Heather Lee Dyer is an Author Success Coach and the award-winning author of several young adult science fiction and urban fantasy series, two creative non-fiction books, and contributes to several anthologies and online magazines. She is currently living out her dreams as a digital nomad traveling the lower 48 states with her husband in a sky-blue semi-truck.
Heather Lee Dyer, Author Success Coach
Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.
I was raised on a feminist hippie commune in the mountains of Montana by a single mother who had top secret NASA clearance. I grew up in the best of both worlds: Nature and Technology. In those mountains outside Kalispell my mom and I lived in an actual log cabin with a potbelly stove, no electricity or running water, and a wooden outhouse. It was ninety acres of tall pine trees, blueberry bushes, and bears and deer. I had the freedom to roam as I pleased and learned to appreciate and draw strength from nature. My mom taught me to read and write so I could write down my stories about the hours of wandering alone in the mountains.
I spent every moment off the land between the stacks of books at university libraries. It took my mom many years to get her degree, so I grew up in higher education libraries, bookstores, classrooms, and joining summer camps to learn about space travel and computer coding. We were poor in finances, but rich in diverse experiences and learning.
I attended the University of Puget Sound to become an astronautical engineer, but due to finances I only spent one year there. I then met my first husband, and we had two boys who became my new life’s purpose. I worked hard to stay home with them and give them all the diverse experiences and creative outlets I loved as a child. I homeschooled them for many years and eventually opened a public charter school as a better option than the other small-town public schools in our town. Both boys are now grown, serving in the Navy, and happily married with children. The oldest served as a Corpsman for EOD and Seal teams and is now a naval aviator officer flying jets and helicopters, and the youngest has an amazing photographic memory which helps him as an aviation machinist mate on an aircraft carrier.
Amid raising pre-teens, I was diagnosed with Lupus. My mother died of the same disease the same year I was given two years left to live. The doctors had tried all the medications on me, including cancer drugs and research medications. I was a research patient for the medication that is now Benlysta, which is the first medication discovered since Plaquenil was specifically prescribed for Lupus. But, even after eighteen months on it, it didn’t help me.
I remember walking out of the doctor’s office after that dire prognosis, thinking I really needed a Pepsi and a taco and that there was no way I was leaving my boys without a mother. As an adult, I was still dealing with the pain of losing my mom, and I didn’t want that for them. I was legally disabled already since random days my body decided I couldn’t walk or talk. I was in bone-deep pain, had kidney failure, and was fighting the brain fog and depression that comes with autoimmune diseases.
So, I decided to return in my mind to the place I was the healthiest and happiest: my childhood walking around in the mountains and writing stories. I started first by writing poetry and journaling. Then, I discovered National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and wrote my first book. Being able to complete a whole book in a month was such an accomplishment for me, especially since most of it was done while tucked into bed or during breaks at work. Before this, I couldn’t even write a blog post without the brain fog making me forget where I started two paragraphs before. And here I was finishing a whole book, over 50,000 words. It brought my mind and spirit back to life!
Then, I started walking. At first, I could only walk to the mailbox. I increased the distance slowly until I could walk around the block after about three months. Someone gave me a treadmill, and we attached a board onto it so I could write on my laptop and walk at the same time. Again, the best of two worlds. I would not be able to race a marathon (nor do I have any desire to!), but my body slowly started healing along with my mind. Today, I am off all medications except for thyroid meds and natural supplements, and I feel healthier than I have been in decades.
Can you share more about your role as an Author Success Coach and how you support aspiring authors in achieving their goals?
If you’ve ever had an autoimmune disease, cancer, or any kind of brush with death, you know the feeling of looking at life differently. It’s as if you now see everyday struggles, goals, relationships, and the world at large through a different lens. Some things are more precious; some things aren’t worth our time. When I started writing again, I poured my whole self into the worlds I was creating. In return, this creative escape helped my body and mind heal.
As an Author Success Coach, I find great satisfaction in helping new authors go through a similar journey as they write their books. They might not have physical or mental health issues, but writing a book still changes a person. It must, or the author isn’t revealing their authentic self to themselves or to the reader. The journey of writing, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, is a very personal experience and can affect each person differently.
I offer aspiring authors the inspiration, encouragement, accountability, and guidance to write the book that is on their hearts. Over the years, I’ve coached many doctors, CEOs, surfers, real estate agents, stay-at-home moms, and many others, working several jobs while getting their first book written. No matter how educated and successful an aspiring author is, the journey of writing a book is a different, daunting experience for them. I have a passion to help them finally get those words out of their heads and onto the page.
I’ve written twenty books and self-published eighteen of those so far. There are many articles, classes, seminars, conferences, and YouTube videos on how to write, publish, and market a book. I’ve read and watched many of these in the past few decades. All that information can be overwhelming and lead to imposter syndrome, procrastination, or simply giving up writing.
As a recovering perfectionist, I can help my authors navigate all the information out there and gently draw out all the genuine ideas and messages that they want to share in their books. I share strategies and tips during that first dirty draft process to help keep them motivated or help overcome obstacles in their writing or personal life they may experience along the way. They may face challenges with mobility, pain, or limited time, and their passion for writing books can fizzle or die. I desire for every aspiring author who wants to write a book to experience the thrill of accomplishing their goal. Once that first draft is done and we’ve celebrated wildly, then I will work with authors to go through the self-editing process, help decide what type of publishing to pursue, and if they decide to self-publish, I can guide them through the maze of information out there in order to get it done.
With a diverse portfolio including young adult science fiction, urban fantasy, and creative non-fiction, how do you approach writing across different genres, and what inspires this variety in your work?
I used to work for a state juvenile corrections department as their paralegal. I wrote legal briefs and drafted court documents all day. When I got home from work each day, I eagerly dove into my science fiction and urban fantasy worlds and could write for hours.
For me, writing across different genres is a passionate challenge. I don’t want to just write the same book over and over; I challenge myself to do something different in each one. Kind of like those crazy, energetic people who like to run triathlons. They love the challenge, learning the different sports of swimming, running, and bicycling, and push themselves to succeed in all of them.
I urge my authors to live life to the fullest and not to feel guilty having fun away from the keyboard. You can’t write your best when you’re locked away in your home without any new experiences or fun to inspire, motivate, or write about.
My greatest inspirations for world-building, characters, and plot come from space museums, ride-a-longs with professionals such as detectives and forensic specialists, and traveling widely. My second young adult science fiction series was inspired by a three-hour tour of our local county morgue. It’s one of the darker series I’ve written, but I absolutely loved creating such a unique and exciting world where my main character grows up on a space station as the daughter of the coroner.
Living as a digital nomad and traveling the lower 48 states in a semi-truck is unique. How has this lifestyle influenced your writing, creativity, and overall perspective on life?
I’ve always loved traveling. I used to attend four to six writing or science fiction/fantasy conferences every year. The new experiences and getting to know new people, cities, and cultures inspired my writing and expanded my mind. After the pandemic I traveled in my converted cargo van, “Moonbeam,” which was an abrupt and beautiful change of lifestyle from living in comfortable suburbia. Doing urban camping in my van I learned the harsh realities of people living in their vehicles not by choice, but also enjoyed the life living near beaches and campgrounds. I also enjoyed the freedom and peacefulness of not having any schedule or agenda. I would wake up and decide if I would stay where I was or if I was going to drive somewhere new. It was more of a filling up my creative well than a life of productivity. I found it delightful to write when I wanted to, and not when I had to due to time constraints.
Marrying my husband last year and joining him in the semi-truck over the road has been even more of a personal and professional challenge, one that my previous experiences tried to prepare me for. Working on the road is like traveling on steroids. We never stop. We don’t even own a house. All our belongings are in storage, so our paychecks go to our future retirement home. As I write this, six months into our semi-truck journey on the road, we are crossing the United States for the 21st time. There are very few states we have not been through this year.
It’s one of those situations where you need to be careful what you wish for. I desired more travel, and I got it in spades. I’ve been out of our country to visit Mexico, France, Japan, and Portugal in the past few years, and I’m sure my husband and I will go on more out-of-country trips someday. But what I’ve learned on the road is that despite all the politics, climate issues, pollution, overcrowded cities, social issues, and other problems our country has, our United States is stunningly beautiful! From the West Coast to the East Coast, we have the most diverse, beautiful lands. We have the green of the Pacific Northwest, the amazing beaches on both coasts, several gorgeous chains of mountains throughout the States, starkly beautiful red deserts, and thick forests that are the most colorful sights in the fall.
It’s overwhelming how much beauty is out here. In our own country. The beauty has slowed down my writing because I’m busy enjoying the scenery, but it has also softened my heart to the people of our country and has filled up my creative well with all the new experiences. I am no longer in a hurry to set goals and deadlines. Instead, I set intentions and take everything at a slower pace so I can enjoy every moment, whether it’s staring out the window at the natural scenery or writing an exciting scene in my current work in progress.
Balancing your career as an author with your role as an Author Success Coach can be challenging. How do you manage and find synergy between these two aspects of your professional life?
I don’t consider being and author and an Author Success Coach two separate aspects of my professional life. Sharing my expertise, struggles, inspirations, and motivations feels like an extension of being a writer.
I couldn’t be (nor should anyone, in my opinion) a writing coach if I haven’t written widely. I’ve written more than twenty books, numerous articles and essays, blogs, and poetry so I not only have the technical expertise to share with authors, but I also know the challenges and roadblocks, and how to help them overcome them. I get as much from coaching my authors as they hopefully get from me.
Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far.
I have experienced and accomplished quite a lot in my life. I’ve raised and homeschooled two boys, earned a college degree, started a public charter school, survived Lupus, earned a state retirement working for over a decade as a paralegal, won several literary awards, and published eighteen books and am still going.
I’m proud of all I’ve accomplished, but by far my greatest career and personal achievement is designing my current lifestyle. I’ve made choices over the years and took deliberate steps to be where I am today. I’m happily married, healthy, traveling widely, and am a nomadic writer. I’m enjoying growing my business with intent and purpose and helping others do the same, despite the many obstacles we encounter in life.
