Interview with author John A. Heldt

ME: Do you ever have writers block? If so, how do you overcome it?

Heldt: I get writer’s block all the time — and when I do, I go for a walk. I have found that when I go for long walks, particularly in peaceful or scenic places, I am usually able to come up with new ideas or resolve issues very quickly.

ME: What motivates you to write?

Heldt: Without a doubt, it is the desire to tell stories. I’m like a lot of authors that way. When I get a story in my head, I want to write it down and share it as soon as possible.

ME: All your books about time travel. Is there a reason why?

Heldt: I like writing about fish out of water or — more to the point — present-day protagonists who find themselves stuck in the 1900s or even the 1800s. My last eleven books flowed directly from The Mine, a novel about a curious college senior who entered a Montana mine in May 2000 and emerged from that mine, minutes later, in May 1941. I like writing stories about men and women who carry modern knowledge and experience into the past and try to make their way in the world of their grandparents or great-grandparents.

ME: Where did you get the idea for River Rising (Carson Chronicles #1)?

Heldt: When I considered the possibilities for a new time-travel series last year, I quickly decided that I wanted to begin that series in the 1880s. I wanted to send five siblings, all young adults, to the nineteenth century and then follow their lives through the twentieth. When I read about the 1880s, I learned that the Johnstown flood of May 31, 1889, was one of the definitive events of the Gilded Age: a tragic tale that revealed the hubris, arrogance, bravery, and compassion of the time. So I built a book — and a series — around that horrific disaster. The flood and its aftermath created many possibilities.

ME: Of the books you have written, do you have a personal favorite?

Heldt: If I had to pick one, right now, it would be my latest novel. The Memory Tree contains all of the elements I like best about the earlier books. It is also my most complete work, combining history, romance, drama, humor, suspense, and adventure. Other favorites include River Rising, for the same reasons, and Hannah’s Moon, a book based on personal experience. I can also tell you that Class of ’59, a (mostly) young adult book, was the most fun to write and that The Mine is the novel I would probably enjoy most on a rainy day.

ME: Is there any one of your characters that represent you or that you strongly identify with?

Heldt: I identify most with Joel Smith, Cameron Coelho, and Adam Carson, the protagonists of The Mine, Indiana Belle, and River Rising, respectively. Each is a creative problem-solver who appreciates the simpler ways of the past. Natalie Carson of the Carson Chronicles series, Candice Bell of Indiana Belle, and Virginia Gillette Jorgenson of The Mine and The Mirror are my favorite female characters. All three are strong, independent women who blaze trails as journalists in a male-dominated profession. Each has a great sense of humor.

ME: Do you keep a notebook or journal with ideas?

Heldt: Yes. I maintain a Word document on my laptop. I jot down ideas in the file whenever they come to me, even for books I may not write for years.

ME: Is there a place you like to write that makes you feel the most creative?

Heldt: I like to write wherever I can find peace and quiet. I find it impossible to work in places where there are distractions. Sometimes home is the best place. Other times, libraries are.

ME: What do you find most challenging about writing?

Heldt: I have always found it challenging to describe eras I’ve never seen. It’s one thing to draw from your own memory and experiences. It’s another to write about people, places, and events from an earlier time. That’s why I do a considerable amount of research before I write a single word. I have to compensate for gaps in my knowledge.

ME: Is there currently one story idea that is nagging you to be written?

Heldt: Though I am currently working on the third novel in the Carson Chronicles series, I am looking forward to writing the fifth and final book. Like The Journey and Hannah’s Moon, the novel, set at a summer camp in Maine in 1983, will be based on personal experiences.

ME: Do you have any advice for someone just starting out?

Heldt: Yes. Do your homework before you start. Talk to other authors and learn from them. Then, if you decide to take the plunge, go all out. Give your book the consideration it deserves. Read it, reread it, and revise it until you want to run away from your computer. Enlist the help of competent editors, beta readers, and illustrators. Be patient. Set reasonable goals. Take marketing seriously. It’s one thing to write a book. It’s another to sell it in a market where several hundred thousand new titles are released each year. Do what you can to stand out in a crowd.

John A. Heldt is the author of the critically acclaimed Northwest Passage, American Journey, and Carson Chronicles series. The former reference librarian and award-winning sportswriter has loved getting subjects and verbs to agree since writing book reports on baseball heroes in grade school. A graduate of the University of Oregon and the University of Iowa, Heldt is an avid fisherman, sports fan, home brewer, and reader of thrillers and historical fiction.

His latest book The Memory Tree (Carson Chronicles #2) was published April 30th 2018.