Featured Interview With Heather LeRoss
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a mom, superhero, wife, ex-wife, daughter, and all around messy human. I’m a military kid so I spent time all over the world: Oklahoma, Washington, Holland, Germany, California. I live in Washington state (again now) with my two sons, step-son, husband and cutest dog ever. I spend my days flushing toilets, turning off lights, and wondering what the funny smells in my house are (pumpkin from last year left in closet? Old pee in one of the toilets? Teen boys? – All true stories) I write mainly for women. Women who feel alone, who have lost their tribe. Women who have a child with extra needs. Women who struggle, hide in their closet when it is all too much, and who sometimes just need to hear a kind word. I see these women, I celebrate these women, I am these women.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When we moved to Holland I was 8. As an only child in a foreign country with no kids nearby who spoke English, I began to lose myself in the world of books. My mom would take me to the American military base bookstore and I would buy everything they had. I would start a book on the way home (it was almost an hour away) and sometimes be halfway done by the time we got home. Once I cleaned out the store of all the kids books, I started on adult books. I was reading the spine tingling stories of John Saul by age 10. Appropriate? Not by today’s standards but I inhaled everything I could get my hands on. I started writing my first book at age 8 – Rhoney and Me – about a girl and her horse. It was genius but alas, I lost it so the world will never know how genius.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Oh, this question always stumps me because there are so many and so many have been a huge part of my life at different times. I started with John Saul and Dean Koontz. I moved into anything that Oprah picked for her book club. I love Lianne Moriarty, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Diane Chamberlain, JK Rowling, Frank McCourt, Christopher Pike, I could go on and on. I have a range of genre’s I enjoy – pretty much if it has words, is well written and engaging, I’ll read it. I’m inspired by anything published. I know the time, the heart-ache, the passion, and commitment that comes from writing. I know how the authors poured their love into each word, agonized over every line, and how scary it is to put your word baby out into the world. I admire that and so authors/writers in general inspire me.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Just Tell Me I’m Pretty: Musings on a Messy Life is a humorous book about all the joys and heart-feels that come with being a woman today. From being a mom of all boys to being a woman who is faced with the changes that come with hitting 40 (good-bye pee-free sneezing), my book is open (VERY open), honest, and relatable. I have no problem detailing how I embarrass myself like in the chapter titled, I Soiled Myself in IKEA. I have no problem talking about the hard stuff like the chapter about raising my son with ADHD and the tough decision I was faced with on whether or not to medicate him, My Biggest Lie. I also have no problem embarrassing my family (in a kind way) like when I talk about Why I Like My Mom Better When She’s Stoned. I relate how hard I find it saying goodbye to my babies and working to get to know the young men who are now living in my house. I share my experiences with hard things like my hysterectomy earlier this year, the guilt I have over … ummm, everything that comes with being an imperfect mother, and the intense love I feel when my son says, “I love how squishy everything is on you.” I bring it all – the good, bad, ugly, hard, and joyous. This book is over 2 years in the making. It is my life, my labor of love, and my legacy to my boys. Advanced readers have told me they laughed, cried, and silently said, “Yes! She gets me!” while reading my book. THAT is why I write.
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