About Heidi Herman:
Heidi Herman was born in Illinois but embraces a rich Scandinavian heritage. Her mother is a native of Iceland, who met and married a US serviceman who was stationed in Reykjavik during WWII. Heidi grew up with stories of brave fishermen, mischievous trolls and adventurous Vikings. She once insisted to her elementary teacher that Leif Ericsson, not Christopher Columbus discovered America and that the history books were wrong.
After a 30-year career in business, Heidi turned to fiction writing full-time. In the winter of 2012, her mother, Ieda, published her childhood memoirs, which some of Iceland's folklore. Heidi was again immersed in childhood memories of legend, lore and imaginative stories. The troll-like Christmas characters sparked the imagination of many and led to Heidi writing her first book, "The Legend of the Icelandic Yule Lads", followed by a collection of traditional Icelandic folklore, an children's coloring book, and a modern holiday story featuring the 13 Yule Lads.
What inspires you to write?
All of my children's stories are inspired by Icelandic folklore. My mother shared many of these from her childhood in Iceland so they are familiar to me. I work to share these unique legends with new readers who are ready to move beyond the traditional fairy tales.
Tell us about your writing process.
I'm definitely an outliner, at least in my mind. I live with the characters and live their stories in my mind until I know them so well it's like the memory of a movie. Then, when all the details are worked out, I sit down to write.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
The characters in my stories are all inspired from Icelandic literature. I let my imagination live with the characters and follow their days and adventures beyond the original legends.
What advice would you give other writers?
Write your passion-tell the stories that are most important to you.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I went the route of self-publishing because I wanted to focus on Icelandic folklore. Most traditional publishers felt this was too narrow to have mainstream appeal but I wanted to share them as a tribute to my heritage.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
As popular as eBooks are, we will always have a demand for paper books as well. Whether it comes from a large publishing house, small regional, or a self-published author, if the story has a message and speaks to the reader, it will endure.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: Childrens, folklore, coloring books
What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print, Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Heidi Herman Home Page Link
Link To Heidi Herman Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
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