CP Spotlight: Paula Neal Mooney

Content Producer Paul Neal Mooney captured my attention, not only with her obvious talent and frequent popular articles, but also with her willingness to be completely honest with her readers.

It's interesting that Paula lists one of her most open and frankly brave articles "We Had Abortions Too...and Now We Are Pro-life" as one of her favorite articles because it is one of my favorites too. Whether or not you agree with her stance in this article (I happen to agree), you have to admire Paula's courage for stepping forward to share her personal history when she did not have to do so. Paula received some flak for writing this piece, but from me she gets nothing but sincere admiration.

Paula clearly understands what it takes to write an article that draws page views. She has demonstrated this ability not only by consistently placing in the "Editor's Picks" and "Top Rated" sections of Associated Content, but also by writing pieces like "New to Associated Content? Raise Your Clout Index!" (an article that I keep bookmarked and refer to almost every time I publish) and "Increase Pageviews on Associated Content Using These Tips."

In this very open and very honest interview Paula responds to the questions with her typical candor to reveal the faith that inspires her and keeps her going.

Can we read your writing anywhere else online, if so, where?

"Yes, there's my blog at http://paulamooney.blogspot.com and articles like "Microwavin' Mama" in Cleveland/Akron Family magazine. I also started writing an anonymous blog, which I'm praying will draw lots of readers (and ad duckets) based on the compelling content alone. Also, I just began doing pro-bono writing for an amazing charity called Sister in Service that helps hurting women and children all around the world."

Do you have favorites among your Associated Content articles?

"Yes, the "We Had Abortions Too...and Now We are Pro-life" piece is the one closest to my heart."

"I'd written portions of it here and there in a newspaper's op/ed page and other places, but when I read that Ms. magazine was planning their I-killed-my-baby-and-I'm-not-sorry-slap-in-the-face-of-God article, I knew that morning while writing my abortion piece that the Lord was with me powerfully. I experienced the synergy of all that past writing and bad experiences coming together in one place for one purpose."

What are your writing goals?

"I love to draw page views, I love to draw advertisers, but my real purpose is to point people to Christ, but not in a boring, Pharisee-like way. One day I sat in my Lazy-Boy and prayed over my life's motto. All I heard the Holy Spirit say was:"

"Win souls for the Kingdom...
Win souls for the Kingdom...
Win souls for the Kingdom..."

Tell us a little bit about Paula Neal Mooney, the individual. What do you do when you are not writing for AC?

"Let's see, I'm usually hauling my kids around town, tossing my Rottie some food, blogging, going to church, chatting on my cellie while driving and eating and putting makeup on my vain face. I don't like to stay still very long."

Has AC had an impact on your writing career and if so, what?

"AC has been incredible with the amount of exposure it's provided me! And the money doesn't hurt either. Also, I've learned so much from getting the privilege to interview folks like ex-Microsoft blogger Robert Scoble of the Scobleizer at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/81253/blog_spotlight_on_alist_blogger_robert.html."

"Cyberspace is just an expansive cornucopia overflowing with opportunity for content writers. And what better time to be a great writer with techie-skills living in the Information Age? I couldn't ask God for more. Well, I could, but…"

How do you do it? How do you stay on top of the news and on top of the "Editors Picks" and "Top Rated" lists?

"My writing successes can be traced back to a day in April 2002 in my sanctuary. Before that lynchpin day, I kept trying to make the writing thing happen, to no avail."

""Anyone who wants a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit, come on up," my pastor, Bishop Joey Johnson, announced. I walked up to the front, with my A-line dress flouncing as my purse swung by my side. I glanced back at the people still sitting in the pews. Fear and trepidation filled their faces."

""Please, God, let me win the $30,000 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting," I begged silently."

""Worship Him!" Bishop commanded our group standing at the altar, as if he could read my selfish thoughts."

"Just then, I began to picture (and feel, and see literally with my mind's eye) Christ standing right behind Bishop on the stage. Jesus was in resplendent white. It was definitely Him but I could not see His face. He made Himself so real to me."

""Okay, Lord, do what You want with me," I said in my heart. At that exact moment I felt my knees give way, not of my own volition. I reached out to grab the shoulder of the rotund guy wearing a Bill Cosby-type colorful sweater next to me, but I didn't need to touch him."

"I fell to my knees and sobbed, cleansing sobs. The thuggish-ruggish tall black dude on my left was on his knees sobbing, too. When I opened my eyes again, the rotund guy on my right had fallen and was splayed out next to me on the ground. I hadn't heard a sound, and no human had touched me."

"After I stood up, the Lord said, "It is yours." I didn't even know that term was in the Bible. Shortly following that day was when I sold my first piece to Pregnancy magazine, then later got published in Writer's Digest and the rest is history. I know God was saying that whatever type of success I sought in that screenwriting fellowship, He would and is and already has given me, but only after I yielded to Him."

What really inspires you to write? What is the one thing that draws you to the computer and really gets your fingers moving on an article?

"Again, I lean on the Holy Spirit's unction - Jesus' special je ne sais quoi - and timing and direction and Him moving in that space above my belly-button to hip me to what will work. Sometimes I write stuff and I'm totally not feeling it, not feeling Him with me."

"Other times, when His power is flowing thru me, my fingers fly supernaturally across the keyboard as if I'm taking dictation. My Holy Ghost-writer. That's my real secret to getting inspired to write and getting on the "Movers & Shakers" list. The Almighty is really that elusive "ESP" or "it-" or "X-" factor that our evil society calls everything but Christ."

So how did you get into writing?

"Um...let's see. In the middle of being so guy crazy throughout my youth (and some days my adulthood) I figured out that I'd been given a gift. Writing was never hard for me. It was always there, before the day in grammar school when I wanted to copy the longest story in a book to practice my penmanship."

"It was there during the days I spent in my second-floor bedroom with the slanted walls soaking up mass-markets by Harold Robbins and Sidney Sheldon and Agatha Christie. It was there the day in my college speech class that during an impromptu sermon I heard my own mouth say: "I'd like to write a book someday...it would be cathartic.""

Tell us one thing about yourself that people might not know.

"Hmm...what haven't I already spilled the beans about? Uh, a couple of years ago I got emotionally involved with a coworker. After I left the job I wrote a series of articles about it for a Canadian newspaper. I showed them to my husband before they went into print. He flipped out. I pulled the pieces. They were kind of affair-enticing, like that movie Spanglish."

What has been your greatest success in life?

"Salvation. That's the only thing that really matters. But I can't take the credit. I was running from "that old boring Christianity" and into numerology, Feng Shui, Deepak Chopra, and every other false religion till my Mommy died suddenly in 1999 and the Messiah was right there waiting on me."

What goals are you trying to achieve with your writing?

"I'm just one beggar trying to show another beggar where to find bread, as the saying goes."

If you were trapped on an island by yourself what three things could you not live without?

"I know most folks would say a Bible, but I'm glad a lot of Scripture is written on my heart. So I'll say the obvious: Food. Clean water. And it'd be nice to have a companion that wouldn't prompt a scene from Lord of the Flies."

Name five songs that you would include on your personal life soundtrack.

"Man, I'm really a James Blunt freak. Any one of my "Top Ten Songs by James Blunt" works for me! But in terms of my life? I'd say:"

1 - "Christ is All I Need by Big City" (a bangin' rap song. Listen at http://cdbaby.com/cd/bigcityhiphop)
2 - "Imagine" by Euclid Gray
3 - "How to Save a Life" by The Fray
4 - "Portuguese Love" by Teena Marie
5 - "Yes" by Shekinah Glory

What actor would you want to play you in your life story and why?

"Of course I should say Halle Berry. She's so beautiful and my hubby loves her. But I think I'll go with that girl who played the eldest wild daughter in those Lethal Weapon movies. Where is she now? What is her name? Anyone? Anyone? I'm all for the underdogs in life."

What made you start writing for Associated Content?

"I got so sick of pitching good stories to the print magazines and being rejected. Now I know why God allowed it: To point me to the prosperous world of online content writing, the glorious future! Many print magazines are sadly folding. But, woo hoo! Long live AC!"

What color best describes your personality and why?

"Red. It's controversial, power-filled and multi-faceted. Some churches won't let women wear that color still because of the "enormous red dragon" in Revelation 12. But this morning while making my oatmeal I realized that crimson was also the color of Christ's blood leaking everywhere when He was so embarrassed and stripped naked and hurt and left thirsty and mocked and teased and ridiculed and tortured and killed on Mount Golgotha. But thank the Father that wasn't the end of the story. Jesus wins."

"After sleeping with so many guys trying to find the ultimate love, indeed I've finally found the Only One who was right when He said in John 15:13: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.""