Q&A with Anne Shaw Heinrich

 

 

 

Anne Shaw Heinrich is the author of the new novel Violet is Blue. It's the second in her Women of Paradise County series, following God Bless the Child.  

 

Q: Violet is Blue is the second in your Women of Paradise County series--what do you see as the relationship between the two books?

 

A: The relationship between Books One and Two in this series is twofold. First, the plots in both books unfold in the same fictional small town of Poulson and across the same time span.

 

More importantly, there are stories that got their seeds planted in God Bless the Child that get a good fleshing out in the next book. Some characters from the first book naturally make a comeback, but new, just as compelling ones emerge, demonstrating that actions both good and not-so-good can have impacts that last for generations.

 

Q: What inspired the plot of Violet is Blue?

 

A: Violet is Blue opens with the unlikely bond between Violet Sellers and her newfound friend, Jules Marks. Jules comes from Shakey’s Half, a part of town that’s a far cry from the comforts Violet knows. Still, the two discover a shared penchant for self-harm.

 

Violet is blue, and for good reason. She’s repressing a shocking secret she won’t tell anyone, especially her parents, Gloria and Skip. They are horrified and do their best to find out what happened to their adolescent daughter while bending over backward to keep the whole town from knowing their business.

 

Jules has his own wounds. An aunt and uncle who know his desperate story finally get a chance to free him and his sisters out of a loveless world of poverty.

 

Meanwhile, a spinster named Margaret Burns watches and waits. She knows all about redemption and getting saved and she’s got a plan up her sleeve. Margaret and most of the quirky characters in Violet is Blue eventually learn to dance between the worlds of the “haves” and the “have nots” in ways none of them ever anticipated.

 

Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I knew how the book started, as it originated from a short story I wrote several years ago. Once we determined it had the potential to be part of the series, I had some thinking and writing to do!

 

After an initial reset, I was able to create a story that certainly stands on its own but is even more satisfying if read in tandem with God Bless the Child, the first book in The Women of Paradise County Series. Creating characters who drive the story forward is the best part.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: I hope readers take away a renewed ability to consider the humanity that lives within everyone regardless of wealth or status. The injustices that we accept and tolerate as just part of the human condition are easy enough to bear from a distance, but don’t they deserve our curiosity, our attention?

 

Q: What’s next in the series?

 

A: I’m knee-deep in the writing of Book Three, House of Teeth, which is set to release in June 2026. There are new characters in this story, but some favorites from the first two also resurface.  Readers can expect more quirk, fresh storylines, but also a healthy dose of closure that brings the series to a close in a satisfying way.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Getting a second novel published is just as exciting as the first! I keep coming to process feeling thankful for the opportunity. If you really have something in your sights, it’s never too late to just go for it!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Anne Shaw Heinrich.