Author of the Month: Heather Wood

It’s time for my first “author of the month” post of 2021! Something I decided I really wanted to do this year is to read and help promote more small press and indie published authors. I plan to feature one of these authors at least every other month, with more “big name” authors in between. When I started planning this I thought, “Who better to start out with than my Instagram friend, Heather Wood”! 

I’m so happy Heather agreed to be my very first guest/author interview on this blog! **excited applause** She is the author of two beautiful, family-saga novels set in Civil War/Post-Civil War America, Until We All Find Home and Until We All Run Free. Her writing connects you to the hearts of her wide cast of characters, leaving you invested in each of their stories and empathizing with both the joys and heartaches.

Without further ado, let me introduce you to…

HEATHER WOOD

Hi, Heather! Thanks so much for joining me on the blog today! Can you tell readers who don’t know you yet a little about yourself?

I’m so honored to be invited! I’m a Christian homeschooling mom of four littles in Virginia. I love good books, American history, and loving on international students with my husband, David. I published Until We All Find Home, a historical fiction novel set in Civil War Chicago two years ago, and the sequel, Until We All Run Free, this past October.

When/how did you decide you wanted to write a book and especially, make writing a career?

This is a great question because I had no plans to ever make writing a career. All I had was a daydream about my imaginary friends who lived in my head, and one day I started putting their story down in a Google Doc for my own amusement. The rest was all God. He gave me the courage to admit to my friends and family that I was writing a book, and when they surrounded me with so much support, I started praying about what God might have me to do with it.

That’s awesome! I love how led by prayer you are when it comes to your writing (and every aspect of life, I’m sure)!

What were your reasons for choosing the indie publishing route? 

The honest answer is that I published Until We All Find Home on KDP [Kindle Direct Publishing] so that my mom could get a print copy. I actually do not want to be traditionally published and only pursued that for a second. I prefer to have control over how much my career takes up my time, especially now at this stage of life, when teaching my children is my priority. I’m not on anymore else’s time table, and can write, edit, and network around my own schedule. I’ve also discovered that the indie community is a great place to find friends.

I agree with you, Heather! I’m for indie publishing all the way. There are so many great benefits to it, and the indie community is so supportive!

What would you say is your favorite part of the writing process?

I really do like researching, since I write about periods and places that I love learning about. And I also like standing at the kitchen sink daydreaming about conversations my characters might have while I wash dishes.

Isn’t daydreaming about our “imaginary friends” so fun?! 

Speaking of imaginary friends… Do you have a favorite character that you’ve written? I know that’s like making you pick a favorite child!!

The proper answer is no, of course not!  I want to say Justin, just because he’s so misunderstood and needs me to stick up for him. I like Luke because he’s a lot like my husband, and I like Mary, because she’s a lot like me. I relate to Jack a lot as well, and he’s just so lovable. But the truth… is *cough* Jed *cough*. Please don’t tell the others.

Do you have a favorite memory from when you were writing one of your books? 

I was pretty excited the day that God gave me the climax for Until We All Run Free. I had been praying and wondering where the story was going, and it’s just an awesome feeling when you get that BINGO! moment. It’s similar to the day I figured out the title. David and I had a date night that night at a local crab shack, and that’s when I told him the title and talked about how having it gave me so much clarity about where God might be taking the direction of the book.

What great memories! It’s wonderful when all the pieces seem to click into place like that, and when you can feel God is leading you during the writing process!

What is your favorite quote from your latest release, Until We All Run Free?

Some of my favorites don’t make any sense out of context (or are spoilers), but here are two of my favorites that I can share:

“In a few short, difficult moments, they had grown in understanding toward each other. The hard work of commitment and forgiveness mattered. Her husband’s prayers mattered.” 

Until We All Run Free, Heather Wood

“Thank you for doing this.”

Jack ran his sleeve over his face and blinked at her. “I’m supposed to be thanking you. No one would ask this of a friend.”

“But everything in you doesn’t want to do this, and yet you are. That kind of obedience matters, and it’s convicting to me. Thank you.”

Until We All Run Free, Heather Wood

I love both of those quotes, but especially the first one! I remember loving it when I was reading Run Free. 

What kind of environment do you enjoy writing in the most? Do you like to listen to music or have a favorite snack on hand?

No, I actually prefer to be alone in the quiet and focused. I’ve tried working with worship music on and found it’s impossible to type while my hands are in the air.

What is next on the writing horizon for you?

I have been praying about what’s next. I would like to write a third book highlighting Jack’s journey someday, but at the moment am taking some time to just pray and let ideas simmer. In the meantime, my immediate goals for 2021 are to begin growing my editing business and turn it into something official. I’m just as happy to be a key player in getting other authors’ work out into the world as to be working on my own.

That’s great, Heather! One of the best things about being an indie author is getting to work at your own pace and build your career in the way that works best for YOU and your life and family. I wish you all the best with your endeavors this year! I know God has great things in store!

Last question before we wrap this up… What is your best piece of advice for someone considering writing a book, or someone who is already writing and dreaming of publishing?

In case you missed it, the number one key to my own writing career has been the unintended theme in my answers today: and that is PRAY! When I look back, I can see ways that God was working in my writing before I ever knew it and before I ever started praying about it, but how much better it is to get myself on board with what He is doing. As Christian fiction writers, story is one way that we can push the darkness back, proclaim God’s love in this hurting world, and it imitates the way Jesus Himself taught through story. It opens doors to speak boldly for Him with our own unique voice. If you need courage, inspiration, open doors, etc. to get your story out, my advice is to take it to God and watch and see what He does with it.

LOVE this advice, Heather! It is so true! Writing is a ministry, and like any ministry, we should take it very seriously and pray about it. You never know whose life you can touch through a story.

Thank you again, Heather, for being my very first author to interview on this blog, and for being my first Author of the Month for 2021! I’ve enjoyed learning more about you, your writing journey, and your creative process–hopefully readers have, too, and will want to read your beautiful stories!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Heather Wood grew up in the Chicago suburbs, where she always loved history, classic literature, writing stories and Civil War reenacting. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Bible/Theology from Appalachian Bible College, she settled in Virginia with her husband David. Her early passions fuel her writing today, although she spends most of her days now working to infuse her love for God and good literature into the hearts of her four small children. You can find her online at www.heatherwoodauthor.epizy.com.

HEATHER’S BOOKS

When Justin Young is reunited with his orphaned siblings during the American Civil War, he decides to bring his widowed sister and younger brothers to live with him in Chicago, with the desire to give them a home and a family. But Justin discovers that sometimes love is more painful than it is healing as the siblings struggle with facing their own inadequacies in their journey towards reconciliation with God and each other. Along the way, the siblings and their friends learn that real love often looks like the hard work of granting grace and second chances to other hurting, imperfect people with whom they have nothing in common. In the end, they each find that when they come home to God, He gives them the courage, freedom and grace to come home to the people they’ve come to love.

As Irish American orphans raised in different circumstances in Kentucky, North Carolina and Maryland, the Young siblings could not be more different from each other, but they are determined that the ties of the same blood are strong enough to bring them together despite the secrets they each carry from their past. In this emotional story filled with humor and love, Yankee siblings come head to head with Confederate ones, Christian siblings with atheists, educated siblings with those raised on the street, and extroverted siblings with introverts. Set in the backdrop of Civil War Chicago, with its labor strikes and the Union prison camp at Camp Douglas, you will find characters you’ll come to love and won’t soon forget.

Jed and Jack Young may be brothers by birth, but as orphans, their separate upbringings produced polarizing results. Now that the Civil War is over, the brothers look forward to settling into the next chapter of their lives as they learn to walk in their new faith. Each brother’s ideal happily-ever-after is the other’s worst nightmare – and when that nightmare becomes their own reality, their relationship with each other is threatened.Mary Pierce has a picture-perfect life with three beautiful daughters and a husband who adores her. When tragedy alters the course of her life, Mary has to lean on God in deeper ways as she learns to navigate a confusing and painful new path.Face to face with their greatest fears, Jed, Jack, and Mary must anchor themselves in the unchanging character of God, holding fast the belief that what God is doing in them is greater than their pain. As they each overcome sin, learn everyday obedience, and find peace in surrender, they discover there are no dark corners in their lives that God’s grace won’t illuminate and His power can’t resurrect.