Interview with our own Jill Eileen Smith!

Jill Eileen Smith is the author of The Wives of King David series, featuring Michal, Abigail, and Bathsheba, from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Michal: A Novel released March 1, 2009. Jill has more than twenty years of writing experience, ranging from articles and short stories to reviews and blogs. She enjoys baking, traveling, and the antics of her two cats. Jill lives with her husband and sons in Southeastern Michigan.

Welcome, Jill! This is so fun to have back-to-back interviews with two of our own Favorite PASTimes authors! Michal just released, but is already getting a lot of buzz from readers. Give us some basics about Michal to let us know what kind of novel you’ve created.

Michal is the first wife of King David. The story is taken from the pages of Scripture mixing what is said there about her, about David, her father Saul, among others, and mixing imagination to try to understand how she might have perceived the events going on around her. It’s got romance, intrigue, and drama as Michal falls in love with young David with no idea what that love will cost her.

I've always thought the story of Michal was interesting, and you've turned it into a fascinating book. Tell us about your road to publication.

My journey lasted 20 years and began with a two-volume epic on David’s life. After 28 rejections, I packed that book away where it will remain! I really didn’t know enough about the fiction writing craft, though I did rewrite that story at least three times. After tucking it in a box, I wrote about six more novels and a few novellas trying to break into publishing. Michal was one of those novels, as was its sequel Abigail, though they both went through a lot of revision.

Wow! You're a great example of how persistance can pay off in the end. How do you think your relationships with other writers have helped you over the years?

Other writers have helped me grow, taught me things about the business, about the craft that I might never have learned on my own. I am especially grateful to my critique partners and a mentor friend.

Has your life changed since you signed the contract for this novel?

Yes and no. I’m still the same person, still have the same chores, day job (I’m a stay-at-home mom and I teach a few piano students on the side.) I still look out for my parents and keep up with friends. But the demands on my time have increased, and I’m learning to balance it all. Sometimes I can’t answer emails as quickly as I used to, or I have to put off doing something I might have done right away in the past. I try to keep my priorities straight.

Biblical fiction is a unique subcategory of historical fiction. What do you think are the special challenges for those writing Biblical fiction?

I think the biggest challenge to authors of this genre is accuracy. Some will work hard only to set the stage of historical accuracy, not minding if they have to tweak the biblical account, as long as the story’s historical setting is correct. (All historical authors should research the period to stay true to the time and place.) But Christian authors have the added challenge of keeping the biblical account accurate, of not deviating from what is written in Scripture or changing the meaning.

I personally think a Christian author of biblical fiction needs to study the Word, to know the whole counsel of God, not just the small portion where their story is set. There are times a person is spoken of later in the Bible and it’s important to read what is said about them outside of their specific story. It is also important to understand the Bible as a whole in order to stay true to its message.

Do you have a favorite historical or Biblical novel?

Favorite biblical novel – Two From Galilee by Marjorie Holmes started my love of biblical fiction. But Lynn Austin’s Chronicles of the King series – the first three novels about Hezekiah, and Angela Hunt’s Shadow Women and Legacies of the Ancient River series about Joseph rank near the top.

What do you enjoy most about reading historical fiction?

I love to travel – and if God would have allowed time travel, I would have been one of the first to try it. :-) I love books that take me there! I want to experience vicariously the era along with the characters of the place. I love to pretend. As a kid, I used to sit on a swing on the playground at recess and pretend I was a character in a favorite TV show. My own life is great, but since I can’t afford to travel the world (though I’ve seen a lot of the U.S. and some of Israel) and I can’t time travel – I read.

That's one of the great things about fiction -- a good novel can take you anywhere! What has surprised you the most during this publication process for Michal?

Join us again tomorrow for the answer to this and more! Please leave a comment by Friday morning at 8 a.m. to win our weekly drawing -- a copy of Joan's book Michal: A Novel, Book 1 in The Wives of King David series. Be sure to leave an email in the form name [at] domain [dot] com.