Author Interview: B.J. Hoff (And a Novel Giveaway)

Enter to win an autographed copy of Ms. Hoff's latest novel

A Distant Music, fresh off the presses! Simply leave a comment for her below the interview, and/or mention this interview with a link on your blog or web-site, and e-mail Gina (email address in blogger profile) to let her know!

Winner will be announced on Saturday.

B. J. Hoff is the best-selling author of the Emerald Ballad series, An American Anthem series, and the upcoming release of the first book in the Mountain Song Legacy.

http://www.bjhoff.com http://www.bjhoffgracenotes.typepad.com


Plug time. What book or project is coming out or has come out that you’d like to tell us about?


A Distant Music, the first book of my new series, Mountain Song Legacy, releases next month (January). The series is based on characters from an earlier novella I wrote (The Penny Whistle) that featured Jonathan Stuart, a schoolteacher in a small Kentucky coal mining town. Readers have been asking me for years to tell “the rest of the story,” and Harvest House Publishers suggested a trilogy to do just that.

The first book begins in 1892. The second title (The Wind Harp) takes up several years later, continuing the story of Jonathan Stuart and his former student, Maggie MacAuley. These have always been two of my favorite characters, so the project is truly a “labor of love” for me.


Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head.

I really hadn’t thought, not seriously, about writing a book. I had done some nonfiction for a few years, but most of my background was in music (teaching and as a church music director). I had been writing for some time before I decided to try a novel. As I recall, when my first book was accepted, I went totally blank when the editor called. I’d considered the first novel nothing more than a practice run—I hadn’t expected it to sell (well, obviously I’d hoped it might happen, but I had no real expectations that it would). When it did, I think that was probably one of the few times I was, literally, at a loss for words. Fortunately, that didn’t last more than a few minutes!


Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work?

Whatever doubts I have always come in the beginning stages. Because I’m not a “structured” writer—I do very little outlining or plotting at the beginning—I often have a moment when a chill settles over me as I contemplate the long road ahead. And for me, it is a road. After more than twenty novels, each new one is a still a new journey for me. I start with an idea as to where I want to go, but I have no detailed map to reference along the way. But the chill passes fairly quickly, because I remind myself of all the previous journeys God has guided me through. Doubting my ability as I embark on yet another one would be a little too much like doubting His faithfulness. (But I still pray a lot on every leg of the trip!)


What’s the best advice you’ve heard on writing/publication?

Write what you love to read.


What’s the worst piece of writing advice you’ve heard?

Be sure to know your ending before you begin. I’m still waiting for that to happen.


What’s something you wish you’d known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?

That the key word in the business is often “wait.” Publishing is a sloowww business. The good news is that I’m a fairly slow writer.


Do you have a scripture or quote that has been speaking to you lately?

For a very long time—over the course of several books, actually—I’ve sensed God bringing me into contact with scripture references and other writings—and individuals--that have to do with choosing a simple life of obedience to Him and a certain poverty of spirit over the deception of worldly “success” and recognition.

And, as it has been throughout every novel I’ve ever written, the critical need for hope still runs through my work as an undercurrent but a vital part of the story. I always see this in retrospect, after I’ve completed a work … it’s nothing I’m aware of as I’m writing.


Is there a particularly difficult set back that you’ve gone through in your writing career you are willing to share?

I don’t think so. I’ve made my mistakes, certainly, and things have happened that made me grind my teeth. But no matter how difficult things get, I love the act of writing so much—note, I said the writing, not the business--that with the exception of a few detours, I’ve been able to keep going. It also helps that I genuinely believe I’m doing the work God would have me do. And for the last few years I’ve also been blessed with a wonderful agent who helps me stay focused on the work itself while she takes care of the rest. She also has a wonderful talent for helping me see what’s doable and what’s forgettable.


What are a few of your favorite books? (Not written by you.)

How much space do I have? Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte; Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte; Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier; To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; Snow in August by Pete Hamill; Trinity by Leon Uris; The Last Hurrah by Edwin O’Connor; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith; Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky; Famine by Liam O’Flaherty; Les Miserables by Victor Hugo; Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell; An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser; The Great Hunger by Cecil Woodham-Smith; Paddy’s Lament by Thomas Gallagher; Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle; Disappointment with God by Phillip Yancey; anything by A. W. Tozer; The Collected Stories of William Trevor—okay, enough.


If your authorial self was a character from The Wizard of Oz, which one would you be and why?

Toto.


What piece of writing have you done that you’re particularly proud of and why?

I wrote a letter to my mother when I was still in my teens letting her know how much I appreciated her and why. When I was putting her things away after her death, I discovered that she had kept it all those years in her Bible.


Do you have a pet peeve having to do with this biz?

Nothing I’m going to put in print!


Can you give us a view into a typical day of your writing life?

Can you hear me laughing? Define “typical.” The only way I can describe this is to say that I write as much as I can, when I can, where I can—working it all in between family and life in general.


If you could choose to have one strength of another writer, what would it be and from whom?

Probably Susan Howatch’s rare genius in grasping the complex depths of the human spirit, the ongoing battle between good and evil in our world, and her ability to turn what she knows into an absolutely brilliant story.


Do you have a dream for the future of your writing, something you would love to accomplish?

At the risk of sounding unambitious … I don’t. By the generous grace of God, I’ve already accomplished more than I’d ever hoped to. I’ll be content to simply keep writing the best books of which I’m capable, seeing them published, and hearing from those who read them.


Was there ever a time in your writing career you thought of quitting?

Many. But apparently God had other ideas.


What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?

Favorite—the writing itself. Least favorite—The “business” of being a writer.


How much marketing do you do? Any advice in this area?

Because there’s very little about me to market--I’m a Midwestern housewife and a mother, a Christian who also writes books, so what’s to sell, other than the work itself?—I’ve always been grateful that most of my publishers haven’t pressured me in this regard but have done a fine job in marketing my work. I do realize that more is needed from the author today than was the case a few years ago, however, so I have a web site (and a blog), do my best to reply to my reader mail, keep readers aware of what’s coming next—that sort of thing. But I don’t travel, I don’t speak (we’re all glad of that), and I don’t spend much time on any part of the business except writing.

As for advice: each writer is different. Some do a great job in the marketing area and love doing it. If that’s a strength, more power to you. Authors have different skills in marketing just as they do in writing.

That said, over the years I’ve seen too many writers spend so much of their time marketing that their writing ends up taking a back seat, and the quality of their work actually suffers.

The key, I believe, is in finding a balance and using your time wisely. I’m a fairly slow writer, so it’s necessary for me to concentrate on getting the manuscript completed. That’s my job—to do the book—and while I’m willing to do what I can and what I’m comfortable with, I’m not going put the writing at risk in order to do it.


In the long run, I believe this is a very personal decision, and sometimes a difficult one for a writer to make.


Parting words?

If you’re a new writer just starting out on this “incredible journey,” face the
fact that it easily can be a “one-step forward, two-steps backward” adventure.
Fortify yourself with plenty of prayer, patience, and perseverance—unless you’re
the exception, you’ll eventually need a lion’s share of each. Be prepared to
deal with the bitter as well as the sweet. But don’t let the frustrations and
disappointments ever overshadow your joy and your appreciation for the gift
you’ve been given.
And don’t ever forget that it is a gift. Nothing more,
nothing less.