Author Interview: Heather Wardell

Please welcome author Heather Wardell (author of Go Small or Go Home) to the Socrates’ Book Review Blog. I was lucky enough to review Go Small or Go Home at the beginning of the month and loved it. It was my first and only (so far) winner of my “Great Book Alert Award” for 2011. Heather has graciously agreed to allow me to interview her and be a guest on our blog.

So, let’s begin…

1. Go Small or Go Home is set in the world of professional hockey and the hero is a hockey player. That makes me wonder, are you a hockey fan? If so, do you have any team you root for?

Well, I am Canadian and I live in Toronto, so yes, I am a Leafs fan. I think I'm required to be by law. :) I'm not obsessed with the game but I do watch regularly and have been lucky enough to go to a few live games, including one which exploded into a fight after just three seconds (which I duplicated in "Go Small or Go Home").

2. Did you do any research of the sport? If so, what kind?

I largely used my own knowledge, but I had my husband and a friend who plays hockey read the most hockey-related scenes and make sure that what I'd said actually made sense. I didn't want the book to be a "learn hockey guide" but at the same time I didn't want to turn off any readers who knew hockey well.

3. Can you tell us how many books you’ve had published and what genres they are?

As of right now, I have five books available, and I'm aiming to release another three in 2011. I call them as "women's fiction with depth, humor, and heart" - I want my readers to have fun but I also want my books to be more than fluff. I believe ebooks should be affordable, so my first is free and the rest are only $0.99 each.

4. Thinking about your own reading preferences, what’s your favorite genre to read?

Definitely women's fiction. I like there to be more in a book than just a romance (although I like an element of that too) and I love reading about people who could be real.

5. Are your fictional characters based on real life people or a creation of your own imagination?

I make them up. :) I do borrow from my own life on a regular basis (the main character in "Go Small or Go Home" flying with an active ear infection is sadly something I experienced and did not enjoy) but the characters themselves are not based on anyone I know.

6. Who is your biggest influence in your writing career?

I think it'd have to be a tie between my husband and my sister Holly. My husband is unbelievably supportive as I get my career going, and Holly has read everything I've ever written and provides amazing motivation.

On a writing level, I love Stephen King's book "On Writing". Such a great way of looking at creating books, from a man who's made so many.

7. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

In 2005, my husband went away for a six-week business trip. Bored, I decided to fiddle around with a novel. By the end, I knew I loved it.

8. What is the very first thing you wrote?

Other than short stories in English class during school (which I actually didn't enjoy so much, since I like the freedom to dig deep that novels provide), the first thing was that novel in 2005. After many rounds of editing, it became my free novel, "Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo".

9. Do you have any favorite authors or books?

I love Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella's non-Shopaholic books (I loved the first one but not so much the rest), and Jennifer Archer.

10. Can you tell us any info about your next book?

Certainly! It's in second draft at the moment and I'm hoping to release it in the summer. It's currently called "The Twenty-Eight-Year-Old Teenager", although that might change, and it's the story of twenty-eight-year-old Andrea who tries to recreate her life, after her boyfriend of fourteen years dumps her, by doing the opposite of everything she usually does. It's focused on how little changes can make a huge difference in your life.

Thank you, Heather, for spending time at Socrates’ Book Review Blog!

Thank YOU so much for this opportunity! If your readers would like to read excerpts or get more information about my books, they can do so at http://www.heatherwardell.com