[77] Billie Hinton - Amended | guest post & interview

Bingham Wade lives a solitary life. He leaves his mountain cabin rarely, mostly to do private contract work finding lost children. Cynical and lonely, bound by regret to the past, a photo of a lost girl with curly red hair forces him to his porch in the middle of the night, where he searches the internet for a woman he lost twenty years ago.

Claire Caviness is married and owns an art gallery in Savannah. When she returns to NC for a funeral, things begin to happen: she inherits money, buys a big handsome horse, reconnects with her father, and suddenly, things she lost in the past return to her.

Signs That Might Be Omens, book two in the Claire Quartet, is a story of love, loss, and illumination.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Literary Fiction / Romance

Rating – R

 Connect with Billie Hinton on Twitter & November Hill

Website http://www.billiehinton.com/

Check out where this author will be talking about her latest release!

GUEST POST

A World Without Books…

by Billie Hinton 

Would be a very sad world indeed! I think we have a deeply-rooted need to tell stories and to listen to them, and at some point we developed a strong need to write them down so we could read them. As someone who will read the back of a cereal box if there is nothing else available, I am glad for all the books we have to read! Some of us become readers for life, and I’m not sure how that happens. I have read that children who grow up in homes where the parents read are many times more likely to become avid readers themselves, and that has proven true in my life. My mother was an avid reader and I became a total bookworm. My two children grew up with books everywhere in our house, and both my husband and I read a lot. I now have two avid reader children. After the first Harry Potter book came out and we read it out loud, the subsequent volumes became problematic because they got thicker and thicker. My voice gave out and my entire family demanded more – read more! I tried croaking through yet another chapter, but then got the audio versions for two and three. After that we all wanted to read the newest Harry Potter on our own so we could go as fast as we wanted to go – and we ended up buying four copies of the last few volumes in the series so we could ALL read them FIRST. With technology making readers’ dreams come true (how many of us wished and dreamed and imagined that we could get any book we wanted with the blink of an eye!) via Kindles and Nooks and all the various e-reader devices, it’s interesting to look at how reading itself has changed. There is instant gratification now when it comes to books. The instant a title is available we can get it within a few seconds or a few days. I know for me this has meant a much larger reading pile, whether it be on my night table or on my Kindle, and when it’s time to pick the next read, I often have a hard time doing so because there are SO MANY books waiting for me. With all these books it’s hard to think what it might be like without any at all. I imagine we would eventually go back to telling stories, out loud, to satisfy what seems to be a human need for tales that have beginnings, middles, and ends. With all the twists and turns that come between.

INTERVIEW

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future? Definitely to the past. I love antiques, big old houses, and would love to see the world before industrialization changed the landscape. If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would you choose? Andy Warhol, Tennessee Williams, Walt Whitman, Colette, and Jane Bowles. If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you? My family, which would include all my animal family, notebooks, and pens. What is one book everyone should read? Living in the Light, by Shakti Gawain. If you were a superhero what would your name be? I have no idea! If you could have any superpower what would you choose? The ability to keep my family and loved ones safe from harm. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Hard to pick one – rum raisin, peppermint stick, hazelnut. If you could meet one person who has died who would you choose? Colette. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Howling grits: coarsely ground yellow grits with sausage, an egg, and green chile salsa on top. Night owl, or early bird? Total night owl. One food you would never eat? Chitlins. Pet Peeves? Gossip. Skittles or M&Ms? M&Ms, lined up by color. Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book. I think it tells a good story. Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?  Claire-obscure is another book in the Claire Quartet, and it is already published. I have another adult novel and a middle grade novel published as well. Readers can already find these on Amazon. In the works: book three in the Claire Quartet, book two in the middle grade series, two nonfiction books, one on writing, the other on living with horses, and another adult novel. What inspired you to want to become a writer? I am not sure, except that I have been an avid reader since age 3. I wanted to write before I knew how to make the letters of the alphabet. I don’t know where that came from – but it was there early and has persisted mightily. Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published. I’ve gotten emails from readers who “get” the books. I think having someone I don’t know read my books and truly get the characters is my favorite result of publication. If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world, which would it be? Hmmm… that is a difficult choice. Today it would be Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. I guess I’d like to jump in for the first book and go all the way through the series! What is your dream cast for your book? I lived and worked in Hollywood for a time, so I know there is no way anyone ever really gets to pick a dream cast – I would hope the film would be cast well. I’d rather see new, unknown actors in the roles of Claire, Bingham, and Raoul than known ones, but you know, if Hollywood wants to pay me enough money, they can do what they want with the film. What was your favorite book when you were a child/teen? I loved the James Herriott series. Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters? Each of my books has its own playlist of songs that I listen to for inspiration. The one I’m hooked on right now that speaks to many of my female main characters is a song called Last of the Happy by Eva Trout. What’s one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors? Enjoy the process. Publication is wonderful, but if you don’t love the hours in the chair, writing and editing and editing some more, find something else to do. If you could choose only one time period and place to live, when and where would you live and why? I am drawn to Scotland. Probably 17thcentury, as I love the idea of castles and standing stones and travel by horseback. If you could be one of the Greek Gods, which would it be and why? Artemis, because she was the goddess of the forest and wildlife. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? For a long time it was Italy, in a villa out in the country somewhere. Now it’s Scotland, although I am tempted by New Zealand lately too. What is your favorite Quote? I have about a million favorite quotes, but today, this one: The Word is still spoken in sparrowsong, windsigh, and leaffall. An electron is a single letter, an atom a complex word, a molecule a sentence, and an indigo bunting an entire epistle of the sacred. The ocean whispers its mystery within the chambered sea shell. Listen quietly to the longing in your heart for love and justice and you may hear an echo of the holy word that addresses you. Hush for a while. Be still and know. Sam Keen When you were little, what did you want to be when you “grew up”? A writer, a psychiatrist, and the head veterinarian for the US Equestrian Olympic team. If a movie was made about your life, who would you want to play the lead role and why? Oh my. I think it would be Judy Davis. I love her work, and love the way she carries herself. How did you know you should become an author? I think I was born wanting to write. It never occurred to me not to. Who are your favorite authors of all time? Ellen Gilchrist, Jean Rhys, Charles Frazier, Michael Ondaatje. Can you see yourself in any of your characters? Sure. Oddly enough I see more of myself in the male characters than the female ones. What’s the craziest writing idea you’ve had? I’m thinking of taking my middle grade magical pony school novels, adding some nonfiction content aimed at women, and calling it the Fairy Tale For Horse Women series. What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you? Don’t wait for New York to buy your books. Write what you want to write and do the things you want to do. For a number of years much of my life plan was prefaced with the words “When my book sells, I will…”A dear author friend got tired of hearing me give my power away and his advice completely changed my life. Hidden talent? I am an awesome stall mucker. Favorite Food? It’s summer, and the garden is in, so right now, my favorite food is pasta made with tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and brie. Oh, and wild muscadine grapes which are hanging from every tree around the back field these days. Favorite Candy? Smarties. What movie and/or book are you looking forward to this year? I was really looking forward to Lydia Netzer’s Shine Shine Shine, and it was very good. What was your favorite children’s book? I love the Mr. Putter and Tabby series. Nickname? BA. How do you react to a bad review? I appreciate every review. No book is for everyone, and thank goodness there are so many out there for readers to find the ones that move them. When I get a bad review, it sometimes stings a bit, but I realize that even the bad reviews mean one thing: the book is out there, it’s flying. That’s what it’s about. If you were a bird, which one would you be? Great blue heron. Mythology says the great blue heron knows the thoughts of everyone around her. I feel that way sometimes, and I love the quiet still beauty the heron has. If you were a super hero what would your kryptonite be? Needles. If you could have a signed copy of any novel what would it be and why? I used to care a lot about signed copies of novels, but I’ve lost that attachment lately. I would like something signed by Paul Bowles though – he and I corresponded for years but it never occurred to me to get him to sign a book! You have won one million dollars what is the first thing that you would buy? The hundred acre wood behind my farm. Which authors have influenced you most and how? Lawrence Durrell. His Alexandria Quartet blew me away when I was in my late teens. I loved his use of differing perspectives to tell the same story, and that is what I am doing with the Claire Quartet. (claire-obscure and Signs That Might Be Omens are the first two books of this group) What do you do in your free time?  Take care of three horses, a pony, two miniature donkeys, four cats, and two Corgis. And two teenagers. I love riding my horses, taking photographs, tending the gardens and managing the farm chores. If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be? I’ll let them pick it out! Give us a glimpse into a typical day in your day starting when you wake up till you lie down again. Oh my. I have coffee and read email, then head to the barn. I often don’t make it back in the house until the afternoon. On good days I get to ride and write. On the less than good days I act as chauffeur and errand runner. I spend time with my husband when he gets home from work, and we try to cook good meals even though everyone takes their plate the heads to their own space these days. I read as long as I can before sleep takes me over. I’m a night owl who can no longer stay up into the wee hours of the night! What’s your favorite season/weather? Fall. I love when the days are still warm enough to wear just a light jacket or vest, but the nights are chilly enough to light the wood stove. Who or what inspired you to become an author? I don’t think anyone did. I was just born with a pen in my hand. It started early and has never stopped. How did you celebrate the sale of your first book? I don’t remember! Usually I’m on into the next book so don’t think much about celebrating those that are already out of the nest. What is your guilty pleasure? I don’t have any guilty pleasures. I enjoy what I enjoy and take full responsibility for it. Why feel guilty? What TV show/movie/book do you watch/read that you’d be embarrassed to admit?Army Wives. LOL. Finish the sentence- one book I wish I had written is…. Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient. It is stunningly beautiful. Favorite places to travel? I love the North Carolina mountains. I stay closer to home these days because of all the animals I live with – but I would love to do a long tour in Scotland. Favorite music? Alternative rock, mostly, though I like a lot of different genres. In your wildest dreams, which author would you love to co-author a book with? Raul Correa. He’s a friend and I love his work. His novel I Don’t Know But I’ve Been Told could be considered a companion piece to my first novel Claire-obscure.I’d love to write something with him. He is a master.

What do you think about it? :) 

xoxo, disincentive