AN INTERVIEW WITH JILL EILEEN SMITH

 

I’m chatting with Jill Eileen Smith, author of the recently released Michal, first in the Wives of King David Series, and listed as one of ECPA’s bestsellers.

Welcome, Jill, thank you for stopping by.

Thank you for having me. ☺

Jill, when you wrote that children’s story for your church ten years ago, was that the beginning of your writing journey, or did the call to write professionally come some time later?

The call to write came before that, about twenty years ago. It started with a Bible study about King David, which led to a desire to read a novel on his life. I searched high and low for such a book but couldn’t find one that satisfied, so I began to write the book I longed to read. That attempt turned into a two-volume biblical fiction epic on the life of David. Sometime during the writing of that epic the desire to see it published and write professionally came into being, but I didn’t know then just how long it would take to see my work in print.

How exactly did the Lord lead you to a writing career?

When I completed the epic on David, I sent it out to many publishers and garnered 28 rejections before shelving the book. One of those rejections came from an editor at Harper & Row who suggested I refocus the book on Michal. In my naiveté, 16 years ago, I turned her down. In the years that followed, I wrote Abigail’s story and four other full-length novels and several novellas trying to break into publishing. One of those books became Michal’s story. The idea that editor planted wouldn’t leave me. During this time I was also in the middle of homeschooling three boys. When our youngest son graduated high school, I still had no certainty that I would ever have a writing career. I had a wonderful agent (Wendy Lawton) and had written eight novels, but still no sale. I’d prayed many times and surrendered the dream just as often, but at that point, I had a heart-to-heart talk with the Lord about my future. What was I to do with my life now that I’d worked myself out of a job with homeschooling? If I wasn’t to write for publication, then what was I to do?

That prayer, tucked in my journal, was a turning point for me. I trusted the Lord to lead me one way or the other within the next year and waited while my agent tried to sell a suspense novel I had hopes for. (We had shelved Michal because biblical fiction wasn’t selling.) But a month after that prayer, I felt another intense need to pray about The Wives of King David series. I had loved the series for so long! Was God ever going to use it? I had this fantasy prayer that an editor would ask Wendy (my agent) if she happened to have any biblical fiction, and a month after praying and imagining, that’s exactly what happened! My career began three months later, when the very editor (now at Revell) who had inspired Michal’s story 16 years ago, bought the series.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Some favorites from long ago are: Francina H. Arnold author of Not My Will – a favorite that I reread several times. Marjorie Holmes whose Two From Galilee sparked my love of biblical fiction. Louisa May Alcott – I loved Little Women but read many of her other works as well. Laura Ingalls Wilder – I loved everything about the Little House on the Prairie series.

Current favorite authors – Francine Rivers, B.J. Hoff, Tamera Alexander, Deborah Raney, Jill Stengl, Kathleen Fuller, Maureen Lang, Meredith Efken, Julie Klassen, Ginger Garrett, Lynn Austin, Tosca Lee…the list goes on. I love historical fiction, so I gravitate toward authors who write in historical genres – but I have some favorite contemporary and suspense authors too.

Has any of them, or anyone else, influenced your writing? If so, how?

Marjorie Holmes brought the Bible to life for me and helped me see the real people of the Bible in a new light. They were real and I fell in love with God’s Word in a new way after reading her book. I read it every Christmas for years.

Deborah Raney has been a friend and mentor for several years now – a great encourager. Tamera Alexander, Maureen Lang, Kathleen Fuller, Meredith Efken, and Jill Stengl have been critique partners who have had a great hand in helping me grow as a writer. I owe them all a debt of gratitude.

Please tell us about Michal.

Michal: A Novel, Book 1 in The Wives of King David series is published by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Here’s the back cover blurb:

Can their epic search for true love survive a father's fury?
The daughter of King Saul, Michal lives a life of privilege--but one that is haunted by her father's unpredictable moods and competition from her beautiful older sister. As a girl, Michal quickly falls for the handsome young harpist David. But soon after their romance begins, David must flee for his life, leaving Michal at her father's mercy in the prison that is King Saul's palace. Will Michal ever be reunited with David? Or is she doomed to remain separated from him forever?

You can read more about The Wives of King David, particularly about Michal: A Novel by visiting the website: http://www.thewivesofkingdavid.com. There are Book Club questions and Bible Study questions available for free download. You can also read chapter one to see if you might like the book.

By the way, what is the correct pronunciation? I’ve heard some say it like Mee-cal, and others say it like Michael.

I used to call her Mi (short i) – cal (sounds like Al – as in a guy’s name.) Then I looked her name up in a Bible dictionary and started calling her Michael, exactly like a guy’s name. But then I met two different Jewish people, who knew people with the name, and they said it is pronounced Mi (short i) – call. In Hebrew, there is a way they roll the sound at the back of the throat where the second syllable comes in. The easier way to remember is – Michal=Mi (short i) call.

What about King David’s wives intrigued you enough to weave a fiction story around the facts?

The intrigue that would not let me go started with David himself and the question – “Why did a man after God’s own heart need so many wives?” The romantic in me begged an answer to the question. When I started out writing about David’s life, I viewed David a little differently than I do today. Maturity brings insight, I guess. At least I hope so! And living with all men gives me a different perspective – I have a better understanding of how guys think.

There have been movies made about King David, but none that I know of has ever focused on the life of any of his wives. I’d love to see your novel adapted to film. If that were to happen, who would you like to see in the starring roles?

Wow, thanks! I would love to see these books adapted to film as well. I could tell you who I’d like to see direct the film, but the starring roles are harder to pinpoint. I actually picked a Jewish actress to model Michal for my Idea Board – so I could visually “see” my character. (At least the website said she was Jewish.) The actress was Emmanuelle Chriqui, and she looks amazingly like the model on the cover of Michal, but I don’t know how she is at acting. I like Eric Bana for David as he looked in Troy, but I’d rather leave the acting casting to the director. As for the director – in my fantasy world Stephen Spielberg directs the series. (Now you know for sure I write fiction!) ☺

Jill, can you tell us when the next two books in the series will be released?

Abigail is set to release February 1, 2010. The cover is gorgeous and should be online in a month or so, I think. Bathsheba should release a year later – I don’t have an exact date yet.

Beyond this series, is there anything else we can look forward to on the horizon?

Yes, actually there is another 3-book series contracted with Revell for another biblical fiction series on The Wives of the Patriarchs. I’m planning to start work on Sarai once I turn in Bathsheba.

One last question, Jill: I’ve seen pictures of your cats on your Web site. Is there any specific reason you’ve named one of them Shadow?

My husband Randy picked Shadow’s name and the main reason was twofold – he was gray, like a Shadow, and he was a skitterish thing, afraid of his own shadow. It fit. ☺

Thanks so much for joining us, this month, Jill. It was a pleasure having you.
 I appreciate you the opportunity! Thanks!

If you’d like to learn more about Jill Eileen Smith and her books, visit her at www.jilleileensmith.com or www.thewivesofkingdavid.com.

To win an autographed copy of Michal, use the contact page on this site, and type “drawing” in the comments box. The deadline to enter is June 24th.

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