Visit with Ane Mulligan

Good morning readers!

Meet Ane Mulligan who is visiting Lagniappe today to discuss her writing journey.

Be sure to leave a message to let Ane know how excited you are for her!

Ane Mulligan writes Southern-fried fiction served with a tall, sweet iced tea. She's a novelist, playwright, and humor columnist. Her debut book, Chapel Springs Revival, releases Sept 8^th, 2014. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, she lives in Suwanee, GA, with her artist husband, their chef son, and two dogs of Biblical proportion.

In 2003, I started my first novel. I found an online Christian critique group and a few mentors, who became close friends, ones who told me plainly I had a lot to learn. What an understatement. POV? Never heard the term. Omniscient? That's what God was. Show don't tell? How do I tell a story without telling? Yikes! Yet, with each critique, I absorbed a new concept. I bought all the books on the craft of fiction writing they recommended. I read them and absorbed more.

In 2006, an editor took my manuscript to committee. While I waited for the result, expecting a contract of course, I got an agent. However ... sigh ...the editorial committee said no. I was discouraged. I cried out to God, asking ... okay, whining ... why wasn't I getting anywhere? I had been so sure God called me to write. I needed a sign. And God gave me the one in the form of an editor affirming my writing. That carried me for months.

I kept writing and going to conferences to learn. Finally, in 2010, my agent called to say my manuscript had passed editorial committee and was going to pub board. This was it! Pub board loved it, but their slate was filled, so the editor would hold it for their next quarter. Only she retired and her computer hard drive was wiped clean.

I was lost in cyber oblivion. Then my agent retired. Do you see a pattern here? I did and it looked like a rollercoaster. Once again, I whined, "Lord, what is going on?"

And He said, "Wait. Trust me." He didn't offer me another choice, so I chose to trust.

It wasn't too long before my agent received an offer for a 2-book contract. But once again, God said no and we turned it down. By this time, I began to wonder if I'd ever publish. Yes, that was my goal, but if God had something different for me, I was fine with it. I just felt bad for my agent, who worked so hard for me.

Then, in August of 2013, nearly eleven years after I began this journey, my agent called with an offer from Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. And my heart quickened. 

All right, God! This was it. This time, He said, "Yes."

I'm so glad I didn't push but listened to my agent's advice. If there's one thing I've learned during this journey, it's this:

         God must be part of the equation. 

Though I'd learned the craft earlier in my journey, He wasn't ready for me to publish. I won't know why this side of Heaven, but I'm okay with that.

I believe people let down their guard when they think they're being entertained. Through fiction, I can entertain readers. Through fiction, I can present seeds of God's truth. Then when they least expect it, the story can reach out, touch their hearts, and change them. And isn't that why we write? 

Available on Amazon for pre-order: 
http://www.amazon.com/Chapel-Springs-Revival-Ane-mulligan/dp/1941103413/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409171711&sr=8-1&keywords=chapel+springs+revival


Ane, thanks for sharing your journey. It's nice to see how waiting on God produces the BEST fruit!

Readers, thanks for visiting Lagniappe.

Be sure to leave a comment to let Ane know you've been here!

I pray you find 

"a little something extra" 

in each of your days.

Marian

How has waiting on God's timing changed your life?