Jill Eileen Smith
https://jilleileensmith.com/
Author of Dawn of Grace, Mary Magdalene’s Story, releasing February 2025
T4JYM: You have a new book set to be released in February of 2025. Please share a little about it with our readers and give them an introduction to the main characters they will meet.
JES: Dawn of Grace is the story of Mary Magdalene as seen from her perspective. We meet Mary as a young child and walk with her through her demon possession and ultimate healing by the radical new rabbi, Jesus. Mary becomes Jesus’ devoted follower, and is the one woman who stays with him – even to watching her Messiah die on a cruel cross. Despite her grief, she is determined to honor Him even in death, and has the distinct honor of being the first person to see Jesus alive, risen from the dead. Mary’s story is the story of the gospels. Her friends are the many women who followed Jesus along with the disciples and others who walked with Him. The story is uniquely hers.
T4JYM: You have numerous books that you have written! Can you tell which was your favorite book to write and why?
JES: I really don’t have a favorite, though I suppose the ones I like the best are those that aren’t so hard to write. Of course, sometimes the harder a book is to write, the better it will be in the end. I don’t enjoy any book in its first draft, but once I complete the final draft, I normally feel as though there actually is a story there.
T4JYM: I read on your website that one of your books was optioned for a film! How exciting that must be as an author! Can you share with our readers which book that was and what was the proposed film going to be?
JES: The book that was optioned was The Prophetess, and that’s about all I’m allowed to say. These things are kept quiet for various reasons. Film, like publishing, is a waiting game, but film is actually harder to ever see a concept made into a movie or TV show. God knows whether anything will come of this. I leave it in His hands.
T4JYM: How much time and effort goes into editing a work for publication?
JES: It takes a year to write the book, especially considering all of the rewrites. I like to turn in as clean a manuscript as I can, so I do at least four rewrites. That’s when my editors and proofreaders get their hands on it and we edit again and again. While the author is the one who writes the book, it takes a team to prepare it for publication and to get the word out about it so readers will know it’s coming. I’m always working a year ahead of a book’s release.
T4JYM: What kinds of books do you enjoy reading? What are you reading currently?
JES: I just finished Of Love and Treason by Jamie Ogle. It is a novel about St. Valentine. I particularly liked it because I was born on Valentine’s Day. Now I understand more about the man for whom that day is named.
Other than that, I read a lot of nonfiction. I read books that help me understand Scripture or God, along with my Bible, but I do love to find a good novel that lets me enter a different world. I’m a picky reader though, so it has to fit my mood at the time.
T4JYM: Who are some of your favorite authors? And why?
JES: M. Stengl’s Faraway Castle series because they are simply fun to read. Julie Klassen – I love the time period she chooses.
T4JYM: What do you like to do in your down time?
JES: I play games on my phone, do puzzles, go for walks, hang out with friends, go places with my hubby, or just enjoy his company, which we get to do every day since he’s retired. I love to visit my kids and grandkids too, but that doesn’t happen often because of the distance.
T4JYM: If you could pick any character from one of your books or another author’s, who would you want to spend an afternoon with?
JES: Hmm… one day I will get to spend eternity with most of my biblical characters, and I plan to ask a lot of questions then. Right now, I’d like an afternoon with the Syrophoenician woman whose daughter was possessed and Jesus healed. She’s my next work-in-progress, and I’d love for her to just tell me her story so I didn’t have to work so hard to figure it out! 🙂
T4JYM: What advice would you give to someone interested in publishing their work?
JES: Don’t be in a hurry to get your words out to the public. Study the craft well. Many people are self-publishing and some are good writers and some are not. Don’t grow too in love with your own work. Be willing to let others critique your work, particularly a good editor, before you share it with the world. If you are trying to break into the traditional market, follow the agent’s and publisher’s guidelines when seeking their representation. Get involved with writer’s groups that know what they are doing. And don’t think your first book is your best. It usually isn’t. So keep writing. It’s like learning the piano. You don’t play Mozart before you learn the basics and beyond. It’s takes years to master such crafts, writing included.
T4JYM: What advice would you give to the youth of this world?
JES: Seek the Lord while He may be found. Nothing, absolutely nothing in life matters more than knowing Jesus Christ and settling your eternal destiny. All of the success in this life only last a lifetime. God loves you so much that He died and rose again just so you could live with Him forever. He’s created you for a reason and has work for you to do, but the most important is that you seek Him first. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. Every one of us desperately needs Jesus.
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