Friday, 8 December 2017

Very intriguing book..... "The Soulweaver"

Today I am delighted to chat to author of The Soulweaver. This book sounds super intriguing to me and I can't wait to read it! I listened to the author read the opening chapter on a Facebook Live Video and the first line really pulled me in. The author of this book has also won awards and is super talented. I'm truly honoured to have her chat with me on my blog today. Hello Heidi Catherine!


Heidi, I’m delighted to have you on my blog today and I loved watching your live Facebook videos where you chat about your upcoming novel. It sounds very intriguing! Can you give us the first line of the novel and a little blurb as to what it’s about? 
Thanks for having me, and for your lovely words! It’s great to be here.

The Soulweaver is a story about a girl who is plagued by memories of having lived before. As these memories sharpen, she finds herself having to choose between the man she loved in her past life and the man she loves now.

Here are the opening lines…

“Hannah’s life began the day she died. It had happened before – both the dying and the beginning. She didn’t know it, though. All she knew was now.”

What inspired you to write this novel? 

When I was a little girl, I asked my mother what would happen if a widow remarried, only to one day find herself in heaven with two husbands. My quick-thinking mother told me that in heaven there's no jealousy, only pure love. I thought about this over the years, with this seed of thought unexpectedly flourishing into The Soulweaver. Writing this book gave me a wonderful opportunity to really explore this concept.

Can you tell me about that moment when you decided to sit down and write your first novel? How did you get over any hurdles of fear or doubt? 

I wrote my first novel when I was in my twenties. It was a middle grade novel, which I mistakenly thought would be easy. Several rejections from publishers soon told me that it wasn’t as easy as I thought. Feeling discouraged, I abandoned writing until my thirties. This time I tried my hand at writing romance novels, again naively thinking it would be easy (I’m a slow learner). After several more rejections from publishers, I finally decided to write the kind of book that I’d love to read. That was when I really fell in love with writing. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed doing anything as much as I enjoyed writing The Soulweaver. I’m in my forties now and actually glad it took me this long to get published. I really needed the life experience (and the writing experience!) to put together a story like this. I’m also glad that a few scenes contained within those romance manuscripts will never see the light of day ;-) As for the fear, hurdles and doubt… there have been plenty of those along the way (and they’re still there today), but I have a wonderful support network of people who are happy to shout at me when I feel like giving up. Failure is never an option.

Please can you tell me about your writing routine – how do you settle yourself down to write? 

I get rid of drop my kids off at school and return to a blissfully quiet house. I usually have a look at my email and social media and answer anything urgent, then I light a candle, put on some music, read my angel cards, settle into work and hope the phone doesn’t ring.

Do you have any tips for aspiring authors who would love to write but don’t know where to start? 

Don’t do what I did! Don’t write a book that you think will be easy. Write a book that you would love to read. Because no matter how good a writer you are, if your heart isn’t in it, then it will show. Also join as many writing groups and organisations as it takes until you ‘find your tribe’. Having likeminded people to share this lonely ambition with can make all the difference. Nobody will understand why you have puffy red eyes after the death one of your characters like your writing friends will.

What do you love doing when not writing? 

I love the beach and am lucky enough to have a house down the coast where I go with my family most weekends. I spend a lot of my ‘free’ time walking my dogs, gardening and being a slave to my children.

Was there a book you read that made you think “I’d love to write!”? 

The moment I finished reading The Hunger Games I began writing The Soulweaver. The stories aren’t very alike, other than having a heroine torn between two heroes, but I was inspired to create my own world where I could put my characters in impossible situations and see how they react. The Hunger Games explores love in many forms, not just romantic. We see a girl risk her life for her sister, a mother who loves her daughters yet is unable to look after them, and a man driven to alcohol after the death of his family. These are the kinds of relationships that fascinate me. And who wouldn’t want to be as successful as Suzanne Collins!

Lastly – a fun question – can you tell us about a funny/ embarrassing memory? 

A long time ago when I was young and silly, I was on holiday in Far North Queensland and I got talked into doing a bungy jump. I stood on the platform for a crazy long time with the staff doing several countdowns, but somehow I just couldn’t bring myself to jump. Eventually one of the guys picked me up by my hands and lowered me over the edge. Instead of letting go of him, I grabbed onto the platform for dear life and the poor guy had to prise off my fingers until I fell. My family like to remind me that I haven’t bungy jumped, I’ve bungy dropped. It was awful! Never again.

Heidi Catherine can be found hanging out in the following clubs: 

 Website: www.heidicatherine.com



Finally, as an extra treat, here's a link to  FREE prequel novelette called The Moonchild which introduces you to two of the main characters from The Soulweaver in the lifetime they lived before the book takes place.


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