Author of the Month | Heidi Swain

Hey, Bookworms!

I'm incredibly excited to announce Heidi Swain (pictured) is my Author of the Month for February! Her feel-good fiction is like a big warm hug in book form the absolutely perfect pick me up. 

Heidi's debut novel, The Cherry Tree Café was published in July 2015 and since then she has had a further eight books published, becoming a Sunday Times Bestseller in 2017. She is currently looking forward to the release of her 2020 summer title, The Secret Seaside Escape (published 30th April - I can't wait for it either!).

Recently, Poppy's Recipe for Life has been shortlisted for The Sapere Books Fiction Award at the prestigious Romantic Novelists Association 2020 Romantic Novel Awards, congratulations! 

Heidi gained a degree in Literature, flirted briefly with a newspaper career, married and had two children before she plucked up the courage to join a creative writing class and take her literary ambitions seriously.

A lover of vintage paraphernalia and the odd bottle of fizz, she now writes feel-good fiction with heart for Simon and Schuster.

Heidi is represented by Amanda Preston and lives in Norfolk with her family and a mischievous cat called Storm. 

The lovely lady herself graciously let me ask her some questions (how lucky am I). Without further ado here is our Q&A ... 

Let's kick off with a tough one... Which of your novels is your favourite?

Wow! What an utterly impossible question to answer. I honestly can’t pick just one favourite, but there are three which stand out ever so slightly more than the others.

The Cherry Tree Café will always have a special place in my heart because it was the book which secured my first publishing deal.

Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells turned me into a Sunday Times Bestseller, so how could the Wynthorpe Hall gang not get a mention?

Poppy’s Recipe for Life was the book which led the way with a shift in branding and image last summer, so that’s special too.

Like I said, utterly impossible! I could list reasons as to why I love them all and if you asked me again this time next year, I’d still want to list the lot. Sorry…

Where is your favourite place to write?

I have a very small desk in my bedroom – it often features on Instagram – and I love to work there. It’s a bit cramped, but it means I don’t have to pack everything away at the end of the day like I used to, and to be honest, I’m so in my head when I’m typing away that I really believe I’m either in Wynbridge, Wynmouth or Nightingale Square so the confined space doesn’t hinder me at all.

How do you pick your titles? Which is your favourite?

It’s extremely rare for me to pick a title early on in the planning or writing process. The Cherry Tree Café, Summer at Skylark Farm and The Christmas Wish List were the easiest and I didn’t require a lot of input to come up with any of those. However, the rest have all been the result of lots of conversations with my agent and editor, many, many lists and even more hours spent mulling word combinations over. It’s a part of the process I find even trickier than coming up with certain character names.

I think, The Christmas Wish List is my favourite but I know as soon as I’m holding a copy of The Secret Seaside Escape I’ll change my mind.

What is the most surprising thing you have discovered when writing your books?

I’m a planner, rather than a pantser (although I’m willing to change things as the characters begin telling me what they want to do), and I’m always surprised when I start to write a first draft, by just how quickly I can get the words down. I’ve recently written just under 30,000 words in 11 days which is a third of the whole book. It’s pretty raw of course and still needs lots of work, but I’m always amazed at how quickly the word count can grow when I’m in The Zone.

What do you enjoy doing when you aren't writing?

When I’m not writing, I love to read – which will come as no surprise to anyone I’m sure! I also love to go for walks in my local woods and spend time gardening. I try to get outside every day if I can – something that’s become even more of a priority since I started writing at home full-time. I also enjoy going to the cinema, cooking comfort food and knitting – which has been a little neglected of late.

Which book is currently on your bedside table?

I have loads of books on my bedside table at the moment as I’ve been working my way through some fabulous proofs and just published reads. They have all been wonderful and I’d thoroughly recommend them all –

Where We Belong by Anstey Harris, The Choice by Claire Wade, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver, The Switch by Beth O’Leary and The Helpline, by Katherine Collette.

Who is the author that you admire the most in your genre?

I’m a HUGE Trisha Ashley fan. I have all her books and I’ve re-read loads of them. There’s something about her writing which really resonates with me and I love her characters. Last year I had the very great honour of sharing the stage at an event with her in Liverpool. I still have a long way to go before I’ve written as many books as Trisha, but I’m getting there.

Where did you get the inspiration for your latest book The Secret Seaside Escape?

I’m lucky enough to live in beautiful Norfolk and I also spent much of my childhood here, including many holidays. There’s one particularly memorable trip that I took to the seaside with my dad and a couple of years ago, I fell to wondering whether if I went back to the same place, would it still feel like it did when I went with him.

That was the trigger which set me thinking about Tess and her journey and whether she would be able to travel back to the seaside village of Wynmouth and reclaim her memories or whether she would find it all completely different. You’ll have to wait to read the book to discover what she found!

The inspiration for the setting of Wynmouth came from those happy summer trips to places such as Wells, Cromer, Hunstanton, Sea Palling and Happisburgh.

Can't wait for it to be released, it there anything you can tell us about the book that isn't in the blurb?

To be honest, I’m sworn to secrecy, but one thing I will divulge, is that there’s the most wonderful traditional pub in the village and I would love to spend some time there with the locals and try out the local ale!

The Secret Seaside Escape is out the on the 30th of April how do you plan celebrating publication day?

I don’t usually do anything specific on publication day. I have such a wonderful following on social media that the vast majority of the day is blocked out to flick between Facebook, Twitter and Instagram thanking everyone for liking, sharing and hopefully, reviewing. It’s exhausting, but I feel blessed to have the wonderful #swainette crew cheering for me.

That said, I think there might be a little something different on the horizon this time around, but I’ll let you know about it as plans unfold.

There is always something extra special about your Christmas books, please tell me you are gifting us with one this year?

I can’t tell you how happy that makes me! Thank you lovely. I absolutely love writing Christmas books and I can’t believe I’ve got four under my belt already. As always, I can’t reveal anything just yet, but keep your eyes peeled for a winter 2020 update very soon.

Thank-you Heidi, it was fabulous chatting to you!

Check back soon for features of the previous novels & The Secret Seaside Escape (when I get my hands on it!), in the meantime, I'm going to curl up again with Poppy's Recipe for Life while I'm waiting! xx