Heidi Catherine is on the blog today. She’s the author of The Soulweaver Series, available now from Crooked Cat Books.
Welcome to my blog, Heidi!
Author Name: Heidi Catherine
Book Title: The Soulweaver Series
Book Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Release Date: Out now
Publisher: Crooked Cat Books
Please tells us a bit about your series.
The Soulweaver Series is about loving the same souls over many lifetimes. It follows a group of souls as they reincarnate and find each other again and again. The first book in the series was the winner of Romance Writers of Australia’s Emerald Pro award.
What sparked the idea for the series?
The idea sparked long before my writing ambitions did. I just didn’t know it at the time because I was only a child. A widow my family knew had remarried and I asked my mother what would happen when she died and went to heaven and found herself with two husbands. My mum told me that in heaven there’s no jealousy, just pure love. I liked this answer and thought about it over the years, eventually deciding to turn this concept into a book where a woman finds herself in love with two men – one from her current life and another who she remembers from her past life.
How long did it take for you to write the series? Did you do have to do any research?
Each book took about six months to write. I purposely didn’t research the concepts in the book (such as reincarnation or near-death experiences) as I really wanted it to be my own take on it without being too heavily influenced by other people’s ideas. The first book is set in Hong Kong, Australia, London and New York and parts of the second book take place in India, so there was a little bit of research involved in that aspect to get the settings right.
How did you celebrate when you learned your series was going to be published?
Apart from a few glasses of champagne with friends and family, I saved my celebrations for when the third book in the series was released by having a launch party. It was a great way to take a step back from all the hard work and enjoy the moment. Seeing a big pile of my books on a table and having people ask me to sign them was a little surreal and a wonderful memory to keep.
If you were speaking to someone who hasn’t read your writing before, why should they want to read The Soulweaver Series?
Because it will make them think! A few reviewers have said these books changed the way they see the world and that has to be one of the biggest compliments I’ve ever had. The books aren’t meant to tell the reader what happens after you die, but rather paint a picture of one of the possibilities and prompt them to think about what they believe. But putting that aside, the books are a celebration of all the different kinds of love, not just romantic love. And who doesn’t love to love!
What’s next? Do you have another project in the works?
I’ve just finished writing a fantasy novel about an evil king who discovers the power of the spoken word and recruits an army to whisper his heart’s darkest desires. I wrote it as a standalone novel but only very recently decided that it would work really well as a six book series. So, it looks like I’m going to be busy for the next couple of years!
What’s one piece of advice you would offer your younger writer self?
Work hard. Be patient. Keep learning. Step out of your comfort zone as often as possible. And don’t forget to enjoy the ride!
Where can readers find you (website, blog, social media, etc.)?
Website: www.heidicatherine.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/heidicatherineauthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/heidicatherine
Link to the first book in the series http://mybook.to/thesoulweaver
Thank you, Heidi! The Soulweaver Series is out now.
AUTHOR BIO
Heidi Catherine’s award-winning, romantic fantasy series, The Soulweaver, explores the possibility of loving the same souls over many lifetimes. The first novel in the series was the winner of Romance Writers of Australia’s Emerald Pro award and was released by Crooked Cat Books. This novel is followed by The Truthseeker and The Shadowmaker.
After being named as a highly commended author in The Hope Prize, Heidi’s story, The Extra Piece, was published by Simon & Schuster in a collection of stories. She was also a finalist four times in Romance Writers of Australia’s Little Gems competition.
Not being able to decide if she prefers living in Melbourne or the Mornington Peninsula, Heidi shares her time between both places. She is similarly pulled in opposing directions by her two sons and two dogs, remaining thankful she only has one husband.
THE SOULWEAVER
She’s loved and lost him a hundred times across a thousand years. She can’t bear to lose him again.
Lin’s dreams are haunted by faces of people she’s never met. Unable to shake the feeling she’s lived before, she’s drawn to Reinier—a stranger whose soul is heartbreakingly familiar from a time gone by.
Reinier helps Lin unravel the mystery of her past life as Hannah, a girl who sacrificed herself for her true love, Matthew. As Lin falls hopelessly in love with Reinier, her memories of her life as Hannah sharpen and she finds herself unable to let go of Matthew.
With her heart torn in two, Lin must decide whether she should stand by Reinier’s side or track down Matthew and fight for his love. What she doesn’t know is that her decision will ripple across our troubled planet, affecting far more lives than just her own.
Winner of Romance Writers of Australia’s Emerald Pro award, The Soulweaver is a story that will change the way you see the world.