Samantha Heuwagen and I, in keeping with the pandemic’s restrictions, are meeting virtually today. She is a bilingual marriage and family therapist and best-selling author based in Atlanta, GA. When not working with clients, she sparks discussion about mental health with the goal to spread awareness across the United States and beyond by challenging the popular discourse surrounding mental illness and making it more inclusive. As a multicultural heterosexual thirty-something middle class American bilingual cisgender woman with an invisible disability, Samantha has been passionate about sharing her knowledge through storytelling. Her science fiction debut, The Starless Series, combines her passion for activism and discussions around mental health and sex positivity to create a feminist sci-fi series. Dawn Among the Stars was nominated for the 2019 Georgia Author of Year Award in the First Novel category. By creating a meaningful connection with her clients and readers, Samantha is able to offer a safe space for expression and exploration to help organize the chaos that is life in and out of session. She believes the best way to help create change is through frank discussion about difficult topics without judgement. Samantha does this through the written word and through her activism.
SS: Can you share a bit about your background?
SH I’m a licensed Marriage and Family therapist with a specialty in Sex Therapy. I practice just outside of Atlanta, GA with a diverse caseload. Most of my clients are multicultural and experience trouble surrounding healthy relationships, life transitions, and trying to find their authentic selves. At first, I didn’t see the connection between my self-care practice of writing, until I realized that my work revolves around stories. And the best way to connect with others? By telling stories. The Starless Series takes on what it means to be human and how we can get through anything by connecting with each other and supporting realistic depictions of mental health in media.
SS: Did anything in your past push you to write about your book and the conflict(s) in it?
SH: Recently, while doing work with my own therapist, we’ve connected several areas of my past that have been seemingly processed with my written work. My husband was shocked, saying, “You really didn’t see that before?” No, I honestly thought I was just creating, releasing stress, living day by day by writing what I wanted to see in science fiction. Now, I can see my hopes for the future, I can see how I’ve processed and made peace with various life disappointments, and even come to terms with some grief and loss I’d been holding onto. Creating the series has given me so much to be thankful for and helped introduce me to a happier and healthier version of me.
SS: What would you say is your biggest failure in life? Has it appeared in your works?
SH: My greatest failure in life is not having a close and healthy relationship with my sisters. I wish I could, but it’s not possible at this time. However, the familial relationships you see in my work reflect my hope for the future. I’ll always have hope that we can make peace with the past so it doesn’t steal our future.
SS: I sympathize with your feelings. My relationship with my father was always strained. I finally realized I’d done all I could to resolve the situation—and just let go. Do you have a day job? If so, is it a distraction, or does it add another element to your writing?
SH: I wouldn’t call my practice a distraction, but it’s differently growing and my focus right now––especially during Covid-19. I love my job and can’t see myself being able to write without it. They definitely work well together; I just have to make the time for both so neither get jealous.
SS: If you could write about anyone, fictional or nonfictional, who would you write about?
SH: I would want to write about Benjamin Franklin. I’ve been thinking about him a lot and I want to know more about how his mind worked. I’m sure there are a lot of bibliographies about him, but what made him tick? Why did he do so much? Was he ever bored? As a therapist I have a lot of questions for him and my unique spin on his life could be fun.
SS: I think I’d go for Albert Einstein. I was always the weirdo in college—the only student in the dorm who had a bust of Einstein on her desk. If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?
SH: I love this question. Gone with the Wind by Margret Mitchell for sure––rework the one-dimensional characters and flush out the inner workings of each character without losingthe feeling of the time. It’s a unique story since it’s a snap shot at two times in historythat are problematic in so many ways (1860-70s and 1930s). I would want to make it multicultural and honor the stories all of involved, not just focus on the white savior.
SS: I rarely read my book reviews. I usually forget they’re there. I have a couple of one- and two-star reviews that irk me simply because they were posted on Goodreads before the book was even released and the reviewers were obviously trolls. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones? Does a bad one affect your writing?
SH:I used to read reviews, but now I forget about them––they’re not for me, they’re for my readers. My first one-star review for Dawn Among the Stars was so epic that it’s still something I think about and laugh. It really is the world’s best (heated) review, and I’m happy it’s mine. So epic.
SS: Describe your books in three words:
SH: Multicultural, feminist, heart-filled.
SS: Favorite thing about your genre?
SH: You can make anything up and if done right, it’s awesome.
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Stardust Emerging and the rest of the Starless Series is available through:
Amazon | B&N | Universal Buy url
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An excerpt from Stardust Emerging:
“Why did you change your mind about the Shielders, Dom?” I asked him, trying to stop playing with the sore in my mouth. I’d rubbed it raw a few days ago, and now it was bothering me to no end.
“What are you on about?” He turned to face me, his features almost hidden in the moonlight.
Dominique Fuller and I were on lookout duty on the far side of Mackinac Island again, sitting in the cool Michigan summer darkness and waiting to be relieved from our duties. We still had an hour or two more of our watch, but time dragged on as exhaustion edged closer. While we waited, we took turns asking each other bizarre or personal questions to help pass the time. I’d enjoyed getting to know him better in tonight’s chat.
Besides, over the last few months, he’d grown closer to my sister, Mabel. As any big sister would do, I’d grilled him with questions surrounding his love life before the coming of aliens. If he was uncomfortable, he never showed it.
“When you first stormed into our lives way back when, you almost killed Clairfic.” His name caught on my tongue. The feeling of fire ants crawled over my skin in irritation, my cloudy feelings bubbling under the surface. I set them aside, trying to keep my tone as even possible.
I didn’t want to think about him or what happened.
Faking a cough to try to hide my blunder, I continued, “You were so mad my family could befriend an alien in the beginning, we all thought you might, you know, kill him and take us prisoner. What’s changed over the last few months?”
He chuckled, the sound echoing through the night. “I don’t know… I still don’t like them, but what other choice do I have right now?” He paused, shifting his weight to rest his hunting rifle on his other shoulder. “We’re stuck on an island in the middle of a war no one can escape from. That doesn’t leave me very many choices, does it? I guess I just changed to survive.”
Through the dim moonlight, I tried to study his face, searching for a clue to his true feelings. If he was lying, it didn’t show. Instead I could’ve sworn compassion, and perhaps some understanding, broke through his normally rough façade.
Dom’s thick beard had grown in, becoming tattered at the ends. He refused to do anything about his rugged appearance, stating that wasting precious resources to keep himself tidy was stupid. Though his outfit––half La’Mursian, half Human––was in pristine condition. Heaven help him if he was caught in a dirty uniform. Years of his Army training was evident in his pin-straight posture and ever-searching eyes as he scouted the horizon.
He turned, his hawk-like stare catching mine. “Why are you asking me this? Think I’ll turn rogue and fight with the other side?”
I laughed, my own voice echoing off the trees. “No, of course not. I’m just curious.”
He snorted.
“What? I am!”
“Does this have anything to do with Clairfic?” he asked.
I froze, the question catching me off guard. Though my family had tried to get me to talk about my breakup with Clairfic, I’d refused every time. Eventually, they’d given up, leaving me to figure out my feelings alone. Just the way I wanted it.
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Samantha can be found here on social media:
