Anne Carol grew up reading, writing, and listening to English rock bands, obsessing over one in particular. Continuing her fascination with rock stars, she married a bass player and they now have two sons, also budding musicians. Besides reading, writing, and music, she loves traveling, going to dance class, watching teen dramas, and exploring social media websites. Anne lives in Northern California, where she enjoys wine and chocolate every night as she works on her next novel.
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Welcome to the blog, Anne. I’m so glad you could join us today!

When did you first start writing?

I’ve been writing since childhood. I can remember drawing pictures and writing stories to go along with them. I wasn’t much of an artist—stick figures and basic scenery filled the page—but I loved putting words to the pictures. As a preteen, I began writing a novel based on my fantasy of meeting and falling in love with my favorite British rock star—before he became famous. I published that story almost three years ago, thirty years after I wrote the first version.

What are you working on right now?

As I mentioned above, in 2014 I self-published my debut novel about a British rock star and an American girl called “Never Let Go.” While plotting and writing this story, I ended up with enough material to write a series, which I titled “Faithfully Yours,” inspired by the Journey song, “Faithfully.” I wanted to take the reader through the entire course of David and Beth’s relationship, not just conclude with them falling in love. These characters are really special to me; it’s like they’re in my blood, if that makes sense. So I wanted to use their relationship as an example of how to stick by each other and have that “oneness” the Bible talks about in reference to marriage. Obviously this wasn’t my original plan when I started writing at age eleven, but now that I’ve been married for over nineteen years, I feel it’s important to show the ups and downs of marriage. I’m currently finishing up the third book in the series, titled “Never Change.” At this point, I’m planning a November release date. The second book, “Never Fall,” was published in 2015. A fourth book, “Never Give Up,” will wrap up the main series, but I have plans for spin-offs.

That’s exciting. I love hearing how the series idea has grown and changed through the years.

Can you tell us a bit about your journey towards writing Christian fiction?

My first two books are written from a Christian worldview, because that’s my background, and my faith naturally flows onto the pages. However, there is content in each book that would not be considered “clean” (language, sensuality), and the only thing I can say about that is I was trying to fit into the mainstream world of romance writing. At the time I wrote the books, I was reading mostly secular novels, and it was obvious what types of novels sold well. When I began writing the third book, I struggled with writer’s block. Not only that, I just lost the passion to write. Now I know that God was working on my heart. He wanted me to write for Him, not for the world. Long story short, I’m writing my third book cleaner and with more inspirational content. I intend to go back and edit my first two books so they’ll reflect the new direction I’m going in. I haven’t decided whether I’ll label the series “Christian” or “Clean.” I have a wide audience and would hate to push away any readers who might be touched by something in my books. That being said, I have other stories in mind that will be written specifically for the Christian market, whether I go indie or try for traditional publication.

Thanks for sharing your journey with us. It’s exciting to see where God is taking your writing!

I loved reading that you’re involved with a Bible Study Fellowship. What is your group currently studying?

When we start up back up in September, we’ll be studying Romans. I’m really looking forward to the upcoming year, as this is one of my favorite books. Last year when we studied John, my spiritual life was overhauled. It was like my eyes were opened. BSF was a big factor in changing the way I write. I felt like God was speaking directly to me!

What’s something you’re looking forward to this year? (Possibly a vacation, book, conference, event, special day, etc?)

I’m going to the ACFW Conference for the first time in September, and I can’t tell you how excited I am! I have an awesome roommate, who I know God set me up with as she’s an extrovert while I’m quite shy in new situations. I’m also looking forward to a week away with my husband, in celebration of twenty years together. We’ll be staying in the mountains of New Hampshire, which I know will be beautiful in the fall. Our boys are very busy with band and cross country during fall, so it’ll be nice to have a breather, just to reconnect and enjoy a different part of the country!

That sounds wonderful! I’m going to ACFW too. We should definitely meet up! 🙂

Is there anything else you’d like to add? Any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

I love how the community of Christian authors has welcomed and accepted me, a newcomer. I’m basically rebooting my writing career, so it’s been tough trying to find my place. Being obedient to God can be challenging, but I’m following God’s lead because He knows best. One of my favorite Bible verses is Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” During this period of transition and learning a new way of writing, I’m clinging to this verse.

Upcoming projects: other than finishing my series, I have at least three stories that have been in my mind for a while. One involves a firefighter and a nurse, one is about a runaway who gets into the groupie scene (she makes an appearance in Never Change), and one is based on my own testimony about how God has changed my heart over the past year.

Thanks for letting me stop by your blog, Savanna!

I’m so glad you could stop by, Anne. Thanks for sharing your heart with us!

Readers, you can learn more about Anne and follow her writing journey at the following places:

Thanks for stopping by!