For the inaugural installment of my new feature “Fiction Friday”, I’m pleased to have author Laura Hilton with me today. 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 her children. Laura is also a breast cancer survivor. Her publishing credits include Hot Chocolate and Shadows of the Past from Treble Heart Books; a devotional in a compilation from Zondervan; and the first book “Patchwork Dreams” in her Amish of Seymour series from Whitaker House will be released in April 2011, the second book, “A Harvest of Hearts” in September 2011, and the third in April 2012. Laura has her business degree from Ozarka and 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.
- Why did you start writing? I always loved to read – and even as a third grader I had characters living in my head. Writing just came naturally. If you asked anyone what I wanted to be when I grew up I’d tell them a writer and a stay-at-home mom.
- Why did you choose to write Amish fiction? My agent suggested it. I’d never considered it because well, there’s Beverly Lewis and I’m not Beverly Lewis. But I do have Amish in my background and I love to read Amish things – it always fascinated me when I drove through Seymour and saw them in the buggies.
- What intrigues you most about the Amish? Their ability to keep to the old ways despite all the modern conveniences. I’m not sure I’d be so dedicated. I like air conditioning. 🙂 Though, the southern-most Amish are allowed electric for air conditioning because it’s just so hot in states like Florida.
- How can a novel about the Amish impact us “Englishers”? They are real people with real struggles just like us. They face many of the same temptations, struggles and desires as we do.
- I know you’re a busy homeschooling mom of many. How do you find time to write? I have five children – but my two older ones are graduated from home school and in college though they still live at home. My fifteen year old daughter is pretty self-educating, I just am there to explain things if she needs it. Besides, for highschool I use ABeka Academy, so there are real teachers teaching her (via DVD or internet streaming). The two younger ones work fast and are done with their work in half a day. I usually have mini chocolate bars on hand that the kids know are only for “If mommy gets her word count.” If they want candy, they let me write. 🙂
- What do you like most about writing? Writing. I love seeing the story come alive. I don’t plot or plan, I just write and it is so fun to see where it goes.
- What do you like least about writing? Sigh. Marketing. Especially interviews. Why would anyone want to talk to me? And I hate talking on the phone. Seriously. I won’t call anyone. They can either call me or I’ll go in and talk to them in person.
- Tell us a little about “Patchwork Dreams”. Becky Troyer has committed the ultimate sin, and finds herself on the edge of her Amish community. Jacob Miller believes he was sent to the Old Order Community in Missouri to help out a distant cousin. Instead, he discovers he was part of an arranged swap–sending men from his Pennsylvania district to the Missouri district to bring new blood into the Amish community. Becky dreams of marriage, but doesn’t dare hope that anyone would choose her–not with her history. Can God use the lies that have affected Becky and Jacob to bring them together? Or will Jacob rebel and head home to his first love?
- Do you ever base any of your characters on real people? Um, not knowingly, but I try to make them as realistic as possible. I suppose in some ways Becky is a lot like me. I’m a book-worm, I’m shy and quiet, and I struggled with some of the same issues of acceptance that she struggled with.
- Tell us one fun thing about yourself none of your readers might know. I have a garden and we have a Siberian Husky. Nanook seems to think the garden is just an addition to his diet and he’s eaten two whole rows of onions, and he tries to beat me to the tomatoes when they’re ripe. He’s also afraid of thunderstorms and he seems to think I’m the only person alive who can protect him from storms. Even though he’s a big dog, he literally tries to crawl on my lap. When I won’t let him, he settles for laying on my feet or following me around.
Laura’s heroine in Patchwork Dreams loves McDonald’s cappuccinos. Leave a comment with your funniest dating story. She’ll pick her favorite and award the winner with a $10 McDonald’s gift card.
Thanks so much for joining us today, Laura, and for the chance to win the gift card. We’re looking forward to your new release!
Umm…ha! I’ve never been on a date. But I can say this…when I find the right young man, we will court, so there could be some VERY interesting stories later to tell our future children. 🙂
caseym.writer(@)Gmail.com
Great to meet Laura. I enjoyed Patchwork Dreams too. Thanks for the visit Liz!
Great interview ladies =-)
How fun that a character would love McD’s cappuccinos. I look forward to getting my hands on Laura’s book!
My funniest story now was with my now husband. I had laryngitis and he bought me a giant milkshake thinking I could get my voice back. I inhaled it and we settled on the couch to watch a movie. I turn to him and out of no where let out a burp that would shock a truckdriver. My husband jokes that my burp was so powerful it blew all his hair off.
🙂
Wonderful interview!
Thanks for having me, Liz, it’s a pleasure to be here. 🙂
Casey, I’m trying to encourage courtship with my children.
Lisa, I’m glad you enjoyed the book.
Julie, I hope you like my book when you do get it! That’s a funny story!
My first date with my husband came about because my best friend at the time refused to ask him out! We were at college, and it was girls ask guys out night at the cafeteria. I knew my friend liked him, and I encouraged her to ask him to go with her. The day arrived and still no date had been set up, so I asked him out instead! It was a romantic candlelight meal of sloppy joes and french fries. We became an item after that and the rest is history. Wonder if that is why he likes sloppy joes so much still today?
cute, Marilyn.
This is kind of an unusual date. After my husband of 8 years died of a brain tumor I thought I’d be spending life alone without a mate. My church was having an adult hayride and I decided to go. I was in the process of selling my home and a prospective buyer wouldn’t make an offer until I fixed the light in the lamp post by the driveway. I didn’t know it wasn’t working! I checked the lamp post out and saw the light bulb had shattered. I was telling another church goer about it at the hayride. My now husband heard me and offered to change it for me. At first I said no because I didn’t want him to make the 30-40 minute drive to my house. Finally I said o.k. Not only did he change the light bulb but he stayed and we talked for several hours. He sat on the edge of the sofa looking like he wanted to bolt anytime. We were both pretty nervous. When he left he asked if he could give me a hug. I wasn’t too sure but I let him. He said good-bye and left. That was just the beginning of many more dates!
I haven’t read Patchwork Dreams, but it sounds like an awesome read,and I remember Laura from ACFW and a critique group we were in together. Blessings for success, Laura. Barb
Lori, One of my favorite crit partners. God bles you as you write for Him. June
One of the first places dh took me when we started seeing each other was to a classy Italian restaurant. (Frank Sinatra was supposedly one of the financers.) We were eating soup and I heard the sound of a drop of water hit his soup. I looked up at him, he was looking up at the ceiling, shrugged his shoulders, and went back to eating his soup. Once again, I heard the same sound, looked up to see him again looking up at the ceiling. Again he shrugged his shoulders and resumed eating. This went on two more times before I discovered that HE was making the drip sound himself (a tap to the cheek while blowing out). I could not believe he did this in a fancy restaurant.
Great interview! I just finished reading Laura’s book this weekend and it was so good! Can’t wait until her second book comes out. My “dating” story is actually the night we got married. My hubby was very, very shy back then and didn’t eat anything at our reception. We were on our way to spend our first night in our new home about an hour away from where we were married. We stopped at McDonalds so he could get something to eat. LOL!! We joke every year about him taking me our for our anniversay to the same place we went on our wedding night. Denise
Your book sounds good, Laura!
Funniest dating story…hmmmm…
My husband and I broke up for a while, because I had some serious ambivalence after breaking an engagement the previous year. I was depressed and torn, because I wanted to see him, knowing I had never met a guy so well suited for me before and might not ever again. We decided to go out with my parents, to take some of the pressure off. He joked and called it our ____ ____ date, after a local Christian school that only allowed the boarding students to date if a third party went with them. Then when we were engaged, my brother would say, when people asked if I were getting married, “So far.”
thank you BJ and June. 🙂
Judy, that is so sweet!
cjajsmommy, sounds like your husband and mine would get alone perfectly. 🙂
Denise, that’s cute. And if you win it’ll be mostly paid for. 🙂
Karen, my son asked his “friends” parents to go with them on their first date, too. 🙂
cjajsmommy is the winner of the $10 gift card. She had a funny date story too. To share one of mine– when Steve asked me out the first time, he asked me out for strawberry pie. I took him literally and had dinner eaten before he picked me up. He meant he wanted to take me out for dinner–not just pie. He was so embarrassed to order a meal in front of me…