Hello friends!

Ah, I’m SO excited for this post! Guess, what, you guys?! 🤩 

Today, I’m interviewing Angela Bell, award-winning author of A Lady’s Guide To Marvels & Misadventure!

If you scroll through any of my book posts in the last year, you’ll see that ALGTMAM was favorite book of 2024. Check out my full review of it here –>Book Review: A Lady’s Guide To Marvels & Misadventure

But without further ado, can we all give a warm welcome to Angela Bell? 👏🏻🥹👏🏻

Bella Raine: Hello Angela! I’m so honored to have you here! In case my readers don’t already know who you are, can you introduce yourself?

Angela Bell: Absolutely! My name’s Angela Bell, and I reside in Texas with my charming Lhasa Apso rescue pup, Mr. Bingley Crosby. One might categorize my books as historical romance, but I like to describe them as “a cuppa Victorian whimsy” because it sounds so much more poetical. I love the cottagecore aesthetic, feminine fashion with puffed sleeves and twirly skirts, thrifting for treasures, writing encouraging missives on pretty stationary, drinking tea with friends, and embroidering while listening to audiobooks.

BR: You published A Lady’s Guide to Marvels & Misadventure last year as your debut novel. How long have you been writing? Can you share about your journey to publication?

AB: Gracious, my journey to publication is a long and winding tale, but I shall do my best to summarize! My sweet mama instilled a love of books in me from a young age, raising me on read-alouds and surrounding me with great literature. In high school, I wrote short stories for my younger siblings. After graduation, a wonderful woman in our homeschool group and a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers Association) started teaching a fiction writing course, which I took for three years. In 2010, I entered my first writing contest and attended my first writer’s conference. For the next four years, I experimented with genre, studied writing craft and the fiction industry, and developed a thick skin via participation in critique groups and querying literary agents. Eventually, an agent agreed to work with me on a trial basis and shop one of my novels, which was never picked up. Said agent later brought an opportunity my way to write a proposal for a historical romance novella for Barbour Publishing. I gave it a go, and my novella was acquired by Barbour in 2014. I officially signed with my agent that same year. I ended up writing three novellas for Barbour collections, which was a great learning experience and a steppingstone in developing my writing style. In 2016, I got the idea for what would become “A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure.” The novel took six years to write—in part due to various life circumstances and in part because I was still figuring out my author voice. In writing this book, I finally landed on my unique style. My agent started shopping the novel in 2020, and the next two years involved a lot of waiting and the most complimentary rejections I’d ever received. My agent was ready to strategize a plan B, but I asked if we could wait until we heard from Bethany House, who’d secretly been my dream publisher for years. To my utter shock and awe, my novel made it to the Bethany House pub board, and they offered me a two-book contract in 2022! The time span between beginning to pursue publication and the contracting of my first full-length novel was 12 years. I’ve now been writing for a total of 15 years, which is rather mind-boggling.

BR: One of my favorite parts of ALGTMAM is the Christian faith content you so effortlessly wove into the story. Any tips on writing a story with strong morals and faith journeys without being stale or overly preachy?

AB: Writing and my walk with the Lord are intrinsically connected, welded together like two parts of one machine. I process through writing. I learn through writing. I worship through writing. Quite honestly, I cannot write fictional stories without Christ, the Author of mine. Therefore, by extension, I cannot write stories without God making Himself known on the pages. For it is through writing, the creating of stories and developing of characters, that God most clearly makes Himself known to me. In my mind, that’s the beauty and power of Christian Fiction—it uses the art of storytelling and the gift of imagination to make the hope of Christ known to the hearts of readers.

Therefore, my best advice for weaving faith themes into a story is to simply spend time with the Lord and welcome Him into your creative process. Prioritize time in the Word and prayer before work. Let your quiet time with God serve as a segway into your writing. Pray. Ask God for wisdom, creativity, and for His will to be done with the story. Don’t think about what message you want to convey to readers, but rather what truth your characters need to discover along their journey. Lastly, be willing to listen to constructive feedback from trusted critique partners, beta readers, and editors. If multiple people are highlighting a certain aspect of the story as being “preachy,” be open to considering other ways you can convey the same truth in a more organic way.

BR: All writers come up against roadblocks every now and then. What is a time you’ve been stuck in your writing and how did you overcome that?

AB: This is a very timely question as I became woefully stuck in my writing for a year, starting in the holiday season of 2023. Initially, I thought I was dealing with newbie author overwhelm, as my debut novel was set to release the following February, but in the wake of release day, it became clear I was dealing with a serious case of anxiety and burnout (for a myriad of reasons unrelated to writing), resulting in worsening panic attacks. At one point, I was having massive panic attacks every other day, and the creative part of my brain literally shut down. For the first time in my life, I couldn’t grin, bear it, and push through. The more I attempted to push myself, the worse my symptoms became.

In this season, overcoming being stuck required that I stop pushing myself. I had to cease striving, admit I wasn’t okay, and ask for help. I requested an extension on my deadline, which my publisher was gracious enough to grant. Then I took a lengthy sabbatical, during which I spoke with my doctor about medication, started seeing a counselor, and began implementing better habits to maintain my overall health such as daily naps, breath prayer, and gentle exercise. Being still sounds counterintuitive in our hustle harder culture, but God used this season of stillness to teach me the importance of sabbath rest, heal areas of hurt, and in the end, grow me as a writer as I literally had to depend on Him to provide every word I wrote. Sometimes overcoming doesn’t look like doggedly trying harder, but rather humbly submitting to the tender care of the One who enables us to overcome.

BR: The premise of ALGTMAM is very unique and unlike many other books! Where did the idea for the book come from?

AB: The idea originated while I was reading “Around the World in Eighty Days” by Jules Verne. I loved the travel element, Victorian setting, great humor, and overall sense of adventure. It randomly dawned on me that another story I loved, “The Nutcracker” ballet, shared similar elements with the addition of an enchanting sense of whimsy. I wondered what would happen if I created a story where Around the World in Eighty Days met The Nutcracker ballet. Thus, an idea was born! While my novel is by no means a retelling of either classic, I did draw inspiration from both, with The Nutcracker serving as a springboard for characters and Eighty Days providing the basis for my scavenger hunt plot.

BR: I love how well-crafted and relatable your character arcs are. Each of your main characters overcomes obstacles and comes to beautiful revelations about themselves and how they view the world at the end. What are your tips on writing well-paced character arcs that tug your readers’ heartstrings?

AB: Whether or not a character tugs at a reader’s heart is a very special and completely subjective thing. I’m not sure that’s something we can learn to manufacture from a craft perspective. I think the most an author can do is dare to write vulnerably and authentically, following the Lord’s leading, and then prayerfully trust that He will connect our stories with the readers who will resonate with the characters.

BR: And finally, what is coming up for you as an author? Do you have any more projects in the works?

AB: I’m delighted to report that I just completed another whimsical Victorian romance for Bethany House Fiction! “A Lady’s Handbook to Gadgets and Guile” is slated to release July 7, 2026!

BR: Where can my readers find you online?

AB: The best place for readers to connect with me is on my website, AuthorAngelaBell.com. From there, readers can learn more about my books, follow me on socials @AuthorAngelaBell, and subscribe to my seasonal email newsletter for bookish news and exclusive content.

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WOW, wasn’t that fabulous?? Those answers blew me away, I loved hearing more about Ms. Angela’s writing journey and beautiful wisdom. <3

What was your favorite thing Angela shared here? Do you read Christian historical fiction? Are you excited for A Lady’s Handbook To Gadgets And Guile? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!!

Until next time,
Bella ♥