Image Credits:-
Many thanks to Heather Beveridge (who writes as Hetty Waite) and Lynsey Adams of Reading Between The Lines Vlog for author and book cover pics. Some images from The Writers’ Summer School were taken by me, Allison Symes. Other images created in Book Brush using their photos or ones from Pixabay.
It is with great pleasure I welcome Heather Beveridge, who writes as Hetty Waite, to Chandler’s Ford Today to discuss her new book, Evolve. This interview forms part of a book blog tour organised by Lynsey Adams of Reading Between The Lines Vlog.
Heather and I have a mutual acquaintance in the form of Scottish crime writer, Val Penny. We have a certain writers’ school in common too, The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Hetty Waite lives in Derbyshire with her husband, daughter, and Cavapoo. A former teacher, she spent many years sharing her love of stories with teenagers in the classroom before turning her own ideas into fiction. It was during the pandemic, while on maternity leave, that she finally found the time to write her first novel.
After initially self-publishing, a chance meeting with a director from Spellbound Books Limited at a writers’ school changed everything. Impressed by her debut, they offered Hetty a three-book deal for her Young Adult dystopian series, The Chromosome Trilogy. The first instalment, Mutate, was re-released in 2024, followed by Evolve in October 2025.
When she’s not writing, Hetty tutors English, marks exam papers, and enjoys life in Derbyshire with her family and their lively Cavapoo.
BLURB
Having survived the attack led by her sister, Cara is ready to move on.
A new city means a fresh start and a chance for her and Brown to live together, as equals.
However, the perfect façade of the Amex community hides dark secrets. With a nightly curfew and a mysterious scientist in charge, Cara is convinced all is not as it seems. As her doubts grow, so do the arguments with Brown.
And with Myla still alive and looking for revenge, it’s not only the danger from inside the city walls that threaten to tear her world apart – forever.
Ultimately, she will need to make a choice: protect her family at all costs, or save herself.
Welcome to Chandler’s Ford Today, Hetty. Now for question time!
1. Evolve is Book 2 in The Chromosone Trilogy. Did you know from the start you would be writing a trilogy or did this become apparent as you finished the first book, Mutate? What would you say were the joys and challenges of writing a trilogy?
The idea for the trilogy came from a question: what if there was a virus that would only affect men? I’ve spent years teaching A Level Literature, where obviously we study a number of female writers who often went under the radar for years because society was largely patriarchal. This made me think about what it would be like if something happened to completely alter that typical world order and really change the effect gender has had on us.
I always planned it to be a trilogy, perhaps because many of my favourite dystopian stories, such as The Hunger Games, are also told over three books. This gives you time to build and embed your dystopian world and develop characters across a wider arc. As I have numerous POV characters in the novels, this also gave me the space I needed to tell the story from the different perspectives.
The joy of writing a trilogy is you’ve already got a lot established from the first book. Your characters are set up, the back story has been told, so you are able to focus more on the plot and the characters’ quests. I admit I’m finding part three the trickiest to write, though! It feels like there’s a lot of pressure to bring all my story threads together, whilst building up to the biggest climax yet. I’m getting there now, but slowly!
2. Can you tell us more about your writing journey? How long did it take you to be published? Did you go straight into novel writing? Given you have a busy family life, how do you fit in your writing? I swear by having a writing routine in that I carve out time to write but I was only able to do this when my family were older. How do you get the balance “right”? Where would you like your writing journey to take you?
I began writing Mutate in the first Covid Lockdown. I was on maternity leave at the time with a three-month-old baby, and felt it was now or never to fulfil my ambition of writing my novel. I’d written short stories and other bits and bobs before that, but never succeeded in seeing a whole book through to the end or getting anything published. Initially, I self-published, before being fortunate enough to get picked up by SpellBound Books Ltd.
Life is busy! The week feels like a whirlwind of school runs, appointments, work, and after-school clubs. The only quiet time is the evening, so this is when I try to write. I’m most productive at bedtime. When I’m working on a novel I have to resist the temptation to pick up a book to read and actually do some writing myself!
I’m not sure I’ve got the balance right yet, as I’d love to dedicate longer stretches to writing where I can sit uninterrupted and make real headway. As it is, I’m often snatching half an hour here and there in between the rest of family life. In the future, I’d like to be able to establish a better routine, but for now, I’m happy I can find these small stretches to keep the story going.
3. How did you discover The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick and how has it helped you? What advice would you give to writers thinking of going to any writing event? I also went to the course led by SpellBound Books Limited at Swanwick and found it fascinating.
I actually live in Swanwick! When I moved here about five years ago, my mum told me about the Writer’s School, as she’d always wanted to go. We did a couple of day sessions and enjoyed it so much, we decided to go for the whole week the following year. Even though I’m only down the road, it was such a treat to be able to stay at the school and take part in everything. Being away from the regular routine helps you to crystallise ideas and the inspiration from the various sessions is invaluable.
If anyone is thinking of going to a writing event I would tell them to go for it! It can be daunting the first time, when you don’t know anyone, but you quickly establish friendships and it is lovely to chat about books and writing with like-minded people. No one minds if you want to take yourself away to do some actual writing – they all understand exactly what it’s like.
I didn’t attend the SpellBound Books Ltd course – my mum went and spoke to them about my book. By a stroke of luck, Sumaira, one of the directors of the company, had read it, and offered me a contract for the trilogy.
4. Have you always been attracted to writing for the YA market? What is the appeal of dystopian fiction? Which authors have been an inspiration? Were you inspired by The Lord of The Flies by William Golding, for example?
I like the style of YA books, and being in the classroom for many years helped me understand what sort of books went down well with teenagers. A lot of YA books tackle huge issues, but in a relatable way. With dystopian fiction, I think it’s the unnerving sense the scenarios aren’t that far removed from our real lives which makes them impactful.
Books like 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale resonate because whilst they are terrifying, there are enough elements in our real lives to make them believable. A good dystopian novel should make you question everything and reflect. Young people are naturally inquisitive, as they’re still figuring out their place in the world. That’s why I think YA and dystopia are the perfect pairing, as you have an audience open to a fresh perspective yet also one interested in exploring the important themes which affect us all.
5. I always ask this question of writers new to Chandler’s Ford Today, Hetty. Can you share three writing tips and three marketing tips you have found useful?
My writing tips would be:-
Try to work on your book everyday. Even if you’re not writing, think about your story, jot down any ideas or reread what you have. If the story stays fresh in your mind, you’ll have a much easier job of finishing your manuscript.
Don’t be afraid to make big changes to your story. I have a habit of killing off lots of characters and need to be reined in! I rewrote the entire second half of Mutate based on feedback from an editor, and it made the book much stronger. It can be hard to do this once you think you’ve got your story, but it’s worth it to get it right.
Get started, even if you haven’t got it all planned out. I used to think I’d need an intricate plan for every step of my story, but struggled to get a full plot formed in my head. This put me off writing for years. It wasn’t until I began a novel and just let the narrative develop more organically I managed to complete it. For me, I need a starting scenario, my main characters and an idea of the ending – the rest comes from that.
When it comes to marketing, I’m not an expert, and it’s an area I need to improve on. I think things like creating bookmarks and social media are a great way to start, and taking part in book blog tours or local book fairs. Say yes to any opportunity you get, even if it might be daunting. Also, have a go with Canva – I love it!
Allison: Canva is a graphic design program. I know many authors who use it. I use Book Brush but have dabbled with Canva.
6. I always ask the Marmite question too, Hetty. Editing – do you love it or loathe it? What are your tips for coping with editing?
I love it! In a way it’s my favourite bit, because you’ve got something to work with already. The hard bit is pulling the story out from your head – once it’s drafted, your job becomes polishing, refining and reworking. I do some editing as I write, but once my draft is finished I’ll print it out and go through it on paper.
This helps me see what’s fitting together well and what still needs work. I’ll start with the big things, jotting down what’s happening in each chapter, and making a timeline. If there are any weak spots or parts where it drags, I’ll start by improving those. This helps me to spot any inconsistencies too, or see if there are scenes missing, or any that need expanding.
I’ll then move onto a line edit to polish my prose and check things like character voice consistency. A final proofread is also essential. I’ve had some great beta readers and my editor Nikki always picks out anything I’ve missed. You do need more eyes on a manuscript than just your own, as they’ve got that distance a writer simply can’t have with their own work. Plus, there’s always the odd typo or spelling error you’ll miss, no matter how good at editing you are!
7. Character -v- plot – where do you stand on this debate, Hetty? I always go for the characters because if they don’t grip me, I won’t be reading on to find out what the plot is at all.
I agree with you, I think you need to start with character. For me, they tend to drive the plot forward, often in ways I wasn’t expecting! Being clear about your characters’ motivations and the obstacles standing in their way helps. I go back to this if I’m struggling to move forward with the narrative. Essentially, that’s where your plot comes from. If you’ve got characters you care about and are invested in, this shines through and makes your readers care too.
8. I see you’ve used a prologue in Evolve. Well thought out prologues can add much to a story without slowing the plot but did you plan to have one from the outset or was it a case of realising later you needed this for information you needed to convey “outside” of the story itself?
I’ve used a prologue in all three books in The Chromosome Trilogy. I like the fact I can use the third person (the rest of the books are written in the first person), so I can give readers something extra and set the scene with more clarity. I think as long as your prologues aren’t just a big info-dump, they can be effective. They should be like the icing on a cake – the book should still work without your prologue, but it simply makes it better. The prologue for Evolve is part of a later event in the story – hopefully it whets the appetite enough to keep you reading!
9. What do you love about creating characters? What do you find the most challenging aspect? Confession time: do you have a favourite character in Evolve?
I love the fact characters evolve once you’ve created them. They do take on a life of their own and can act in unexpected ways! I enjoyed writing Brown’s perspective most in my books. I’m not sure why – maybe because as a Y (a male) he’s the underdog, and I always root for the underdog!
10. You are using more than one narrator for Evolve using chapter breaks as natural breaks between each viewpoint and heading the chapter with the character’s name. Did you know from the outset this would be the best way to write this story? How did you find “juggling” the needs of the different character viewpoints here?
It felt natural to use a range of viewpoints because the society I was portraying was so divided. I felt you needed contrasting perspectives to reflect the imbalance of power. Obviously, with a virus that only affects men, the experiences of the male and female characters would be different. I was interesting in exploring how power affects individuals, bringing out the best and worst in people. It can be hard to distinguish the voices clearly – careful choice of vocabulary and dialogue were important to separate the voices.
11. You use the pen name, Hetty Waite, for your books. What do you think the advantages of a pen name are and why did you choose to use one?
Well, Waite is my married name so it’s not really a pen name – I use both Waite and Beveridge. I thought Hetty Waite had a ring to it, even though it’s never been a nickname I’ve had. Adopting a pen name gave me confidence initially – as a new writer, it’s daunting putting out a book with your name on it. It’s nice having an alter-ego too!
12. Last but not least, do share news of any launches you have had for Evolve, your thoughts and tips on launches, and other writing news you would like to share.
Mutate was launched at Swanwick Writer’s Summer School in 2024, so it was lovely to be supported by other authors. For Evolve, I’ve just done a book signing in a local bookshop. It’s definitely worth approaching independent bookshops in your area, as they’re often keen to support local authors. I still find it a bit unnatural to be on show at these events – I’ve done a talk at a book fair before, and felt very nervous! Hopefully with more practice I’ll get more comfortable with it. Like anything, the more you do something, the more normal it feels. Plus, I taught teenagers for years and they can be a tough audience!
Conclusion
Many thanks for a wonderful interview, Hetty. Good luck with The Chromosome Trilogy, especially Evolve. I hope we get to meet up at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick at some point.
LINKS TO BUY
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
Never miss out on another blog post. Subscribe here:
Leave a Reply