Molly Crowe's Blog

I was excited to be featured with other Oklahoma authors in this month’s issue of 405 Magazine! Click here to see the issue and check out all of the other Oklahoma Authors!

I was thrilled that Shadow of Hope was covered in the Tulsa World this week for the Oklahoma Heart Awards! You can follow the link to see the full article. Thank you, Tulsa World!

Molly Crowe’s debut novel, Shadow of Hope, covered in the Tulsa World

This month I was shocked when Shadow of Hope won the Oklahoma Romance Writer’s Guild Heart Awards in the Sweet Romance Category! Shadow of Hope was my debut novel, and for it to be recognized is a dream. I am glad that readers are enjoying it, and I hope they continue reading the rest of the Sol Defenders Series and love it!

As we approach the release of Whisper of Fate, I wanted to share a few of my favorite quotes. Do these sound like Luke or Raine to you?

The release of Whisper of Fate was covered on News on 6! Click below to watch the story!

The Shadow of Hope audiobook is now available on Google and Apple Books! It’s such a dream to have my book published, but to listen to it as an audiobook was on a new level. I hope all of my fellow audiobook readers enjoy!

Find Shadow of Hope audiobook on Apple Books and Google Play Store.

After spending the better part of the last three years writing, I have come to realize there are few tools for writing that would be hard to live without. If anyone is looking for a gift for your writer-loved-one out there, then if they’re anything like me, they might enjoy one or two of these.

For writing tools, Dabble is my favorite writing software that I’ve found. As someone who is working on multiple projects at one time, Dabble makes it easy to look through my bookshelf of works-in-progress. Each project is organized neatly into chapters for easy access that can be named or numbered (or both), and the chapters can be easily moved, copied or deleted without having to do any reformatting.

The Hemingway Editor is another handy tool that I’ve used when I have a mostly completed draft and I’m ready to head into heavy editing. It doesn’t use fancy AI to re-write the book, but it does tell me what grade level each chapter is in, suggestions for how many adverbs to shoot for and remove, and tells me what sentences are hard to read so that I can work on re-writing myself. It’s a must-have editing tool for me. Plus, it’s affordable, with a one-time fee instead of a monthly subscription.

I’m a coffee drinker while I’m writing. Day, night, 5 AM… I’m drinking coffee. Until I found the Ember mug, I was taking sips of surprisingly cold coffee after a long stream of consciousness when I didn’t realize I’d been sitting for a long time. I would have to break, dump and re-pour several times in a 2 hour period. I’m super picky when it comes to mugs, and I wanted a mug that felt like a “real mug” while drinking but also kept the coffee hot. The Ember mug does that.

I use Cognitive Surplus notebooks for jotting down all of my ideas. For each novel I’m writing I use a different notebook. They have various options for lines, grids, or blank pages, so I’ve tried a few different types over the years. They lay flat, are durable, and they have cool designs. They are my go-to for note taking.

Pair these with a weekend at an Airbnb for some time alone, good coffee, chocolate almonds, a warm robe, and a pair of slippers, and I’ve got everything I need to write in 2025.

Q: What is the series about?

A: The Sol Defenders Series is a YA Romantasy. The seven kingdoms of Valanche are loosely based on the seven natural wonders of the world, and an element of goodness originated from each. Each of the Sol Defenders: Peace, Love, Beauty, Truth, Joy, Life, and Courage, are rumored to have once resided in the various kingdoms, but that is no longer the case today, and the world is slowly falling into darkness in some kingdoms where this goodness is not allowed to flow freely.

The story follows Kalista, a princess in Avalyn, who is betrothed to Captain Luke Ramsey, who is basically the best guy who ever lived. But Kalista feels cast aside when her father puts all of his training into Luke and reserves none for her as they grow up, and the resentment makes Kalista a little less eager for the arrangement than anticipated. Plus, she can’t stop dreaming about a boy who rescued her from drowning when she was 10 years old, and when he mysteriously shows up in Avalyn when she’s 17, she’s torn between duty and desire.

The entire series builds as you go. The world gets larger, and each of our three main characters experience their own unique arc that makes readers want to root for them all. The themes of the story are love, friendship, and hope, and the books are appropriate for anyone ages 12 and up.

Q: How many books are in the series?

A: There are a total of five books that will be written with the world of Valanche as the setting, with characters from that world. The first three books are a complete trilogy, and eventually I’ll write two more that could be a stand alone duo. In those books, the MCs are some kids that are in the first three books. Can you guess who?

Q: When is each book being released?

A: Shadow of Hope was released in May 2024. Whisper of Fate (book 2) will be released in May 2025. The third book, which I haven’t released the name of yet, should be approximately 6-9 months after Whisper of Fate. Books 4 and 5 are a few years away at this point, and I’m not sure if I will write them immediately after finishing the first trilogy or move on to another project I’m excited about first. I might take a break from Valanche to explore that first!

Q: Is the book appropriate for my young teen?

A: Yes! These books are romantic, but not spicy. The main themes of the book are friendship, hope, and love. I wrote them for young girls who are trying to find their purpose, work through the heavy things going on in their hearts, and who are trying to navigate doing the right thing amidst growing up. The books deal with topics like loneliness, strained friendships, grief, and more.

Q: What spice level is this series?

A: The lowest! There some kissing and cuddling, but anything suggesting more is very closed door and left completely to the reader’s imagination.

Have more questions? Visit my contact page and let me know!

A few years ago I found a book that my first grade teacher put together that listed what each student in my class wanted to be when they grew up. I knew then what I’ve known ever since. I wanted to be an author.

But life happened and I got to be 37… 38… (I can’t remember)… and I still hadn’t written an actual book. I had dabbled in having a blog for a few years, had filled up countless journals growing up, had been the editor of my school newspaper, but I never had that idea that inspired the motivation to write. I also didn’t think I had the time, which put writing on the back burner for my young adult life. It just wasn’t in front of me, wasn’t a priority, and I instead built my career, had kids, and lived an otherwise wonderful life. Writing was always in the back of my mind as the one thing I knew I wouldn’t be happy leaving this world without doing, but I just didn’t think I had time. Maybe someday, is what I always told myself.

Then someday literally turned my world upside down.

I had a dream about a whale, and it wasn’t an ordinary dream. I dreamed that I was standing on a beach looking out over the most beautiful scene imaginable. The ocean stretched out in front of me, and behind was a hill covered in vibrant, colorful life. There were flowers, plants, birds, and an actual rainbow painting the sky. I could see the details, feel the sand under my toes, and actually smell the salty air. It was like I was there. There were people I knew standing around me, maybe about 40 or so, all just looking out at the water. Then, suddenly, there was a noise behind us and everyone whipped around, but I was a little slow and was the last to turn. Because everyone else was already looking toward the hill, I was the only one to see a whale that was rapidly approaching the beach. It swam straight up toward me on the shore and skidded to a stop close enough for me to reach out and touch his face. Of course, I did, and I could feel the wet slickness under my hand. The moment was peaceful, until the whale used his nose to nudge me into the water and I found myself tumbling in the waves. Then fear took over, and I tumbled and rolled in the waves until I woke up.

Weird, right?

So, I couldn’t stop thinking about the dream. Two weeks went by and I could still see every detail. I have never been a big what does this dream mean? person, but I looked up a few theories for what dreams about whales could mean but didn’t come up with anything too meaningful. Then I had a day off work, and as soon as my kids got on the bus I had the thought… “That would be a cool start to a book. I wonder how the girl could get out? Maybe someone would save her…”

I got out a spreadsheet (like all normal people do), and started plotting the story. I sat for five hours, drank three cups of coffee, and didn’t stop the flow of ideas until 900 lines were filled. I sat back at the end of the day and realized what I was actually looking at was three books. A trilogy. A young adult fantasy romance that I would not stop obsessing over for the next three years.

I couldn’t stop. I woke up every day at 4:30 and wrote, went to work, wrote more, took days off, became literally obsessed, and wrote the first draft for all three novels in four months. Editing took longer. I’m still in that process with the third book- re-writing and re-plotting and making it better and better all the time. But Shadow of Hope is out there, and my dream of becoming an author came to life in the form of Kalista, Luke, and Raine’s story.

As I’ve led up to release week for Shadow of Hope, I’ve been blown away by the support I’ve received. From old friends I hadn’t seen in ages to the people who show up every day, I’ve had countless people reach out and let me know they’re celebrating with me. Yesterday they packed out my event, and I couldn’t have asked for a way to bring Shadow of Hope into the world.

Book and Bloom was the perfect backdrop for my first book event. A local bookstore and flower shop that says they can’t keep fantasy or romance on the shelves. You can find Shadow of Hope on their shelves! Thank you Book and Bloom for the warm welcome! I had a blast.