Radiant Lit

FEATURED AUTHOR: MaryLu Tyndall

MaryLu Tyndall dreamt of pirates and ships during her childhood days on Florida’s Atlantic Coast. She holds a degree in Math and worked as a software engineer for fifteen years before testing the waters as a writer. Her love of history and passion for story drew her to create the Legacy of the King’s Pirates Series which includes the three books, The Redemption, The Reliance, and The Restitution—not only book titles, or the names of pirate ships, but themes depicting God’s mighty intervention in the lives of heroic and often misguided characters. Even before being published, The Redemption was a finalist in both FTHRW Golden Gateway and Vintage Publishing Inspirations contests. Most recently, The Redemption is a Christy award finalist. MaryLu now writes full time and makes her home with her husband, six children, and two cats on California’s coast, where her imagination still surges with the sea.

Nikki: Hi, MaryLu. When did you first feel “called” to write and how did that evolve into the writing life?

MaryLu: I don’t think I ever felt “called” to write until just recently. I’ve always written. I wrote poems and short stories in high school, even a complete novel when I was sixteen. I wrote a romance in my twenties and a science fiction story when I was thirty, but I never had the confidence to try and get anything published. So I suppose I always had the desire to write, but my life was pretty chaotic and I wasn’t following the Lord for most of it. God gave me the gift to write, but He wasn’t going to bless it until I bent my knee to Him and gave it over to Him. That’s when it started to dawn on me that He was calling me to write. I’m a slow learner, I guess.

Nikki: How has writing deepened your spiritual journey?

MaryLu: Because I consider my writing a ministry, it has greatly deepened my spiritual journey. Every story I come up with, every word I write, I carefully pray over, because it is my ultimate desire to glorify God with my writing and to bring others closer to Him. If I’m not doing that, then there is no point. Also, as anyone in the writing business knows, being an author can be a very stressful career. There are rejections, bad reviews, and a tremendous amount of waiting for phone calls from editors and agents. It can be very demoralizing and frustrating at times, but consequently I have learned to trust the Lord more than I probably ever would have in any other occupation.

Nikki: Tell us something most people don’t know about you and would be surprised to learn.

MaryLu: I moved 25 times before the age of 18, and my family wasn’t in the military. It’s just one of those weird facts that drops most people’s jaws.

Also, this 5’1″ petite blond is a big Ice hockey fan who can get quite vocal during one of her San Jose Shark’s games.

Nikki: What is it about your writing style that readers tell you draws them to your books?

MaryLu: I hear the same two things from most of my readers. One is that I have a way of making them feel as if they have been transported back into the 17th century and are standing on the deck of a pirate ship. The second thing I’m told is that I have a way of creating suspense in every chapter that keeps them turning pages. My books are not just historical romances, I would also classify them as Historical Romance Suspense.

Nikki: Tell us one of the high points of your career and what it meant to you?

MaryLu: Getting a note from Barbour that I had been nominated for a Christy award. This was something that I never in a million years would have expected. I had no idea Barbour had submitted my first pirate book, The Redemption. It meant a great deal to me because the book from start to finish was all from God. When I started writing it, it was only for fun and I had no intention of submitting it for publication, but step by step and miracle after miracle God parted the seas for this book, and I give Him all the Glory. This nomination is just another grand miracle from Him.

Nikki: If people want to follow your writing journey, where are you on the Internet and what appearances do you have scheduled this year?

MaryLu: Please visit me at: http://www.mltyndall.com. I can also be found on shoutlife at http://www.shoutlife.com/mltyndall. Appearances? None scheduled at the moment. I will be at the Christy award ceremony in Atlanta on July 7th, and I plan to be in Charleston the last week in July to do research for a new book series. I typically shy away from book signings and things like that.

MaryLu’s latest release: The Restitution

Sneak Peek -
Lady Isabel Ashton, scorned by society after the birth of her illegitimate child, longs to regain wealth and position–despite Christ’s call on her heart. But when her son is kidnapped, she’s forced to seek the aid of the man who pirated her purity. How far will Isabel go to save her child and redeem her honor? Captain Kent Carlton, desperate to win the heart of the woman he once ravished, finds himself battling jealousy as well as the sea. Can a penniless pirate capture the love he so urgently desires, or will the lady seek her safe harbor in another man’s arms? – to be released August, 2007

About the Author: Nikki Arana is an award-winning author living in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She is the recipient of the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award for Women’s Fiction, The Beacon Award, nd the Jessie Cameron Alison Writer of the Year Award.

Popularity: 1% [?]