For Hutson, writing is an obsession
SINKING CREEK – Honey Hutson’s goal is to be “that writer who lives on the mountain and comes out only when she has to.”
Except for a one-hour drive out and back for work each day and nights filled with graduate work online, she’s close to that.
Author Honey Hutson's sister, Lydia Hutson, created the cover for 'Soul Inheritance.'
Hutson lives alone in Sinking Creek in the mountains of Craig County and recently published her first book, “Soul Inheritance,” works for a living but writes for her life.
“I could no more quit writing than I could quit breathing. It is my entertainment, my distraction, my obsession. I would be lost without ideas and words to compose them. There are more ideas in my head and my journals than I could produce in multiple lifetimes,” she explained.
As for where she gets the ideas for her paranormal suspense novels, Hutson says, “Some of it is telepathy, some of it is creation and some of it I have no idea where it comes from. It is my substance, my life and an undeniable part of my soul.
Craig resident Honey Hutson's first published book is "Soul Inheritance." Olivia Body, Hollins University
She also has three other books making the rounds of publishers: “Strange Relations,” “West Virginia Wild Things” and one with a working title of “Visitor in the Woods,” but that will probably change, she said.
Hutson worked on “Soul Inheritance” for three years. “I had to rewrite it a couple of times,” said Hutson, whose sister, Lydia Hutson of Roanoke, designed the cover. They grew up in Newport in Giles County.
The face is that of Honey Hutson’s main character, Katherine McKalister, whose dull and lonely life is about to take a drastic turn, Hutson explains, as she finds out she’s not who she is. Without revealing too much, Hutson says Katherine’s father was “the last of the line and she ends up with an inheritance that she doesn’t necessarily want.”
Her second book is due out in the spring and it’s a sequel. “A lot of books end at the end and don’t carry through,” she said.
The 39-year-old author lives mostly by herself with her cats and “wild animals that think they live with me.” She’s single now, after pretty much raising four stepchildren: Kayla, 20; Sabrina, 21; Ronnie, 21, and D.J., 22. Hutson’s father was the late Penny Hutson of Newport.
She graduated from Hollins University’s Horizons adult program in 2007 with a degree in English and an emphasis on creative writing and a minor in photography. Before she graduated, Hutson began working for Veterans Affairs in Roanoke, helping veterans to get benefits.
After she gets back to Sinking Creek after work, Hutson burns the midnight oil taking online classes to get a master’s degree in screen writing and film from Full Sail University in Florida. She is compressing two years into one, and looking forward to doing work with Orlando Studios.
In her scarce leisure time, Hutson likes to camp by herself. And just about anywhere she goes, she takes her writing with her. She uses a netbook.
“Soul Inheritance” is published by Black Rose Writing. It is available on Nook and Kindle, and through Amazon.com. Hutson welcomes readers’ comments. Reach her at www.HoneyHutson.com.
