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]
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
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 married her husband in Oregon in the summer of 1991.[1][11] Salem is a naturalized US citizen originally from Libya. [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 2012, Sharfeddin and her husband opened the Velvet Monkey Tea Shop in McMinnville. In 2018, she was appointed to a 3-year term on the Historic Landmarks Committee in McMinnville.[30]
↑ 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.
↑ "Winners List". San Francisco Book Festival. May 6, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
↑ 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.
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