Giveaway! Forsaken Dreams by MaryLu Tyndall!

Welcome back to Writing for Christ MaryLu Tyndall, I am excited to have you here for a second time. 

What has changed in your writing life since you were last here?

I’m working on a brand new super exciting trilogy about a group of Southerners who left the South after losing the Civil War and immigrated to Brazil where they hoped to start a new Southern Utopia.  It’s a little-known part of American history that is truly fascinating. The trilogy is called Escape to Paradise, and I pitched it as LOST meets Gone with the Wind. The first book, Forsaken Dreams, releases March 1^st, 2013.

What recent read stood out to you as truly spectacular?

Can I name more than one? A Light in the Window by Julie Lessman, The Heiress of Winterwood by Sarah Ladd (she’s a new author.. and fabulous!) and Dreamspell by Tamara Leigh (love time travel stories!)

Do you have favorite authors?

Of course!  Laurie Alice Eakes, Julie Lessman, Laura Frantz are just a few of my favorites. I also love Lisa T. Bergren and Julie Klassen.

What do you find the most enjoyable part of writing or connecting with readers?

The most enjoyable part of writing for me is the actual creation of the characters and the story. I love closing my eyes and transporting myself into a world of my own creation and then forming characters with histories, personalities, families, faults, needs, dreams. And best of all, I have so much fun putting those characters into a world I invent and then throwing them into crisis after crisis and see what they do!!  What fun!

I also love connecting with readers. A writer’s life is a lonely one, so it’s so nice to hear from those who have read and enjoyed my books. It’s especially rewarding when I get a note from someone who tells me that my book really helped them through a rough time, or that my book got them back reading the Bible. Now, that’s what I’m writing for!!

What do you find the most ideal atmosphere for writing? Do you ever get those surroundings? 

I need a lot of peace and quiet. I’m not one of those writers who can write at Starbucks with a thousand people chatting all around me.  My favorite place to write is at home in my writing room. My husband created this gorgeous room that resembles a ship’s cabin, and I stuffed it full of all of my favorite things. It has a library, all my nautical things, a desk, and a lazy boy chair—the perfect ambience for creating my story worlds.

Okay, something fun for those writers out there: In what point of your writing career did you surprise yourself by writing the most words ever in the shortest amount of time?

I joined a small group of writers who were trying to write a full novel in a month. I knew I couldn’t keep up with them, but I thought maybe for a week they could encourage me to write faster. LOL. During that week, I hit my record for most words written in a day and that was 5000!  Of course they weren’t very polished words and there were lots of typos and grammar errors!  But at least I got something down. Writing for speed like that is a good way to shut off the left-logical side of your brain and open up the right, more creative side. When you do that, the story just begins to pour out of you.

Thanks for being here again! It has been a joy and we wish the very best with your novels.

Casey, it’s always a pleasure to visit you!! I wish you the best in your writing as well!

Readers, here is your chance to enter to win MaryLu's book!

Please leave an email address! If I draw your name and there is no email, you will not win.

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Contest is only open in the U.S. and void where prohibited. Chances of winning are based on the number of entries and winner is draw from a non-biased third party- Random.org. I am not responsible for any lost or damaged items for said prize.

Thanks for coming by to enter! Contest ends on May 10th

Attn Readers! If you're struggling to leave a comment on my blog, please email your comment entries (in ONE email) and I will submit it for you. But PLEASE only do this after you've failed to leave a comment. My email is: caseym.writer(@)gmail.com