Heidi Matonis
Heidi is a novelist, who delights in exploring the subtleties of human interactions. She is also an artist, and activist.
Novels
All books are available to purchase on Amazon.
Nitro
A Novel of Creation and Destruction
In the throes of a relentless polar vortex, Georgia, an unemployed science journalist, seeks solace in a secluded farmhouse. Determined to craft her magnum opus — a Gothic narrative chronicling the life of Fritz Haber, the chemist who revolutionized nitrogen synthesis — she grapples with isolation and the weight of her own despair. Turning to AI for guidance, Georgia’s inquiries range from literary constructs to personal insecurities, gradually bridging the chasm of her loneliness.
As her imagination intertwines with technology as as the storm crescendos, Georgia confronts her own turbulent emotions, leading to a poignant decision that will define her fate.
This haunting novel delves into the blurred boundaries between creation and destruction, man and monster and the profound impact of human connection in the digital age.
2025
Imagining Monticello
Captive in an abandoned country house, Sara is forced to live a primitive 18th century existence. Over the course of 30 days, her life falls into a repetitive pattern of physical hardship and psychological torture. To keep her sanity, Sara imagines the house as Monticello, her captor as Thomas Jefferson and herself as Sally Hemmings. Sara does not understand she is sinking into Stockholm Syndrome as she succumbs to her kidnapper’s obvious physical and mental charms.
It’s only when she discovers her captor was responsible for the bomb that killed her son, and that he and his militia are planning another historic attack, that she devises a diabolical plan to stop them.
Imagining Monticello explores the age-old power dynamic between men and women against the back drop of a divisive political climate.
2024
Hatching Love
Late at night, lonely and restless, Beth Paradise stumbles across a bizarre YouTube video: a man hatching a duckling using his own body heat. Intrigued and desperate, she decides to try it herself.
But what begins as a quirky experiment spirals into something far stranger—and more life-altering—than she could have ever imagined.
Darkly funny and unexpectedly tender, Hatching Love is a story about longing, absurdity, and the weird ways we try to make life hatch into something meaningful.
Based on a real YouTuber’s video, Incubating An Egg With My Body.
2023