Laura V. Hilton-author interview and book giveaway

Laura thanks for taking the time to visit us today! I appreciate you answering these few questions. It will be fun to get to know you better. Tell us a little about yourself.

Thank you, it’s nice to be here. I am a wife of almost 25 years to Steve, a homeschool Mom to five blessings, a book reviewer, a pastor’s wife, a breast cancer survivor, and an author.

How long did you write before you were published?

I was born writing, I think. I remember stories in kindergarten, and writing and writing and writing a long misplaced story when I was in elementary school. I had two books published about six years ago with a small press, but then I landed an agent and she felt I should focus on the bigger houses, rather than small press, and I wrote another 4 years before they started taking notice.

Tell us about “Patchwork Dreams,” the featured book.

- 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?

Is there any person who has been a strong influence in your writing journey?

Well, my agent has been very encouraging to me. She has talked me out of giving up I don’t know how many times. I really don’t have a mentor, I’ve wanted one, but didn’t know how to get one, but I do have my critique groups with helped me greatly, especially with expanding the story (where we need more information) and with verb/tense agreement issues—my weakness. My husband is probably my biggest cheerleader, he reads my books as I write it—chapter by chapter. And ACFW has really taught me a lot about the craft of writing. It’s really not as simple as just writing something. You have to know something about story, where it begins, point of view, motives, and other stuff.

What message do you want to be clear to your readers?

That God loves you where you are at, that He is the God of second chances.

What are some of your likes and dislikes? Your hobbies, interests? Where do you like to vacation?

I enjoy minivacations in the area in which I live. Right now I’m near an Amish community, I’m near caves, springs, state parks, and civil war monuments. If I have an opportunity for a longer vacation, I like to go to Michigan. It is my “home” and I love the beach on Lake Michigan, all the water falls, the lighthouses, etc. My hobbies are at this point mostly reading. As a book reviewer I have little time for handcrafts, if I have a spare moment I have to read something. If I have time away from reading, then I enjoy researching, learning something new. I also love to bake, and spend time with my family. I dislike spiders … LOL, my son wrote a poem (and it was published on-line) about my fear of spiders.

Tell us a little-known fact about yourself that readers may not know.

Well, they might now know I’m afraid of spiders! Seriously, I love winter squash, my favorite fruit would be blueberries or raspberries, fresh, of course, and I drink a lot of unsweetened tea, all kinds, white, black, red, or green.

How do you spend your writing days? Do you set goals to reach a certain number of words per day? Can you give us a general idea of how long it takes you to write a novel?

I set a goal for a month. Like this month I am starting the third book in my Amish series, so I wrote in my journal start – 0, goal 15,000. I don’t have an office, so I have to write with the family, and it is interrupted a lot with homeschooling, phone calls, errands, family stuff. I like to write at least a 1,000 words a day, but that isn’t always possible, life does happen, so I try to set a reasonable monthly goal for me, so I don’t feel so bad if I only get 500 words, or if I can’t write at all. I wrote Patchwork Dreams from start 0 words – to the final edited version that I submitted in four months. And that includes the rough draft and the final copy. The second book – A Harvest of Hearts, coming in September, I wrote in four and a half months.

What are you currently reading?

I just finished reading An Amish Midwife by Mindy Starns Clark, and I’ll be starting Bake Until Golden by Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson tonight.

Do you grow flowers or vegetables?

Yes, both. The price of fresh produce is horrific, so I try to grow our own vegetables. I had tulips in my garden that I transplanted from Michigan but the deer eat them, so right now I have irises, wild violets, and jonquils in the garden.

What are your favorite flowers?

I love tulips, roses, jonquils, and violets. Well, any flower really. I enjoy a fresh bouquet in the middle of the dining room table.

What are you writing now?

I’m starting the third book in the Amish of Seymour series. It’s the story of Annie, an Amish school teacher, and Joshua, an Amish man transferred in a man swap from Pennsylvania to Missouri.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I’m on facebook – Laura Vernet Price Hilton (I need to start a fan page, I’m almost at my limit for friends) and my blogs, http://lauravhilton.blogspot.com or my book review blog – http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com. I’m also on shoutlife.

And thanks for spending this time with us, Laura.

Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure to be here.
We wish you much success.

Book Giveaway-Patchwork Dreams

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ENTRY DEADLINE March 19, 2011