A: Hi Teresa! Tell us a little about yourself – where you’re from, family, day job, hobbies, etc.

T: I was born in Hawaii, raised in Orlando, attended college and was married in North Carolina, and now live in Fort Worth, TX. I’ve been married to my husband Eric for eighteen years and our daughter Emma is in middle school. (How did that happen?) I also have a sweet fur baby, Ruth. I work full-time from home, even when we’re not in the middle of a pandemic, as the communications and public relations director for a national non-profit based in Nashville. I love it, but it does mean I usually write early, late, and in-between! My hobbies include trying new recipes with my daughter, reading, and hiking when the weather is nice.

A: I’d love to hear about your books and why you’ve chosen the particular setting.

T: My current Laurel Cove Romance series, which includes Someplace Familiar and Suddenly Forever, is set in Laurel Cove, North Carolina. It’s a quaint and charming fictional town set in the Blue Ridge Mountains and is directly inspired by my best friend’s hometown of Burnsville, NC. We attended Mars Hill College (now University) just several miles away so I spent a lot of time visiting her parents for homecooked meals and quiet study space. The town is so sweet and quiet and everyone is friendly. It really made an impression on this city girl from Orlando, so I now think of it as my happy place. It just seemed natural to use my favorite place as inspiration for a sweet book setting!

A: What or who inspired you to write and publish?

T: While I’ve had a lot of encouragement over the years from friends and family, it was my good friend Indi who I credit for getting me started down the author path. In 2014 she encouraged me to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writer’s Month), a challenge to write 50,000 words during the month of November. Even though I wasn’t so sure I could do it, she cheered me on! That project eventually turned into my first novel, Someplace Familiar, that published in 2017.

A: Do you have a certain theme that runs through all your books?

T: My author tagline is “Charming Southern romance inspired by grace.” God’s grace is such an important part of my own faith journey and encourages me daily to lean on God’s mercy and forgiveness. So, I am always inspired to write about grace. My characters, like all of us, are flawed and imperfect but eventually find and experience God’s grace in different ways to transform their lives. Of course, sweet love stories are always central, too!

A: What challenges have you experienced in your writing journey and how have you overcome them?

T: For me the biggest challenge is time. With a full-time day job and family obligations, it takes a lot of patience and intentionality to find a balance that works for all of us. Soon after my first book released in 2017, my husband had some amazing opportunities come up for his career (including a 15-month stint on tour as a stage manager with the Broadway show Hamilton – shameless wife brag!!). This meant solo parenting for a while and reprioritizing some things. So, I didn’t start seriously writing again until late last year. And that’s okay! But it does take a lot of patience of having grace with myself.

A: Who has helped and encouraged you in your writing career?

T: The list is so long!!! But my VIP encouragers include: my husband and daughter, my parents and sister, and my best friend Jennifer. I’ve also got to mention some of my writing friends Mikal, Meghan, Laurie, Toni, Jen, and Andrea.

A: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

T: The best piece of advice I can give is to just write! Don’t wait for all the pieces to fall into place or worry about perfect grammar. That’s what editors are for. When an idea strikes, but your booty in the chair and write something. Be okay with knowing some of it will never see the light of day, but the more you do it the better you’ll get and your writing muscles will get stronger and stronger.

A: Who is your favorite author? 

T: This is impossible to answer. But most recently I’ve enjoyed books by Courtney Walsh and Jaime Jo Wright. Now that I think of it, I’ve never NOT enjoyed books by both of those stellar authors.

A: What’s next for you?

T: Later this month, on October 20, I am releasing the Something Borrowed: Christmas Weddings Collection (link: https://amzn.to/32LsRQS) along with Jaycee Weaver, Toni Shiloh, Mikal Dawn, and Andrea Boyd. My novella in that collection, Somehow, This Christmas, is set in Laurel Cove for a Christmas wedding!

A: Where can we follow you?

T: Website: https://teresatysinger.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teresatysingerauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tmtysinger

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teresatysinger_author/

Amazon: https://amzn.to/39SyGgO

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16536072.Teresa_Tysinger

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/teresa-tysinger

Thank you so much for joining me on my blog, Teresa! I loved getting an inside look at your background and inspiration!

Friends, here’s a synopsis of Suddenly Forever (Laurel Cove Romance, Book 2):

On the outskirts of Laurel Cove, North Carolina sits a quiet lake tucked into gentle mountains carpeted with the brilliant colors of autumn. Grief binds the lake’s only residents into an unlikely family, where old and new love build a bridge between loss and hope.

For years, best-selling author Cora Bradford has worked tirelessly to tread the unrelenting waves of grief in solitude. That is until a new neighbor moves in down the road and threatens to disrupt what she’s carefully preserved of the life she once knew. Will God ever answer her prayer for peace and calmer waters?

Following a scandal, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Luke Bassett escapes to the one place in the world he’s ever experienced peace—his mother’s cabin on the lake where he spent childhood summers. But the memory of her and the mistakes he made are hardly peaceful. To make matters worse, he gets off to a rocky start with his bitter, but breathtakingly beautiful, neighbor. Was running away from the life he’s always known the biggest mistake of all, or the beginning of something he never knew he wanted?

Spunky, opinionated, and recently widowed Ina McLean is alone for the first time in over ninety years. When Cora and Luke come together to care for their only other neighbor, Ina’s belief in God’s goodness through life’s ups and downs works to restore their hope in learning to live—and love—again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Teresa Tysinger is an author of Southern Contemporary Romance inspired by grace. She writes on the fringes of being a wife, mom, and full-time communications and public relations professional. Her acclaimed debut novel, Someplace Familiar, released in 2017. Teresa is a member of ACFW, the Association for Women in Communications, and the Religion Communicators Council. She loves coffee, traveling, and prides herself in knowing and loving almost every genre of music. Born in Hawaii, raised in Florida, and educated in North Carolina, she now resides in Texas with her husband, daughter, and dog.

The post A Conversation with Author Teresa Tysinger appeared first on Anne Carol Author.

When I decided to write my beloved rock star love story for publication, I met with a freelance editor for advice. She pretty much told me my best option was to self-publish. Later that year, I attended a writing workshop at the local community college, and the presenter was very pro-self-publishing. Now, I was a blank slate going into this. Yes, I wanted to be the next Stephenie Meyer, who landed a publishing deal for the Twilight Series seemingly overnight. But I didn’t see that happening for me.

I researched and researched, and all arrows pointed toward self-publishing. It made sense to me. I just wanted to see this story come to life, after years of being trapped in my head. There was no thought of making this into a career. My day job as an accountant was stable and paid well. No need to get the big bucks for writing professionally.

Determined to make this happen, I hired a freelance editor, had a group of friends beta-read my book, attended my first writer’s conference (flew to New Orleans by myself!), worked my tail off, and found a writer community on Facebook. I self-published two books in two years. The effort to learn everything I needed was huge. Either I educated myself, or I sought advice and help from other independent authors.

After my second book released, I went through a period of soul searching. The writing bug had hit me, and I wanted to keep writing for the rest of my life. But was I writing exactly the way I wanted? Did my books reflect me and my core values? I decided soon after Book Two that I was going to switch to the Christian market.

Naive me thought it would be a seamless transition. Three years later, I’m trying to figure out if I made a mistake switching entirely. I’ve removed profanity and sensual scenes, but I still write in my old style: romantic, passionate, emotional, and even gritty. There’s an audience out there for my books, but it’s not the one I imagined. And it’s not clear-cut.

Another thing I’ve learned in the past three years is most of the Christian authors I know are traditionally published or they’re working on being traditionally published. An indie community does exist, but (aside from a handful of great author pals), I haven’t become integrated with these authors (yet). I can’t say why that is, but I don’t believe things happen by accident. God put certain author friends in my life for a reason, and most are not on the indie pub track.

So, the question becomes, do I continue self-publishing, or do I attempt traditional publishing? I never thought I’d consider it, but—to be honest—it’d be nice to have the respect a traditionally published author has. Unfortunately, a stigma still exists concerning self-published authors. And, from my experiences in both worlds, I find this stigma exists more in the Christian author community than in the secular one. (Again, this is based on my observations, so it’s not a blanket statement).

However, my job isn’t to make myself look good or follow the crowd. It’s to follow God’s plan for my writing journey (and my life). I need to be praying over my direction, seeking advice from friends, and taking it day by day. Of course, I’d like to be published with a big publisher and have my books at Barnes and Noble. What author doesn’t want that? But it’s not up to me. I’m just going to write the stories on my heart and submit them to God. And, whatever the outcome, I need to be okay with it.

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