AD: Alright now off to the speed round…

• Top three favorite children’s books of all time? Bridge to Terabithia, King of the Wind, Extra Yarn
• Coffee, tea (or neither)? Coffee when in the US, tea when visiting Great Britain 😊
• Where is your safe place? Wherever my family is.
• Dogs, cats, (or neither)? Both! I absolutely love animals. I have two cats and a dog and have had hamsters, gerbils, even a horse.
• Early bird or night owl? Not really either. I work best in the middle of the day.
• Three words to describe what it takes to make it in the kidlit world…Persistence, patience, and childlike wonder 😊

AD: Okay, now down to the serious stuff….please dish us the dirt on who you are and your journey into the fabulous world of children’s books.

“Everyone in academia repeats the phrase, “publish or perish”! So, I wrote and wrote and wrote.”

HM: My journey is a convoluted one! Although I’ve always enjoyed writing (I found my grandparents’ typewriter when I was six and spent hours typing instead of playing or visiting with family. Ha! Still have the stories I typed out!), I also loved science. I never quite knew what to do with both of these interests. Everyone told me I would have to choose one or the other, which was partly true. Science and math are objective disciplines – there’s only one way to balance an equation – and, when I was younger, I relished how solid and factual chemistry and biology are. Especially compared to the subjectivity of English or Creative Writing. So I decided to major in biology. I loved it and went on to get my master’s degree in molecular microbiology, where I was pleasantly surprised by how much writing is required in the science world. Proposals, journal articles…everyone in academia repeats the phrase, “publish or perish”! So, I wrote and wrote and wrote. Then my husband and I began to have children, and I started working for a private company.

But all throughout middle school, high school, college, grad school, early years of parenting, I wrote fiction – short stories, the beginnings of novels, whatever I could manage. Then, about five years ago, my husband encouraged me to pursue my dream of publishing a children’s book (I’d written one that I was convinced was the best! Ha!). I quickly realized that I could speak to kids’ sense of wonder when they view the world, that I could talk about having interests that seem to conflict, that I could tell stories that incorporate cool scientific advances and cutting-edge facts.

AD: That’s amazing you found a way to combine both of your passions and how sweet it all started with your grandfather’s old typewriter 🙂 It seems your love for writing started young but did you always know you wanted to be an author? Have you explored other paths or had/have other jobs?

HM: No, I’ve always had a variety of interests. When I was a kid, I said I wanted to be a veterinarian, author, ballerina, and astronaut! When I grew up, I’ve had the privilege of working in a major science laboratory, publishing my research in major science journals, working for a pharmaceutical company, and finally for a NASA contractor for sixteen years! I’ve talked with astronauts, designed experiments that were conducted on the International Space Station, and conducted experiments in extreme environments. It’s been a wild ride, and I can’t wait for this next leg of the journey!

AD: Wow! I bet you have so many seeds for stories woven into each of those experiences! With such a varied background, are there any topics or themes you tend to focus on in your writing? And similarly, what inspires your work?

“I love to highlight the wonder of nature and being outside. I am energized by exploring the woods and waters around my home in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain.”

HM: In fact, the part of the United States where I live is one of the most biodiverse places in the country! For a biologist and a writer, this couldn’t be better.  I also love to explore the themes of second chances and redemption – that beauty can come from a terrible mess. All kinds of things inspire my work – mostly my own children or being outside. But I also draw on my own memories of being a kid – what were the things I feared or loved when I was seven? Ten? Thirteen? – and I’ve even used stories that my grandparents told me when I was growing up! It even could be a sentence that one of my friends says in passing that sparks an idea. 😊

Interior spread from TRUNK GOES THUNK! Illustrated by Chantelle and Burgen Thorne, releasing with Gnome Road Publishing in October.

AD: Sounds like inspiration is all around you! Now let’s talk more about breaking into the publishing industry- it’s not easy! What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced thus far? What have you done to persevere?

HM: It is incredibly hard to break into publishing! But patience, persistence, continual writing and revising, AND lots of research sometimes pays off.

At the beginning of 2021, I noticed some posts about a new small press – Gnome Road Publishing. Sandra Sutter, the publisher and lead editor at Gnome Road, conducted a series of interviews when she began reading submissions. As I read about what she was looking for, I resonated with her focus on “re-readability.” She offered special submission opportunities on these blog interviews, one of which I was fortunate enough to win. I sent in a picture book manuscript (not Trunk), which Sandra took to her acquisitions team. Ultimately, they decided to pass, but I learned a little more about what she was looking for.

When I wrote Trunk Goes Thunk!, I sent it exclusively to Sandra. I wanted her to have first dibs on this story. I felt confident she would love it based on her wishlist and what I had learned from emailing with her about my other manuscript. Waiting for her response felt endless, but eventually she wrote to say she wanted to buy it! I will forever be grateful to Sandra for loving my work, for seeing its potential, and for offering me a step into the wonderful, but wide, world of publishing!! And now, about two years into releasing titles, their books are winning awards (Indie Forward Reviews 2023, NSTA Best Science Trade Book, Anna Dewdney Read Together Award, and more) which is fun to see and special to celebrate.

AD: And you most recently celebrated that BIG moment of signing with your agent, congrats again! Perseverance pays off and having support along the way makes all the difference-especially since as creators (and humans), we tend to focus on the flaws of our creations or areas of improvement. This helps us grow and develop, but we need not forget the many things we are doing well. With this in mind, what has been your biggest accomplishment or something you are most proud of thus far on your writing journey?

HM: I’d say the thing that I am most proud of on this journey so far is two-fold. One, I am incredibly proud of this sweet picture book – my debut – Trunk Goes Thunk! I cannot wait for it to be out in the world. Chantelle and Burgen Thorne are incredibly talented illustrators whose drawings add so much depth to my spare text. They are also multi-faceted artists who are gifted in layout and text design. Their design and vision for this book is perfect – I am so grateful that I got to work with them on my first book!

Second, I’m so proud and grateful to be one of the 52 talented authors whose stories were selected for the Haunted States of America Anthology, which is a collection of stories for middle grade readers. It is sobering and rather daunting when you see your words alongside stories by well-known children’s book authors. It is truly an honor to have my story included and to have worked with Solomon Hughes, the amazing artist who drew a unique illustration for each story, and with Kort Nash, our editor at Godwin Books. Her editorial feedback added so much to my “White Thing” story. Again, so grateful to be working with all of these talented kidlit creators on the shared goal of crafting quality stories for children!

AD: Congrats on these amazing accomplishments! At this point you must also have a feel for your strengths as an author? What makes your writing unique to you?

HM: Based on feedback from various readers, I think my characters’ voices sound real and authentic, grabbing my audience and pulling them into the story. Also, another strength of mine is crafting atmospheric settings and incorporating animals or nature.

Heather has a ghost story published in the Haunted States of America Anthology, out now with Godwin Books/Macmillan!

AD: Tell us about your creative process and what you do to keep ideas flowing or what you do when feeling stuck?

HM: I don’t really struggle with ideas, but I do struggle with execution sometimes. Or revision. Moving to a new location when I revise helps so much. As does reading out loud. Writing the same scene or picture book from a different POV helps. Mentor texts do also – how did this author solve the same kind of problem.

AD: Great reminders! What sorts of things have been most integral in your growth?

HM: Being a member of SCBWI, taking classes and webinars through the Highlights Foundation, attending as many in-person conferences as I can afford, my critique groups, and, of course, writing, writing, WRITING!! And I don’t only write picture books and middle grade. I have a chapter book sitting on my computer, a short memoir piece in an anthology, fantasy short stories, and a mystery short story coming out in an anthology in 2025.

AD: So cool how you are able to write in so many varied genres. It must keep things interesting and challenging. I can imagine how this would help you continue to develop as a writer. This is a great thing to keep in mind for all of us! What other advice do you have for fellow kidlit creatives?

HM: Everyone says to keep reading and to keep writing…and that’s really good advice! BUT…something else I’ve learned that I need to do – do something else creative and/or active also. Garden, jog, bake, sew, craft, weightlift, build something, film a movie. This especially helps when you’re waiting on agent/editor responses. Sometimes you need to give your brain and heart a break (even for just a few days). I find that I dive back into writing refreshed and renewed.

AD: I love that idea of giving your heart a break, too. We put so much of ourselves and our emotions into our stories and that part of us needs a break, too! Where can readers stay connected with you so we can continue to soak up your tips and tricks :)? 

HM: I’d love to have you drop by my website at https://heathercmorris.com! I’m also on Twitter/X at @morrwriting or on Instagram at @morr_writing.