Ask the Author: Laura Heffernan
Answered Questions (22)
Laura Heffernan
I've always wanted to be a writer, for as long as I can remember. I draw inspiration from the world around me: my first series was inspired by my best friend's stint on a reality show. This current series is based on my love of board games. And Time of My Life was written because I used to dance and teach pole fitness.
Laura Heffernan
The heroine in my upcoming women's fiction release, Anna's Guide to Getting Even, has a pet cat. I'm also currently working on a series where the main character has a dog.
And there's a ferret with a cameo in Time of My Life. :-)
And there's a ferret with a cameo in Time of My Life. :-)
Laura Heffernan
I've loved all my books for one reason or another. The Reality Star series was fun because the first book was inspired by my best friend, and I love reality TV. The Gamer Girls books were fun because I love playing board games and that's how I met my husband. Time of My Life was fun because it's based on Dirty Dancing, which is my favorite movie, and it incorporates pole fitness, which I did for several years.
Laura Heffernan
Absolutely not. I play a lot of hardcore strategy games, and anything within the rulebook is fair game, but we don't cheat. That's fast track to never being invited back.
When we want to mess with other people's heads, we play social deduction games, where lying and yelling at each other are in the rules. :-)
When we want to mess with other people's heads, we play social deduction games, where lying and yelling at each other are in the rules. :-)
Laura Heffernan
Probably Confessions of a Shopaholic. I love the entire series. Sophie Kinsella was the first chicklit author I ever read, and she's always been my favorite.
Laura Heffernan
The Reality Star and Gamer Girl covers were done by Kensington, so I'm afraid I don't know the name of the exact designer. Time of My Life, Finding Tranquility, and my upcoming Anna's Guide to Getting Even were all designed by Kirsty McMancus, who is both amazingly talented at cover design and one of my favorite writers.
Laura Heffernan
BOARD GAMES! :-)
My editor asked me how I met my husband, so I told her about how I went to an event where we could play games all weekend. Then I mentioned that we actually go to those events pretty frequently, and she said I should absolutely write a series about that.
My editor asked me how I met my husband, so I told her about how I went to an event where we could play games all weekend. Then I mentioned that we actually go to those events pretty frequently, and she said I should absolutely write a series about that.
Laura Heffernan
This is such a tough question to answer. My all-time favorite is probably Forbidden Desert.
Top 5? Ouch. What about Top 5 by category? (In no particular order)
Cooperative: Forbidden Desert, Legendary, Pandemic, Harry Potter: The Battle for Hogwarts, Firefly: Fistful of Credits
Quasi-Cooperative: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Game, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Shadows Over Camelot
Competitive: Azul, Dominion, Gizmos,
Short Games: Love Letter, Qwixx, Werewords
That's 15, so I'll stop now. :-)
Top 5? Ouch. What about Top 5 by category? (In no particular order)
Cooperative: Forbidden Desert, Legendary, Pandemic, Harry Potter: The Battle for Hogwarts, Firefly: Fistful of Credits
Quasi-Cooperative: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Game, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Shadows Over Camelot
Competitive: Azul, Dominion, Gizmos,
Short Games: Love Letter, Qwixx, Werewords
That's 15, so I'll stop now. :-)
Laura Heffernan
My absolute favorite books as a kid were The Saddle Club books. It was one of the series where I really liked all of the main characters, plus, I loved horses (although I never got to take lessons).
I also liked The Baby-Sitters Club, Sleepover Friends, Trixie Belden, Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew....this could be a very long answer. My local library had a great children's section, so let's just say I took advantage of it.
Oh! And Judy Blume. I also read "I Never Asked You to Understand Me" over and over. Which I just realized is part of a longer series that I must not add to my towering to be read pile.
I also liked The Baby-Sitters Club, Sleepover Friends, Trixie Belden, Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew....this could be a very long answer. My local library had a great children's section, so let's just say I took advantage of it.
Oh! And Judy Blume. I also read "I Never Asked You to Understand Me" over and over. Which I just realized is part of a longer series that I must not add to my towering to be read pile.
Laura Heffernan
At the moment, I'm reading The Chai Factor by Farah Heron. I highly recommend it, both because it's really good and because the author is absolutely lovely.
Last time I checked, there were about 15 advance copies in my to be read pile, so I'm afraid to even think about how many more books there actually are. :-)
Last time I checked, there were about 15 advance copies in my to be read pile, so I'm afraid to even think about how many more books there actually are. :-)
Laura Heffernan
I'd love to write about a show similar to MTV's Are You the One? Have a great plot already outlined for it, but I'm looking forward to taking a break from the reality shows after REALITY WEDDING and moving on to my gamer series. :-) I might come back to it in a year or so.
Laura Heffernan
Hogwarts! No question. No need to even think about it. I want to live in the magical world of Harry Potter. I want to hang out with Hermione and Luna, because I think we'd get along really well. I want to visit the joke shop and talk to moving pictures and fly on a broom. I want to play Quidditch, even knowing I'll be completely terrible.
And I want a pensieve to hold all my story ideas until I have time to get to them. :-)
And I want a pensieve to hold all my story ideas until I have time to get to them. :-)
Laura Heffernan
My poor reading list is out of control. The Wild Woman's Guide to Traveling the World by Kristin Rockaway will be out soon, and that's a fantastic book. I'm also looking forward to Killing June by May Bridges.
I tend to read across all genres. I'm really looking forward to Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett. Running Target by Kari Lemor is also on my list. Let's hope I can find the time to read everything.
I tend to read across all genres. I'm really looking forward to Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett. Running Target by Kari Lemor is also on my list. Let's hope I can find the time to read everything.
Laura Heffernan
A couple of weeks ago, I went to leave my house. When the garage door lifted, I found a glistening driveway although it had not rained, and pink tape stretched across the bottom. Immediately, I called my husband, "Did you forget to tell me you asked someone to seal coat the driveway?"
He paused just long enough that I knew he wanted to ask how much I'd had to drink with lunch. "No. Did you?"
And thus began the mystery of who seal coated our driveway, why, and how I would get to the airport to fly to a conference the next morning. (You can't drive on a coated driveway for 48-72 hours).
Later that evening, after I took my husband's car to the gym, I came up with an entire opening scene where two main characters meet over a driveway seal-coated by mistake. (And, naturally, they'd fall in love...)
He paused just long enough that I knew he wanted to ask how much I'd had to drink with lunch. "No. Did you?"
And thus began the mystery of who seal coated our driveway, why, and how I would get to the airport to fly to a conference the next morning. (You can't drive on a coated driveway for 48-72 hours).
Later that evening, after I took my husband's car to the gym, I came up with an entire opening scene where two main characters meet over a driveway seal-coated by mistake. (And, naturally, they'd fall in love...)
Laura Heffernan
At the moment, I'm finishing up the draft of Reality Star, Book 3. I'm really excited about the way this series is going to conclude, and I can't wait to share the rest of Jen's story with the world!
Laura Heffernan
The idea for America's Next Reality Star came to me after two of my good friends were cast on reality shows. It got me thinking about what really goes on behind the scenes and wondering what type of reality show I'd enjoy. From there, the book just sort of took off. I had a lot of fun writing it.
Laura Heffernan
Princess Buttercup and Wesly. Because true love needs no explanation. :-)
Laura Heffernan
I find inspiration everywhere. My brain is always churning out ideas. I write books set in our world, and most of them are fueled by one simple question: What if? Those two words open the door to endless possibilities for me.
Laura Heffernan
1. Just write. Don't worry about whether it's perfect. You can edit later.
2. Pick a path. Traditional, independent press, self-publishing, not publishing at all. All are valid.
3. Do your research. Read everything you can about the process. Approach publishing like a business, because it is.
2. Pick a path. Traditional, independent press, self-publishing, not publishing at all. All are valid.
3. Do your research. Read everything you can about the process. Approach publishing like a business, because it is.
Laura Heffernan
What helps me most is to get away from the computer for a bit: go for a walk, hit the gym, driving, baking. Or sometimes, I'll force myself to put down just 500 words, and I usually wind up with more.
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