NL born author Seamus Heffernan’s second book, Ten Grand, is released just as his life is in the midst of some pretty wild and wonderful changes
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Life is ‘Grand’ for ex-pat Seamus Heffernan. The author of Napalm Hearts has released his follow up, Ten Grand, but that’s not all that’s on the go, not by a long shot.
“A lot has changed over the last year, that’s for sure. I’m about to be a father for the first time – my partner Chelsey is due in August,” he begins.
Heffernan works for a Member of Parliament in B.C., but even that may soon change. “As you know it’s an election year, and I’ve been asked to put my name forward to run,” he shares.
With all that going on, he has a new book released as well. He chuckles, “Of course, in the middle of all this, I wrote my new book, Ten Grand, which we officially launched on June 18th. All of these things are both exciting and overwhelming to varying degrees, but it certainly beats being bored.”
‘Is he crazy?’
Heffernan remains closely connected to home.
“I’m very fortunate to have the relationships with my parents I do. It’s honestly one of the hardest things about my life out on the west coast, being apart from them – especially now as I could really use some of that babysitting help. They’re supportive, but I imagine also a bit bemused with my eagerness to take all this on at the same time. I’m sure they’ve more than once asked each other, ‘Is he crazy? Do you think he’s going to be OK?’”
The response to the first book Napalm Hearts was pretty positive and the reviews were kind and it sold a few copies, he adds. There were other bonuses as well.
“I got to do fun stuff like read at Noir at the Bar and go to Left Coast Crime in Vancouver. Almost no one is getting rich writing novels, so I might as well take this for what it is: a creative exercise that’s still really enjoyable. I’m very lucky. I wrote a couple of books that a publisher liked enough to take a chance on, and we set them loose into the world and some people read them. And some of those people even liked them. So all of that is very, very cool.”
As to the sequel, it was a special request he was only more than happy to oblige.
“After I wrote the first one, my publisher was pretty up front about wanting a sequel. I hadn’t really considered it, but Napalm Hearts’ ending definitely suggested there was room for these characters to evolve. When I began outlining the story for Ten Grand I knew there would be changes in store for them –there has to be. If your characters don’t change as a result of the challenges you throw at them, you’re going to bore your readers pretty quickly. All fiction should aspire to creating likeable characters that you make miserable.”
As for his book’s leading man, they still have a close relationship, he teases. 
“I still like writing Thaddeus’ story. He’s always around, and sometimes we chat a bit. I have a good idea of where he might eventually end up, so with this book I gave it a bit more space to explore his past and his long-standing depression. It’s crime fiction, though, so you’re not going to be writing about something like mental health quite the same way as you might in a Nicholas Sparks book. A lot of it is left in between the lines.”
Any aspirations for a third book? He pauses.
A lot going on
“I don’t know what’s next for me as a writer. My publisher wants another book by the end of the year, but I don’t know if that’s possible. As we’ve talked about, there’s a lot going on. But I still like coming up with ideas, crafting plots and making my characters’ lives miserable. I still like the work, the writing. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
Seamus Heffernan’s books can be found at local bookshops and online through Amazon. You can contact him through his website: seamusheffernan.com