My guest today is Heidi Herman, author of several books including her most recent “On with the Butter, Spread more living into everyday life’. Inspired by her 94 year old mother who at the time of her death was still writing of her experiences in her final work ‘Never Too Late”, Heidi has written this motivational book which includes ideas and encouragement to find activities and experiences to enjoy life especially after retirement.
During the conversation we discussed:
- The fear of retirement experienced by many
- YOLO
- Taking opportunities
- Taking time for the experience
- Her inspiring 94 year old mother
Listen to the Podcast
Watch on YouTube
Meet Heidi
Heidi Herman was born and raised in Central Illinois, but her passion and a common theme in her writing is her Icelandic heritage. After a 30-year career in business, where she authored magazine articles, white papers, and technical assessment reports, Heidi turned to fiction writing full-time, inspired by her mother’s example. In the winter of 2012, her mother, Íeda Jónasdóttir Herman, published a childhood memoir, which featured some of Iceland’s folklore. Heidi was immersed in childhood memories of the Scandinavian legends, lore, and imaginative stories. The myth of Iceland’s troll-like Christmas characters – Jólasveinar – sparked the imagination of many readers and led to Heidi writing her first book, “The Legend of the Icelandic Yule Lads.”
It was followed by two more books on Icelandic folklore: “The Guardians of Iceland and Other Icelandic Folk Tales” and “The Icelandic Yule Lads Mayhem at the North Pole.” In 2017, she co-authored and Icelandic cookbook, “Homestyle Icelandic Cooking for American Kitchens” with her mother, Íeda Jónasdóttir Herman, which won a US category in The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards that year. Heidi published her debut novel, “Her Viking Heart”, in 2018 and it was named the 2018 Foreward INDIES Book of the Year Gold Winner – Romance Category.
Her newest work, “On with The Butter: Spread More Living onto Everyday Life” was inspired when Heidi worked to complete her mother’s final work, “Never Too Late.” Íeda Jónasdóttir Herman (1925-2019) was 94 years old and had completed a year of new experiences to prove a person is never too old to enjoy life. That message, along with her mother’s example, led Heidi to write this new motivational book with ideas and encouragement on how anyone can find those activities and experiences.
Heidi currently lives in South Dakota but snowbirds south in the winter to Arizona. In addition to writing, she loves Scandinavian festivals, cooking, photography, travel, and exploring the outdoors. She is a member of the Women Fiction Writers Association and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.
Readers can connect with Heidi Herman on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads. To learn more, go to www.heidihermanauthor.com
5 Comments
Hi, Sue – Thank you for another excellent interview. I had previously read a review of ‘On With the Butter’ on The Widow BadAss blog. I was intrigued. Your interview with Heidi helped to fill if further gaps for me. Her concepts shared make great sense. I look forward to reading more.
Hi Donna, I really enjoyed reading Heidi’s books and the special memories she was making with her Mum. I also liked that at the end of each chapter, she included details on where they had visited and how to get there etc. xx
This sounds like a great interview. Can’t wait to listen. Thank you , Sue, for introducing such an interesting woman with such an inspiring mother.
Heidi was delightful, Sue-Anne and I am very blessed to be meeting such interesting and inspiring women – you are included in that circle too! x
Paragliding at 88!! What a woman.