THE ORCHARD HOUSE - Heidi Chiavaroli - One Free Print Book No matter Where the Winner Lives

Welcome back, Heidi. Why do you write the kind of books you do? I write dual timeline (or time-slip) women’s fiction. I love a good contemporary story, but I love a good historical story as well. I get the best of both worlds in writing time-slip! My stories often deal with heavier themes and topics and are always based on a real piece of history. My goal as a writer is to shine light and hope into the darkness. I’m a firm believer in not shying away from the hard, but facing it head-on, trusting God to be enough to conquer the heavy.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life? Definitely the day I married my husband. He was the least likely person I ever thought I’d marry, and yet the most perfect for me. Celebrating our marriage with family and friends will always be one of the happiest days of my life.

How has being published changed your life? I’d been pursuing publishing for more than a decade when I received my first contract. Being published changed how I viewed my writing. I was actually accountable to someone now. My publisher was depending on me to meet deadlines and write an entertaining story (yikes!). Another change has come over the last year, when I’ve been able to work less at my outside job as a pharmacy technician at Walmart and more at home writing. That has been an incredible blessing, especially during the pandemic and with having my teen boys home so much!

It took me 8 years to receive my first contract.What are you reading right now? Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds. So good! Up next is Susan Meissner’s The Nature of Fragile Things, ’Til I Want No More by Robin W. Pearson, and Carrie Turansky’s No Journey Too Far.

What is your current work in progress? I’m working on editing my first book in my first series! I found myself pretty sad to think of leaving the world of Louisa May Alcott, so I found a way I didn’t have to. This series will be Little Women meets contemporary coastal Maine with a few surprising twists and turns. While this will be a bit of a departure from my time slip stories, I’m already falling in love with these characters and I hope readers will too. I’ll be releasing the first book this April, 2021.

What would be your dream vacation? Tuscany…or anywhere in Italy! I’ve always wanted to go. I’d love to see the villages, and hike that beautiful seaside, and eat all the food. (With a last name like Chiavaroli, it’s a must, don’t you think?)

Of course, it is. How do you choose your settings for each book? I love exploring places in Massachusetts and New England that whisper of historical secrets. Whether it’s the Freedom Trail in Boston or Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, these places compel me to research and find out about the real life people behind them. When I visit, my imagination comes alive. That’s where my stories are born.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why? Oh, this is a tough one! Just one, huh? I think I’d have to pick Francine Rivers. She’s just my all-time favorite author. I’d love to pick her brain, get to know her, and maybe glean some wisdom from her. There’s not many people who would make me star struck, but she’s definitely one!

I’ve met her and spent some time with her at a conference. I’m like you. But she is a very modest person and easy to talk to. What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading? I love to hike wherever I can. In the summer, you can find me anywhere near the water. I just love soaking up all of God’s beautiful nature! Going on out-to-eat dates with hubby is pretty fun, too.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it? The days when I am just not feeling it or I don’t feel inspired to write that next scene. I suppose it sounds kind of simple, but I overcome it by just doing it. I set a certain number of words that need to be completed by the end of the day, and I do it. One time, my kitchen was a disaster area (I’m a little OCD about a decently clean house) and I did not let myself clean until all my words were done. That was pretty good motivation for me, although ice cream might work better for some. ;)

What advice would you give to a beginning author? If you really want this writing thing, decide you want it and persevere. Know it’s not easy and is actually a lot more work than you’re probably thinking it’s going to be (and you probably won’t get a contract after writing that first manuscript), but it is so worth it. Writing can be learned, and we can all improve! So do the work and decide your dream is worth the effort.

Tell us about the featured book. The Orchard House is about two estranged sisters who are wading through a decades-old betrayal. They discover a book of poems on the property of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, and discover the woman behind them, as well as the friendship she shared with Louisa, born during Louisa’s time as a nurse in The Civil War. Through the centuries-old story the sisters unearth, they begin to find forgiveness and a place to belong.

Please give us the first page of the book.

I used to imagine my mind a room in confusion, and I was to put it in order. ~ LMA Taylor

CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS

July, 1995

Thirteen isn’t quite grown-up, but it’s old enough for a girl to realize that hope can be a dangerous thing.

The first time I realized this I was no more than four. My mother had dropped me off with Uncle Rob. This wasn’t unusual, but this time, she was gone more than two sleeps. Longer than she had ever been gone.

When I asked my uncle when she’d be back, he only shrugged and said, “You better hope soon, kid.”

Hope.

I did that a lot back then. Each morning when I woke, throwing my threadbare blanket off my shoulders and rolling off the couch to search the small rooms of Uncle Rob’s apartment, but finding the woman in his bed was not my mom. Each night, when I fell asleep, thinking if I only hoped hard enough, and maybe held my breath real tight while I did it, that my mother would appear by morning.

But time and time again, hope failed. And still, it seemed, I didn’t learn. Not after I found my mom’s obituary on Uncle Rob’s fold-up kitchen table where I’d left my precious copy of Little Women when I was eight, not after the police came and hauled him off to jail when I was eleven, and not when I found myself in the vicious grip of the foster care system a short time later.

And then, a year ago, the Bennetts took me in. And I found hope again. Only this time it was a fragile, frayed thing—a lot like the toothbrush I had growing up that Uncle Rob never remembered to replace.

Victoria Bennett had been my best friend since we were seven years old, and now, she was my sister. Her parents gave me new toothbrushes and Nike sneakers and love as much as they were able. They gave me a chance to go to Jo March Writing Camp at Orchard House, a place Victoria and I had become obsessed with. All those years of immersing myself in the world of Jo March, imagining what it would be like to have a family, to have even just one sister….to belong.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website: www.heidichiavarol.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeidiChiavaroli.Author

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidichiavaroli/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/heidi-chiavaroli

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16080793.Heidi_Chiavaroli

Thank you so much, Lena!

It’s my pleasure to feature you and your book on my blog. I’m eager to read my copy.

Readers, here are links to the book.

https://amzn.to/2OeUPz4 - Paperback

https://amzn.to/3uQCnO5 - Kindle

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