Come Meet 15 Year Old, Student Author, Heather Paye

Today I'd like to introduce you to the Student, Author, Dreamer, Heather Paye. She's a student, who took her dream and made it a reality. H.C.Paye, author of the YA novel A Gift from Above, grew up in a small town in Arizona. She has been writing since 2001 and taking up every challenge that comes her way.

What do you like about growing up in Arizona ?

I love how open the land is, the animals, and the creativity that it all has to offer. It’s a very inspiring place to live. The sunsets are absolutely stunning, and the mornings are so golden. I’ve never had writer’s block and I believe that my environment has a lot to do with that.

What kind of books did you read as a kid?

I used to read the more “girly” books, I remember reading The Saddle Club, The Baby Sitter’s Club, and other books of that type, I read a great number of the classic books, Jane Eyre, Black Beauty, etc. Then I moved on to the Goosebumps series by R.L.Stine I loved those books, there were hundreds of them and I think I still have about 40 of them. So it was really a great many of them, and you can see I was really just trying out a lot of the genres that the world had to offer.


Who is your favorite author?

I’m going to say it would have to be J.K.Rowling, with Nora Roberts coming closely behind.

Who has encouraged you to keep writing?

My mom, definitely my mom.. I remember times when I just wanted to quit writing because in the process of publishing my books things were getting really hard for me and I could hardly keep up, and my relatives were saying bad things about authors and writing and my family really just kept me going, they really supported me and stood behind me, and made sure that I kept going. Especially my mom, she is my savior.

What inspired you to write this story?

My brother was a huge inspiration. After he was born things really didn’t turn out how I planned, he was loud and noisy, and things just changed a lot around the house.. And he was my main inspiration. It was funny, because originally the story was supposed to be this horror like story, and the children in the story were supposed to be possessed and stuff, and it was absolutely amazing how different the story turned out.

How did you come up with the main character, Celia Meyers?

In a way she was a reflection of me, but she also had some characteristics from my mom and my baby sister, so it was really just a compilation of people surrounding me in my life. I’m not exactly sure where I came up with the name, I usually just make up character names on spot and roll my eyes around looking for inspiration, so I assume I did the same with Celia.

Do you have any siblings? Have you ever had trouble with your siblings?

Yes, I have three siblings, one older and two younger. I have had trouble with my siblings; we don’t always get along, we’re great friends, don’t get me wrong, but we don’t have our little arguments, and there is something that I could pick at for each one of them. We have each others backs, even if we do have a few “disagreements” from time to time.

What events changed Celia from a spoiled child to a responsible teenager?

There was this one event the Celia went through where she saved another little boy from a car accident, it reminded her so much of her own little brother and it made her realize that that little boy could have been her brother and she could have lost him, and it also makes her realize how much she actually cares about her sibling.


How did you feel when you finally finished your book?

It wasn’t exactly very much excitement since I was in such a great rush, there was this contest that I was in where I had to write 50,000 words in one month, and I managed to do that, so that was the real excitement, but after that I rushed to actually finish the story, and after that I went straight to editing and then fixing up the layouts and getting the cover ready, and so on. So, it wasn’t exactly very much excitement at the time that I really finished the book. Not as much as when I finished my other novel.


What’s next for you?

Actually there’s quite a bit in the works for me. In the next few years I’m expecting my first novel The Jewel of Onsolot to be published and in stores, but I don’t have any details yet. Since The Jewel of Onsolot is the beginning of a series of nine, of course I’m working on the next book in the series. Also I’m working on a book about a girl who turns into a werewolf. So, there’s quite a bit, I’m not going away any time soon!

Do you participate in writing competitions?

From time to time, not quite so often. There are a few competitions that I do every year, in April I either participate in Script Frenzy, where I try to write 100 page script in one month. And in November, since it is National Novel Writing Month I participate in http://www.nanowrimo.org where you attempt to write 50,000 words in one month. Last year they did some sort of promotion where you can self-publish your novel and get a copy of it free, for a limited time. And that’s what I did, hence my publication.


Where can we purchase your book?

Currently it is available on Amazon.com, Amazon Kindle, Target.com, and of course, CreateSpace.com

Can you explain the Wednesday character feature on your blog?

That is where I tell about a character from my book, like a short little bio of their lives. And it gives the reader a more in-depth look at the other characters besides Celia.. Plus if the reader can’t get enough of the story they can go to the blog and see the extra details and stuff.

Thank you for sharing your book with our readers, Heather.

Don't miss my September 3rd post, which features an article Heather wrote for other aspiring students encouraging them to write their own novel. WAY TO GO, HEATHER.


Heather's websites:
Portfolio: http://www.writing.com/authors/kittynadem
Fansite: http://www.agiftfromabove.webs.com
Email: the_jewelonsolot@msn.com

Kathy Stemke's websites:

Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html
http://kathystemke.weebly.com