Jill Williamson discovered
her love for writing almost
by accident.
After leaving the fashion industry and
becoming a stay-at-home mom, Jill began
researching motivational speaking, which
she felt would perfectly complement her
husband’s career as a youth pastor. She
heard that writing articles could help her
get started, and soon was pulled into the
world of writing. “I was completely naive to
think it was easy,” she admits. “If I had
known how difficult it was, I probably would
have run screaming!”
Short stories in teen magazines and the
debate over Harry Potter turned her
attention toward fiction, specifically teen
novels. Initially, she wasn’t sure of this new
Award-winning novelist
path. “I wanted to be a teen mentor, and
speak to teens and encourage them, and
[writing] felt like a hobby. Was I turning
my back on what God wanted me to do
because this was more fun?” Her pastor
encouraged her, stating that fiction could
reach teens as well.
After several years spent learning the
craft and finishing her first novel, a spy
teen story, she connected with Jeff Gerke
over a mutual love of
“weird fiction.” A year
later, she showed
him the first chapter of
what became By Darkness
Hid, which is published
by Jeff ’s company
Marcher Lord Press.
The final book in the
trilogy is From
Darkness Won.
—Katie Hart