Ruby Jean Jensen, author

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

     During her career, Ruby Jean Jensen published over 200 stories in women’s magazines, and she had a total of thirty books published, mostly in the Horror genre.   All of Ruby’s books were copyrighted in her name, and her daughter now owns the publishing rights. 

FIRST NOVEL   

      Ruby wrote her first novel when she was only eleven years old.  Ruby lived in Northern California where it often rained a lot, and when she was trapped inside by the rain, she would often entertain herself by reading.   She recalled that she wrote her first book out of boredom, after she had read everything she could get her hands on.   Her writing proved to be fun—a story about some kids who ran away from home and tried to make a go of it.  She later re-read the novel, and was disappointed in it, so she burned the manuscript—a fact that she would later regret.

RETURN TO WRITING   

     It was several years before Ruby again began writing.  Ruby was now married and lived with her husband Vaughn, on a farm in Nebraska.  Vaughn worked long, hard hours outdoors on the farm, and Ruby Jean spent many hours alone.   After her farm and house chores were done, she read books to fill the time.  She quickly exhausted the reading materials from the small library in town.  At one point she was so bored that she studied the dictionary to learn new words.  She again turned to writing out of boredom and to occupy her mind.  She enjoyed the fun of writing and the satisfaction of creativity.

     The words kept coming and her first novel as an adult writer was finished.  She commented later that she felt the writing was quite good.  The plot was about a young, southern white girl in love with a black slave at the time of the Civil War.  She went to the library, found the name of a publisher, Simon & Schuster on a book jacket, and sent the manuscript to them.  The manuscript came back with a long letter from the publisher.  It seemed they liked the story, but felt the plot was wrong for publication—it was ahead of its time.  But they asked to see her next novel . . . Ruby later said: “I didn’t realize what a compliment they were paying me, and certainly didn’t realize the significance of a personal letter in place of a printed rejection slip.  All I knew was that the book had been turned down.  I got discouraged, and quit writing.”

DESIRE TO WRITE

     However, that strong desire to write refused to die.  Once Ruby’s only child was in school each day Ruby’s thoughts again turned to writing.  She discovered Writer’s Digest, a practical magazine for aspiring authors that provided encouragement, valuable information, and tips for aspiring writers.  She realized she could teach herself a lot about writing.  She began to really study writing, and she tried out several different directions.  Some of these directions produced another novel, and even a humorous non-fiction book about animals.

 Eventually she met with an English professor who taught creative writing at the University of Arkansas and sought his critique of her writing. This interaction helped her build confidence in her abilities and encouraged her to continue writing.    

FIRST WRITING SUCCESS   

     Searching for another avenue for her writing, Ruby began writing short stories for women’s magazines.  Since Ruby had so far been unable to sell a novel, she felt that she might gain some recognition by writing short stories, so she began writing fictional “confession” stories and submitting them to the magazine editors.    At first, all her submitted stories came back accompanied by a printed rejection slip.  Then, after four months of disappointment, an editor in New York telephoned and asked if she could come up with a different ending for the story she had submitted.  She responded, and the story sold.  Then, ironically, every one of the stories that had been rejected were promptly accepted. The tide had turned and Ruby was now a published author.  

     Ruby continued writing the fictional “confession” stories for publication and her reputation in that area grew, along with the demand for her work in that market. At an average rate of one a week, Ruby wrote about 200 published short stories over an eight-year period.

THE NOVELS 

     After selling several stories, Ruby looked for a literary agent to handle her writing.  She didn’t like marketing, and felt that she would have more success with an agent. She knew that a good agent would have influential connections and understand the publishers and what they are looking for, and the kind of money that should be paid.  She was successful in developing a productive, long-term relationship with Marcia Amsterdam, a literary agent based in New York City.    

     Upon learning that publisher Warner Paperback Library was looking for Gothic novels, Ruby decided to write one.  She completed her first Gothic, and it sold in three weeks!  This was 1974, and the first published book was “The House that Samael Built”, a tale that mixed Gothic romance and occult styles.  Building on this success, Ruby thankfully abandoned writing short stories and began devoting her time to writing Gothic novels.

     After another three novels with Warner, all with strong paranormal elements, Ruby had three novels published with Manor Books in 1978, each having a heavy emphasis on the occult with strong elements of suspense.  The taste of the reading public began to change and interest in Gothic novels tapered off. This caused Ruby to again alter the direction of her writing.  Romantic suspense and occult horror novels were becoming popular at the time, and she targeted several books in this genre.  Following short stints with Leisure Books (“Hear the Children Cry”, written under the name R.J. Hendrickson) and Tor (“Such a Good Baby” and “The Lake”), Ruby Jean found a long-term home with Zebra Books, starting with “MaMa” in 1983. All of these books were firmly in the Horror category.  She eventually had twenty books published with Zebra. Many of these novels dealt with what has been called the “creepy children” trope.  Her last novel was published in 1995, for a total of 30 novels.

WRITING HABITS AND MOTIVATION

     Ruby possessed an innate desire to write.   She was dedicated and persistent with her writing.  She didn’t have much encouragement from others, but after each disappointment she somehow found the strength to rebound from the rejection.  This strength of character and determination eventually paid off.   Ruby described herself as a very serious writer and always aspired to spend more time polishing each of her successive books. She expressed that while she was extra-critical, once finished with a book, she was totally finished with it, and loathed to go back to it.  She also noted that she had been forced to learn an easier, more relaxed style in order to bring her thoughts and ideas to life.      

Ruby’s daily routine involved meeting her goal of writing at least ten pages during the morning.  In the afternoon she typically thought about her current project, the story and the characters, and would write down her plan for the next day’s writing.  

    Ruby was an avid reader her entire life.  She read both fiction and non-fiction and kept abreast of new authors, best sellers, and news events, including unusually happenings and true crimes.  She also spent time at the library, where she researched material to be included in her next book.  She enjoyed research almost as much as writing.   Corresponding with her publisher and agent also accounted for much of her ‘non-writing’ time.   The tasks that she enjoyed the least were the final revisions and rewrites that were required just prior to publication.  She described these periods as very hard work, and not very enjoyable due to the time pressure and deadlines.  Ruby did not enjoy being in the public eye, and granted very few interviews.   She had been disappointed in some of the articles written about her…. she had been misquoted and the events of her life had been incorrectly portrayed.   

     During her early years of writing, Ruby wrote by hand, and then typed her own manuscripts.  After she sold a couple of novels, she decided to hire someone to do the typing.   She was fortunate to find Teresa Holmes, a legal secretary by day, who typed Ruby’s manuscripts during the evenings.  Ruby often said how much she appreciated having Teresa to decipher her handwriting and produce typed manuscripts.  Of course, after obtaining a computer Ruby stopped writing her novels by hand and learned to compose her writing while keyboarding on the computer, and this eliminated her need for a typist.     

WRITING LEGACY

     Ruby expressed her outlook that one of the greatest things a person can do is to entertain and help people relax, and that one of the greatest ways for anyone to relax is to read the kind of book that they enjoy—whether it’s a romance, mystery, or western—and forget their troubles for awhile.  She felt proud and fulfilled because she knew that her writing was enjoyed by so many. 

     Ruby cultivated an enthusiastic following and continues to have many fans today.  She often took time to personally answer her fan mail.  By the 2010’s her paperbacks had become sought-after collectibles, and there continues to be internet discussions regarding her books. 

PERSONAL LIFE

     Ruby Jean Hendrickson was born in rural McDonald County, Missouri, in the Whittenburg community.  She spent her first six years there, then moved with her parents to Northern California, where she remained until her late teens.  She was an only child and an avid reader.  The desire to write was a part of Ruby from a young age. 

     Ruby met and married her husband while she lived in Northern California.  He was a soldier in the army when they met and later served overseas during World War II.   After the war, they moved to Nebraska, Vaughn’s home state, where Vaughn farmed for several years.    They later returned to the Ozarks, the area of Ruby’s birth and early years, and spent the rest of their lives there.  In 1960, Ruby, Vaughn and their daughter settled down on a small acreage in Northwest Arkansas.      

   Ruby and Vaughn were married for over fifty years.   After his death she remained in their rural home in Northwest Arkansas, living an artistic life of quiet solitude, until her death.  She enjoyed nature, gardening, the outdoors, and her pets.  Ruby lived a long life, over 83 years, that included all the years from birth to old age, with all the experiences of life, both good and bad. She worked hard and realized many of her dreams.  She was devoted to her family, and was loved and respected by her family and friends.  Her business associates remember her dedication to her profession and her professionalism.  Her fans recall the many hours that they have been entertained by her writing.   Hers was truly a life well-lived.