Interview with Heidi R. Kling

Heidi R. Kling is the author of Sea. She is a debut author and I am thrilled to have her on my blog.

Thanks Heidi for stopping by to answer a few questions!

1. Can you tell us a little about the acting you did in school?

I was pretty shy and my mom encouraged me to do drama. I resisted, but it turned out to be a great opportunity for me. It let me release my inner butterfly so to speak.

2. You have mentioned that you moved around a lot as a child, did you view that as an adventure or was it hard on you?

It was! I would make friends, best friends and then have to move or change schools. Aside from high school I was never in the same school for more than three years in a row. The upside is that I learned how to make friends easily, the downside is I learned early on that the idea that my world could be uprooted in an instant.

3. What was it like to have your YA short story published in a college anthology? 

It was great! I've been writing forever, and rejections are so frustrating--so for them to say Yes, we'd love to publish this, was incredible.

4. Why did you decide to write and direct at a children's theater?

After college I was working at a summer camp and my good friend Lenka Vodicka had these short adaptations of plays for the kids to act out. I joined her, and it was so popular we decided to offer it during the year too.

5. Can you tell us about your husbands trip to Indonesia? Did you get to go? 

I did not. Our son was too young and I didn't want to bring him along or leave him home alone without the two of us. My husband does cross cultural trauma work for Post-traumatic stress due to natural disasters like the tsunami, or man made disasters like war.

6. After his trip, did you immediately start writing Sea? 

Pretty much. I was working on a different novel and my husband was so affected by the experience in Indonesia that he suggested I write about that instead. I didn't want to attempt to write the POV of one of the survivors, even though it would have been compelling, I don't know if I could have pulled it off. So I created Sienna so I could tell the story through her eyes. And through her eyes American kids could relate.

7. This is a very emotional story, did you have trouble writing certain parts? 

I did. I fell so deeply in love with the characters. Some of the parts were challenging, sure.

8. This is one of the first books I have read that is based on an actual event, what would you like for people to take from this book? 

I would love for them to take a global sense of awareness--that the world is bigger than just us here in the U.S.

9. What has been the most surprising part of this process? 

The reader response. I've had so many readers tell me they just love this book, love this story. I hoped they'd like it but the fact that the teens love it as much as they do makes me so happy.

10. I know you are working on a modern fantasy trilogy about witches and warlocks. Can you  tell us more? How far along are you in this process and do you have any other projects in the works? 

I am! I'm finished with the first book, my agent has it now and we're hoping to sell it soon!

Check out my other posts about Sea: 
Review of Sea
Waiting For: Sea by Heidi R. Kling
Sea book trailer and cuteness

For more information on Heidi or Sea go to:

Heidi R. Kling / Livejournal / Twitter / Goodreads 

Buy from:  

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository / Indie Bound / Kepler's

You can get a signed edition from Kepler's 

Book Trailer: