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
Twitter: www.twitter.com/heidicatherine
Facebook: www.facebook.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/
Heidi Catherine can be found hanging out in the following clubs:
Website: www.heidicatherine.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/heidicatherine
Facebook: www.facebook.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.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.
