By Angelina Silvester
Let’s give a warm NYWIFT welcome to new member Heather Shreve! Heather is an award-winning screenwriter, historical advisor, and content creator, as well as a master artist with four producer-ready film projects. In her youth, Japanese culture was always part of her life and has influenced her art as well as her writing and research.
Heather has rich ancestral history in America, with several strong areas of knowledge, from the Keelboat Age to the 1940s. Heather resides in Maryland, has two grown children, and has authored six books.
Heather spoke to us her passion for history, recent projects, and the connections between coaching and creativity.
NYWIFT Member Heather Shreve
Tell us about yourself, give us your elevator pitch!
I used to be a certified Wellcoach and Personal Trainer… supporting people on their journey to their highest potential. Oddly, I still do the same thing in my writing. It’s like a cake, I attract people with the cherry on top, then take them below the icing – into layers of wisdom, unaware they may discover something new about themselves or the world around them.
Poster for Heather Shreve’s Bamboo Wife series
What is your favorite project to date?
The Bamboo Wife TV series, that was reviewed by Masterpiece/PBS producers last year. It is laced with wisdom, but outrageous in its 1920’s frivolity.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
My dad always told me, “Never, ever compare yourself with others! It is an exercise in futility!”
What brought you to NYWIFT?
A couple of acquaintances suggested it, thought it may be a good way to network.
Cover art from Once a Colonel
What first drew you to historical work? What are some of your favorite eras to write about?
My historical passion started in 2014 when I read my grandfather’s diaries hidden from the Japanese as he was a POW in the Philippines for 4 years… a Colonel and Ch. of Artillery in the Fall of Bataan, and on American Command who chose to use the MIS-X military intel offered to Command to smuggle in his own checkbook from Maryland – cash checks with the Filipino Resistance to feed his men for four years! After THAT, I wrote two books about him and the feature script, Once A Colonel.
My favorite eras are the bygone Halcyon Days: 1920s-1940s.
“Eva II” 12” x 16” watercolor and super ink – part of the artwork for Heather’s Bamboo Wife series trailer (from Instagram)
Does your writing influence your art, or vice versa?
Ironically, the better I write, the better I paint, and so on….in a circle that seems never- ending in its ability to make me better. Also, I am ambi-cerebral, equally logical and analytical as artistic. Seamless.
Read more about Heather and her work on her website, and connect with her on Instagram at @heather.p.shreve.
Angelina Silvester
Angelina Silvester is a senior at Drew University studying Creative Writing and Psychology. She is most interested in the creation and impact of poetry, spoken word pieces, and short fiction.
In addition to interning at NYWIFT, she is also the ‘22-‘23 Art Editor for her school’s literary magazine, Insanity’s Horse.
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