She is the author of two picture books, two for teens and nine for adults. Her children's books include Dribbles (Clarion) was selected by the Bureau of Education and Research in Bellevue, WA as one of the top 100 children's books published in 1993. She has written more than 400 newspaper features and magazine articles. Her current work under contract for publication includes a nonfiction piece in "The Writer Magazine", "Cricket Magazine", and a poem in "Highlights for Children". The Writing Group Book: How to Create and Sustain a Successful Writing Group (Chicago Review Press, September, 2003) contains Ms. Heckert's essay. She received the 1997 Leader Award in Recognition of Outstanding Achievement and Quality Leadership to the Quad-Cities Community from the Quad-Cities Women's Encouragement Board and an Award of Excellence for a corporate history, Alcoa Davenport Works: The First Fifty (1999).

Ms. Heckert serves as Regional Advisor of the Iowa Region of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and serves on the Board of Directors of the Moline Schools/David R. Collins Children's Literature Festival. She is on faculty of the Institute of Children's Literature, West Redding, CT. Ms. Heckert lives with her husband, John; two young daughters; and two of the cat characters in her book, Dribbles: Bing Crosby and Jack Benny.