Heidi Thomas: Follow the Dream

Do you love horses?

Heidi M. Thomas grew up on a working ranch in eastern Montana. She had parents who taught her a love of books and a grandmother who rode bucking stock in rodeos. Describing herself as “born with ink in her veins,” Heidi followed her dream of writing with a journalism degree from the University of Montana and later turned to her first love, fiction, to write her grandmother’s story.

Heidi’s first novel, Cowgirl Dreams, has won an EPIC Award and the USA Book News Best Book Finalist award. Follow the Dream is the second book in the “Dare to Dream” series about strong, independent Montana Women.


Heidi, welcome back to the blog! Congrats on the new book.

Thanks, it's good to be back.

Can you tell us what books came along at just the right time to influence your reading/writing?

Ivan Doig’s books based in Montana inspired me, Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose, Jane Kirkpatrick’s historical fiction.

 Please give us a short synopsis of Follow the Dream.

Nettie Moser’s dreams are coming true. She’s married to her cowboy, Jake, they have plans for a busy rodeo season, and she has a once in a lifetime opportunity to rodeo in London with the Tex Austin Wild West Troupe.

But life during the Great Depression brings unrelenting hardships and unexpected family responsibilities. Nettie must overcome challenges to her lifelong rodeo dreams, cope with personal tragedy, survive drought, and help Jake keep their horse herd from disaster.

Will these challenges break this strong woman?

Heidi, how has your writing progressed since your first book? Has it changed you? If so, how?

I’ve learned so much since the very first book I wrote (not published) and even though I’m more critical of my writing than anyone else, I can tell I’ve improved. In some ways, what I’ve learned has made things easier—developing rounded characters, a true sense of place, etc., with perhaps fewer rewrites. However, in my naïve ignorance, I wrote the first book much faster. Now I seem to struggle and take much longer to finish a book.

Is there another book on the horizon?

Yes, I’m working on the third in the “Dare to Dream” series, with a working title of Nettie’s Cowgirls.

After hours of intense writing, how do you unwind?

Usually by reading and watching TV with my cat on my lap.

Are your books available in print, ebook, and Kindle?

Both books are available in print and e-book form. Follow the Dream is on Kindle.

Where can we purchase these books and get more information about you?

 For autographed copies, go to my website

http://www.heidimthomas.com/ My books are also available from my publisher, Treble Heart Books, http://www.trebleheartbooks.com/SDHeidiThomas.html  

Heidi, thanks for stopping by again, and continued success!

Heidi Thomas and Cowgirl Dreams

Raised on a ranch in isolated eastern Montana, Heidi Thomas has loved reading and writing since she was a child. A tidbit of family history, that her grandmother rode steers in rodeos during the 1920s, spurred Heidi to write a novel based on that grandmother’s life. Cowgirl Dreams is the first in a series about strong, independent Montana Women. A sequel, Follow the Dream, will be published in 2010.

Heidi has a degree in journalism, has worked in the newspaper business, and has had numerous magazine articles published. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, is a member of several writers organizations, writes, edits, and teaches memoir and fiction writing classes.

Wlecome, Heidi. When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

I began telling stories before I could write. Later, I tried to emulate Nancy Drew mysteries or Zane Grey or whatever wonderful book I happened to be reading at the time. I’ve always loved to write.

I loved Zane Grey as well.
Is there a message in your writing you want readers to grasp?

That we all have dreams and need to pursue them, to find our path in life and follow it. We all have the potential for a gift or a passion, whether it’s for writing, hairdressing or auto mechanics. The path is never straight—we all take many side trips, get lost, forget the goal. But my advice is to never give up, even if we discover the direction we took at the beginning has changed.

Tell us more about Cowgirl Dreams.

Cowgirl Dreams is based on my grandmother’s life. (That seems to be my hook, what grabs potential readers’ interest.) In the book, Nettie Brady bucks 1920s convention and defies family and social norms with her dream of becoming a rodeo star. Broken bones, killer influenza, flash floods, and family hardship team up to keep Nettie from her dreams. Then she meets a young neighbor cowboy who rides broncs and raises rodeo stock. Will this be Nettie’s ticket to freedom and happiness? Will her rodeo dreams come true?

Do you think your writing has improved since your first attempt? In what way?

Absolutely. I have learned how important it is to develop rounded characters, to show their feelings and reactions, rather than just “telling” the reader about them. What I particularly love about writing is that I’m continually learning something new and improving my craft. It’s never a dull life!

Specifically, how does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

It has had a great influence on my writing. I grew up on a ranch in isolated eastern Montana, without electricity and indoor plumbing for many years, so I could identify quite a bit with the way my grandmother lived her childhood. I rode horses and gathered cattle, but never participated in rodeo. Also, growing up this way formed me as a strong, independent woman, a trait passed along to me by my grandmother and my mother and encouraged by my father.

How do you promote yourself online and off?

I have a website and a blog. I belong to several on-line writers and book-related sites. I did a virtual book tour as well as a “reality” book tour. In addition to bookstores, I sell my book at western-related stores and gift shops and at arts and crafts fairs.

What are your current projects?

My sequel, Follow the Dream, will be out sometime in 2010. I am also writing a third “Nettie book.”

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

My website is http://www.heidimthomas.com and I blog at http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com My book is available as an autographed copy through my website, and it is also available from my publisher http://www.trebleheartbooks.com/SDHeidiThomas.html and from the usual on-line sources.

It has become clear to me that I should have asked to interview you in person since I've been to the edge of Montana but an avalanche in Yellowstone kept us from going farther north. Next time, perhaps?