Writer Review: Heather Marie Adkins


I wanted to do something a little different today. Instead of reviewing a single book, or a collection of books, I want to review the heart and soul behind a body of work. That writer is Heather Marie Adkins. I first discovered Heather about six months ago and very quickly devoured her books.

Sometimes you come across a writer that has “something” many writers don’t have. I like to call that something … grace. There are thousands upon thousands of writers who can craft a brilliant story, create intriguing characters, design perfect sentences, and even market the hell out of their works. But find a writer who can pen a work through the heart of grace and you have found something truly special.

That is what Heather Marie Adkins is. With a gentle touch and the ability to elicit beauty from nearly anything, Heather’s work is like a sigh of relief after reading so much heavy-handed work. You want to breathe the words in and live them … allow them to consume you.

I realize it sounds as if I am paying lip service to a fellow indie author — I’m not. When you find a writer whose words are as haunting as Heather’s are in The Temple or Cause And Effect, there is something trans-formative in the reading. You know you’re not just reading any old story, you’re reading a story that floats around on your eyes like a gauzy skirt in a light breeze, like the sound of a lover’s heart as it slowly beats to a slow, sleeping rhythm.

It all sounds so cheesy, but it’s important. Clive Barker writes in a very similar way — only in horror and the “fantastique”. The man can wrap the horrific in words of such beauty you find yourself weeping not for the loss of life or soul, but for the joy in the reading of such words. And although no other writer is placed on the same pedestal as Mr. Barker is for me, Heather Marie Adkins now has her own pedestal (albeit below Clive’s) that will hopefully be populated by other indie authors who can write with such heart, soul, and grace.

If you’ve not given Heather a go, you must. Below are links to her works.

The Temple

Cause And Effect

Abigail