First of all, Heather, congratulations on your first published book, The Remarkable & Very True Story of Lucy & Snowcap (Marshall Cavendish 2008)!
Thank you! It’s really exciting to see the book in print!
What was the first thing you did when you heard that your book was accepted for publication?
I took my kids out for cupcakes and, while they were eating, I told them the news. The three-year-old never even looked up from his cupcake – the concept of book publishing was a little beyond him…and the cupcake was really good. But the six-year-old was pretty excited! He wanted to go to the library and check out the book THAT NIGHT, and he was really disappointed to find out that it wasn’t yet in print. (That was almost two years ago that I got the book contract – the kids are now 8 and 5. Book publishing takes a long time!)
Where did you get the idea for Lucy & Snowcap’s story?
I started out writing about Lucy leaving home to save her brother. I wanted to write a fantasy with a really strong girl in the lead role. Snowcap didn’t appear until later, when I was researching convicts and how they were brought over to the American colonies and sold as indentured servants – and then, all of a sudden, there was Snowcap…and Philip, and Adam, and all the rest.
If you could describe this book in just three words, what would they be?
Fast-paced convict fantasy.
(Hmm. Is that three words or four? Did I just cheat?)
Tell us about your writing habits. Do you keep to a schedule?
I write pretty much every day – but not always fiction. I have a “real” job as a college professor, so I write a lot of things for my job that are unrelated to children’s fiction. But I try to write fiction regularly. When I’m drafting (creating a new story), I write every day so that I can keep the rhythm going – even if it’s just a tiny bit a day. When I’m revising (or between projects), I don’t write fiction every day. But I feel like I should – and I wish I had the time!
What were your favorite books growing up?
As a kid, I would read almost anything I could get my hands on. I loved old stuff: Jane Eyre, Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen. And I loved mysteries and historical fiction and fantasy (E. Nesbit, Tolkien, etc). Really, I’d read anything except horror – it was too scary for me and gave me nightmares! My favorites, though, were always the stories about plucky orphans who set out on adventures. (They’re still my favorites. Hmm. What does that say about me?)
What was the best writing advice you ever received?
One of my mentors said something along these lines: Sit down in your chair every day and write. That’s how to write a book.
And the cool thing is: it works!
Are you currently working on a new project that you can tell us a little bit about?
I’m working on a young adult novel set in Iowa in 1941 – right at the beginning of the U.S. involvement in World War II. The main character is a math genius who really doesn’t understand people – they’re too messy and unpredictable. I’m almost done drafting the book, but I’m sure I still have a lot of revising to do before it’s ready to publish.
To learn more about Heather or The Remarkable & Very True Story of Lucy & Snowcap, please visit www.hmbouwman.com or www.marshallcavendish.us.
“An original, remarkable and very true debut…Beautifully written, fully realized, fast-paced–this blurs the line between fantasy and history and has winner written all over it.”
Kirkus starred review, August 1, 2008. Ages 9-12.
