Welcome to my Second Acts Series!
Today, we have Wild Rose Press author Jeny Heckman sharing her writing journey and new release, The Warrior’s Progeny.
Here’s Jeny!
Briefly describe your first act.
Daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend. My husband and I eloped after knowing each other three months. three months after we were married, I became pregnant with my daughter, Paisley. So, we had our daughter and nine days later had our first anniversary. Twenty months passed and we had our son, Charlie and I started a business. We dug in and had a fantastic and exciting life together filled with friends, sports, the business, charities and fun.
What triggered the need for change?
The kids graduated from high school and our very busy life came to an abrupt halt. It was hard enough saying goodbye to my daughter at college, but when my son left two years later, the house became very quiet. I had written my first book and self-published it but didn’t really know much about the business. I had extra time on my hands and was interested in exploring this new craft.
Where are you now?
After I published the first one, I wanted to try to write a series. I was going to a lot of classes and conferences. At the conferences, people go to a kind of cattle call where they pitch their books to agents, editors and publishers. I didn’t have a book yet, so I pitched an idea for a series on Greek mythology and modern-day descendants. Kind of a Percy Jackson meets Nora Roberts. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and I began the series, just releasing book two July 27th.
Last Monday, I began writing book three and will have a side novella come out around Christmas time. I also will be turning all my books into audio next year.
Do you have advice for anyone planning to pursue a second act?
Well, I’m no expert, but I wasn’t prepared for all the marketing that goes into a book and find myself continually playing catch up. If I had it to do over again, I would’ve written two or three books first, while establishing a simple media presence. The editing process takes a long time too, so I would have started with book one and got that out while doing the time consuming editing and marketing, all the while knowing I didn’t have to be writing the next book so quickly because I had two or three in the coffers. It just gives you time rather than writing one, editing, and releasing, then writing, editing and releasing.
Any affirmations or quotations you wish to share?
My favorite quote of all time is from the movie, Hope Floats. Beginnings are scary. Endings are usually sad, but it’s the middle that counts the most. Remember that when you find yourself at the beginning and give hope a chance to float up, and it will.
My other favorite quote is from Betty Jean Eadie, author of Embraced by the Light. I met her once and she is amazing. She said…Everyone is a writer, some people just don’t know their own story.
I don’t know if she knows how much that resonated with me, but it was very powerful.
Tagline
If love dies, can it be reborn…only stronger?
Blurb
Colton Stone is a newly traded tight end whose reputation is as battered as his football helmet. When he receives a vacation invitation from his new teammates, he accepts. There he collides with Dr. Lillian Morgan, a pediatric cardiovascular surgeon, and doesn’t know what to think.
A widow with two children, Lilly is looking forward to her friends’ wedding. When she meets Colton Stone, his arrogant attitude only makes her long for the love she took for granted. Lilly struggles between letting go of her perfect past for an uncertain future.
Strange events occur, out of the realm of normal consciousness. When black energy touches their world Colt and Lilly become the pawns of the immortal Greek gods. Is the love developing between them natural, or part of a larger prophecy?
Trailer
Buy Links
Amazon Kindle | Nook | iBooks
Author Bio
Award-winning author, Jeny Heckman, was born in Bellingham, Washington, and was the youngest of two daughters. She met her husband, Jeff, in August 1992, and eloped three months later, at Magen’s Bay, on St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.
She wrote her first book, the Catch, in a few short months but took several years before she gained the courage to self-publish it at her son’s urging, and her love for writing began.
In 2018, Jeny knew her next project would be a series that showed adults could have adventures in the paranormal-fantasy genre too. So, she created the Heaven & Earth series, a story of doomed Greek gods and their only salvation, their modern-day descendants. Her first book of the series, the Sea Archer, was immediately picked up by the New York publishing house, the Wild Rose Press, and won, “Best in Category” from the 2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards.
In the year 2020, Jeny released, Dancing Through Tears, a short story from the anthology, Australia Burns: Volume Two, highlighting the Route 91 massacre from the perspective of one family at the concert, and at Mandalay Bay. She also intends to release, the Warrior’s Progeny, and Dee’s Cornucopia, in 2020, continuing the Heaven & Earth Series.
Jeny lives in Washington State with her husband of over twenty-eight years.
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Nan Reinhardt is a USA Today-bestselling author of romantic fiction for women in their prime. Yeah, women still fall in love and have sex, even after 45! Imagine! She is a wife, a mom, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. Nan has been a copyeditor and proofreader for over 25 years, and currently works on romantic fiction titles for a variety of clients, including Avon Books, St. Martin’s Press, HarperCollins, Kensington Books, Tule Publishing, and Entangled Publishing, as well as for many indie authors.
MADAM IN SILK is California teacher and editor Gini Grossenbacher’s second historical fiction novel. Her debut novel MADAM OF MY HEART garnered the 2018 IPPY silver medal for Historical Fiction; finalist in the 2018 American Fiction Awards for Historical Fiction; honorable mention at the 2018 San Francisco Book Festival for General Fiction; and runner-up in the 2017 Hollywood Book Festival for Genre Fiction. She is also a copyeditor and leads an aspiring writers group called Elk Grove Writers and Artists, providing lessons in novel writing, memoir, poetry, and flash fiction. When she’s not writing, Gini can be found taking long walks, tending the roses in her garden, and barbecuing with her husband and beloved dog, Murphy Brown.
Jean’s background is in science and she draws from her interests in history, nature, and her family for inspiration. She writes historical and contemporary romances and women’s fiction. She also writes articles for family-oriented travel magazines. When she’s not writing or chasing after children, she enjoys tending to her flower gardens, hiking, and doing just about anything in the outdoors.
Thanks so much, Joanne, for welcoming me back to your blog. Since I’ve already chatted with your readers about my reinvention from high school teacher to romance novelist, today I’d like to share ten of my favorite inspirational quotations. ‘Cause goodness knows we all need inspiration to keep us moving forward during the Quarantimes!
Barbara grew up in a small town in Tennessee where the repeated stories of local and family history became embedded in her psyche. Fascinating tales of wartime, from her parents and her in-laws, instilled an insatiable curiosity about World War II. After retiring from her sensible career in accounting, she began full time pursuit of her lifelong love of historical romantic fiction. Enjoying every minute of research, Barbara spends hours reading, watching old, black-and-white movies and listening to big band music.
Thank you for allowing me to stand back with your readers and smile at the colorful course I took to my second, third, and fourth acts in life. I was “one of those kids” I hope someone else can relate to.<
Hello Joanne,
On a lengthy car ride to their annual seaside vacation, a mother recounts the true story of a sweet family tradition.
This past year, I have read several books with unsatisfying endings. In one case, I wondered if the novel had been worth my time and attention. The author had started with a compelling opening, the characters were well-developed, and each chapter ended on a suspenseful note.
Jeanne Adams writes award-winning romantic suspense, fantasy/paranormal, Urban Fantasy and space adventure that’s been compared to Jack McDevitt and Robert Heinlein. She also knows all about getting rid of the bodies. Both traditionally and indie published, Jeanne has been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine. She teaches highly sought after classes on Body Disposal for Writers and Plotting for Pantzers, as well as How to Write a Fight Scene with her pal Nancy Northcott.
Caren Crane began writing warm, witty contemporary romance and women’s fiction to save herself from the drudgery of life in the office. An electrical engineer by training, she longed to create worlds where things were any color except cube-wall gray. She still works in a cubicle, but gets to hang out with witty, fabulous people whenever she’s writing, which greatly encourages butt-in-chair time.
Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman. Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, history, and genre fiction. A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the romance and high stakes (and sometimes the magic) she loves in the books she writes.
Joanne Guidoccio 