HELP! HURRICANE SANDY GOBBLED UP MY UPCOMING BOOK

WELL, ALMOST

DeAnna Dodson interviews me, Molly Noble Bull 

DeAnna: 

You have had several books published, Molly. Tell us just a bit about them. How are they alike?  How are they different?   Is there a common thread running through them?

Molly: 

I’ve always been known for writing what some call heartwarming Christian novels. One editor once wrote, “what makes Molly Noble Bull’s books different from some is the humor.” My long historical, Sanctuary, won the 2008 Gayle Wilson Award and tied for first place in the 2008 Winter Rose contest, both for published authors in the inspirational category.

Sanctuary was set in France in 1746 and is about the Huguenots, and it had a more serious tone. Yet even in that novel, there were light moments that I hope made my readers smile.

However, I wrote one book that was really different from what I normally write because it is true. The Overcomers: Christian Authors Who Conquered Learning Disabilities is a non-fiction book written by five published authors.

I wrote most of it, but one of the other four authors is Margaret Daley, current president of ACFW, American Christian Fiction Writers.

Yep, we all struggled with learning disabilities, especially in elementary school. I was dyslexic then and still am today. And yet with God’s help, all five of us overcame.

Speaking of dyslexia, I have a short story in the November 2012 issue of Christian Fiction Online Magazine titled D Is For Dyslexia about an almost twelve-year-old boy who is like me in many ways—except I’m female, of course. To find my short story, click onto the cover of Christian Fiction Online Magazine to the right of this article. Then on the main page, scroll down until you see Short Stories. My story, D Is For Dyslexia, is the second story on the list of two. Click where it says click to read it.

DeAnna: 

How is your new book Cinderella Texas different? What makes it particularly special to you?

Molly: 

What makes Cinderella Texas different is that the publication date was delayed because of Hurricane Sandy, the monster storm. Now I don’t know when Cinderella is coming out.

My book publisher moved to higher ground, and I don’t know when he will be able to return to his office. I don’t even have a copy of my cover yet. I’m sure I will always connect Cinderella Texas with Sandy, and that makes it special. However, when it finally is published, I hope it will make my readers smile, maybe even laugh.      

DeAnna: 

What do you like about writing romances? 

Molly: 

I love happy endings, and I have always loved fairy tales. In my opinion, romance novels are that and more. The more would be humor. I love to read and write funny stuff. I came by this genetically. My father had a dry wit that made me laugh, but on his bad days, he only made me smile. 

DeAnna: 

What are some of the challenges you faced in writing your new book?

Molly: 

The biggest challenge I had with Cinderella Texas and with all my books was polishing. I love to redo novels—look for another word, another sentence or another paragraph that will make it better. It’s hard for me to put my personal seal of approval on any of my books, sometimes almost causing a delay in sending out my final drafts to publishers. But of course, far the biggest challenge with Cinderella was getting it out there despite the storm.    

DeAnna: 

What, for you, is your heroine’s most endearing trait or quality?  Your hero’s?

Molly: 

As mentioned earlier, I am a dyslexic. I once thought I was the dumbest kid in the state of Texas, my home state. So I made Alyson, the heroine of Cinderella Texas, an honor student. Nevertheless, she is like me in many ways. One of those ways was that she is a klutz. The hero calls her accident-prone, and I think she’s funny. To me, Alyson’s vulnerability is her most endearing trait.

The hero has a dry wit—just like my dad. He is also a real cowboy just like my dad and my maternal grandfather. I like real men, and my husband is one. I also like cowboys. I disregarded the song that says, “Mama, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys” when raising our three sons. All three are cowboys today. And our six grandchildren? Well, they are cowboys, too, only three of them are girls.        

DeAnna: 

Did you have to do much research for this book?

Molly: 

No. I didn’t have to do any research for The Overcomers. I merely told what happened from childhood on. I didn’t have to do research for Cinderella Texas either. As I said, my father and my maternal grandfather were ranch managers, real Texas cowboys. What I didn’t tell until now is that I spent part of my growing up years on a sixty thousand acre cattle ranch in Texas, and sometimes other writers of western fiction ask me for background information on ranches and cowboys.

DeAnna: 

How does your personal faith impact your fiction?

Molly: 

My born again Christian faith changed me for the good in every way possible. What was once a poor self-image, because of my learning disabilities, became a good one in the name of Jesus. How can I be a Losers? I am a child of the King of the Universe. How can I feel friendless or persecuted? If God be with me, who can be against me? The theme of The Overcomers is this. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

DeAnna: 

What are some of the ways you weave faith into your fiction?

Molly: 

God is responsible for every breath I take, and I cannot take even one more breath unless He wills it. So, weaving the Lord into my novels is easier than breathing.

DeAnna: 

Do you feel integrating faith helps or hinders your connection with your readers?

Molly: 

I write for a Christian blog called Commandment Keepers. So my Christian belief is available to anybody who does a search of my name on the Internet, and my Bible based Christian views might turn off some. However, my purpose for writing is not to tickle the ears or in this case, the eyes. My purpose is to make the Christian life real, perhaps punctuated by a smile.  

DeAnna: 

Has a reader ever told you how your fiction impacted them? Could you share that with us?

Molly: 

Some readers said my books made them smile, and that makes me happy. Others have said that my books made them think, and that makes me really happy.

DeAnna: 

Is there anything special you’d like readers to know about you and/or your books that I haven’t asked about?

Molly: 

If Jesus tarries and “the creek don’t rise,” Cinderella Texas is going to come out in paperback and as an e-book. When? I don’t know. But if you will return to Writers Rest from time to time, you will be one of the first to know. Again, here is that address. http://writersrest.blogspot.com 

And here is my web address. www.mollynoblebull.com    

My website hasn’t been updated lately, but that is on my “to do” list.

And finally, I love the Lord, and because of Him, I can also love everybody else. 

Please leave a comment. I like to hear from you.

UPDATE:

Since doing this interview with DeAnna Dodson, my publisher returned to his office, and Cinderella Texas will be published on November 15, 2012. More about Cinderella Texas late.

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DeAnna Dodson . . . Historical Fiction by DeAnna Julie Dodson

Also, writing as Julianna Deering, The Drew Farthering Mysteries:  Rules of Murder (Coming Summer 2013 from Bethany House)