Leaving a Mark on the World with Words
“Even the biggest avalanche starts with one snowflake.”
I still remember the moment I first became involved in fighting injustice.
Author Heather Huffman and a copy of Throwaway at the book's launch party in 2010
Up until then, I’d been busy raising kids and trying to keep our family’s head above water.
But when I learned about a school that had been burned to the ground because of religious intolerance, I knew in my heart I had to help rebuild it. I organized a Christmas-time silent auction to benefit proVISION INDIA, a small group out of Bangalore, India that’s dedicated to empowering the impoverished throughout Southeast Asia.
Despite the fears I’d built up leading to the event, the silent auction was a success.
In the spring, I put together a plant sale for the same cause, which also did surprisingly well. From those first steps, not only did a lasting relationship with proVISION INDIA grow, but I was able to plug into larger organizations with an even greater reach, like World Vision.
About the time I was becoming involved with these organizations, I was also finding myself again as a writer. After years of silence, I’d committed to honing my craft and finally realizing my dream to publish a novel. I think the timing of the two events comes through in the stories I write; social justice is always at the heart of my books.
Heather Huffman, US Author
When I look back over that period in my life, it’s almost eerie how everything came together. Research I did for the novel Throwaway was opening my eyes to an entire world I’d never known existed – modern day slavery. Again I knew I somehow had to become involved in the fight.
Something in the back of my mind kept repeating that my books should be a voice for the voiceless, but I had no idea how to accomplish that.
It just so happened that while I was trying to figure out what to do, I was invited to a symposium on human trafficking. It was a day long event that armed me with facts and clarified how I could best use my talents to make a dent in this enormous problem. I decided that day to give away indie versions of my books to raise awareness.
Throwaway by US Author, Heather Huffman
Many of those around me thought I was nuts. But those books were downloaded more than 50,000 times over the next year, and I began to hear from readers around the world. One even asked if she could translate my work into Russian.
From that one crazy act sprang a much larger movement. As people—former foster children, rescued slaves, survivors of abuse—reached out to me with their stories, I knew I’d made the right decision.
It was also through my readers that I first learned of the groups Project Liberty and LiNK (Liberty in North Korea). I have since joined forces with them in the fight against human trafficking.
Combining these new friendships and those initial partnerships with proVISION INDIA and World Vision, I’m now able to use the books to tackle slavery from several angles.
Something else happened because of the momentum – I was contacted by a newer publisher out of Seattle called Booktrope. They were pioneering a new publishing model that could survive and thrive in the changing book market.
Ring of Fire was released in December 2011
Not only are the first four now proudly sporting the Booktrope imprint, the fifth book, Ring of Fire, was released in December. I’m currently working on the upcoming release of Tumbleweed, the prequel to Throwaway. Though the publisher now charges for the books, my reach has grown exponentially. In the first six weeks following its re-release, Throwaway alone was downloaded 150,000 times. I have committed to give a portion of my book royalties to the organizations I work with.
Currently, my publisher is also helping me line up Leave your Mark Graffiti Parties across the country. More than a book signing, graffiti parties also serve to raise awareness for human trafficking and help inform others how they can get involved. Often, these events are held in cooperation with one of the non-profits I partner with as fundraising opportunities.
Looking back, it’s surreal how far I’ve come on this journey. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Have you aligned your writing with a cause?
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Keep up with author Heather Huffman on Heather Huffman’s Facebook Author Page. Visit her book website www.heatherhuffman.net, her Amazon Author site or contact her on Twitter @Heathers_Mark.
Category: Contemporary Women Writers, Women Writing Fiction
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It’s always inspiring to read a background story like this – not least because injustices have served to light a fire of doing something about them rather than sitting back and watching it all helplessly unfold before you and wringing your hands and basically muttering “Well yes, but I can’t do anything about it…”
In a very real sense, this is also a lesson that writers of fiction could learn when it comes to writing strong, real, vivid characters for their readers to identify with – people who ACT rather than react, and whose actions have measurable consequences.
I will have to keep an eye out for your work.
Alma,
Thanks for stopping by and for your comment. I sincerely hope my characters do just that. One of the greatest things about the path I’m currently on is meeting all of the amazing people who’ve stepped up to fight human trafficking, knowing that they are simply everyday people who refused to wring their hands and wait for someone else to fix the problem. They are an inspiration to me! ~Heather
Dear Heather,
I, too, have aligned my writing with a cause. My book, “We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust,” began with a personal journey into the land of my Jewish forebears — just to see that ancestral spot, to fill a hole in my heart left by my mother’s death.
Soon, however, I found myself in unexpected terrain — meeting brave people who, in a place scarred by conflict, are reaching across cultural barriers, challenging age-old prejudices, exhuming a difficult past in order to build a better future.
The “cause” of encouraging people to honor their heritage without perpetuating the fears and hatreds of the past — even in so fraught a territory as the Holocaust — became all-consuming to me. As a writer, I came to feel that my mission was not only to tell my family story, but to help people open their eyes and their hearts to others.
As you describe, it’s been a fulfilling path — more than I ever dreamed.
Hi Ellen! What an interesting journey you’ve been on. Often, meeting the real-life people who inspire my characters is the most rewarding part of my own journey, too. Helping people open their eyes and hearts to others is a noble cause. Good luck on your path!
Heather
Hi Heather,
You asked: Have you aligned your writing with a cause?
Short answer: yes. 🙂 I have said to some people that my first two books (non-fiction) contains my mind, my thought. My third (and first work of fiction) contains my heart and soul. All three are inspired – directly or indirectly – by the same real-life events, which is India’s partition. It was a calamitous period, but at the same time many of the people involved and who were there had some seriously bold ideas and visions for the future. I was moved by their belief (which is alive and kicking to this day)that anything is possible.
That idealistic and noble emotional content found its way into my fiction. Much of what you have said resonates with me – though I can’t claim to be nearly as proactive as you. I take my hat off to you.
Hi Saleena! I’m sorry I didn’t see your comment sooner. I agree completely – when we write fiction, often our heart and soul is in it, and that is a cause in and of itself. Thanks for the comment!