This month, I welcome to this blog three Christian writers who are launching some interesting and surprising novels. Today’s guest is Molly Bull, author of Gatehaven. Her Gothic historical novel with a strong Christian message, will be published in trade paperback and as an e-book on March 4, 2014. It is available http://tinyurl.com/knf9j4z along with some great premiums to celebrate the occasion.

 Q: Why do you think being a Christian is important enough to write about it? 

The Lord gave me the ability to write fiction and non-fiction, and He helps me with my writing. How could I write books that would displease Him—the very person who gave me the gift? It would be like throwing the gift back in His face.

In school I learned that one must give the person who gave an idea or a thought the credit for that thought or idea either as a footnote or in the bibliography. On the dedication page of all my published books, I first list the names of those to whom I am dedicating the book. Then I write the phrase below.

But to God give the glory.      

Q: You write Christian fiction. Why do you call it Christian? How is it different from any other fiction?

For the reasons I just gave, I cannot and will not write books that displease my Lord. Yet as a Christian, there are unpleasant and down right evil issues that beg to be discussed, and as a Christian, I use my pen (computer keyboard) to discuss them.

Since early childhood, I’ve been interested in what some might call godly topics. But I was raised in a lukewarm church where the true gospel was seldom if ever preached. Since apparently the Lord could not be found in church, at least my church, I went looking for God in all the wrong places. I read New Age literature, convinced that it must be true. Had the Lord not rescued me, who can say what I would be doing or what I would be writing today. But the Lord snatched me from defeat and saved me. Afterward, I realized that what I learned in the New Age was evil, a lie. At that time, I had never read the Bible. Still, I wondered if perhaps God had warned us of this evil, and I began to read the Bible.

Gatehaven, my Christian Gothic historical, is a fictional account of what I think every Christian needs to know about the occult—a warning to Believers and pre-believers. Don’t touch the unclean thing.      

Q: Do you think of your writing as a ministry?

Yes, I know my writing is a ministry. Why else would the Lord have given me the talent in the first place?  

Q: When you write, what do you want your book to do for your reader?

I try to put something of a moral or spiritual value in every book I write. It is my hope that my readers will find those features within the pages of my books.  

Q: Contemporary culture in the US is rife with conflicts over Christianity, secularism, and New Age ideas. Why do you think a person should be a Christian instead of adopting any of the other options?

I’ve searched the other alternatives. The truth of God and His Word (Jesus Christ) is the only truth there is. As the hymn says, All else is sinking sand. 

Q: In your book, what do you share with the reader that will help the reader live a Christian life in the midst of cultural conflict?

In Gatehaven, the reader learns what the occult is, and characters in the book talk a lot about the importance of putting on the whole armor of God.

Q: What is the difference between your central character(s) and a successful secular thinker?

My characters in Gatehaven are divided into several groups—the really bad guys, true Christians, and in-betweens. The latter group are searchers but at various levels of that search.   

Q: What does your book do for Christian readers who are looking either for entertainment or inspiration in a fictional story?

I have been told that Gatehaven provides both those needs in the reading—entertainment and inspiration. I hope that proves to be true. 

Q: In what way does your book serve as your testimony of faith in Christ?

I don’t’ think that anyone who reads Gatehaven to the end would ever conclude that the author of it was not a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ.

Q: Secular thinkers often say to Christians, “I don’t think you should push your religion on people who believe something different.” What is your response?

If someone is drowning and I am a good swimmer, why wouldn’t I dive in and try to save them?

Q: What do you believe to be the lasting value of your work to the contemporary culture?

Only God knows the answer to that question. I am merely a sinner saved by Grace.

 Q: What else would you like to say about your personal values, your Christian faith, or your call to be a Christian writer?

As a Christian, I try to love everybody. I especially love babies, small children and the helpless. It is not surprising that I have marched for life locally and started two pro-life groups in two different towns where my husband and I have lived.

Readers can get to know you better at your website www.mollynoblebull.com . Please tell them about your current book.

Have you ever known a teenage girl so in love with love and a bad prince charming that she was unable to see her true prince, standing in the wings? If so, you will connect with Shannon Aimee as she and Ian Colquhoun battle an evil Frenchman with dark secrets and evil desires. Set in Scotland and a scary mansion in the north of England and ending in the state of South Carolina in 1784, Gatehaven by Molly Noble Bull is a Christian Gothic novel that will keep you reading all the way through the last page.  

You can find this book at http://tinyurl.com/knf9j4z=ESRCP along with some great premiums.