Author Interview - Ane Mulligan

Anne: I love this particular author, Ane Mulligan. Not just because I love her writing, but also because she is as loveable and zany as her characters. (Sorry, Ane, your secret's out.) I reviewed her new book yesterday (to read that review and comment for a chance to win a copy, click HERE.)

All of us want to know, dear lady: What inspired Chapel Springs Revival?

Ane: Being a writer, I eavesdrop—often to the humiliation of the hubs. One Sunday at church, I overheard a 30-something woman telling her friend she just learned that God has the perfect mate picked out for His children. She wasn’t a Christian when she married, so she was going to divorce her husband and go find Mr. God-ordained Right. I had a Titus 2:4 moment with her.

Thankfully, she listened, but it stuck with me. If one woman felt that way, there were others. For a long time, I thought I’d write a Bible study on it. Okay, stop laughing. I noodled on it, thinking what if a 40-something, who’d been married for a couple of decades learned that? As I did, Claire and Patsy seemed to come alive in my mind.

Anne: Who is your favorite of the characters--why?

Ane: Claire is, without a doubt. She’s a loyal friend, but the woman doesn’t have any filters! She tends to blurt out what she’s thinking. She moves too fast, and doesn’t think things through, so she tends to get herself into a lot of trouble. As she came alive to me, I realized she was a lot like Lucy Ricardo, or like Diane Keaton in Baby Boom.

Anne: Do you develop characters ahead of the story, or do they develop while you write?

Ane: Definitely ahead of time. I know them inside out before I start to write. I know their backstory (usually three generations back), I know their fears, their secrets, and their deepest core desires. Motivation drives my characters and thus, the stories.

Anne: I've heard tell authors are supposed to tell the story to a particular person while they write. Did you?

Ane: Not a particular individual but a particular audience. My audience will be women whose female friendships/sisters are important to them. They’re family oriented and perhaps career women, too. And they like to laugh.

Anne: What is your favorite scene? (unless it is a spoiler...then maybe your second fave)

Ane: My favorite to write was the one where Claire and Patsy burst into the doctor’s office. The dialogue is filled with double entendre and I cracked up when I wrote it. Of course, I have a whacked sense of humor, so that’s all I’ll say about it.

Anne: What do you want people to "get" from your story?

Ane: I hope they’ll see that God is trustworthy with their dreams, their marriages, and their lives.

Anne: What's your next book?

Ane: Chapel Springs Survival. Here’s a tease:

With the success of her Operation Marriage Revival, life is good for Claire. That is until the mayor's brother blabs a secret: Claire's nineteen-year-old son, Wes, has married a Brazilian mail order bride—one who is eight years older than him. When Claire tries to welcome her new daughter-in-law, she's ridiculed, rebuffed, and rejected. Loving this girl is like hugging a prickly cactus. Will Claire and her family survive her son's marriage?

Anne: Oh, I want to read it already! Thanks for being here today, Ane. I hope we'll talk again soon!