Marylu Tyndall ~ Interview + Giveaway!

In honor of my one month anniversary of blogging I'm having a special giveaway with one of my favorite authors, Marylu Tyndall! One lucky commenter will win a signed copy of The Blue Enchantress, book two in the Charles Towne Belles series.

Welcome, Marylu! Thanks for stopping by.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Hum, well, I live in one of the most liberal states in the Union in one of the most liberal parts of the state and probably one of the most innovative places as far as science and technology goes: The Bay Area in Northern California. It's a gorgeous place to live with a mild, Mediterranean climate. An hour west of me is the gorgeous Pacific coast, and 4 hours toward the east, we have the beautiful sierras. I've lived here for nearly 30 years, but my true love is the tropics of Florida where I grew up and where my entire family still lives and where I go and visit as often as I can! My husband and I have 6 children, most all grown up, and 3 cats currently, although we seem to attract strays! (cats, not kids)

How long have you been writing? How many books do you have published?

I’ve been writing as a hobby most of my life. As a professional writer, only for five years. I have six books published so far!

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be? Also, is your writing sweet, warm, etc. (in terms of romance)?

I really don’t think my writing is like any other author out there. I’m unique! But if I had to choose a couple of authors who I’m similar to, I’d say Deanne Gist or Linda Chaikin. And my stories are anything but sweet and warm. My books are full of crazy adventures: kidnappings, ship battles, spies, lady pirates, lots of nasty bad guys and tons of brave hunky heroes. The romance in the books is strong, passionate, but very chaste and godly.

In your own words tell us a little about The Blue Enchantress.

The Blue Enchantress is a great adventure that starts out on an auction block on the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean, then heads out to sea where a hurricane strikes the ship my characters are sailing on, shipwrecking them on an island, then the story passes through a port on Jamaica and ends back out at sea for a ship battle. Intertwined throughout the action is the story of a young girl who has made some bad choices, who believes her only value is in her appearance, and who desperately wants to find love and self-worth. I believe it is the yearning of many young women today who get confused by the ads bombarding them telling them that their only worth is in the way they look. The story is also a great romance between a man who wants to avoid loose women at all cost and a woman with a sordid past and the transformation each of them has to go through to finally be healed and love each other freely.

The Blue Enchantress is book 2 in a series entitled Charles Towne Belles, but it isn’t necessary to have read book 1 prior to this one.

Here is the official blurb:

Still grieving the loss of her mother—and private tragedies of her own—Hope Westcott plays the part of a dutiful admiral’s daughter. But longing for the love and acceptance she never felt at home, Hope plunges into Charles Towne society. . . and an illicit affair with Lord Falkland.

For Captain Nathaniel Mason, wealth means security, so he is determined to build his shipping business—ignoring God’s call on his life to become an impoverished pastor. He also ignores his attraction to the frivolous, vain Hope Westcott.

Hope’s adventure seeking lands her in the hands of an unscrupulous ship captain who wants to sell her to the highest bidder. When Nathaniel sees Hope on the auction block, will he listen to God and sacrifice his ship, cargo, and security to save her?

From the Carolina Coast to the Caribbean, through stormy seas and shipwreck, can Hope and Nathaniel put aside their painful pasts, listen to God’s voice, and find true love and acceptance?

Click HERE for my review of The Blue Enchantress.
 
What made you want to write this story?
This story is so close to my heart because the heroine Hope is a woman who, like many women today, believes her only value is in her appearance. And she uses her good looks to attract the wrong kind of attention, mistaking it for true love. I believe this is an insidious problem in our culture today—a culture that tells young girls that they are only valuable if they are beautiful. I wanted to show through Hope’s story that the kind of love the world offers is shallow and destructive and that their true value comes from God.
 
What research did you have to do for this book?
Tons. I had to learn lots of details about the sailing of tall ships, what St. Kitts island is like, how it feels to be in a hurricane out at sea, how to survive on a deserted island, what Kingston, Jamaica was like in the 1700’s etc. etc.. You’d be amazed at the amount of research that goes into each novel.
 
Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?

Definitely Cameron Diaz for Hope because she’s a bit of a seductress but with a very sweet, innocent side.

 

 

I’d love to see Jack on the TV show LOST play my hero, Nathaniel Mason.

What are you working on now or going to write next?

I just finished The Raven Saint, which is book 3 in the Charles Towne Belles series. It is about another Westcott sister who gets kidnapped by a French Mercenary. Yes, I’m very mean to my characters!

I’m just beginning a new series set during the War of 1812 set in Baltimore called Surrender to Destiny. In fact, I just got back from Baltimore where I spent a week doing research.

How can readers get in contact with you?
My website: http://www.mltyndall.com/

My blog: http://www.crossandcutlass.blogspot.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=181159984111&comments=#/marylu.tyndall?ref=profile

What are you currently reading?
A Passion Redeemed by Julie Lessman

C- I love that book!

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
I had 8 dads growing up.
 
If you could be any animal, which would you choose? Why?
A Deer. Graceful, yet easily frightened.
 
FAVORITES:

TV show, and/or movie?
LOST / Counte of Monte Cristo
Place to go on vacation?
Caribbean
Book this year (or month if you’ve read too many to remember)? Why?
Rita Gerlach’s Surrender the Wind A great romance adventure!

The Blue Enchantress released August 2009.

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Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of The Blue Enchantress! To enter: Leave a comment with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win), and please specify that you want to be included in the contest. *If you want an extra entry, become one of my followers.* The comment is mandatory. You will not be entered unless you leave a comment. If you are already a follower, and then you leave a comment, you will still get two entries in the contest. Anyone can enter! No matter where you are.The contest will run from today (Oct. 14) till midnight on Tuesday (Oct. 20). I will contact the winner on Wednesday the 21st, and then that person will have a week to reply. If the winner doesn't reply within that time period, I will pick a new winner. Good luck! Thanks for visiting.