Grace Helena Walz is the author of Good Hair Days, which is out now.
Grace Helena Walz received a master’s in social work at the University of Houston and worked with children in foster care, as a medical social worker, and in a mental health capacity. She currently resides outside of Atlanta, GA, with her husband and two young children.
She writes women’s fiction in the moments between sticking Band-Aids on scraped knees and coordinating pint-sized social engagements.
Good Hair Days is about a family pulling together for a common purpose, finding healing from the past, and moving forward courageously as they face their hardest trial yet.
Let’s get to know Grace as she talks favorite novels, writing inspirations, her TBR and more!
What are some of your favorite books?
I love to read in my genre, so Kristy Woodson Harvey and Mary Kay Andrews are a few favorites. I also love to read mysteries and thrillers, and I’ve really enjoyed Nita Prose’s The Maid series. I will read the occasional romance and have recently gotten into magical realism!
When did you know you wanted to become an author?
I started writing fiction in 2019 when I was pregnant with my daughter. Though I’d always been a reader it was my first foray into writing, and fairly immediately I knew I wanted to keep writing. Publishing is a difficult business, and I knew that opportunities to publish can be hard to come by (I certainly knew zero about self-publishing!), but I knew right then and there that whether I made a career out of it, I wanted to keep at it.
What inspired you to write Good Hair Days?
My own visit to the hair salon! I went to a place that was run by two friends who spoke so much like sisters, and that was the “light bulb” moment. I started thinking how fun it would be to write a story about a family-run salon, and from there it slowly evolved.
What was your favorite chapter or part to write?
In Good Hair Days my favorite scene to write was when the Louise women TP’ed the rival hair salon. It was so fun! In general the scenes where they come together for a common good were my favorites.
What are you currently reading, and what’s on your TBR?
I am currently reading How to Read a Book, and loving it! I have an embarrassingly large TBR–there are so many incredible books coming out! I’m particularly looking forward to reading Ashley Winstead’s This Book will Bury Me.
