Remain by Nicholas Sparks with M. Night Shyamalan

 

A one-of-a-kind novel that grapples with the supernatural mysteries of life, death, and human connection—an unprecedented collaboration between the globally bestselling author of love stories like The Notebook and the renowned writer and director of blockbuster thrillers like The Sixth Sense

COMING SOON AS A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN AND STARRING JAKE GYLLENHAAL AND PHOEBE DYNEVOR

The stunning hardcover of Remain features a premium dust jacket, beautiful endpapers, and a deluxe case stamped with replica images of the authors’ signatures! These stamped “signatures” are reproduced in gold foil.

When New York architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home, he is hoping to make a fresh start. Recently discharged from an upscale psychiatric facility where he was treated for acute depression, he is still wrestling with the pain of losing his beloved sister. Sylvia’s deathbed revelation—that she can see spirits who are still tethered to the living world, a gift that runs in their family—sits uneasily with Tate, who struggles to believe in more than what reason can explain. But when he takes up residence at a historic bed-and-breakfast on the Cape, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Wren who will challenge every assumption he has about his logical and controlled world.

Tate and Wren find themselves forging an immediate connection, one that neither has ever experienced before. But Tate gradually discovers that below the surface of Wren’s idyllic small-town life, hatred, jealousy, and greed are festering, threatening their fragile relationship just as it begins to blossom. Tate realizes that in order to free Wren from an increasingly desperate fate, he will need to unearth the truth about her past before time runs out . . . a quest that will make him doubt whether we can ever believe the stories we tell about ourselves, and the laws that govern our existence. Love—while transformative—can sometimes be frightening.

A story about the power of transcendent emotion, Remain asks us all: Can love set us free not only from our greatest sorrows, but even from the boundaries of life and death?

Pick up your copy here...

Remain: A Supernatural Love Story: Sparks, Nicholas, Shyamalan, M. Night: 9798217154043: Amazon.com: Books

Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 130 million copies sold worldwide, in more than 50 languages, including over 92 million copies in the United States alone.

Eleven of Nicholas Sparks's novels—The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven, The Lucky One, The Last Song, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Message in a Bottle—have been adapted into major motion pictures. The Notebook has also been adapted into a Broadway musical, featuring music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson.

Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks

 From the acclaimed author of The Longest Ride and The Notebook comes an emotional, powerful novel about wondering if we can change—or even make our peace with—the path we’ve taken.

Tanner Hughes was raised by his grandparents, following in his grandfather’s military footsteps to become an Army Ranger. His whole life has been spent abroad, and he is the proverbial rolling stone: happiest when off on his next adventure, zero desire to settle down.  But when his grandmother passes away, her last words to him are find where you belong. She also drops a bombshell, telling him the name of the father he never knew—and where to find him.

Tanner is due at his next posting soon, but his curiosity is piqued, and he sets out for Asheboro, North Carolina, to ask around. He’s been in town less than twenty-four hours when he meets Kaitlyn Cooper, a doctor and single mom. They both feel an immediate connection; Tanner knows Kaitlyn has a story to tell, and he wants to hear it. To Kaitlyn, Tanner is mysterious, exciting—and possibly leaving in just a few weeks.

Meanwhile, nearby, eighty-three-year-old Jasper lives alone in a cabin bordering a national forest. With only his old dog, Arlo, for company, he lives quietly, haunted by a tragic accident that took place decades before. When he hears rumors that a white deer has been spotted in the forest—a creature of legend that inspired his father and grandfather—he becomes obsessed with protecting the deer from poachers.

As these characters’ fates orbit closer together, none of them is expecting a miracle . . . but that may be exactly what is about to alter their futures forever.

Pick up your copy here...

Counting Miracles: A Novel: Sparks, Nicholas: 9780593449592: Amazon.com: Books

Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 130 million copies sold worldwide, in more than 50 languages, including over 92 million copies in the United States alone.

Eleven of Nicholas Sparks's novels—The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven, The Lucky One, The Last Song, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Message in a Bottle—have been adapted into major motion pictures. The Notebook has also been adapted into a Broadway musical, featuring music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson. 

My Thoughts...

I'm always up for a good emotional read from Sparks. One book a year is what you get from Sparks so you know it will be a good one.

I really enjoyed Jaspers character. Very well done. This one was one I will be thinking about for a little bit.

Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

The Wish By Nicholas Sparks

 1996 was the year that changed everything for Maggie Dawes. Sent away at sixteen to live with an aunt she barely knew in Ocracoke, a remote village on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, she could think only of the friends and family she left behind . . . until she met Bryce Trickett, one of the few teenagers on the island. Handsome, genuine, and newly admitted to West Point, Bryce showed her how much there was to love about the wind-swept beach town—and introduced her to photography, a passion that would define the rest of her life.

By 2019, Maggie is a renowned travel photographer. She splits her time between running a successful gallery in New York and photographing remote locations around the world. But this year she is unexpectedly grounded over Christmas, struggling to come to terms with a sobering medical diagnosis. Increasingly dependent on a young assistant, she finds herself becoming close to him.

As they count down the last days of the season together, she begins to tell him the story of another Christmas, decades earlier—and the love that set her on a course she never could have imagined. 

Pick up your copy here...

The Wish: Sparks, Nicholas: 9781538728628: Amazon.com: Books

Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 105 million copies sold worldwide, in more than 50 languages, including over 75 million copies in the United States alone.

Sparks wrote one of his best-known stories, The Notebook, over a period of six months at age 28. It was published in 1996 and he followed with the novels Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), True Believer (2005) and its sequel, At First Sight (2005), Dear John (2006), The Choice (2007), The Lucky One (2008), The Last Song (2009), Safe Haven (2010), The Best of Me (2011), The Longest Ride (2013), See Me (2015), Two by Two (2016), Every Breath (2018) and The Return (2020) as well as the 2004 non-fiction memoir Three Weeks With My Brother, co-written with his brother Micah. His twenty-second novel, The Wish, was published on September 28, 2021.

Film adaptations of Nicholas Sparks novels, including The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven (on all of which he served as a producer), The Lucky One, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and The Last Song, have had a cumulative worldwide gross of over three-quarters of a billion dollars. The Notebook is also being adapted into a musical, featuring music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson.

Sparks lives in North Carolina. He contributes to a variety of local and national charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships, and a fellowship annually. He co-founded The Epiphany School in New Bern, North Carolina in 2006. As a former full scholarship athlete (he still holds a track and field record at the University of Notre Dame) he also spent four years coaching track and field athletes at the local public high school. In 2009, the team he coached at New Bern High School set a World Junior Indoor Record in the 4x400 meter, in New York. The record still stands.

The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to improving cultural and international understanding through global education experiences for students of all ages was launched in 2011. Between the foundation, and the personal gifts of the Sparks family, more than $15 million dollars have been distributed to deserving charities, scholarship programs, and projects. Because the Sparks family covers all operational expenses of the foundation, 100% of donations are devoted to programs.

My Thoughts...

As with all of Sparks books you will read this in one sitting. Such a fantastic read. Perfect for an afternoon fall read. The characters  are well devolved and you are going to root for them along the way.

I have never read a book by Sparks that I didn't  love. Even with the sad out comes.

5 stars and I HIGHLY recommend this book.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.

The Return By Nicholas Sparks

 

In the romantic tradition of Dear John, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with the story of an injured Navy doctor -- and two women whose secrets will change the course of his life.

Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, North Carolina. But when a mortar blast outside the hospital where he worked sent him home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, the dilapidated cabin he'd inherited from his grandfather seemed as good a place to regroup as any.

Tending to his grandfather's beloved beehives, Trevor isn't prepared to fall in love with a local . . . yet, from their very first encounter, Trevor feels a connection with deputy sheriff Natalie Masterson that he can't ignore. But even as she seems to reciprocate his feelings, she remains frustratingly distant, making Trevor wonder what she's hiding.

Further complicating his stay in New Bern is the presence of a sullen teenage girl, Callie, who lives in the trailer park down the road. Trevor hopes Callie can shed light on the mysterious circumstances of his grandfather's death, but she offers few clues -- until a crisis triggers a race to uncover the true nature of Callie's past, one more intertwined with the elderly man's passing than Trevor could ever have imagined.

In his quest to unravel Natalie and Callie's secrets, Trevor will learn the true meaning of love and forgiveness . . . and that in life, to move forward, we must often return to the place where it all began.

Grab your copy here...

https://www.amazon.com/Return-Nicholas-Sparks/dp/1538728575/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3ANRF89230C7N&dchild=1&keywords=the+return+nicholas+sparks&qid=1600646630&sprefix=The+Retu%2Caps%2C185&sr=8-2

Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 105 million copies sold worldwide, in more than 50 languages, including over 75 million copies in the United States alone.

Sparks wrote one of his best-known stories, The Notebook, over a period of six months at age 28. It was published in 1996 and he followed with the novels Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), True Believer (2005) and its sequel, At First Sight (2005), Dear John (2006), The Choice (2007), The Lucky One (2008), The Last Song (2009), Safe Haven (2010), The Best of Me (2011), The Longest Ride (2013), See Me (2015), Two by Two (2016) and Every Breath (2018) as well as the 2004 non-fiction memoir Three Weeks With My Brother, co-written with his brother Micah. His twenty-first novel, The Return, will be published on September 29, 2020.

Film adaptations of Nicholas Sparks novels, including The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven (on all of which he served as a producer), The Lucky One, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and The Last Song, have had a cumulative worldwide gross of over three-quarters of a billion dollars. The Notebook is also being adapted into a musical, featuring music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson.

Sparks lives in North Carolina. He contributes to a variety of local and national charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships, and a fellowship annually. He co-founded The Epiphany School in New Bern, North Carolina in 2006. As a former full scholarship athlete (he still holds a track and field record at the University of Notre Dame) he also spent four years coaching track and field athletes at the local public high school. In 2009, the team he coached at New Bern High School set a World Junior Indoor Record in the 4x400 meter, in New York. The record still stands.

The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to improving cultural and international understanding through global education experiences for students of all ages was launched in 2011. Between the foundation, and the personal gifts of the Sparks family, more than $15 million dollars have been distributed to deserving charities, scholarship programs, and projects. Because the Sparks family covers all operational expenses of the foundation, 100% of donations are devoted to programs.

Grab your copy The Return releases Tuesday September 29, 2020. Place your order of this 5 star book so you will have it on release day.

I have already bought copies for you five blog followers that comment every day without fail. You all will have them on Release day! Happy reading friends, I wanted to give back, you five have never failed to support me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

The Return By Nicholas Sparks

In the romantic tradition of Dear John and The Lucky One, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with the story of an injured Navy doctor -- and two women whose secrets will change the course of his life.

Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, NC. But when a mortar blast outside the hospital where he worked as an orthopedic surgeon sent him home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, the dilapidated cabin he inherited from his grandfather seemed as good a place to regroup as any.

Tending to his grandfather's beloved bee hives while gearing up for a second stint in medical school, Trevor isn't prepared to fall in love with a local . . . and yet, from their very first encounter, his connection with Natalie Masterson can't be ignored. But even as she seems to reciprocate his feelings, she remains frustratingly distant, making Trevor wonder what she's hiding.

Further complicating his stay in New Bern is the presence of a sullen teenage girl, Callie, who lives in the trailer park down the road from his grandfather's cabin. Claiming to be 19, she works at the local sundries store and keeps to herself. When he discovers she was once befriended by his grandfather, Trevor hopes Callie can shed light on the mysterious circumstances of his grandfather's death, but she offers few clues -- until a crisis triggers a race that will uncover the true nature of Callie's past, one more intertwined with the elderly man's passing than Trevor could ever have anticipated.

In his quest to unravel Natalie and Callie's secrets, Trevor will learn the true meaning of love and forgiveness . . . and that in life, to move forward, we must often return to the place where it all began.

Comes out September 29th

Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 105 million copies sold worldwide, in more than 50 languages, including over 75 million copies in the United States alone.

Sparks wrote one of his best-known stories, The Notebook, over a period of six months at age 28. It was published in 1996 and he followed with the novels Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), True Believer (2005) and its sequel, At First Sight (2005), Dear John (2006), The Choice (2007), The Lucky One (2008), The Last Song (2009), Safe Haven (2010), The Best of Me (2011), The Longest Ride (2013), and See Me (2015) as well as the 2004 non-fiction memoir Three Weeks With My Brother, co-written with his brother Micah. His newest book, Two by Two, was published on October 4, 2016.

Film adaptations of Nicholas Sparks novels, including The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven (on all of which he served as a producer), The Lucky One, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and The Last Song, have had a cumulative worldwide gross of over three-quarters of a billion dollars.

In 2012, Sparks and his publishing agent and creative partner Theresa Park, launched Nicholas Sparks Productions, with Park as President of Production. A film version of The Guardian is currently in development, as is a film based on Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers’s friendship with Chicago Bears teammate Brian Piccolo.

Sparks lives in North Carolina. He contributes to a variety of local and national charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships, and a fellowship annually. He co-founded The Epiphany School in New Bern, North Carolina in 2006. As a former full scholarship athlete (he still holds a track and field record at the University of Notre Dame) he also spent four years coaching track and field athletes at the local public high school. In 2009, the team he coached at New Bern High School set a World Junior Indoor Record in the 4 x400 meter, in New York. The record still stands. Click to watch the Runner’s World video with Nicholas.

The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to improving cultural and international understanding through global education experiences for students of all ages was launched in 2011. Between the foundation, and the personal gifts of the Sparks family, more than $15 million dollars have been distributed to deserving charities, scholarship programs, and projects. Because the Sparks family covers all operational expenses of the foundation, 100% of donations are devoted to programs.

Every Breath By Nicholas Sparks GIVEAWAY!

In the romantic tradition of The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with a story about a chance encounter that becomes a touchstone for two vastly different individuals -- transcending decades, continents, and the bittersweet workings of fate.Hope Anderson is at a crossroads. At thirty-six, she's been dating her boyfriend, an orthopedic surgeon, for six years. With no wedding plans in sight, and her father recently diagnosed with ALS, she decides to use a week at her family's cottage in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, to ready the house for sale and mull over some difficult decisions about her future.
Tru Walls has never visited North Carolina but is summoned to Sunset Beach by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. A safari guide, born and raised in Zimbabwe, Tru hopes to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his mother's early life and recapture memories lost with her death. When the two strangers cross paths, their connection is as electric as it is unfathomable . . . but in the immersive days that follow, their feelings for each other will give way to choices that pit family duty against personal happiness in devastating ways.

Illuminating life's heartbreaking regrets and enduring hope, EVERY BREATH explores the many facets of love that lay claim to our deepest loyalties -- and asks the question, How long can a dream survive?

Pick up your copy here...
https://www.amazon.com/Every-Breath-Nicholas-Sparks/dp/1538728524/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539613713&sr=8-1&keywords=nicholas+sparks+books+2018

Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 105 million copies sold worldwide, in more than 50 languages, including over 75 million copies in the United States alone.

Sparks wrote one of his best-known stories, The Notebook, over a period of six months at age 28. It was published in 1996 and he followed with the novels Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), True Believer (2005) and its sequel, At First Sight (2005), Dear John (2006), The Choice (2007), The Lucky One (2008), The Last Song (2009), Safe Haven (2010), The Best of Me (2011), The Longest Ride (2013), and See Me (2015) as well as the 2004 non-fiction memoir Three Weeks With My Brother, co-written with his brother Micah. His newest book, Two by Two, was published on October 4, 2016.

Film adaptations of Nicholas Sparks novels, including The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven (on all of which he served as a producer), The Lucky One, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and The Last Song, have had a cumulative worldwide gross of over three-quarters of a billion dollars.

In 2012, Sparks and his publishing agent and creative partner Theresa Park, launched Nicholas Sparks Productions, with Park as President of Production. A film version of The Guardian is currently in development, as is a film based on Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers’s friendship with Chicago Bears teammate Brian Piccolo.

Sparks lives in North Carolina. He contributes to a variety of local and national charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships, and a fellowship annually. He co-founded The Epiphany School in New Bern, North Carolina in 2006. As a former full scholarship athlete (he still holds a track and field record at the University of Notre Dame) he also spent four years coaching track and field athletes at the local public high school. In 2009, the team he coached at New Bern High School set a World Junior Indoor Record in the 4 x400 meter, in New York. The record still stands. Click to watch the Runner’s World video with Nicholas.

The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to improving cultural and international understanding through global education experiences for students of all ages was launched in 2011. Between the foundation, and the personal gifts of the Sparks family, more than $15 million dollars have been distributed to deserving charities, scholarship programs, and projects. Because the Sparks family covers all operational expenses of the foundation, 100% of donations are devoted to programs.

My Thoughts...

If your favorite book by Sparks is The Notebook then you are going to LOVE Every Breath.
The Kindred Spirit mail box on the beach is a real thing here in  North Carolina. It is what we call the original blog.
This is a very intense romance. So much empathy. You have to read this book. It is going to be your new favorite by Sparks.
The Mary Reader received this book from the author for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.


You must follow this blog and share this post to be entered in the GIVEAWAY! I will be mailing out the book tomorrow.

Win a Visit to the set of The Best of Me film set!

My Dear Friends,

Exciting news: Relativity, the studio behind my next film, is giving a lucky fan the opportunity to win a visit to the set of The Best of Me, which is currently shooting in New Orleans. I recently returned from a trip to New Orleans myself, and so I can tell you firsthand: it’s a fun set to visit!

Relativity has found a remarkably talented team for the film, and I had a fantastic time hanging out with Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden, who play Amanda and Dawson, respectively, as well as Liana Liberato and Luke Bracey, who are playing Amanda and Dawson when they were younger. And of course, I had a chance to catch-up with the director Michael Hoffman, who is an incredible filmmaker.

If you’ve already seen this on my social media and have entered, thank you! If not, and you still want a chance to win a visit to the set, just visit the Best of Me's Official Facebook Page, leave a comment telling us which Nicholas Sparks character you’d want to play in a movie, and you’ll automatically be entered! But hurry—there’s only one day left! The sweepstakes ends tomorrow—Friday, April 25th—at 3pm EDT.

Sincerely yours,

Win it before you can buy it!

In case you've missed it, we have just started revealing the first two chapters from my upcoming novel, The Longest Ride, and those of you that help us fill in the missing words will have a chance to win an advanced copy BEFORE it hits stores September 17th!

For Twitter fans, simply use #TheLongestRide in your tweets and every word from your message will count towards unlocking the hidden words below. Facebook users just need to like or comment. Roll your mouse over each blank space to see how many times that word needs to be used to unlock it. Five lucky Tweets, and five Facebook users will be selected at random as winners. Visit my site to watch and help the reveal unfold.

Last, as a thank you for being a subscriber, both chapters will be sent directly to you once they are unlocked and I invite you to check back to my website on September 9, for information on how to win one of many signed copies of The Longest Ride.

Yours,

Whose book are all these famous celebrities reading?

Keep reading to find out!

Nicholas Sparks (NY Times Best Selling Author) at his own book signing

Lisa Whelchel (Author, Speaker, Actress - "Facts of Life")

Amy Grant(Grammy Winning Recording Artist) and Marlayne Giron at Life & Faith Tour

Today I’m pleased to interview Marlayne Giron, author of The Victor, Make a Wish and In Plain Sight.

You’ve got an amazing story of triumph over chronic illness, one in which you not only survived but thrived to the point of authoring 3 books. Briefly tell us about that journey.
I suffered with increasingly severe ulcerative colitis beginning in 1984 and culminating with surgery in 1988. It was a very debilitating disease.  Had I not had my colon removed; it would eventually have resulted in colon cancer. My hospital stay was to have been only 10 days but due to an obstruction (that could have killed me) I ended up having a 2^nd surgery and was in the hospital for a total of 30.

Tell us about how you were blessed with your daughter through adoption after battling infertility.
After my abdominal surgery parts of my reproductive system had shifted around and I couldn't conceive. Being limited in funds, we did try some minor techniques once to get pregnant which ended up resulting in a uterine infection instead of a baby. After five years of heartache we came to the conclusion that the only way we'd have a family was to adopt.  The only affordable option for us was through the county system. I was terrified because of all the horror stories I had heard about the children who were available in the system as a result of neglect or abuse (or both)  but we went forward on sheer faith. Two weeks before Christmas and a year before it was supposed to happen, we were introduced to our daughter, Karina who was an adorable 3-1/2 year old at the time. We visited with her over the course of the next week or so and she came home as our daughter on Christmas Eve. We introduced her to our entire family as our new daughter (a big surprise) at the family's annual Holiday get-together later that month. She will be graduating from high school next month.

You are Jewish by birth yet you hold to the Christian faith.  Please share your testimony with us.
When I was 17 (back in 1977) a new television series came on for that Easter called Jesus of Nazareth by Franco Zefferelli. I wanted to see the Ten Commandments (again) and my mom insisted on Jesus of Nazareth (she won). It was perhaps the first time I saw a realistic and well-acted portrayal of biblical events.  During the crucifixion scene my eyes were divinely “opened” and I remember thinking: if He could do that for me, the least I can do is give Him my life and I did so, praying right in front of the television set. The next day I asked a Christian friend to take me to her church so I could officially accept Jesus in front of witnesses and in the days and weeks following, I began to call and write family and friends about how they too needed to be saved.

How did you come to be a writer? 
When I was 12 my best friend, Lisa Savy and I would take turns sleeping over each other's homes and one of those times she produced a typewritten story in which she had put us in as characters.  We read it aloud to each other and it was so much fun that I created the second story for the next get together.  From then on we took turns typing these stories which were based on a very popular television show at the time: The Six Million Dollar Man.  We wrote hundreds of similar short stories each and even a “feature” length story to boot when I was 13 (which I still have). Lisa has always wanted to be a teacher (and is currently a H.S. math teacher) so pretty soon I found her red-marking my stories for spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors.  This would make me furious and I became determined to write a story she couldn't find fault with.  This decision, in addition to the spirit of competition to see who could write a better story really honed my English skills. As a result of writing so much,  I intuitively picked up on a lot of creative writing techniques.  Unlike Lisa, who has a Masters in Mathematics, I never went to college or studied journalism. It was this that gave me the idea for my second book, Make a Wish.

Me and Lisa at 42

Me and Lisa at 12

You call yourself a “very atypical author” and have said, “I am the most unlikely person to have a book published.” Why is that?
My complete lack of a formal education in creative writing (other than high school); the most consistent form of writing I usually perform is business correspondence.

Of all the encouragement you’ve received through the years, who stands out as being your most helpful supporter and why? 
This is the sad part of your interview.  Up until The Victor went into publication I would have to honestly say no one. I couldn’t pay friends or family to read my book!  Eventually even I gave up on it! My husband would often kid me during difficult economic times and say “Well, maybe someday when you finally sell that book we can...” (you fill in the blank) but it was always said in jest.

I'm sure you've read a ton of books. Is there one you've read you wish you had wrote?  If so why?I wish that I had written Lord of the Rings. It is an absolute masterpiece and the “gold standard” in fantasy fiction. I read The Hobbit and the entire LOTR trilogy in a single weekend when I was 14 and wept, laughed and endured the pain along with all the characters. It is probably one of the most majestic and profound books ever written.

Where did you get your idea for The Victor?
Almost 30 years ago I was hit with a sudden inspiration while listening to Amy Grant's (then) latest album “Father's Eyes” in a song entitled “Fairytale”:  “...two princes wage the battle for eternity but the victor has been known from the start”.  A mental picture appeared in my head of Jesus in a suit of “shining armor” and Satan/Lucifer in a suit of “black armor” crossing swords over “the bride of Christ”. I instantly knew what I wanted the story to convey; the ultimate love story of all time between Christ and his bride, “the church” and I knew how I wanted it to end; I just wasn't exactly sure how it would begin or what I would put in between!   I have always loved books and movies dealing King Arthur, Robin Hood, etc., and fairytale stories with Lords, Ladies, knights, and mystical swords. It just seemed a natural to rewrite the story of Christ's redemptive work as a grown-up “fairytale” that Christians and non-Christians alike could enjoy. 

Life came full circle when I finally got meet Amy Grant in person at the Life and Faith Concert tour in Richmond, VA a few years ago. The photo at the top of this blog was taken of that meeting.

Tell us something about the real you that we’ll never forget.
Three years before I met my husband I wrote a story (which I illustrated) for myself where Jesus takes me out on a date and introduces me to the man he has chosen for me. I used to pray for my husband by name (it was always Michael) and had a very detailed list of what I hoped to get in my future husband. The Lord answered my prayers right down to his name, looks and everything on the list and our first date a total stranger who was part of our “six-some” told Michael and his sister that I would be his future wife. To read the details they are all in my book, “Make a Wish” (“A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”).

Favorite scripture and/or quote:
Shortly after I began writing The Victor, (which I felt was an idea inspired by the Lord) I asked Him to give me a scripture that would confirm that the story idea was from Him.
The words: PSALM 45 popped into my head and when I looked it up, I couldn't believe what the first verse said:

“My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

It has since become my “tag line”. The rest of the Psalm describes the wedding of the king to his bride which I use almost in its entirety at the end of my book. The Lord could not have given me a more perfect confirmation. 

Name five things you “can’t” live without (the Lord already being a given).

1) My husband, Michael, who is the love of my life.

2) My friends

3) Having time to myself and the resources to be creative

4) Dark chocolate

5) Classical music playing at work

Favorite book ~ Favorite movie ~ Favorite TV show

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien – Same movie – Once Upon a Time (what else?)

Where is the most interesting place you have been?

New York City – I was there in the fall of 1999.  Everyone wears black! You can eat a different food at every meal for months without repeating but the corned beef sandwiches are the BOMB!

What did you want to be when you grew up?

An independent adult so I could make my own decisions about my life.

Me at age 3

Five Fun Facts About Marlayne

1.      I once rode the public bus all the way from the South Bay to downtown Los Angeles with a round, red, “JESUS LOVES YOU” sticker stuck to the end of my nose when I was a new Christian looking to share the gospel.  No one on the bus would look at me.

2.    I wrote and illustrated a short fiction story in which Jesus introduces my character to the man he had chosen as my future husband five years before I actually met him. The future husband in the fiction story and the real thing were both named Michael (I also always prayed for him in advance by this name) and he looked just like the illustration. On our first date (a triple date) a girl who had met me for the first time that night told Michael and his sister that I was his future wife while I was in the ladies room (to which he replied no way now!)  Five years later we were married and that story disappeared at our reception.

3.    Significant dates in my life: I accepted Jesus as my Savior during Easter Week; met my future husband during Easter Week; became the mom to our adopted 3-1/2 year old daughter on Christmas Eve and my book, The Victor, was released in Easter Week. A “coincidence”? I think not...

4.    I used to take private ice-skating lessons and got rather good at it (I could do jumps and spins). I still miss it a lot and hope heaven has an ice-rink where I can ice-skate for the Lord and do the doubles, axels and footwork I found impossible to do in my 20's.  Does that mean that heaven has to freeze over...?!

5.    I met Fabio (yes…the Fabio) at a book signing he did in a local Target in 1995. I got a photo with him.  My husband’s best friend who worked security at that store called him up and told him that he had caught me with “another man” and had it on video (it was the security tape from the signing). Photo is below:

New Romance Novel cover anyone?

Biography of Marlayne Giron

Marlayne Giron is a Messianic Jew, wife and mother living in Orange County, California with her husband of over 25 years, her dog, Buddy and teenage daughter, Karina.  She grew up in a nonreligious Jewish home but found Jesus at the age of 17 while watching Jesus of Nazareth on television in 1977. 

DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL! Stay tuned to this blog to find out what other famous celebrities are reading The Victor!