Teacher discovers young-adult audience

The unkempt house, a slightly irritable personality and highly-energetic mood are signs that soon a publishing company may be receiving yet another young-adult novel from University composition and yoga professor Heather Hepler.

“I feel like this story is a ball that I’m chasing and if I let it get too far ahead, that it’s going to disappear,” Hepler said. “I feel that when I’m writing the reason I push so hard go so quickly is because I have to keep that ball in sight.”

She said her writing didn’t begin until seven years ago when a friend asked if she ever considered writing a story.
Hepler said she thought she “might as well take a stab at it” to see if she liked it.

Heather Hepler, right, yoga instructor, and Michael Eidenmuller, associate professor of speech communication display their work in the Barnes & Noble bookstore. Photo by Haley Bauman.

She said her first publication, a short story published in 2005 in the Southwest Tribune, led to the publishing of her first novel, “Scrambled Eggs at Midnight,” a year later with  Penguin Publishing House.

“Scrambled Eggs at Midnight,” one of four novels by Hepler, won the Writers’ League of Texas Award for 2006. It also received the Texas Institute of Letters Award and was listed a top-10 Young Adult romance for the American Library Association.

She said her writings stemmed from the things she saw around her. The setting of “Scrambled Eggs At Midnight”, co-authored with Brad Barkley, originated from a Fair Winds Renaissance billboard on her way to Austin.

“I thought that’s kind of weird. These people play dress up all the time,” Hepler said. “I thought it was a strange concept so I started writing a book about it.”

Hepler also co-authored “Dream Factory,” which received the Charlotte Award and is a Junior Library Guild selection.
Hepler said “Jars of Glass,” her third novel, is the lead title of Penguin Young Readers.

She said along with what she sees, her writings also stem from things people say or experience.

“‘Jars of Glass’ has two sisters in it who are dealing with their mom who’s schizophrenic,” she said. “When I was in high school, one of my friend’s mom was hospitalized because of it, so I got to see firsthand how that can destroy a family. That has sat with me for 15 years and has now become a book.”

Hepler’s latest release, “Cupcake Queen,” is the first book she authored alone and was featured in the Scholastic book fair, a program that goes across the country to different schools to sell books to students.

“It’s been in schools all over the country,” she said. “It’s very exciting.”

Hepler said she attended the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and finished at the University of Nevada at Reno before she started writing.

She said she earned her degree in library science at the University of North Texas and a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing at the University of Southern Maine.

Hepler said she was interested in a doctorate in English when a friend suggested she try creative writing.
“I just submitted my very first short story to them (her editors) and got accepted, which is crazy because I actually read that story, and it’s not very good,” Hepler said. “I got better through the program and when I graduated, I started writing.
Hepler said her love of writing developed over time, but her love of books goes back to elementary school where she began reading Judy Blume books.

“I know that they are kind of quaint now, but at the time they were really cutting edge, and it made me think, ‘Wow there are other people out there that think the way I do,’” Hepler said. “That got me on the track of reading everything I could get my hands on.”

She said those fond memories inspired her to write for young adults because writing about adult issues such as mortgages and custody issues wasn’t interesting.

“I really like the young adult age group for some reason, she said. “I remember all the books I read when I was in middle school and high school, especially the ones that had a good impact on me. As an adult, I rarely remember very much about a book, and so to me as a writer, that’s a great opportunity to influence people.”

Hepler said she is editing a book to be released in the spring of 2012, and is waiting for feedback on another novel currently under review.