Friday, September 12, 2014

Ane Mulligan’s Journey to Publication



Ane Mulligan
I’ve known Ane Mulligan through American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) for years, so although we’re not close friends, I was thrilled when she received her first contract. Ane has given so much to the writing community by hours of volunteering, her association with Novel Rocket, and overall support. It’s a joy to celebrate the release of her debut novel with her. 
~ Dawn




 
Ane Mulligan’s Journey to Publication

My journey to publication hasn't been short or easy. In 2003, the hubs told me to write a book. I quickly realized that was God's call, because as soon as Hubs said it, God turned on a light and an idea dropped into my otherwise empty mind.

I found an online Christian critique group, 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!

I spent the next three years writing and growing. In 2006, an editor took my manuscript to committee. While I waited for the result, expecting a contract naturally, I got an agent, but the editorial committee said no. Then, God called my agent into ministry.

I was discouraged and cried out to God, asking—okay, whining—why wasn't I getting published? I knew God called me to write. Stories bubbled in my mind all the time. I needed a sign. Then, an editor told me I'd learned the craft, giving me the encouragement to keep working.

I signed with my second agent, and in 2010, she called to say my manuscript was going to pub board. Yippee! Pub board loved it, but their slate that quarter was full, so the editor was going to hold it for the next one. Only she retired before that and her computer hard drive was wiped clean. I was lost in cyber oblivion. Then my agent retired.

Do you see a pattern here? Once again, I whined. And God said, "Wait. Trust me." He didn't offer me another choice, so I chose to trust. He gave me a new agent after some specific prayer, and soon, we 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.

Then, in August of 2013, nearly eleven years after I began this journey, my agent called me to tell me we had an offer from Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. And my heart quickened. All right, God! This was it. This time, He said, "Yes."

There are two things I've learned during this journey. Never ever give up, and God must be part of the equation. He has a time and place for each of us.

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?




Tweetables:

Two things Ane Mulligan learned during her journey to publication—never ever give up, and God must be part of the equation. Click to tweet.

Through fiction, we can entertain readers—through fiction, we can present seeds of God’s truth. Click to tweet.

Through fiction, we can entertain readers. Then when they least expect it, our stories can reach out, touch hearts, and change people. Click to tweet.





With a friend like Claire, you need a gurney, a mop, and a guardian angel.

Everybody in the small town of Chapel Springs, Georgia, knows best friends Claire and Patsy. It's impossible not to, what with Claire's zany antics and Patsy's self-appointed mission to keep her friend out of trouble. And trouble abounds. Chapel Springs has grown dilapidated and the tourist trade has slackened. With their livelihoods threatened, they join forces to revitalize the town. No one could have guessed the real issue needing restoration is personal.

With their marriages as much in need of restoration as the town, Claire and Patsy embark on a mission of mishaps and miscommunication, determined to restore warmth to Chapel Springs —and their lives. That is if they can convince their husbands and the town council, led by two curmudgeons who would prefer to see Chapel Springs left in the fifties and closed to traffic.




While a large, floppy straw hat is her favorite, Ane has worn many different ones: hairdresser, legislative affairs director (that's a fancy name for a lobbyist), drama director, playwright, humor columnist, and novelist. Her lifetime experience provides a plethora of fodder for her Southern-fried fiction (try saying that three times fast). She firmly believes coffee and chocolate are two of the four major food groups. President of the award-winning literary site, Novel Rocket, Ane resides in Suwanee, GA, with her artist husband, her chef son, and two dogs of Biblical proportion. You can find Ane on her Southern-fried Fiction website, Google+, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and Pinterest.