Introducing author Heather Dowell and her book Summers and Winters:
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I love to be adventurous, meet new people, and visit new places. I’ve
white-water rafted down the mountains of Turkey, swam in the Blue
Lagoon, hiked the mountain sides of Oman, snorkeled in Seychelles, seen
the beautiful architecture of Barcelona, slid down the Leap of Faith in
Dubai, karaokeed in Bahrain, partied in Djibouti, and became a Shellback
after crossing the equator.
2. When did you start writing, and why?
I’m 23 now, so I’ve been writing for about 10 years. I don’t think
there was ever really a moment when I decided to write. I never really
thought about it until now, but I think I started coming up with ideas
after watching A Walk to Remember. The first plot I
came up with was for “Summers & Winters”. I didn’t make it past the
first 60 or so pages until 2009. On my second deployment, my writing
really took off. I was tired of looking at a black screen watching the
minutes go by, so I started stealing computer paper, and pretending like
I was working on job requirements, when really I was working on this
novel. Now that the novel is finished and I have all of these other
ideas swarming around in my head, I don’t think I’ll ever stop writing.
People always say they were born to do something, and I believe writing
is the thing that I was born to do.
3. What do you write, and why? What do you enjoy about what you write?
I write in just about every genre, except for nonfiction, westerns,
and horror. I’d never be able to finish a nonfiction book; I’m just not
that patient. I won’t even watch Western movies, so I definitely
wouldn’t spend the time writing a book. If I wrote horror, I’d probably
wind up scaring myself.
For the most part, all of my books, no matter the genre, have at least
some bit of romance in them. I enjoy writing romance, because love is
one of the best things in life and I want to capture it on paper.
I never thought that I would write anything other than teen fiction,
but then I started to do a lot more reading, and book ideas would just
come to me - usually at very awkward times, when I needed to be sleeping
or doing something important. Now, I can’t see doing general fiction. I
love paranormal, sci-fi, dystopia, and fantasy, and I enjoy the
challenge of trying to write them and make them realistic.
The thing I love most about writing is giving life to my characters. I
don’t feel settled until others can read about them. Sometimes I think
of my characters as real people. I cry when they cry, laugh when they
laugh, and love when they love.
I love watching people read while I’m writing too. One time I was
writing and a guy was looking over my shoulder, so I asked him what he
was doing. He smiled. “I’m sorry, it’s just so cool watching you write.
It’s like I’m reading your mind, knowing that what you are writing is
exactly what you’re thinking at this moment in time.” It’s a interesting
way to think of reading. You really are reading the author’s mind.
One of the coolest things that happens when writing is surprising
myself. I don’t use outlines, so sometimes I think I’m writing a boring
scene to avoid an awkward time gap, and BAM!!!!!! something brilliant
just hops on the page and I’m like, “where the heck did that come from?”
4. What is your latest book or series? Any forthcoming books?
My
latest book in the series is “The Coldest of Winters”. It picks up
right where book one left off, well, a few hours later to be exact.
Sorry about the cliff hanger, but it had to be done. It was the perfect
ending to book one and lead in to book 2. I’m sure some of you saw it
coming, but I doubt you will be able to predict what will happen in book
2.
I love giving titles double meanings. Every
title contains a character last name, reflects the season that the
events are taking place, and gives you a hint to what will happen in the
book.
“Summers & Winters” – Heather Winters and Mitch
Summers – reflects the seasons they spend together – lets us know that
they are meeting in this book
“The Coldest of Winters” – the
focus will be on Heather Winters – the book takes place in the winter –
and “cold” lets us know that this is not going to be all rainbows and
butterflies. This book gets pretty deep. Expect tears and anger. Some
characters are probably going to tick you off, and you’ll want to rip
their heads off. Others will make you think “what the hell. I can’t
believe you just did that!”. Depending on how you feel about certain
charcters, you may be doing a happy dance and screaming “’bout time!”.
“The
Coming of Summers” – Mitch Summers will be the focus – it will take
place during the spring – “coming” signifies the action, though I won’t
give away which meaning I am refering to, you dirty minded people. :)
“A
Summers for Forever” – the focus is actually on Mitch and Heather in
the this one – it takes place during the summer – the title says it all,
but it may not happen or be like what you think.
If you like my
writing, don’t worry, there is a lot more to come. I have a few books in
the works. I’m not sure if they will turn into a series or not. It all
depends on how long it takes me to tell the story. The next two are:
“The
Newcomer” – paranormal romance – Due to the complexity of the story's
line, this may wind up being a chronicle. It could be up to twelve
books. Every creature you can think of: witches, fairies, trolls,
werewolves, vampires, dragons, elves, 4 of my own creation, mermaids,
seers, seekers, shapeshifters, angels, human warriors - you name it and
it’s probably in this book. Evil forces are lurking about and Emma is
their best hope at defeating them, but she still think she’s human. Will
the creatures of this earth be able to train her in time, and will they
accept her if they find out she is the most dangerous creature of them
all?
“Alien Invasion” (tentative title) -
fantasy/sci-fi/suspense/romance - two co-conspirators, Alora and Luke,
fight to stay alive and destroy the aliens that are overtaking the
earth. All the while, Alora battles for Luke’s heart, but will she still
want it when she finds out who he really is? What he has done in the
past?
5. "Welcome To My Worlds": Tell us a little about the world of your latest book or series.
Homestead,
South Carolina is a fictional place. I took a few of the settings from
places I lived in the past and mixed them together to create Homestead.
Samson’s
Creek was modeled after a Creek I went to with my cousins in
Mississippi. That is also where I jumped off the tree, played chicken in
the water, grilled out, and witnessed my cousin get stung by a bee in
the eye.
The courtyard, where the group always has
lunch, was at my old high school in Crossplains, TN. I always loved that
setting, in the middle of the school but outside and away from the
hustle and bustle of the crowded hallways. It’s really beautiful during
the winter, snow falling around you as you sit on the cold cement, your
lover's arms keeping you warm.
I modeled Homestead High after Portland High School in Tennessee. They are also home of the Panthers.
6. Introduce us to some of your characters. What do you like about them?
I like that Mitch is more mature than most 17-year-olds. He never
dated anyone before Heather, which would probably seem weird to most,
but you have to realize that he only dates when he thinks there is a
prospect of marriage. Though he has had no real experience with girls,
he is quite the romantic and says eloquent things that most would find
cheesy, but come from his heart.
Heather is a lot like me, strong but overly sensitive at times. Some
would find her emotions a little over the top, but the fact that she is
so open about how she’s feeling is endearing. She loves with her whole
heart and isn’t afraid to be vulnerable.
Brian is my favorite to write. He’s very witty, bold, and sometimes
dangerous. He is definitely the clown of the group. Even though most
people see the comedian side of him, Brian is a lot deeper than people
know. He’s loyal to a fault and often puts others before himself. It’s
rare that he find someone he feels he can truly relate to, and when he
does, he falls for them – hard. We catch a glimpse of this in “Summers
& Winters”, but we’ll really get to see this side of him In “The
Coldest of Winters”. Brian can only be loyal to his friends for so long,
it eventually developes that he follows his heart in his own desires,
putting everything on the line.
Brittany is not your typical cheerleader. Yes, she dates a football
player and is very popular, but there’s a lot more to her than that.
She's sweet, and kind, and very girly, but she’s also smart and isn’t
afraid to stick up for her friends. When she finds out Heather has
befriended a girl known for starting trouble, she warns her but still
allows Heather to make her own decisions. Brittany also has a knack for
knowing just what to say. This comes in handy a few times, when Heather
is on the verge of exposing her relationship with Mitch.
Sammy is the voice of reason. When anyone has an issue, they run to
him. He’s trustworthy and knows how to hold his tongue. Other than
almost ripping the hinges off of Hot Guy’s door to go after Brittany,
who went in for a “warm shower”, Sammy is usually calm and collected.
All of the subordinate characters bring something to the table as
well, but there too many of them to talk about now. You’ll just have to
read the books. But I will tell you, there are a few “mean girls” who
are out to destroy everything.
7. A fun fact you would like your readers to know about you or your book.
Some of the events in the book are modeled after real things that I’ve
done. For instance, I did jump off of a tree and into a creek, and I
did kill a snake with a shovel, though I didn’t eat it like Heather did.
A lot of people commented on the Surf War scene, and in case you were
wondering, you really can surf on trash can lids. You just need about an
inch of water. I take a lot of little things from life and twist them
around to fit my books.
8. Blog/site link, and where your book is available.Blog: http://heatherdowell.blogspot.com/ Book is available at Amazon
About the Author:
Hey
everybody. My name is Heather Dowell and I was born in Tennessee on
March 12, 1990. My family moved around frequently when I was a kid,
mostly from county to county, so I've had a lot of experience with being
the new kid. I graduated from Portland High School in Portland, TN in
May 2008. Shortly after my 18th birthday, I enlisted in the United
States Navy. I went to boot camp in Greatlakes, IL, which is a short
train ride away from Chicago. I went to Chicago with my sailor friends
as often as I could. I really enjoyed the city.
I've lived in
Tennessee, Mississippi, Illinois, and Florida. If you count the womb,
then I've also lived in Las Vegas, Nevada, that's part of the reason why
I chose for Heather Winters of “Summers & Winters” to live in Las
Vegas. I asked myself, "How would my life have been if I grew up in
Vegas?", and created a whole new world.
I
served four years on the USS Carney(DDG-64) in Mayport, FL and lived in
Jacksonville, FL. I met some of the most wonderful people on that ship,
and that is when I really started writing. In my upcoming book "The
Newcomer", I transformed my real friends on the Carney into mythical
creatures, like Mermaids, Vampires, Trolls, Fairies, Werewolves, and
some creatures of my own creation, that are battling the Evil Black
Dragon and his minions in order to keep them from conquering the world
and dominating the human race.
I
write books of almost every genre, all with a little hint of Romance, so
if you are into that sort of thing, you should definitely try out one
of my books.
I'm currently pursuing a
bachelors degree in Elementary Education at Western Kentucky
University. I have a passion for teaching children and for writing
novels. I also love music and I'm a flag girl in the Big Red Marching
Band. I'm married to a wonderful husband, and I love seeing my family
every weekend. Family and friends are very important to me. You can
probably see that through the characters that I have developed. They're
all very unique and some of them are based on people I know. Some of the
events stem from real events in my life as well, but I twisted them
into a very fictional story. I hope you enjoy my work, and if you have
any questions, feel free to contact me. Thanks for reading.
Read on for some excerpts from Heather's book!
