Interview with Molly Noble Bull with giveaway!

Hello readers. This is Kathleen L. Maher, your hostess, and today I have the privilege of introducing you to a wonderful woman of faith and talent. 

Hi, Molly, and welcome to Diamond Mine of Christian Fiction. I’ve had the pleasure of your acquaintance for a few years, now, and I have admired your writing, your faith, and your tenacity in this challenging craft.

Tell us a little about yourself.

 

I am a native Texan. My father and my grandfather were cattle ranch foremen, real Texas cowboys. I spent part of my growing up years on a sixty-thousand-acre cattle ranch in South Texas. I am a wife, the mother of three sons, and a grandmother.

In 2021 Scrivenings Press published Bluebonnet Bride, my most recent novel. Scrivenings Press also republished my historical Christian western, When the Cowboy Rides Away, and they will publish Cowboy Cousins on March 29, 2022.

https://scrivenings.link/bluebonnetbride

https://scrivenings.link/whenthecowboyridesaway

But For Always, my post World War II romance, was my first published novel; and it came out from Zondervan Publishing House in 1986. At that time there was no internet—no email addresses. I typed out my manuscript, and had a good typist retype it. Then I put it in a box, posted a name and address on it, and sent it to Zondervan the old fashion way—via the U.S Post Office.  

Zondervan also published The Rogue’s Daughter that same year. I was working on my third novel for Zondervan when they stopped publishing Christian romance novels, and I had no idea what to do next. So, there is a long space between The Rogue’s Daughter and my third published novel.

 

   What has been the highlight of your many years of your writing calling? I know you’ve won several awards. What was that like?

 

Brides and Blessings, my third novel, was published by Love Inspired in 1999. Love Inspired/Steeple Hill also published The Winter Pearl in 2010. Though my Zondervan novels are no longer in print, Brides and Blessings and The Winter Pearl are still available.

   But Sanctuary, my fifth novel, is no longer in print because the publisher went out of business. Nevertheless, Sanctuary, a long historical, won the 2008 Gayle Wilson Award in the inspirational category and tied for first place in a second national contest for published authors that year. Later, Sanctuary was republished under a new title, The Secret Place, and the two novels, Sanctuary and The Secret Place are exactly the same. The only difference is the title and cover information, but neither of these books is still in print.

   However, Gatehaven, my Gothic historical, is still available to buy. Gatehaven won the Grand Prize in the 2013 Creation House Fiction Writing Contest, and When the Cowboy Rides Away won the 2016 Texas Association of Authors contest in the Christian western category. Both of these novels are in print today.

   But for me, novel writing is not winning contests; Writing fiction is my way of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, and yes, some of my books won awards. I thank God for the gift of creative writing and for all the good things in my life. But I can do nothing without the LORD. I give Him full credit for all my achievements. For that reason, (But to God give the glory) is written on the dedication page of all my published novels.

 

   

Tell us about your recent release, Bluebonnet Bride.

 Bluebonnet Bride is a modern-day romance, and the story begins in a parking lot in Austin, Texas where Gina Hollister meets Billionaire, Steve Bryson, for the first time, hoping to explain why she cannot go to Colorado for the summer to tutor his dyslexic daughter, Amanda. Gina and her African American business partner, Nicole Danton, plan to build a learning center for children with learning problems in the little town of Hill River in the Texas hill country. But so far, they are unable to find a bank willing to finance the project. When Steve offers to finance the learning center if Gina accepts the summer teaching job, she finally accepts, but reluctantly. Regardless of Steve’s wealth, charm, and drop-dead good looks, Gina doesn’t trust him, preferring to believe all the gossip rather than her own inner thoughts and opinions.

   Gina promises to go with Steve to Hill River to show him the building site where the learning center will be located and to discuss plans for the trip. But she has no intention of telling him that, like his daughter, she too is a dyslexic. Those who knew her as a child in school knew about her reading and spelling problems, and she was cruelly called names like wacko and stupid. As a result, Gina, as many in her situation do, resorted to becoming the class clown. She is a creative person, able to think up witty comebacks that cause others to laugh and be put at ease. However, she has kept her dyslexia a secret to protect her reputation and prestige in the academic world as Dr. Gina Hollister. She’s worked too long and too hard to allow her newfound victories to slip away.

   Despite all her misgivings, Gina likes Steve. But what else is he hiding? Is there more information yet to be revealed other than what she learned from his late wife?

   The Bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas, and Gina calls the location where the center will be built Bluebonnet Hill. In the spring the entire area is a sea of bluebonnets, and it is a tradition in the Hollister family that brides marry at Hill River when the bluebonnets are in bloom. Gina dreams of becoming a “Bluebonnet Bride.”

   She has always felt like an outsider because of her learning disability, hoping one day to become more like everyone else. But will it ever happen? Can it?

   Their Saturday together in Hill River is heaven for Gina and maybe for Steve too. They climb the rocky hills, float down the river on inner tubes, have a picnic supper, and visit an antique store because Gina loves antiques. Steve likes ginger cookies, and she calls him the Gingerbread Man. He calls her a Bible thumper.

   But what will happen once they arrive at his estate in Colorado—a place Gina calls “the castle?” Their lives and backgrounds are too different. Will she be able to keep her Christian life and values in check? Or will she fall into the arms of the biggest womanizer in the state of Texas?

 

   What projects are upcoming for you? I know about one, Cowboy Cousins, a novella collection with Scrivenings Press, because you spearheaded the project and very graciously invited me to participate. I’m excited about its release this year! Tell us more about Cowboy Cousins and any other projects you’re working on. 

     

Cowboy Cousins is a collection of historical western novellas by three different authors—Kathi Macias, Kathleen L. Maher, and me—Molly Noble Bull. Kathi’s novella title is “A Panhandle Sunrise;” Kathleen’s novella is titled “The Meddlesome Maverick; my novella is titled “Lucy and the Lawman,” and as mentioned, Scrivenings Press will publish Cowboy Cousins on March 29, 2022.

Cowboy Cousins is about three cowboys; their mothers were sisters, and they all grew up in Juniper, a small town in the Texas hill country. Each novella tells what happened after they became cowboys as well as grown men.

It was an honor to take part in this interview. Thanks, Molly Noble Bull

 

   To learn more about all my books, visit my page at Amazon.

http://bit.ly/mollynoblebull

and my website.

www.mollynoblebull.com

Molly, thank you so much for spending time with us here on the Diamond Mine. I would like to offer one of our lucky readers a free ebook of their choice from among your titles. I can specifically recommend Bluebonnet Bride, as well as When the Cowboy Rides Away, and your Christian Gothic, Gatehaven, because I had the privilege of reading and reviewing them. All five stars, of course!

*All our readers need to do to enter to win one of Molly’s books is leave a comment here for Molly, and for **extra entries, share this blog on your social media and tell us how many shares. (facebook, Instagram, pinterest, twitter, etc) Winner will be drawn Tuesday January 25^th. Thanks Molly, and Thanks everyone for reading. Hope your 2022 is full of Godly adventure!