I’m pleased to welcome author Heather Hiestand to my blog this weekend!
I’m Heather Hiestand, and my first Cerridwen Press novel was released in March 2007. I still feel like a newbie, but my fifth Cerridwen novel, In Flight, is going to be released on June 12th. The novels are all contemporary romance, set in big cities like Seattle, Las Vegas and Detroit or fictional small towns.
There tends to be a mystery or suspense of some kind in my books and I’m thrilled when I make readers think. Just today I received a review for my second novel, One Juror Down, which commented, “And then the idea that it might not be that difficult for a determined criminal to find a way to threaten someone on a jury and affect the verdict didn’t make me comfortable. These kinds of stories where the author makes a distasteful idea, like jury tampering, very plausible always make me think and wonder if there could be some truth to it, even in a fiction tale.” The Romance Studio
We all tend to have ideas of what can or can’t happen, but the truth is that life is stranger than fiction and all kinds of crazy things do occur. With One Juror Down, while I won’t say that jury tampering is easy or even plausible, the initial setup of the book that allows my heroine Cass to land on the jury is possible.
The sequel, recently released Two on the Hunt, features Georgia, Cass’ sister. For this book, I carved my realistic mother-daughter relationship from conversations with a retired social worker long after I’d initially formed the characters. And who knows, maybe the vampire wannabes are out there somewhere too! You just never know…
I’m curious to know which authors out there make you think and why? I’ll start off the conversation by saying that Karen Marie Moning’s got me thinking right now with her DARKFEVER. Not that I think her story is plausible but what things are going on outside of the edge of our consciousness that we might notice if we paid just a little more attention?
Bonus: Leave a comment for Heather and you could win a .pdf copy of One Juror Down!
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Blurb:
Moonlight-dappled water, a luxurious boat and a handsome man in the next slip. Life at the South Seattle Marina is heavenly. Georgia Bellair and her four-year-old daughter Abby have been reunited after a tough couple of years and it’s time for a few days’ relaxation before moving into their new home together. Georgia would never have gone there though if she’d realized a cult was operating on the calm waters of Puget Sound and the leader thinks drinking Abby’s innocent blood will make him a full chiang-shih, a Chinese vampire.Bounty hunter Yun MacCready is investigating a series of break-ins reportedly caused by a bail jumper at the marina. He doesn’t expect to get involved with a beautiful blonde, much less work to rescue her kidnapped daughter from a vampire cult. Nor could he have expected this family’s complicated past would come back to haunt them in the form of gang lord Oscar Nesell. Evil is storming the gates of heaven.
Excerpt:
Mike MacCready stood in his client’s boat, sipping his third diet cola of the day. He watched as the sexy, very slender blonde in the next slip argued with the ugly, but extremely muscular in a thick neck kind of way, marina handyman.
“Arrangements were made with the boat owner. You need to move the boat for a couple of hours,” the man said in a heavy accent.
“It’s not my boat and the owner didn’t inform me of any repairs,” the blonde said. She turned aft and Mike couldn’t see who she spoke to, but then a little girl darted behind the woman and went down the forward hatch.
A mother, Mike thought, intrigued.
“I need to fix the bumper strip,” the handyman announced stolidly as the blonde fidgeted, clearly wishing she could follow her daughter into the cabin.
“Think she’s got a husband?” Pete asked from behind Mike.
“She doesn’t look married.” He nodded to his gap-toothed and freckly employee. “She doesn’t have that settled look.”
The single mothers he attracted tended to be low maintenance—his kind of woman. Though interested in a sex life, they didn’t have time to waste thinking about “relationships” and all that crap. He didn’t have a life that left a lot for a woman. Right now, for instance, he had moved onto a boat to watch for a bail jumper who was reportedly hiding out around here, making a few bucks by stealing from the marina’s inhabitants. Bounty hunters didn’t make good boyfriends. Mike’s mouth curved. But he was a very good time when he was available.
Right now, I’m reading Susan Wiggs, and I think she’s an excellent example of making a reader think, even when it’s not about those ‘save the planet’ issues. She has a way of grabbing the reader and involving them in the everyday decisions people make. For her characters, the choices can be difficult even if the fate of the world/city/neighborhood doesn’t hang in the balance. Making readers wonder if, in the character’s place, they’d make the same decisions keeps the reader thinking.
Side note — I’m in Colrado, heading over to the Pikes Peak Writers Conference shortly. I’m loving the change in weather. Florida get so boring!
by Terry Odell April 25th, 2008 at 3:45 pmThanks for your insights, Terry, and have fun on your trip! I have a Reader’s Luncheon in Portland, OR to attend tomorrow.
by Heather Hiestand April 25th, 2008 at 4:13 pmHi Heather,
Congratulations on your coming book. Five books in a few months. Wow, you are prolific.
When I read a book I really don’t try to assess the situations. I rather try to enjoy the author’s voice. Voice is what keeps me reading. If your voice captures my attention, you can make me believe anything.
As for difficult-to beieve situations, I have seen in life too many that belong to fiction rather than reality. That’s life.
by Mona Risk April 25th, 2008 at 7:43 pmhi heather,
two on the hunt sounds interesting. you seldom see a chinese vampire as a character.
Andre norton is one of my all time favorite writers. her books always make me think and wonder how I would react in that situation.her books are filled with strong female characters surviving many kinds of disasters. some of her characters are outcasts in their own worlds, who make new lives for themselves on strange new worlds.worlds full of strange dangerous creatures, magical beings and creatures of incredible evil.her witchworld series and beastmaster series are my favorites.
by char10 April 25th, 2008 at 7:55 pmchar
Andre Norton, Patricia McKillip, Barbara Michaels, Kelley Armstrong … so many authors, so little time! I know you have another book out today (at EC), so I can’t wait to read that one too!
by Eilis Flynn April 25th, 2008 at 8:08 pma story with depth makes me think. I like believable characters and reasonably believable situations. I have never forgotten Bryce Courtney’s first book The Power of One. The character of the little boy warmed my heart. The story was magical.
by Anita Birt April 25th, 2008 at 8:12 pmMona – I totally agree that life is crazier than fiction at times – real life doesn’t have to wrap up in a nice little package at the end.
Char – I love Andre Norton too. I grew up reading her books.
Thank you, Eilis!
I haven’t read that one, Anita. It sounds interesting!
by Heather Hiestand April 25th, 2008 at 9:13 pmGreat blog topic. You’re right about life being stranger than fiction. Often there are many times when I experience something and think that if I wrote it into a story no one would believe it.
by Georgie April 25th, 2008 at 11:01 pmNora Roberts in her JD Robb persona, always gets me thinking what technology awaits the future generations.
by Cathy April 25th, 2008 at 11:13 pmI agree, Georgie! Especially with my relatives. I can’t use them as characters because some are too nuts!
I love JD Robb too. I had to read the first book a second time before I “got” it, but then I gobbled them up. Need to get caught up on those, now that I think about it.
by Heather Hiestand April 26th, 2008 at 12:34 am