Author Lori Wolf-Heffner

I started questioning the existence of God when I was a teen. Growing up in Catholic and Anglican schools showed me what believing in God might look like. But over time, I read books on other possibilities. Other religions, philosophy, and general spirituality showed me that believing in God—if one believed in such a being—had difference faces. With my first young adult series, Between Worlds, I wanted to offer young readers a chance to explore their spirituality in the privacy of a young adult series of books.

What Does Spiritual Journey Mean to the Reader?

You may associate “spiritual” with a belief in one or (many) more higher powers, whether a god, many gods, or many spirits.

The generally accepted opposite of “spiritual” is often “empirical,” i.e., a belief in science, which does not support a belief in an unproven higher power.

As a teen, I was torn between both: raised Catholic, but attending school in Ontario, I thought both sides conflicted with one another.

I’ve since learned that spirituality can mean many things and need not exclude science.

What Spiritual Means to Me

Spirituality is an abstract concept: We can neither hold it nor see it, hear it nor taste it nor smell it.

Yet it still exists. How? Why?

Humans cannot live alone, despite what many may wish to believe. Someone makes our clothes. In most cases, someone grows our food. How clean our air is depends on how clean our neighbours—whether directly beside us or on the other side of a border—keep their air.

The noise or silence we experience is connected to others, too.

How do we honour these connections? How do we feel about them? How do we become a part of them?

There’s no one answer to these questions. That’s why I created a series with two teenaged girls whose spiritual lives differ vastly from one another.

Elisabeth’s Spiritual Journey

In Between Worlds, Elisabeth’s journey is perhaps the more expected one. She navigates her beliefs and relationships, seeking to understand where Jesus is present in her life. Whom should she turn to for guidance? Jesus, God, her parents, the minister, or her own heart?

Elisabeth cannot fathom a world without a god, even as she tries to reconcile how a loving god could allow what eventually became known as World War I to happen.

For Elisabeth, following her Lutheran faith means both following the rules and participating in the community:

·      Church called everyone together once a week.

·      Social traditions formed out of aspects of religious life.

·      Life’s greatest moments, from birth to death, were celebrated together.

Believing in God meant both following a moral compass to get into heaven and learning how to co-exist with one another. Many of us today may not agree with some of the rules that were imposed on Elisabeth’s’ community for this coexistence to happen, but it happened nonetheless.

Juliana’s Spiritual Journey

If spirituality is about connecting with others while developing a deeper relationship with yourself, then dance is that spiritual journey for Juliana. Indeed, the first novel ends with her dancing as she gathers courage to tackle this latest chapter in her life.

Many adults today will shy away from dancing: “Oh, no, thank you. I’m going to sit down. I can’t dance.”

However, dance is community. What’s a wedding without dancing? Teenaged life without the high school dance? Rock concerts without dancers onstage? Some forms of theatre without dance?

Dance, for Juliana, takes that to a different level. As a teenager in love with dance—especially the percussion form that is tap dance—she finds connection with those around her. The transition to a new dance studio presents many problems for Juliana, including not understanding the social rules of this new group.

Juliana doesn’t pray in the religious sense of the word. Instead, she tries to deepen her relationship with herself and find answers to her problems through dance.

Spirituality Your Own Way

Most youth will embark on some kind of spiritual journey. It may only begin in their pre-teen years and take decades to conclude. Or perhaps they learn in those younger years that what they have always believed is what provides them the strength to continue in this world.

Spirituality carries a diverse range of meanings, and I wanted to write a series for pre-teens and teens that could help them work through that journey in the privacy of a book. For more information about Between Worlds, visit here.

I have some amazing news! My new YA series, Be Right Back, has received funding from the Ontario Arts Council (OAC). The series explores disability in ever-changing family dynamics.

Continuing to build family-friendly stories that celebrate diversity and look at tough questions, Be Right Backstars teenager Austin Tschirhart, whom many of my readers may have already met in Love on Belmont(Books #1 and #2) and Between Worlds (Book #9).

My Current Writing Style

Unique to this new series is the writing style. I usually write in what’s called the third person past, limited point of view. Much of what you read is likely written in this way. Here are some brief samples:

“You know what?” Aunt Anne said. “Why don’t they go to Mr. Casimiro’s for dessert?”

Mom’s eyes popped out of her head. “Oh, that sounds like a fabulous idea! I haven’t been in years!”

Juliana stared at both of them, but now even Sophie smiled. “But can we go by ourselves? Juliana’s fourteen.”

Taking advantage of Juliana’s age to get rid of the parents. Juliana liked how Sophie thought. ~Between Worlds 1: The Move

In this style, the scene is only told in the past, from the point of view of one character, but by referring to the character in the third person, i.e., they, he, or she. In addition, the reader only experiences what that character experiences.

A New Writing Style

Be Right Back will be a new journey for me, because I’ll be writing in the first person present. (“First person” automatically includes limited point of view.)

Reading a novel in this style will bring the reader right into Austin’s mind, where not only his thoughts and feelings but also his seizures, happen. Because of the nature of Austiin’s seizures, he’s not always aware of them. Indeed, his journey in the first novel is learning they exist at all.

Disability and Teen Fiction

When I was young, I read a lot of Jean Little’s books. Although I didn’t consider myself “handicapped” (the term we used at the time), I loved reading her stories about kids with disabilities. She had written in her memoir that she wanted to give the disabled children she was teaching the stories they were craving: stories about children disabled as they were, but who weren’t cured as part of the happy ending.

They wanted reality.

Much of my previous books so far—especially Between Worlds—have dealt with mental disability. Although Sophie, a supporting character in Between Worlds, has Stargardt disease, a rare eye condition, the better part of each novel focuses on the emotional trauma each of us carries inside.

Be Right Back includes not only that part of life, but also neurological disability.

How Much Is Personal?

This series is personal to me, but most of it is not from my personal life.

Although Austin’s absence seizures resemble to mine, his life story differs from mine in many respects:

• He discovered his seizures as a teen. / I discovered mine when I was 11.
• Austin can dive into the internet to research his diagnosis if he wants to. / There was no internet when I received my diagnosis.
• Austin’s seizures last up to 10 seconds. / Mine are under 4.5 seconds.
• Austin stares. / My eyelids flutter. (The technical term is eyelid myoclonia.)
• Ballet = life for Austin. / Ballet = a must-do art form for my dance competition career.

In addition to all of that, Austin’s regrets will differ from mine at that age.

If you’d like to stay up to date on the development of this series, send me your email address, and I’ll add you to the list. I email about once every two months, so your inbox will not explode.

I look forward to sharing Austin’s journey with you.

Spending time selling books in person is always a blast. For this spring, I have two appearances in Waterloo Region.

Saturday, March 29, 2025: Indigo Kitchener

Once again, I’ll be at Indigo’s by Fairview Mall! The focus this time will be Love on Belmont. The fourth book is in the works, and if all goes well, it’ll be out by Christmas. So…if you’re lagging behind on the series, or want to grab signed copies for a friend or family member, drop by!

And, as always, if you bought your books elsewhere, even on Amazon, and would like them signed, do drop by. I love getting to know readers in person.

Time: 12PM–4PM

Address: Indigo Kitchener, 225 Fairway Rd S Unit CRU-04, Kitchener, ON

Saturday, April 12, 2025: Heffner Spring Show

Spending the afternoon at the family business that has helped me so much in life is always a blast. I’ll have both series with me: Between Worlds and Love on Belmont. I'll also have my sale bin with me, where many previous prints are $5 each.

Other vendors include Scentsy, Live Forward Apparel, Inspired Cardz by Jacqueline, Sylvie Stamps, and many more! Full list of vendors is avaialble here.

Time: 10AM–3PM

Address: Heffner Toyota building, 3131 King St. E., Kitchener, ON

Saturday, May 31, 2025: Waterloo Bookfest

The Waterloo Bookfest takes place in Waterloo Town Square. This year, it'll run from 2PM-8PM. I'll add more details as I receive them!

I hope to see you out this spring!