Billie Williams interview

I'm pleased to welcome author Billie Williams author of Ancient Secrets to Barb'ed Comments.

Billie A. Williams is the award-winning author of over two dozen works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, as well as numerous articles, short stories and book reviews. Some of her work has appeared in Sister’s in Crime, Mystery Time, Thema Magazine, Guide Magazine for children, Inscriptions, Voice in the Dark, and Sell Writing on Line. She was a presenter at the Obadiah Christian Women’s Writing Conference in Merrill, WI in April of 2005.

She lives with her husband in Amberg, a small Northern Wisconsin community where the winters are cold and long but the town folk are warm and friendly. http://www.billiewilliams.com/
billie@billiewilliams.com
http://printedwords.blogspot.com/

Q & A

Hopefully, visitors have already read your bio, so I’m not going to ask you to tell us about yourself. Instead, what do you find the most difficult about being a writer?

Since my husband retired and my boss went in for heart surgery it’s finding enough time to write when I have enough energy to do it. So, I get up at 5 a.m. every morning to write before hubby gets up or I have to go to work. Then comes the tough part, finding a publisher, finding an agent — and getting the books finished and the next one started in case I get a nod on the current one. {smile}

What is your hero’s biggest challenge?
In my current work , (Ancient Secrets) that will be released September 2008 from Wings – the Hero must protect his mother, his girl friend, and himself from a force he cannot name yet, from dangers he cannot predict all in the world of South Africa where he is a complete stranger in a strange land.

What is your heroine’s biggest flaw?
In Ancient Secrets Abigail Stonehenge’s biggest flaw is her fearlessness and her trust of people she has just met. This puts her life at risk and pulls in the hero, his mother and some innocent by standers when Chet Kampa turns evil.

What prompted you to write this story?
This story has been rambling around in my brain for a couple years – it finally decided it wanted the page, it wanted the book written. It began with a study into the seven chakra’s associated with the various parts of the body and the stones that can heal/govern them. It fascinated me and I though what if a goddess imbibed these stones with powers that could be evil if they were not controlled — my wicked imagination did the rest. I actually did an interview with the necklace itself to find out what part it played in the tale I was to tell. It was a fascinating interview and revealed things —as strange as that sounds since I asked and answered the questions — why didn’t I already know the answer. All I can say is, it’s the muse—the writer’s world. If anyone wants to read the interview – I will post it on my website at http://www.billiewilliams.com/

What is your least favorite genre? Would you ever consider writing it?
I think all genres have a place and I do dabble in most of them. The only one I’d have a hard time writing would be Science Fiction and Fantasy – I don’t know if my brain could build a world, and build the characters to people it. That seems like an awesome task to me and I greatly admire those who write in those genres. Some day I may play around with it, but right now I have to many stories in my regular mystery/suspense genre that want me to get them written.

Who has helped you the most?
I have met so many wonderful people along my writing path from editors, authors, and reviewers to friends, family and books on the subject of writing or just the writing of so many authors —I could read non-stop and never read all the books by all the authors I admire. Every book I pick up can teach me something. Every book I write and have published has taught me something – the editors and staff of Wings have been fantastic in helping me develop my writing. I’ve had other editors and publishers and authors groups that have helped immeasurably as well. Siren/Bookstrand, Forbidden Publishing, Red Rose publishing, Echelon Press, there were others, but these are my current publishers and authors groups along with Wings where I have learned so very much and will be eternally grateful to them all.

Do you have a favorite theme? Eg: love conquers all; good vs evil; How do you use it?
I worked long and hard to find a theme – a brand if you will, for my writing and what I came up with was “Love and Evil have no boundaries.” Though my sig line says: Accidental Sleuths Solve crimes with wit, wisdom and chutzpah – and
The sig line for my romantic suspense (Cricket Sawyer) reads Accidental Sleuths, Incidental Romance, Heat Index—Inferno.

What have you learned about yourself from your writing?
That is a very interesting question and one I have never considered. I believe I have found out that I am a multi-facetted person. I can do what I set my mind to do. And creating believable characters that people can relate to comes out of the flaws I recognize in me, actions I have taken or would take in similar circumstances. I have also discovered some of my strengths—perseverance is one —or is that plain bullheadedness not knowing enough to give up {smile}.

Why will your reader think your book is different?
My books usually take the reader on a series of unexpected, unforeseen, unimagined twists and turns and I believe my characters are unique enough that you won’t find them in any other author's books.

Ancient Secrets

A novel of Sorcery, jealousy and legends tangles three unlikely adventurers in a drama of treachery in an effort to return the necklace stolen from the ancient goddess Ebony before the earth suffers her final blow. The only available path— through the Valley of the Kings laced with trials.

Ø Daringer Smith (Archeology Professor at a local university) finds his mother Mrs. Olenmurphy (a.k.a. The Story Lady) on the ground in her backyard. His worst fears are that she is dead, it turns out she is in a coma, no cause can be found for it. He was there to pick up the necklace she has asked him to try to authenticate. The bead and bronze necklace fascinated her. It is one of the items she used to teach her elementary students.
Ø The necklace seems to have some kind of power that Daringer experiences immediately when he finds the necklace among his mothers possessions while she remains in the hospital in a coma.
Excerpt:
As soon as Mempo could prepare the meal and they had prepared their bed rolls, they all turned in for the night.
Abigail awoke to screams and Chet’s urgent command to get dressed, grab their gear, and head for the collapsible room. She quickly dressed, helped Mrs. Olenmurphy gather her belongings and they both raced toward the room, Daringer was behind them shielding them from whatever attacked the bearers.
The jolt and groan of the room the minute they set foot inside told Abigail they had traded one danger for another. She pulled Mrs. Olenmurphy close to her and they huddled in the middle of the room behind Daringer and Chet as they frantically worked to open the other door.
When Daringer dropped the necklace and Chet tried to retrieve it Abigail’s fear escalated as Chet was blown across the room as if a giant hand had hit him. He scurried back to Daringer as the ceiling of the room drew ever nearer. When the bearer rolled out the other side to escape the crush of the room she held Mrs. Olenmurphy even tighter.
Finally, the door slid open and Chet and Daringer pulled them to safety at least a different sort of danger than the crush of the room. As the door slid shut the screams of the bearer being torn to shreds by the beasts they had just escaped were cut off as if with a scissors.