BJ Hoff's GRACE NOTES

Q & A

Q. I saw recently that in your upcoming book with the Amish setting there will be an Irish main character. Do you ever not write about the Irish? 

A. Not if I can help it. 

Q. What's your favorite book of the Chronicles of Narnia?

A. I love them all, but The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe will always be my favorite.

Q. I've noticed that you almost always have musicians or something about music in your novels. Is there a reason for that? Do you play any instrument?

A. I was a musician and a church music director before I ever began to publish fiction. Other than God, my family, and writing, music is the biggest part of my life. And, yes, I play keyboard (piano and organ), though not very well anymore, I'm afraid. It's all too true that you "use it or lose it."

Q. In an interview that I read you said that these days you were concentrating on "Appalachian historical fiction." What did you mean by that?

A. The beautiful, vast area of Appalachia is one of my favorite settings, and I suppose I'm carving out a niche in the way of a special genre for it. My upcoming series--The Riverhaven Years, takes place in southern Ohio, around the Marietta/Ohio River area. The setting for my Mountain Song Legacy books was Kentucky. The setting for a series I have on the back burner right now (Mt. Laurel) is the Canaan Valley region, on the border of Pennsylvania/West Virginia--an absolutely breathtaking locale. I've done a lot of research in the Appalachian area, and I love writing about the scenery, the history--and the people. And--it's my own native region. I'm an expatriate "mountain woman."

Q. If you have an iPod (since you seem to be a Mac lover, I bet you do), what kind of music is on it? 

A. Classical, mostly. But also lots of Celtic. Folk music. International music, especially Irish and Italian. And ... bagpipe selections of course.                   

 

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.   

BJ   

Q & A

Q. I got an email in response to a question I wrote to you. Did you answer it personally or did an assistant write to me?

A. I wrote it. Honest.

Q. So what is your fiction called? Do you write historical fiction or women's fiction or what?

A. If you really want a technical description, I suppose you'd label it historical romantic fiction usually set in the Appalachian region with a focus on Irish immigrants and Irish Americans. I've also seen it branded as women's historical fiction. (But I do hear from a number of male readers.) Why not make it easy and just call it historical fiction? Works for me.

Q. Are you a morning person (writer)? Afternoon?  Evening?

A. Some days I'm all three. Most days I'm all three. But if you're wondering when the "flow" seems to work best, it's late afternoon and evening.

Q. What makes you laugh?

A. My three grandsons. They're very funny kids. My husband ... he can coax a laugh even when I'm determined to be glum. My dog and cat, especially when they're together.

Q. Which of your own books do you think would make the best movies? And if you could cast the actors, who would you choose?

A. That is a very difficult question! But fun to think about. First, though, I have to admit I'd probably be terrified about the whole idea, having seen what Hollywood has done to a few of my favorite books (by other authors). But in an ideal world, I suppose I'd choose my Mountain Song Legacy books. Jonathan Stuart--now you're not going to understand this, but I'm basing this on physical appearance only at this point--would be played by Jeff Foxworthy (who's really not an actor but a comedian and quiz show host). Remember: I said "physical appearance only." As for Maggie--I can't think of one single actress who "fits" Maggie. Any ideas--email them to me! (Just in case, you know.)

Then, too, the recently re-released Song of Erin saga would be a great film, don't you think? Trouble is, there's only one man who could make Jack Kane come alive, and that would have been Sean Connery twenty years or more ago. And then there's the WIP, Rachel's Secret ... Julia Ormond would be perfect as Rachel. But only a younger Tom Selleck would work as Captain Gant. And I can't think of anyone but the wonderful David Strathairn of the mournful eyes and gentle voice for Dr. Sebastian.

And then there's ... somebody stop me.

As you can see, if I had any control over the movie rights at all, I'd be a nightmare to work with!

BJ

Q & A

Q. If you were invited to be on any tv show of your choice, which one would it be?

A. I'd be a dog handler on the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. And I'd show my own dog, the fabulous, lovable, Golden Retriever--Clever-Trevor. 

Q. What's the worst book you've ever read?

A. Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. To be entirely accurate, let's call it the "worst book I never finished reading." There are at least a dozen others that would also qualify, but I'll restrain myself.

Q. Who are five people you'd most like to have dinner with?

A. My husband and our two daughters and their husbands. If they're not available: Dean Koontz, Andrea Bocelli, Angie Hunt, Kelli Standish, and Nick Harrison. But only if they cook. Or buy.

Q. Who is/was the most important "hero" in your life?

A. Other than my husband? My paternal grandfather, "Paddy-Goff."

Q. Name three of your own favorite characters from your books--and why they're favorites:

A. Jonathan Stuart from my Mountain Song Legacy books--because I loved his kindness, his humility, and his genuine love for children. Jack Kane from my Song of Erin saga--because he's one of the most intriguing and challenging characters I've worked with. His dual nature nearly drove me over the edge, but I kept coming back for more. Michael Emmanuel, from my American Anthem series--because his love of music reflected my own, and his voice was the voice I "hear" when I think of angel choirs.   

BJ

Q & A

I noticed a definite theme among some of my recent questions from readers, so  that's what most of these are about--"favorites."

Q. I'm compiling a list of favorites of authors. What is your favorite hymn? Favorite Scripture verse? Favorite Psalm? Favorite poet? Favorite Christian writer?

A. The Celtic hymn, "Be Thou My Vision," is a long-time favorite. Favorite Scripture verse is 2 Corinthians 1:20. Favorite Psalm is Psalm 46. My favorite poet is W. B. Yeats. Favorite Christian writer would be A. W. Tozer.

Q. Do you know how one of your books is going to end from the very beginning?

A. I wish! As best as I can recall, I have never known the ending to any of my novels until I reach ... the end.

Q. What are some of your favorite settings for novels (by other writers)?

A. Interesting question. It made me think, and I realized that I'm drawn to rural, southern and/or Appalachian settings mostly--and stories set in Ireland, of course. Historical settings, particularly immigration stories. Courtroom dramas appeal to me. Also stories set during the early years of the civil rights movement.

Q. Who is your favorite fictional character (from another author's novel)?

A. Atticus Finch, from To Kill a Mockingbird. Also my favorite novel.

Q. What's your favorite "title" to describe yourself? Do you prefer to be called a "writer," an "author," a "novelist"--what? In other words, what's the word you're most likely to use to define your writing?

A. I'm a storyteller.   

BJ

   

Q & A

Q.I'm trying to improve on how I write description of characters and settings. Could you please tell me some authors who you believe do description really well?

A. There are many. My preferences run to those authors who don't do the travelogue type of description but use significant details that highlight their characters or settings. Pete Hamill comes to mind, especially in his novel, Snow in August. Pat Conroy, Flannery O'Connor, Susan Howatch, both Emily and Charlotte Bronte, Jodi Picoult, Joyce Carol Oates, Jan Karon, Khaled Hosseini, Alice Hoffman. Too many to name, but these will give you ideas for description done really well. There's also some excellent information about this very subject in a book titled Between the Lines by Jessica Page Morrell. The subtitle is Master the Subtle Elements of Fiction Writing, and you'll find a number of good suggestions and examples on doing just that.

Q.I keep hearing about "epiphanies" in my critique group and at writers conferences. What, exactly, is an epiphany?

A.In relation to fiction, an epiphany usually refers to that moment when a character discovers or comprehends something she hasn't realized before. It's a "defining moment" kind of thing, usually a profound realization that lends to an important change. It can come in the form of an event or another character or information, etc., and can occur in an otherwise ordinary happening. It doesn't have to be a dramatic event, although sometimes it is.

Q.What word processor do you use?

A.Let me preface this with the caveat that a word processor in itself has little or nothing to do with how well you write. It's a tool, nothing more. These days I mostly use Microsoft Word (the Mac version)--only because there is no longer a version of WordPerfect, my all-time favorite word processor, for Mac computers. A situation I deeply lament.

Q.What's a book you'd like to read but can't find?

A.Honesty in Politics for Dummies.

Q.If you could have only one junk food item for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A.Is cheese-and-crackers considered junk food? Couldn't I also add pizza? Please?

BJ

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ... and Not

A recent question from a friend about Christmas called for more of an answer than I  usually give on Q & A, so it ended up as a post all to itself. The question:  "What do you like best about the Christmas season, and what do you like least?" I enjoyed thinking this through and even surprised myself in a couple of areas. Here's my reply:

What I like best: (In addition to the obvious: time with family and friends)

The music of the season.

Christmas books--especially short story collections and novels. Some are on the cheesy side, I'll grant you, but there are also some good ones available from the past and the present. And that just might prompt another post on "favorites."

The colors. I love the lights and decorations here at home and all around. Have you noticed how drab everything looks for a time after the house ... and the town ... are "undecorated?"

The "peace and good will" that warms the season. Yes, I know peace is a deceptive thing, even an illusion, in today's world--but in small towns and cities, with strangers at the mall as well as among our neighbors, there's a different "feeling," a mist of friendliness, a little less guardedness, and a certain lightheartedness ... for a time. We may not be able to define it, but it's different. And we need it.

Snow. Don't growl at me. I love snow, always have. Illness kept me shut in too many winters as a child. I was always looking out, watching others enjoy the white stuff. So when winter comes, I still look forward to that first snowfall and each one that follows. Sometimes, of course, Ohio winters disappoint us, and we don't see more than a trace until January or February, when it's not as welcome (to some) as it might have been in December. But I'll take its quiet beauty whenever it comes.

Children. What's not to love about a child at Christmas? No matter how much sugar he's had or how little sleep we might have had, there's a wonder, a sweet innocence and shining excitement that heightens our own joy and gives us a fresh breath of hope.

What I like least:

The retail holiday commercialism that begins before Halloween. Would it be asking too much to wait until Black Friday? It wasn't the Grinch who stole Christmas, folks--it was the media and the malls.

Retail advertising and sales folks wishing me "Happy Holidays." I return their bland, generic greeting with a gleefully enthusiastic "Merry Christmas!" This is our holiday season--a Christian season--and I'll gladly share it with anyone willing to observe it for what it is. But let's call it by its rightful name.

Dancing Santa dolls in the shopping malls with their fake "ho-ho-ho's" and off-key "Jingle Bell Rock" ... in mid September.

The song, "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" ... for obvious reasons.

Packing up the decorations for another year. I delay it as long as decently possible. I am so not one who can't wait to get the season over with so "things will get back to normal." Who wants normal?

The movie, "A Christmas Story." Gag. How long as it been since any kid asked for a BB gun anyway? And why would any parent give him one? And two thousand screenings of this chestnut are more than enough by now, don't you think?

BJ

Q & A

Q.Is there any particular theme that reoccurs in your books?

A.I've been told that it's hope. I've never set out to "insert" a theme or write around a theme, but after enough editors and readers mentioned this to me and I thought about the different stories that make up my novels, I can see the reoccurence. And if that's the case, it's probably because I believe hope to be as essential as the breath of life itself. To live without hope would be, I believe, to not live at all.

Q.What kind of music do you listen to when you're writing?

A. None. I discovered fairly early that, because music has such a strong appeal to me, I easily lose my concentration if I have even background music playing while I try to work. However, I do have music on--usually classical or Celtic--when I'm thinking through a story and its characters, planning a scene, or just brainstorming with myself about a plot thread. Actually, the only time music isn't on in my house is when I'm writing.

Q.Are you left-handed or right?

A.I'm a lefty. And I ran across an interesting article in the newspaper the other day about lefthanded people that I wanted to blog about--but I lost the article. In the meantime, though, one thing I remember about it was the suggestion that lefties tend to lose things easily.

Q.What tv shows are you watching this season?

A.Very few. Apparently, I won't be watching "24," thanks to the writers' strike. Lost interest in "Lost" a long time ago. I confess to being hooked on "Friday Night Lights," though, because I'm a football fan and I just love the characters' accents. We probably watch the Animal Planet and Discovery channels more than any others. Most of all, we watch movies. My husband and I both are huge movie fans, especially some of the golden oldies.

Q.What's your favorite Scripture verse?

A.I have more than one, but if asked for my "life verse," that would be 2 Corinthians 1:20--"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ." 

BJ

Q & A

Q. I'm just getting started as a fiction writer. Could you please recommend what you consider to be the most important first steps I should take?

A. This requires a lot more time and space than a web log entry can possibly provide. I can only skim the surface. If you haven't been reading good books all your life, you're at a disadvantage--so start now. If need be, get a reading list from a qualified librarian and pick the brains of other avid readers. Check out from the library or purchase some used copies of books on writing fiction from experienced writers and teachers--see the sidebar of Grace Notes and my web site for examples. Read good books. Write something every day. Every day. A letter. A devotional. A short story. A poem. Something. Read good books. If possible, attend a good writer's conference and sit in on the workshops related to writing in general and writing specifically the kind of fiction you like to read and hope to eventually write. Read good books. Look into some of the correspondence courses available. Writer's Digest offers several. So does the Christian Writers Guild. Your mentors for these courses are usually experienced writers, and sometimes you can benefit more by going this route than signing up for a college creative writing course. The effectiveness of any course, though, depends largely on the instructor--and your own commitment. And did I mention ... read good books?

Q. Do you read nonfiction as well as fiction?

A. I do. I'll admit to a strong preference for fiction, but I enjoy certain kinds of nonfiction, too, especially biographies and writing memoirs.

Q. What do you do to relax?

A. Believe it or not--I write. Yes, it's work. But it's also my favorite r & r. Tied for first place with reading. Music relaxes me, too. And walking.

Q. What's your family like, large or small?

A. I have the greatest husband in the free world--really, he's a saint. We have two married daughters and three young grandsons. A golden retriever. A demented, multi-personality cat. And an extended family of chipmunks who live under the front porch.

Q. What's your favorite musical instrument?

A. For playing? Piano and/or organ. For listening--piano, cello, and harp.

BJ

Q & A

Q. Do you read fantasy and science fiction?

A. No--with some exceptions. I do read Ray Bradbury and a few others whose work transcends genre. I've simply never been able to get my mind and my imagination around sci-fi or fantasy, though I'm aware that beautiful writing exists in almost any genre. I have the same difficulty with movies. I'm a big disappointment to two sons-in-law who read and watch both and never stop trying to convert me to their side.   

Q. Do you use the internet or the public library for most of your research? 

A. I use both, and although a wealth of information can be found online, it needs to be approached with caution. Anyone can put almost anything on the internet, and there's way too much that's misleading and inaccurate. I've always enjoyed going to the library, and we're fortunate, for a small town, to have an excellent one. I've also tried to build a good personal library over the years to keep as much information as possible close at hand.

Q. What's on your amazon.com wish list?

A. I don't keep one on the site, but I have an ongoing book list that I keep on my "smart phone." I haven't added it yet, but I know the companion book for the new Ken Burns World War II series will soon be right at the top. I think I'd like a copy of the new Literary Study Bible (ESV) when it's released. A couple of Lynn Johnston's collections from her cartoon strip, "For Better or Worse" are on the list. Actually, it's a very long list, so I'll stop here!

Q. What's your favorite "spectator sport?"

A. Just so you know, almost any sport for me is strictly  of the spectator variety. That would be college football and horse racing. I also enjoy baseball--a lot--but only if I'm watching it with my husband, because I still need a lot of stuff explained. 

Q. How many hours a day do you write?

A. It varies, depending on life. Let's just say it's a full-time job, often with overtime, and "real" vacations are few. 

BJ