Tyndall, M.L.

(MaryLu Tyndall)

PERSONAL:

Married (marriage ended); married second husband; children: (first marriage) two; (second marriage) four. Religion: Christian. Hobbies and other interests: Reading historical fiction, watching movies, gardening, oil painting.

ADDRESSES:

Home— San Jose, CA.

CAREER:

Writer. Worked as a software engineer for fifteen years.

WRITINGS:

"LEGACY OF THE KING'S PIRATES" TRILOGY

The Redemption, Barbour Publishing (Uhrichsville, OH), 2006.

The Reliance, Barbour Publishing (Uhrichsville, OH), 2007.

The Restitution, Barbour Publishing (Uhrichsville, OH), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

M.L. Tyndall's "Legacy of the King's Pirates" trilogy combines swashbuckling action with the unusual twist of a Christian theme. In the series' first book,The Redemption, Lady Charlisse Bristol leaves England, where she has been abused by her guardian, in search of her father, whom she never knew. Her journey takes her to the Caribbean, where she is shipwrecked on a deserted island. Her rescue comes by way of a pirate crew led by Captain Edmund Merrick. This fierce buccaneer has secretly embraced Christianity, and he takes it upon himself to protect Charlisse from his crew. Drawn to her, he offers to help her find her father, whom she believed was a merchant captain. Merrick is shocked to discover that in fact, Charlisse's father is Edward the Terror, a pirate with the reputation of being the cruelest to sail the Caribbean. Reviewing the book for Road to Romance, Eileen Key stated: "Tyndall captures the heart of adventure in her novel with well-written characters and fast-paced action." Roseanna White, writing for the Christian Review of Books, praised the book for its enjoyable action, for its spiritual themes, and for its characters, which are "realistic—Merrick still bore the mark of his past in the form of lusts for women and drink, which he had to stomp down again and again, and Charlisse had a hard time trusting anyone after the way she had been treated by her uncle."

In the second book,The Reliance, Charlisse and Edmund have married. He has taken up legitimate work as a privateer, and Charlisse sails with him on his voyages. Disaster strikes when their ship is attacked by Merrick's enemy, the pirate Kent Carlton. After an explosion, Charlisse finds herself Carlton's captive, while Edmund believes she is dead. Heartbroken, he abandons himself to many of his former vices. Hearing of his dissolution, Charlisse feels disgust for him. Reviewing The Reliance for the Christian Review of Books, Cara Putman stated that she enjoyed it even though she did not care for pirate stories generally, thanks to Tyndall's good plot and writing. She particularly liked the character of Charlisse, commenting, "The character development was believable, reactions were real, and I cared deeply about what happened to her." Another recommendation came from Vickie McDonough, who wrote on TitleTrakk.com: "A rousing plot filled with adventure, heinous pirates, God's awesome power, and exciting chapter hooks will have you quickly turning the pages. The Reliance is a book for people who love adventure and edgy, but clean, stories." The interplay between Charlisse and Edmund is "fantastic and engrossing," in the opinion of Melissa Parcel, a reviewer for the Romantic Times Online.

The Restitution focuses on Kent Carlton and his pursuit of Lady Isabel Ashton. She despises him—he raped her, fathered her child, and in so doing caused her entire world to crumble. After bearing his son, she was outcast and ridiculed by all in her noble social circle, including her parents. Despite the circumstances, Isabel loves her son Frederick. When he is kidnaped, she loses her last vestige of faith in God. Her determination to regain her son and get revenge on his captors leads her to form an alliance with Kent, despite her hatred of him. Kent, who regrets his actions, now finds himself seeking forgiveness and love from Isabel. Parcel, reviewing the book for the Romantic Times Online, found this book "overflowing with action." Lacy J. Williams, a contributor to Armchair Interviews, stated: "I could not put The Restitution down! Tyndall creates a beautifully crafted tale that draws you into the past so that you can almost feel boat rocking beneath you. With careful research that shows in its accuracy, Tyndall makes the setting come alive." The author "weaves an unlikely love story against a backdrop of treachery, secrecy and revelations of faith and pulls it off magnificently," reported Rel Mollet on TitleTrakk.com. "With action aplenty, a thrilling ending and twists throughout the story,The Restitution is a fitting ending to this innovative story of rogues and redemption."

On her home page, the author stated that she grew up in South Florida and had always dreamed of stories about pirates in the Caribbean. She said: "I knew about God, had been to church most of my life, but I believed if I followed Jesus, my life would be dull, frigid and lifeless. I craved adventure and all this world had to give me. What I didn't realize was that the path I chose away from God took me away from the exact thing I dreamed of and sent me spiraling down the road to destruction and agony." She went on to say: "As God began to change my heart, He also showed me that writing had been His wonderful plan for me all along. Even though I was still working full time, He gave me the means to write a book, an agent, and a publisher willing to print it. And anyone who has ever tried to get published knows that any one of these things is a miracle in itself."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

ONLINE

Armchair Interviews Web site,http://reviews.armchairinterviews.com/ (December 20, 2007), Lacy J. Williams, review of The Restitution.

Christian Review of Books Web site,http://christianreviewofbooks.com/ (December 20, 2007), Roseanna White, review of The Redemption; Cara Putnam, review of The Reliance.

Favorite PASTimes Web site,http://favoritepastimes.blogspot.com/ (September 5, 2007), interview with M.L. Tyndall.

M.L. Tyndall Home Page,http://www.mltyndall.com (November 27, 2007).

M.L. Tyndall's Shoutlife Profile,http://www.shoutlife.com/mltyndall (November 27, 2007).

Road to Romance Web site,http://www.roadtoromance.ca/ (November 27, 2007), Eileen Key, review of The Redemption.

Romantic Times Online Web site,http://www.romantictimes.com/ (December 20, 2007), Melissa Parcel, review of The Reliance.

TitleTrakk.com,http://www.titletrakk.com/ (December 20, 2007) Rel Mollet, review of The Restitution; Vickie McDonough, review of The Restitution.