Chatting with Author Laura Hilton

We're happy to have Laura Hilton here with us today. Laura lives and writes in Arkansas, surrounded by her husband and five children. The author of inspirational novels about the Amish, she is also a book reviewer.

Welcome, Laura. We're curious: How long were you writing before your first publication? How many manuscripts had you written by that time? Have you published any of your early works since? Do you plan to? 

I started writing when I was in third grade. None of those early works were published. My first two books were published by a small press. And I wouldn’t publish any more of my earlier books without rewriting them. I have learned so much about writing since I first began.

I know exactly what you mean! I'm so thankful my earlier things weren't published, because I'd be embarrassed by them today. Tell us, what’s your favorite setting for writing -- at home, in a coffee shop, on the front porch, sitting cross-legged on the living room couch, etc?  

I sit in the living room, in the hub of the family. I have five children and a husband who like access.  I would love an office – someday. My living room is cluttered with writing books, reading books, homeschool books, notes, etc.

Are you a morning person? A night owl?  

More of a middle of the day person.

When working on a manuscript, what do you do when you get stuck? 

First, I pray. Then if an immediate answer doesn’t come, I pick up a book and read. Or research something I need to know.

Do you ever read your dialog aloud to see how it sounds? Have you ever performed

an action you want one of your characters to carry out in order to help you visualize or

describe it?  

I have done both. Or had someone do it for me. If I am alone (no children around) I will sometimes read dialog out loud. Usually my daughter reads over my shoulder as I write and she’ll correct me.  As for the trying something to visualize it, I wanted to see what it would be like to kick the backseat of a car in from the trunk, and if they could kick out the tail lights. We didn’t actually kick them out – but it could be done.

LOL - You should have videoed that experiment. I and your fans would like to have seen it! Tell us, how did you come up with the idea for your latest release? 

I wanted to do an Amish Christmas story and thought it would be nice to do one around my current setting. But I’m not as talented as some authors who do many different points of views and story lines in the same book, so I picked my latest release in which the hero had a twin brother and prayed about the story and the main points behind it.

Do you model characters after people you know? Are any of them (the real people, not

the characters) aware of it? 

Not intentionally. Sometimes I can see certain aspects of someone in my story. But, no, I never went around to the people that I unintentionally wrote about and said “you’re my hero in my story.” Or “You’re the bad guy in my story.”

That's probably good; it might not go over very well. Do you think your protagonists are like their creator? Or do you try to make them as unlike you as possible?  

Not very many of them are like me. A couple may have one of my traits – such as being quiet or shy.  But otherwise, no. They are very different from me.

Do you also write short stories, nonfiction, articles, devotionals, or other things, or are

you strictly a novelist?   

I have written some articles and some devotionals.

If you felt the Holy Spirit urging you to quit writing, would you do it? 

Yes. But it would be hard. Creating and the resulting prayer and Bible study is very much a part of who I am as well as the ministry He has called me to.

Do you read your reviews? Have you ever replied to one? Do you find they influence

your writing when you work on subsequent books?  

I try not to read my reviews. I am at the point where people randomly choose to write one star reviews. “I downloaded it not realizing it was a Christian book.” Or “There’s no sex, so it must be a book for early readers.” I do scan the 5 or 4 star ones occasionally, for marketing blurbs to quote.

What question do you find most annoying on author interviews?  

What is the take away you intend for the reader to get from your book?  I am bothered by that because what I take away from the book and what God wants a reader to take from it may not be the same thing.

I agree. That's very true.

Thank you, Laura, for taking the time to visit with us today! Readers, you can learn more about Laura and interact with her at: 

http://www.amazon.com/Laura-V.-Hilton/e/B004IRSM5Q 

visit my blogs: http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/  & http://lauravhilton.blogspot.com/ 

twitter: @Laura_V_Hilton

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Laura-V-Hilton/161478847242512

You can purchase her books at: 

Amazon   http://www.amazon.com/Laura-V.-Hilton/e/B004IRSM5Q 

CBD: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/easy_find?Ntt=laura+hilton&N=0&Ntk=keywords&action=Search&Ne=0&event=ESRCG&nav_search=1&cms=1

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/laura-hilton?store=allproducts&keyword=laura+hilton

Deeper Shoppinghttp://www.deepershopping.com/index.php?query=laura+hilton&x=0&y=0&module=productsearch&_logmode=Y&querymodule=SPX

And don't forget to stop by tomorrow, when you can enter to win a free copy of Laura's latest release, A White Christmas in Webster County!

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Developing Story by Author Laura Hilton

I was asked to join another Amish author to write a Christmas anthology, and I asked my agent permission. She contacted Whitaker House for permission and they wanted to do a Christmas Amish story.  

I had a conversation with my editor there and she said that she wanted it set in Webster County and characters from all the previous books revisited. So I thought about that awhile. 

The obvious answer was the hero. My hero, Abram, in Awakened Love had a twin brother named Abner who moved to Montana – What if Abner went to visit Abram in Seymour, Missouri, to meet Abram’s new wife, Katie? Ahh, his story was born. 

That left the heroine.  I thought about that, and God directed me to an article about Amish going deep sea fishing… What if her fiancé goes fishing on Lake Michigan during his rumspringe (running around time)… and dies?  And what if she is hired as a mother’s helper in Seymour (to another character set) Matthew and Shanna from A Harvest of Hearts. 

I wrote the blurb - A White Christmas in Webster County (September 2014, Whitaker House)

Wanting to relocate from Shipshewana to somewhere new, Mercy Lapp answered an ad in The Budget to work as a mother’s helper for Matthew and Shanna Yoder in Seymour, Missouri. Mercy relocated from Shipshewana to give herself space and time to heal after the death of her beau in a fishing trip on Lake Michigan. Abner Hilty fled Shipshewana to Montana to work on a ranch after he and his twin brother witnessed a murder. Now that the killer is safely behind bars, Abner decides to visit his brother Abram in Missouri where he’d settled with his bride of one month. Mercy is surprised to see Abner there, and equally surprised by how much he’d changed physically since she’d last seen him. Even though the two live in different districts they occasionally see each other in town and form a fledging friendship. As Christmas approaches, an unexpected heavy snow lets Abner and Mercy spend a lot of time together in wintertime fun. Abner hopes to interest Mercy in a more permanent relationship. But then Mercy has a potentially life changing discovery. Will she return to Shipshewana to answer the summons of the past? Or settle in a new place? 

After my agent submitted it to Whitaker House, I concentrated on my next contracted book.  The call came on December 19—my wedding anniversary. My family was going to Jonesboro, Arkansas to go Christmas shopping, and my agent called while we were on the road. 

I was so excited! I wanted to write this story. But it meant that I had to quit writing my contracted book, write this one, and then go back to the other, as this one had a much nearer deadline. 

Award winning author, Laura Hilton, her husband, Steve, and their five children make their home in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. She is a pastor’s wife, a stay-at-home mom and home-schools three of her children. Her two oldest children are homeschool graduates and are in college. Laura is also a breast cancer survivor.

Laura on the Web; 

twitter: @Laura_V_Hilton

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Laura-V-Hilton/161478847242512

Purchase my books:

Amazon   http://www.amazon.com/Laura-V.-Hilton/e/B004IRSM5Q 

CBD: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/easy_find?Ntt=laura+hilton&N=0&Ntk=keywords&action=Search&Ne=0&event=ESRCG&nav_search=1&cms=1

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/laura-hilton?store=allproducts&keyword=laura+hilton

Deeper Shoppinghttp://www.deepershopping.com/index.php?query=laura+hilton&x=0&y=0&module=productsearch&_logmode=Y&querymodule=SPX

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A Close-Up of Author Laura Hilton

On Tuesday, Laura Hilton shared with us about how she did some of the research for her latest release. Today she's back to talk about her writing life in general.

1) Have you always wanted to be an author? If not, what made you decide to write, and how long have you been at it?  

I have always wanted to write – ever since I was old enough to read. I played at writing all the way through school, had some poems published in middle school. I wrote and rewrote and rewrote my first book (Shadows of the Past, Treble Heart Books, out of print) so many times trying to learn the craft. 

2) Are you a plotter, a pantser, or a combination?  

I am very much a pantser. If I plotted the story out I would lose all interest in telling it.  That said, I do let the idea simmer in my head awhile before I start writing. I know the characters names. I know the basic blurb, and then I start. With a lot of prayer and wonderful critique partners, when I finish the first draft I’m finished with the book – no rewriting, other than editorial changes, which so far haven’t been major. 

3) Wow, I'm impressed! My first drafts aren't fit to show anyone, let alone submit to a publisher. So do you write full time, or do you work it in alongside a full-time job? 

I’m a pastor’s wife, a stay-at-home mom, a home school mom, a book reviewer… so even though none of the above are paid, I work full time.  

4) I'd say that's a full-time job, yes! What do your kids think about your being a writer?  

They say they like it. They like the research trips/field trips.  And my oldest son says “fully supportive.”

5) What a blessing! When you're writing, what’s your favorite method for keeping a story’s middle from sagging? 

An unexpected twist. 

6) Do you write every day? What does your typical writing day look like?  

I try to write every day, but it depends on life.  I get up, I make the bed, I sort school for the girls, I start a load of laundry, eat breakfast, promote on Twitter and Facebook whatever is on my blog, and then do a little marketing on my book – such as promoting this interview. Then I answer reader emails and letters, help the girls with their school work and write a word here and a word there the rest of the day. 

7) Do you like to listen to music when you write?  

No. I’d prefer silence. But in a busy family of seven that doesn’t happen!  I am pretty good at blocking out general noises, so unless my son puts on country music  full blast and jars me out of the zone, I’m good. 

8) Do you have any rituals you like to go through before you start writing, such as make yourself a cup of coffee or tea? Do calisthenics to get the blood flowing? Lock yourself in a room and warn your family not to disturb you upon pain of death? Read something inspiring? Pray?  

My ritual is pretty much described in question six. But, that said, McDonalds makes some great iced coffees. And with some trial error, I have learned to make it at home. So every morning I have a glass of iced coffee (Almond Joy flavor) and I pray about what I write, that the message in the book is what God wants me to say. Also I have devotions.

9) Writing is a sedentary occupation. What do you do for exercise?  

Not nearly enough.  I have an exercise bike in the middle of the living room (which is also where I write. I don’t have an office) and on nice days I go for a walk around the block. 

10) Do you have any pets? Do you own them, or they you?  

We have a dog named Nanook. He is a Siberian Husky and he’s a member of the family. No one owns anyone.  Well, technically, he is my son’s dog, but it is my lap he thinks he belongs in during thunderstorms.  And  he’s  a big dog for a lap.  

11) What fun fact would you like your readers to know about you?  

I love winter. I love snow. I love lighthouses and have visited most around the Great Lakes. 

12) Nice to know I'm not the only winter-lover in the world. People think I'm nuts, but I completely agree with you on that. Have you ever had a funny experience connected with being an author? For instance, has someone ever overheard you discussing the merits of one murder weapon over another or caught you shooting at a can of gasoline to see if you could make it explode? 

Well, no. Not like some people have. But I don’t write murder mysteries or suspense.  I am accused of stalking Amish though. 

LOL - just don't stalk them with a camera. That's frowned upon. Thank you, Laura, for inviting us in to observe you in your natural habitat!

Award winning author, Laura Hilton, her husband, Steve, and their five children make their home in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. She is a pastor’s wife, a stay-at-home mom and home-schools three of her children. Her two oldest children are homeschool graduates and are in college. Laura is also a breast cancer survivor.

Her publishing credits include three books in the Amish of Seymour series from Whitaker House: Patchwork Dreams, A Harvest of Hearts, and Promised to Another. And the Amish of Webster County series, Healing Love. Surrendered Love releases April 2013, and the third book will release September 2013. A nonAmish book The Appalachian Ballad Quilt will release November 2014 from Abingdon

Press. Laura is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Laura is a professional book reviewer for the Christian market, with over a thousand book reviews published at various online review sites.

Stop by tomorrow and enter to win a free copy of Surrendered Love:

Janna Kauffman loves grocery shopping for the homebound in her Amish community. When Janna’s sister washes her hands of her rebellious daughter, Meghan, and sends her to live with her Amish relatives, Janna is spending less time shopping and more time explaining Meghan’s actions to police officer Hiram “Troy” Troyer. Formerly Amish Troy becomes a regular part of Janna and Meghan’s lives as Meghan continues to act out due to her Englisch mother’s rejection. Could God tame a headstrong teenager and help Janna and Troy find love in the midst of it all?

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