I’m not one of those authors who always wanted to be a writer. As a child, I was way too active. What is today known as ADHD, back then I was called incorrigible—the kid who was always in the principal’s office for lying. I wasn’t lying; I was telling stories. With all those stories in my head, instead of writing, I played them out with my dolls; some went on for days.

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Then I discovered the stage! I saw Mary Martin live onstage as Peter Pan (yes, I’m that old). I was struck with stage fever and never recovered. I involved myself in community theatre after graduating and eventually put that love to use in the church as Creative Arts Director.

My writing began by creating sermon-starter scripts at the request of my pastor. Those would be anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes in length. I also wrote our Christmas and Easter plays.

One day, I submitted a script to Lifeway, and they surprisingly bought it! From that first one on, the editor bought whatever I wrote.

Fast forward to the turn of the century. I quit my day job (too long of a story for here) and started searching for a new one. For the first time in my life, I couldn’t land employment. I was always hired after being interviewed. After being the last one of three interviewed-but-not-hired, I began to feel like the proverbial bridesmaid. I asked God, “What’s wrong?”

The answer came the following day after another Thanks-but-we-hired-someone-else email. My husband said, “Quit looking for a job and write a book.”

What?

The thought had never occurred to me. And I knew in that moment, God was speaking to me through my husband, whose point of view was I spent so much money on books, I might as well recoup some of it by writing one.

The moment he said those words, an idea popped into my crazy brain for my first manuscript—a Biblical novel with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus as the central characters. It turned out to be my education in novel writing. While I knew how to write good dialogue, I didn’t pay attention in school to the rest of creative writing. So … I had a lot to learn. I’m still learning, even though I’ve had several books published. I hope I never stop growing as a writer.

When the market cycled and Biblical novels were not being picked up, I began a series of women’s fiction that brought my first contract. With my Chapel Springs series, I established my brand, and in every book I write, whether contemporary or historical, you will find an ensemble cast of strong Southern women—sisters or friends—who help each other through life. And because I believe laughter is the best medicine, you’ll always find humor in my stories.

I’ve incorporated my love of theatre in two books, my Spotlight series. Take My Hand came out this year and I’m working on the sequel, Listen To Your Heart. I enjoy writing these, but MY heart keeps pulling me back to my depression era series. There are four books in the award-winning Georgia Magnolias series: In High Cotton, On Sugar Hill, By the Sweet Gum, and coming mid-summer this year is Up Level Creek.

Because I love the 1930s, I’m planning a fifth. It’s fun to explore how women managed without all of our modern conveniences. They had some, but they were vastly different to ours. I love exploring how they stretched a dollar to feed their families. And I always include a recipe or two from the era in each book.

And because I’m very involved in community theatre, I’m busy working on a requested script—a stage play for Chapel Springs Revival. Filled with humor, it’s been said it’s like Lucy and Ethel go to Mayberry and will translate well to the stage.

So, that’s my life in pages … or possibly between the pages.

Meet Ane

Ane Mulligan has been a voracious reader ever since her mother instilled within her a love of reading at age three. Together, they would escape into worlds otherwise unknown. Then, when Ane saw PETER PAN on stage, she was struck by a fever and never recovered—stage fever. Now, by night she wears a director’s hat at a community theatre and by day, a bestselling, award-winning novelist. She lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband, a rascally Rottweiler, and a droll German shepherd. Find Ane on her website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, The Write Conversation, and Blue Ridge Conference Blog.