Julia Heywood

About Me

I have always had the feeling that ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things.

I am one of those ordinary people and the way in which the writing of The Barefoot Indian came about was certainly extraordinary.

Julia Heywood

I do not come from a literary background, in fact my background was in the beauty industry. The thought of writing a book had never entered my head. The book literally came to me out of the blue one Saturday evening and by the time I went to bed that night I was aware of the entire story, I saw the whole thing visually in my mind as though it was being projected onto a cinema screen. I woke up the next morning and eagerly started to get the words down on the computer and I could not stop typing until it was complete. The story just flowed from me like water flowing out of an opened dam, it was effortless. The book took twenty one days to write and within four weeks of finishing it I was offered a publishing contract. Not one word was edited, so what appears on the page is word for word what came from me. When writing The Barefoot Indian I felt compelled to write it and the reaction to it from critics and readers confirms to me that this book was meant to be written.

The Barefoot Indian is a modern day fable, it features an unnamed woman who thinks there must be more to life than what she is currently experiencing. As the story unfolds she learns to view life from a totally different perspective and finds it to be rich and rewarding in everyway.

To me the book is life affirming and inspirational. I suppose it’s not really surprising that I have written a book that could be classed as ‘spiritual’ because I have always endeavoured to be spiritual. By that I mean I have always endeavoured to enter into the true spirit of life; I seek to see life as it really is rather than imaging what it might be. Throughout my life I have had a burning desire to find answers to life’s questions, but rather than seeking the answers outside of me I have always looked for them from within. Focusing my attention inwards has led me to some of the most enlightening experiences. If you would like to know more about these experiences and understand more of my philosophy, just read the book, it’s all in there!

I like to refer to my writing as faction, because it is inspired by factual events but contains some fictitious material. The wisdom and guidance I have gained, along with my insights and experiences, are told in a story, because I feel this enables readers to identify with the main character and the situations she finds herself in. By sharing the character’s wonderful experiences , their own lives can be seen from a whole new perspective.

I now write full time. In addition to writing further books in The Barefoot Indian series, I write articles for magazines and newspapers.