Judy Baer talks about her Forever Hilltop Series
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An interview with Judy
Baer, Author of Forever Hilltop
Forever
Hilltop is a 2-in-1 book that
includes Baer’s An Unlikely Blessing along
with the previously unreleased sequel Surprising
Grace. The charming and often hilarious Forever
Hilltop series follows the adventures of protagonist Alex Armstrong as he
settles into his role as a pastor of a Scandinavian
community in rural North Dakota much like the one in which Baer grew up. While
Alex is sometimes baffled by his parishioners and their colorful ways, he comes
to appreciate their simple wisdom. It may be a small town, but life in Hilltop
Township is never dull!
Q: Is
there a “moral of the story” that you would like readers to walk away with? If
so, what is it?
There
are many small messages and teachings, but not just a single big statement or
moral that encompasses the entire book.
I find life to be like that—the lessons learned over the years like the
benefits of kindness, respect, sound judgment, faith, loyalty or honesty—come
in bits and pieces. A little lesson
here, a realization there, and eventually you have a big awareness about
something. The Forever Hilltop books are
gentle, but teach enduring lessons about how people should treat each other and
live their lives.
Q: What makes this series different than previous books and/or
series?
Surprising Grace and the
Forever Hilltop series are very different from my previous books. I’ve written romances, young adult books,
non-fiction and woman’s fiction. These
new books encompass an entire community and the interactions of many
characters. I wouldn’t define it as a
saga, but it is a story that chronicles the lives of many people and their deep
interrelationships.
Q: Would you say that God makes us uncomfortable or puts us in new
circumstances to help us grow?
God
often allows us to be in new circumstances or relationships that stretch us and
make us grow. He wants us to be more
Christ-like in our everyday lives and often the people we meet or the
situations in which we land are great tools for that. That’s what happens for the protagonist Alex
Armstrong as he finds himself a fish out of water in Hilltop Township, a spot
in the road in rural North Dakota. As
died-in-the-wool city boy from Chicago, he’s stretched and forced to grow on a
daily basis as he learns to love rural life and the people that inhabit it.
Q: Was there a certain event in your life that you drew from in
writing Alex’s story?
I
have a particular fondness for rural North Dakota since that’s where I grew
up. What’s interesting, though, is that
after people from many stations in life read the first book in the Hilltop
series, An Unlikely Blessing, they,
almost without fail said, “I grew up in a place like that,” or “I know those
people, I lived with them!” I think the
books hit chords that resonate with a lot of people—it’s about good but quirky
people who are trying to do their best, often with surprising, and occasionally
dismaying, results. One can learn
lessons through fun and joy as well as trauma and sadness. All of this is incorporated in Surprising Grace.
Learn more about the author and her books at www.judykbaer.com.
Forever
Hilltop
by Judy Baer
Guideposts ~ May
1, 2012 ~ ISBN: 978-0824945299 ~ $16.99
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