Author Interview ~ MaryLu Tyndall

MaryLu Tyndall spent her early years on the shores of South Florida. She graduated from San Jose State with a degree in Computer Science, and worked for a software company in Silicon Valley for fifteen years. She has been writing for more than twenty years, and currently lives in California with her husband, six children and three cats. .







What new book or project would you like to tell us about?

The Redemption, my first novel was just released on July 1st. It is a historical pirate adventure set in the 17th century Caribbean. My story begins when the heroine, Lady Charlisse Bristol, sets off on a voyage in search of a father she never knew, only to find herself shipwrecked on a deserted island.

After weeks of combating the elements, her salvation comes in the form of a band of pirates and their fiercely handsome leader, Edmund Merrick. While battling his attraction to this winsome lady and learning to walk a more godly path, Edmund offers to help Charlisse on her quest—until he discovers her father is none other than Edward the Terror, the cruelest pirate on the Caribbean.

The Redemption was born out of a difficult, personal journey. Like the heroine in my story, I too grew up without a father’s love and spent many years searching for acceptance and value in all the wrong places. I rejected God and didn’t realize that only in His arms would I find what I was searching for. There is a deep part of my soul written in the path Charlisse must take to find God’s love—a path that I hope will provide a healing touch to many lives.

Tell us about your publishing journey. How long had you been writing before you got a contract? How did you find out and what went through your mind?

I’ve been writing since high school, but not consistently. I submitted my work to a publisher twenty years ago and was rejected, but only in the past two years, have I seriously submitted a novel to agents and publishers. I’ve always heard how difficult it is to break into the publishing world, and truthfully, I was not confident enough to believe I could do it.

While I was still employed in a full time job, I felt the Lord nudging me to write a novel, a Christian pirate novel. I thought. Ok, I’ll write it, but I doubt anything will ever come of it. Well, it took me a year and a half to write it, edit it and get it in tip-top shape. I sent out twenty query letters to agents in the spring of 2005. I received nineteen rejections. In July of 2005, an agent picked up my book. That same month, I was also laid off from my job, so I thought, Lord, either I need to get a book contract, or I need to set my writing aside and find another job.

In September, my agent sent my novel out to ten publishers. Five days later, he called to tell me that Barbour was taking my manuscript to their review board. Five days after that, he called me from the ACFW conference to tell me that Barbour not only wanted to publish my book, but wanted an additional two more in the series! What was going through my mind? I remember running out into my back yard and screaming at the top of my lungs. I fell to my knees and began to thank God and praise Him over and over. I knew that this was His gift to me and had nothing to do with anything I had done. To be honest, I’m still a bit numb when I think about it.

Do you still have self-doubts about your writing?

Absolutely. Every day when I sit down at the computer. LOL There are so many great writers out there to whom I pale by comparison. But I always pray before I write, asking for wisdom and direction, and I leave the rest of to the Lord.

Was there ever a time in your writing career you thought of quitting?

Yes, and I did quit. I wrote a science fiction romance novel twenty years ago that got rejected from Avon Publishers. At the time I was a single parent, working full time, and it had taken me years to write that novel! So I put it on the shelf and quit—that is until two years ago when the Lord nudged me into writing again.

What mistakes did you make while seeking an editor or agent?

I guess the biggest mistake I made was sending my proposal to agents who did not represent the genre of my novel. Agents are people too, and they have their own likes and dislikes. I was told by several of them that historicals were not selling and that the Christian market already had their “pet” historical authors. I’m glad I didn’t give up at that point.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve heard?

Put God first, write from your heart, and leave the rest to Him.

What’s the worst piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?

Write what sells.

Do you have a pet peeve having to do with this biz?

Yes, the “biz” part of it. LOL. The marketing, the book signings, the interviews (not this one, of course!) All the other stuff we have to do besides write.

What do you wish you’d known early in your career that might have saved you some time and/or frustration in writing? In publishing?

God is in control, not the agents, not the publishers, not the book stores, not the market or the readers, and especially not you and me. If we are truly called to write and we are writing for His glory, we have nothing to fear, not other people’s opinions, not rejections, not low contest scores, nothing. We can learn from these things, but we need not fear them because God will ultimately have His way.

Was there ever a difficult set back that you went through in your writing career?

The only major setback I’ve had is when I wrote that science fiction novel twenty years ago, and it was rejected by the first publisher I sent it to. I put down my pen and didn’t attempt to write anything for another eighteen years. That’s a pretty big setback, but God had some powerful things to do in my life between then and now before I could truly write for Him.

What are a few of your favorite books?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers

What work have you done that you’re especially proud of and why?

This is tough question for me. I spent most of my life without God, and I consider everything I did in those years as worthless and vain. Anything good I’ve done since then, whether it be my oil paintings, my books, or working to create a better family, I must give complete glory to God.

Do you have a scripture or quote that has spoken to you lately in regards to your writing?

Psalm 37: 23-24 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.

Can you give us a look into a typical day for you?

I get up at 6:30 and enjoy coffee with my husband before he goes to work. After he leaves, I spend an hour in prayer and Bible study. The next hour I usually spend reading my email and addressing anything of immediate importance. Then I go out for a morning jog.

I try to write uninterrupted from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm every day during the week, taking one small break for a snack. It doesn’t always work out that way as I often get interrupted with kids and various problems—unsolvable by anyone but Mom. After 3:00 p.m., I run errands, do housework, or work on the “biz” side of writing. By 5:00 p.m., I’m in the kitchen fixing dinner for the family, and evening time belongs to them.

Do you have a word or page goal you set for each day?

Yes, I try to write at least 1000 good words a day. By “good”, I mean that I’ve first allowed them to pour out of me and then I’ve gone back and reread them to fix any errors and enhance the writing where needed.

Are you an SOTP (seat of the pants) writer or a plotter?

I’m somewhere in the middle, but I’d say I lean toward the SOTP writer. I start out with a general idea of what my story is about, the beginning, middle and end. I know the theme or moral lesson I’m trying to portray, and I have the personalities of my major characters well developed. Then I just start writing and let my characters take me where they want to go.

What author do you especially admire and why?

Linda Windsor. I admire Linda not only because she’s an excellent writer, but also because of her courage in facing the recent loss of her husband and still being able to recover, with the Lord’s help, and write another novel.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?

My favorite part is living in a world that I create. When I was a child, I used to daydream all the time. I would make up fantasy worlds in my head filled with wonderful characters living fascinating lives. Now I get to do that all day. My least favorite part of writing is all the other stuff besides that.

How much marketing do you do? What's your favorite part of marketing?

I do as little marketing as I can get away with. I’m a shy introvert, so I prefer to stay home and write. Having said that, however, I have gone into book stores asking about possible book signings, I have passed out bookmarks and sent postcards. I have gathered lists of influences who receive a free copy of my novel in return for a review. I’m also doing interviews like this one for blogs and newsletters, and I’m hoping to attend the annual Pirate Festival in Key West , FL.

Do you have any parting words of advice?

If you are an aspiring writer, do your best not to take any rejection, or bad critique, or low contest score personally. Ask God what you can learn from each experience. The very same manuscript that has now been published as my first novel, The Redemption, got low scores on several contests, and many rejections from agents and publishers. Learn from them and move on. Put God first, make sure He has called you to write, and never give up. And may the Lord richly bless each one of you in your writing and in all that you do.