Hello! Recently I did two interview posts (here and here!) with some fellow young writers! This week, we have a post with an author named Molly McTernan! She wrote a collection of poems called Poetic Surrender. (Which you should totally check out!!) She let me ask her a couple of questions about her faith and writing, and her book, as well as some random fun questions! :)

So here we go!

My first question for Molly is this: How has your faith impacted your writing life?

Molly: Faith impacts my writing in every way! I believe that God is the greatest Storyteller, and that my gift and love of writing stems from that. So whether I’m writing an allegory or blatantly Christian poem, or more nuanced stories that still have deep themes, my aim is always that my words point back to him.

W: Who in the Bible can you most relate to?

M: I can relate a lot to David, and Psalms is my favorite book of the Bible. He showed himself in such an open way through his words, and basically created a giant poem for God – I never tire of reading through the Psalms.

W: What Bible verse has helped you grow in your faith the most?

M: One that really brought me a lot of peace is Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV). Knowing that God goes before us and that we have nothing to be afraid of is such a comfort.

W: If you could ask Jesus anything, what would it be, and why?

M: Well, I already pray and ask Him things often, so I don’t really think there’s an exact answer for me.

These were all really interesting and inspiring answers, thank you Molly! Now we have a handful of writing questions about your writing life as well as your book!

W: What part of the publishing process was your favorite? What about the hardest?

M: I think my favorite part was (and is) hearing how my poems encourage people! Knowing that certain poems speak to them and that they can so clearly see my love for Jesus is so gratifying.
I think the hardest part was hitting the ‘publish’ button, and then the worries after that. What if I just made the wrong choice? What if no one likes my book? After two years, I’ve learned that putting my words out there is a good thing because it can help people and shine light on His name, but it was hard at first.

W: How long did it take to get your book published?

M: The oldest poem in the collection was first drafted two years before I published. In the months leading up, I was carefully selecting which poems would be in the collection, got edits and feedback from over a dozen people, and spent many hours on research and book cover design. I can’t really say there was a set start time, but it took a while!

W: Who helped you the most with the publishing process? Who inspired you the most during the process?

M: I would say that would be my family and my fellow students over at the Young Writer’s Workshop. They were the first to hear about my idea to publish a collection, and the first to read the poems within. My family encouraged me by long talks and never doubting I’d make it, and the YWW students poured so much time into me and Poetic Surrender.

W: Do you have any advice for writers who want to get published?

M: Don’t rush it! Sharing your writing is a wonderful thing, but focusing on publishing instead of writing your story won’t help you. There’s no rush to get your work out there, and the best thing you can do is focus on creating something beautiful that can help people – then looking into ways to share it after you’ve made it the best you can.
That being said, definitely write and submit articles and short things to websites! The experience of writing something with the intent to submit it, and then getting the experience of submitting and either getting accepted or rejected, is vital.

W: Do you have a favorite poem in your book?

M: One of my favorites is Time is Passing!

W: How did your faith impact this book/what inspired this book?

M: I think what mainly inspired my book is my love for poetry, which I must attribute to my mom. She always read poems and stories to my sisters and I when we were little, and I’ve only fallen more in love with words since then. I read and wrote a lot of poetry, so it was no surprise that I’d then want to make a collection!

W: Do you have any projects you hope to publish in the future?

M: I do! I’m currently enrolled at the Author Conservatory, which is a college-alternative that focuses on writing craft and business skills, and I’ll be working on some novels during my time in school that I’d love to pursue traditional publishing with.

Wow, these were all so helpful to me as a young writer, and it was really cool and encouraging to hear your story and feedback about your publishing process! Alrighty, now we got our final questions: fun random questions!

W: If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be, and why?

M: I think a cat. Mostly just because they are my favorite animal!

W: In your mind, do days of the week have colors? If so, what are they?

M: You know, I never have this much thought… I can’t say that I can clearly associate weekdays with colors, but I do find myself associating book genres with colors for sure (yellow is fantasy, green is sci-fi etc.).

W: And finally, what is your dream job?

M: Being a writer full time, and coaching younger writers while doing so!

Ooh, these are good answers! (I’ve never thought about book genres having colors, but that makes a lot of sense!)

Well thank you so much for letting me interview you, Molly, and I hope that you are successful in publishing many more projects in the future! Happy writing!

~Willow