Welcome to Readers Write to Know! I asked you, my readers, what questions they would ask their favorite authors if given the chance, and the authors visiting my blog answered them! This week, I am so happy to have Jennifer Heeren as my guest. I love Jennifer’s perspective about writing for God and love the sound of her latest release. I’m in the midst of writing a book about a pregnant woman – in Atlanta – so it totally resonated with me. And any fan of Judy Blume can be a friend of mine. Read on to see how you can enter to win a copy of her latest release!
Tell us a little bit about yourself. I love to write and want to live in such a way that people are encouraged by my writing and my attitude. I love to write devotional articles and stories that bring people hope and encouragement. My cup is always at least half-full, 
even when circumstances aren’t ideal. I regularly contribute devotional articles to Crosswalk.com. I live near Atlanta, Georgia with my husband.
Tell us about your current release. Twenty-two-year-old Lisette Carter is grief-stricken over her husband’s death—which occurred before she knew she was pregnant. Now in her last trimester, she meets David Baranski, who has a tragic past of his own. He seems to care for Lisette, but she’s not sure she can trust him. Besides, her sorrow and survivor guilt are all she can handle.
If you knew ahead of time your book would benefit only one person on their spiritual journey, would you still write it? I had a person review my book that had been through a similar scenario that my main character, Lisette, went through. She related to Lisette’s story and said that it felt real even though I wrote it as a fiction story. I hope that my reader felt a little less alone while she was reading it. So, yes, if it was only written for her, it was worth it.
What is your personal, most effective way to get past writer’s block? I’ve found that the best way to stop writer’s block is to tell someone else my word count goal and then report back to them my actual result.
Have you always wanted to write a book? I wrote short stories as a teenager and then 
when I took a Creative Writing course in college, I realized that I wanted to write novels.
Do you have your plotline and character development already laid out before you begin writing a book, or do they develop as you write? I decide on the basic idea and then I prepare a basic outline that includes a theme for the story, some notes on the characters, inciting incident, and some conflict points along the way. Then I write the story which usually ends up shorter than I would like, so I go back and fill in missing details and scenes. The Story Equation by Susan May Warren helps with this. One of these days, maybe I’ll get all the information that I need before writing but so far that’s not how it has worked out. 😉
What is your inspiration for writing? I want to write stories that help readers see that hope can exist even when circumstances aren’t ideal. And, most importantly, that hope comes from God.
Who was your favorite author as a child? I loved Judy Blume books. She wrote beautifully about childhood problems and teenage angst. She writes both comedy and drama in a down-to-earth way.
Here is where you can find Jennifer online:
https://www.facebook.com/HeerenJennifer/
https://www.goodreads.com/jennifer_heeren
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jennifer-heeren
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbgclJkWg3mFVvE_E8pJEjA/featured
Jennifer is giving away a copy of A Different Season to a reader! See below how to enter to win:a Rafflecopter giveaway
2 comments
Thank you for hosting me!
interesting character