Be the Writer Workshop with Heather Hummel - Register Today!

The Charlottesville Writing Center Presents the Be the Writer Workshop in Crozet, VA on August 22, 2009

Take your writing to the next level.
Register today.

Stimulate your passion for writing and set your goals for your writing future:
• Connect with your genre
• Explore the opportunities for publishing
your work and making money as a writer
• Understand the business side of writing
• Assess the current publishing landscape
and how to use it to your advantage
• Create successful workshop experiences

Victoria Moran Radio Interview - Heather Hummel

I'm excited to be on Victoria Moran's radio show, A Charmed Life this Wednesday. Victoria is the author of one of my favorite books, Creating a Charmed Life.

Victoria's Newsletter today:

On Wednesday, June 24, noon Eastern, 11 Central, 10 Mountain, and 9 Pacific on HealthyLife.net radio, my guests will be Heather Hummel, who co-authored with her mother, the elegant 60-something model Valerie Ramsey the book Gracefully: Looking and Being Your Best at Any Age. Heather is also a novelist in her own right so in addition to talking with her about looking and feeling younger, we'll chat a bit about the writer's life and try to drum up some encouragement for all of you who have a novel in your head or on your hard drive.

Charlottesville's The Hook

Thank you to Charlottesville's The Hook for plugging Through Hazel Eye's Honorable Mention at the New York Times Book Festival!

Click HERE to Read the Hook!

Through Hazel Eyes Wins 2nd Place at the New York Book Festival in the Romance Category

Through Hazel Eyes: A Novel by Heather Hummel Won 2nd Place at the New York Book Festival in the Romance Category!

Click Here to read more about the
New York Book Festival

Watch the Through Hazel Eyes Book Trailer!

Buy Through Hazel Eyes on:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble




Rave Reviews for Through Hazel Eyes

"I don't normally write reviews unless the book is good. And this one is. The descriptions from dialog and narrative give the reader such a vivid mental image of what is transpiring that you feel as if you are watching a movie in your mind. The plot about Madison escaping Rick and starting over in Virginia might lead a potential reader to think of this book as a 'chick flick' type read. On the contrary. I read the back cover and jumped right in. This is a must read that will be hard to put down. Plan on saying - 'just one more chapter'"! - F. Franke

"The fluid writing style and the story's twists kept me captivated until the very end. I loved this book!" - C. Collins

"Through Hazel Eyes by rising star Heather Hummel takes the reader through their own life's experiences in a fast moving read that brings a twist to the ending. This is a "could not put it down" rainy day book or beach book. The characters are our neighbors and friends , the setting could be your own backyard. We'll see this author often in the months ahead." - F. Hunter


Did you know that when you buy Through Hazel Eyes, you'll have the opportunity to read the first chapter of Heather's next novel The Universe is My Sugar Daddy? Additionally, for all of the writers out there, there is a bonus section on how to launch your own writing career.

Through Hazel Eyes is a journey of life through the eyes of Madison Ragnar, a high school English teacher who is struggling to recover from an emotionally abusive relationship. Madison's speckled view of the world is seen through her troubled students, a fellow teacher, an intriguing man who enters her life, and a haunting past. Yet everything comes into focus when she learns to trust in herself for the first time in thirty years.

Madison discovers that the most commanding role played throughout our lives is fate. There are times when we embrace it, times when we curse it, and always times when we are blinded by it. As a result of blinding fate, Madison's past catches up to her, and with the help of her students, she learns why a mockingbird is worthier than a diamond ring.

"Because the iris is the tunnel to our souls, this is where we look in others to find unspoken answers. It is the whites of our eyes that hold our sacred secrets, and knowing that the iris will divulge all, the white remains pure." - Madison Ragnar, Through Hazel Eyes.

Stacey Cochran - Guest Blogger - Author of CLAWS

Heather, thanks so much for having me at your place today to discuss my new novel CLAWS. I thought folks visiting your blog might find it interesting to hear me discuss my current blog tour and how it works to help market books.

I am currently on Day 12 of a 45-day blog tour to help promote the novel. This is the first blog tour I’ve ever done, and I’ve only heard of two other authors doing one. So what is a blog tour?

A blog tour is like a book tour except that the author promoting his/her new book writes blog posts (like this one) over a set period of time at a number of host blog sites. So instead of visiting bookstores and libraries, we visit fellow writers’ blogs… or more truthfully, we do this in conjunction with more traditional touring like visiting bookstores and libraries.

As of today, I’ve done eleven previous blog posts on this “tour” and have drummed up two reviews on Amazon.com for my book and sold a couple dozen copies of the paperback and Amazon Kindle versions. Interestingly, the blog tour has gained momentum and is directly responsible for two additional call-in interviews.

That is, two folks read a blog post I did in the past week or two while on the blog tour and then contacted me requesting to do an interview. A third person contacted me to do a written interview for his blog, and about 2-3 folks have asked me to write a guest blog post like this one for their blogs as a result of seeing me on a blog this past week or two.

It’s a fascinating idea, and it definitely has contributed to some books sold and much more exposure than had I not done it. It’s conceivable that you could do a tour like this for several months, if you were extremely proactive about asking people if you could guest post at their places.

My feeling so far is that 1) it’s extremely cost-effective, 2) it builds a connection with the person hosting you, 3) it generates momentum that leads to further media exposure, 4) it needs to be done for a minimum of 30 days straight (and probably a 60-90 day tour would be most effective), 5) it certainly gets you writing.

In this respect, I think that it is an effective marketing strategy that should be considered part of any writer’s larger campaign when promoting the release of a new novel. I guarantee you that we’ll see more and more of these in the months and years to come.

Thanks so much, Heather, for hosting me today. I hope you’ll consider buying a copy of CLAWS and writing an Amazon.com review yourself.

I have been offering and will offer to you and your readers today the following: if you buy five or more copies of CLAWS at Amazon.com, I will do a Skype call-in interview with you to talk about your book, which I will put on my TV show and on YouTube.

Thanks so much. I hope to hear from you soon!

The Universe is My Sugar Daddy

With only 17 pages of edits left to do on my second novel, The Universe is My Sugar Daddy, I am excited to be releasing it within the next month or two. Stay tuned!

Talk to Me - Heather's Interview on Rita Schiano's radio show

Last night I had a fascinating interview with Rita Schiano on her Talk to Me radio show. Click below to listen.

Spry Living magazine

Valerie Ramsey and I are featured in Spry Living magazine this month. They did a terrific job!

Read the Article