Creativity Series: Meet author Heather Wardell

 

Today I’m featuring Heather Wardell as part of my creativity series.

Photo submitted by Heather Wardell. All rights reserved.

 

Heather is the author of twenty books, with more on the way. Like me, she writes in a variety of genres, all falling under the women’s fiction umbrella. Her titles like Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo and Seven Exes are Eight Too Many are chick lit. Holding Out for a Zero and Planning to Live are more serious.

 

Here’s our interview:

 

Holly: How long have you been writing?

Heather: In 2005 I wrote a first draft of a novel on a whim. My husband was away for six weeks on a business trip and I was bored so I figured I’d see if I could write a book like the ones I love reading. I did, and I’ve been doing it ever since. I self-published that first book (the free-to-download “Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo”) in 2008, and I’ve released nineteen more since then and am now a full-time author. 

 

Holly: What’s your latest project?

Heather: This is the cover of my newest book, “Game of Pies”.

When thirty-something lovers Brit and Kyle learn their grandmothers have a sixty-year-long feud, they agree to join the pie-making contest that’s the prime battlefield. If they win, the grandmothers agree to accept their relationship, or at least pretend to. If they lose? They’ll regret it. With only two months to learn to bake, can Brit and Kyle win “The Game of Pies” and save their relationship?

Heather (continued): I had a great time writing this, especially the ridiculousness between the grandmothers, and enjoyed doing the research for the grandmothers’ scenes in the 1960s. 

 

Holly: It looks like a fun book! Do you have any special accolades you’d like share?

Heather: Publisher’s Weekly called my previous novel “Holding Out for a Zero” “a riveting book about childhood trauma and the harmful neuroses that can arise from guilt” and said “the author’s authentic voice will prompt chills, chuckles, and empathy”. I loved that! But my favourite accolades are the emails from readers who’ve enjoyed my work. For something I started just for fun, it’s amazing to see that my books have actually had an impact on other people’s lives.

 

Holly: Is there any advice you wish you’d known sooner relating to your writing?

Heather: You are your own first reader, so you have to always write what matters to you. I started out that way but lost it a bit along the way, and I wish I’d kept it… if I love a book I’ve written there are other people out there who’ll love it too. Create what you care about and it’ll resonate with other people too. (That doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll make you rich. My work hasn’t. But it has resonated.)

 

Holly: Thank you, Heather, for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!

 

Heather is giving away a free short story to anyone who joins her monthly newsletter. Visit her website at  http://www.heatherwardell.com/ to sign up and receive news and more short stories. She’d also like to give an electronic copy of “Game of Pies” to one lucky winner who comments on this post.

 

Fun facts about Heather:

“I’m a natural 1200 wpm speed reader and the author of twenty self-published novels. I came to writing after careers as a software developer and elementary school computer teacher and can’t imagine ever leaving it. In my spare time, I read, swim, do yoga poorly, crochet, change my hair colour, and play drums and clarinet. Generally not all at once.

“I love chatting with readers! You can reach me through any of my social media platforms or by email through my website.”

http://www.heatherwardell.com/

More way to connect with Heather:

http://www.facebook.com/heather.wardell.author

http://www.twitter.com/heatherwardell

https://www.instagram.com/heatherwardellauthor/

https://www.pinterest.com/heatherwardell/