I'd like to welcome a long-time friend and fellow writer, AJ Hawke, to my blog.
Born in Spur, Texas into a multi-generational Texas family, A J Hawke has traveled throughout the American West as well as other parts of the world and enjoys reading, writing, friends, family, and being a Christian.
AJ's recent release is MOUNTAIN JOURNEY HOME. I haven't had the privilege of reading it yet, but if you like western romances, this sounds like the book for you! AJ does a wonderful job on her research, and that's one of my favorite things about her books. Not to mention the exciting story-lines!
So . . . what's MOUNTAIN JOURNEY HOME about? Let's find out by reading the book jacket cover:
A man’s word is a man’s life. Rock Corner, Texas. 1877. Life couldn’t get much better for Dave Kimbrough. He has a beautiful wife in Jenny, a fine young son in Jonathan, and a small ranch with which to build their future. But when Jenny suddenly dies, the heartache is more than Dave can bear, so he leaves his son with his wife’s family and rides off into the rugged Texas country alone. After several years Dave is wrongly accused of murder, and when he sets out to find the man who can clear his name, he runs instead into a posse that has set out to kill him. Wounded, he holes up for the winter in a cave. It is not time wasted, however, as he is given time to contemplate the mistake he made in abandoning his son. Once spring arrives, Dave returns to make things in his life right. Things rarely go as planned, however, and Dave’s plans are no different. Beset by a trip to jail, Jenny’s spirited sister Rachel, and the heartache of taking away the only life and family his son really knows, Kimbrough makes a promise he thinks is the right thing to do. But a fateful winter followed by a deadly spring storm changes the course of their lives in ways that no one—least of all Dave—could have ever imagined.
AJ, welcome!
Every reader likes to learn
more about characters as they get further into the story. How do the secrets of
your characters come to life?
I give
glimpses of the early life of my characters through dialogue and internal
thoughts. Dave in MOUNTAIN JOURNEY HOME has a lot of back story that influences
his decisions as he makes his way back home, but the reader only sees bits and
pieces along the way.
Some authors report writing
5-10 thousand words a day. Do scenes flow freely from your veins, or do you
have to tweeze each word out?
I am a flow with the story type of writer. I
don't do much outlining and just start a scene and write, which may be good or
bad depending on the day. Basically, I am a storyteller rather than a writer.
Some days the time is there to spend on writing and the creative juices are
flowing and I can write the 5-10 thousand words. Other days I look at the words
already written and wonder what in the world should come next.
What led you to the career
choice of becoming a writer?
Career? I have a career as a writer? Well, maybe someday, but for now I
write inbetween my day job.
What are some of the
spiritual themes you like to write about?
Forgiveness of self and finding peace with God
are two major themes that I have written about. No one is perfect but we can be
made perfect by the one who gives full forgiveness and peace through Jesus
Christ.
We’d love to hear a little
about yourself and your writing journey.
I started writing seriously July of 2008. I
was trapped in my house by the Texas heat and bored with TV and trying to find
a good book to read. So I wrote CABIN ON PINTO CREEK, with lots of mistakes and
needing major editing. I didn't know anything about a craft of writing. But
when I learned that there was a learnable craft of writing fiction I marched
myself down to my local library and started reading how-to books. I've read
about a hundred now. No, really, at least a hundred and now I am starting to go
back and read them again. Evidently, I learn craft very slowly. I then started
my next novel as if I had good sense and was published. I just kept writing.
What were some of the steps
you took along the publication road?
I tried the conventional, traditional
get-an-agent and then publish. I went to writer's conferences, joined ACFW,
joined a critique group, and gave it two years. I know, I'm impatient. Always
have been. I completed a doctoral dissertation in four months when most people
take years. Any way March 2011 I published my first novel, CABIN ON PINTO
CREEK, the second one in June 2011, CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO WORLDS , and now MOUNTAIN JOURNEY HOME in June 2012.
What is the hardest part
after the book is published?
The marketing of course and this is true
whether you go the traditional route or self-publish. You have to find a way to
let people know that your book is available. It takes time and mental energy.
The days when a publisher will publish your book, and then market it fully for
you are gone, if they ever existed. I studied the craft of writing and then I
studied the craft of marketing. Unfortunately, I know more about both than I
actually use.
Why historical and
particularly, Western Historical Romance?
I love the history, land, and the mythical
world of the western romance. It is fun to write and you can make your
characters bigger than life.
What are you working on
right now?
Editing two Western Historical Romances that
follow some of the characters from CABIN ON PINTO CREEK. Hope to publish both
by Christmas which will my present for myself.
I want to finish a Western Historical Romance
that has about 70,000 words. Should be able to complete that by fall and then
the editing process begins.
Two other stories are started with about
20,000 words so far. I would like to get all of these finished and published by
the end of 2013. That would make a total of eight novels published.
What three things do you know now about the publishing world that you
wish you knew when you first started?
1. Major in creative writing in
college with a minor in marketing.
2. Start twenty years earlier.
3. Don't listen to the gremlins.
Has being an author been
everything you thought it would be? If not, what has surprised you the most?
I thought authors were really smart and that
by becoming an author I would get smarter. But, nope, I'm still just average.
Where do you get your
inspiration for your stories and characters?
They show up from everywhere. I see an old house in a field and suddenly
I'm writing a story in my mind. I see a good-looking man at the mall and I
wonder how he would have looked in a cowboy hat and spurs. Ideas and characters
are all over the place. Doesn't everyone write stories as they drive down the
street? Or, have characters talking to each other in their head while they are
in the shower?
What is the best writing advice
you ever got? The worst?
The best is just to write. The worst is listen to non-writers' rules of
writing.
What do you write besides books?
I teach women's Bible studies and often spend time writing material to
teach.
What three things are you
most thankful for in your life that others might think silly?
Not really silly but important to me. Air
conditioning (I live in the Dallas area so summer is HOT); washing machine and
dryer ( I lived overseas where I had to wash my clothes, sheets, and towels by
hand and hang them in a small bathroom); and my microwave (otherwise I'm not
sure I would get enough to eat).
If you could spend an
evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?
Joseph. He had terrible problems in his life
and was never a free man after his brothers sold him, and yet, he stayed a good
man with God as his guide.
