From my high school English teacher to Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin, these conversations with writers have helped me succeed
I’ve received a lot of valuable writing advice over the years, and it was all free. Yup. Free! These kind people graciously gave of their time and expertise to help this Canadian writer from small-town-Ontario get to where she is now. Where am I again?
But I jest. I’m grateful to have Amazon bestselling novels, audiobooks and scripts after 26 years of working as a professional writer, and I have these and other writers to thank. Unless I’ve added quotes because I got the advice in writing, these are memories from our conversations—some of which took place 35 years ago! and not direct quotes.
Sally Smith, former editor of The Kanata Kourier and my first writing mentor (I was 15!)
Write with your heart, edit with your mind.
Frances Connolly, my amazing high school English and creative writing teacher
Don’t forget to add in taste as a description. We often read about the sense: vision, sound, even feel, sometimes we get scents, but authors often forget to describe flavours. Cover the whole spectrum of senses for maximum emotional impact in your reader.
Aaron Sorkin, Oscar-winning Screenwriter, Playwright and Film Director (The West Wing, The Social Network, Being the Ricardos)
I asked him what to do when a sub-character won’t shut up:
“Strictly speaking if you’re writing page after page that doesn’t have anything to do with your story, you might be writing a different story than you think. Intention and obstacle. Forward motion. You have to make your words do something.”
I asked him his thoughts on recycling our own material:
“Some things are just always sexy, and some things are just always funny.”
When I pressed him: what’s always funny? I got “Cheese.” Me: “But not Gouda! That’s smelly.” Him: “Not actual cheese. The word cheese.”
You might notice I make a reference to cheese in nearly every single work I’ve written since 2010. I always will. Maybe it’s not funny anymore, but you can all look for this Easter egg in my work and smile now, knowing where it came from, and that it’s my way of saying thanks.
Michael J. Weithorn, award-winning writer-producer-director (King of Queen’s, A Little Help, The Sidekick, Weird Loners)
You can always increase the tension. Tear your character’s world apart dramatically. It makes for the falling back together at the end more powerful.
Ken Cuthbertson, award-winning author and former editor, Queen’s Alumni Review magazine
Every time you write, make sure you teach the reader something. When they’re finished the article, they should always have new information and hopefully a new perspective.
We’re a helpful bunch, because we know the struggle is real.
The moral of my story is: if you don’t ask, you don’t get! So, don’t be shy. Ask a writer you admire a question. Maybe you can find them on social media, or if you’re lucky, in line at registration at a writers conference. But buy them a book, not a drink. Times have changed.
Writers are usually willing to help those who remind them of where they started. I know I am -but please let’s pretend I’m still 26.
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It’s a finalist! You can help make this book a movie. Please vote at http://taleflick.com
Strangely, Incredibly Good is a finalist in the Tale Flick Discovery Contest, where producers search for the book they want to turn into a movie. The winning author will win a chance to meet with producers to discuss their book being optioned as a movie. Even if Strangely, Incredibly Good doesn’t win that chance, it will gain lots of visibility in the industry with the help of your votes.
Please vote for the book to become a movie here on January 22, 2020. Voting starts 10 a.m. Pacific/ 1 p.m. EST and runs until 4 pm. Pacific on January the 24th, 2020. You can vote once. Tag a friend in these comments or tag them on my social media posts (my Instagram, my Facebook, or my Twitter or YouTube channel) and share my social media posts wherever you can. Every person who votes and tags someone will be entered in my draw – you get bonus entries for tagging/sharing! The draw is for signed copies of Strangely, Incredibly Good and Remarkably Great AND a direct message chat (or email interaction if you prefer) with me once I start learning about the optioning process, which I will share with you in our chat. If the book does end up becoming a movie, the winner of this draw will be the first fan to get a video chat live from the set (if possible) and some fun movie swag (t-shirts, hats etc.)! This fun draw will take place on January 29th, 2020.
Tale Flick is a company that describes itself as “bridging the literary world with the Film & TV realm.” Their unique online marketplace brings together the different parties that help turn written stories into Film/TV shows.
Strangely, Incredibly Good was one of 40 stories chosen from their database to take place in this book to film Discovery Competition.
More details on why this is important to me and how the contest works. #TaleFlickDiscovery #booktofilm #strangelyincrediblygood #canadianauthors #makingmovies
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A major power outage inconvenienced my family, but I’d do it all again for the togetherness.
“Oh, my God. You’ve got to be kidding me!” my husband Bill sprung out of bed at 5:30 a.m.
He fled downstairs to find the new solarium he and our 14-year-old daughter had recently installed lying on the grass in a sad heap of metal and plexiglass, along with several branches and other debris.
Bill had just built a beautiful deck for mounting the solarium, and he and our 14-year-old daughter had spent most of the previous weekend putting it up as a surprise for me. Now it was in pieces on our lawn.
Winds over 100 km/hr ripped our new solarium off our newly-built deck and felled the neighbor’s tree onto wires.
November came in like a cunning thief this year, stealing our light, our heat, and, oh, the horror! our beloved Wi-Fi. Early on Friday November 1st, winds exceeding 100 km/hour felled trees and hydro poles, wiping out the power from one million Québec homes at the peak of the storm. Over the course of three days, 1000 Hydro-Québec workers toiled in rain and darkness, managing to restore power to most Québeckers by Sunday evening. A crew of 40 workers from Detroit flew in on Sunday to assist them, and workers from New Brunswick also helped.
About 294,000 Hydro-Québec customers including a little more than 6,000 clients in Montréal were still without electricity late Saturday afternoon. Montérégie, the Laurentians, and Chaudière-Appalaches remained the hardest-hit regions. We’re in the Montérégie area and our outage lasted until late Monday morning — 72 hours.
“We are in a situation that is the worst since the infamous 1998 Ice Storm,” Québec Premier Francois Legault said on Saturday.
“I guess we didn’t learn enough the first time, we need a refresher course,” I said, not realizing how right I was.
My husband Bill and I fell in love during the 1998 Ice Storm. I remember being impressed when I asked how he was managing without power and he said he was spending every day volunteering at a rescue center for those without it. My home hadn’t been affected, so I’d been lazing around my warm house drinking red wine with a friend’s Dad who needed a place to stay. Though we were not expected to work for a few days, my future husband’s altruism prompted me to get off my lazy butt, bundle up, go take one-of-a-kind Ice Storm photos and write relatable human-interest stories for our local paper. Everywhere I went, I found a renewed sense of community. Neighbors were coming together to support one another, in NDG where I lived, and across southern Québec and eastern Ontario.
Now here we were again 21 years later, in a similar situation but married, with a cellphone-loving teenager and three Netflix addicts in the house.Let’s be honest, aside from those few people who’ve discovered minimalism and maintained the lifestyle, we in the western world love our technological gadgets more than we like some people. Or maybe most people. I said let’s be honest.
By late Friday night, hour ten without power, the initial shock of the windswept solarium had worn off. A tree fell into our yard, sparking precariously on our backyard wires, but the rain put those sparks out. When we learned Hydro wasn’t going to be coming until at least Sunday afternoon, we sat together in our living room eating Subway sandwiches and staring at the fire. What were we going to do in the cold and the dark for days on end? It was too difficult to find my daughter’s Netflix And Don’t Touch Me pajama shirt, or my Charge My Phone And Feed Me shirt, but those would have been the perfect irony to wear during the outage. Instead, our daughter put on her pink unicorn onesie and hung battery-operated twinkle lights around her room. I took a photo. She wore a peaceful expression on her face, one I hadn’t seen in a while. It warmed my heart and my slightly frozen toes. Then I remembered: with my cell phone dying and little data left, I couldn’t “share” it with anyone. What was it going to be like, living without lights, heat or access to Wi-Fi for what could be days?
It ended up being a cold, inconvenient, beautiful time.
The kindness of neighbors: those who didn’t lose power this time gave us hot water for tea and an extension cord reaching across the street to their outdoor plug. Fridge saved!
We were forced to spend hours together in our living room, trying to stay warm by the fire. That was also where I’d lit most of our candles, so we huddled on one sofa under blankets. Even though, thanks to an extension cord and a generous neighbor, we managed to get our Wi-Fi back up by Saturday, we still gathered every morning in that fire-lit room and spent our days there together. We played Scrabble by candlelight and our daughter won by using “Exuded” for 60 points. She lay on the floor in her unicorn onesie as we ate leftover Halloween candies and chatted about nothing and everything that matters. Meanwhile, Bill tried to glue our broken solarium back together by flashlight. At one point, I looked at him, working away in the darkness as we sat wrapped in blankets by the fire, and thought with a chuckle: all he needs is to pick up the fiddle and start playing like Michael Landon and we’ve become the Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie.
Morning of day four without heat or lights. I tried to retain my sense of humor.
I had a lot of time — 72 hours in the damp, cold dark, in fact — to think about being alone, being together, and being alone-together. It’s become second nature for us to share private bits of our lives with near-strangers online every single day. But what, if anything, are we sharing with our family members?
While they found the time that parents and children 8–16 spent together had increased by nine percent since 2000, alone-together time, which is time spent in the same house but not in the presence of one another, rose by 43% over the period of study, to 136 minutes per day in 2015.
Guess what most of us are doing in that alone-together time? We’re watching Netflix or YouTube or we’re scrolling our phones or tapping away on our tablets, sharing little bits our lives with the people we don’t live with. All while the people who’ve had our backs and hearts for decades are sitting beside or across from us.
I’m not saying it’s wrong or evil or that we’re bringing about the Apocalypse, I’m just saying we should at least pay attention to how often we’re alone with someone we haven’t even met as opposed to fully engaged with the people who love us.
Sometimes, sharing our lives with people outside of our family is good for the spirit. My daughter has an online pal in Holland and when I’m cooking dinner, she’s often up in her room Skyping with this friend. She’s learned lots about the country, the people, and they love encouraging one another in their pursuit of art.
Over the years, my readers have become my friends. I share a lot about my life with them because it feels like a give-and-get-back scenario. But I try not to let the time I spend on Instagram and Facebook interfere with family time. By 7 p.m., our usual suppertime, we all log off our devices, put our phones in the charger in the kitchen, and try to leave them there for the rest of the night. You’d think that four hours of family togetherness every night would be adequate but with television, homework and Skype or phone calls often interrupting those hours, it passes quickly and too often becomes alone-together time.
So I’ve decided to instigate a Family Game Night every Friday or Saturday night. Devices and television will be off for several hours. My family likes the idea, probably because they think I’m easy to beat. I’m studying the Scrabble Dictionary cover to cover, and I’m going to prove them wrong!
Devices set aside and Game On.
Michael J. Fox once said that, “Family isn’t an important thing. Family is everything.”It took no electricity for days, hanging out with my best friends by the fire for me to realize that, in this era where it seems we’re walking around with devices glued to our hands, family technology-free time is everything.
Oh, and my husband isn’t buying a fiddle, but he is working on fixing our solarium and getting it back up so we can soak in Spring’s early days there as a family. Close enough.
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If you’re an indie author, chances are you spent most of your budget on your proofreader, editor, cover designer and maybe a branding expert. So, if funds are low, how are you going to afford to promote your book?
Have no fear, cheap ways are here, and I’ve tried them all.
I used these techniques and found within six months of trying them all that my monthly income had increased by 300 percent. They all took very little time to set up, and were worth the investment, because they brought me a profit. Before you try any of these, though, I caution you that they will only work if you had your book properly edited by a professional, your cover is eye-catching and designed by someone who recently took a course (cover trends change yearly!) and if you have a website, a Twitter account, and a Facebook Author page set up. Once you’ve done that, you can implement these techniques.
1. Tweet about your book. Use Booklinker.net to set up a universal link to Amazon, so that no matter what country your potential customer is from, it will lead them directly to their Amazon store. You can also add beautiful promotional photos to your tweet with using Canva.com
2. Ask any followers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to send you photos of themselves with your book. You can offer them a free copy of your next book, or if you aren’t sure when that’s going to happen, a complimentary second copy for their friend. Then post them on your most followed form of social media. Readers love interacting with authors, and this gives you lots of great, free photos to share around the web. You might want to set up a special folder in Pinterest just for these photos. You can integrate this idea with a Rafflecopter (Rafflecopter.com) which engages your Facebook and Twitter followers and gets you new readers to sign up for your mailing list. Mine was the most expensive technique on this list, but I got over 200 new and engaged subscribers in a few weeks.
3. Set up a Kindle Countdown Deal or Free Book Deal and then do a paid promotion to announce the deal via Bargain Booksy or its sister company Freebooksy for your first deal day, and for later days in the deal, Book Sends, Fussy Librarian or, for those in the UK, Book Hippo, which is free! I know, it seems wrong to put the book you spent so much time writing down to 0.99 or even free. I fought against the concept for months, but when I finally did a free book deal for my first book, and then advertised that it was free using Freebooksy, I made back all the money I’d spent having my second book professionally edited. You do need to spend some money in this business to make money. Once you leap and give it a try (baby steps at first, don’t break the bank!) you’ll be amazed at the results. You’ll have a higher ranking in the Amazon charts for a while, so more readers will learn about your book, buy it, sign up for your mailing list (especially if you’ve mentioned the mailing list at the end of your first and second book) and more reviews, which will result in even more sales. It takes time to build momentum, but it does all work like dominoes once you promote your first book for a low price, or free.
You needn’t put your book in Kindle Unlimited (exclusive to Kindle) just to get it free – there are ways around that so that you can put your books on Kobo, iBooks etc. – and everyone writes about this (price matching) so I won’t cover it here because it’s a long drawn out process. I am exclusive to Kindle and it’s working very well for me, but you can still put your book to $0 for a few months via price matching, and see if that results in more reviews and sales of your other books.
It’s all an experiment, and the industry is changing every month, and so I would suggest that you spend very little on these simple ideas and on any paid promotions at first, but do dip your toes in the water, and gauge how they perform for you over time. Then, if you’ve found success, use part of your profits to advertise some more.
Good luck, and don’t forget to keep on writing! Even just 50 words a day is better than nothing.
Heather
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I’ve just been invited by Amazon Canada to be an Amazon Influencer. This means that I get my own website at Amazon.ca to display all of my books (finally!) and I can recommend products to you there as well. As one reader put it, “You’re going commercial?”
You bet I am, but I’m not doing anything differently with my online presence than I have been for many years. It’s just that a large corporation finally noticed that what I have to say (of my own volition) to my followers may be useful to them. If that’s what some call “going commercial,” I say bring it on, bring it big or go home broke. I’m not doing anything I’m not proud of; in fact, I’m really excited about this, because I’d already been plugging books and products in my Instagram/ on Twitter and YouTube for two years without even realizing it. Now I’ll just be earning a small percentage per purchase when I point readers to books and products that I already use and love.
I’ve always been a writer for the love of writing, and if I can find ways to do what I’m passionate about every day, stick to my morals, and still make a decent living in the 21st century as an author? Then “going commercial” is something I’m darn proud of.
The best part is, this is one more way that I can prove to those of you who aspire to become authors that, yes, Virginia, we CAN be wealthy writers! Very few can make a living that will sustain a whole family simply by writing books (especially if you don’t have over ten published books out yet). We can, however, make a decent salary for ourselves as writers if we think outside the box and do more than just write books. We have to consider selling those books as ebooks, paperbacks, audiobooks; selling the rights to adapt those books into films; speak about our lives as writers and get paid for that, and use social media to gain more interested readers, which gives us leverage in making business deals with corporations and organizations that we respect.
I started out as a poet, first published at age five, and decided to become a writer then and there. At the time, I didn’t realize I was headed into a profession that would pay me very little (even as a trained journalist) for coming up with fresh ideas and stories out of thin air. It didn’t make sense to me: why are writers so undervalued, when people who catch footballs and run with them earn $5-20M a year?
Reality sunk in quite quickly in my twenties when I began sending out story ideas to magazines and learned I’d be paid two to forty cents a word for my work ($1/word for the top magazines) and that the average author in Canada makes $6,000 a year. For some crazy reason, though, I kept on writing. I think the reason is called passion.
I’ve since made it my mission to be transparent with followers who tell me that they want to be authors, too. I try to remind you that it’s going to be challenging, but not impossible, to make a living doing this. I only started making a good profit at writing fiction two years ago. It started out as what I called “skate money” to buy my daughter skates, but soon my earnings became “vacation money,” and I was able to buy a $500 daybed for our backyard, several lovely vacations for our family and I paid many bills (or as my husband Bill likes to joke about it, “Pay Bill.”). While my book income continues to grow, I wouldn’t be able to handle the mortgage payments on my own, plus saving for University for our daughter, plus all of our yearly expenses, without the help of my spouse’s income. I can’t sustain my family in 2018 on my author earnings. Yet.
And that’s why I’m going commercial. Plus, I love online shopping. I love avoiding traffic and crowds and shopping in my luxurious grey robe. Now, when I’m not writing my next novel or working on getting the last one adapted into a movie, I get to buy dresses, purses and shoes and tell you what I think about them? Yes, please!
Check out my new Amazon Influencer Link and please use it whenever you want to buy one of my books or audio books. It will be much appreciated.
Thanks for taking this journey with me,
Heather
Shopping online is my second favourite way of doing it. I most love shopping at outdoor markets, buying flowers and hand-crafted decorations for our home.
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I’ve been so excited this past week, I can barely eat, sleep, or —now this isn’t normal for me —write! I know it’s because I’m artistically exhausted. I just completed the long and arduous task of putting together an anthology of poems titled Caged: New and Selected Poems.
Don’t get me wrong – the task was not without joy! It’s a unique arrangement of photographs and new and selected poems published over the last 25 years of my career, and it was created with the help of an amazing team, including editor Jennifer Bogart and book and cover designer Jo Clendening. Writing, taking the photos and even putting this anthology together—that was the fun part. Now comes the challenging part: getting it out there into the hands and hearts of poetry readers around the world.
It never goes away: that nervousness in the pit of your stomach the week before a book release. Will anyone want to read it? What if the reviews are horrible? And this one – this one will be familiar to many aspiring and long-time authors – What if this is the last good thing I ever write?
Experience has taught me that people do indeed want to read my works, and that sometimes some of the reviews are indeed horrible. I’ve learned not to pay much attention to those if they don’t offer me solid advice on becoming a better writer. I won’t let trolls or nastiness stop me from allowing my creative juices to flow. Creativity makes my life more colorful and meaningful. Besides, there have been many great reviews, and even a couple bestselling novels. I try to focus on those positive achievements, while still giving myself room to improve and grow as an artist. Tantrums happen with setbacks and frustrations (come on, I’m an artist!) but I finish those as fast as I can, and move along. Wayne Dyer once wrote “no one is going to ruin this Christmas, especially not me,” and I try to live my writing career like that. It’s a privilege to get to do what I do. I try to remember that every day.
I’ve also learned that as soon as I launch one book, if I take some time to chill and relax into all that’s creative within and around me, something new and beautiful always starts brewing. So far, each new project has been quite different. I like to think I’ll still be writing and taking photos at 88, but we’ll have to wait and see. The official count stays at 12 books and a digital screenplay —for now!
You can check out CAGED: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS on Kindle and on Amazon worldwide and Bn.com It’s available in three different formats, and ready to pre-order at a reduced price on Kindle until Nov. 10! You can also pre-order the color hardback copy (it has already charted as the #3 Most Gifted Canadian Poetry Book on Amazon.ca! Wow! Thanks, lovely readers!)
The official launch date for the book is November 10, and that evening, you’ll find me on my Facebook Author page, doing a live video to say hello, raise a glass, and thank you for reading. Let’s say 830 EST. I may do an earlier one for my overseas pals if time permits that afternoon.
Copies of the color hardback edition of Caged arrived at our home this afternoon. And guess what? The goosebumps and elation you feel when you hold one of your publications in your hands for the first time? That never goes away, either.
Maybe, now, I can finally sleep.
love,
Heather
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Wow! THE TICKET has a few recent reviews which have made me grin and do a little Heather dance — always fun, passionate, but never graceful.
THANK YOU so much, dear readers, for reading, sharing, hashtagging, and for reviewing! You’ve helped make The Ticket a #1 Kindle Bestseller. Now, let’s make it a national paperback bestseller! You can order it on Amazon and Bn.com, or get a signed copy from me at Chapters Pointe Claire, QC on Sept. 17th. Thanks again.
This is the most enjoyable book I have read in a long time. I fully intend to read more books by this author and I would recommend her books to everyone.
GOODREADS REVIEW:
Sep 08, 2016
Melanie rated it: It was amazing
I was recently introduced to Heather via a mutual Facebook friend, who described her books as “new works of art”. It took a second for the implications of that to sink in (I blame the picture of Justin Trudeau that this was all posted with), but then it dawned on me–a REAL-LIFE, PUBLISHED AUTHOR?! This is like, Nerd Girl Heaven for me now, talking to a REAL-LIFE, PUBLISHED AUTHOR! So with all of the tact of one who spends far too much time lost within the pages of a book and not nearly enough time actually talking with people, I demanded that Heather tell me all about her books–what did she write, what should one read first–you know, all of the “put her on the spot” type of questions, thrown at her all at once, with a “nice to meet you, btw” added on at the end (as a total after thought) for “charm”.
She was very gracious in answering my questions, which I somehow kept at a manageable number. I loved the way she described what she was going for–“fast fun reads Moms could pick up and put down, and yet they’d be memorable, have deep moments and humor.” Woah–this chick has got it NAILED–that’s exactly what I want to read, at least on occasion, since I am rarely reading less than two or three at a time. When she told me about this one, I jumped over to Goodreads and Amazon and read reviews–she’d told me that she had been inspired by social media story that had become the most viral social media story ever, and I immediately remembered the one she was talking about. The guy, the girl, and the plane tickets.
I remember reading the story a year or two ago–guy buys tickets to take his girlfriend on a romantic trip around the world, and she breaks up with him before the trip, which leads him on a search for a girl with the same name to take her place. I vaguely spending an indulgent, whimsical moment or two imagining just how romantic that could turn out to be, and maybe a bit of disappointment when it didn’t. Fortunately, there’s Heather, whose imagination and pen are BOTH far mightier than mine.
Now, here’s the problem for me in all of this. I have a SERIOUS issue with about 97.5% of chick lit romcoms, because they’re all just, as I call them, “glass slipper bullshit”. I don’t want just perfect, love at first sight happily ever after, and will put a book down and stop reading an author entirely over it. But, what the hell, I figured I’d give it a chance at least. I mean really, what’s a couple of chapters, right?
It was AWESOME, right from the start. It was so very real — it was a lot less like reading a book and curling up with a best friend for some catch up time and a glass or 3 of wine. Allie was just so… I don’t even know. Perfectly flawed? So was Pete, yes, but Allie was a very well-written, relateable character.
I loved this book, start to finish. Sure, it was a little bit of the glass slipper fairy tale, but it was believable. It wasn’t just love at first site and they lived happily ever after, it was a little bit……messy. Like falling in love is. Messy as hell.
P.S–PLEASE let’s have more Trix!! Sassy, spunky, calls em like she sees em and she’s a perfect counterpart to Allie. I LOVED her!
There are some books that arrive in your hands at exactly the right time; The Ticket by Heather Grace Stewart is one of those books. When my copy arrived last week, I was in need of a warm, feel-good read with a touch of romance and my needs were amply met by this story.
Lawyer, Allie James, and news anchorman, Pete McCarney meet when he is looking for someone to share an amazing holiday with him after he has been let down badly by his girlfriend, also named Allie James. He has already interviewed more than twenty women of the same name,when he meets Lawyer Allie and decides that she is the one to share the trip.
Both Allie and Pete set out on their adventure with a certain amount of trepidation. Their whirlwind journey is full of excitement, highs and lows and more than a touch of romance.
I have deliberately not said much about the plot, as I would not want to spoil the book for anyone. However, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed “The Ticket”. The characters came to life and I loved following the development of their relationship. I liked the way the author looked at the situation from both points of view; for me, the “dual narrator” added to the humour and depth of the story.
Thank you, Heather Grace Stewart, for writing a book which is fun and engaging – just the right thing for a bleak winter’s day – or a day in the middle of summer, for that matter.
The story follows two very different people, Allie James and Pete McCarney and their coming together following the breakdowns of their individual relationships. Allie is a strong, independent woman lawyer who is still recovering from her divorce from her cheating husband, and is sent on a five week, forced vacation from her law firm. Pete is a successful TV news anchor who had booked a three week, six city tour across the world, only for his girlfriend, also called Allie James to dump him before they travelled.
Not wanting to travel alone, Pete decides to advertise for a travelling companion with the name Allie James and, well you can guess the rest and if you can’t, read the book.
It is clear Allie’s divorce is still a big issue for her and she still holds a huge grudge against her ex and his new partner, which has made her distrustful of men in general. She’s a hardworking woman, but who continually seems to have things happen to her.
Pete on the other hand, has everything; successful career, looks, charm and wit, but the only thing he’s missing is a one true love. It seems an unlikely match with his smooth Gaelic quotes and her foul mouth. Could he really fall in love with someone he’s just met? Even more so with a girl bearing the same name as the one who broke his heart?
What is unique about this book, and I’m seeing it a lot more in books, is that it is written from both protagonists viewpoints. At the start, it just focuses on Allie, but once Pete comes on the scene, the author writes from his perspective too. I know from experience that this is very difficult to do if the viewpoints are from opposite genders. But the author does this very well and the continuity of the story is well balanced and flows exceptionally well.
Obviously, I won’t spoil the book, but there is some sexual content. Usually I cringe when I read stuff like that. Not because I’m prudish or I grew up in Victorian England, but because of the way it is usually written. But in this instance, it is written in a tasteful manner and again, written very well. It is not crude or explicit, but rather leaves some to the readers imagination which, in my opinion is the best way to write scenes like that.
The story is really easy to follow. I am a very slow reader and when I’m reading a book, I always have to have a quick glance over what happened previously so I can continue reading. But this book was very simple to follow; I’d read the last line and remembered instantly what had happened and where I was up to. It’s nothing like these complicated books that take three pages to describe a room and still nothing happens; The Ticket is a page turner and, even though you have a pretty good idea what’s going to happen, it’s how they get got there that keeps the interest going and the pages turning.
Something else that was impressive was the amount of research that will have gone into it. Unless the author has actually been to every place mentioned (and let’s be honest, who would admit to willingly going to Coventry?) she has definitely done some excellent research. Talking of Coventry, it’s nice for once to see an author writing about a different city in England. Almost every book I read from non-British writers who are writing about England, they always inevitably focus on London, like this is the only City we have. This book this use London as a destination, however it’s acceptable in the context of the book.
One part of the book I very much enjoyed was the moment in Prague where it all made sense to Allie and she realised exactly what she wanted. It’s something that a lot of people can relate to, but it takes 14,000 feet in the air with the ground getting ever closer for her to realise it!
I would give this book 9/10. It was very enjoyable and demands a sequel!
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Today I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to feature author Jennifer Bogart as my guest blogger. Jennifer became my friend while editing two of my novels. Besides being a fantastic storyteller and cheerleader for other authors, Jennifer is the mother of four boys. Before you leave this page, be sure to click on the Rafflecopter box at the bottom, That will take you to her blog, where you can enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card!
First, thanks to Heather for letting me use her virtual space to talk about Remember Newvember, writing, and finding inspiration. The world is a remarkably great place. Since starting the journey to publication, I’ve met some strangely, incredibly good writer friends, and Heather is at the top of the list. Without the constant support and encouragement, life wouldn’t be the same.
Inspiration for Newvember came from my everyday life. Stuck in routine, happy to exist within a clearly defined space, I struggled – and often still do – to break out of the comfort of familiarity. I discovered that writing is hard work… but not writing is even more difficult. Without the release writing provides, too many chaotic emotions well up and bubble over as suds of insanity. Writing keeps me focused, gives me peace, and provides balance. Most days, I exist somewhere between imagination and reality, since a large portion of my time is spent working on my own writing or editing for others. The hardest part of being a writer is letting others in, taking advice, and recognizing that the work begins after the story is complete.
Marketing, however, is a different beast entirely, and this is where the real work begins. Lately, I’ve tried to make marketing an extension of my creative process. Writing blogs and guest posts, creating worthwhile content and connecting with readers, writers, and other creatives are essential activities because in the end, we have to support each other to achieve success. We’re in this together, for better or worse, and I’m striving to make it for the better. Having author friends, both virtual and in person, transforms the solitary act of writing into one of solidarity. No one understands the depth and passion of the creative mind quite like another artist.
One of the themes that runs through Newvember is friendship – specifically, the different kinds of relationships we need. Not everyone can provide the write right kind of support and encouragement, so it’s important to connect with those who can. Thankfully, I’ve met authors like Heather, who are open, giving, and honest about what is truly involved in the writing process. Sharing resources makes the writing world a smaller, friendlier space.
This post was supposed to be about revisiting Newvember, but it turned into something better… it’s about revisiting friendship – especially the ones that you need most to hold onto your sanity, create a sense of community, and provide inspiration to keep pushing forward in a world that doesn’t always understand what an artist needs.
However, if you think being an author is all glam and perks like sipping free lattes while you sign your books, I have proof of the exact opposite right here in my Top 10 Awkward Moments At My Bookstore Signing List:
10 Heard in one of the busiest bookstores in North America (Chapters Indigo Pointe Claire Quebec)
Me: Are you here for a particular book or could I interest you in mine?
Several customers: Nope. I’m not much of a reader.
9 There were gorgeous, soft, faux fur mittens being sold behind me. People were trying them on all day behind me, and even asking me what I thought. Authors, beware: you’ll spend three years sweating over creating your book series, and end up selling mittens at a high-traffic bookstore.
8 “OMG! It’s Heather Grace Stewart!” My friend screamed this every time she re-entered the store, which she did several times, and ran up to me, arms waving madly in the air. People stopped and stared. I do think it sold a few books, though.
7 My table was decorated in a read-your-book-in-the-bath theme. To the kid who ate my soap: You owe me $2.50.
6 To the guy who took my photo-business-card and then told his buddy, right in front of me, “I’m going to *use* this later tonight.” Ew. Just, ew. I told you to “Just go,” and pointed you to the door, but I wish I’d thrown hardcover books at you. Or my latte down your pants.
5 Facebook Mentions has an option to try Live Video. Facebook, you should call it Can’t Get A Complete Sentence Out Video Because The Connection Is Too Weak. Neat that 2,000 people liked me saying next to nothing while riding an escalator.
4 No, I don’t know where the washrooms are! Well, I do, but I’m sick of telling people because I DON’T WORK HERE!
3 Heard while a line-up formed late afternoon for me to sign box-sets:
Lady at back of line: Is she famous?
Other lady in line: She’s locally famous.
Me: Huh. So now I’m locally famous. Like cheese. Or a small deli. I’m right up there with cheese and smoked meat.
2 I sold out! I sold out! 33 books in three hours! I sold out!
Except, someone who assured me they wanted a signed box set left it unsigned, in Starbucks. Okay, I *almost* sold out.
1 Two female fans licked my face for a photo opp with me.
Yes. Licked. My. Face. Okay, they happen to be wonderful friends as well as fans, so maybe it wasn’t as creepy as it sounds.
Just plain weird.
If this is what being “locally famous” is going to bring, I’m not sure I’m up for it…but I do love cheese. Mmm, cheese.
Heather 🙂
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Discover the romantic comedies readers can't put down.#Strangelyincrediblygood #58 Humorous Fiction (Kobo) #Remarkablygreat #1 in Time Travel Romance (Kindle UK)http://author.to/hgstewart
Hi all!
Join me on a 3.5 minute trek along the St. Lawrence River, where I talk about finding your rhythm in writing, using natural elements in your writing to help connect with your readers, and nearly get hit by a truck while vidding (I’m kidding Mum and Dad! Kidding! Promise I’ll never do this again!)
Ugh. Marketing. Just the word sends me running to the fridge for comfort food.
We authors are not built for marketing our books. We need to learn the business, and it’s not an easy one.
I do like interacting with readers online, and I especially love meeting them in person at readings and book signings. But figuring out how to stand out in a sea of millions of other hybrid (traditionally & self published) authors? Yikes. It gives me a migraine.
Yet, I try to spend at least an hour every working day marketing my work. I write every morning, then make business calls and compose or answer emails, and then I take at least one action towards marketing my latest two books. My earlier works? They take a back seat. I can’t do it all. I hope they’ll be discovered when I share a link to all my work online.
One tool that has helped me immensely in marketing my work online and creating printable posters for readings is CANVA.COM It’s so user friendly, and it’s fun! In the last few months, I have made a lot of promotional posts for Facebook, Twitter and even made my most recent book covers with it. It’s free to use your own photos and template. You pay a small amount ($1 each item) if you want to buy the rights to use certain photos and/or designs.
Made this in Canva today:
Yes, writers write, but we also need to learn to market what we produce, and not just for launch day. We need to speak up and help new readers discover our work. If we don’t (and we don’t happen to have a wealthy publicist who takes us out for a sushi lunch every week- yeah I’m not dreaming at all! ), who will?
Heather
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Hey readers, how are things? I’ve been so busy this summer, both playing hard and working hard, and being kept busy with the August 1st release of Remarkably Great. My third novel, The Ticket, will hopefully be out in a few months – more on that later.
Oh, and a #sigfie #selfie with SIG or RG would be most appreciated – even if you’re holding up your Kindle! I’d love it! Just tweet or FB post them! Can’t wait!
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Remarkably Great is available to pre-order NOW on Kindle or order it when it’s launched August 1, 2015! This is a stand-alone story – you don’t have to have read Strangely, Incredibly Good to enjoy its content, but of course reading both is twice the fun.
Prefer print? No worries – you can now order it from Amazon worldwide and Amazon.ca in September. Print copies will be $14.99 plus shipping & handling. You can also order printed copies via Paypal by contacting writer@hgrace.com and making note of your request.
Thanks so much for your interest and support! Please share this post where you can.
Heather 🙂
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I believe Remarkably Great has a new cover: I’m in love!
How do my readers feel about this one compared to the red one with girl on motorbike?
You can pre-order it now! Available August 1, 2015 Don’t have a Kindle? Order it anyway to show support. then let me know here or at writer@hgrace.com and I’ll send the epub for Kobo, iBooks etc.
Please vote in comments below.
Yup, Cat is not a blonde, but book covers and movies cast women differently than how they were described in the book all the time. I think the picture depicts Cat and Gene’s passion well….without his shirt cheesily ripped off like 98 percent of the romance novels out there!
Thoughts?
Thanks!
🙂 Heather
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My work-in-progress The Ticket just reached 20K reads on Wattpad and 1K Likes. THANK YOU!
Considering I’ve only had about 200 reads of my most popular book “Strangely, Incredibly Good” (I mean copies sold – I hope everyone who bought it read it! 🙂 “SIG” has 5K reads of the 3 Chapters I’ve posted on Wattpad) – this kind of validation takes my breath away. I have always written for the sheer joy of it, but also to have my work read, and finally, people are reading. I don’t know if this is a fluke. I don’t know if it’s a “good month.” And yes, I’ve likely lost my mind, giving my writing away for free! (I may not put the entire The Ticket up on Wattpad. Please don’t throw tomatoes at me if that’s what I, or a future publisher, decide).
I just know I’m grateful right now to Wattpad readers who are giving me the ‘thumbs up,’ to keep on writing, even though I have worked my butt off writing 2 and 3/4 novels in 2014-2015 and only made $312 last year (this is NOT a whining session; I’m so damn lucky to have another salary in this household, just wanted to point out the harsh reality for so many hard-working authors & artists living like me).
“It’s not about the money money money,” but it’d be nice to make a small living at this. So I “Don’t Stop Believing,” Here I Go!!
Hey guys! So, something interesting is going on with me. Since I started posting this new book I’m writing, The Ticket, on May 1st on Wattpad.com, I’ve now got 7K reads and it’s #14 in Chicklit!
Not sure what to make of all this, but I keep posting the story as I write it, and I’m having a lot of fun as more and more readers are getting excited for the next chapter.
Fellow writers will ask: is it selling books? I don’t know – maybe 5 more Kindle sales since I started this? Not much, nope, but I’m trying to enjoy this journey. It’s certainly more fun to get reader feedback for the many months you’re sweating & breaking your back over writing a book, than to lock yourself away in your office and not hear from your readers for all those months, until it’s published. I like this new way. I hope you do, too.
Please join me on Wattpad if you’re curious, and let me know that you did. Can’t wait to interact with you there.
🙂 Heather
#14 in Chicklit on Wattpad.com
7K reads and counting in 2.5 weeks!
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Ebook lovers! Looking for a ‘hilarious’ ‘touching’ ‘page-turner?’ Strangely Incredibly Good is on sale Kindle & Kobo today only (in celebration of Mothers Day) for just $3!
Now is the time to get & read this book if you haven’t yet, because the sequel is on its way!
I also have 9 print-books left here at my home office. If anyone wants a signed copy, I can sign and ship one to you, via Paypal. Let me know if you’re interested with a comment below and we’ll arrange for shipping.
As always, you can get an ebook (in all formats) or print copy via Morning Rain Publishing’s website.
Thanks for reading,
Heather 🙂
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My publisher, Morning Rain Publishing, has put together a special deal for Mother’s Day. They’ll gift wrap and ship a copy of Strangely, Incredibly Good in a beautiful canvas tote bag, along with a copy of Dry Stories, for your Mom, or your Mom-friend, your Grandma, even for yourself! – you choose. There are two other versions of that promotion – details are here.
Dry Storiesis written by my colleague, Canadian author, freelance journalist, writing teacher, and mother of two, Kate Baggott.
It is a literary compilation of short stories that can be read as stand-alone pieces, or sequentially in a compelling novella. Each story is a letter written to a friend recovering from alcoholism and resonates with the truth of what it is to be human in a naturally disconnected world. It’s received many 5-star reviews describing Kate’s writing as ‘a heartfelt painting of words,’ ‘beautiful’ and “Wow!’
While I love her writing and have enjoyed her Twitter posts, I realized I didn’t know that much about Kate, and I thought it was time to remedy that with a blog-swap: I’m interviewing her on my blog today, and she is interviewing me on her Goodreads blog. Please check out both of our ‘stories,’ and then get shopping!
Kate Baggott
Kate Baggott is a Canadian writer who lived in Europe for more than a decade before returning home. Her work has been published around the world and ranges from experimental fiction to chick lit, and from creative nonfiction to technology journalism. She won the America’s Next Author competition in 2012, Workzine’s Employee of the Month award in 2010, and the Dylan Days Fiction Contest in 2009. She is the author of two collections of short stories, Dry Stories andLove from Planet Wine Cooler. She writes, teaches, consults, and does project management in St. Catharines, Ontario. A mother of two, Baggott holds a BA from the University of Toronto and an MFA from the University of British Columbia. More information about Kate Baggott and Dry Stories can be found on her website, her Facebook group, and Twitter.
Q&A with Author Kate Baggott
HGS:Dry Stories has had some terrific five star reviews since its release. What famous person would you want to review it if you could get it in their hands, and why?
KB: Angelina Jolie is my fantasy reader and not just because she might buy the film rights! Seriously, I am not up on my entertainment news and I haven’t seen a movie in months, but keeping up with political and international affairs is my forte. Jolie is bravely talking about having her ovaries removed while travelling to Syria to try and spread awareness of how to help people there. There aren’t very many other celebrities, I think, who could get into the Dry Stories themes of parenting, fighting human trafficking and nurturing distant but important human connections all at the same time.
HGS: You lead two six-week writing classes – ‘Have You Got Stories to Tell’ and ‘Nonfiction for Non-journalists.’ Tell me about them.
KB: When I lived in Germany I taught two writing classes to the expat community while I was teaching English as a foreign language for Berlitz and English for Engineering and English for Organic Chemistry at the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt. When you are living in a foreign country and learning to speak a non-native tongue, you are forced to confront language as a form of intimacy, a form of community-building. For English speakers, you also have to confront the status of English as a colonial tool and as a tool of oppression. No body wants to be forced to learn a language while no one wants to give up the intimacy or closeness of their mother tongue. I haven’t taught either of my classes since I’ve been back in Canada, but I have been asked to. It would just take a group of six willing participants. That said, it would have a completely different vibe. English is not as precious a resource in Canada as it was for the expats I taught in Germany.
HGS: What do you find the most challenging part of teaching writing?
KB: Teaching writing is a challenge because it is an act of listening. You have to listen to the cadences of your own voice as it is written, to the pauses of the comma, the full stop of the period, the intake of breath as you start a sentence. It is difficult to entice students to take the words on the page and transform it into an act of telling.
HGS: The most rewarding?
Writing, regardless of whether it is journalism, creative nonfiction or fiction, is an act of honesty. Working with students to cut through all the pretty devices we’re taught and getting to the pure story underneath is absolutely golden. ~Author Kate Baggott
HGS: You’re also a technology journalist. What was, for you, the coolest technology you’ve written about and can you tell us a bit about getting that story? Any fun anecdotes?
KB: Technology journalism is all about trying to explain the most complicated processes in the sparest language possible. The problem is that scientific papers — the source for most articles — is so precise that only other specialists in the field can understand it. Like most writers, I suffer from a condition that requires me to think I am smarter than I actually am. To write about science and technology, I had to learn very early to ask precise and simple questions of specialists. Now I ask immediately what they are doing and why readers need to pay attention.
But, sometimes it is completely and absolutely clear what the breakthrough is and what it means. Watching a video of boy with a prosthetic arm type on a keyboard and move each finger independently was amazing. What that meant for people returning from war zones, for people with birth defects, for people who have been punished by brutal regimes, was immediately clear. ~Kate Bagott
HGS: Ebooks or print books, and why?
KB: Both Ebooks and print books have their uses in different times and places. When I’m travelling for work, I load up my tablet with reading so I don’t have to carry any additional weight. When I am at my leisure and need to slow down with no electricity or light or email notifications, I look to print books. I read print books exclusively before bed and Ebooks exclusively on trains and buses.
HGS: Summer is on its way to Canada (we hope!) Describe an idyllic summer day for Kate Baggott including where you’d go, what you’d see, and what you’d eat/ drink.
KB: These days, I dream of canoeing with my children in the early morning hush. They’ve just reached ages where quiet is a possibility…really, for minutes at a time. It has been a long time since the three of us were away together, but the traditional Canadian cottage on the lake is exactly what we would order up if given the chance. I think I would always associate that with fresh corn on the cob and toasted tomato sandwiches.
Kate, I am so glad we did this story-swap. It’s been fun getting to know you better, and I know my readers will feel the same way. Thanks again for the interview!
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Signed with a smile by the author herself – Heather Grace Stewart (Kanata, ON, March 2015)
Have you met Heather Grace Stewart? She is a Canadian poet, speaker, and author of the newly released novel Strangely, Incredibly Good. I have had the pleasure of getting to know her on Facebook and Twitter, and was recently delighted to win a copy of her new book. Yeah for me! It was a lovely Valentine’s present to receive and I flew through the pages. You can find my book review over at A New Day.
As Heather is such a warm individual, I thought I would take a chance and ask her if she would be willing to answer a few questions about her writing. I was thrilled when she graciously agreed to share a few thoughts with me and my readers.
Without further ado, I would love to introduce you…
Share this page (using the sharing buttons at the bottom ) and/or your copy of Strangely Incredibly Good with a friend and please ask them to review it on Amazon!
Those who share their book and this page and leave their name in the comments below get entered in my draw for a $20 Amazon or Starbucks Gift Card for Valentines Day, and a signed book of your choice!
The draw is Saturday, February 14th, 2015.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Have a great week 🙂
Heather
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I’m excited to announce my first book tour for Strangely, Incredibly Good, the ‘funny and touching’ Canadian novel, but first, a little bit of business to attend to: Recently, I’ve received a few reader questions about where to get print copies of Strangely, Incredibly Good. No, it is not yet available on Amazon in print format. So, here’s where you can find it:
Vancouver & Maple Ridge Readers: There are now more copies of Strangely, Incredibly Good on the shelves at Maple Ridge Black Bond Books – Haney Place Mall.
Kingston readers can grab a copy Friday, March 6th, 7-930 p.m. at Novel Idea on Princess St., when I’ll be reading and signing copies. There will be a copy or two on the shelves after the reading.
Ottawa-Kanata area readers: I’ll be at Chapters Kanata Centrum Sunday, March 8, from noon-4 p.m. I am very much looking forward to my homecoming, and hope to see some old friends! Chapters Kanata will stock a few copies after the reading, in case you can’t make it that day.
As always, ebook and print copies can be ordered through the Morning Rain Publishing website, and they’ll ship it directly to you. If you’d like signed copies, you can contact me below, or at my email, writer@hgrace.com.
I’m thrilled and excited to announce that I’ll be doing a two-city book tour on the weekend of Friday, March 6 to Sunday March 8th, which will include speaking at the Ban Righ Centre at Queen’s University, speaking at the Queen’s Media and Journalism conference, signing books at Novel Idea, and signing books at Chapters Kanata. It’s going to be a busy but, let’s hope, incredibly good weekend in Kingston and Kanata, Ontario, and I hope that I’ll get the chance to meet and chat with many of you.
If you think you can make one of the events, please check the event schedule for more information here: Upcoming Events
I’d like to ask you all again to review Strangely, Incredibly Good if you have five minutes. There haven’t been that many funny Canadian novels by women recently, so I’d like to think that this one could have a chance at standing out, if only more people knew about it! So please do share about it, either via word of mouth, or a review, or both! I’d appreciate that more than you’ll ever know.
As always, thanks for reading, and for all the encouragement. You guys brighten these cold and snowy days!
Heather
Here’s hoping I’ll get to meet new readers and reunite with more dear, old friends on this tour, as I did in BC with Deanna! (who took this selfie !)
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“I have to stop thinking about him! This could torment me for life! Okay, tonight I will not think about men. No. More. Man. Thoughts.
I pour myself some wine, sit down on the couch, turn on the TV, and check out the guide. Let’s see. It looks like my choices are: “Mormon Half Love” or “The Man With the 132 lb Scrotum.”
Seriously? This is my Saturday Night? There is not enough wine in this house for me to even contemplate watching these shows. And yet…this is definitely better than dating.
Oh, look, it gets better. Up later tonight on TLC, we have “The Girl With Half a Face”, “The Man Who Lost His Face,” “The Man with Half a Body,” and “The Man with the 200 lb Tumor.”
Actually if you’ve read this far, you’re actually really interested, so I’ll tell you the news: the draft manuscript is complete as of today! 🙂 Now comes the grueling process of editing before I submit! I’m hoping this sequel will be out by the end of 2015, but it depends on many factors. Stay tuned!
Work buddy Sam (15)
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Thought you might enjoy seeing a few of the landscape photos I’ve taken this week during my holiday to visit family out west in British Columbia. Tomorrow is my first book signing in BC for Strangely, Incredibly Good. Can’t wait! See you there! (details can be found here on the page Upcoming Events)
The photos were taken in Maple Ridge, at English Bay in Vancouver, and Canada Place, Vancouver.
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Hi! Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I’m in British Columbia visiting family, and very much looking forward to my first event in the province soon – a book signing for Strangely, Incredibly Goodat Black Bond Books in Maple Ridge on Saturday, January 3 from 1-3 p.m. I can’t wait to meet readers who live in the area soon.
Until then, enjoy eating and shopping and resting, and Happy New Year!
Heather
Author Heather Grace Stewart will appear at Black Bond Books January 3 from 1-3 p.m.
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As the holidays draw nearer, I’m feeling grateful for so many people in my life. I’ve had the chance to thank some in person already at festive gatherings, but have not yet thanked you readers.
So (raising a glass) thank you so much for purchasing and reading my poetry and Strangely, Incredibly Good this year, and for helping SIG reach #10 in humorous fiction on Kobo! and helping it make the Best New Contemporary Fiction list on Kindle back in June! I KNOW we can do it again! Please tell your friends about this book if you enjoyed the read.
My most fun book-selling-related day so far this year was in October, when I sold 24 at Chapters in Pointe Claire QC in a couple hours to total strangers. Signing & shipping books for 50 family and friends was also a highlight, as was appearing at Shopper’s Drug Mart and the local library for a reading.
Thanks so much to those who have taken a minute to review the book. So far there are 11 USA reviews, 10 Canadian reviews, and 4 UK reviews on Kindle, and a few others on Goodreads. Please do leave a brief review if you have a minute – did you know that even one short sentence is enough to help get more people to discover this book? It doesn’t take much time to leave a review and a star rating, and it makes a big difference to me.
It’s not easy finding new readers as a first-time novelist, but I have to believe patience is key…and writing more. So yes, the sequel is on its way. I do want more people to find and enjoy Strangely, Incredibly Good first, so I’m not sure when that next one will be released, but I’ve been working hard on it and am more than 3/4 done the first draft.
I’ll be signing books over the holidays (Jan. 3) at Black Bond Books in Maple Ridge, British Columbia! Hope to meet some of you there! Check my Upcoming Events for details.
Have a wonderful holiday!
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PS If you comment on this video when it’s posted in my publisher Morning Rain Publishing’s fun holiday party event for readers and authors HERE at 7:30 pm EST Thursday, Dec. 11th (posting time – you can comment any time after that all night long) then you will be entered in a draw to win MRP books and book related prizes!
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October and November on my calendar are filling up with exciting events! I’ll be doing a book sales & signing at Chapters Pointe Claire Quebec, Saturday, October 4, from 1 – 4 p.m. On the same date in November, Tuesday, November 4 at 7 p.m., I’ll be at Pincourt Library, reading from Strangely, Incredibly Good, selling & signing books, and we’ll have evening tea and treats. This special event is thanks to The Writers Union of Canada (TWUC) and the Canada Council, and for that I’m grateful.
I’ve also been invited to Pharmaprix Pincourt’s VIP Tea night on Wednesday, October 22 from 5-9 pm to share Strangely, Incredibly Good with those being given a VIP treatment! Visit my Facebook Page (Events section) if you want to be one of the lucky three people to win a complimentary ticket to this event!
I’m going to leave the rest of November and December free, because I’m working on a sequel to Strangely, Incredibly Good, and want to give myself lots of time for the writing sessions. I’ll try to share as much as I can about my writing process here, without giving anything away!
I’m hoping to travel to Kanata or Ottawa public library some time in the New Year to say hello to my home town, and also to Kingston, Ontario, which holds a place in my heart, as I spent four wonderful years going to school at Queen’s University there.
If you’re reading this and you want me to come to your Canadian library to read and do a book signing in the next year or so, let me know, and I’ll try to work something out!
Hope to see you at one of these events,
Heather 🙂
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It’s a weird and wonderful feeling to be working on a story…ok, a SEQUEL:) … and refer to the published book beside you, instead of notes in your computer, to get a fact straight.Thanks for reading, and hang in there, Cat’s coming back!
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Heather’s 3rd poetry & prose collection “Three Spaces” and 1st collection “Where the Butterflies Go” are just $1.99 until Monday. Visit your nearest Kindle or Kobo today to take advantage of these super deals before Monday!
My new business cards from Moo.com are so much fun! Love how they and their lovely card holders (which come free with the cards) are sourced from paper from sustainable forests and recycled pulp. Even the four, red order reference cards aren’t wasted. Instead, they have fun sayings on them like “I like your shoes.” I passed one on to our daughter (“You’re delightful.” ) and will give the other three to readers who want them at my next book signing: Indigo Books, Pointe Claire, Quebec, Saturday, October 4th! I’ll also be the guest author reading & signing books at Pincourt Library, QC, on Tuesday, November 4th.
I’ve put a photo of myself on my business cards for the past two years and have noticed it’s made a big difference in people finding my web sites and buying my books. Some people forget names – so a biz card with just a name on it doesn’t always jog their memory about, “who the heck handed me this card again?”
Think about it for your business cards!
By the way, I love your shoes!
Heather 🙂
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You have to be creative and think outside the box (or, er, inside the tub) a lot when you’re a little-known author with a small, independent, Canadian publisher. As hard as it is to get new people to discover your work, you can’t give up. One technique not working? Try something new. Something different. You have to try things that you haven’t seen others doing yet.
When I self-published Three Spaces (2013), people were just getting into e-reading, but I wanted to encourage paperback sales, too. I was looking over my own book in the bath one night (I rarely re-read my own stuff but our daughter had handed me a copy, ‘Here Mommy, you should relax and read this!’ ) when hubby decided to take photos of me to be funny. I told him to delete them but he didn’t. So as much as you think it was an ingenious idea, it was rather accidental. When I looked at the photos later, I realized that in all except a few photos you’ll never see ;), everything that should be covered up was covered up in suds. I then had the idea that one or two of those photos would be perfect to share to encourage paperback sales ( ‘No ereaders in the tub’ was the slogan). The rest is literary history! (ha! not quite. but such a fun little campaign).
It worked well, and made such a fun business card; one that started many interesting! conversations with new readers. So, with the OK from my publisher Morning Rain Publishing, we decided to do a similar ‘bathtub shoot’ for Strangely Incredibly Good. This time around, I knew the photos would be posted, so I was much more shy. “Bill, am I all covered up? You sure?” He’d smirk and throw lots more suds at me, then shoot the photo. It was a lot of fun!
Since most of you have been following my blog for over five years now (Wow! Thanks!) I thought I’d present BOTH final photos (the one with the beer, and the one with the wine – told you I had fun shooting these photos!) here as well as one that had an Instagram filter added to it. Feel free to share them. In fact, I ask that you do!
Oh, and if you’ve read the book, please give it a brief review on Amazon and Goodreads. Even two words will do! Every review helps.
Thanks so much for reading.
Heather
The one with the beer – not photoshopped –
The one with the wine, with Instagram filter (wow! looks like it’s sunny in there now!):
The one with the wine, original unphotoshopped:
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My sixth poetry collection is an offering of rhyming and free verse poems to try to soothe our weary souls. We might be stuck inside this winter, apart from our family and friends, but we can still go Stargazing. Enjoy.
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I could use the excuse that 2020 has been hard, but it’s not just that. Juggling everything I have to juggle as a business owner and author has been hard. I started my fiction career off in WordPress, with you wonderful blogger pals reading and commenting on my poems. I had the time back then (a decade ago!) to visit all of you on a weekly basis, and I thought I’d keep posting here weekly and staying in touch.
With all that I’ve had to manage, I’ve not lived up to my own expectations for that, and I apologize – but I’m trying to pop in here when I do an online reading, at least, so that you don’t miss this if you aren’t a fan of social media.
If you DO like social media, I’m often on Instagram and Twitter once a day, and on my Owl Be Reading group (where you can win prizes!) weekly. So please check those out when you can!
Here’s my latest poetry reading. I was reading from Where the Butterflies Go, which was once the title of this blog, so I had to post it here! I also read from Three Spaces and Caged, and a little of my second novel, Remarkably Great. Enjoy. And be good to yourselves. I may get busy, but I never forget about you.
It’s finally here! Lauren from Last Night is now available in paperback and digital format on Amazon worldwide. It’s also being published by Dreamscape Media as an audio book in August 2020. You’ll be able to listen to Sam and Lauren’s story on Audible, Scribd, Kobo audio books, and more. I hope you’ve signed up for my Readers Club so you can learn first about my book discounts, grab other free romance books or discounts from Bookfunnel, and be entered in my draws for gift cards and signed books!
Lauren from Last Night is now on Kindle Unlimited, Kindle ebook and in paperback worldwide.
Thanks for reading, and hang in there, Cat’s coming back! 
“CHEAP BOOKS? WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
Heather Grace Stewart 