The
Balloonist
Heather Tietz spent most of her childhood on the east coast of the United States making mud pies, lemonade stands, snow forts, tree houses and poems. The year that she turned nine, her 4th grade teacher introduced her to poetry. She wrote "The Day is Dark, The Day is Done, The Clouds Have Moved the Setting Sun." Her teacher promptly took her aside and clarified her science. How could clouds move the sun? Heather knew! She had discovered metaphors! That day her love of writing took flight.
Heather taught elementary school for seven years before pursuing little ones full time at home. She's discovered that her children have a tremendous amount to teach her. What glorious fun a box of broken crayons, a shy rollie pollie or a crooked stick can be. Her children are an unending lesson in God's Fatherly love. They are her writing inspiration.
Early in her writing career she was given the good advice to seek out writing jobs for magazines. She began as a regular contributor to "Adventures" magazine, a Nazarene publication. She also wrote for a Mennonite magazine called "On the Line". Meanwhile she had several crafts published with "Spider Magazine" and also in Disney's "Family Fun". In 2005 she was given her big opportunity. and was contracted to create a FunStuff Book for Cook Communications, one of the largest Christian publishing houses to date. When she completed "Through the Bible Crafts for K-1st Grade" she was offered another assignment. What could be more enjoyable than working with food and little ones! "Crafty Cook'n" was born. Then in 2009, what had simply been a lullaby for her newborn daughter, was transformed into "Yes, Jesus Loves You" by Ambassador Books. Ambassador is planning two more picture books of hers to be published in 2011.
