Meet Julie Coulter Bellon
Voted most popular author by Utah Valley Magazine in 2006, Julie Coulter Bellon is the author of four fiction novels: Through Love’s Trials, On the Edge, Time Will Tell, and her newly released, All’s Fair. All's Fair is published by Covenant Communications and is available at any Seagull or Deseret Book store. She also has one non-fiction title: Be Prepared: A Parents Guide to the Duty to God and Eagle Awards---What You Should Know. This book is published by Spring Creek and is available at any Seagull or Deseret Book store. Her first three fiction titles are available in LDS bookstores and Amazon. (See the right hand panel to purchase some of these books.)
She is best known for writing international romantic suspense. You can download the first chapter of her newest book from her website.
Julie is also trying to let people know about a charity drive she is doing this July.
"In conjunction with the release of All's Fair, I am currently doing a charity drive for our military men and women overseas. From July 14- July 19th you can drop off needed items at any Seagull Book location across the Wasatch Front (in Utah) and those items will be sent to our servicemen and women in care packages. It's a nice way to say thank you for their sacrifice during the month of July and give them a little touch of home. For more information and the list of needed items, you can go to my website."
Julie Coulter Bellon and her husband Brian are the parents of six children and are expecting their seventh child later this summer. They live in Utah in the United States. Her greatest joy is being a mother and being with her children. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education--English teaching, and she currently teaches a journalism course for BYU Continuing Education.
When she's not busy being a mom, teaching, serving in the community or writing, you will find her browsing through bookstores to add to her book collection, at the library borrowing books, or reading the treasures she's found.
Julie slowed down from her busy life to answer some questions for us.
What is your non-writing career?
I teach a journalism course for BYU Continuing Education. I have also worked as an editor.
What's the strangest job you've ever had?
Selling tomatoes at a tomato stand.
And for fun, you...?
I love reading, writing, playing the flute, learning to play the bagpipes, traveling, trying new things, watching old movies, and being with my family.
Did you enjoy reading as a child?
I loved reading as a child and since my family moved a lot, books were my constant companions. I read every Nancy Drew book there was out there, as well as Hardy Boys and Bobbsey Twins. I loved mysteries then and I still do! I did write stories when I was a child and thought how great it would be someday to be an author. And a ballerina. And a teacher, lawyer, archeologist and a doctor. I had a lot of dreams as you can tell, and a few of them have come true!
And that leads us to learning about the writing dream that came true.
How did you come to be published?
My first novel was rejected and it stung! It was then that I began to wonder if I was cut out to become a writer after all. I put the rejected manuscript under my bed and left it there for a year. The next spring, a friend of mine encouraged me to take it out and make some changes and resubmit, so I did---and it was accepted! I wish I’d had a thicker skin now, because I think I could have possibly received that first contract sooner if I had.
What process do you follow when you write?
I generally start with an idea and gel it in my head. Usually it’s a current event or something that jumps out at me and I’m wondering how people would react to it if the people involved were LDS or held to LDS standards. When I’ve got the general idea down, I start writing and take it from there. So, while I sort of know where I’m going to take the story, as I go along, it always changes from my original idea. But that’s okay, because it all works out in the end.
Do you let anyone see your work before it's finished?
Of course! Reader feedback is invaluable and catches silly mistakes or plotholes before it goes too far. Having people that you trust read your work and candidly tell you what's wrong with it, is something that every author needs I think.
When do you write?
Whenever I have a spare minute. Being the mother of six, I’ve learned to type quickly.
What do you do with those six children while you write?
My desk is between my kitchen and my family room---right in the middle of everything. I love it that way, though, because I can get a little writing time in and still have a finger on what’s going on with the family. The kids have access to me and I can keep an eye on them. When I'm not at my desk, and I'm doing chores or carpool or whatever, I usually am thinking about my next scenes so that when I get a moment I can run to the computer and write it all down. It’s not a perfect way, but it works for me. I also have a little notebook to jot ideas down because my head is often filled with family details, but I don’t want to forget important plot or character ideas!
What's on your desk?
A lot of paper from the last rewrite of my work in progress and some candy wrappers.
How do you write your rough drafts--computer, typewriter, pen…?
I do my rough drafts in a notebook or on a computer---whichever one is handy at the moment.
Why do you write?
Writing is such a stress reliever for me. I love telling stories, I love having a little bit of me come through in my books, and I love the feeling I get when I look and see that I’m improving with every book I write. As a mother, I think it’s important to develop my talents and show my children that even as a grown-up you have hopes and dreams that you want to fulfill. Writing does that for me. I hope my writing will also entertain people and give them something to read that they will enjoy.
What surprised you about being a writer?
How much fun it is to meet people and all the different types of people that read my books. I was at a booksigning once when a large man, who was a trucker for a living, plopped one of my books down for me to sign and told me how much he liked it. We had a great conversation about books and trucking, but I never would have dreamed that could happen! Writing has definitely changed how I relate to people and I'm always touched to hear that someone liked my book or related to my writing in some way.
And now for the part we've all waited for anxiously...Julie's words of wisdom for those of us who want to be just like her:
What advice do you have for new writers?
Never give up. I learned my lesson when I gave up so easily after my first rejections. I know how hard it is, but I realized that old saying is true---the only difference between an unpublished author and a published one is that one gave up and one didn’t.
Can you share some thoughts on doing book signings?
Don’t be afraid to talk to people. I am a little shy, but I did a book signing with Kerry Blair once and I was completely amazed at how she talked to everyone like they were her long lost sisters or brothers. Someday, I hope to be more like that because it makes booksignings fun and you can make lasting friendships, too!
What advice do you have for people writing LDS books?
I think that the LDS market has greatly improved to include books from almost every genre that the national market offers. We have mystery, suspense, romance, women's fiction, historical, western, sci-fi, fantasy and it is a wonderful thing to know that we can read all of those genres in the LDS market and not worry about finding anything against the gospel standards. My advice for people writing LDS books is to keep writing because we only continue to improve what we can offer to everyone who wants to read clean and compelling fiction.
How does the gospel influence your career?
I feel like I am developing a God-given talent and I like to think that I’m uplifting others with a good novel that can keep you up late turning pages, but not give you nightmares that you will read something inappropriate.
What are you working on now?
I am working on another international adventure set in Paris. An agent has uncovered a terrorist plot that will kill thousands of people, but is branded a traitor before she can expose it. The story is full of a lot of action and adventure, I think, and the main character is a strong woman, which I love. I tend to gravitate toward characters that aren’t afraid to go after what they want and are strong and independent, but always have huge obstacles to overcome which either breaks them or makes them better. It's somewhat like life, except a little bigger since, well, you know, the average person (like me) isn't stopping terrorist plots generally.
