Heidi Heilig's Blog

Soooooooo The Ship Beyond Time comes out in less than two months and I haven’t done anything to promote it.

[insert sailor swears here]

This is not because the book is no good. Au contraire! The Ship Beyond Time got rave reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and School Library Journal (they even gave me a star, yay!) Entertainment Weekly called it one of their most anticipated books of 2017, and more importantly to me, early readers have loved the story (some even going so far as to curse my name for the ending, which is perhaps the highest honor a reader can bestow.)

No, my lack of promotion has been due in large part to a strong desire for a real life time machine (dial set for November 7th 2016) and to an extremely crunched schedule consisting of writing my own fantastic next book and reading the fabulous books of others. But now I’ve wasted two paragraphs explaining myself and the clock is really ticking, so without further ado, let me announce my preorder incentive.

I’m not going to be subtle–I want your preorders! Preorders are the best way to ensure a book and an author gets love and attention from publishers and press, and we all want is love and attention, right? Or is that only a holdover from my theatre days? ANYWAY. To encourage those preorders, I’m offering an incentive in the form of a beautiful cloisonne pin shaped like the Temptation.

 Tada!

I have a limited amount of these pins, so if you’re on the fence about preordering but you really really like collecting rare swag*, this might just sway you! So go on, preorder**! Then enter your info here.

*Yes, for those who asked, I DID look into cloning Kashmir, but the Cloning Nerds have a friendly rivalry with us Time Travel Nerds and there are a lot more of them than us–at least, intermittently, between the moments that we fire up the time machine to go back to stop Casey from pressing the clone button FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME.

**This incentive was originally conceived as an incentive for indie bookstores only, but it was rightfully pointed out to me that access to an indie bookstore is a privilege. Supporting indie bookstores is near and dear to my heart, and by supporting indie bookstores, you are helping make them accessible to more people, so I highly encourage you preorder from your local indie, BUT, if you cannot, you are still welcome to claim your incentive along with my gratitude.

Due to overwhelming interest, as of January 11th, we have run out of the special maps I had printed for preorder swag. Thank you so much for making this so fun!

Tada! The UK cover for THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE!

When I first saw it, I was swept away by the richness of the colors and the tropical-adventure feel. I love how this cover perfectly captures an entirely different (but just as important) aspect of the story–namely, finding home in a place and time you’ve never visited, but somehow belong. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

 

Hey! So! I have one last ARC of THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE, and I defaced it with my signature in bronze sharpie. Maybe someone wants it?

This could be yours! Sorry I wrote in it.

Since I’m trying to drum up email addresses for my newsletter, I was thinking: INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY! Do me a favor and subscribe (at the bottom right of that page) for my monthly thoughts and musings, book and event news, peccadillos and misadventures. In exchange, I’ll enter your name into the giveaway, ending November 15th. (Winner will be announced that week!)

Yes? YES!

The post title (and the gorgeous new look) really says it all, doesn’t it?

I’m really so very pleased to share the website that Kris at My Friends Are Writers dreamed up. It’s clean, shiny, and responsive (yay!!! also, I did not know what that was? Thankfully she did!)(it’s “mobile friendly,” in case you and I have that in common, and it affects search engine ranking. Who knew? She did, we’ve established that. ANYWAY!)

There is an events page that will let you know where you can find me and when, and a downloadable press kit on the contact page. And (and this is what I’m MOST excited about) a front-page sign up for the newsletter that we’re rolling out soon. (A newsletter I’ve been trying unsuccessfully on my own to organize, and have no shame about admitting will now finally happen thanks to Kris and MFAW.)

Please sign up, it’s going to be awesome! We’re dreaming up a fun giveaway surrounding it–more news on that soon. In the meantime, click around and enjoy the new space! I know I am.

 

My first official book-related appearance will be at New York Comic Con on Saturday October 10th! 

I'll be on an Epic Reads Book Club panel at 12:15 with Actual Real Life Authors Jodi Meadows (Mirror King & My Lady Jane),  Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton (Tiny Pretty Things), Danielle Paige (Yellow Brick War), and Dan Wells (Bluescreen).

I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little intimidated! So if you see me around, PLEASE say hello and remind me how we know each other. Grade school? Twitter? Coffee shop? Midnight brawl in a dark alley? (Please specify WHICH dark alley!)
And give me the password--"navigation"--for the best swag, while supplies last!

Hey all! So, inspired by the epic Victoria Schwab and her post detailing a day in the life of 18 incredible authors, (such as the fabulous Rae Carson, and the talented Ashley Blake, and of course Ms. Schwab herself!) I thought I’d share a day in my own weird life during this strange time running up to the pub date. (A hypothetical day–an amalgam of days–not a specific day, because sometimes specific days are taken up entirely with watching my phone blow up because I can’t resist running my mouth online.)

So this is A Day In The Life of a Debut Author with a 15 Month Old Baby and also Bipolar Disorder who Is Trying To Promote Book 1, Write Book 2, Outline Book 3, and Fight Injustice*

5:30-6:30am: My day starts when my baby wakes up. He’s 15 months old right now and the three of us live in a tiny studio apartment (less than 400 square feet) so when he’s up, I am immediately aware and I go to him, because my husband stays up late at night to get his own work done. Soon after the baby wakes, there is frantic coffee and baby wrangling and throwing one of 4 “work outfits” onto my person (yes, I wear one twice in one week. Yes, I need to go shopping. I hate shopping. A typical day will NOT include shopping.)

7am: DOUGHNUT

7:05am: I’m on the way to the office, where I work as a receptionist. On quiet days, my day job is my haven. When the phone isn’t ringing and the guests aren’t arriving, I can get some writing done. Currently this includes promotional content for book 1, which comes out in just under 5 months (gulp.) I’ve also had to figure out travel and schedules recently, because there are some book events coming up. I’m also, as mentioned above, trying to fix the problems with Book 2 (I’m on draft 11) and outline book 3.

When I’m stumped on one project, I switch to the next. Unless of course I see something infuriating online, in which case I get some arguing done. I need to get better at time management probably, but it’s also a manic thing for me, to chat and talk somewhat frantically on the internet. Also, bigotry is evil and fighting it is not something I regret.

Lunch happens sometime during this block.

3pm: After my day job, I head right home to do my second job, which is superintendent of the 32-unit building where I live in Brooklyn. I make sure the place is clean, and 3 days a week I haul the building’s trash to the curb. (THE GLAMOROUS AUTHOR LIFE.) Then I go up to my house and hopefully grab a quick shower and do home stuff–make dinner, care for the baby, mop the floor (if you have ever been near a 15 month old you know why mopping the floor is a daily task.)


7:30pm: The small one finally falls asleep and I can write or do internet stuff again. Usually by now my brain is pretty tired (I write best in the morning.)

9pm: Sleeping if I can. My kid is not a great sleeper so I usually wake up with him 2-3 times a night. I try to sleep at least 7 hours total a night because it’s one of the ways I control my bipolar disorder. My husband needs more sleep than I do (yes, medically), so he is not on night duty.


Trying to review this through the eyes of someone who doesn’t live in my skin, I realize that it probably seems like I do very little actual writing. But I am really privileged to have the writing time I do have. I’m lucky to be able to make it work.
And of course, my baby won’t be a terrible sleeper forever. (I HOPE I HOPE)

So, if you are reading this and you are swamped with work and family and medical stuff and you want to be an author, I wish you the luck that I have in finding the time to write. I believe in you!

*it’s kinda specific, sorry–I’m at a bit of a weird place in my life. But i’m betting there are people who can relate.

Hey all! So, inspired by the epic Victoria Schwab and her post detailing a day in the life of 18 incredible authors, (such as the fabulous Rae Carson, and the talented Ashley Blake, and of course Ms. Schwab herself!) I thought I'd share a day in my own weird life during this strange time running up to the pub date. (A hypothetical day--an amalgam of days--not a specific day, because sometimes specific days are taken up entirely with watching my phone blow up because I can't resist running my mouth online.)

So this is A Day In The Life of a Debut Author with a 15 Month Old Baby and also Bipolar Disorder who Is Trying To Promote Book 1, Write Book 2, Outline Book 3, and Fight Injustice*

5:30-6:30am: My day starts when my baby wakes up. He's 15 months old right now and the three of us live in a tiny studio apartment (less than 400 square feet) so when he's up, I am immediately aware and I go to him, because my husband stays up late at night to get his own work done. Soon after the baby wakes, there is frantic coffee and baby wrangling and throwing one of 4 "work outfits" onto my person (yes, I wear one twice in one week. Yes, I need to go shopping. I hate shopping. A typical day will NOT include shopping.)
7am: DOUGHNUT

7:05am: I'm on the way to the office, where I work as a receptionist. On quiet days, my day job is my haven. When the phone isn't ringing and the guests aren't arriving, I can get some writing done. Currently this includes promotional content for book 1, which comes out in just under 5 months (gulp.) I've also had to figure out travel and schedules recently, because there are some book events coming up. I'm also, as mentioned above, trying to fix the problems with Book 2 (I'm on draft 11) and outline book 3. 
When I'm stumped on one project, I switch to the next. Unless of course I see something infuriating online, in which case I get some arguing done. I need to get better at time management probably, but it's also a manic thing for me, to chat and talk somewhat frantically on the internet. Also, bigotry is evil and fighting it is not something I regret.
Lunch happens sometime during this block.
3pm: After my day job, I head right home to do my second job, which is superintendent of the 32-unit building where I live in Brooklyn. I make sure the place is clean, and 3 days a week I haul the building's trash to the curb. (THE GLAMOROUS AUTHOR LIFE.) Then I go up to my house and hopefully grab a quick shower and do home stuff--make dinner, care for the baby, mop the floor (if you have ever been near a 15 month old you know why mopping the floor is a daily task.) 
7:30pm: The small one finally falls asleep and I can write or do internet stuff again. Usually by now my brain is pretty tired (I write best in the morning.) 
9pm: Sleeping if I can. My kid is not a great sleeper so I usually wake up with him 2-3 times a night. I try to sleep at least 7 hours total a night because it's one of the ways I control my bipolar disorder. My husband needs more sleep than I do (yes, medically), so he is not on night duty.
Trying to review this through the eyes of someone who doesn't live in my skin, I realize that it probably seems like I do very little actual writing. But I am really privileged to have the writing time I do have. I'm lucky to be able to make it work.
And of course, my baby won't be a terrible sleeper forever. (I HOPE I HOPE)
So, if you are reading this and you are swamped with work and family and medical stuff and you want to be an author, I wish you the luck that I have in finding the time to write. I believe in you!
*it's kinda specific, sorry--I'm at a bit of a weird place in my life. But i'm betting there are people who can relate.

Guise this has literally never happened to me before so I'm pretty much blown away, not gonna lie.

Sarah K (@thebooktraveler on Twitter) has made a stunning book trailer to express how excited she is about THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE.

Her fine work: Let me show you it.


Thank you Sarah, you honor me.

Are you the type to judge a book by its cover?

If so, get out your gavel!

Are you excited? I am. The fantastic artist, Ray Shappell, made eight--EIGHT!--cover comps to look over, and everyone fell in love with this one. And here's a sneak peek of the first line, if that will help sway the court.





To enter the US giveaway for an annotated ARC, head to YA Books Central!

That's right: if you win, you get to read the book 6 months early (without having to time travel!), along with all my random notes, musings, and doodles in the margins.

And if you're feeling particularly adventurous, add the book on Goodreads. Or if you're want to go absolutely wild, pre-order it at HarperCollins or Amazon.