***Originally 11-6-13



I have a deeper female voice and no accent, which is ideal for radio I've been told.  But what many people who heard me on the air locally or on commercials across the country don't know is that there are two other voices that are nearly identical to mine.  Though my mom and sister and I may not look exactly alike, we all sound exactly the same.  When people would call our house, they would hear a girl and they would often say things like..."Jeanie...Heather...Brooke...who IS this?!"  My mom got to hear an improper joke from one of my sister's male friends once because he assumed he was talking to her.  Things like that happened all the time.In radio, when I recorded my voice for commercials or even shows, I would sit in the studio with headphones on.  I would hear my voice through the headphones as I talked and it was always kind of strange.  When I would drive home later, I would hear my voice on the radio too and that was even more strange.  I got used to that eventually, but it took time!  Today, my sister sings in the praise band at her church.  Every time we visit and she's singing up front I think my goodness, why am I singing so loud?  Everyone can hear me!!  Then I remember it's not me.  It's her!  And she has a microphone.  The praise band sounds very good, but it's still strange to hear my deep voice resonate throughout the sanctuary.

Whenever I visit with my mom and sister, I'll go home and occasionally when I say something I'll think, "whoa, that REALLY sounded like Heather.  Or wow, that really sounded like my mom!"  I have a video from when my oldest daughter was little and my mom laughs in it off camera.  It sounds SO much like me it took me a long time to figure out that it was really her.  When my nephew was little, he heard me voice and came running to me.  He wrapped his arms around my leg...and then looked up.  The look on his face was priceless.  He knew immediately upon seeing me I wasn't mommy.  But why did I sound like her?!  He was very confused.

While the three of us sound very much alike, we are different people.  And the way I personally can tell the difference is by the way we say things.  My mom has the same tone of voice, but she talks more distinctly and more properly.  My sister also has the same tone, but she says things in a different manner than I do.

The same can be said about writing.  I've been told that my writing has a similar tone or style to a variety of different authors including Karen Kingsbury, Richard Paul Evans, and even occasionally Danielle Steele, depending on what I've written.  But it doesn't matter how similar the style or mannerisms are, the story is different.  The way I say things is different.  Sometimes I read other books and think it sounds like me too.  It's weird to hear my voice in someone else's book!  But had I written that book, it likely would have sounded the same, but it would be a very different book overall.

I believe writers are born with a voice.  That voice may sound like someone else in some ways, but overall, it is uniquely that particular writer's voice.  There are many things you can do with that voice and you might even be able to change it.  But what you need to do more than anything is make sure it's heard.  It doesn't have to be heard by the masses in order to mean something.  Even if it's just you hearing yourself, your writing is worth it.

Find your voice.  You may have several!  And enjoy it.  Chances are, others will too.

***Originally posted 10-23-13


When I was in radio, I did a little writing here and there for scripts and other such things, but I missed long form writing.  In college, it was fine because I had plenty of papers to write, but once I graduated and started my career, I didn't have that creative outlet anymore and I needed it.  I tell people that the prologue for "Someone Always Love You" was something that came to me and bugged me.  It actually kept me awake at night, begging to be written.

So, one day, on a break from work, I sat down and wrote it out.  I felt better!  But the story was there and though I didn't know what it was, exactly, I HAD to finish it.  It deserved that much.  I had never written a novel before, but that was exactly what I set forth to do.

I honestly had no idea what was going to happen in the book.  The main idea was based around a woman in a coma.  My grandmother was in a coma on two separate occasions and I always wondered if she could hear the people around her...if she had thoughts, dreams, or other things going on in her mind.  Though I don't know what really happens in people's minds when they are in comas, the story is based on my idea of what it might be.

What came to me for the prologue was HOW the woman gets thrown into the coma in the first place.  From that point on, I really had no idea what was going to happen.  I wanted her to have memories of her life and I wanted her to hear some of the things going on around her.  What those memories would be and what those items she would overhear would be were  up in the air.  I literally just sat down a wrote.

Characters began to form and with them, an intricate story line of love, family ties, tragedy, mishaps and many other elements came.  Somehow, it all came together and I completed the manuscript in a little over a month.  I had no idea what to call it and no idea what to do with it.

My mom helped me arrive at the title of "Someone Always Loved You" and I approached agents and publishers and so on.  Though a few asked for more chapters, no one took the bait and I pushed the novel to the side and went on with everyday life.

Years later, my husband "published" the novel in ebook form as a present to me.  I went on to self-publish is in paperback form for fun as well.  I hope to go back and polish the book a bit more someday now that I know a little more what I am doing.  I also took the first few chapters to a writing conference in 2012 and won a contest with them.


Someone Always Loved You"Someone Always Loved You" is still one of the favorite stories I have ever written.  I feel like a part of me is in every single character and the story is something that I will never let go of completely.  Though I have not done all that much with it, somehow, people have been finding it online.

Just the other day, I visited the amazon link for the ebook version of the book in order to grab the link and send it to someone.  I noticed that there were reviews posted on the book!  I was surprised and excited to read them.  There are four reviews posted.  The first one I asked a reviewer to write and it is a three star review, though everything they said about the book is favorable.  The other three reviews are completely unsolicited and I was shocked to see there are all five star reviews.

You can read all of the reviews here, but here's what one reviewer said:

This book was amazing! The story was not what I had expected at all. The twist and turns it took certainly made me want to finish the book. Each character had their own distinctive personalities and I am not sure who was my favorite. The title goes hand in hand with the storyline. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading the unexpected.

Reading what complete strangers thought gave me hope that someday, more people will enjoy the story that I enjoyed writing more than you can imagine.  It's a story I will never forget and never completely move past.  It haunted my until I wrote it and though I feel better now that it's out of my system, there will be no ridding of it completely.  And for that I am thankful.

***Originally posted 10-2-13
**Note, see "Freelance Writing" section of website for details


When I left radio after 12 years, I really didn't know what I was going to do.  I knew it was time to leave and I desperately wanted to work from home, but doing what...I didn't know.  Since I loved writing so much, it only made sense that I do something that involved writing.  I am so thankful for the internet and the possibilities is has opened up for me.




I started searching for writing jobs and looking at random websites and applying for even more random jobs.  I found a few here and there including thecontentauthority.com.  I applied to be a writer and was accepted after some trial articles.  However, I had to start at a low pay and prove myself.  Eventually, I moved up the ranks and get a higher rate.  Websites like these are great because you can go to a huge job board and look at the topics that are needed.  You choose one you think you can write about, write the article, and send it off.  Then, if the client on the other end likes it, they can add you as a favorite writer.  They can directly order things from you later and the good part about that is, you get to set the price on those.  I have written enough articles for enough people that I rarely take jobs from job boards anymore.  Usually, I work on the direct orders I have from the variety of sites I've been on.

After I found a few little things, I hit the jackpot when I ran across freelancewritinggigs.com.  This website posts writing job leads every morning at about 7am.  Some of the jobs are for specific locations and others are virtual, meaning they can be done from anywhere.  I would look at the jobs that could be done anywhere and see if I fit the bill.  If I did, I applied.  I have to be honest, I didn't hear back from most of them.  But the ones I DID get ended up being great.




The freelance website led me to Interact Marketing, another writing website with a job board.  Once I was accepted there, I could take jobs in a variety of topics at a variety of price levels.  Again, if the client liked me, they could add me as a favorite and order work from me later.  I got two great contacts and regular clients from this website.  One ordered from me nearly daily until my second daughter was born.  That client didn't pay great and since my time went kaput, I kind of stopped on those jobs.  The second client was Goodbye Crutches and I still write for them today.  In fact, I write usually 5 blogs a week for them.  They call me their award winning writer and most of the blogs they post are my writing.




From the freelance website, I also got connected to a guy who offered book reviews to authors.  Though he no longer works in that business, he still has me on his list and sometimes, authors contact me directly for reviews and such.  Honest reviews only!!

So, as a freelance writer, I write a little of everything.  I write about how to get around on crutches, how to cook, how to deal with kids and anything else you can think of.  To get an idea of what I do for that client, visit their blog here.  They are my current, most regular client and I work with them weekly.  The rest of my jobs come and go.  Right now, I'm working with a client who wants product description type things for hundreds of study guides, flash cards and other related items.  Yes, I said hundreds.  :)

When people ask what I write about and how I find the information, it's hard to answer.  One day, I can write about how to recover from foot surgery and the next day I'm writing about how to fight a speeding ticket in a certain state.  It really depends day to day and that's one of the things I love about it.  If I wrote the same stuff all of the time, I'd probably go nuts.  Or maybe not...because that's how much I love writing.

The one thing I've learned about my own personal freelance writing style is that I should never accept a job I know I can't complete.  I don't want to put too much on my plate and not be able to deliver.  I have also learned that I generally underestimate myself as to what I can get done in a short amount of time.  But I think that's better than overselling and not coming through.

If I never did anything else but write articles for people who need them for their websites, newsletters or wherever else, I think I'd be pretty happy.  I'm thrilled to now have success in the fiction writing world as well.  I'm looking forward to the release of "Wrong Place, Right Time" in December 2014 and I hope I can announce many more book release dates in the future.  In the meantime, there's an article on marketing automated systems waiting for my attention....

***Originally posted 8-3-13

As an author I get a lot of questions. How do I come up with ideas? Where do I get character qualities and names? How in the world do I type so fast? Today, for my first blog post on the new website, I am going to answer one question…why I write in the first place.I was in radio for 12 years and when I was VERY pregnant with my first daughter, everyone at the station knew I was going on maternity leave soon and I would not be coming back full time. In fact, I would be part time and only in a small way. One gal said to me before I left, “You’ll be back.” I gave her a look as I tried to figure out what she meant. Was she trying to be encouraging by saying that I wouldn’t be away from the ‘real working world’ forever? She continued on upon seeing my confusion. “Once you’re bitten by the radio bug, there’s no way to ever leave the business for good.”

I answered her quickly, saying the only thing that made sense to me. “But I’ve never been bitten!” I replied. It’s true, there were a lot of things I enjoyed and even loved about radio. Putting together a commercial or imaging spot that I once heard in my head was actually fun for me. Piecing it together was a creative thing that many people said I did well. Taking phone calls when I was on the air and playing songs for people who really needed to hear them was enjoyable as well. I used to joke that I even had a face for radio. I don’t really believe there is any such thing because everyone is beautiful and made just the way they were meant to be. However, I did indeed have a voice for radio…a lower female voice with no accent…it worked well anywhere in the country.

When the radio station was sold at one point, many people left and some were not asked to return. I, luckily, held on to my job, but I gained a new boss. She and I were sitting in her office one day in the brand new studios the new owners built, exchanging backgrounds. We talked about how we each got into radio. I told her my story and towards the end, I said something to the effect of: “And that’s how I got stuck in radio.” She got a funny look on her face and said, “Huh, I’ve never felt that way!” It was at that point that I realized I just said out loud how I really felt about being in radio. Though I enjoyed so many aspects of it and I was even good at many parts of it, I felt stuck. The radio bug had never bitten me. I was not where I ultimately belonged.

When my first daughter was born, I kept my foot in the door in radio, working on a very part time basis with the hopes that when she went to school someday, I could go back. I left my part time position when I finally admitted to myself that I didn’t want to go back. Radio wasn’t where I was meant to be, in the end.

After I left radio, I really had no idea where to go. I loved staying home with my daughter and playing with her all day long, but I needed something that was all my own as well. Since I always loved writing, it made sense that a “job” and writing should go together. I began searching the Internet for writing jobs. I found a few here and there and one thing led to another.

Back in my radio days, a manager walked by my office and then backtracked, sticking his head in the door. He slowly moved over to my desk and looked over my shoulder to read what I was typing. “Wow,” he said as he saw I was typing real words, “I figured you were just in here hitting buttons as fast as you could to impress people. I didn’t know anyone could type that fast.” It’s true, I can type about as fast as I can think, which can be very dangerous. But I know now that when I am typing, whether it’s an email, a script for a radio spot, an article, or a novel, I am happy.

Many people say that exercise makes them feel better. They work out because they feel healthy and they have more energy because of it. While I believe this wholeheartedly, I also feel that writing does something similar for me. I write because on the days I have written something that really works, I simply feel better. I have more energy because I am excited about a story. I am a better mom because I have something to call my own, no matter how small and even if I only had 5 minutes to work on it.

I write because, as my radio friend once said, I have been bitten by the writing bug. To me, there is no getting away from it. I am not “stuck” with writing. It is where I want to be and where I always should have been. It is as much home to me as the house in which I live.

And so, while I hope that those who read what I write in articles, books and so forth enjoy what they read, much of what I have written is as much about the process of writing it. Writing is not drudgery. It cannot be forced. It is something I enjoy and I only write on the days that I enjoy it. And that is why I write every day…assuming the 4-year-old little girl and 6-month-old baby allow… 