Forsaken Dreams - Interview and Giveaway!

Hi, all! As promised, here is the giveaway of MaryLu Tyndall's Forsaken Dreams. As a bonus, she agreed to answer a few questions for you all to get to know her better. Here they are:

1. How did you come to know the Lord as your personal Savior?
Unfortunately, I met the Lord late in life. I had gone to church off and on as a kid, but the whole religion thing just didn't stick with me. I wanted to live life to the fullest, explore everything, have fun! And it seemed to me that God was into restricting that. Boy, was I wrong!! It wasn't until I

turned 35 and had made a complete muck of my life (divorce, alcoholism, many broken relationships, wrong career. You name the mistake and I made it) that I started coming to my senses. I remember wanting to die. Instead I dusted off my old Bible and began to read, searching for answers, wanting to find meaning to life.  In the book of Ezekiel, a light bulb went on in my head. It had to do with the prophecy that God would gather the Israelites from the far corners of the earth and bring them back to their land again. Israel was in the news a lot at the time so I knew some of their history and I realized at that moment that God had done exactly what He said He would do. I realized He was real, very much alive, and that He loved me.  Instantly I fell to my knees and felt an overwhelming love pour down upon me. I've never been the same since!
 

2. What is the best compliment you have ever received on one of your books?
The best thing anyone can ever say to me about any of my books is that the story brought them closer to God. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's the truth. That is why I write. I want people to know there's a God who adores them and died for them and wants to know them and help them with their life. So many people don't realize that. They have a shallow belief but they don't walk day to day with God as one would a friend and a father. That's what I want people to see in my stories. And yes, I have received a few comments along those lines and they have blessed me tremendously!

3. How do you pick your character's names?
There are several websites that I head to when I'm trying to name a character. One of them has all kinds of names from all kinds of nationalities and it lists the meanings behind the names. I try to choose a name that means something related to the character's unique personality. The problem lies in also choosing a name that was in use during the time period in which I'm writing. For that, I have other websites I search that list the most common used names for a certain century. Most of the time I can find a name that fits perfectly. When I have trouble, I sometimes make up a name as in The Red Siren where I named my hero after two Biblical characters: David and John. I combined them to form Dajon.

4. What is your favorite kind of food?  

I love all kinds of food!!  Eating is one of my favorite things to do. Here's some of my favorite foods: Coconut shrimp, pasta, popcorn, cheese, anything sweet, but especially cake, and of course chocolate! What would life be like without chocolate?

5. How can readers contact you?
Website: http://www.marylutyndall.com
Blog: http://crossandcutlass.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MaryLu-Tyndall-Swashbuckling-Romance/175344859169475
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLuTyndall

If you want to know my opinion of the book, the post below is my review! Or, you can click HERE.

GIVEAWAY

Okay, if you want to be entered to win Forsaken Dreams, all you have to do is comment with your email address! You can also get a second entry for following my blog with Google Friend Connect (located on the right hand side of the blog). Just remember to tell me you are a new follower! For all of the people who already follow KKR, just tell me in the comment and you will get a second entry too. :) The giveaway will end 2 weeks from today on April the 22nd.

Good luck to everyone!