Interview Billie Williams:

by

Beverly Stowe McClure

1. Congratulations on your new book, Billie. Bread and Breakfast Murders sounds intriguing. What inspired you to write this story?

Actually it was The Pink Lady Slipper the characters weren’t done doing what they needed to do. The Pink Lady Slipper still had stories to tell. I enjoyed doing The Pink Lady Slipper and hated to turn the characters loose. As ideas percolated in my head, I followed.

2. How many books have you had published and are they all in the same genre?

I have published 6 mystery/suspense type novels with Wings before this and have two more that are contracted with them for 2007. One of my Wings books is a Young Adult Historical Adventure. I’ve published one Adventure/Suspense with Publish America and several romantic suspense that were a little too sensual for Wings with two other publishers. Suspense seems to run through everything I write though. I also have one non-fiction how to write book published and three more that will be out next year in a series about how to write mysteries at Filbert Publishing.

3. Why that particular genre, or different genres?

I find investigating where the what if’s take me, to be fascinating. I always loved reading mystery, suspense and thrillers. So, I guess it just naturally followed that I would write in those genres. I tried writing the romantic suspense just to try another genre--it’s fun to stretch and try to reach new sides of yourself.

4. When did you discover you loved to write?

I would say I have written forever, diaries, journals, letters and the like. As soon as I could write, I wrote stories for my sisters and brother; I wrote stories to entertain myself through illnesses that kept me bedridden as a child. I was a voracious reader and loved words and what they could do. In High School I quit writing and didn’t think I could after several English teachers made the task, at least for me, seem impossible, telling me I would never amount to anything, that I couldn’t write, that I should try to be more like my older sister, yah dah yah dah until I finally gave up. When. Many years later after my children were in school, I began a job at a community college that allowed me to take classes and I aced every single English, Literature and Grammar course I took, and I finally crawled back out of oblivion and began to write again.

5. What comes first for you: plot, setting, or characters?

It really depends on the book. Some have started from a three word prompt, some have begun because of a person I saw, and The Pink Lady Slipper and Bed and Breakfast Murders began with the setting. A sprawling log house I wanted to buy and some pictures my sister took of the place and the pink lady slipper flower that surrounded the area where it was. It can be a title that catches my imagination, whether that title is from a movie, a play, a newspaper headline, television, another book… whatever ignites my muse--I take it and run er--write with. <G>

6. Do you work from an outline or just let your ideas and thoughts guide you?

Normally I follow The Marshall Plan For Novel Writing, by Evan Marshall. While you don’t really outline, you do more of a synopsis style road map. Developing your characters first and then each section as you plot and plan. I always start out with his work book sheets and his method… If in the process the story just begins to grow and flow I’ll let it. Until I get bogged down and then it’s back to the section summaries detailed in his book and workbook.

7. What is your writing schedule?

I do not work outside the home so, my time is pretty much my own. I do try to write at least three hours every morning and a couple more in the afternoon. After dinner, like from seven to nine I read generally non-fiction on the craft of writing itself. If time permits I’ll do a little writing at night also.

8. What are you working on now?

I am working on adapting a friend’s novel (A Christmas Dream, by Janet Elaine Smith) to a play for Community Theater, which is really turning out to be an exciting adventure for me. I have a screenplay I have been working on for a while that is an adaptation of one of my novels. But the Play format is quite a bit different than one that is meant for film. So this has become a whole new learning experience for me. I’m enjoying the challenge though. I also have started a new novel series beginning with Tumbleweed. Of course it’s another suspense--probably romantic/suspense this time and it’s a western of contemporary ilk. Hopefully, I’ll be submitting that one to Wings also.

9. How do you promote your books?

How many snowflakes in a blizzard? I think every time I see a new way I try it. Primarily now its web site, post card campaign, business cards that I leave everywhere and slip into every envelope that leaves my house, whether it’s a bill, a charity donation, or letter. I try to make as many chats, loops, contests, and author get-togethers as I can. I participate in workshops; write articles for several e-zines, Press releases, radio shows, presentations and signings at local libraries. We are living in such an isolated small community that opportunities are very limited as to book signings etc., so I have to find other ways. I have about 30 books on marketing and promotion and I utilize every idea I can cull from them as well as other ideas that are offered on the various newsletters and loops I belong to. I belong to several marketing news letters that give me new ideas and keep me stoked.

10. What do you do to relax?

Bus man’s holiday kinds of things, gathering ideas. Read, write poetry, or experiment with other genres. I do like to take long walks, garden and shovel snow; I also love to walk in the rain if it isn’t storming. I do try to take an Artist Date (Julia Cameron style from her book The Artist’s Way.) once a week. It’s a shopping, or visiting a museum, or flower shop or some other place of interest to me--alone, also weekly, I try to take a very long walk to let my ideas perk in my subconscious. More of Cameron’s ideas on feeding the muse.

11. Who has influenced you in your writing life?

There are so many. But two major influences I think Lorraine Stephens, and one of Wing’s authors Fran Keighley/Priddy have been my biggest influences. They gave me a chance, they gave me the courage to try and try again. When Wings rejected one of my books, I think it was the second one I submitted--Lorraine gave me detailed reasons why the book didn’t work for Wings, and what I could do to fix it. What could have crushed my fragile ego--was spared because of her gentle pen. Then Fran took me under her wing and mentored my polishing and resubmitting. These two lovely ladies have been big in my writer’s life. Sadly, Fran passed on, but I’m sure she helped many aspiring authors to realize their dreams, just as Lorraine continues to do.

12. Where can we learn more about you and your writing?

I have a web site for my books at www.billiewilliams.com and also one hosted by Books We Love at http://www.bookswelove.com/BWilliams.htm I also have several websites designed specifically to certain books that you can find links to from my main website mentioned above.

Thank you for the opportunity to talk writing and books, which I love. If anyone has any questions they would like to ask me, they can send me an email, bop on over to my website and sign my guest book and I’ll answer as quickly as I can.