HEART OF PETRA - Hilarey Johnson - One Free Book

Welcome back, Hilarey. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

I value honesty, and I like to know what makes people believe the way they do. I will always have a little romance in my stories, but I am more interested in why two people fall in love than how. Secondly, I read for adventure and entertainment, so that is also what I try to write—but I want it to matter.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

This question is difficult. Every joyful event comes to us in a fallen world. For example, the birth of my children came through pain. Many of my personal successes have arrived on the tail end of a God-ordained humbling or correction, or preceded one. Two really happy days were when it rained on our (August) vacation in Orlando and the park cleared out so my husband and three teenagers had cool weather and small crowds. Also the day I got news I was a semi-finalist in Jerry B Jenkins Operation First Novel was pretty great. It validated writing for me.

How has being published changed your life?

It has shown me that no one thing will bring true joy on this earth.

What are you reading right now?

The Legend of Sheba by Tosca Lee.

What is your current work in progress?

I’m stretching myself right now, it’s a martial arts fantasy set in 1863.

What would be your dream vacation?

To take my three grown children to Prague, Czech Republic, and show them where my husband and I spent our first year of marriage.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

Setting can add to or detract from a book. My first book location was because when I lived in Reno, I drove by strip club billboards every day. The second book was about a character from that story—so it was chosen for me. I picked Idaho for the one I am currently working on because it was so volatile and wild during the time period.  

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

I would say Saeed Abendini because that would mean he was no longer imprisoned in Iran for his faith in Christ. #savesaeed

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I love to garden and cook. I love to take walks and meet friends for coffee. Martial arts is a big part of my life—but more than a hobby. Before publishing, I made time for crocheting and sewing. Lately I’ve been having more fun than should be allowed at Zumba Senato. I would scuba dive if I didn’t live in a land-locked state.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Discipline and switching between book marketer and writer. I haven’t overcome either yet. I’m hoping if I ignore my obstacles, they will just go away.

Good luck with that. What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Write several books before you try to publish. Don’t think about anything but story.

Tell us about the featured book.

The first in the Breaking Bonds Series was about a girl trapped outside of church. Heart of Petra is about a girl trapped inside. It has similar elements of spiritual suspense.

Leah was raised in a conservative, dying church. Leah’s father was so controlling, her sister was expelled when she chose to go to college instead of letting her him choose her husband. Leah wants to submit to God, and her father, but her father begins to push her toward a relationship that isn’t right. The man ends up having ulterior motives.

You could also say the story is about not allowing your heart to turn hard because you are complacent in your faith, the damage done by church splits, courting, texting while driving and spying on your neighbors.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Whoever heard of an insomniac with a pajama fetish? I swipe my hand down the leg of my lime-green cotton PJs, but it doesn’t help steady them, and I still need two tries to adjust the telescope.

With a deep breath, and a double check at the lock on my bedroom door, I’m able to slow the skipping in my ribs. It’s amazing how blood and heart vessels work together, pumping day and night, even while people sleep—well, while most people sleep. An insomniac doesn’t have the pleasure of dreaming during the seven hundred and twenty minutes our sun shines on the other side of the world.

I twist the focuser on my telescope clockwise—a bit too far, back just a hair. Perfect.

Returning to my love of pajamas: Seven sets of long-sleeve, long-pant outfits wait in my bottom drawer in two neat piles. One drawer up contains nine matching shorts-sets, twelve nightgowns and one baby-doll nightgown my parents don’t know I own...

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website/Blog -- http://hilarey.com/

Facebook -- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hilarey-Johnson/214879415388747

Goodreads -- https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8182303.Hilarey_Johnson

Twitter -- https://twitter.com/HilareyJohnson

Amazon -- http://www.amazon.com/Hilarey-Johnson/e/B00K0LJOQK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

YouTube -- http://youtu.be/B8XWSF9mIlo

Thank you, Hilarey, for sharing this new book with me and my readers.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Heart of Petra (Breaking Bonds) (Volume 2) - Paperback
Heart of Petra (Breaking Bonds Book 2) - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

SOVEREIGN GROUND - Hilarey Johnson - One Free Ebook

Readers, here’s another author who is new to this blog. 

Welcome, Hilarey. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

Of course I try to tap into my own fears and dreams when I write. But it is more like acting than pouring myself into a character. I focus on how I would feel and react if I had the character’s belief system and experiences—attempting empathy over self expression.  

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

I grew up in the mountains of northern California. My car keyhole occasionally froze. A couple of times I took a glass of warm tap water to defrost it, but once decided I could spit into it to save time. As soon as I pressed my lips to the frozen door, they stuck. I heard my dad coming up the drive so I tried to add more moisture and my tongue stuck too. In order to “save face” I had to sacrifice my mouth and rip free.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I wasn’t born with a pen in my hand like most writers. But I always did love the feeling of sharing a story, recreating an event in detail, or telling a joke. Of course I wrote a little of the typical teenage-angst-poetry in high school. It wasn’t until I was a new mom that I had lots of time to read and daydream when a story idea started to form in my head.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

Fantasy, Young Adult, and women’s fiction. I find that I enjoy other genres as well, but I typically return to those most consistently.  

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

I wake up before the rest of the house and spend about 30-60 minutes drinking my coffee and reading a devotion, the Bible, or praying. The silence is worth more than sleep. But if someone else gets up, I try not to feel inconvenienced because relationships are made of the unplanned moments as much as the scheduled ones.  

That is so true. How do you choose your characters’ names?

I keep lists of unique names and write them as I spot them or hear them. Sometimes I search online if I need one from a certain origin or time period.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I want to say my three children and marriage. But family isn’t really an accomplishment, more an ongoing effort. Also, I’m afraid to take pride in them because I know it’s only by God’s grace that I have been married 20 years or my kids will even talk to me. So I will say my ability to use a map.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

A giant squid. They are just as dangerous as giant octopi but don’t look like the evil mad scientists of the sea. Giant squids are sweet and look like they wear a gnome hat. I would like to be cute—but a formidable fighter.   

What is your favorite food?

Can I say Asian so it encompasses everything from lumpia and miso soup to green coconut curry? Generally, I love anything fresh and spicy with lots of color and veggies. I prefer the tropical versions the most, like Thai.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

Writing something I initially didn’t want to explore. I tried to set everything aside: my fears, preconceptions, even what I thought I wanted as a goal for the book, and I kept saying “just write a story.”

Tell us about the featured book.

Sovereign Ground follows a 17-year-old, Native American girl through her experience as an exotic dancer. Like many of the girls in our culture, she accepts that she can achieve power in her life through her sexuality. Her aunt has told her that she is cursed and a spirit follows her. One night someone is stabbed in her club. She’s rescued by a Christian police officer who tells her the murder victim was an undercover cop.

So on one hand, it is a romantic suspense with a supernatural elements. On another level, it is a picture of the false power sexuality offers and true freedom available through the kind of love that lays down one’s life for another.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Last night I dreamed about dancing. The images become more vivid with each slicing step. I twirled on a Heidi mountain, breathing in sunshine. That was last night—currently I freeze and watch drivers to see if anyone makes eye contact. They don’t.

A blister grates my heel as though a shard of glass is wedged in my sneakers. It makes the weight of my book bag pull at my shoulder—the Hans Christian Anderson collection is a heftier volume than my normal library loan. I no longer count to make sure two steps fit in each sidewalk square. Just like the fabled Little Mermaid, I suffer with each step. It would figure that the prince loved to watch her, ignorant of her torment. Doesn’t it also figure she would dance for him in pain?

I don’t think I’ll finish the story.

An image of a real-life Barbie, stretched across a billboard, advertises a casino downtown. The billboard must work. Cars speed past, drivers desperate to leave this corner of Reno lined by single-story motels, pawnshops, and the promise of quick loans…

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website/Blog -- http://hilarey.com/

Facebook -- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hilarey-Johnson/214879415388747

Goodreads -- https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8182303.Hilarey_Johnson

Twitter -- https://twitter.com/HilareyJohnson

Amazon -- http://www.amazon.com/Hilarey-Johnson/e/B00K0LJOQK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

YouTube -- http://youtu.be/B8XWSF9mIlo

Thank you, Hilarey, for sharing your new book with us.

Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.
Sovereign Ground (Breaking Bonds Book 1)

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com