Wednesday, November 9, 2011

"Finding Angel" with Guest Author Kat Heckenbach

When last I clued my readers in to the writing of Kat Heckenbach, here at the Author's Corner, her fantasy for middle graders Finding Angel wasn't published yet. Now it's out! After having the privilege of proofreading several chapters, I couldn't wait for it to be in print, and it's everything I expected.

Finding Angel is a terrific flight of imagination into the world of a group of young people who find themselves with powers and traits they didn't know they had. But I can assure you, adults will find it just as fascinating. A discerning eye may see hints of the faith that the author carries in her life.

I invited Kat to tell 20-20 readers how the book came about:

"Sheryl, thanks so much for letting me be a guest on your blog, and sharing about my book release. I chose to write for this particular age group because middle grade is when I first fell in love with fantasy writing. All things magical captivated me, including mythical/magical animals like dragons. I can’t imagine starting with any other concept. At its core, fantasy *is* fiction to me.

It took about three months to finish the first draft of Finding Angel, and then another four years of learning about writing craft, editing, rewriting, etc., to get where it is today. All the while, I searched for a publisher and/or agent. My break finally came when I answered a call-out for artwork from a small New Zealand press called Splashdown Books.

The owner, Grace Bridges, knew I was a writer when she took me on for the artwork, and soon asked to see my manuscript. It was a bit of a risk for her, though. Until accepting Finding Angel, all of Splashdown’s books were for adults. It’s new territory, but it hasn’t been an obstacle—Finding Angel has been one of Splashdown’s top sellers so far."

This novel isn’t the extent of Kat's writing, though...

"While searching for a publisher and working on improving the manuscript, I fell in love with short story writing, both fiction and nonfiction."

She now has over forty short story publishing credits. They've been seen in a wide array of online magazines and in print anthologies from fantasy, sci-fi, and horror to Chicken Soup for the Soul. A complete listing of her publications can be found at http://www.katheckenbach.com/.

Finding Angel is available at Splashdowns Books, at Amazon.com in both print and Kindle versions, Barnes & Noble in print and Nook, and Smashwords for all ebook formats.

Thanks for joining me, Kat!
read more ""Finding Angel" with Guest Author Kat Heckenbach"

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