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| Heather Kirchhoff, Author FADING |
Heather Kirchoff’s reviewers praise her short story, FADING, for taking on the
tough subject of cancer and delivering “a
very emotional topic beautifully and realistically.” They applaud her
“relatable” characters; and believe her story will “touch even the darkest of
hearts.”
Kirchoff lives with her three parents in a small town
in Missouri along with her siblings, a dog, and three cats. She
definitely plans to continue writing and is working on a YA "standalone." When she's not writing, she likes to go for walks or rides, take photos, and spend time with her best friend and family.
Q: What inspired
you to write FADING? Is it based on your own experience?
Heather
Kirchhoff: It started out as a homework assignment for my Creative Writing class
my junior year of high school. We had to watch some dance videos and had to
choose one to write a story over that best described the dance they were doing.
Q: Why did you
choose to write FADING in second person narrative? Did you find it helpful to
tell your story?
Heather
Kirchhoff: I did because I never
wrote in second person and I wanted to try something different.
Q: Reviewers
tout FADING as “heart rending” and “a story that
will touch even the darkest of hearts.” Do you attribute this to the topic
itself? Or to your characters?
Heather
Kirchhoff: I’d say so because of what it’s about.
Teens and young children go through this as well, not just adults, and I wanted
to show that. I wanted to bring to light what can happen to someone who they
know or have a loved one dying of cancer.
Q:
How do you develop characters in a short story to engage your readers to care
about them? Did you find it more difficult than in your longer works?
Heather
Kirchhoff: I just sit down and write. I also try to
add a description of my characters so my readers will know what they look like.
It’s about the same as anything else I’ve written.
Q:
Does the concept of heroes and villains apply to FADING? What creates a hero?
Heather
Kirchhoff: I think so because the cancer is the bad
guy, but I’m not too sure who could be the hero. Maybe it’s Jennifer or
Michael.
Q:
Did you write FADING to entertain readers, or deliver a message, or educate?
Heather
Kirchhoff: I wrote it to bring awareness to cancer.
It’s not talked about a lot in books and I wanted to talk about it because it
does happen.
Q:
Your story deals with a very difficult subject to discuss – cancer. Did you
find humor a useful way to present it?
Heather
Kirchhoff: Nope.
Q:
You have published several stories and a
novel. What’s your favorite – short stories or novels? What else have you
written? Do you intend to make a career of writing?
Heather Kirchhoff: I’ve also written The Last Night and my Magic series
(Dusk, Daybreak and Lightning Strike as of right now). I love both, honestly,
because I just love to sit down and put words on paper. I very much do intend
to make a career of writing.
Q:
What’s next?
Heather
Kirchhoff: I’m
working on a YA standalone that I haven’t given any information on yet, but I
will soon. After that I will be working on Magic #4, Dawn of the Shooting Star.
Q:
Tell us about Heather Kirchhoff. What do you like to do when you’re not
writing?
Heather
Kirchhoff: I love to go for walks, edit, promote,
beta read, reading, take pictures, go for rides, and spend time with my best
friend and animals/family.
About Heather
Kirchoff
Heather Kirchhoff lives in a small town in Missouri with her three
parents, siblings, a dog, and three cats. She became a bookworm back in sixth
grade when her teacher suggested the Phantom Stallion series by Terri Farley
and instantly fell in love. She loves reading paranormal stories, plus some
love ones here and there. Honestly, she'll read anything as long as it's good.
Writing is her passion. Heather loves animals; she's heartbroken that not all
of them have loving homes. Heather was inspired to write by Richelle Mead,
Alyson Noel, and Stephenie Meyer.
About FADING
What if you're
told you won't live another year? What if you feel yourself slowly dying
inside? What if you try to do everything you can to not hurt those you love, to
live the rest of your days to the fullest? For sixteen-year-old Jennifer that's
exactly what happens. She now struggles, knowing exactly what'll happen if she
dies. She does her best to live a carefree life, to not question anything, but
it's harder than she thought it would be. After all, how can you say goodbye to
those you love while you still have time? How can you show your fears without
breaking them?
Links
Amazon FADING
Twitter https://twitter.com/HeatherKirc
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