Interview with Deborah Heal + Giveaway!

Deborah Heal is the author of the young adult novel Time and Again. She lives in Waterloo, Illinois, where she enjoys reading, gardening, and learning about southern Illinois history. She is married and has three grown children, three grandchildren, and a canine buddy named Scout (a.k.a. Dr. Bob). Currently, she is working on book three in the Time and Again trilogy.

Welcome! I’m so excited to be interviewing you! First, I would love it
if you would start by briefly telling us how your writing journey
began.

 

It probably began when I was in the womb. Just kidding. But my mom loved to read and read to me when I was young. That’s a good start for an author (and anyone else too). I remember desperately wanting to write when I was four, but that was probably just so I could sign my name. It wasn’t until my eighth grade teacher complimented my story that I first got the dream of being a writer.

Please share with us one fact about you that not many people know. And
feel free to have fun with the question!

It’s not really a secret any longer, but still many people probably don’t realize that for many years I had an obsession with the Sherman and Mr. Peabody Show. I wrote at least a dozen letters to the producers hoping to get plans for a WABAC Machine of my own. They were most uncooperative and kept threatening to take out a restraining order. Finally, inspiration struck, and I imagined my own fictional time travel device. Now I get to “time-surf” any time I want to.

Which fictional literary character most inspired/inspires you?

The first one who comes to mind is Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if every child had a father as wise and kind as he? I wish I had a lawyer like him. It would have come in handy during the Mr. Peabody incident mentioned above.

What inspired you to choose the setting for your novel?

Time and Again is set just down the road from where I grew up. As a girl, I was intrigued by the idea there used to be a thriving town where now there is a only a bump in the road. You can read about the history behind the story here. The setting of Unclaimed Legacy is Camp Dubois, Lewis and Clark’s training camp before the Expedition headed up the Missouri River in search of a passage to the Pacific Ocean. I’ve always loved the Lewis and Clark story and wanted to include just a bit of it in my story.

If you could be best friends with any of the characters in your novel,
who would it be? Why?

I imagine every author grows to love his or her characters. I know I do. But I would have to choose Dr. Bob, the little rat terrier in the story, because dogs are, after all, man’s best friend. My own two dogs Scout and Digger would probably benefit from hanging out with such a talented guy as Dr. Bob. I bet he’d never get into the kitchen trash when I wasn’t looking. Dr. Bob came to my virtual book launch party. You can see him here.

What inspired this novel?

The first novel, Time and Again, began as a short story in a college creative writing class in 1992. When I brainstormed for a story idea, all my love of local history began popping up. I got so into it that the story just kept getting more and more involved. After a while, I realized I would never be able to finish it by the deadline. Fortunately, my instructor let me turn it in unfinished. I graduated and became an English teacher right after that. Then I was so busy grading student papers, I had to work on my story a few minutes at a time. You can read here about the long journey to get it published.

What are 3 things do you like to do to relax?

Read, read, and read. Or work in my garden.

What book(s) are you reading, or have read lately?

Here are some of the ones I enjoyed most in recent months. You can read my reviews for them by clicking on the titles.

A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore.

The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson

So Not Happening by Jenny B. Jones

Out of Time by Caroline B. Cooney

Dark Liaison by D. I. Telbat


What piece of writing advice have you received that was most helpful to you?

 

Don’t make your characters too perfect. I try very hard to make my characters and their challenges realistic. One of my pet peeves is when Christian authors make their characters continually think spiritual thoughts and spout Bible verses. Does that make me sound like a bad Christian? My characters are like me. They love God, but they’re not very good about keeping him first in their lives or at recalling where that verse they half remember is in the Bible. And like me, although they’re growing in Christ, progress is in fits and starts.

Where can readers connect with you?

CLICK TO LEARN MORE:

 

About Time and Again: Charlotte of Miles Station

About Unclaimed Legacy, the second book in the series

 

About the Author

Website: http://www.deborahheal.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/DeborahHeal

Where to buy the books

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Thank you so much for giving me the pleasure of an interview with you!
And I wish you the very best with your newest release!

Now for a GIVEAWAY!!!!

Win a copy of Time and Again, the first book in the trilogy!

1. Leave a comment below mentioning something in the interview that you thought was fascinating. Don't forget to include your email address!

2. For an extra entry be a follower of this blog, as well as "like" Deborah Heal's page on Facebook.

*US residents only*

Contest ends October 27th, 2012



 For additional chances  to win this book (on other venues), see Deborah Heal’s official website and LIKE her Facebook Fan Page.


*GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED*