Jill Williamson: Interview

Hi, Jill. Thanks for stopping by. Tell us about your Christy Award winning novel By Darkness Hid. What's it about?

I wrote By Darkness Hid for the young adult market—my characters are fifteen and seventeen—but it sold as an adult novel, so readers of all ages tend to like it. It’s a medieval fantasy story about two young people who discover their ability to speak to, and hear, the minds of others: a squire serving an evil prince, and a maiden masquerading as a boy to avoid marriage. Their stories collide on the battlefield. You don’t have to be a fantasy fan to enjoy this book. It’s fast-paced and suspenseful and even has a bit of romance.

Some characters are able to speak telepathically through a gift called Bloodvoicing. It seems to be an allegory. Is it?

I never intended it to be, but I sort of treat it like a spiritual gift. Something that God gives certain people that is meant to be used for his glory, though some use it for their own personal gain.

Without ruining the story, what other themes or allegory will Christian's find in your novel? 

My story is set in a world where most people believe in many gods (the god of nature, the god of protection, the god of beauty, etc). But the truth is that there is only one God. So there is a small group of believers in the Way in the story. I’ve also included themes of sacrifice, forgiveness, and purpose into the series.

Though the story is third person perspective, part of the time we follow the story through the eyes of Achan. Did you find it hard to write from the perspective of a man? And, what did you draw on for insight into the male thought process?

I tend to write male POV characters in all my books. Probably because those are the genres of books I like to read. And when I started writing, I wanted to write those genres since there was a lack of them for teen boys.

I didn’t find it difficult. I write guys based on my experiences with them and from the knowledge I’ve gained in marriage workshops and books that discuss the ways males and females are different and why. That is something that’s always fascinated me. It should be taught in schools. What a help that would be to learn at a young age.

There is so much detail in your world, how do you keep track of it all?

I have a big three-ring binder that’s divided by city. I have everything written down inside it. I also have a section for characters, language, weapons, timelines, family trees, maps, floorplans, and such. I’d be lost without it.

By Darkness Hid won a Christy Award. That was quite an achievement. How did that work with a smaller press like Marcher Lord?

Some of us Marcher Lord Press authors wanted to enter the Christy Awards, so we asked Jeff if we could. But the costs for entering this contest—and for winning it—are quite high. So Marcher Lord Press made special arrangements in case we won, which we had to make use of because we did win. (Yay!)

You are definitely the epitome of the "modern-day author". Gone are the days of massive publishing houses nurturing and pampering their authors. Today's authors must be business savvy, agile, and clever to stay ahead of the pack. Can you give us a little of taste of what your days are like? Some of our readers are also aspiring authors, and would love to hear how you research award contests and handle self promotion.

Lately my days have been spent writing and rewriting book three. But when I first sold By Darkness Hid, I spent a lot of time researching marketing and publicity. I’ve written some posts on this topic for my blog (www.teenageauthor.com) and for the CAN blog (Christian Authors Network: http://canblog.typepad.com/). If you are looking for tips on marketing, you’ll find a wealth of information on the CAN blog from a multitude of published authors.

As far as what I did… I did everything I could think of. I researched contests by Googling “novel of the year awards” and sifting through them until I found ones I could enter. I researched review publications the same way. Most I knew of already (Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus, etc), but I found a few more through Google. For both contests and magazines, I found the submissions guidelines page to learn how to submit. I designed press releases and a press kit for myself by seeing what other authors had on their websites and making the same for myself.

I’m a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers: www.afcw.com). So whenever I see a blogger looking to interview someone or needing articles, I submit. I set up my own blog tours, recruited influencers and reviewers in the same way. I keep track of everything in an Excel spreadsheet so that I know which influencers/reviewers were helpful and which were not. This way I know whether to use them again. I found every online social media group and book site and made sure I had a page with my book info. I set up my Amazon.com author page, uploaded the search inside this book features. Being published with a small press gives me more freedom to do these things for myself.

 We look forward to book three. Stay vigillant, and come back and visit us again, Jill.