the Very Useful Site Award from Preditors and Editors. I retained the presidency for thirteen years to the month before retiring to enjoy being just a member. A few years later several members and I left to form Fiction Foundry (est. 2012) whose focus was publication prep – more in-depth critiques, edits, submission advice, etc..

In 2015 Hollie and I founded Strigidae Publishing, a publishing house focused on dark genre fiction. In our opinion, being a publishing house run by authors gave us the edge of knowing what writers wanted to see in contracts and treatment. We were proud of our small-but-growing catalogue of authors and surprisingly turned a profit 45 days from our first title going into print. We pushed forward with works that intrigued us as readers.

Then came 2016.

For my middle-age checkup it was discovered I needed emergency bypass surgery. Essentially they found an abnormality late on a Wednesday afternoon, verified it Thursday afternoon, and cracked my chest open like a crab early Friday morning. It took nearly a year to get back to writing of any kind. This was when the cardiologist hit me with a reality check. I either give up the publishing house and cut back on stress or “get my personal wishes in order.” The writing was on the wall and our house closed down.

Then it was another slew of surgeries for different things until 2024. Like so many Gen-Xers, my warranty has expired and the check engine light is on fire. Depression hits many authors for various reasons and I’m no different. I backed away from writing and only focused on editing fellow members of the group. Members noticed and supported me, helping me get back to writing for the sheer pleasure of it.

This brings me back to Robert Lewis, owner of Polymath Press and president of Fiction Foundry (www.fictionfoundry.org). Bob expressed an interest in my novel, DRIVE-IN FEATURE, and putting several of my stories together in a stand-alone collection entitled WHERE THE PRETTY THINGS ROT. The collection is due out later this year and my novel soon thereafter.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Hangouts in the mile-high city? Well, I’m a big fan of just about everything. I’d start with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Hollie and I go an average of once per month and keep a family membership so we can take friends. After that, Meow Wolf because…well…yeah. The rules say we have to grow “old” not “up.” A picnic in Cheesman park to tell about the bodies still buried there, and it’s inspiration for POLTERGEIST. While there I’d tell them about a where a haunted house once stood a few blocks away on 13th Avenue which inspired the 1980 horror movie, THE CHANGELING. Obviously, there’d be a trip to Red Rocks because…well…it’s Red Rocks!

If I include places outside of the Denver area I’d go with a tour of the Celestial Seasonings Tea plant in Boulder, a visit to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, and Bishop’s Castle about an hour outside of Colorado City.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are several. Let’s do this one in chronological order…. First, to my parents who took me to see Jaws in the theater the summer I turned five and started my love of horror. Second is my wife of thirty years, fellow author and editor Hollie Snider. She’s been there encouraging, editing, and – truth be told – giving me a swift kick every now and then to get me back on track. Third has to be my son, writer and poet Josh Snider, whose unique take on the world has him asking questions no one else thinks to ask…and often tripping up whatever scene I happen to be working on at the time.

Next come a few broader groups with the first being Penny Jackman’s creative writing class at Pikes Peak Community College. I learned the basics of editing in this class as well as meeting my wife there. The Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group (CSFWG est. 1996) co-founded by Hollie Snider, John Irwin, and myself. The core group concept was to improve fiction and I proudly ran the group for thirteen years to the month before retiring to just be a member for a while. It was a great group to help writers find their voice. The Denver Horror Collective offered both in-person and virtual critiques for aspiring writers and helped polish some of my works before sending them out for consideration. Hollie and I co-edited the horror anthology CONSUMED: TALES INSPIRED BY THE WENDIGO for the DHC. Then there’s Fiction Foundry (fictionfoundry.org est. 2012) which focuses on being a publication prep critique group, comprising writers, editors, and publishers. I’m still an active member and proud to say the group has helped over 30 novels prepare for publication.

Finally comes my publisher, Robert Lewis, owner of

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Website: http://henrysnider.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/henry.snider

Image Credits
Henry Snider, Hollie Snider