Jody Hedlund ~ Author Interview

Dec 5, 2014 by Rachel

 Welcome back to Rachel’s Back Talk! Fridays are a special day here. As they are available, I will be sharing with you interviews of some very special authors that I have had the privilege of corresponding with.

Today’s interview is with Jody Hedlund. This interview was conducted back when she was celebrating the release of her book, Captured by Love. 

So without further ado, on to Rachel’s Back Talk – Special Edition! 

 

Interview:

RR: Hi Jody! It is so great to be here with you today! To start off this interview, when you knew that you wanted to be a writer?

JH: Like many writers, I’ve been writing since my childhood days. I always loved telling stories. When I was in junior high, I entered my first writing contest for a Biblical fiction story. And when I won, I realized God had indeed gifted me. I think that was when I became more serious about wanting to be a writer when I grew up.

The passion followed me into adulthood. However, as I began my college years, I quickly realized that creative writing wasn’t a career track that would help pay the bills. For a time, God moved me into social work. I went on to get my masters and was thankful for the experiences and opportunities I had during those years of helping underprivileged people. After many twists and turns along the path, I’ve finally been able to channel my passion for writing into a full time writing career.

RR: That is quite the journey and I know for so many of us, we are glad you are a writer!! How would you describe your writing process? Are you more of a planner or a freewriter?

JH: I’m a combination of planner and freewriter. I start out with a brainstormed list of plot ideas. I do my best to think of as many twists and turns as I can before I start writing the first draft. And I usually have a pretty good idea of how I want the plot to wrap up.

But inevitably the story develops even more as I get into the meat of writing. I think that’s what makes writing so fun and what gives me such a rush—to see what new aspects unfold and where the story actually leads as I get to know my characters more intimately.

RR: I know exactly what you mean! As much as I love planning, there is something about watching the story itself just unfold. So when is your best time in the day to write?

JH: My ideal time to write is the first part of the day in the morning hours. I usually try to accomplish my writing first thing when I sit down to work rather than do other miscellaneous things like blogging or social media.

I give myself a daily word count of how much I need to write, and I stick to it as best as I can. Whatever amount I miss one day, I try to make up on another day of that week. Having the daily/weekly goals helps keep me going even when I’m not in the mood. However, if I ever get into a slump, I put in my earbuds and listen to music. The steady rhythm helps me block out distractions, inspires me, and often evokes strong emotions deep inside me.

RR: Goals are a plus! They help me to keep going and give me something to look forward to completing when the week is over. How do you know when you have a great story idea?

JH: I have all kinds of story ideas, probably too many! I think a writer can take any idea (even if it’s already been done) and still make it fresh and unique and interesting. Therefore I don’t rule out any story ideas. I just brainstorm harder and try to dig deeper for fresh spins to give my plots.

RR: I love it! Often I have more stories ideas than I could possibly write about, but I guess you never know! This may be a difficult questions, but out of all your books, which has been your favorite to write?

JH: When I’m writing the first draft of a book, I fall madly in love with each book and the characters so that each book ends up holding a special place in my heart. I think they’re all SO wonderful–until I beginning editing and then I loathe them. Once I finish editing them for the last time, I never read them again.

Nevertheless, if I had to pick one, right now I’d probably pick Captured by Love. I really like Pierre my fun-loving, laid-back hero. I had a lot of fun writing his character. I also enjoyed writing in the era of the War of 1812 which is a time period not often used for historical fiction.

RR: Yes, I have to agree the Captured by Love is one of my favorite of yours too, be it though the first I’ve read! Why don’t we move on to that book now. How did you come up with the story idea for Captured by Love?

JH: I wanted to write about Mackinac Island, which is a very popular tourist destination in Michigan. People from all over the Midwest (and country) flock to the tiny northern island during the summer to enjoy the mild weather, beautiful rock formations, bicycling, horse-drawn carriage rides, historical sites, and of course, the fudge!

Every time I vacation on Mackinac Island, I visit the old fort built on the bluffs overlooking the quaint town. I’ve always imagined what life would have been like during the dangerous fur-trading days when the island was overrun by soldiers and Indians.

So as I began plotting to write another book set in my home state of Michigan, I decided to write about Mackinac Island during the War of 1812, which was an especially turbulent time for the island residents.

RR: Oh yes! Mackinac Island is so beautiful. I just love it there! So are the characters Angelique, Pierre, Jean, or Miriam based off of anyone you know?

JH: For the most part, all of the characters are fictional. I did shape Miriam a bit after my mother who is a prayer warrior for my family. I also based Angelique off a real woman, Agatha de LaVigne, who lived on Mackinac Island during the fur-trading era.  Not much is known about her early background other than that her father was a French fur-trader and that she was Catholic, illiterate, and had a sister named Theresa.

Later Agatha married an independent fur trader and they raised four children together. Agatha is best remembered for her kindness and care to the poor and disadvantaged. She is known to have fed elderly residents from her kitchen. She died in 1873 and is buried at St. Anne’s Catholic Church on Mackinac Island.

Immediately, Agatha’s story sparked my imagination. Even though I didn’t base my entire story around her, I did make the heroine of Captured by Love a compassionate young woman who helps others. Like Agatha, I made my heroine Catholic, illiterate, with a sister named Therese and a fur-trading father. And of course, it seemed only natural to set the story on Mackinac Island where Agatha had lived.

RR: I love it when characters are based off of real people. It makes them more relateable. Why do you write historical fiction?

JH: I’ve always loved history. And I’ve always loved reading historical romances. But it wasn’t until I began homeschooling my children and teaching them history that my imagination turned on and I began to see story possibilities in everything we were reading and learning.

During the course of our history lessons, I began to learn a lot about some of the great heroes of the faith. I was particularly fascinated by the wives of these great heroes, especially those who were long forgotten by our modern world, women who had stood by their husband’s sides during dangerous times and had helped shape those men into the heroes they became. I wanted to bring these women to life for our modern generation.

RR: There is something about history that is just so inspiring! But historical fiction requires lots of research! How much time was spent researching versus writing this book in particular?

JH: Research is an integral part of my writing process. I spent approximately a month on initial research, reading biographies, getting a feel for the time period, and digging into the meat that comprised the plot of my book.

Once I started writing the first draft, I had to stop from time to time to do a little more research, particularly if I switched settings within the story. But usually, if I don’t know something, I’ll highlight it and then do more research during my editing phase. So in all, writing the first draft took me a total of about 3 months.

RR: I don’t know about you, but research is almost as much fun for me as the writing and creating! Well, as we close here for today, is there one tip that you could share that has really benefited you in your writing?  

JH: Writing is like any other profession: we can’t succeed unless we achieve mastery of the subject. And how does one achieve writing mastery? We need to learn everything we can about the craft of writing and then put it into practice. In other words, learn, learn, learn. Write, write, write. Repeat ad infinitum.

RR: And that is a great way to end. Thank you so much for being here, Jody! Blessings to you as you continue writing! I know I can’t wait to read your upcoming books!

If you have any questions for Jody or remarks from the interview, please leave a comment! I love hearing from you and I know Jody will too!

 

Here are the reviews I have written on Jody’s books. I encourage you to check them out and see what a wonderful writer she is:

Captured by Love

Out of the Storm

Love Unexpected

 

 

Jody Hedlund is an award-winning and bestselling author of inspirational historical romances.

As a busy mama-writer, she has the wonderful privilege of teaching her crew of 5 children at home. In between grading math papers and giving spelling tests, she occasionally does a load of laundry and washes dishes. When she’s not busy being a mama, you can find her in front of her laptop working on another of her page-turning stories.

She loves reading almost as much as she loves writing, especially when it also involves chocolate and coffee. 

Read more about Jody and her books at www.jodyhedlund.com