PLEASE WELCOME AUTHOR MARY LU TYNDALL TO SAVURBKS!

MARY LU TYNDALL’S BIOGRAPHY:

Mary Lu describes herself as an introvert, patriot, mother of six, the neighborhood cat-lady, tall ship enthusiast, friend of pirates and mermaids, obsessive compulsive control freak, history lover, hopeless romantic, and a sword wielding princess-warrior of the King of Kings. Oh yea, and she’s also a best-selling author of more than 13 novels!

Q&A WITH MARY LU TYNDALL:

How/ why did you decide to use the literary techniques of flash-forward and flash-back in your novel “Forsaken Dreams”?

Normally when I’m starting a novel, a particular scene keeps playing over and over in my head. In fact, that scene has usually been filling my thoughts for weeks, even months in advance. I can’t get rid of it! That’s how I know where I want to start my story. In the case of Forsaken Dreams, I kept seeing this massive storm at sea and all my characters being tossed to and fro on a tiny ship headed for Brazil. It reminded me of Jonah running away from God and God sending this huge storm. Anyway, that’s where I began the story, with a bang! Then, of course, I needed to go back and tell the reader how the characters got in that predicament. It was fun and I hope it didn’t confuse too many readers.
If there are any fans of the TV series LOST out there, you know they use this flash-back and forward technique quite well. Of course it’s much easier on TV, but it can be a very effective tool, if used properly, to bring in a character’s backstory.

What are your literary influences?

Jane Austen, Raphael Sabatini, Baroness Orczy, James Fenimore Cooper, Georgette Heyer…to name a few. Excellent authors who wrote adventurous novels you can’t put down! As you can tell, I love the classics.

What was your favorite book to write? Why?

The Redemption, my first novel. It was my favorite to write for a number of reasons. One, because I wrote it without any expectation of it ever getting published. I had no deadline, no editor to please, no reader anticipation, no pressure. It was (and is) a story right from my heart, a reflection of my own life’s struggles to find a father’s unconditional love. Besides, it was just plain fun to write a story about a Christian pirate!

What tips do you have for overcoming writer’s block?

Music always does it for me. Long walks, petting my cats, watching a good movie. Basically just step away from the computer and clear your mind. Do something else that relaxes you, and the words will come. You’d be surprised how many breakthroughs I have while soaking in a hot tub full of bubbles.

A MUST READ BY MARY LU TYNDALL:

They Left Everything Behind to Build a New Southern Utopia

Colonel Blake Wallace has seen enough death to last a lifetime. Weary and disillusioned, he slumps beneath the weight of defeat and loss. With his entire family murdered by the North and his name appearing on a list of officers wanted for war crimes, Blake organizes a shipload of southerners who, like him, long to escape the horrors of war and start a new life in a verdant land called Brazil.

Eliza Crawford can barely remember the days of her youth spent in opulence and comfort at her Georgian home. She can’t help but wonder how different her life would be had she not met her late husband, Stanton Watts, a general in the Northern army. Now a war widow, Eliza is rejected by both North and South. Desperate to keep her marriage a secret and escape her past and pain, she longs to start over again in Brazil.

But once the voyage begins, troubles abound. Dangers at sea and enemies from within threaten to keep Blake and Eliza from the new life—and love—they long for.

FIND FORSAKEN DREAMS AT: