Monday, March 26, 2018

Interview with Lynne Tagawa and #giveaway!!!


Today we welcome Lynne Tagawa to my blog. Lynne has written this really interesting (and at times frightening book) about bioterrorism. She has a really great faith message, too.  Lynne is very graciously giving away one copy of her book A TWISTED STRAND to one person who comments. Please leave contact information! 

Lynne, glad to have you stop by. Tell us about the book:

A Twisted Strand is a book about forgiveness and reconciliation in the context of a bioterrorism crisis. Since it was my first novel, I decided to make one thing simple: the setting. I live in San Antonio, Texas, so I put my characters here. If they went out to eat, I knew just the place!


How convenient. Have you always like to write?

No. In high school, I ate lunch in the chemistry lab (and no, I didn’t get poisoned). I could write a mean research paper though—a nerd through and through. Later, I discovered that I enjoyed explaining things—and became a science teacher. Even later, I ended up writing a history curriculum in narrative form, like a novel, because I felt so sorry for the students. Why learn from boring textbooks when the material is so fascinating?


I wish I had you as a teacher.  Just as your books inspire authors, what authors have inspired you to write?

My teen idol was Isaac Asimov (most would remember him as the author of I, Robot). He wrote a lot of nonfiction as well—explaining scientific concepts in everyday language. Later I would read Michael Crichton and J.R.R. Tolkien, to name just a few. Tolkien impressed me with his mastery of the English language. He was a linguistics professor, and it shows. There is a passage in the LOTR in which Gandalf rides his horse Shadowfax up the lanes of the city, and for such a prosaic scene, the prose is heart stopping. Now the story is the soul of a novel, but if you can master prose, then you have an even-keeled ship to place it in.

Other authors were more direct inspirations for the type of fiction I write. Dr. Richard Belcher wrote a series of theological novels that made me think, “Hey, it’s possible to put theology in a story.” Of course, all novels contain theology—we might call it “worldview” or “theme”—but Belcher showed me that it’s possible to use a novel as a vehicle for teaching a specific doctrine. I’m not a theology professor, like he is, and A Twisted Strand is not what I’d call a theological novel, but it does contain a bit more biblical content that the average Christian novel.

Douglas Bond is another author who crafts novels with a fair amount of biblical content. In his case, he specializes in church history—he’s written historical fiction novels about John Knox and John Calvin, for example. My current project, The Shenandoah Road, is similar to this genre, including a bit of Christian history—the Great Awakening.


I have never read any of these authors' books, but my husband loves them. How did you decide upon the title of A Twisted Strand?

There are several themes in my book, and a rather prosaic motif: my female protagonist’s hair. She hates her hair. It’s kind of symbolic of how she feels about herself. But the twisted strand also stands for the double helix of DNA. The rogue virus.


How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names of character in A Twisted Strand based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? Do you have any name choosing resources you recommend?

I wanted the names to be strong, ordinary, and memorable. Not too bland but nothing hard to spell or pronounce. Since the story is set here in San Antonio, I also had to think about the ethnic mix: one character has the same surname as my dentist.


What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?

Since this was my first (true) novel, I had big hurdles to overcome. I was over fifty years old and learning something new. And although I’ve always been a decent writer, there are a number of things about writing fiction that are unique. It’s a craft—and I learned early on that it’s not necessarily about “talent.” Granted, I had a lot of advantages. I’ve always been a voracious reader, and that’s essential—but still, it’s work. Write, re-write, then ask your friends about it. Because unless you’re writing in a journal, you’re writing for others. It’s communication. And if the reader doesn’t “get it,” or is tripped up by grammar flubs or stylistic weirdness, then you need to correct it.

A Twisted Strand took me four years to think about, research, write, re-write, and polish. Thanks to my critique partners with much more experience in the craft, I learned a tremendous amount. Just the other day, a young lady at church informed me that it was her favorite book of all time. Well, she is very young, with much reading in her future—but still, it was gratifying to hear after all that labor.



Share your bio:

Lynne Tagawa is married with four grown sons and three marvelous grandbabies. A biology teacher by trade, she teaches part-time, writes, and edits. She’s written a Texas history curriculum in narrative form, Sam Houston’s Republic, and published her debut novel, A Twisted Strand, last year.  The Shenandoah Road, a story of the Great Awakening, is scheduled to be published in 2018. Lynne lives with her husband in South Texas.



Social media and buying links



Website:



6 comments:

Marilyn R. said...

Hello to Lynne Tagawa, an author I hadn't heard about till now. The interview with her sharing the past and the contents of her debut book will make this a book to read; houwever, maybe not late of a night. I appreciate authors who has Christian doctrine in the story. Thank you for sharing. marilynridgway78[at[gmail[dot]com

Tiffany Hall said...

Congratulations on your first novel! This sounds like one I would really enjoy! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!

Tiffany
jtabalk(at)hotmail(dot)com

Faith Creech said...

Congratulations on your first book. It sounds really good and I would love to read it. Thanks for the chance at the giveaway.

Faithdcreech at gmail dot com

Dianna said...

I really like San Antonio and would enjoy reading a book in that setting.

Nancy said...

Wow! Who better to write a book about bioterrorism than a Biology teacher?! This sounds like it's going to be an EXCELLENT book! My dad had a degree in Chemistry, one of my daughters is a Nurse Practitioner, and my sister used to actually work in labs, doing experiments.
This is a book I hope to either win, or buy a copy of real soon! How exciting!!

Romans 10:9-13

lollipops said...

congratulation to Faith

A Year of Flowers: (A Sweet Romance 4-in-1 Novella Collection Set in a Flower Shop about Friendship and Second Chances) by Suzanne Woods Fisher

  Preorder Now!! A Year of Flowers:  (A Sweet Romance 4-in-1 Novella Collection Set in a Flower Shop about Friendship and Second Chances) No...