WELCOME 
TOMMIE LYN
Author of
HIGH ON A MOUNTAIN



 

Many writers say they started writing stories when they were children. Is that true of you?
No. While I wrote essays, speeches and the like when I was high school and college, I didn’t try to write fiction. However, from the time I was very young I told myself stories. And when I wasn’t telling myself stories, I was reading incessantly. 
  
When did you start writing fiction?  
I tried to write a story when I was in my 20s. The result was pathetic. I tried again when I was in my 30s. Same outcome. And I decided fiction writing required an inborn talent that I didn’t have. So I gave up.
 
          Until...
 
In the late 1990s, a friend told me his Scottish ancestor had been transported to the colonies and sold as a slave to a plantation near Savannah, Georgia. My response was: What?  No! That can’t be! While there were  indentured servants, there were never any white slaves.
 
But his story piqued my interest, and I delved into Scottish history from that era. And I found that my friend had told the truth. What I learned about the experience of the Scottish people built a fire in my heart, and I wanted people to know at least a little of what happened. Since many folks won’t read a dry history text but will read entertaining fiction, I thought the historical record should be fictionalized to make it more appealing. And, too, I wanted it to be accurate. There are tons of books on the market with bare-chested kilt-clad men on the covers, stories which bear no resemblance to the real Scottish life I’d learned about. 
  
Since I knew I couldn’t write fiction (I’d tried and failed several times, remember?), I tried to get others to write the story, but no one would. Finally, a history professor told me, “If you want it written, write it.”
 
         But…but…I can’t write fiction.
 
I took a deep breath, flexed my fingers and started typing. And that beginning was truly pitiful. But my husband has often said that anyone can learn to do anything, and he pointed out one weekend that 
our local junior college had an offering for beginning writers. He said I ought to sign up for the online class.
 
         So I did. And found out, joy, joy, that he was right. You can learn to do just about anything. Including writing. 
  
My experience in learning to write taught me that being a good writer does not require an inborn talent. What it does require is: 1 – a burning passion for telling a story; 2 – the willingness to study the craft of writing; 3 – a working knowledge of the English language, i.e., spelling, punctuation, grammar; and 4 – the perseverance to work at making your story the best it can be.
 
So, in the spring of 2006, the six years or so of research I’d done about Scottish history began to make its way onto the page, revealed in the life of a character who is now almost as real to me as any flesh 
and blood person I know….Ailean MacLachlainn. 
  
Ailean’s story is titled HIGH ON A MOUNTAIN and you can try it out for FREE.
  
But you know what? His story didn’t stop there, because I couldn’t quit writing. Two books followed the first, DEEP IN THE VALLEY and ACROSS THE WIDE RIVER. I’m currently beginning the fourth book in the  MacLachlainn saga, ON THE RED CLAY HILLS.

WELCOME
GEORGE H. MCVEY,
AUTHOR
OF THE
REDEMPTION TALES
SERIES

A gun toting pastor?  Sounds like an intriguing  combination in the Redemption Tales series.
Actually to call Nathan Ryder a gun toting pastor is a bit of an understatement. Most preachers in the west during the 1800’s carried guns and as a matter of fact there’s an old hymn titled “The Circuit Riding Preacher” that makes mention of it. The song was made famous by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.  The difference is that Nathan gains a reputation as a gunslinger which was unusual. The idea actually came from some stories my Granny used to tell me. She had a great grandfather that had been both a circuit rider and a sheriff. I wondered how that would work if you were both a good gun and a preacher - which is where the idea of the Redemption Tales came from. 
 
Is any of your real life reflected in your Redemption Series of books?
To be honest there is a small amount of my real life in all my books. Don’t get me wrong I’ve never outdrawn or outshot an outlaw. However I’m a fairly good shot and can ride a horse. The struggles internally that Nathan goes through as a pastor are very much some of the same struggles I’ve had to deal with. But for the most part Nathan is a complete fabrication. 

Thanks for spending some time with us, before we go tell us where we can buy your books?

The links show to your left on screen.



I hear you and Redeeming Grace are up for a couple of awards?
Yes that’s true. I’m nominated for the Indie Romance Convention’s - Author of the Year. Redeeming Grace is nominated for Best Western Romance of 2014. Although I don’t consider myself a Romance Writer nor do I consider The Redemption Tales series as romance novels, there is  romance in them. But then again there are more gunfights, fist fights and deaths than there is romance. However since the nominations come from fans who went out of their way to nominate me, I won’t struggle against the honor too much. But I do want to say don’t pick up those books and think you’re getting a typical romance book because you aren’t. The awards will be given out in September and I’m holding my breath in anticipation and feel honored to have been nominated, regardless of the outcome.   

How did you get started as a writer?
I started writing after I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis. It compromised my immune system and limited my social interactions. I discovered the internet and realized one way to continue the message of Christ was to write. I wrote Prayer Walking For Spiritual Breakthrough. God opened my mind and I became a writer.   

How did you start writing Westerns?
I have to blame my Dad for that - if you don’t like my Westerns it’s all his fault. Saturdays were western day and my Dad would make us watch old western movies and TV shows all day long. I grew up on everything from Gunsmoke, to Gene Autry. So when I decided to write a novel it only seemed right to embrace my past and write a western. Thanks Dad!