Hi, I'm Heather!

I started writing my first novel when I was 11 years old, but I got distracted (hello, ADHD!) and spent the next 30-plus years doing other stuff like writing grants and teaching English. So I consider myself a new writer, at least when it comes to writing novels and children's literature. Now I'm overjoyed to be able to spend my days getting the stories in my head onto paper. If you stick around, I will probably share some snippets of what I'm working on, and I can guarantee you I will share my book love in the form of book reviews and recommendations. 

BORING BIO STUFF: I'm an award-winning communications professional with expertise in grant writing, program planning and evaluation, strategic and crisis communications, and event development. My early career was in Alaska in the field of education, starting as a 5th-grade teacher and ending as a communications director. Before leaving Alaska, I led a school district department responsible for all media relations, grant writing, strategic partnerships, key message development and content creation, community engagement events, an in-house publishing facility, a mass communication platform, a graphic design studio, a custom school district app, multiple social media channels, and over 3,500 webpages receiving approximately 4.6 million views annually.  I have an MBA as well as a Bachelor’s degree in English, both from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I still write grants and conduct program evaluations for nonprofit agencies and education institutions, but I only accept a handful of new clients each year. My grant writing and evaluation services can be found at RavenHouseEnterprises.com. 

FUN FACTS: After living in Alaska for over 30 years and launching the first four of our six children off into the wider world, my husband and I moved to Northern Michigan with our two youngest children and started a regenerative farm. We live a few miles from Lake Michigan with five Scottish Highland cows, 15 pigs, an army of cats, one blue-eyed goose who thinks she's the queen, a plethora of chickens, and a singing rooster named Johnny Cash. You can follow our progress at BeckonHillFarms.com.