Interview with Marlayne Giron / Giveaway!!!!! / The Victor

 Answer Question # 7 to be entered into the giveaway. Include contact information. 

1. What is your current work in progress? 

I am finishing my fourth book, Plain & Simple a romance about a recently widowed middle-aged mother who must pull up stakes from her home for financial reasons and relocate to an Amish farmhouse she plans to turn into a B&B that was owned by a recently widowed young Amish man who lost his entire family in a buggy accident.

2. What would be your dream vacation? 

I would love to go to Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France and England. Switzerland because Heidi was my favorite book as a child and I’ve always wanted to see the Alps. Germany so I could tour the Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria (the one that Disney modeled their Cinderella castle after), Italy so I could eat my way through the country and kiss under the bridge of Sighs at sunset, France for the romance of it and England to have a proper high tea!

3. What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading? 

I used to ice-skate, do crafts, sew, and scrap book but as a working adult I no longer have any time for any of that even though I miss it. I’m hoping there are ice-rinks in heaven!

4. What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Logical consistency and continuity. I write in fits and starts with gaps in-between and don’t often remember what came before. I’m also a Type A personality (the kind that doesn’t like to read instruction manuals) so I have a tendency to just want to get the main thought/theme down on paper on not bother with the minutiae that makes the story logical.

5. Tell us about The Victor – a brief blurb: 

A benevolent King; ...his sword of power; ...a ruthless traitor bent on revenge; ...and the faithful son who stands in his way with the woman destined to share his throne. Who shall emerge as the victor in this epic struggle between good and evil to govern the lives of hapless men?

6. Is there one particular message or “moral of the story” you hope readers walk away with? 

I went from being a non-religious Jew to becoming an instant believer as a result of responding emotionally to the tv movie Jesus of Nazareth in 1977. I was inspired to write The Victor with the goal of reaching unbelievers with the message of God’s redemptive love for us as a medieval love story.  It doesn’t beat people over the head but by-passes their mental objections by connecting with their heart through their emotions. Since the main character, Joshua, represents our Savior and is the protagonist, he is the one the reader will most identify with and perhaps see things from his perspective. My hope is that this will then translate into real life when the reader realizes how much they are loved and what he did to redeem us.

7. What one question would you like us to ask your readers?  

Who is the one person in your life you have the most difficulty sharing the Gospel with and why?

8. Tell us about the giveaway you’re offering. 

I am offering an autographed, paperback copy of The Victor to one of your blog followers and another personally autographed copy as a gift to that person’s friend, acquaintance or relative as a gift who they are trying to reach with the Gospel.

9. How did The Victor get started? 

It all began 30 years ago while I was listening to Amy Grant’s second album, “Father’s Eyes”. The song “fairytale” was playing and when I heard the verses: “two princes wage the battle for eternity but The Victor has been known from the start” I got a mental picture of Satan and Christ as knights locked in mortal combat which would decide the fate of a maiden in distress who represents the bride of Christ. I began to write the story in my spare time at work on a typewriter (this was years before computers). Shortly after I began to write, I asked the Lord for a confirming scripture that the idea had come from Him and was immediately led to Psalm 45. Not knowing what it said, I looked it up and was absolutely stunned to read the first verse: “My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” It could not have been more perfect. 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 the book. In the summer of 2009, I was finally able to meet Amy Grant in person and show her the book that her song had inspired. 

10. Tell us about your research process. 

It’s funny, people often assume I have done a lot of research for my books when I actually haven’t since I don’t have the luxury of free time since I work a 40 hour week. For The Victor, I happen to love the medieval genre and watched a lot of swashbuckling movies and am a big fan of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis so those resources helped in terms of setting the stage for my book, so to speak. I also had a book entitled “Life in a Castle in Medieval England” that I referred to but if I really described how things were in a historically accurate way, the reader most likely would have been turned off (especially when it came to what they ate and personal hygiene. For instance, when a knight was knighted, the nobleman did not tap his shoulders with the sword but whacked him with the flat of the blade as hard as he could. It was the knight’s job to withstand the blow and remain upright!

11. How do you choose between ideas you’d like to write about? 

I write/create best from inspiration. Sometimes an idea will just pop into my head. Except for my third book, In Plain Sight, which I was tasked to do, I believe that both The Victor and especially Make a Wish were divinely inspired ideas. I’m not sure what the Lord’s plans are for them but I do know that people have been blessed by them because I’ve heard from them!

12. Where can readers find you online? My blog: www.psalm451.net; my book website: www.thevictorbook.com, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marlayne.giron Twitter: @thevictorbook. To find my books on Amazon, just search on my full name.


Book trailer is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA-CbVgBpjg

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Title: THE VICTOR

Author: Marylane Giron

Publisher: Tate Publishing

April 2009

ISBN: 978-1607991847

Genre: Historical

A benevolent King; ...his sword of power; ...a ruthless traitor bent on revenge; ...and the faithful son who stands in his way with the woman destined to share his throne.

Who shall emerge as the victor in this epic struggle between good and evil to govern the lives of hapless men?

THE VICTOR is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Giron—and she tells me that this book, THE VICTOR has been rewritten and she is seeking traditional publication with it. I wish her the best of luck in her search.

THE VICTOR is a fantasy adventure with a Medieval setting. It blends the evil darkness with the light of hope and goodness. The reader follows the hero as he matures from a young boy to the being heir to the throne. But things don’t go smoothly. There is, of course, a villain who is prepared to take it all the way—and the hero is forced to make an impossible choice to save the kingdom.

This is a biblical allegory, but it isn’t preachy or obvious. Fans of fantasy, biblical allegories, or Medieval books should love THE VICTOR. Available now with Tate Publishing in both print and kindle. Or you can wait for the new version, hopefully coming soon. $16.99. 276 pages. 

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Marlayne Giron is a wife and mother living in Southern California. She currently works as a full-time administrative assistant and enjoys cooking for her family every night, scrapbooking, making high teas, and entertaining.

At the age of 22 (In 1982) Marlayne was inspired to write The Victor by a line in an Amy Grant song called: "Fairytale" (from her Father's Eyes album). The particular verse in the song which inspired the idea was: "two princes wage the battle for eternity but the victor has been known from the start". The verse made her imagine an evil "Baron" in black armor and knight in shining armor crossing swords over "maiden in distress". She wrote the story in her free time at work on an IBM Selectric typewriter and at home on a Smith Corona Portable.

Marlayne rewrote the story over the course of almost 30 years and made many attempts to get it published for several years but after a 4-year bout with ulcerative colitis that resulted in major surgery, then infertility then the adoption of her daughter and the demands of having to work full-time to pay the bills, she gave up on her dream of The Victor ever being published until April of 2008 when Tate Publishing called to offer her a contract.

The Victor was released on April 14th of 2009. As a direct result of her former employment with John Styll at CCM Magazine 28 years ago (who was President of the Gospel Music Association at the time of the book’s release), she was able to connect with Amy Grant who personally autographed Marlayne’s copy of The Victor. Through a dear friend and her agent, Mary Fields, Marlayne was also able to finally meet Amy Grant in person at the Life & Faith Concert Tour in 2009 in Richmond, VA.

Nicholas Sparks was also kind enough to pose with a copy of the book at one of his own book signings as well as Lisa Welchel (Blair from The Facts of Life TV show).