,
Heather Balog

year in books

Heather Balog’s Followers (136)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
Lellany...
1,537 books | 167 friends

Rachel ...
4,551 books | 98 friends

Barbara
1,639 books | 1,028 friends

Reanell...
1,779 books | 1,227 friends

Dawn Ba...
40 books | 48 friends

Natalie
613 books | 145 friends

Eileen ...
880 books | 1,103 friends

Anita
2,231 books | 424 friends

More friends…

Heather Balog

Goodreads Author


Born
in The United States
Website

Twitter

Genre

Influences
Judy Blume

Member Since
April 2013


Heather Balog is a self proclaimed "Bad Mommy" and the author of fourteen novels, including the Amy Maxwell Cozy Mystery Series. She also collaborates with her "Tween-age" daughter on the Lexie Maxwell Series for young readers. She blogs at "The Bad Mommy Diaries" which, according to her family, is mostly obnoxious exaggeration, but it's much cheaper than therapy. When Heather is not writing or complaining on her blog, she's a school nurse, taxi driver, her household Sudoku champion, and a runner with way too many aches and pains to be any good. She lives with her husband and her two children who all make fun of her inability to exist without the help of a Post-It note list on a daily basis. She also has two very needy dogs who do not make ...more

To ask Heather Balog questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

Heather Balog A lot of times if I can't get past a certain scene in a novel, I will write the next scene and then go back and link them together. Usually that will …moreA lot of times if I can't get past a certain scene in a novel, I will write the next scene and then go back and link them together. Usually that will jump start my creative flow again. If that doesn't help, I will put a book aside for a few week or months and work on something else. Sometimes picking it up and rereading it then reminds me what I hoped to accomplish or the story I wanted to tell. (less)
Heather Balog My favorite thing about being a writer is having the ability to create any character or situation I want to. I am completely in control over what happ…moreMy favorite thing about being a writer is having the ability to create any character or situation I want to. I am completely in control over what happens and it's very empowering.(less)
Average rating: 3.69 · 4,525 ratings · 381 reviews · 23 distinct worksSimilar authors
Friends From the Edge

3.65 avg rating — 1,532 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
The 8 Mistakes of Amy Maxwe...

3.70 avg rating — 669 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Letters To My Sister's Shrink

3.76 avg rating — 535 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Note to Self: Change the Locks

3.46 avg rating — 506 ratings — published 2013 — 6 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Best Friends & Other Liars

3.61 avg rating — 370 ratings2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Amy Maxwell & the 7 Deadly ...

3.78 avg rating — 322 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Amy Maxwell's 6th Sense (Am...

3.85 avg rating — 210 ratings2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
The Dead of Summer

3.85 avg rating — 88 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
When the Bough Breaks

4.02 avg rating — 46 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Amy Maxwell & the Long 9 Mo...

3.75 avg rating — 44 ratings2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
More books by Heather Balog…

Give Yourself Grace (Week 7)

I had a pivotal moment in my project to Getting Uncomfortable (Losing 23 lbs in 23 Weeks) this week. I discovered that sometimes, you need to give yourself grace.


It was a busy week…you know, one of those weeks where there truly aren’t enough hours in the day? You have a list a mile long and you cannot possibly get it all done…unless you give up sleep, that is.


While I wasn’t willing to give up slee

Read more of this blog post »
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on March 11, 2019 17:45
Amy Maxwell & the Long 9 Mo... The 8 Mistakes of Amy Maxwe... Amy Maxwell & the 7 Deadly ... Amy Maxwell's 6th Sense Amy Maxwell's 5th Child: An...
(6 books)
by
3.75 avg rating — 1,285 ratings

Broken Country
Heather Balog is currently reading
by Clare Leslie Hall (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating

 
The First Witch o...
Heather Balog is currently reading
by Andrea Catalano (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating

 

Heather’s Recent Updates

Heather Balog rated a book liked it
Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder by Bellamy  Rose
Rate this book
Clear rating
Don’t know why this 250 page book took so long to read. It was decent but just did not hold my attention.
Heather Balog rated a book it was ok
Julie Tudor Is Not a Psychopath by Jennifer Holdich
Rate this book
Clear rating
After struggling to get through this audiobook for ten days, I can assure you that Julie Tudor IS a psychopath.
Heather Balog entered a giveaway
The Road to Second Chance by Toni M. Andrews
The Road to Second Chance
by Toni M. Andrews (Goodreads Author)
2 copies available, ends on October 22, 2025 Enter to win »
Heather Balog rated a book really liked it
Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump
Rate this book
Clear rating
Heather Balog started reading
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
Broken Country
by Clare Leslie Hall (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
Heather Balog rated a book liked it
Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang
Julie Chan Is Dead
by Liann Zhang (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
I get the point of this being more satirical, of course, but it didn’t keep my attention like it should have. And the repulsive parts of it which were obviously for shock value, made me cringe way too much.
Heather Balog rated a book liked it
With a Vengeance by Riley Sager
With a Vengeance
by Riley Sager (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
This is so different than anything Riley Sager ever wrote but yet, I’ve seen this film before…and the ending was much better than this one. And Then There Were None anyone? Clue, anyone? Murder on the Orient Express anyone? Don’t mess with Dame Chris ...more
Heather Balog is currently reading
The First Witch of Boston by Andrea  Catalano
Rate this book
Clear rating
Heather Balog rated a book really liked it
We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter
Rate this book
Clear rating
A lot to unpack in this book. It’s so difficult to believe there are really people out there there like this.
Heather Balog rated a book really liked it
Death at the Dog Show by Peter  Boland
Rate this book
Clear rating
Love these Charity Shop Ladies mysteries. And with dogs!
More of Heather's books…
Quotes by Heather Balog  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Kathryn, Shannon's letters are her perception of reality. Whether or not the events happened exactly as she described them or not is actually irrelevant. I am interested in how she thinks these events happened or what she believes was going through her mind even more than I am of what really happened. As well as your perception of what happened. Would you share with me, please?"
 ​I recoiled in my chair, slightly indignant.”
Heather Balog, Letters To My Sister's Shrink

“Blood had been pouring from my body, so much more than could be held back by a simple bandaid. Maybe I had been to the hospital and they stitched it up? Were there stitches underneath this bandaid?  I didn't remember going to the hospital, but then again, I didn't remember much from last night. Why wasn't I in the hospital now? Shouldn't a suicidal teenager be in the hospital? Or some sort of mental institution? Why was I here, lying in my bed?
 ​Confused, I struggled to sit up. "Who put this bandaid here?"
  ​Katie rolled her eyes and leaned towards me, not attempting to help me sit up. "Mom did, of course. You cut your wrist on the glass bottle that you smashed all over my bed." She narrowed her stormy gray eyes at me. "Thanks a lot for that, by the way. We had to throw my bedding out. I guess I have to keep an eye on you at all times, don't I? You're like a baby."
​ I was stunned. They thought I had cut myself by accident! They didn't realize I had done it on purpose! Didn't I make it clear that I was trying to KILL myself? Wasn't my desperate plea for help loud enough?”
Heather Balog, Letters To My Sister's Shrink

“He was mayor and assemblyman, but had died tragically in a plane crash during his campaign for senator. I think fulfilling his father's dreams was part of Brad's drive into politics. So needless to say, I was representing his family, and it was imperative to be presentable at all times in public. No more running to the store in pajamas and hair curlers. Oh, wait, I never did that. That was Shannon, I thought smugly.
 ​"Dr. Wallace," I repeated, my train of thought having completely derailed. "I'm sure you are aware that my sister is not only suffering from a deluded sense of present reality, her memory of past events is also incredibly warped. This.." I lightly touched the notebook paper on which Shannon had written her letter. "Is nothing more than a pack of lies."
 ​Sitting back in the comfortable chair, I crossed my arms over my chest. I was a little sore,”
Heather Balog, Letters To My Sister's Shrink

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Nothing But Readi...: ROUND IV: The Medjai 2276 449 Oct 13, 2015 10:02AM  
WACKY READING CHA...: August 2016 Wacky Tunes 51 59 Jan 12, 2017 03:34PM  
2025 Reading Chal...: The TBR Randomiser Challenge - 2016 453 1293 Jan 25, 2017 06:41AM  
The Lost Challenges: July Clean It Out 43 55 Aug 30, 2017 03:48PM  
The Lost Challenges: A Trip Down Memory Lane - 1998 (Jul-Sep 2017) 93 74 Dec 05, 2017 04:33PM  
56640 Connecting Readers and Writers — 3925 members — last activity Sep 22, 2025 03:59AM
We connect adventurous readers with Indie Authors. This group is about connecting writers with readers in a way that has not been done on Goodreads b ...more
64169 Fiction Writers — 1043 members — last activity Oct 09, 2025 08:08AM
This group is for everyone who loves to write anything fiction. If you're an author, you want to be an author, or you just love to write, anyone is we ...more
65010 Book Marketing for Authors — 1483 members — last activity Aug 29, 2025 12:29PM
Helping authors get together and market their books. Promotional posts welcome. In fact, they are encouraged.
No comments have been added yet.