Good Morning, Booklovers!
It's a brisk fall day in the Midwest, and we’re gathered around the fireplace this morning. Won’t you join us in welcoming today's guest author, Heather Weidner, to the Coffee Chat?
So nice to have you with us, Heather. How do you take your coffee?
HW: I like iced coffee (year-round). The security guard at my day gig laughs at me when I show up in January, shivering with a cold drink.
Ally: It’s almost shivering weather this morning, but cold coffee is coming right up! While I prepare our drinks, please tell readers something about your background.
It's a brisk fall day in the Midwest, and we’re gathered around the fireplace this morning. Won’t you join us in welcoming today's guest author, Heather Weidner, to the Coffee Chat?
So nice to have you with us, Heather. How do you take your coffee?
HW: I like iced coffee (year-round). The security guard at my day gig laughs at me when I show up in January, shivering with a cold drink.
Ally: It’s almost shivering weather this morning, but cold coffee is coming right up! While I prepare our drinks, please tell readers something about your background.
Bio:
Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers is the first in her cozy mystery series, the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries. She also writes the Delanie Fitzgerald mystery series set in Virginia.
Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, and Murder by the Glass, and her novellas appear in The Mutt Mysteries series.
Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “One of my first jobs as a kid was to pick up the bullet casing at the police range where my dad was practicing. Being a CK (cop’s kid), I thought everyone talked of murder and mayhem at the dinner table.”
Author Contact Links:
Website and Blog: http://www.heatherweidner.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherWeidner1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherWeidnerAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_mystery_writer/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8121854.Heather_Weidner
Amazon Authors: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HOYR0MQ
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-weidner-d6430278-c5c9-4b10-b911-340828fc7003
Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers is the first in her cozy mystery series, the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries. She also writes the Delanie Fitzgerald mystery series set in Virginia.
Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, and Murder by the Glass, and her novellas appear in The Mutt Mysteries series.
Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “One of my first jobs as a kid was to pick up the bullet casing at the police range where my dad was practicing. Being a CK (cop’s kid), I thought everyone talked of murder and mayhem at the dinner table.”
Author Contact Links:
Website and Blog: http://www.heatherweidner.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherWeidner1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherWeidnerAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_mystery_writer/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8121854.Heather_Weidner
Amazon Authors: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HOYR0MQ
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-weidner-d6430278-c5c9-4b10-b911-340828fc7003
INERVIEW:
Ally: Who or what inspired your featured book, Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers?
HW: My husband loves DIY projects, and we watch a lot of shows on TV. One summer, I came across one in California where a couple refurbished vintage trailers, and that gave me the idea for Jules’s campground. She saves classic campers from the scrap heap and gives them a new life as part of a posh, glamping (glamorous camping) experience. She and her security guard add tiny houses to the offerings in this book.
Ally: What is the hardest part of writing?
HW: I think the hardest thing about writing is staying focused. I get distracted so easily. I go to Google to look up something, and then hours later, I’m watching alpaca videos. My friend and awesome writer, Alan Orloff, told me about BICFOK (Butt in Chair and Fingers on Keyboard), and it’s a good reminder that my task is to write.
Ally: Why did you choose writing as a career? Is it your only career, or do you have a “day” job?
HW: I still have a day gig. I’m an IT QA/Governance manager. I think it helps me with my writing. I get great ideas from all the people I interact with. And I always have wonderful IT resources to answer my questions about the dark web, computer security, and funny things people do with technology. It also helps me organize and plan my writing time. I need to make the most of it when my writing/book marketing time is limited.
Ally: Do you write from an outline?
HW: I do. Many moons ago, I was an IT project manager, and I’m a planner, outliner, and list maker. I do a high-level outline for the book, and then I start writing. Sometimes, the characters go off on their own paths, and I adjust. The outline helps me later when I have to write the dreaded synopsis.
Ally: What's the best writing/marketing advice you’ve been given?
HW: Writing/publishing is a business, and it’s hard work. It takes a lot of time and energy (and sticktoitiveness) to get published.
Ally: Tell us about your reading habits. Current favorites?
HW: I have been a reader since I got my first library card. (Shout out to all the fabulous librarians and teachers who helped me throughout the years and encouraged my addictive reading habit!) I read lots of genres, but my go-to is always mystery, thriller, and suspense. I read a lot of cozy mysteries to learn the craft and conventions. Plus, I absolutely love them. Right now, my favorite authors are Libby Klein, Sherry Harris, Ellen Bryon, Jennifer Chow, Diane Kelly, Bree Baker, John Grisham, Lee Child, and K.L. Murphy.
Ally: How many drafts (revision passes) do you do on a typical book before submission to your editor/publisher?
HW: I learned a long time ago, that when I think I’m “done,” I’m not. That’s just the beginning. The fabulous Mary Burton gave me great advice early on. She said to just write your first draft. Save the editing/proofreading for when you finish, and she’s right. My first book took five years to write and probably another two years to get published because I spent so much time refining a few chapters. I am much more prolific when I just write. I then spend time doing two or three (or ten) read-throughs. Then it’s ready for my critique group’s feedback. I make those changes, and then it’s ready for my agent and editor’s review and feedback.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
HW: The second book in the Jules Keene Glamping series, Film Crews and Rendezvous comes out in October 2022.
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you choose to answer?
HW:
Ally: Who or what inspired your featured book, Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers?
HW: My husband loves DIY projects, and we watch a lot of shows on TV. One summer, I came across one in California where a couple refurbished vintage trailers, and that gave me the idea for Jules’s campground. She saves classic campers from the scrap heap and gives them a new life as part of a posh, glamping (glamorous camping) experience. She and her security guard add tiny houses to the offerings in this book.
Ally: What is the hardest part of writing?
HW: I think the hardest thing about writing is staying focused. I get distracted so easily. I go to Google to look up something, and then hours later, I’m watching alpaca videos. My friend and awesome writer, Alan Orloff, told me about BICFOK (Butt in Chair and Fingers on Keyboard), and it’s a good reminder that my task is to write.
Ally: Why did you choose writing as a career? Is it your only career, or do you have a “day” job?
HW: I still have a day gig. I’m an IT QA/Governance manager. I think it helps me with my writing. I get great ideas from all the people I interact with. And I always have wonderful IT resources to answer my questions about the dark web, computer security, and funny things people do with technology. It also helps me organize and plan my writing time. I need to make the most of it when my writing/book marketing time is limited.
Ally: Do you write from an outline?
HW: I do. Many moons ago, I was an IT project manager, and I’m a planner, outliner, and list maker. I do a high-level outline for the book, and then I start writing. Sometimes, the characters go off on their own paths, and I adjust. The outline helps me later when I have to write the dreaded synopsis.
Ally: What's the best writing/marketing advice you’ve been given?
HW: Writing/publishing is a business, and it’s hard work. It takes a lot of time and energy (and sticktoitiveness) to get published.
Ally: Tell us about your reading habits. Current favorites?
HW: I have been a reader since I got my first library card. (Shout out to all the fabulous librarians and teachers who helped me throughout the years and encouraged my addictive reading habit!) I read lots of genres, but my go-to is always mystery, thriller, and suspense. I read a lot of cozy mysteries to learn the craft and conventions. Plus, I absolutely love them. Right now, my favorite authors are Libby Klein, Sherry Harris, Ellen Bryon, Jennifer Chow, Diane Kelly, Bree Baker, John Grisham, Lee Child, and K.L. Murphy.
Ally: How many drafts (revision passes) do you do on a typical book before submission to your editor/publisher?
HW: I learned a long time ago, that when I think I’m “done,” I’m not. That’s just the beginning. The fabulous Mary Burton gave me great advice early on. She said to just write your first draft. Save the editing/proofreading for when you finish, and she’s right. My first book took five years to write and probably another two years to get published because I spent so much time refining a few chapters. I am much more prolific when I just write. I then spend time doing two or three (or ten) read-throughs. Then it’s ready for my critique group’s feedback. I make those changes, and then it’s ready for my agent and editor’s review and feedback.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
HW: The second book in the Jules Keene Glamping series, Film Crews and Rendezvous comes out in October 2022.
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you choose to answer?
HW:
- Book you're currently reading: Jennifer Chow’s MIMI LEE GETS A CLUE
- An author (living or dead) you'd love to take to lunch: Agatha Christie
- An item on your bucket list: I would love to go to Scotland, Ireland, and Iceland.
- Most beloved comic book character: Batman/Batgirl
- Favorite comfort food: Pizza
- If you were a color, what would it be? Red
- Your pets: Jack Russell Terriers – Disney and Riley
Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers (Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries #1)
Genre: Cozy Mystery
There is nothing like finding a dead body, clad only in a red satin thong, on your property to jolt you from a quiet routine. Jules Keene, owner of the posh Fern Valley Camping Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is thrust into the world of the Dark Web when one of her guests, Ira Perkins, is found murdered in the woods near her vintage trailers. Jules quickly discovers that the man who claimed to be on a writing retreat was not what he seemed, and someone will go to any length to find what he left at her resort. Jules, along with her Jack Russell Terrier sidekick Bijou, has to put the rest of the missing pieces of a blackmailing scheme together before her business is ruined.
Jules’s resort, set in the heart of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville in the quaint town of Fern Valley, offers guests a unique vacation in refurbished and upcycled vintage trailers. Hoping to expand her offerings, she partners with her maintenance/security guy to create a village of tiny houses, the latest home DIY craze, but a second murder of a reporter interrupts Jules’s expansion plans. Curiosity gets the best of her, and she steps up her sleuthing to find out what Ira Perkins was really up to and what he was really hiding at her resort.
Buy Link: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GGBFWT5
Genre: Cozy Mystery
There is nothing like finding a dead body, clad only in a red satin thong, on your property to jolt you from a quiet routine. Jules Keene, owner of the posh Fern Valley Camping Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is thrust into the world of the Dark Web when one of her guests, Ira Perkins, is found murdered in the woods near her vintage trailers. Jules quickly discovers that the man who claimed to be on a writing retreat was not what he seemed, and someone will go to any length to find what he left at her resort. Jules, along with her Jack Russell Terrier sidekick Bijou, has to put the rest of the missing pieces of a blackmailing scheme together before her business is ruined.
Jules’s resort, set in the heart of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville in the quaint town of Fern Valley, offers guests a unique vacation in refurbished and upcycled vintage trailers. Hoping to expand her offerings, she partners with her maintenance/security guy to create a village of tiny houses, the latest home DIY craze, but a second murder of a reporter interrupts Jules’s expansion plans. Curiosity gets the best of her, and she steps up her sleuthing to find out what Ira Perkins was really up to and what he was really hiding at her resort.
Buy Link: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GGBFWT5
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