Tonight’s Q&A with Heather Burch, the author of Halflings (click for my review), “the next big thing in YA” was held on Twitter, where each utterance must be 140 characters or less. It was a lot of fun, but a hectic mess to try to track down all comments 🙂 So here’s my incomplete best at trying to capture the big picture of the evening. There were four drawings for books giveaways which were announced every 15 minutes which I didn’t include, except for the last comment with all four winners. Follow @heatherburch on Twitter! (And me! @anniewonderbook)

Heather: HALFLINGS Q&A is about to start! Hit me with the first q.
Annie: Thanks, Heather. What inspired you to write Halflings?
Heather: Halflings was inspired largely by my two sons. Very different. Very Mace and Raven like!!!
Annie: They must be wonderful sons. How much of yourself do you see in Nikki?
Heather: I see quite a bit of myself in Nikki. But she is much stronger. She’s all the things I’d like to be.
Annie: Nikki’s definitely a character we can all look up to.
Ashley: Are you Team Mace or Team Vine?
Heather: Oh MAN! Toughest question ever! I mean ever! Uh, can I say TEAM VINE???
Vivien: What was the last book you read that you loved?
Heather: Hunger Games. Loved loved loved it. Also like Firelight. Great storytellers those two!
Vivien: What authors have inspired you?
Stephen King was one of my first inspirations. Dean Koontz because his writing is amazing and Nicholas Evans. Killer prose!
Chris: Is there a moment of your life that you remember that inspired you?
Heather: Yes. I remember I realized I could finish a book. It was a golden moment for me because I knew if I wrote one, I could do more.
Heather: Remember what Ted Dekker said. If you’re still writing after four or five books. You’re going to sell!
Reuben: How long after finishing Halflings did it take to finish?
Heather: Oh wow. I wrote Halfings in four months, but tweaked for another year! It was a bit of a long process, but it just had to be right.
Denise: How do you celebrate on release day? Or do you just wipe your brow with relief?
Heather: We went out to a really nice dinner. I think I cried somewhere along the way. And yes, I wiped my brow and said, “Whew!”
Ashley: When does the next book come out?
Heather: The next book GUARDIAN releases in September. I’ve seen the cover and I LOVE it. There will be another prequel!
Annie: When will book reviewers be able to put in requests for advanced review copies of Guardian?
Heather: Wow. Not sure! I assume it will be available at NetGalley a month or two before release. 🙂
Annie: Can’t wait 🙂
Denise: How many books do you envision in the series?
Heather: I see at least 10 books in this series! There are so many Halflings stories in my head!
Annie: Awesome! Do you already know how the last book will end?
Heather: I know it’s hard to believe, but yes, I have that scene in my head. In fact, quite a bit of that book is in my head. 🙂
Ashley: Are you planning on a Halflings movie? Or will they stay a book series?
Heather: I’ve signed a shopping agreement with an awesome producer in Hollywood. She’s hoping to put a team together.
Chris: What’s a shopping agreement?
Heather: A shopping agreement gives her the right to attach her production company to the project. Which I love ’cause I know her work.
Annie: What advice would you give to aspiring authors of your genre?
Heather: My advice… Don’t give up! Keep writing! Keep going! Don’t stop and don’t let others discourage you!
Heather: This was fun! Thanks all for participating. And Annie, Vivien, Ashley and Chris…Big congrats on winning a copy of Halfings! DM me your address for the book. 🙂
Heather: Thanks for all the awesome questions. Look forward to more tweeting with you!
by Heather Burch