About the Author Saturday: You asked...I answered!

Yay, it’s another About the Author Saturday. I love all of the questions I get on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Hopefully, today I can get through a majority of them. If you have a question you would like to ask, shoot it my way!

 The first round of questions comes from Benjamin Russell, an incredibly, out-of-this-world talented writer. (I think he sold his soul to devil for his mad writing skills!) You should definitely check out his blog (after mine of course) at http://incubuschronicles.blogspot.com Okay, now to the questions of doom.

Heaven Liegh Eldeen, please tell us the story behind your name?

 Growing up, I have heard numerous accounts as to how my mother came to naming me Heaven Liegh. There is one story that always stuck with me, and based on the emotional state my mother entered when telling it, I believe it to be the true account of my namesake. The condensed version of this magnificent story is, that after a difficult delivery, my mother gave birth to a stillborn baby girl. Sometime later, I was revived and awoke. Upon seeing my eyes open for the first time, my mother gasped, “She’s seen Heaven.”

Do you have a prepared, scripted response when people inevitably ask you if Heaven is your real name?

I do. It’s standard, in the odd-ball name club, to have a prepared answer to the questioning of unique names. “Yes it is my real name. No I am not a stripper or prostitute. Nor have I ever been either. My mother just had a sick sense of humor, knowing I could never live up to it.” I suppose, now being a published author, I should work on a more polite response to that question.

How does an author named Heaven end up writing a book about Demons?

I get this question a lot. The answer is really silly.  My husband loves to watch scary movies. I do not. Over the years, I’ve developed a system that keeps me from running through the house turning on every light and forcing my husband to hold my hand while using the restroom. Instead of paying attention to the movie, I go off to la-la land in my head. The movie we watched that particular night had something to do with a demon haunting a house. At least I think that’s what it was about. I wasn’t paying attention. Next thing I know, two hours later, The Demon Side began to take shape.

What do your friends and family say about your budding writing career?

I receive tons of support and accolades from a majority of my friends and family, but I also get a fair share of “eh, whatever.” 

Does your family have issues with the subject matter of your book?

I thought they would have serious issues at first, especially since I didn’t follow popular beliefs about religious rules when I was writing The Demon Side. Much to my surprise though, they quite enjoyed the change up and my take on the subject.

What kind of books do you read and who are some of your favorite authors?

I am a hard core true-crime reader. I love diving into the stories of wickedly sick serial killers and whack jobs who think they can off their spouse for money without getting caught. No one, in my opinion, can capture these twisted individuals essence quite as well as Ann Rule and Harold Schechter.

 Our next round of questions comes from various fans via Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.

Did you study to become a writer? If so, what did you major in?

No. I did not study to become a writer. I’ve seen the inside of a college classroom once, but dropped out after two classes. I was majoring in Accounting.

How do you balance being a writer, a mother, a wife and everything else?

It is easy to get overwhelmed when you list it like that. How I keep from pulling my teeth out and knocking out someone’s hair is quite simple really ,I never write when my son is home. He has radar that knows the exact moment I sit down at the computer, and suddenly he has a million questions or things to show me.

As for maintaining my responsibilities as a housewife (a.k.a. Domestic Engineer) while trying to write, is even simpler, I set a timer for one hour. When it goes off, I get up from the computer, stretch and off to climb Mount Dishmore. When that is finished, I reset my timer. One hour later, I get up stretch, and being my ethnic cleansing of Dust Bunnies, and so on and so forth. Now, when it comes to the husband, which can be tricky since, I never know what plans he has in store when he comes home from work, I play that by ear.

When does your book release?

The Demon Side releases October 21^st, 2011, thanks to Decadent Publishing!!! 

What are your plans after the release of The Demon Side?

I plan on writing, writing, and writing. I still have five other novels in the works, so I don’t plan on slowing down.