KIRKWOOD, MO – Seasoned author and journalist Anne Shaw Heinrich inspires another powerful portrayal of small town life and the veil of indifference we so capably possess. Violet is Blue (Speaking Volumes, June X, 2025) follows a young troubled girl who befriends a poverty-stricken boy and finds companionship in their unorthodox beliefs and lifestyle. Set in the same world as her acclaimed debut, God Bless the Child, and written in multiple perspectives, Violet is Blue is a wholly standalone novel that subverts the beliefs of the idyllic small town as Violet and Jules’s families hide their secrets from the prying ears of the people around them.
A seasoned writer with over 35 years of experience as a journalist, columnist, and nonprofit communications professional, Anne Shaw Heinrich continues to bring her wealth of expertise to this compelling narrative. Drawing on experiences living as a child and an adult in Midwestern small towns, Anne confronts the darker side of small town life, exposing the pitfalls of living on the fringes of society but painfully close to privilege. She has masterfully created an unjust world that is all too recognizable even today.
About the book: Violet Sellers is blue, and for good reason. When she makes a new friend in school, Jules Marks, who lives on the “other side of the tracks” with his five little sisters, she is introduced to a dark world of self-abuse. As Violet learns about Jules and his shifty mother, Lee, she retreats further into her shell. Her parents, Gloria and Skip, are horrified and do their best to find out what happened to their adolescent daughter while bending over backward to keep the whole town from knowing their business. Jules has an aunt and uncle who know his desperate story, and they finally get a chance to free him and his sisters out of a loveless world of poverty.
Violet is Blue
Anne Shaw Heinrich | June X, 2025
Speaking Volumes | Contemporary Fiction
Paperback | 979-8-89022-315-9 | $17.95
Anne Shaw Heinrich: Since she fell in love with writing in high school, Anne Shaw Heinrich has been a journalist, columnist, blogger and nonprofit communications professional. She’s interviewed and written features on Beverly Sills, Judy Collins, Gene Siskel, and Debbie Reynolds. Anne’s writing has been featured in The New York Times bestseller The Right Words at the Right Time, Volume 2: Your Turn (Atria 2006) and Chicken Soup for the Soul’s The Cancer Book: 101 Stories of Courage, Support and Love (2009). Anne’s work has also appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis American, Midwest Family Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Education Week and Ms. Magazine. She and her husband are parents to three grown children. Anne is passionate about her family, mental health advocacy and the power of storytelling.
Follow Anne Heinrich on social media:
Instagram: @anne_shaw_heinrich | Threads: anne_shaw_heinrich
TikTok: @ash34249 | BlueSky: anneshawheinrich.bsky.social
Website: anneshawheinrich.com
In an interview, Anne Heinrich can discuss:
- How the themes of morality and justice are portrayed in the characters asking the question “who is worthy of saving?”
- Why small town communities tend to overlook the small injustices, and how to spot indifference in your own community
- How she draws inspiration from her own personal experience of growing up in a small town
- How the themes of poverty plays a massive role in the way people are perceived
Read more about The Women of Paradise County series
God Bless the Child (Speaking Volumes, June 2024)
Paradise County is nestled in the heart of America’s Midwest, where the wounded create spaces and places for themselves that simmer just beneath the surface. The dysfunction begins with God Bless the Child.
The women of Paradise County are a hot mess. Needy heavyweight Mary Kline clashes with her rebellious surrogate daughter, Elizabeth, and pastor’s wife Ruth Pullman can do nothing but look the other way when she learns about her charming son’s nasty backseat reputation. Some of their men started it; others are on loving standby. Join these tough cookies as they feel their way toward redemption.
Praised for God Bless the Child
“Heinrich writes rich, thoughtful prose that skillfully patches together this intriguing tale, a story that brims with subtle metaphors and will make an impression on readers.”
– BookLife Prize
“God Bless The Child is a captivating book that touches your heart and leaves a lasting impression. This beautifully crafted story will deeply resonate with you emotionally, as its characters will leave a lasting impression. The book crafts each character in a way that draws you into their world and makes you feel part of their journey.
Anne Shaw Heinrich is an exceptional author. This book is not just a mere collection of words; it’s a profound emotional journey that will tug at your heartstrings and linger in your thoughts long after you finish the last page.
Embark on an exclusive storytelling experience showcasing narratives’ transformative power and ability to touch lives in profound ways. Through the trials and triumphs this book offers; you’ll find yourself immersed in a world where every emotion is palpable and every moment is unforgettable.”
– Midwest Book Review
An Interview with Anne Shaw Heinrich
1. Violet is Blue is quite different from your first book, God Bless the Child. What made you decide to pivot your POV and write a new story with different characters?
There are a few characters from God Bless the Child who appear in Violet is Blue, namely the Pullman family, Richard, Ruth and James. Readers get an opportunity to explore the ripple effect that sin can have when it goes unaddressed. Violet is Blue can be a stand-alone book, but the story is even more rich for those who read God Bless the Child first! I’m knee-deep in writing Book Three in the series, House of Teeth. This story brings some new characters, but allows readers to know even more about characters from the first two books. The through line for all three books is the small town setting of Poulson and a swath of time in that place shared by characters whose lives are connected in ways big and small.
2. The book touches on poverty and life in a small town where everyone knows your business. Does this stem from anything you’ve experienced in your life?
I am blessed to be firmly entrenched in the middle class, and always have been. I like to say that I’ve been broke, but never poor. I am, however, observant, and have lived in small towns as a child, a teenager, and as an adult. It’s funny what you remember as a child, and how your perspective on those memories softens and changes as you get older and develop stronger empathy muscles. I do have distinct memories of observations I made as a child that made me uncomfortable, but I wasn’t mature enough to put those feelings into words, or to think too deeply about them.
3. Violet is a very troubled girl who is taught early on in the story about self harm. What did the research into that look like?
Self-harm has been around for a long time. I wrote the beginnings of Violet is Blue and the characters Violet and Jules about fifteen years ago. I’d seen evidence of self-harm in some of the young people living in the community at the time, and it intrigued me. Since then, I’ve done a fair amount of reading about it and do know that it can bring a temporary sense of relief for those who do this to themselves. It’s tied up with anxiety, depression and trauma, and is often considered a cry for help.
A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent.
Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.
