“I expect [writing] to take me to cities and towns across the U.S. to meet and greet readers who appreciate good writing, entertaining and (I hope) thought-provoking stories and who enjoy good conversation.“
— C. Heath Johnson
A member of the Writers’ League since 2021, Heath lives in Austin, TX.
Scribe: Welcome, writer! Tell us — what do you write?
C. Heath Johnson: I am the author of eleven books, mostly fiction, mostly novels, all but one available on Amazon.
Scribe: If you could choose one author to blurb your book, who would it be, and what would you want it to say?
CHJ: Tim O’Brien: “Holy Fire is as vivid and enthralling as the real life characters who inspired the story. It is a mystery and a haunted love story, an unsettling glimpse into the bizarre, twisted underworld of supernatural cults and how even the smartest and most skeptical people among us will compromise their values and abandon common sense in search of their own Holy Grail.”
Scribe: You have one book you’re allowed to push onto all of your friends, and they’re forced to read it to remain your friend — which one would you choose?
CHJ: I think Jonathan Livingston Seagull is the book. It’s short, to the point, entertaining, but most of all, if the reader is open to introspection and liberating spiritual ideas, and embraces new ways of being and accessing the powers of imagination, JLS is the key that unlocks all of those doors.
Scribe: Tell us your WLT story.
CHJ: I actually became a member of WLT long ago and often attended the summer agents workshops.
Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?
CHJ: I expect it to take me to cities and towns across the U.S. to meet and greet readers who appreciate good writing, entertaining and (I hope) thought-provoking stories and who enjoy good conversation. If it also takes me to the bank a little more often to make modest deposits, that would be a nice bonus.
Scribe: Here at the WLT, we love sharing book recommendations. What’s one book that has come out within the past few years that you couldn’t put down? (Bonus points if the book is Texas related!)
CHJ: Not quite within the last year, but absolutely a page-turner for me was Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne.
Scribe: Is there anything else about you that you would like to share with the world? An opportunity for blatant self-promotion!
CHJ: I am what the New Agers call a “Wanderer.” I’m not sure what that means exactly, but I can say that much of what I write about is based upon my own experiences and, of course, people I have known. Angels, Ghosts, and Harley-Davidsons, for example, is a fast-paced adventure road novel that involves motorcycles, pregnant Mexican hookers, beloved sons, peyote-soaked Woodstock refugees, east coast criminals, the LDS church, and the far-flung southwestern U.S. desert– all of which I have personally experienced. Holy Fire is based upon religious cults, desperate disciples, phony faith healers, and miracles for the ordinary schlep, again, all based on personal experience. And Billy Quirk—my comedy take on the goofball nerd who exists in us all—that self-deprecating voice within us that tells us we don’t measure up and should just crawl back under our rock, only to discover in the end that it’s not us who are out of step with life . . . it’s everybody else who’s gone over the edge!
Scribe: Where can our readers find more of you?
CHJ: My blog, “Marcher Seul Sur La Route,” is at https://cheathjohnson.blogspot.com, and I am on Facebook under, surprisingly enough, “Heath Johnson.” I refuse to participate in any other social media platforms.
