Hartville native returns home to celebrate debut novel

Hartville native Sarah Heatwole will return to her hometown later this month to celebrate the release of her debut novel, “Into the Promised Land,” with a book signing at the Hartville MarketPlace.

The signing will take place March 28 from 10 a.m. to noon, giving local readers a chance to meet the author, discuss the book and reconnect with a writer whose roots trace back to the community where her story began.

“The heritage of Amish and Mennonite storytelling shaped who I became,” she said. “Every Sunday night, our extended family would gather around Grandma and Grandpa’s table and swap news, stories and tidbits.”

Those weekly gatherings left a lasting impression, she said.

“Sunday nights were one of my favorite times of the week,” Heatwole said. “I loved being close to my family and learning about my heritage. As an adult, I can now see how those times were the foundation for the love of storytelling I’ve developed.”

“Into the Promised Land” is a historical Christian novel inspired by Heatwole’s own family history. The story centers on her grandparents’ journey of leaving the Amish church after encountering a deeper Christian faith.

Heatwole said the idea for the novel came during a period when she rediscovered her love for reading.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, she was working as the executive director of an assisted living facility. The intensity of the job and the stress of the moment pushed her back toward books as an outlet.

Two years later, she attended the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville and found inspiration from listening to authors speak about their craft.

“While listening to Sean Dietrich and other award-winning authors, a spark lit within me,” Heatwole said. “I wanted to try writing.”

As she considered potential story ideas, one topic continued to stand out.

“For a few months I thought through lots of ideas, but none stuck as closely to my heart as … my family story,” she said. “I wanted my children to understand where they came from and the richness of their heritage.”

She believes the story of her grandparents’ faith journey holds lasting significance, one “that deserves to be preserved,” she said.

The novel explores questions of faith, sacrifice and family legacy through the fictionalized journeys of its characters.

“There are never any wounds too deep that the Lord can’t heal,” she said of the story’s message.

Heatwole’s path to publication required persistence. Like many first-time authors, she discovered writing a book takes longer than expected and that the avenues to publication can be complicated.

“I naively thought in one year I could put pen to paper and hold a printed copy in my hand,” she said. “Writing has developed patience in me, and also thickened my skin because it also comes along with a lot of rejection from publishing companies, agents and contests.”

Heatwole now lives in Smyrna, Tennessee, with her husband and three children, balancing family life with a career and early morning writing sessions.

“I am an early morning writer,” she said. “I wake up at 5:30 or 6 a.m., do my morning devotions, then dive into writing for about an hour.”

Returning to Hartville for her first hometown book signing makes the milestone even more meaningful.

“It is a dream to have a hometown signing,” Heatwole said. “I love Hartville. Every time I come back, it takes on a new level of nostalgia … I worked at McDonald’s through high school and at the Hartville Kitchen in college.”

Heatwole is already working on her next novel, which blends historical and contemporary themes and is set in the 1980s. She has also completed the first draft of another story centered on a Mennonite pastor in Mississippi who befriends a death row inmate.

For more information about Heatwole, visit sarahheatwole.com. "Into the Promised Land" is available for purchase through Amazon.