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Heather Sharfeddin

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Heather Sharfeddin
BornHeather Lynne Mason[1]
(1966-04-08) April 8, 1966 (age 59)[2]
Forsyth, Montana, U.S.
OccupationNovelist, teacher
EducationVermont College (MFA)
Bath Spa University (PhD)
GenreContemporary Western
Spouse
Salem Sharfeddin
​
(m. 1991)​
Children1
Website
sharfeddin.com

Heather Sharfeddin (born April 8, 1966, Forsyth)[2] is an American contemporary Western novelist.[3][4] Her novels, including Blackbelly (2005) and Damaged Goods (2011), explore western themes based on her early life in Idaho and Montana.[5][6]

Early life and education

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Sharfeddin was born in Forsyth, Montana to Joan and Lynn Mason,[4][2][7]: 4  an artist and a forester with the U. S. Forest Service, respectively.[8][9][4] The Masons moved to Riggins, Idaho when Heather was two[10][5][4] and lived on the Salmon River.[11][12] She and her two sisters were raised in the Pentecostal faith.[3][8] They lived in Lucile, Idaho and spent two years in East Lansing, Michigan while their father completed a master's degree in forestry at Michigan State University. Sharfeddin graduated from Big Sky High School in Missoula in 1984. She moved to Portland, Oregon in 1986.[citation needed]

Later in her adult life, Sharfeddin earned an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a PhD in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University.[5][4][7] Her doctoral work focused on racial tensions in the Interior West of the United States and culminated in a dissertation titled Interior Landscapes: Techniques for Depicting the Nuances of Interracial Relationships. This included a novel called A Delicate Divide, which takes place on the Flathead Indian Reservation and follows racial tensions in the wake of a water compact that would limit their "natural land water rights."[13][7] Her dissertation was supervised by Kate Pullinger.[14]

Career

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Sharfeddin's first novel, Blackbelly, was published in 2005 by Bridge Works Publishing.[9][3] It is set in the fictional ranching community of Sweetwater, Idaho on the banks of the Salmon River.[9][15][11][4] The imagery is heavily inspired by her childhood in that area.[11] The novel follows a rancher who is falsely accused of committing a hate crime against the town's only Muslim family.[9] The title refers to blackbelly sheep, which the protagonist and Sharfeddin both raise.[15] The book was a "Best of the Northwest" pick by the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award in 2005[16] and received honorable mentions for the 2005 Eric Hoffer Award[17] and at the 2010 San Francisco Book Festival.[4][18] Blackbelly was released in paperback in 2010 under the title Sweetwater Burning.[4] Her second book, Mineral Spirits, was published the following year, also by Bridge Works Publishing. Set in remote Mineral County, Montana,[16][4] the novel follows Sheriff Kip Edelson as he investigates a skeleton found along the Clark Fork River.[19][10] Edelson was introduced briefly in Blackbelly.[16]

In 2009, her third novel, Windless Summer, was published by Random House.[20][21] The story follows single father Tom Jemmet, a motel owner in the fictional town of Rocket, Washington.[20][4] A windless summer drives away the windsurfers who flock to the area every year, leaving the town struggling until Jemmet's motel makes the newspapers after guests begin experiencing "mysterious happenings."[20][22] Sharfeddin's fourth novel, Damaged Goods,[6] was published in 2011 by Random House and is set in rural western Oregon.[23] It follows the relationship of an auctioneer recovering from a traumatic brain injury and a woman who has survived decades of abuse.[6] In 2012, it was short-listed for the Spotted Owl Award for Best Pacific Northwest Mystery.[24] Sharfeddin's fifth novel, What Keeps You, was released by Martin Brown Publishing in 2016. It follows 16-year-old Eva as she avoids certain death, and a group of souls trapped in a graveyard being dug up by a road crew.[25]

Sharfeddin refers to her work as contemporary Western,[11] which she defines as themes of the rural West set in the present day.[citation needed] She has been a regular book reviewer for Colorado Review[26] and the Center for Literary Publishing,[27] as well as a contributor to Dirt & Seeds, where she serialized her novel Between.[citation needed] In addition to writing, she has also taught at Randolph-Macon College, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and Linfield College.[28][13][29] To mark the occasion of a book signing in Sharfeddin's hometown of Riggins, Idaho, mayor Bob Crump declared April 6, 2011 "Heather Mason Sharfeddin Day".[5][4]

Personal life

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Sharfeddin married her husband Salem in Oregon in the summer of 1991.[1][11] Salem is a Libyan Muslim, while Heather and their son Sam (born c. 1992) are Baha'i.[7]: 11 [3][4] The Sharfeddins lived on a farm in Sherwood, Oregon, where they raised blackbelly sheep, for 15 years before relocating to McMinnville, Oregon.[16][9][5]

In March 2011, Sharfeddin and her husband opened the coffee shop Blackbird Coffee and Tea in Sherwood.[5] It has since closed.[citation needed] In 2018, she was appointed to a 3-year term on the Historic Landmarks Committee in McMinnville.[30]

Publications

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  • 2005: Blackbelly, Bridge Works. ISBN 978-1-882593-97-2
  • 2006: Mineral Spirits, Bridge Works. ISBN 978-1-882593-98-9
  • 2009: Windless Summer, Bentam/Delta. ISBN 978-0-385-34187-5
  • 2010: Sweetwater Burning (paperback edition of Blackbelly), Bantam. ISBN 978-0-3853412-8-8
  • 2011: Damaged Goods, Bantam. ISBN 978-0-385-34188-2
  • 2016: What Keeps You, Martin Brown Publishing. ISBN 978-1-9370706-8-7
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References

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  1. ^ a b "Marriage licenses". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon, US. August 1, 1991. p. 31. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c "Born to..." Hysham Echo. Hysham, Montana, US. April 14, 1966. p. 3. Retrieved May 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d "Sharfeddin: She almost gave up writing before finishing". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon, US. September 22, 2005. p. 111. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Bauer, Jennifer K. (April 1, 2011). "Author's well-received novels are set ... Way out West". Lewiston Tribune. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Martini, Kathryn (May 7, 2011). "Sherwood gains artsy coffee shop". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon, US. p. 17. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c Cypher, Sarah (April 2, 2011). "'Damaged Goods' review: Heather Sharfeddin's explores commerce as a conduit for violence in culture". Oregon Live. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d Sharfeddin, Heather (June 2016). Interior Landscapes: Techniques for Depicting the Nuances of Interracial Relationships (PDF) (doctoral dissertation). Bath Spa University. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Artist: Read more". Mission Falls Ranch. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d e Bowden, Amy (August 12, 2021). "Debut novel by sheep farmer transcends possible barnyard boredom". The Daily. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Eagle Public Library". The Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho, US. November 26, 2006. p. 40. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b c d e Duncan, Bill (September 22, 2005). "Sherwood writer crafts compelling 'Contemporary Western'". Newsreview.info. Archived from the original on June 25, 2006.
  12. ^ Duncan, Bill (September 9, 2005). "Writing a new breed of novel". Capital Press (Western Oregon ed.). Salem, Oregon, US. p. 3. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b Myren, Adam (October 16, 2015). "Cultural tensions highlighted in author reading". The Linfield Review. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  14. ^ "Professor Kate Pullinger". Bath Spa University. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  15. ^ a b "Heather Sharfeddin, author of "Blackbelly"". Visual Thesaurus. August 12, 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  16. ^ a b c d Schneider, Katie (October 22, 2006). "Detective copes with unidentified body and departed wife". The Sunday Oregonian. Portland, Oregon, US. p. 141. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Previous Award Winners". Eric Hoffer Award. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  18. ^ "Winners List". San Francisco Book Festival. May 6, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  19. ^ Kai, Tara (October 15, 2006). "A lonely wind blows in Montana". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 118. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b c Gandy, Peggy (June 17, 2009). "Book review: "Windless Summer" by Heather Sharfeddin". The Oklahoman. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  21. ^ "Windless Summer". Penguin Random House. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  22. ^ Upchurch, Michael (May 19, 2009). "New NW books, by Tom Robbins and others". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  23. ^ "Damaged Goods". Penguin Random House. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  24. ^ "Friends of Mystery Announces 2012 Spotted Owl Award". Friends of Mystery. March 13, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  25. ^ "What Keeps You". Heather Sharfeddin. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  26. ^ Higgs, Colleen (May 11, 2015). "Witch Girl by Tanvi Bush launched, reviewed and the author interviewed". Modjaji Books. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  27. ^ Sharfeddin, Heather (2016). "Book Review: The Inventors". Center for Literary Publishing. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  28. ^ "Linfield Reports, 10/12/15". Linfield University. October 12, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  29. ^ "New faculty welcomed to campus". University of Arkansas, Little Rock. September 4, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  30. ^ "Resolution No. 2018 - 12" (PDF). McMinnville, Oregon. June 8, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2025.


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