Jill Eileen Smith ~ Interview + Giveaway!

*You can earn up to 4 entries in this giveaway. Read below for details*

Today author Jill Eileen Smith is telling us about her new book, Bathsheba (The Wives of King David series, book 3 -- March 2011). She has offered an autographed copy of her book to one lucky commenter. She will also be stopping by throughout the week to answer your questions! So if you have anything you want to ask her, you can leave a comment on this post to find out the answer!

Here is Jill's author bio:
Jill Eileen Smith is the best-selling author of Michal and Abigail, books one and two in The Wives of King David series. She has more than twenty years of writing experience, and her writing has gathered acclaim in several contests. Her research into the lives of David's wives has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Old Testament times.

When she isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her family; in person, over the webcam, or hopping a plane to fly across the country. She can often be found reading Christian fiction, testing new recipes, grabbing lunch with friends, or snuggling one or both of her two adorable cats. She lives with her family in southeast Michigan.

Welcome, Jill! Tell us about your salvation experience.
I would love to share this! Because of it’s length, I will give you the link to my website where you can read the whole thing. http://www.jilleileensmith.com/bio/

How do you handle disasters/BIG problems? Do you have a funny or interesting story showcasing how you handle them?
It’s hard to say because each circumstance is different. God’s grace comes and carries us through times that are toughest. Sometimes we have to jump in and tackle the disaster. Other times I might sit and cry and journal and pray. Still others, I reel from the shock for a while before I can do anything at all.

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
If I could live anywhere I wanted to, I would spend time in Israel and California. I would love to live at least part of the year near the ocean and live in a climate that is sunny more than cloudy. Cloudy days wear me down.

What is one book that you recently read and would recommend to your readers?
Only one? :) Okay, since it's a recent read I will pick The Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent. It's not fiction but it reads like a story and is a memorable read.

What is your favorite time of day to write?
I actually write morning, noon, and night, but I prefer late morning best, if the words are flowing. I prefer to catch up on emails and social networks later in the day.

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be? Also, how would you rate the romance in your books?
I’m not sure about the style, but readers of Tamera Alexander, Julie Klassen, Siri Mitchell, and other historical Christian authors may like my books. In Bathsheba the romance rating would be PG. Sex is implied, never shown. This would be true in all my books.

What are you working on now or going to write next?
I just turned in Sarai, book one in the next series – The Wives of the Patriarchs. I am currently working on book two about Rebekah and Isaac.

Book blurb:
A single moment changed her life – will she ever regain all she’s lost?
Can love triumph over treachery?

Bathsheba is a woman who longs for love. With her husband away fighting the king’s wars, she battles encroaching loneliness–making it frighteningly easy to succumb to the advances of King David. Will one night of unbridled passion destroy everything she holds dear? Can she find forgiveness at the feet of the Almighty? Or has her sin separated her from God—and David—forever?

With a historian’s sharp eye for detail and a novelist’s creative spirit, Jill Eileen Smith brings to life the passionate and emotional story of David’s most famous—and infamous—wife. You will never read the story of David and Bathsheba in the same way again.

What research did you have to do for this book?
I had already researched King David's life pretty well for the first two books and the years of study before that. I have a list of resources I used under Bonus Features on each book's page of the series' website (http://www.thewivesofkingdavid.com/). The only new thing I did for Bathsheba was to get some military expertise to understand Uriah's character better, which helped immensely!

Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?

I do pick actors and actresses to be my characters as I write the stories, but they are chosen for their looks, not their acting ability. If I had the privilege of seeing one of my books on the silver screen, I would be more concerned with finding a great director and trust him or her to choose the actors. Two of my favorite choices for director are Steven Spielberg (he does quality work) and the Cohen brothers (I especially liked True Grit).

These are the two people who "played" David and Bathsheba on my Idea Board. Phoebe Cates is amazingly close to the model Revell found to portray Bathsheba on the cover. Eric Bana has been my "David" choice through all three books.

Do you have a link to a place to read the first chapter or an excerpt of this book?
http://thewivesofkingdavid.com/bathsheba/
Click on the link on the right side to download the chapter.

How can readers get in contact with you?
They can find me on my website (which is also my blog) – http://www.jilleileensmith.com/
The series website: http://www.thewivesofkingdavid.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jill-Eileen-Smith/10924241028?ref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JillEileenSmith

Is there anything you would like to add, or tell your readers?
Thank you for your interest in my work! I am grateful for every person who takes the time to read my books. I hope the stories help you to see the biblical characters as real people with real hopes and dreams and failings just like us. They are great examples of God’s great grace!

~~~~~

**USA addresses only, please**

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of Bathsheba!

TO ENTER:

*Leave a comment with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win). The comment is mandatory. You will not be entered unless you leave a comment AND your email address.

*If you leave a comment you will be entered unless you specify that you do not want to be entered.

*Here are the ways to get entries:

(First entry) The mandatory comment saying you would like to be entered with your email address.

+1 Become one of my followers OR subscribe to my blog by email.

+2 Read and leave a comment on my review of Hearts Surrender.

**You can earn a total of 4 entries if you do all of the above entry options. Make sure to tell me in your entry comment on this post which of the things you did to get extra entries. (You can put them on one comment if you want to, you don’t have to separate each entry into its own comment or anything like that.)**

*The contest will run from today (March 11) until 6:00 CST on Thursday (March 17). I will announce the winner that night. The winner is always randomly drawn. I will contact the winner either directly after choosing him/her or on Friday the 18th, and then that person will have one week to reply. If the winner doesn't reply within that time period, I will pick a new winner.

Good luck! Thanks for visiting.