Interview with Heather Chapman

About the Author

Being the youngest of four sisters (and one very tolerant older brother), Heather grew up on a steady diet of chocolate, Anne of Green Gables, Audrey Hepburn, Jane Austen, and the other staples of female literature and moviedom. These stories inspired Heather to begin writing at an early age. After meeting and marrying her husband Mark, Heather graduated magna cum laude from Brigham Young University and finally settled down in a small farming community in southeastern Idaho with her husband and four children. In her spare time, Heather enjoys time spent with family, volleyball, piano, the outdoors, and almost anything creative.

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The Interview

Fun Quetstions

1. What is your favorite dessert?
I'm a sucker for chocolate. I love warm chocolate chip cookies and milk or a fresh cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting. 

2. What is your favorite beverage?
Dr. Pepper is my weakness, but I'm slowly transitioning to flavored water. 

3. What is your favorite movie and/or TV show?
My favorite movie changes from day to day and mood to mood. I've got an eclectic taste-- romance, comedies, musicals. Right now, my favorite is The Greatest Showman. But classics that I always enjoy are Ocean's Eleven, Nacho Libre, BBC Jane Austen adaptations, Mastermind, Under the Greenwood Tree, Wives and Daughters. I don't have time to watch TV very much, but when I do I enjoy Fixer Upper, Modern Family, or game shows. 

4. Where is your favorite place to go on holiday?
I dream of the ocean and Disneyland. Right now California is our go-to, but I hope to see more places when my kids are older-- Washington DC, New York, Boston, Europe, Australia. Those are all wishes. 

Author Questions

1. What did you want to be when you grew up? Did becoming an author ever cross your mind?
I wrote stories from the time I was five. Thoughts of writing a book came and went like clouds during my childhood and adolescence. Writing has always been a part of me, but I also considered counseling, the medical field, landscape design (as well as the science of plants), and hair school. I've always been pulled between the sciences and the arts. I never had trouble finding things I liked. I struggled with the opposite. There's so much I enjoy learning about.

2. What authors do you enjoy?  Do these authors inspire your own writing?
I like all different genres and authors. I enjoy the more well known books (Hunger Games, Harry Potter), but I also appreciate the classics by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, the Bronte sisters, and others. Jane Austen has been a long time favorite, and continues to be. Nancy E. Turner is my favorite historical fiction author, Julianne Donaldson my favorite regency author, and Kate Morton and Liane Moriarty my favorite contemporary authors. I also enjoy good mysteries/thrillers every once in a while. 

I hope that these writers have influenced my writing because I admire them. I would guess I've learned different things from each of them. That isn't very specific, but I'd have to think about it. Carla Kelly has been a mentor of sorts. She has given me pointers and resources to better myself. I appreciate her, as well as other writers, who have helped to shape my writing.

3. When you are not writing, what other "hats" do you wear?
My other hats include wife, mommy to four kiddos, organizer, wanna-be-volleyball player (and hopefully coach in the future), and cook. 

Book Related Questions

1. What inspired the idea for The Forgotten Girl?
I wanted to write a story about strength and hope and what they mean to me. I wanted to write a book to inspire my three daughters as they grow. My great-grandmother Stella came to mind. The Forgotten Girl is fiction, but it was inspired by the strength of Stella and the life she, and so many like her, lead. 

2. What do you want readers to take away from reading The Forgotten Girl?
Hope- there's always a way to improve your surroundings and life. Love- relationships matter more than anything else in this life. Strength- it's more about putting one foot in front of the other than doing anything grand. We have to keep going, keep trying. There's strength in that.

3. What is your current WIP? What can you tell us about it?
My current WIP isn't yet titled, but it is under contract and is scheduled for a Dec. 2018 release. It's a historical fiction, coming of age story. It follows a girl named Elle as she struggles to find her place in the world. She comes from a farming town in the Tetons in the early 1900s but also goes to finishing school in Virginia. When she's called home after a tragedy to take care of thefarm, Elle has to examine herself, and her heart, to decide the type of life she will choose. 

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