Sweet Home Alabama

By Heather Blake


Have you heard that “write what you know” is one of the unofficial rules of fiction writing? It makes sense, I suppose. How does one effectively write about something they’ve never experienced?

Personally, I think that rule stifles creativity.

If I’d stuck to that rule, I’d never have the familiars in my Wishcraft books (some of my favorite characters) because if I ever came across a talking mouse in real life, I’d have to commit myself. And if I had magical dewdrops that cured ailments, as in my Potion Shop mysteries, I would finally be rid of my migraines once and for all (hurrah!).

And, I’d never have set my Potion books in Alabama. I’ve never lived there. Pretty much knew nothing about it. However, I’m only half-kidding when I joke that I must have been a Southern belle in a former life. I’ve always been curious about the South, which I think began in grade school history class and took root with To Kill a Mockingbird and blossomed with books by Anne George and Fannie Flagg.

So, why did I choose Alabama in particular?

Easy. I was lucky enough to attend a conference there in 2008 and as I drove along its back roads, soaking up the scenery, I felt its history (it’s kind of indescribable, really). I knew someday I’d write a book set there.

Since then, I’ve been back several times, taking notes, immersing myself in the everyday trivialities that make a place and its residents stand out. I’ve read books. Cookbooks. Followed Alabama bloggers. Talked to friends who’ve lived there. Studied Southern vernacular. Tried to capture the ambiance without being clichéd.

I do all that because I think the writing rule should be “write like you know what you’re talking about.”

No, I’ve never used magical dewdrops. Or solved a crime. Or lived on the same street as my three eccentric aunts. Or lived in a quaint town known as the wedding capital of the South. But I make sure my writing feels like I have—and that my readers feel like they have, too.

Do you have a favorite Southern book?

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The publisher has generously offered a copy of One Potion in the Grave to one of my readers. Please comment below before midnight on October 22, 2014. Entries from the US only, please.  Please don't forget to include an email address so I can contact you if you win!

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Heather also has a giveaway on her website!

Heather is running a month-long One Potion in the Grave Witchtastic giveaway via Rafflecopter (9/23 – 10/23). Win a set of “Cast a Spell” measuring spoons, a set of three Yankee Candle potion bottle tealight holders, a Lego minifigure witch, and a $20.00 gift card to Barnes & Noble or  Amazon (winner’s choice). 

To enter: http://www.heatherblakebooks.com/p/giveaway.html or http://tinyurl.com/k9rzmby

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Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber) is the author of more than twenty novels and has been twice nominated for an Agatha Award. She's a total homebody who loves to be
close to her family, read, watch reality TV (especially cooking competition shows), drink too much coffee, crochet, and bake cookies. Heather grew up in a suburb of Boston, but currently she lives in the Cincinnati area with her family and is hard at work on her next book.
You can find Heather at www.heatherblakebooks.com, on facebook at facebook.com/heatherblakebooks, and on Twitter @booksbyheather.

Blind Faith

A guest post by Heather Blake.

One of the most-asked questions I receive from readers is, “Where do you get your ideas?” 

Honestly, some of the time I have no idea where they come from. The ideas are just there. Most of the time, however, an idea comes from a situation I see or hear. It sets off a spark that I then flame into a full-blown plot by playing the “what if” game. What if that happened to one of my characters? Then what if my character did this, did that?

The behavior, the blind faith, of those parents struck me hard. What if that was one of my sons? What would I do in that situation? How would I react? Better yet…what if it happened to one of my characters?

For The Goodbye Witch, it was a magazine article I read that created the spark. A human-interest piece about a young woman who’d been murdered. Nineteen years old. A high-achieving college student. The whole world ahead of her. There was a preponderance of evidence against the woman’s boyfriend that he’d committed the crime. DNA. Witnesses. A confession (though later retracted). Yet…his parents steadfastly refused to believe their son, their pride and joy who was also a college student on the fast-track to greatness, could have had anything to do with this heinous crime. No way. Not their boy. They proclaimed his innocence to any and all who would listen (and still do, despite his conviction).

What if?

In The Goodbye Witch, Wishcrafter Darcy Merriweather’s best friend, Starla, is living her worst nightmare. Her fugitive ex-husband, Kyle, has returned to the Enchanted Village. Years ago, he escaped jail after being arrested for Starla’s attempted murder. His family – his parents and two brothers – and most of the village took Kyle’s side after the arrest. As the village’s golden child, Kyle could do no wrong in their eyes.

Darcy, of course, is livid at the absolute allegiance to Kyle. How could everyone simply ignore all the evidence against him?

What if?

It’s not until Kyle’s found dead, and Starla becomes the number one suspect in his death, that Darcy learns how easily someone can put blind faith behind a loved one accused of a horrible crime. She’ll do anything and everything to clear her friend’s name.

Because nothing is ever what it seems in the Enchanted Village, it takes all Darcy has learned about the Craft and help from her family and friends (mortal and Crafters alike) to discover the true motive for Kyle’s death. And when she does, she’s completely unprepared for the consequences of those actions and how they affect her own life…

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber) is the author of more than twenty novels and has been twice nominated for an Agatha Award. She's a total homebody who loves to be close to her family, read, watch reality TV (especially cooking competition shows), drink too much coffee, crochet, bake (mostly cookies), and occasionally leave the house to travel to the beautiful mountains in the northeast. Heather grew up in a suburb of Boston, but currently she lives in the Cincinnati area with her family and is hard at work on her next book.

Berkley Prime Crime has generously offered a copy of The Goodbye Witch to one of my readers. Please comment below before midnight on May 19, 2014. Entries from the US only, please.
Please don't forget to include an email address where I can contact you if you win.