Heather Davis has a finely tuned snarky side, which she uses on a daily basis to save her sanity. She is married to a very patient husband, and together they have two very entertaining daughters. Her writing has appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul and she’s a producer for the Listen To Your Mother-OKC show. Oversharing My Life, a collection of humorous essays, is her debut book. She and her family live in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where she chronicles her life on her blog.
MTAR: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Heather Davis: By day, I’m a middle school English teacher; by night I share (overshare) the craziness that happens in between those times. I have two daughters, who keep me running around town to golf practice, softball practice, play practice and any place else that requires practice as well.
MTAR: What do you do when you are not writing?
Heather Davis: I’m hanging with my family. We love sports (watching and playing). I like to read. And, of course, I allow way too much of my time to be sucked away by Facebook.
MTAR: What inspired you to write your first book?
Heather Davis: When I was a new mom, I had no idea the craziness that would ensue just by having kids. I had visions of The Huxstable family running through my head and life was not like that at all. Initially, I was bothered by this, but I learned to give into the crazy and roll with it and found out that life is not perfect, but it is perfectly funny. So, I started sharing the funniness that happened and heard from others who said, “Thank goodness the insanity is not just me!” At that point, I wanted to share with others so they knew it was alright that the kids chalked all over the fireplace. They were not alone.
MTAR: How did you choose the genre you write in?
Heather Davis: I guess I’m a voyuer. I love to read memoirs and humor and essays. I like the real-life stuff. So, when I decided to start writing in earnest, I wrote what I loved. Now that I’ve got a book out, I guess that makes me an exhibitionist.
MTAR: Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?
Heather Davis: In this day and age of blogging, everyone has a story to tell and my genre is flooded–it’s flooded with good stuff, though. Lots of funny happens in the world every single day. Finding someone who was willing to take a chance and add one more humor book to the world’s bookshelves was my goal. With the ever-changing face of publishing, I wasn’t sure which route I wanted to go: I liked the idea of an agent, but I wanted to be very involved in the decisions about my work, so I wasn’t sure that was the route I would go. I knew very little about the publishing ins and outs, so I wasn’t sure that independent-publishing was my road of choice either. I have long loved the small publishers, though. So, I sought out small publishing houses and found a fit with Buzz Books USA–they were fresh, they had great covers and they were all over marketing. Then I stalked their publisher and editor relentlessly and found that I really, really liked them both. Strike that. I loved them both. I pitched them and we’re living happily ever after.
MTAR: Can you tell us about your upcoming book?
Heather Davis: Oversharing My Life is a collection of humorous essays about parenting, marriage and life in general. It’s the first in a series of four books–all humor–in which, I overshare and give my readers way too much information.
MTAR: How did you come up with the title?
Heather Davis: I originally wanted to call it “Amateur Momma” but when you google that, porny things pop up. My publisher, who is very forward thinking (thank goodness!), decided that’s not where we wanted to send our readers. So, they decided on TMI Mom as my brand or series name and we thought about a good title that would convey the fact that I overshare my life … and there it was!
MTAR: Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
Heather Davis: In my second book (due out this fall), I examine the notion of keeping romance alive with kids. Wait. That’s not what I meant to say. I examine the notion of keeping romance alive AFTER you HAVE children. It was a very fun book to research! (wink, wink) My older daughter is in her first year at middle school and I think that eventually, when I can “look back and laugh,” I’d like to write about that.
MTAR: What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
Heather Davis: “Is this supposed to be funny?” Obviously, if someone asks that, my humor wasn’t clear. That’s a tough pill to swallow for someone looking for the laughs.
MTAR: What has been the best compliment?
Heather Davis: “My face hurts from laughing so much.” I don’t look to hurt people, but I do want them to have a great time reading my books.
MTAR: Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Heather Davis: Everyone has a story to tell–tell it. Write and write and write some more. If you find it to be bad, write it again. If you don’t tell your story, no one else will.
MTAR: Dogs or Cats?
Heather Davis: We have two cats, Sheldon and Leonard. Sheldon is right now pawing through my hair. It feels kind of good, so I’m not going to stop him. We also have two dogs, Bo and JJ. Since it looks like rain, Bo is licking the back door hoping to be let in, and JJ is leaping through the yard waiting on the fun to start.
MTAR: What book are you reading now?
Heather Davis: Silver Lining Play Book–I’m not very far into it, but I like it. I haven’t seen the movie yet; I want to read the book first. ALWAYS read the book first. Next up is The Lion Is In by Delia Ephron. I saw her in Tulsa last month and she’s such a cool chick.
MTAR: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Heather Davis: I have a really great support group: Denise, Marilyn and Jennifer. They read through the rough drafts of all my writings and are honest and open and have great suggestions.
MTAR: Do you see writing as a career?
Heather Davis: Absolutely! I wish I could do it full time, but we’ve become accustomed to electricity and food and stuff, so I’ll continue to write in my spare time for now.
MTAR: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Heather Davis: In the fourth grade, I was very into Encyclopedia Brown and decided then I was going to write a book. I wrote a table of contents and scared myself silly and didn’t write again until my ninth grade year. I just like writing and always have. Writing humor, however, came from three things: reading Erma Bombeck in middle school; Celia Rivebark, who is my humor hero; and, my friends who tell me that I’m a pretty funny chick.
MTAR: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Heather Davis: Aside from finding the time, writing is a fun activity that I really enjoy.
MTAR: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Heather Davis: I read and re-read Celia Rivenbark. She’s honest and open and witty and funny. She makes you laugh and think at the same time. That’s a great talent.
MTAR: Who designed the covers?
Heather Davis: Malena Lott, the publisher at Buzz Books USA does the design. She’s great! It’s one of the things that attracted me to Buzz Books.
MTAR: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Heather Davis: Putting it all together. I started this first book about a dozen times and each time, I started it in a new document. I realized that I really had great stories that all worked together under the umbrella of funny and merging them proved to be hard stuff.
MTAR: Do you work with an outline, or just write?
Heather Davis: Oversharing My Life was just written. I’d sit down at the computer each night and just write about our day. With Fooling Around (book two), and Crazy on Board (book three, about traveling with kids) I’m working, not from an outline but from a list.