Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Ormsby.
Hi Heather, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Fort Collins and grew up in Denver. My family taught me to appreciate books and art and I always knew I would have a life in writing. I studied journalism at Creighton University in Omaha, NE, and that is where I became acquainted with photojournalism and studio photography. My day jobs have been varied and have included doughnut shops, party rentals, sports betting advisors, newspaper internships, libraries, and museums. But my true love has been writing novels and short stories and making photographs.
I have two mystery series, the Rowan O’Donnell Mysteries and PI Rye Gannon Mysteries, that I’m writing and both of them take place in Colorado. Also, much of my short fiction happens in the west. My photography is a blend of travel photography, landscapes, still life, and street photography. I have done open studio and group shows through my contacts with Central Park Artists, and my work can also be found on my website and on Fine Art America.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It’s always a struggle to make ends meet and to still have some energy left over for creative work. Advances in technology were what encouraged me to continue pursuing my projects. Self-publishing and the Indie world gave me hope on getting my work out to people without having to navigate traditional publishers and galleries. I have so many stories and visions inside my head that I want to share them without their being lost behind barriers.
I have also found that I really enjoy learning about publishing and designing covers for books and stories. It’s a way to blend my visual art experience with my storytelling. I do continue to send out my short stories to traditional publishers as a way to get my name out to new audiences. I have a short little Christmas crime story coming out in an anthology this December with Dragon Soul Press that I’m excited about. It’s called Magick and Mistletoe.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My work is all about setting a scene, or even a mood, and telling a story that still leaves a hint of mystery. This is true of both my writing and my photography. When people look at my photographs, I want them to wonder about the place or subject and tell themselves a story about it or to at least wonder about what happened just before or after.
My Rowan O’Donnell Mystery series is an amateur sleuth series whose main character is a professional photographer. My Rye Gannon series is about a PI who discovers that magic is real and she has a talent for sensing magical objects. These are urban fantasy mysteries that I’m having a lot of fun writing.
The short stories I write are varied, from vignettes to ghost stories and westerns. They all start from a kernel of an idea about a setting, situation, or an emotional atmosphere and I follow where the story takes me.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I follow the daily blog of the writer and educator Dean Wesley Smith, and I find inspiration through the writings of Cynthia Morris and her website Original Impulse. She’s a life coach as well as a creative and I look forward to seeing what projects she’s working on next.
I also highly recommend the book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heatherormsby.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherormsby/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHeatherOrmsby or https://www.facebook.com/HeatherOrmsbyphotos/
