Jeff Hill is a Big Lake author who recently published his third book, Kita: The Astral Awakening. The book is available for purchase on Amazon. The link, and links to purchase his other books, can be found on Hill’s website, TryingToSee.com.

Inspiration for the Book

Kita: The Astral Awakening is about a 13-year old girl named Kita who discovers one day that she has super powers. When the evil Claude Bayne discovers her powers, he threatens her family in order to try to use the powers for himself. Kita has to use her newfound powers to save her family and foil his plans.

Hill’s middle-school age granddaughter asked him to write a book about a girl who has superpowers and needs to fight against evil.

Hill says he had to walk a fine line when writing the book, since he wanted it to be a fun, young adult book, but something that was accessible to adults as well. Some of the scenes in the book come from his own life as well. For example, in one scene Kita befriends a silverback gorilla and helps it escape from captivity. Hill said this was based on a memory he had of being at the Como Zoo on a slow day and he locked eyes with a gorilla for several minutes. 

“I could almost feel how much it hated being in there,” Hill said.

Hill says he has received lots of positive feedback on the book so far. One gentleman told Hill that he was disappointed in the book. When Hill asked why, the man said, “Because it ended!”

Becoming a Writer

Hill said he never intended to become a writer, and didn’t do any kind of writing for most of his life. He considered himself a math person, and worked as a math teacher in Anoka for 30 years. 

One day, Hill did some public speaking at an organization that helps ex-cons get back on their feet and turn their lives around. Several people, after hearing Hill’s speech, told him he should write a book. Hill was hesitant, but decided to give it a try. 

Other Works

This lead to his first book, Trying to See, a book Hill describes as an “oddball devotional” that talks about a relationship with God and finding faith in one’s life.

His next book, The Wars of Bent Creek, was based on Hill’s experiences growing up and becoming aware of the war in Vietnam. He recalls a memory of one of his school friends telling him that he wanted to “Kill LBJ,” blaming the president for the death of his brother. Hill recalled that at that time he hadn’t been aware of the war. The Wars of Bent Creek is about two similar boys who discover secrets about their town and the Vietnam War during their summer vaction.

To make another dramatic turn in genre, Hill is currently working on a high-espionage novel for adults that explores cultural and societal issues from the eyes of an off-the-rails assassin. He also has plans in the works for two follow-up stories to Kita: The Astral Awakening.

Writing

Although Hill never intended to become a writer, he says he now finds the process to be very cathartic. “When writing Kita, I would find myself just laughing,” he said. “With Bent Creek, sometimes I would weep.” His goal is that his readers, when putting down the book, are glad they read it.