Interviewing Author Lucia Molano! (Tell Me You Love Me author tour)

Lucia Molano is one of the authors featured in Tell Me You Love Me, and her story “Old Time Devotion” is so unique and memorable and heart-melting!!! Today I’m super excited to share an interview I did with her, and I hope you enjoy reading her wonderful answers as much as I did!

The Interview!

Hi Lucia! To begin with, can you share how your writing journey started?

Hello Saraina! My writing journey started about five years ago, when my favorite author was taking too long to release a new book; consequentially, I decided to write a sequel myself. It ended up at just under 30,000 (terrible) words and took me an entire year, but it really got me started on enjoying the process of writing full-length stories. A few months later, a friend of mine introduced me to the Writerscore test on the YWW; my results put me as a hobbyist writer, which got me thinking ‘why not try this out seriously?’, and the rest is history!

What first sparked the inspiration for your beautiful short story “Old Time Devotion” in the anthology Tell Me You Love Me? 

Quite honestly, it was Grace’s brief – to write about a unique and memorable declaration of love. I’d had it in mind to write about an older couple sometime, since most romances tend to be about younger people, and while brainstorming ideas, something popped into my head about an older lady in her seventies who still wore her promise ring. The concept expanded from there!

What was the process like for writing “Old Time Devotion”? What were the most fun and most challenging aspects of it?

The most challenging aspect was definitely keeping it to the word-count! When I get to love my characters, I like to show the readers as much of them as I can – which sometimes means my scenes can get a little bit too long. The most fun parts was just imagining Gabe and Evangeline’s relationship – and especially writing from Gabe’s point-of-view. He’s a young soul in an old body, which makes him so much fun to write!

Did the characters ever throw you some curveballs, or had you already known the whole plot from beginning to end?

Part of my original premise was their engagement scene, so to an extent I’d say the story went as planned – though I definitely discovered a lot of it along the way!

What kind of characters do you most enjoy writing? How do Gabe and Evangeline from “Old Time Devotion” fit into that? 

That’s a good question! My favourite characters to write tend to be honourable or conflicted young people around my age or a little older, because I guess I find stories about young people more relatable and fun to write. But I think we can definitely fall into a trap of thinking that all interesting stories are about young people, in fiction and in real life. With Old Time Devotion, I really wanted to explore the meaningfulness and beauty of ‘growing old gracefully’ when you know Christ – even though that’s not yet something I’ve experienced myself  –  and I really enjoyed writing such different (yet similar) characters. 

Which authors have inspired your voice in writing? 

My voice and the authors who inspire it very much depends on the book or story I’m writing and its genre, but I have certainly been influenced by Kara Swanson, Nadine Brandes and Rosemary Sutcliff, among many others.

Where is your favorite place to write? 

I absolutely love writing in cafés and parks when I can get to them, as I love the change of scenery and getting some fresh air – writing is slightly notorious for keeping you stuck inside for long periods of time! Spending a cosy evening at my desk with candles and hot chocolate, or sitting comfortably on my bed are also very favourable ways to spend a writing day. 

Would you rather make your readers cry or laugh? Why?

My word, I wish I could make my readers laugh… can I do both? (; But in the end, if  I had to pick one, I’d rather I made my readers cry; I look back on the books that made me cry with more fondness than those that made me laugh (though I love that too, and to be honest most of my favourite books did both), because that often means that they left a real, lasting impact on me, and I would love for my stories to do the same.

Any advice you’d give to writers seeking to honor God through their romance stories?

Goodness, this is hard, since I’m still seeking to understand how to do this myself! There’s one I can currently think of: don’t have all of your character’s problems solved for them when they meet the right guy (or girl). It can be all too easy for us romance writers to portray earthly relationships as if they will completely fulfill us, but as sweet and as dashing as the love interest may be, they’re not God, and they can’t truly satisfy their partner; the best and healthiest Christian relationships are between couples who are ultimately relying on God for satisfaction, rather than on each other.

I suppose my biggest tip for writing Christian romance is to learn as much as you can about what God thinks of romance; learn what He views as a godly relationship, and then use that to form your fictional relationships, perfect and imperfect.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to interview you, Lulu! Congratulations on the upcoming release of your story in Tell Me You Love Me! 

Thank you for interviewing me, Saraina, and congratulations to you as well! ❤

Lulu writes because she believes in the power of the light that stories can shed in the dark places of the world, and how they can help us understand ourselves, our fellow creatures, and our Heavenly Father. She loves setting stories in her home nation of Great Britain, especially in her beloved west country, as well as exploring other places, worlds and times through her books. When she isn’t caught up in a flurry of inspiration – revelling in that God-given thrill when the words begin to flow from her fingertips – or daydreaming about her characters, you can find her wandering and wondering in the countryside, avidly discussing period dramas and fantasy classics with her friends and family, or scrambling up walls at her favourite climbing gym.

You can visit her at her beautiful blog Words and Wildflowers!

About “Old Time Devotion”

Gabriel Dawton, the newest resident of the Tranquility Retirement complex, is doing his very best to ignore the fact that being seventy-three does in fact make you an old man; but when he meets Evangeline Jones, a retired gospel-singer trying to accept that any chance of a love life disappeared with her youth, he begins to wonder if being a life-long bachelor really is God’s plan for his life. And while Evangeline longs to believe that their relationship will work out, she starts to doubt. After all, who gets married at seventy-one?

About the Anthology

Featuring work from Michaela Bush, Saraina Whitney, Karynn Heckler, Margaret Copeland, Lucia Molano, Sarah Lawton, Brooklyn O’Brennan, Mackenzie Hendricks, H.S. Kylian, Lydia M. Jupp, Katherine Perry, and Amelia Cabot, the Tell Me You Love Me anthology is the collaboration of talented and inspirational young writers you’ve been waiting for!

Learn more at graceajohnson.com/tell-me-you-love-me-anthology or on Goodreads!

Cover design by Issabelle Perry at intomywritingjourney.wordpress.com!

Tell Me You Love Me Author Tour

Grace A. Johnson – tour kickoff – January 17th

Michaela Bush – January 18th

H.S. Kylian – January 19th

Michaela Bush – January 19th

Amelia Cabot on Of Blades and Thorns – January 20th

Issabelle Perry – January 23rd

Grace A. Johnson – January 23rd

Maggie Copeland on Of Blades and Thorns – January 24th

Sarah Lawton – January 25th

Lydia M. Jupp on Of Blades and Thorns – January 25th

Saraina Whitney – January 26th

Katherine Perry – January 27th

Mackenzie Hendricks – January 30th

Lucia Molano – January 31st

Grace A. Johnson – tour ends – January 31st

Don’t you love what she said about writing Christian romances?!! (That advice is priceless!!) How do you seek to honor God while writing your love stories? How often do you try to change up the scenery/your writing nook while you’re at work on your WIPs? Have you ever written a fanfiction sequel to someone else’s book? (I honestly LOVE that idea. :D) What authors have influenced your writing?