A Visit from MaryLu Tyndall
September 20, 2007
Today I have MaryLu Tyndall here to guestblog. MaryLu writes great pirate fiction as M.L. Tyndall, and her books are well worth checking out. I recently read The Restitution, book three in her Legacy of the King’s Pirates series. It was a true pirate adventure, complete with unsavory towns and harbors, nighttime chases, pirate ships fighting on the sea, and danger on an island. MaryLu knows how to tell a story, and this latest book of hers was a real page turner. I kept thinking I’d stop reading at the end of the chapter, and then ten chapters later . . . where’s my self-discipline?
Here’s the story: Shunned by her parents and by society, Lady Isabel Ashton lives a secluded life at Port Royal with her seven month old baby, Frederick–the son of the fierce pirate, Kent Carlton. When her baby is suddenly kidnapped, Captain Carlton appears with an offer to help her find him. Can Isabel trust the man who once ravished her? Will Kent win the forgiveness of the woman he loves? Or will the scheme of betrayal and revenge of his enemies keep them apart and from their son forever?
And now, here’s MaryLu.
I didn’t have a normal road to publication. I didn’t sweat for years over multiple manuscripts or send out thousands of query letters or take every available writing class. I did none of those things. Though I had always loved to write, I was a stubborn and rebellious girl who like the prodigal son, took my inheritance, ran away from God and spent it all on wild living.
But when I finally woke up (or should I say the Lord hit me on the head!) at age 36, I had a lot of catching up to do. I mean, God had a plan for me to write, after all. Of course I didn’t know it. I spent the next eight years in a miserable marriage and a miserable job, but during that time, the Lord did a mighty work in me. He had to get the world out of me and replace it with His Spirit.
So, how do you really know the will of God for your life? I heard a famous preacher once say “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and then do whatever you want.” So, when I had finally placed God first in my life, I had this strange desire to write.
In the fall of 2003, I started my very first book, The Redemption. I had no writing experience, no writing classes, and really no hopes of getting published. I was just having fun!
But the Lord had other plans. He was starting to make things more uncomfortable for me at work, and at home. My husband lost his job and we were fighting about my newfound love of God. He wasn’t saved, and our marriage was crumbling. In the Spring of 2004, I finished The Redemption [Legacy of the King's Pirates, Book 1] and the Lord led me to American Christian Fiction Writers where I found two great editors to look over the manuscript. I was starting to get the feeling the Lord wanted me to submit it, and I was terrified at the thought. Yet the more I found out about the publishing world, the more I realized how slim my chances were of ever getting published.
Then a miracle happened. March 2004: After seven years of praying and fasting for my husband’s salvation and for our crumbling marriage, he got miraculously saved by a similar experience to what Paul had on the road to Damascus (minus the blindness) It was absolutely amazing. If you want to read about it, you can go to this site: http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/06/george_tyndall_.html
Two weeks later, the Lord brought him a job!
Then, see how fast the Lord worked on my behalf!
Feb 1st, 2005: Queried several agents
June, 2005: Got laid off from my job. Yikes… what is going on, Lord?
July, 2005: An agent, Greg Johnson accepted me as his client
September 7th, 2005: Greg sent out query letters to publishers
September 16th, 2005: Barbour offered me a 3 book deal.
October 6th, 2005: Signed contracts
I cannot take credit for any of this! This is all God. For those of you out there who have struggled year after year to get published, I’m not trying to discourage you or cause any ill feelings. What I want you to see is that if it’s God’s will for you to get published, He has a time and a place for that exact thing to happen, and when that time comes, He works FAST. So, don’t lose hope. Keep your eyes on Him.
Great advice, MaryLu. God’s timing is different for every one of us, but He does have a time for the things He has planned in each of our lives.
Believe it or not, I’m not home right now. I’m in Dallas at the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Conference, soaking in all the writing knowledge I can. Over the next two weeks, I’ll do a recap here on the blog of the conference, complete with pictures so if that interests you, stay tuned.
Comments
2 Responses to “A Visit from MaryLu Tyndall”
Sally, thank you so much for having me on your blog! I hope you have a wonderful, fruitful and blessed time at the conference.
MaryLu
The Restitution looks like a good book. Certainly not like anything I’ve read before!
MaryLu has an interesting life story. I’m gonna head over to read her husband’s story.
Sally, we’d love to hear how the conference went. With pictures too!