About Author

Jeny Heckman

Jeny Heckman
BIOGRAPHY

Jeny Heckman began her career in writing a little later in life after her father-in-law fell ill from non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She quit nursing school to help take care of him and found stress relief in exercise. While walking one day, she thought about a story involving fathers and daughters and decided to try and write it down. Releasing the Catch was created from that endeavor. She immediately fell in love with putting words to paper and decided to try her hand at writing a series. However, she didn't want the mainstream vampires, werewolves, and witches story, so tried her hand at the Greek gods and was immediately picked up by New York publisher, the Wild Rose Press.

Her debut novel of the series, the Sea Archer, won best in category at the Chanticleer International Books Awards in 2018 and cemented her passion for writing. The Heaven & Earth six-book series was born. Book two, the Warrior's Progeny came next and she immediately turned it into an audiobook. Jeny started getting requests for Dee Taylor's story, a character from book one, to be told and she created the novella, Dee's Cornucopia upon fan request.

When COVID-19 hit Jeny immersed herself in writing and turned out three books in 2019. The first, Dancing Through Tears, was part of an anthology through her publisher and entitled, Australia Burns, Volume Two. It benefitted the victims of the Australian wildfires, and fit in nicely with Jeny's second passion... charities. Dancing Through Tears is the story of her family's actual experience at the Route 91 Country Music Festival Massacre on October 1st, 2017, something that forever changed her life, and the life of her family.

In 2021 Jeny is working hard at completing Dee's Cornucopia, Soul Predilection, book three of the Heaven & Earth series, as well as turning the Sea Archer, Dee's Cornucopia, and Releasing the Catch into audiobooks. She is also planning the release of her interactive Heaven & Earth Companion book in early 2021.

The first edition of the Quest, the interactive book for her Heaven & Earth Series was released May 2021. Dee's Cornucopia is released on August 4th, 2021.

Jeny lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Jeff, of twenty-eight years. She has two grown children, Paisley and Charlie, and looks forward to their next life adventure. When not writing she and her husband spend their weekends and summers aboard their forty-foot Carver, the Scaup, and she devotes her time to her charities.

Jeny Heckman's Books

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Book
The Warrior's Progeny: The Heaven and Earth Series, Book 2
$21.83 kindleeBook, Paperback, Audio, Signed Paperback,
The Warrior's Progeny: The Heaven and Earth Series, Book 2by Jeny HeckmanPublish: Feb 12, 2021Series: Heaven & EarthParanormal Romance Fantasy
Dee's Cornucopia - A Novella
$2.99 kindleeBook, Paperback, Signed Paperback,
Dee's Cornucopia - A Novellaby Jeny HeckmanPublish: Aug 04, 2021Series: Heaven & EarthFantasy
Releasing the Catch
(1) $3.99 kindleeBook, Paperback, Signed Paperback,
Releasing the Catchby Jeny HeckmanPublish: Dec 15, 2020Women's Fiction
The Sea Archer: The Heaven and Earth Series
$21.83 kindleeBook,
The Sea Archer: The Heaven and Earth Seriesby Jeny HeckmanPublish: Jul 15, 2021

Jeny Heckman's Series in Order

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Jeny Heckman's Awards and Achievements

    Jeny Heckman has earned excellence awards over time. Here is the glimpse of the accolades clinched by the author.

  • 2021 Feathered Quill Book Awards Program for the Women’s Fiction category
    2021

    Releasing the Catch

    achievement
  • OZMA Fantasy 1st Place Best in Category
    2021

    The Warrior's Progeny: The Heaven and Earth Series, Book 2

    award
  • 1st Place Winner : Won First Place in the CIBA 2018 Paranormal Awards
    2018 award

Jeny Heckman Interview On 27, Apr 2021

"An award-winning author, Jeny Heckman was taught creativity by her parents. She was a voracious reader. She read everything, all genres. Her first official story was entitled the Catch. Her debut novel, The Sea Archer, published in October 2018, won "Best in Category," at the Chanticleer International Book Awards. When not writing, Jeny likes to travel to the places she writes about and volunteer with several charities."
What hobby do you miss most from your childhood? Why?

Pure creativity in general. I was taught creativity by my parents. My father taught me and my sister to draw at night, after he’d get home from work. My mom, encouraged imagination in amazing ways. For example, she sewed and had these Almond Roca tins full of buttons. We’d sit down and watch Happy Days or some other show, with our tin, and she’d say create a floor plan of your future house and we’d outline the house in buttons, or draw a face or the like.  When I think back on it as an adult, they gave us the gift of their creativity. Not many kids get that. I miss those simple times when anything and everything was at your disposal if you have a little creativity and your own creative mind.

Were you an avid reader as a child? Do you still read books?

I was a voracious reader. I read everything, all genres. When I was very little they had these Little Golden Books, and they came with a mini record (aka vinyl) in them. You could play the flimsy thing on your record player, as you learned to read by hearing the words and their tempo, while you looked at the words and pictures. Essentially using most of your senses except for taste. As an adult, I don’t get to read as much, just because I’m very busy, but I do listen to books on audio, when I drive up to our boat, or do chores, etc. It’s comforting two-fold, because I get to still experience the stories while bringing back a little of my childhood!

Are you a "re-reader" or are you a "read-it-once-and-I'm done" person?

Great question I am a re-reader with books I love! Outlander, anything by Sophie Kinsella or Darynda Jones. In fact, most of my fantasy books I’ve read multiple times. You always pick up something different each time you read it, depending on where you’re at in life. I just re-read Agatha Christie’s, And Then There Were None. I hadn’t read that since I was young and forgotten who done it in the end. I was amazed at how brilliantly she spun that tale, for as old as it is. A true story-teller, and way ahead of her time.

How did you begin writing your first story? Did it ever get published?

I’m sure I’ve written a million stories in my head. My first official story was entitled, the Catch. I wrote it just to see if I could and at a very hard time in my family’s life (my father-in-law was dying of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma). I also had two teenagers who were also busy with school activities and sports, so sat on the book for a long time until my son told me I should publish it. I did. However, at the time, I didn’t really know the craft of writing and the book was full of mistakes. After I wrote a few more books and became a little more proficient, I went back to, the Catch, and re-wrote it. That book is now entitled, Releasing the Catch. I’m thrilled it has come full circle with story arcs better closed and the writing of it more solid.

What challenges did you feel while publishing your debut novel of the series, the Sea Archer?

Well, the Sea Archer was the second book I’d ever written and it was picked up by a publisher. Writing not only for yourself, is more challenging. I had to get rid of things I felt made the Greek mythology connections more clear and couldn’t choose my covers and the like. So, while it’s really wonderful having people to help guide me in the craft and process, it’s also more challenging to write. In terms of writing the book, it was very easy, and absolutely flowed out of me. I enjoyed the research and even went to Kauai to do research and learn about the seals, climate, and geography, so the writing came from a place of knowledge.

How long did it take you to develop the complete plot of The Warrior's Progeny?

From the ending of the Sea Archer to releasing the Warrior’s Progeny took two years. A large chunk of that time was going through the editing process with my publisher and being on their timeline to release it. That being said, when I released the Sea Archer, I just spent two months in the UK and Ireland and that was a trip of a lifetime. It took me a while to settle down and start writing again. So, a large chunk of time was spent there as well. The actual writing of the second book took about three months.

Who inspired the character of Mack Carter in "Releasing the Catch"?

So, Mack has a very special place in my heart. As I said earlier my father-in-law, Chuck Heckman, was in the final stages of his life and I helped take care of him for the last three months. He was a boater, a true water soul and love being out on the sea. My dad worked in Alaska during the summers growing up to work in some of the most remote fishing areas. My husband likes to think he’s an Alaskan after living there for several months before we were married and usually taking most jobs he can get there in our married life, as does my adult son, Charlie. My favorite show at the time was Deadliest Catch and my favorite captain was Phil Harris, who also died around the same time as Chuck. So, all these men, some to a huge degree and others less so, all churned in my mind, as did conversations I had with them. Aside from Phil, they were and are the most important men in my life. So, Mack is an amalgam of them all. There is an actual conversation in the book between Faith and Mack that occurred between myself and Chuck, almost verbatim. So, Mack is very important to me.

When writing The Heaven and Earth Series, did you know how it's going to go or did you make it up book by book?

I have plotted out the entire series. However, I create plot points then how I get there can change. Often I will think I know where the story is going then a character will have a different opinion and switch things up. It’s fine with me and created some truly excellent scenes. As long as I hit my plot points I’m cool with the changes. So, to answer the question… both.

Which leads to better comprehension and retention, listening to audiobooks or reading an actual book?

Wow, great question. I can tell you as a kid looking at the words, hearing them in my head via records and seeing pictures gave me greater retention when I was learning. However, as I got older definitely reading alone was probably the best way. If I enjoy a book, especially in my thirties and forties, I would actually buy the book on audio, after I’d created or envisioned the characters and events in my mind. If the narrator was good, it only intensified the people and circumstance as fleshed out and fully evolved things.

Did you expect your debut novel to win best in category at the Chanticleer International Books Awards in 2018? What was your reaction?

No! That was so fun. I never would’ve believed the second book I’d written in my life would be up for anything, let alone win something. It was terribly exciting. My daughter Paisley was with me. Her love for reading rivals if not betters my own, and it was so fun to share the experience with her. She’s the one that turned around and said, “Mom, you won, go up there.” I just got word the Warrior’s Progeny is now a semi-finalist in the Chanticleer awards and I’m hopeful it will do just as well. It won a Crowned Heart of Excellence from InD’Tale magazine and also up for a RONE award. Releasing the Catch was a finalist for the Feathered Quill award. It is really a heartfelt honored, and makes me so happy to know my stories are well received!

What impact did covid-19 have on your writing career?

Well, I wrote four books. I’m an introvert and homebody, so Covid didn’t affect my day to day life all that much. However, my husband and I travel a lot, and do things on the evenings and weekends. So, in the wake of the shutdown, I had a lot more time to write. A friend and fellow Wild Rose Press author, Stephen King, from Australia, was part of the wildfires there in early 2020. He wanted to try and help raise money for the victims of the fires and asked our fellow, Roses, to submit short stories for an anthology. The support was so overwhelming, soon there was enough stories for three volumes. I wanted to help but struggled to find a story. I talked to my daughter who told me to write about Vegas. My family was in Vegas (four inside the concert and two inside Mandalay Bay) during the shooting at Route 91 in 2017. It’s our story from four different viewpoints and entitled, Dancing Through Tears, in volume two of the Australia Burns anthology. Wild Rose Press also published, the Warrior’s Progeny in July. Celtic Butterfly Publishing published, Releasing the Catch and August 4 th , 2021 will publish Dee’s Cornucopia. That one is a novella written at fan request for the beloved character of Dee Taylor from the Heaven & Earth series. It’s her life story before the series starts.

What book would the book world never be the same without?

Wow! That is such a hard question because there are so many. In the fantasy world probably Harry Potter, because it redefined the genre and ignited a passion for the genre. Outlander is another one because it did the same thing for adults. Ann Rule made real-life horrors and evil become flesh and blood. Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult made happily ever afters uncertain. The Hunger Games gave new meaning to the word game- show. Jane Austen showed us love transcends time and is as relevant today as it was then. Actually, the answer is every book.

What is the best piece of advice you have received related to writing?

Write organically for your first draft. Just let everything you want to say flow out and onto the page. No matter how crazy, no matter how difficult it is to connect later, don’t worry about grammar or anything just get it out. Then piece it together for the second draft, and fine tune for the third. I loved that advice because it gives you the freedom to do what you love, which is write.

Which is the next book you are working on? When is it due for release?

I am now working on book three of the Heaven & Earth series entitled, Soul Predilection about Aphrodite and Hades and their descendants. Dee’s Cornucopia will be out August 4 th and we have the Heaven & Earth companion book entitled, The Quest, coming out very soon.

How has been your experience working with AllAuthor?

It’s been fantastic! I’d love to win a cover challenge sometime, it’s one of my goals! I have truly loved and appreciated the support. The experience has been a gift.

Ask Jeny Heckman a Question

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      • Jeny Heckman Jeny Heckman 3 years ago
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      • Creativity for one. There’s a level of procrastination, so having the ability to overcome that is good. Patience. Putting oneself into the character’s shoes and walking around with them in the setting. Organization, either in your head or on paper.
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