INTRODUCING:
~ MaryLu Tyndall, a Christy Award Finalist, and best-selling author of the Legacy of the King’s Pirates series is known for her swashbuckling historical romances filled with deep spiritual themes.
She holds a degree in Math and worked as a software engineer for fifteen years before testing the waters as a writer. MaryLu currently writes full time and makes her home on the California coast with her husband, six kids, and four cats. Her passion is to write page-turning, romantic adventures that not only entertain but expose Christians to their full potential in Christ. For more information on MaryLu and her upcoming releases, please visit her website at
http://www.marylutyndall.com or her blog at
http://crossandcutlass.blogspot.com/
So glad you could come by today, MaryLu -
Bringing:
"SURRENDER the DAWN"
Another in the Surrender to Destiny Series
I've read and thoroughly enjoyed this terrific book! Thank you for allowing me to share it with my followers.
I also want to thank you for agreeing to this interview
~ Please allow me to jump in with the first question here.
Can you explain what your author tag line, Swashbuckling Romances, anchored in faith, means?
When people hear the word swashbuckling they normally picture a pirate or sailor wielding a sword, but a swashbuckler is actually defined as a swaggering swordsman, soldier, or adventurer; a daredevil. And that’s a fair description of all the heroes in my books. Though my stories take place on both land and sea, they are set during the age of sail when tall ships ruled the sea. Filled with suspense, adventure, and a few sword fights thrown in for good measure, they are also highly romantic and have very strong spiritual themes.
Tell us a bit about yourself
I grew up on the shores of South Florida where I fell in love with the sea and with sea-faring adventures. After years of drifting from God and searching for meaning in life, I finally came to my senses and began to put Him first in all things. Eight years ago, God told me to write a story about a Christian Pirate. I thought I was hearing things, but I obeyed. Now, ten books later, I’m still writing to glorify Him! Currently, I live in California with my husband, six kids and three cats.
What new lessons do you believe the Lord is teaching you right now?
He’s always teaching me so much! But at the moment, I’d have to say that He’s teaching me to trust Him with every tiny detail of my life. You see, I’m a bit of a control freak. It stems from a very insecure, turbulent childhood, so I try to fit my life into lists and neat little boxes in an effort to control the outcome. But recently, God is telling me to live second by second in His presence, to relinquish my lists and my desired outcomes into His capable hands. It is a hard lesson for me, but I know when I learn it, I will have the peace in my life that I’m seeking.
Do you know ahead of time how your books are going to end or what you are going to write about next with the book in a series? Or, do you just go with the flow and hope it all comes together in the end?
I am somewhere in between a plotter and a seat-of-the-pants writer. I have a general idea of the beginning and end of each book and the main crises or turning points, but I fill in the rest as I go. Regarding a series, I usually have no idea what the other books will be about until I’m writing the first book. Secondary characters usually pop out at me, screaming for their own story. Demanding is more like it!
What is the ultimate dream you want to conquer with your writing
To reveal the presence, the reality, the love, and the power of Almighty God in ordinary people’s lives. And in doing so, to bring people closer to Him.
What inspired you to write you Surrender to Destiny series?
I meet so many people who have no idea what God’s purpose is for them. They flounder about doing this and that and finally conclude they are not useful in the Kingdom of God. I believe from Scripture that we are each here on earth for a reason, and that God will reveal that reason to us in His time. But we must be open to it, and we must get rid of the things that keep us from that destiny. I attempt to show in my Surrender to Destiny series some of the things that can inhibit us from fulfilling our God-given purpose: insecurity (Surrender the Heart, book 1); fear (Surrender the Night, book 2) and unbelief (Surrender the Dawn, book 3). Then once you cast away all these entanglements, I show how to discover that purpose.
What did you find interesting about the war of 1812
Everything! The more I researched this war, the more I fell in love with it. America was a new nation. We didn’t have much of an army and a very small navy, yet we took on the most powerful empire in the world at that time—Britain. The British were intent on regaining the colonies as their own. Arrogant and boastful, they had no doubt they would win. Yet by the Divine Providence of God, America defeated them and remained the one bastion of freedom in the world. You cannot read about the War of 1812 and not see the hand of God all over each event and each battle, and over those who fought.
Tell us about your new release, Surrender the Dawn.
When the war of 1812 robs Cassandra Channing of her father and brothers, she must find a way to support her mother and younger siblings without being forced to marry a man she does not love. Determined to remain independent, she hires a privateer, captained by the town rogue.
Tortured by guilt for his parents’ death, Luke Heaton spends his time drinking and gambling. When Cassandra offers him enough money to fix up his ship, he sees an opportunity to redeem his reputation and help the lady he has loved from afar. Things go well until the British blackmail him into selling supplies to their ships. Still Luke cannot allow Cassandra’s family to be tossed on the streets.
Cassandra has fallen in love with Luke. When she begins to suspect his nefarious activities, she is heartbroken. Hoping to prove her suspicions wrong, she sets out to catch him in the act. But what she doesn’t expect is to get caught up in a massive British invasion.
When the entire British fleet heads toward Baltimore and begins to bombard Fort McHenry, lives, liberty, and the future of a nation are at stake. What destiny awaits the couple in one of the most decisive battles of the war?
Where can readers find you on the web?
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/MaryLu-Tyndall-Swashbuckling-Romance/175344859169475
I appreciate your candor and the interview you've granted me for the sake of my followers.
May God richly bless you in your writing efforts and the sale of this terrific book, MaryLu.
A MUST-READ for you historical lovers!!!
Another Stab at Life by Anita Higman
