Today’s post comes from Nicole O’Dell, author and She Reads YA reviewer.

“In this medieval fantasy debut, idealistic servant Achan Cham dreams of becoming a Kingsguard Knight, while Vrell Sparrow disguises herself as a boy to escape an arranged marriage. She has a supernatural gift of being able to communicate to Achan without words. This thoroughly entertaining and smart tale will appeal to fans of Donita K. Paul and J.R.R. Tolkien. Highly recommended for CF and fantasy collections.” –Library Journal ––Library Journal, April 2009

I’ll start right off by admitting that I’m not a big fantasy reader. I can’t remember the last fantasy book I actually read. It’s not that I have anything against fantasy or spec fiction—in fact, I just may have to start adding it to my reading list now that I’ve been completely captivated by Jill Williamson’s debut novel, By Darkness Hid.

By Darkness Hid portrays a speculative world of danger as it lives out the age-old battle between good and evil with swords and the gift of bloodvoicing. (Intrigued, yet?) So many times, as I was reading, I forgot that Er’Rets wasn’t real. That’s the true mark of great fantasy, in my opinion.

I felt myself tense up at important scenes and wanted to shield my eyes at others—nope, not going to tell you what they were. Some of the danger and extreme situations would have been over-the-top and unbelievable if they weren’t crafted so well.

The underlying Christian message is that of God’s light prevailing in the darkness. That message is skillfully woven throughout the book without being overdone.

If you have a teen who enjoys this genre, or even one who doesn’t, this is a must read. I’d actually encourage readers of all ages to pick up all three books from the Blood of Kings trilogy as they’re available.

As a bonus, Jill answered some interview questions for us, letting us look a little deeper into her life.

Would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself?

I grew up in Alaska with no electricity. My biggest dream was to get out of Alaska and experience “real life.” I wanted to be a fashion designer, so I eventually went to New York City for a year to finish that degree. We moved to Los Angeles next because my husband wanted to work in the movie industry and I could do fashion there. It didn’t take long for our hearts to change.

My husband went back to school to become a youth pastor. I stayed home with our kids and started writing articles and short stories. I got hooked on writing a young adult novel. So hooked that it drove me crazy and I had to put it aside and write another story, then another, and another…

We now live in Eastern Oregon where my husband is a youth pastor. Ministry is my life. Teens are a big part of that. God has allowed me to write and teach about writing and I’m thrilled about that. (Wedding dresses were a lot more work, believe it or not.)

Actually, I do believe that.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I get up and help my husband get the kids off to school. I try to have prayer/Bible study/worship time and a walk on the treadmill. My day is always better when I do all that first, but I’ve been known to skip parts of it too often. I try to write each morning, but again, I get distracted, usually by emails. I try to work on my writing until lunch, then after lunch, check emails and critique the work of others. The idea is to stop when the kids get home from school. Whether or not I do, depends on my deadlines.

Describe your surrounding while you write…

I sit in the back room of my house at a big desk covered in piles of paperwork. (My “to do” piles.) This room has a wall of windows on my right that overlooks the back yard, the John Day River, and the “mountains” beyond. It’s beautiful. (I put mountains in quotes because I’m from Alaska, and these John Day “mountains” are really more like hills in comparison. They are still beautiful.)

How did you choose your genre?

Could someone like me really write anything else? I love weird stuff. When I was nine, my parents rented a TV and a VCR and all three Star Wars movies. We didn’t have electricity, so Dad started up the generator and we watched them straight through. It was the most amazing day. I think it opened my imagination up to the speculative genre. And that same year, the first movie I saw in the theater was ET. I love to read all genres. I’ve even written some contemporary novels, but I just seem to gravitate toward the speculative stuff. When you love something, you’re drawn to it and you invest more in it. That’s true for me with my speculative stories.

With which character do you most identify?

With Vrell Sparrow. She is a girl who is pretending to be something she is not. What girl has never done that at some point in her life? Plus, Vrell has a controlling seed that comes from her own insecurities. I so have that problem too. God’s been working on me over the years and I’m learning to trust God and others, which is quite difficult and freeing. Arman is working on Vrell too. Vrell also tends to point out injustice, which is something I’m prone to do. She is also creative and extremely loyal.

6. Can you tell us about the other books in the series?

By Darkness Hid is the first book in the trilogy. It’s about how Achan and Vrell came to be in this mess, how they met each other, and how they discovered their bloodvoicing abilities.

And I’m working on book three right now. It’s called From Darkness Won and will probably be out April 2011. Sign up for my Facebook fan page or the E-zine on my website (look in the top right corner) to get updates on book three.

Where can we find you on the web and where can we buy your books?

I’m everywhere! My website is www.jillwilliamson.com. I’m also on Facebook, MySpace, Shoutlife, Shelfari, GoodReads, Twitter, Amazon…

On top of that, I run two blogs. The first is Novel Teen Book Reviews at www.novelteen.com. It’s a website that reviews clean teen fiction. This is a great resource to see what books are available in the Christian market for teens. The other blog is for teen authors, though adult authors may find some useful tips too. www.teenageauthor.com.

And if you are looking to buy one of my books, online go to Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, or MarcherLordPress.com. You can also buy an autographed copy from me through my website. Many libraries have the first book and if they don’t they would likely order it if you ask. And you can request your local bookstore order my books too.

Thanks so much, Jill. I’ve loved hearing about your life and your writing area. For some reason, I’m fascinated by where authors write.

I hope you’ll all take a look at this fantastic book trailer. If this doesn’t make you want to read this trilogy…

Jill has graciously offered a winner the choice of a signed copy of either By Darkness Hid, book number one, or To Darkness Fled, book number two in the trilogy. As always, just leave a comment on this post and the winner will be selected at random on Friday.

****Update: the winners of Susan May Warren’s novel, The Great Christmas Bowl, were chosen at random using www.random.org. We have notified each of the lucky recipients. Thanks to each of your for participating!

Susan May Warren is the award-winning author of seventeen novels and novellas with Tyndale, Steeple Hill and Barbour Publishing. Her first book, Happily Ever After won the American Fiction Christian Writers Book of the Year in 2003, and was a 2003 Christy Award finalist. In Sheep’s Clothing, a thriller set in Russia, was a 2006 Christy Award finalist and won the 2006 Inspirational Reader’s Choice award. A former missionary to Russia, Susan May Warren now writes Suspense/Romance and Chick Lit full time from her home in northern Minnesota.

A little about her new book The Great Christmas Bowl: Marianne Wallace is focused on two things this holiday season: planning the greatest family Christmas ever and cheering on her youngest son’s team in their bid for the state championship. Disaster strikes when the team loses their mascot-the Trout. Is it going too far to ask her to don the costume? So what if her husband has also volunteered her to organize the church Christmas tea. When football playoffs start ramping up, the Christmas tea starts falling apart. Then, one by one her children tell her they can’t come home for Christmas. As life starts to unravel, will Marianne remember the true meaning of the holidays? 

We’ve chosen The Great Christmas Bowl as our very first “Worth Reading” profile. How do you determine what’s “worth reading” within the vast array of Christian fiction out there?

That’s a great question!  I’m a tough reviewer, I’d admit.  A book has to hook my attention in the first chapter, plus have a heroine that is likeable and sympathetic.  I also want to  read a story that has a premise that touches my heart.  And the writing has to have some poetry to it.  I can usually tell if a novel is going to have these things within the first three chapters.  At the end of the day, the novel has to be worth my time in sitting down to read it – something that makes me ponder my life, my relationship with God, and makes me want to reach higher.

What made you decide to do 1) a Christmas book and 2) a Christmas book about football?

I think every author needs to have a signature “Christmas” story (much like a musical artist might have a Christmas album!).  Only, I wanted something unique and funny and heartwarming, and with a message that might appeal broadly.  Truthfully, I feel as if I received this story as a gift from God – it came fully packaged into my heart during a season when I saw my oldest son preparing to graduate and “leave the nest.”  I blubbered my way through that Christmas season, so much so that really, all I had to do was sit down and spill the story it onto the page.  In truth, I wrote it  as a gift to my family – football is a Warren passion, as well as our Christmas traditions, and I wanted something even  my boys would read.  (and I’ve had a lot of male readers who have endorsed it, also!)  My family’s gift to me was that they loved it.

I told you that there were many parts in this book that made me laugh out loud. Do you always incorporate humor into your books?

I try to.  I love to laugh – life is funny when we step back from it.  Even in stressful moments, there are funny elements that can help ease the tension.  So, I love writing books with humor sprinkled throughout.   My current series, the “Trouble” series about a wannabe Private Investigator is part humor, part suspense, part romance – okay, I think it’s the blend of a perfect book.  The Great Christmas Bowl is really an example of the daily life in the Warren household.

The story revolves around a mom who will do anything for her children. What is something you’ve done for your kids that you never expected to do?

I got involved in our small town theater (and yes, there may be a book about that someday!).  I have donned costumes as a Lions paw (Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe) and an eccentric church lady (the Worst Christmas Pageant ever) and spent hours backstage and running lines for their “theater” careers.  I also spend A-LOT more hours driving to football games than I ever imagined.  Yes, sometimes I am the lone mother in the stands at an away game, shivering in the rain, whoo-ha-ing my fullback or middle linebacker.  I also never thought I’d be the host of the prom party every year, but then again, at least I know where my teenagers are spending prom night!

Some parts of the book are derived from your real-life experiences. Care to tell us which ones?

Oh….well, it’s probably easier to detail which ones aren’t real.

I’ve never been a fish.

That’s it.

Oh, and we’ve never spent Christmas in Cancun.  (Yet).  But we have been to Cancun.  And spent Christmases in places all over the world.

The rest….well, times and places have been changed to protect the innocent (or guilty!)  Except for the dog.  Gracie deserves to be immortalized in the Library of Congress.

Finally, share a Warren family Christmas tradition.

Clam Chowder soup, of course!  We have it every year, along with fresh made buns (made by yours truly), and sandwich fixin’s.  We eat by candlelight, have a family devotional time, and then open ONE gift from under the tree (it’s always pajamas).  Then the kids (and grownups) get into their new jammies, and we do a family puzzle.  (a new one every year).    It’s something my family did growing up, and it’s been fun to continue the traditions.  I suspect my children will carry into their families, too.  Perhaps a new tradition will be me reading the Great Christmas Bowl aloud while we do the puzzle.  Hmmm…..I like that one.

Merry Christmas to all the Proverbs 31 women out there!  Have a fabulous season celebrating the gift of our Savior!

Susan May Warren

If you would  like to win a copy of The Great Christmas Bowl, just leave a comment below!  Three lucky winners will receive  TWO copies of Susan’s novel (one for you and one to give to a friend),  along with a copy of Catherine Palmer’s Victorian Christmas, a nostalgic collection of four novellas never before released in the same volume, and a pocket Bible Promises book all from Tyndale House Publishers.

Comment away, and good luck!!