BJ Hoff's GRACE NOTES: Q & A

Q. Since you write historical novels, what are your favorite times in history to read about?

A. Too many to name, but definitely at the top of the list would be the mid- to late-1800s, the Civil War era, World War II era, and the Civil Rights period.

Q. How many magazines do you read on a regular basis? Do you read them online or in print?

A. Strange question, that. Including the Mac magazines, and a couple of news magazines--probably eight to ten. I'm more a book person. I read magazines more often in print, but if I want just a brief overview, I'll do some reading online as well.

Q. What's your favorite writers conference to attend, and could you recommend at least two conferences that you think are the best for unpublished writers?

A. I've never been to a writers' conference, so I can't really recommend any particular one. You might check Sally Stuart's Christian Writers' Market Guide. It lists several writers' conferences around the country.

Q. When you first begin to write a novel, do you already know your story or does it come to you a little at a time? What do you need to know before you start writing?

A. I suspect this requires a much lengthier answer than you might have thought, but I'll give you the brief version. The idea for a story begins as a seed in my mind. That's all, just a seed. And that seed is a character. Sometimes I know the timeframe in which that character lives--sometimes I don't. John Braine said that "if you have your characters, it won't be long before you have your story." That's always been true for me. Every story I've ever written began with a character. Naturally, I also do a lot of research before I begin, and continue to research as I go. But even before the research, there's a character.

Q. Do your books always have a happy ending? I won't read books with depressing endings.

A. My books always have a hopeful ending. Just as in life, in stories bad things ... sad things ... happen. I could never write a book in which nothing but happy, wonderful things happen to the characters. Not only would that be deceitful, but it would be incredibly boring. I'd be writing about plastic people. But because we have a God who never leaves us without hope, and because I believe in that God--I'll never write a story that's void of hope.