Success Story with Alie Dumas-Heidt

Early Stumbles

Finishing what I lovingly referred to as my detective story was a life goal I had to follow through with. Even when it was just a few chapters living inside a computer that was living at the top of my closet, I swore I’d get back to it one day. What I was going to do after I finished was up in the air.

I was a police dispatcher when I started it and worked in the international container shipping world when I finished it, without a single connection to the writing or publishing industry. I had a dozen copies of the first draft printed for my book club ladies and a few friends and thought that might be as far as it went.

Landing that big break into publishing seemed like such a far-out-there idea for someone like me—no experience, no degree, no connections. That Longfellow award from my sixth-grade teacher doesn’t carry much clout. I didn’t know what to do next. Then, in 2014, my husband signed me up for a writing conference in Las Vegas, while I was debating if I was writer enough to attend. That conference changed everything.

The Breakthrough

The writing conference included an unexpected surprise: I won a review of the first ten pages of my novel from one of the panelists. It was the same pages I’d sent the agents I’d already queried, and so far, they’d all rejected me, so I was prepared to be eaten alive. In my mind, I was being judged by someone who had the degree, the published books, and the talent to call herself a writer.

We found a quiet enough spot to sit and I braced myself for what I knew was coming. Instead of dashing my dreams, she said five words that sparked everything I did next: You are a real writer. We talked process and next steps, she gave me advice, and I took all of it, including sitting down with her agent who was hearing pitches that weekend.

It meant so much to be viewed as a peer in that sit down and to hear someone who wasn’t my mom or married to me say I could do this. We’re still in touch, she’s still willing to help when I need it, and now we also share an agent.

Looking Back

I am, by nature, reliably stubborn. Making my way on this journey to publishing, I realized I was going to have to lean on that attribute a lot. I was determined to see this through, but there were certainly days I thought about giving up. Those were the days my own self-doubt nearly sank my chances. It can feel defeating when that one thing you want to accomplish can’t be done on the exact timeline you’ve imagined, and holding on through rejections can be rough.

Those rough rejection days were when I let my stubborn side shine. I think a lot of creatives struggle with self-doubt or imposter syndrome and I’m no different. If it wasn’t for the support of awesome family and friends and that stubborn streak I’ve carried since childhood, I might have given up. Instead, I created confidence and patience out of willfulness, and that kept me going.

The Synthesis

In The Myth Maker, Detective Cassidy Cantwell finds herself balancing her personal life and her career while standing over the dead wife of her college ex-boyfriend. Her partner questions her ex’s innocence, but with a new woman dead and an uncanny connection to Greek myth, it’s confirmed they’re looking for a new killer.

Then, accusatory messages begin arriving for Cassidy, taunting her over the cold case that inspired her career—the murder of her best friend in high school—and Cas finds herself pulled in different directions. Should she sacrifice her personal life for the sake of her career, or put everything she has into finding years-old answers to the case that haunts her? 

The Myth Maker is more than words on a page to me, and I’m thrilled to finally be able to share it with readers. My goal was to create a character—in part modeled after the amazing female officers I worked with in the 90s—that readers would relate to. I’m hoping to have created a woman readers would want to sit down for coffee with, and more importantly, read again.

Alie Dumas-Heidt is the author of The Myth Maker. 

The Myth Maker introduces Detective Cassidy Cantwell as she searches for two killers in Tacoma, Washington—one from the present, and one from her past. When not plotting her next story, Alie loves creating in other mediums, including yarn and glass, and watching movies or baseball with her husband. 

Visit her website to stay in touch: aliedh.com