Good Monday Morning
Readers!
Today, Paula Mowery visits Lagniappe discuss her latest release, For Our Good.
Welcome, Paula!
Tell us a little about For Our Good.
For Our Good is a Christian romantic
suspense. My first real shot at a suspense, and I loved it. The heroine,
Charlie, is no damsel in distress. She is a tough undercover cop. I thoroughly
enjoyed creating her character. The hero is Colton, a corporate pilot with a
one-date with a woman philosophy so as not to get too close to commitment. But
that’s about to change when he comes face to face with Charlie.
There’s a drug problem at the local
high school and the one connection between the boys being caught is they all
attend a particular church. Because of Charlie’s anger toward God for the past,
she isn’t too excited to discover she must do much of her undercover work at
the church. Colton becomes a much more faithful attender when he finds out that
Charlie will be there.
But, there’s secrets galore and danger
lurking around several corners. Can Charlie and Colton even survive to possibly
have a future?
What were
some of the challenges (research, literary, psychological, or logistical) you
faced in bringing this story to life?
I struggled with the fact that a person could feign their Christian
devotion in the church but really be hurting others. As is often true with
writers, this story sparked from a couple of small incidents. One of those
incidents involved a friend who discovered a loved one was involved in illegal
activity. Another was the proposition to Colton at the airport which actually
happened to my dad.
I also wanted to make sure my facts on wielding a weapon was correct and
particulars about aircrafts. For that research I questioned a police officer
and my own father who was a corporate pilot.
Is there
anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
My biggest challenge is the fact that there just aren’t enough hours in
the day to write everything I want to write. In this season of life with a
daughter in college, I work part-time outside of my home in the school system.
During the school year I return home at 12:30, eat lunch, and start my editing
and writing until my husband comes home. Any spare moments I try to squeeze in
writing and editing for my authors. I look forward to the summer break when I
can write and edit full-time.
What is your
hope for the readers of your books?
My
hope and prayer for my readers is that they will be encouraged or maybe even
challenged by the spiritual truths threaded throughout my stories. If they
don’t know Christ as their personal Savior, I hope they might be nudged in His
direction through my words. If they are already a child of the King, I hope
they might find encouragement to more fully live for Christ or even return to
Him, if they’ve strayed. I pray if the words need to challenge, they will
deliver that as well.
What is your
least favorite part of the publishing / writing process?
The
writing and publishing processes involve much work but are enjoyable. My least
favorite area of this publishing process thus far has been marketing. I
struggle to promote my books but still feel I’m not “tooting my own horn.” I
think this is a common struggle for Christian writers. We know for our message
to get out there we must promote our work, but we also know we are to be people
of humility.
What can readers who enjoy your book do to help
make it successful?
Readers who enjoy my book
should share it with a friend, write a review on Amazon, consider using the
book’s Bible study with a small group, use any of their social media outlets to
tell others. Making it successful means helping me get it into the hands of
other readers who might benefit from the message.
Where do you
write? Can you describe your favorite writing place?
I share a front room in our house with my
daughter. The former owners built on a large den, leaving the living room for
us to use as an office. My side has my L-shaped desk with two small shelves
behind with various reference books. In front of me on the other wall is
another small shelf with my to-be-read books for reviews and three-ring binders
filled with past manuscripts. On top of that shelf is some inspiring pictures,
my inspirational quote, and my Selah Award plaque. I love having my own space.
If I’m in the middle of something and have to leave, I can leave my materials
strewn across my desktop until I can return.
What can we expect from you in the future?
I honestly thought that Charlie and
Colton’s story was over, but a recent dream could mean these two will return
for another story.
For Our Good releases in September, but I
also have a Christmas title releasing in Prism Book Group’s Christmas Present
series called Love Again. Around March 2016 I have another series book coming
from Prism. This title is included in the Love Is series and is called The Crux
of Honor.
Please visit and subscribe to my blog at www.paulamowery.blogspot.com. You can also find other links there to connect with me.
LIGHTNING
ROUND
Plotter,
Pantser, or Planser? Planser
Laptop or Desktop? Laptop
Socks or slippers or both? Socks
Y’all or You Guys? In East Tennessee it’s definitely y’all.
Birthday Card: Email or Snail Mail? Snail Mail
Paula Mowery is a published author, acquisitions editor, and
speaker. Her first two published works were The Blessing Seer and Be The
Blessing from Pelican Book Group. Both are women’s fiction, and their themes
have been the topics of speaking engagements. Be The Blessing won the Selah
Award in 2014 in the novella category. In November of 2013, her first romance
released in the anthology, Brave New Century, from Prism Book Group. This book
went to number five on Amazon’s bestseller category, historical Christian
romance. Legacy and Love was her first solo romance and was a finalist in the
Carolyn Readers Choice Awards in 2015.
Reviewers of her writing characterize it as “thundering with
emotion.” Her articles have appeared in Woman’s World, The Christian Online
Magazine, and the multi-author devotional blog, Full Flavored Living. She wrote
a section for Join the Insanity by Rhonda Rhea. She has devotionals included in
several collaborative books.
As an acquisitions editor for Prism Book Group, Paula particularly
looks for romance stories with Christian values at its core. She’s especially
attracted to those manuscripts that leave the reader mulling over the story
long after turning the last page.
Having been an avid reader of Christian fiction, she now puts
that love to use by writing book reviews. She is a member of ACFW and is on the
author interview team. She was a member of the 2014 and 2015 Blue Ridge
Mountains Christian Writers Conference faculty.
Paula is a pastor’s wife and mom to a college student. She
homeschooled her daughter through all twelve years, and they both lived to tell
about it. Before educating her daughter at home, she was an English teacher in
public school.
You can follow Paula at www.facebook.com/pages/Paula-Mowery/175869562589187.
Learn more about Paula at her blog at www.paulamowery.blogspot.com or
enjoy her monthly columns on www.christianonlinemagazine.com.
You can also check out her blog for Christian writers at www.ccwcu.blogspot.com.
Readers, Paula's question for you:
What kind of inspiration
have you received
from a novel you’ve read?
Paula, thanks for visiting!
Readers,
thanks for visiting Lagniappe.
I
pray you find
"a
little something extra"
in
each of your days.
Marian
