Who is this Jamie Hill???

That's okay, sometimes I don't even recognize myself. I'm Jamie Hill, and I'm pleased to be the newest member of the Dishin' it Out blog.

A little background. Like all writers will tell you, I wrote my first novel at (insert age here)-- age ten. It was written in ink on wide-rule notebook paper and bound with orange yarn I'd crocheted into a chain. (That was all I could crochet, chains. I was good at them!) Shelton and Her Huskies was the title. At age ten I knew nothing about raising huskies or babies, but Shelton had plenty of both. In retrospect, I'm pretty sure she had so many kids because I love choosing names for my characters and that storyline allowed me to name both children and dogs. It was pretty sad, I finally threw it away a few years back (kinda wish I hadn't now.) 

There were a couple more novels written in my elementary years and when I got to high school I stepped it up a notch. A couple novels and two screenplays, episodes of my then-favorite TV shows S.W.A.T. and Starsky and Hutch. By this time I'd advanced to spiral notebooks, and those I still have. Each book has plenty of cringe-worthy stuff but some keeper lines, in my opinion. And you'll have to take my opinion for it, because those will never see the light of day. 

In the late nineties I was a young mother with time on my hands. (I worked two jobs even back then, so go figure.) Every time I finished a Danielle Steel novel I closed the book and thought, "I could do that." So one night, I decided to try. A few years later, the resulting novel was a 128,000 word masterpiece/monstrosity that never attracted the interest of an agent, so I gave it a rest.

Right about that time, the internet was exploding. In researching agents online I discovered there were also publishers online, and something called 'ebooks'. What a notion! I found an interesting-looking publisher who had a call out for short stories, so I tried my hand and before too long I'd sold a few. What a heady feeling! Seeing my name on those first book covers was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. (I'd like to tell you that feeling passes but that would be a lie. Getting a new book cover is still one of my favorite things. Right up there with choosing names.)

Fast forward to present day. I've been with a handful of publishers online and currently have eleven novels published, plus one novella and a collection of short stories. Most of them are available in ebook and print on demand. Two of my books, Family Secrets and Pieces of the Past, are available at bookstores everywhere, just for the asking.

That 128,000 word masterpiece? It got edited down to about 80,000 words and is the first book in my Blame Game series, Blame it on the Stars. Those characters will always have a special place in my heart. But then, so do all my characters. I'll talk about that more in my weekly posts.

Ginger wondered earlier this week what type of posts I might be bringing to Dishin' it Out. I don't have a specific answer to that question but I will tell you I have a bizarre sense of humor and it often comes out in my writing. 

Some days I might be motivational, or educational. Some days a funny picture and a joke might be good enough. (Loves me some animals in Halloween costumes, just wait and see.)

I like to talk about music, too, though my tastes are very eclectic. Neil Diamond, Cher, Keith Urban, Train and Hootie and the Blowfish. I'm just sayin'.

'til next time!