Since she fell in love with writing in high school, Anne Shaw Heinrich has been a journalist, columnist, blogger, and nonprofit communications professional. She’s interviewed and written features on Beverly Sills, Judy Collins, Gene Siskel, and Debbie Reynolds. Anne’s writing has been featured in The New York Times bestseller The Right Words at the Right Time, Volume 2: Your Turn (Atria 2006) and Chicken Soup for the Soul's The Cancer Book: 101 Stories of Courage, Support and Love (2009). Anne's work has also appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis American, Midwest Family Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Education Week and Ms. Magazine. She and her husband are parents to three grown children. Anne is passionate about her family, mental health advocacy and the power of storytelling.
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Website: anneshawheinrich.com
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Cuba, Missouri. It’s a small town just over an hour’s drive from St. Louis.
When did you begin writing?
I started writing in high school. I give a great deal of credit for this to two former teachers. Both women really turned me onto a more thoughtful approach to reading, and it was while in their classrooms that I discovered I could be the one writing stories. It really was a turning point for me, and I’ve been writing in one way or another ever since. I dedicated my first novel, God Bless the Child, to these two teachers and established a scholarship in their honor.
Do you write during the day, at night, or whenever
you can sneak a few moments?
I still work full-time as a communications professional at a university, so all my fiction writing takes place wherever I can fit it in. I do have to be intentional about my time. I get a good amount of writing done in the evenings and on the weekends. Fortunately, this never feels like a chore because writing is my jam.
What is this book about?
Violet is Blue is the second novel in a three-book series published by Speaking Volumes, The Women of Paradise County. It follows the first book, God Bless the Child. Violet is Blue can be a stand-alone book, but the story is even richer for those who read the first book. The through line for all three books in the series is the small-town setting of Poulson and a swath of time in that place shared by characters whose lives are connected in ways big and small. Some have everything they want in the world and some do not. They aren’t perfect, but the characters seem to understand the unspoken rules in a small town. Some wounds get tended and others are left to fester as these complex characters navigate their way toward redemption and acceptance. I’m told that the characters are quirky, and I consider this a compliment!
What inspired you to write it?
I started writing the first book in the series 19 years ago. I was a mother with three young children, and when I had any kind of free time, I’d pull out a yellow legal pad and pencil and start scratching things out. I started this after I’d been encouraged by two editors of The New York Times bestseller The Right Words at the Right Time, Volume 2: Your Turn (Atria 2006). My essay about learning that my grandmother was a lingerie model was selected to be in the collection. During that process, one of them said, “Why aren’t you writing more? You need to be writing more.” I took the advice and got busy, working with David Tabatsky as I wrote the first draft of God Bless the Child. I’d started pitching to agents, but life kept getting in my way, so I tabled it. About two years ago, I found myself still sneaking away to write for fun when I could. I’d reached back out to David to see if he’d take a look at my new pieces. He read them and urged me to pull God Bless the Child out of my drawer. After some back and forth, we agreed I might have the makings of a series. Before too long, I had an agent, a publisher, and a contract for a three-book series. Book One was released in 2024. Violet is Blue is set to release June 17, 2025, and I’m knee-deep in getting Book Three, House of Teeth, finished.
If you knew then, what you know now, is there
anything you would have done differently?
Just be patient. Don’t give up. Keep writing and
connecting with people when the timing feels right. The universe will let you
know when it’s your time to move forward. This is also what I would tell
aspiring writers.
What is up next for you?
The last book in the
series, House of Teeth, will be released in June 2026. I think it brings
the characters from books one and two back into focus, and hopefully, some
satisfying closure for readers. The narrative will demonstrate how time marches
on, even in small towns like Poulson, but show the ripple effects that all our
actions and inactions can have on generations to come. I’m having a really good
time writing it, and just like the other two books, showing how closely
goodness, badness, and indifference tug at us in unexpected ways.
Purchase links:
Bookshop.org
https://bookshop.org/p/books/violet-is-blue/90f2cca8bc7cce37?ean=9798890223159&next=t
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZBSVLM4?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_sirpi
Barnes and Noble
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