I am honored today to share my interview with Heather Carter, a new-found friend and fellow children’s book author. I am convinced we became connected through an act of Providence, and I believe you will be inspired by her testimony and her faith. To date Heather has published two picture books in her Tails of Ivy Lane series, and she is currently working on a chapter book for older kids. Here’s an excerpt from her bio:

As a mama of four beautiful children, a daughter and twin boys whom she still has the blessing of holding and a three-year-old daughter waiting for her in Heaven, author Heather Carter has self-published her second book in the Tails of Ivy Lane series, Eden and Emmet, following Sadie’s Stitches with hopes of fostering unforgettable memories while reading aloud as a family. She is currently working on a chapter book for older kids. As a homeschool mama, Heather understands the need for rich children’s literature that fosters positive character development and strong sibling relationships. She enjoys reading, writing, but NOT arithmetic. She and her family make their home in Middle Tennessee.

Q: Heather, please tell us a little about your background and how you became interested in writing children’s books.

A: Before I learned to read, I had numerous Mother Goose Nursery rhymes memorized from the time my own mother spent reading to me. My grandmother, who owned and operated a Christian bookstore, later gifted me my first journal, and I haven’t stopped writing since. Despite choosing a career in medicine, I never lost my love of literature and writing. When my twin boys were just babies, I trepidatiously began my blog, Muddy Water Mama, hoping to encourage other women in their faith and motherhood. As my boys grew and we added two more daughters to our family, I would compose silly little songs and rhymes about our days. Read-aloud time was (and still is) a favorite for all of us. A few years ago the idea to write four stories, one for each of my children, began brewing. I wanted their stories to be about specific positive character traits and strong sibling bonds. Sadie’s Stitches came to life first after one of my daughters brought me her torn stuffed bunny rabbit. I’m not very domestic and have had much more suture training than sewing experience. Thus, I took the bunny to work, grabbed a suture kit, and “stitched” her little leg back on. My daughters were delighted by their bunny’s experience with Dr. Mom. 

Q: These two picture books focus on typical relationships between young siblings. Having grown up with a sister close in age, I can easily relate to your characters’ struggles to play nice and share and tell the truth. Tell us more about your characters Sadie and Eden and Emmet.

A: The Tails of Ivy Lane series is a five-book series in the making. Each of the four bunny children represents each of my four children. Sadie, in Sadie’s Stitches, is a beloved stuffed toy who finds herself in the middle of a sisterly quarrel. As a result, Sadie suffers an injury and the two sisters work together to find creative and comedic ways to remedy the problem. With no success they decide to enlist Mama’s help. The little bunny sisters learn more than one valuable lesson within the story. Even amid their scuffle and ensuing problem solving, the love they have for one another is woven throughout the story—much like my own girls’ story. 

In Eden and Emmet I wanted to focus on the themes of honesty and forgiveness. One of my sons had specific memories he wanted to include in this story which tied in perfectly. In this story, little Eden dearly loves her big brother Emmet, but so assured of his love for her, she often blames him for things he did not do as a way to avoid consequences herself. While Emmet learns the power of forgiveness, Eden learns “the truth about lies.”

Q: What other Tails of Ivy Lane stories do you have planned for the future?

A: My family and I consider Sadie’s Stitches to be my youngest daughter’s story. Sadly, Abigail suddenly passed away at three-years-young, and I never got to read it to her. After her death I read it to my other children without illustrations or telling them where it came from. They loved it, were extremely supportive, and readily agreed it needed illustrations. Publishing this story became something we could all do for our beloved Abigail. My three other children provided lots of input on the illustrations and future storylines.  

After such a devastating loss we devoured grief literature for children. While we found some precious resources, we quickly found a gap; there’s very little out there specific to sibling loss for young children. Thus, the purpose of the Tails of Ivy Lane series has morphed into something I never imagined. Initially I had only planned for four stories, but the series now has five books with number three (currently with the illustrator) introducing death and loss of a sibling. It follows the immediate time surrounding tragedy starting with daddy bunny painfully telling the other children what has happened and walking children through much of what often happens in the first days and weeks after such a profound loss. My hope is to provide a safe setting for parents and children to ask questions and talk about what that time holds. Books four and five will each address separate waves of grief: sadness and anger. 

As a grieving mama parenting grieving children, my prayer is for other siblings experiencing deep loss to find solidarity, hope, comfort, and permission to be honest about their grief in the pages of our stories from a biblical worldview. 

Q: Your books contain beautiful illustrations by Elizabeth Rose Hoffman. As a reader and a musician, I love the first page in Eden and Emmet where two siblings are “off doing their thing: one reading a book, one learning to sing.” How did you connect with Elizabeth, and do you have a favorite illustration from your two books?

A: I cannot be prevailed upon to choose a favorite image; I am in love with them all! Elizabeth’s talent amazes me! Her book, Here I’m Happy, was one of my older daughter’s favorite grief books; she was captivated by the exquisite illustrations. Elizabeth is a friend of a friend, and unbeknownst to me, this mutual friend (the one person I shared Sadie’s Stitches with before publishing) passed our story on to Elizabeth, which resulted in our connection. What a blessing it has been to connect with her. I grew up on Beatrix Potter, thus I couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty of her art. She can be found on Instagram or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@elizabethrosehoffman) where she chronicled the process of children’s storybook illustration while working through Sadie’s Stitches. My artistic children LOVED watching her YouTube videos on the making of our first book. 

Q: What advice do you have for others who might be considering the self-publishing route?

A: Don’t give up. If the Lord has placed a story on your heart, pray about the means, method, and motivation behind the writing. Seek out others who have gone before you. Allow others to proof and edit your work many times over. I’m so grateful for the people who have fed into me at various stages on the writing journey.

Q: In Eden and Emmet (both books actually) you reference Lamentations 3:21-24 as you share a little about the loss of your daughter Abigail. How has this scripture comforted you, and what words of comfort or other scripture passages would you share with others who might have experienced similar situations?

A:”Where can I go but to the Lord?” I am hard pressed to pick one particular scripture, but this particular passage reminds me of the truth of God’s great love when grief and anguish threaten to consume me. “His compassions never fail. They are new every morning.” “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.” The entirety of God’s Word has been my comfort. “Press in. Cry out.” That’s become my mantra of sorts. I found a particular appreciation for and was drawn to the Old Testament after Abigail passed away. Scripture is filled with so much sorrow and lament which often escapes our attention until we are walking in our own valley of death’s shadow. Scripture doesn’t shy away from the hard things, nor does God insist we “get over it.” In the acute days and weeks after her death, I bathed in the Psalms; they echoed many cries of my own broken heart. I swam in the deep waters of Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Habakuk—making my own “even if” list. I’ve often said, “Misery loves company—not for the sake of being miserable—but for the sake of solidarity.” Scripture gives us that solidarity laced with the Hope of Heaven. Press in. Cry out.

Q: What is the main message you feel God is leading you to share with others through your
writing?

A: Because I write for adults on my blog and for children within the Tails of Ivy Lane, my overarching prayer and purpose in writing is threefold: 1. Honor and glorify God. 2. Steward my sorrow well. 3. Encourage others in faith and grief. I have these three things written in my journal and come back to them often.

Q: How can readers purchase your books?

A: Sadie’s Stitches and Eden and Emmet are available on Amazon, and both books can also be ordered from the Barnes and Noble website. 

Thank you, Heather, for inspiring us with your books and your message of hope.

As I mentioned earlier, I believe my connection with Heather was purposeful, and God caused our paths to cross. My book Look for the Pink Ribbons, an allegory about the death of my mother, brought us together, and now Heather serves as one of my biggest inspirations!

Heather would be honored to hear from readers via email at muddywatermama@gmail.com. You can connect with her on Facebook as Heather Carter, Children’s Book Author, and on Instagram as muddywatermama. She can also be found through her blog at muddywatermama.blogspot.com, where she vulnerably chronicles life as a follower of Christ seeking to parent, live, and grieve with hope.

Joyce McCullough

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