Grief is a powerful force. The loss of a loved one can tear families apart … or in some cases, it can bring unexpected people together for life.
Heather Bell Adams’ 2017 debut novel, Maranatha Road, dives deeply into the inextricable pairing of loss and love. When Sadie Caswell’s son dies shortly before his wedding, a young stranger shows up claiming she’s pregnant with his child. What follows is a raw and rare, honest look at two Southern women struggling to move forward through their grief.
It’s rare that a debut novel garner as much critical praise as Maranatha Road. The book has been reviewed by a number of our favorite regional authors, in addition to being nominated for several literary awards. The novel was a finalist for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award and Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction, and it was a winner of the Knoxville Writers’ Guild Contest and gold medal winner of the 2018 IPPY awards for the Southeast Region.
Maranatha Road also captured the attention of AVL Lit Tour’s own Jimmy MacKenzie. He spoke with Heather about her start as a writer, the regional locales that influenced the novel, and her place in the Southern literary tradition.
JIMMY MACKENZIE: Heather, you’ve won a handful of prestigious awards for your shorts stories and book. When did you begin writing and how did you know you wanted to be an author?
HEATHER BELL ADAMS: Growing up, I wrote for the school newspaper and tinkered around with some short stories. When I was at Duke University, I majored in English, was a guest columnist for The Chronicle, and wrote short stories, although I never did much with them. I applied to a creative writing course but was turned down. So I went to law school. That’s a joke; I was headed to law school anyway. But in the back of my mind I knew I’d like to continue honing my creative writing. With my legal job, I prepare briefs for the court. In that type of writing, virtually every sentence must be supported by a citation to factual evidence or case law. Creative writing, on the other hand, offers the freedom to play and experiment.
JIMMY: I understand Maranatha Road is your first book. Why that title? What sort of literary meaning or symbolism does that sew through the story?
HEATHER: The original title was Hold String and Fly, taken from advice that Tinley’s father gives her. When my agent recommended that I select a new title, I came up with Maranatha Road. The word “maranatha,” loosely translated from Aramaic, means hope is coming. Since much of the story deals with grief, I liked the idea of an optimistic title to hint at the light around the bend. Since my mother died when I was in high school, it’s perhaps no surprise that my first novel explored the concept of grief. But like Sadie and Tinley, I’m a firm believer that there’s light to be found even in dark times.
JIMMY: Tell us how your hometown of Hendersonville, North Carolina, plays a role in this book.
HEATHER: The fictional setting of Garnet is based on a combination of Hendersonville, my home town, and the communities of Tuxedo and Zirconia, where many of my ancestors are from. In stitching together the fictional Garnet, I tried to combine certain aspects of those places so that readers would get the feel of them even if they’ve never visited.
JIMMY: Are there any specific places or locations from Hendersonville that you intentionally wrote into Maranatha Road? If so, what makes these locations so poignant in your memories?
HEATHER: Fans of Hendersonville may recognize some references to downtown, the Curb Market—where my grandmother Bell used to take us—and surrounding spots. And although the specific camp in the book is fictional, I made sure to mention both summer camps and apple orchards. I also reference the gemstones that can be found in the area. Growing up, our dad would take my sister, Melissa, and me to the Henderson County Gem and Mineral Show every year during the North Carolina Apple Festival.
The bridge in the story is inspired by—although different from—the Peter Guice Memorial Bridge. According to family gossip, my parents on one of their first dates toured the site while the bridge was being built.
JIMMY: Who were your writing influences while growing up and today?
HEATHER: Growing up, I routinely searched the library shelves for books by Agatha Christie and Zilpha Keatley Snyder.
Currently, my favorite writers are Ron Rash, Robert Morgan, Amy Greene, Elizabeth Strout, Kim Church, Wiley Cash, Tayari Jones, Silas House, Leesa Cross-Smith, Taylor Brown, Terry Roberts, and Colum McCann.
JIMMY: How does it feel that your book is being so widely lauded and accepted as a continuation of a long and deep literary tradition, both in the south and particularly North Carolina?
HEATHER: Our area of the country has such a strong literary tradition and I try not to take that for granted. Thanks to the North Carolina Writers’ Network, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from—and be inspired by—some of our literary greats, including Jill McCorkle, who recently spoke at a conference in Greensboro. Honestly, I’m flattered to even be mentioned in the conversation.
JIMMY: If you could recommend reading one book, besides your own, what would it be?
HEATHER: Bloodroot by Amy Greene. I love both the novel, which is beautiful and evocative and moving, and the author, who has been such an encouragement to me.
JIMMY: What are the best ways for people to keep up with your writing and to find your books?
HEATHER: You can find me at heatherbelladams.com, on Facebook (Heather Bell Adams), Instagram (Heather Bell Adams), or Twitter (@heatherbelladam).
About Heather Bell Adams
Heather Bell Adams is from Western North Carolina, which is where she based her first novel Maranatha Road, published by West Virginia University Press in 2017. She graduated from Hendersonville High School in 1992 and now lives with her husband and son in Raleigh. In addition to writing, she also practices law, focusing on financial services litigation.
Heather Bell Adams’ next novel, The Good Luck Stone, published by Haywire Books, is due out Summer 2020. The novel features a matriarch of Savannah society, Audrey Thorpe, who suddenly disappears when a secret she’s kept since World War II begins to unravel.
Fun fact: Audrey’s caretaker, Laurel, is from Western North Carolina. We can’t wait to read this one too!