Award winning author, Laura
Hilton, her husband, Steve, and their five children make their home in Arkansas . She is a
pastor’s wife, a stay-at-home mom and home-schools. Laura is also a breast
cancer survivor.
Her publishing
credits include three books in the Amish
of She has self-published a Christmas novella, Christmas Mittens.
Laura is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a professional book reviewer and blogs for Putting on the New and Seriously Write.
Now, let's get to know a little bit more about Laura.
Joi: Why did you start writing? How did you start writing?
Laura: I don’t know why I started writing. It was just something that I always wanted to do for as long as I can remember. I used to write during my spare time at school… not that any of that ever saw the light of day. I remember my third grade teacher putting limits on lengths of writing projects because I would write and write and write. . .
Joi: That's funny, Laura!
Joi: How did you select your genre?
Laura: I think it selected me. I love contemporary romance. I do have Amish ancestors and I thought it’d be fun to try to write one. . . I didn’t expect it would sell. But it did. I think it’s the best of both worlds. Exploring my ancestry and writing contemporary romance at the same time.
Joi: What is your writing day like?
Laura; Get up, brush my teeth, have breakfast, sort school work, market, start school and laundry. Edit chapters I got critiques back on while kids do seatwork. Do more school. Finish school. Open manuscript. Sons and husband get home. Fix dinner. Edit what I wrote the night before. And maybe get five hundred to a thousand words written before I go to bed. If I’m lucky.
Joi: You are busy!
Joi: How do you organize your writing? (outlines/note cards/post-its)
Laura: Um. I’ll scribble anything that I need to remember on a scrap of paper, lose it, and when I find it again, type it into another document on my computer labeled “notes”. Usually it doesn’t contain much more than character names in that story and relation to hero / heroine unless of course God gives me a brilliant idea I don’t want to forget then I will type in something that probably makes no sense to anyone. “Car shows up, he gets in. Where does he go and why?” something like that.
Laura: I am always surprised by my characters. I’m a seat of the pants writer and I only
know things as they tell me but I don’t want to give any specific examples
because someone might not have read that book and it might give something
away.
Laura: No, not really. I know the main characters of my next book
only because I wrote a pitch for that book, but other than that pitch I know
next to nothing. I’ll discover it as I
write.
Joi: What does your work space/office look like?
Laura: I have no office. I write in a corner of the living room –
the same corner I homeschool my children in – it’s kind of blocked off in a
corner, right by the front door, but my son put the love seat in front of my
writing desk and a bookcase beside it where I keep homeschool books, so we all
crowd into this little area to do our work.
Joi: What is your go-to snack when writing?
Laura:Usually, no snacking.
I do keep iced tea or iced water beside me – out of the way so it won’t
dump on my computer or on books – but other than that, none. Unless I get
stressed out. Then you might catch me inhaling chocolate, if there’s any in the
house.
Joi: If you could only recommend one NOVEL, what would it be? Why?
Laura: Oh. No. I can’t do that. I love certain authors and books but I don’t want to recommend one over any other because it would be sooo hard to choose! Besides, it depends on the genre. I can tell you my favorite contemporary romance writers, historical romance writers, romantic suspense writers, Amish writers, etc.
Joi: If you could only recommend one CRAFT book
(writing, no crocheting), what would it be? Why?
Laura: Honestly, craft books are worthless to me. I don’t
understand them; my brain doesn’t function that way. It works better for me to
read and find authors I love and figure out why their books are so beyond
wonderful. How did they grab my interest on page one? How did they introduce
their characters? How much backstory was revealed and when? Study books that
you enjoy – and figure out why you enjoy them.
Joi: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Laura: I know I write different than how others do it, but there
are others out there wired just like me.
God knows what He is doing. I pray constantly when I am writing that He
will have me write what He wants me to write and it always amazes me when I get
to the end and the theme is there all along that He is working with and I never
saw it until I reached the end. And then it is WOW and I sit and stare at it
and thank God for guiding me through yet another book and getting His message
out there.
Thanks for joining us, Laura! Laura is offering a giveaway to any one of her books! The winner can choose whichever one she/he desires. Leave a comment below and you'll be entered in the drawing!
The
Amish Firefighter
Can they overcome their past?
Abigail Stutzman’s life is about to change
– whether she wants it to or not. Her mamm is getting remarried to a widower
with a large family. Abigail is sent to live with her aenti and onkle in
Jamesport because she and her new step-brother had dated and their parents
anticipate problems. (Her step-brother is needed on the farm.) Abigail launches
a full-scale plan to return home to her family—and Mark—when she finds herself
in over her head…and heart. When Abigail and her new “wrong crowd” get into
significant trouble, her punishment includes helping a collection of crazy old
maids with housekeeping. In the midst of her atonement, Abigail uncovers family
secrets that run deep, and realizes she’s not the only one with a pain-filled
past. Abigail must decide if she’ll continue her messed-up legacy or embrace a
new beginning with the man who’s stolen her heart.
Sam Miller has trouble of his own. When Sam and
his close friend Ezra Weiss are in a drug/alcohol-related car accident in You can find Laura here:
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
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/laura-hilton?store=allproducts&keyword=laura+hilton
Deeper Shopping http://www.deepershopping.com/index.php?query=laura+hilton&x=0&y=0&module=productsearch&_logmode=Y&querymodule=SPX
12 comments:
I love Laura's books. Would love to win any one of them. Her newest looks fantastic.
Thereadmaster@me.com
I haven't had the privilege of reading any of Laura's books, but I think I need to remedy that. I would love to win a copy of one of her books. abilene_nana@yahoo.com
Cannot wait to read "The Amish Firefighter". Sounds like a great story. Thank you, Laura Hilton, for the information that you provided about yourself. I enjoyed reading and learning about you.
Elaine Shorb
tinkerbell2by2@gmail.com
Thank you, so very much for the chance. Laura is a gifted author.
leliamae54@aol.com
Sounds great Laura! Many blessings.
Sarahsmithstorm@gmail.com
Thanx for the giveaway! I loved The Birdhouse. I would like to read more from that series. I enjoyed learning more about you, Laura. Jennifer Hibdon j4hibdon@yahoo.com
"The Amish Firefighter" sounds like an interesting read. Would enjoy reading.
diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com
I would love to read one of Laura's books! This new one sounds great!
This one sounds amazing! I would love to win this! Thanks for the interview!
Annie
justcommonly(at)gmail(dot)com
Thank you for featuring Laura V. Hilton. A great interview to learn more about Laura as I've fallen in love with her books. I look forward to reading "The Amish Firefighter". I know I will not be disappointed with this book by Laura.
Faithhope75(at)Hotmail(dot)com
I love her books, they are just an all around good read. I am looking for more great historical fiction reads, I am into one right now by Edward Webster called Soul of Toledo. It's been so good, but I need a good one after this, this was the last one I had on my table to read!!
Annie, you are the winner!
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