Heather Brewer: Leader of the Minion Horde
Posted By Vonna on February 16, 2010
Last night I got to see a real treat—Heather Brewer, author of the popular teen series, The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd, had a book signing at Blue Willow Bookshop, my favorite local book store. The book she was promoting, ELEVENTH GRADE BURNS, is the fourth in the series, and her fans, or minions as she prefers to call them, were thrilled to hear that the release for book five, TWELFTH GRADE KILLS has been moved up to this December. The reason for this rush also got the minions roaring—Heather has a new five book companion series based on the same story but from a different character’s point of view that will be 
launching next year, and that in the fall of 2011 she will be launching yet another YA series called BLOODBOUND.
Heather was an inspiration to the kids, telling them to follow their dreams no matter how many people tell them they can’t. But she also impressed upon them that they should go to college and get a solid degree, because following your dreams without a good back-up plan can lead to misery.
Heather didn’t go to college and she didn’t have a back-up plan. When she finished writing her first book, she sent it out into the world to find an agent or a publisher. She racked up 228 rejections. She finally set that book aside, and wrote a new one. This novel collected 98 rejections before she set that book aside, too. Heather took some time to tell us how she came up with the character for her next book, the lonely teenage vampire who became Vladimir Todd. This time, when she finished and sent out her queries, she told herself that if this one, this book that she loved so much, did not succeed, that 
she would give up her dream. But she worried that without a college education or experience, she would have to settle for whatever “real” job she could get.
With this bleak reality looming over her dreams, Heather sent out queries to eight agents. She received seven offers of representation.
Hoo-yah!
There is so much more that I would like to tell you about Heather’s presentation, but I’ve got to get back to my own work now. But if Heather Brewer is ever having an event near you, be sure not to miss it.
Check out Heather Brewer’s blog for more pictures of this fun and inspiring event. 
What an inspiring start. Everyone gets rejected, but not everyone gets 7 OFFERS! That’s fantastic. I’ll have to check out her books.
Yes, Natalie, I guess the agents could tell right away that the book would be a big hit with middle school boys. By the time my son got through the signing line, he had already read up to chapter five in the new book!
Enjoyed your post–I heard Heather Brewer speak last summer and she is very entertaining. Her persistence in the face of so many rejections is inspiring!
Thanks for stopping in, Ruth! Heather’s story was amazing. Such an inspiration!