From mentoring teen moms through Youth for Christ to serving as Mentor Mom Coordinator for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), Genny has always had a passion for encouraging other moms. Before becoming a mom herself, she was a manager at a global computer company and was busy climbing the corporate ladder. But having kids changed all that. And after quitting her job to be a stay-at-home mom, she rediscovered her passion for writing.
Today, she lives in Northern California with her husband and two kids (their son, 11, and their daughter, 12), where she balances writing with motherhood and loves both. She’s the author of six children’s books and served as the Assistant Regional Advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in North/Central California for over six years. Two of her manuscripts have received awards (middle grade novel Give and Take - Honorable Mention in the 2009 Sue Alexander Awards, and Feathers and Fur, Sticky-Stuck, Greasy, Grimy – Picture Book, 1st Place, California Focus on Writers Contest.)
In addition to her children’s writing, Genny’s writes regularly for a variety of magazines and websites and her work has been published in the book Kirtsy Takes a Bow: A Celebration of Women’s Favorites Online. Her parenting and lifestyle blog, MyCup2Yours (here at gennyheikka.com), was listed at Blogs.com as one of the Top 10 blogs for moms and was named Blog of the Week by the Sacramento Bee. She is a regular contributor at 5MinutesforFaith.com, TheMomInitiative.com, and Faith Village, and she enjoys speaking to women’s groups.
Genny also reviews books for the San Francisco Book Review and serves as the Volunteer Director of Communications at Courage to Be You, an international non-profit that is building homes for children rescued out of trafficking.
To read more about Genny and her family, click here, and to find out more about how she got started writing, click here.
