Jill Williamson's "To Darkness Fled"
We're happy to have Jill Williamson with us today talking about her new book, To Darkness Fled. To learn more about Jill and To Darkness Fled read on!
Your title: By Darkness Hid and To Darkness Fled (Blood of Kings books 1 and 2)
1) How did this story come to you?
Two things happened close together that inspired this story. First, I was walking with my son one day in Burbank , California , and we came upon a burned-down house. I stopped to look at it and noticed a tree in the front yard. The part of the tree that hung over the fence and above the street was leafy green, rocking and rustling in the wind. But the branches of the tree near the house were charred and stiff.
I stared at that tree for a long time, then took off for home, pushing that stroller at top speed. I went straight to the computer, opened Adobe Photoshop, and made the image of the tree that is the header on my author website. I couldn’t wait to write a story about this tree!
Around that same time, I had a weird dream where a guy had amnesia. Little did everyone know that he was someone very important. When I woke up, I liked the idea of this lost character, so I put him together with my ideas for the half-living, half-dead tree and I was off and running.
2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
I didn’t intend to pitch this story to Jeff Gerke and Marcher Lord Press. I was attending the Oregon Christian Writers Summer Coaching Conference and there was only one editor interested in looking at young adult novels that year. I had met Jeff at a previous conference, so I put the first chapter of my fantasy story in to him to see what he thought. I was surprised when he wanted to talk. “Why does it have to be YA?” he said.
I was even more surprised when he wanted to publish it.
3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
1. I’m from Alaska . I grew up in a home with no electricity and an outhouse.
2. I once started my own wedding gown business called Lugano. My first dream in life was to be a fashion designer. Once I became fed up working in the industry, and before I started writing, I designed a line of nine better wedding gowns and went to the Chicago Bridal Market as a vendor. It was a tremendous amount of work, especially considering I hate to sew.
3. I speak a little Japanese. I went to Okinawa on an exchange program back in high school. Konnichiwa! Genki desu ka? (Hello! How are you?)
4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I am working on From Darkness Won (Blood of Kings, book 3). I’m hoping to sell one of my other young adult novels. I plan to visit more middle and high schools as an author and encourage teens who love to read and write.
5) Parting comments?
Thanks for having me here! I appreciate getting to know you all. If you’re not sure if my books are for you, visit my website and read the first chapters. That’s a good way to find out if you like the story.
6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
I’m everywhere! My website is www.jillwilliamson.com. I’m also on Facebook, MySpace, Shoutlife, Shelfari, GoodReads, Twitter, Amazon…
On top of that, I run two blogs. The first is Novel Teen Book Reviews at http://www.novelteen.com/. It’s a website that reviews clean teen fiction. This is a great resource to see what books are available in the Christian market for teens. The other blog is for teen authors, though adult authors may find some useful tips too. http://www.teenageauthor.com/.
