Author Interview & Giveaway: John A. Heldt
We are excited to welcome author, John A. Heldt, to the nest today. Be sure to check out the giveaway details at the end of this post.
Andrea @ Reading Lark: What is your favorite genre? Why?
John: Historical fiction. I love it because it allows me to escape to another time and place. We all have moments when we do that, but not everyone does it through the pages of a book.
Andrea @ Reading Lark: Can you describe your novel in five words?
John: My latest novel, The Journey, is poignant, haunting, engaging, surprising, and uplifting.
Andrea @ Reading Lark: Who is your favorite fictional character? Why?
John: Probably John Corey, the NYPD homicide detective in several Nelson DeMille novels. He is quick-witted and cocky and wears his male vices on his sleeve, but he is also a good husband and a dedicated, effective law enforcement officer.
Andrea @ Reading Lark: Are you a plotter? If so, what is your plotting process?
John: I'm a plotter. I first outline a novel, then write chapter summaries, and finally turn those summaries into a manuscript. I know how 99-percent of the story is going to go before I write the first word. I can't imagine doing it any other way.
Andrea @ Reading Lark: What is your favorite bird?
John: The duck. It's the mascot of my college Alma Mater (Oregon) and a pretty amazing bird. One species, the long-tailed duck, which lives in the Arctic, can dive as deep as 200 feet to forage. How cool is that?
This or That:
- Red or Black?
Black
- Walk or Run?
Walk
- Noise or Silence?
Silence
- Hardback or eBook?
Hardback
- Batman or Superman?
Catwoman ;-)
About the Novels
The Mine
In 2000, Joel Smith is a cocky, adventurous young man who sees the world as his playground. But when the college senior, days from graduation, enters an abandoned Montana mine, he discovers the price of reckless curiosity. He emerges in May 1941 with a cell phone he can't use, money he can't spend, and little but his wits to guide his way. Stuck in the age of Whirlaway, swing dancing, and a peacetime draft, Joel begins a new life as the nation drifts toward war. With the help of his 21-year-old trailblazing grandmother and her friends, he finds his place in a world he knew only from movies and books. But when an opportunity comes to return to the present, Joel must decide whether to leave his new love in the past or choose a course that will alter their lives forever. THE MINE follows a humbled man through a critical time in history as he adjusts to new surroundings and wrestles with the knowledge of things to come.
The Journey
Seattle, 2010. When her entrepreneur husband dies in an accident, Michelle Preston Richardson, 48, finds herself childless and directionless. She yearns for the simpler days of her youth, before she followed her high school sweetheart down a road that led to limitless riches but little fulfillment, and jumps at a chance to reconnect with her past at a class reunion. But when Michelle returns to Unionville, Oregon, and joins three classmates on a spur-of-the-moment tour of an abandoned mansion, she gets more than she asked for. She enters a mysterious room and is thrown back to 1979.
Distraught and destitute, Michelle finds a job as a secretary at Unionville High, where she guides her spirited younger self, Shelly Preston, and childhood friends through their tumultuous senior year. Along the way, she meets widowed teacher Robert Land and finds the love and happiness she had always sought. But that happiness is threatened when history intervenes and Michelle must act quickly to save those she loves from deadly fates. Filled with humor and heartbreak, THE JOURNEY gives new meaning to friendship, courage, and commitment as it follows an unfulfilled soul through her second shot at life.
Distraught and destitute, Michelle finds a job as a secretary at Unionville High, where she guides her spirited younger self, Shelly Preston, and childhood friends through their tumultuous senior year. Along the way, she meets widowed teacher Robert Land and finds the love and happiness she had always sought. But that happiness is threatened when history intervenes and Michelle must act quickly to save those she loves from deadly fates. Filled with humor and heartbreak, THE JOURNEY gives new meaning to friendship, courage, and commitment as it follows an unfulfilled soul through her second shot at life.
About the Author
John A. Heldt is a reference librarian who lives and works in Montana. The former award-winning sportswriter and newspaper editor has loved reading and writing since writing book reports on baseball heroes in grade school. A graduate of both the University of Oregon and University of Iowa, he is an avid fisherman, sports fan, home brewer, and reader of thrillers and historical fiction. Heldt is the author of THE MINE and THE JOURNEY.
We have a prize pack including one eBook copy of The Mine and one eBook copy of The Journey up for grabs. The winner will be able to choose their preferred eBook format. Thank you, John, for providing the books for the giveaway. The giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY! In order to win you must:
* Be 18+ years old
* Fill out the Rafflecopter below
The giveaway runs from February 5-12. The winner will be contacted via email on February 13.
i love time travel stories and these both sound good!
ReplyDeleteBoth books sound very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI did like the Catwoman answer.
We also did an interview with John, if you'd like to find out more about him. His answers like the Catwoman one seem to fit his personality! You can read the interview here: http://www.morethanareview.com/an-interview-with-john-heldt/
ReplyDelete