An Interview with the lovely Jill Williamson! :)

Surprise! Hehehe...I am very happy to say that Jill has stopped by for an interview! Enjoy!

Jill Williamson

Tell us about yourself, for those who don’t know.

I write books for teens—fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, supernatural—anything weird or out of the ordinary. I didn't always want to write books. When I was growing up in Alaska, I had wanted to be a fashion designer someday, and I chased that dream all the way to New York City and then Los Angeles. But after a few years of The Devil Wears Prada-type experiences, I discovered that the fashion industry wasn't what I’d hoped it would be. So I tried something different and found out that I loved writing books. It took many more years before I was ready to be published, though.

 How were you inspired for The New Recruit? 

This was the first book I wrote. I was trying to write a story about teens going out into the world like missionaries, but since teen fiction books about missionaries weren't getting the attention of agents and editors, I tweaked the story and turned them into undercover agents. I was also trying to copy the format of Harry Potter. My goal was to get some teens away from their parents where they could receive some kind of training. At the time, I thought this was sneaky and brilliant, but it created so many problems! I've never written a book that way since. It’s not a good idea to copy what’s already successful—because the world already has that book. And human were created unique for a reason. There’s already one J. K. Rowling. And I need to be Jill Williamson. All that to say, even though I've rewritten The New Recruit from that first, horrible, draft, this book is not my strongest, but it’s still a whole lot of fun.

It was a really fun read too. What’s a quirky thing you do while you write?
I often snack, but that’s merely another form of procrastination.

Where is your favorite place to write?

Jill's Desk

At my desk. Here is a picture:

What movie/TV actors or actresses would you choose to play your main characters in a movie?
There are few boy actors out there young enough and tall enough to pull of Spencer’s character and his red hair. I think Adam Hicks might be able to pull it off.

Spencer

I think so too! Can you spill anything about the next book?
Sure. For now, the title is The Profile Match. Spencer and the other agents-in-training will travel to Okinawa, Japan on the summer training mission. Three new freshmen agents join the team, including one extremely obnoxious—and cute—girl, whose mission in life seems to be making Spencer miserable.

Oooh, can't wait! Lastly, is there anything specific you hope your readers will glean from The New Recruit?
There are no perfect people on this planet—Christians included. There are also a lot of hateful, worried, frightened people out there—Christians included. And hate, worry, and fear tend to be the motivations behind all judgment. But this world already has a judge. So let’s leave the judging to God and focus on loving others unconditionally. Hate the sin, not the sinner. Love the sinner.

Great message! Thank you so much Jill for stopping by!