Carol Hoenig began writing as a child because access to books was hard to come by in her small upstate hometown. Now, she has officially published her third novel, “Before She Was a Finley.”
“Access to books was rare, so I started writing stories of my own, even though I was a child and they were far from publishable,” Hoenig said.
In “Before She Was a Finley,” Hoenig returns to her first novel, “Without Grace.” The novel starts a year after the events of “Without Grace,” but the main character revisits the past. Hoenig said the novel acts like a prequel.
“Grace slowly tells the real reason as to why she walked out on her husband and children to a young journalism student,” Hoenig said.
The new addition to her first novel reveals a past readers might not expect from the main character.
“In ‘Without Grace,’ it’s believed she left to try to become a famous singer, but in ‘Before She Was a Finley,’ the reader eventually learns it was for a much darker reason,” she said.
Hoenig says that her novels are “character-driven.” Her characters help her develop ideas for the story, she said.
Her writing career has been inspired by both personal mentors and favorite authors. Harper Lee, A.S. Byatt and Joyce Carol Oates, she said, are all favorite authors of hers.
On a more personal level, she’s been inspired by her childhood English teacher.
“I had an English teacher, Mrs. Franklin, and she saw something in my writing and encouraged me to keep at it,” Hoenig said. “When I was touring for my first two novels in upstate New York, Mrs. Franklin came to both my events and express such pride in what I accomplished.”
Because Franklin cannot attend any events for “Before She Was a Finley,” Hoenig still said she visited her in a nursing home to tell her about the novel.
“Even though she won’t be able to attend the events I’ll be doing in several locations when I’m upstate, I wanted her to know about them,” she said.
Hoenig now lives in Farmingdale, but she has been a Long Island resident for over 40 years. She writes for Rockville Centre Living magazine. In 2012, she won the Best of Long Island Author award from Long Island Press.
She is touring local libraries to celebrate the new release of her book. She was at the Syosset library on Sept.17, Rockville Centre Library on Sept. 26 and Long Beach Library on Nov. 14. She will also visit three locations upstate.
Even as she celebrates her new release, Hoenig continues to hone her craft. Hoenig says she already has new ideas for her next book, and during breaks in her book tour schedule, she has been working on two projects.
“I will always be a writer for as long as I can. I already have two works-in-progress,” she said.
“The novel I am working on now when I can break away from touring, is a historical fiction that takes place in Lyon Mountain, where there was a lot of mining done,” she said.
Like her other releases, Hoenig said her next novel will be another character-driven story inspired by the past.
“My stories usually are inspired by real life events and the historical fiction I am working on is no different.”
“Before She Was a Finley” was published on Sept. 10. For more information on her recent release, please visit www.carolhoenig.com
