Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): Teresa Tysinger & Suddenly Forever

Please join me in welcoming a sweet author friend to the blog today! I always love chatting with Teresa Tysinger, and I’m super excited about her new book, Suddenly Forever!

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.

You can connect with Teresa on her website, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.

SUDDENLY FOREVER
SERIES: Laurel Cove Romance #2
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: Good Day Publishing
RELEASE DATE: October 6, 2020
PAGES: 248

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.

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Hi dear Teresa! Welcome back to the blog!

Teresa: I could care less and pay absolutely no attention. Ha! Is that weird?

Carrie: haha no i think it means that you’re more mentally stable than those of us who care very much about it LOL

Teresa: 1000% Diet Coke. It’s a habit I know I should break…but who likes a break-up? 

Carrie: oh girl, yes. 1000% me too for all of that lol. (And for the record, NO Diet Pepsi is not ok. haha)

Teresa: This may be cheating, but BOTH. My favorite place on earth to visit is the San Juan Islands in upstate Washington. There are gorgeous rocky coastlines and mountains that give you sweeping views of God’s creation. It’s magical!

Carrie: totally not cheating because that would be my answer too – and now I’m adding that destination to my bucket list 🙂

Teresa: I think I will always and forever be a lover of physical books. This may sound strange, but I love the feel of turning each page. Eventually, you have less left to read than what you’ve already read – and the pages you hold in your right hand take up less space. It’s like traveling through to the physical end of the journey along with the characters. I love that. 

Carrie: ooo that’s a great perspective!

Q: When you walk into a bookstore, where do you head first?

Teresa: As someone who’s been unashamedly drawn to books by their covers since childhood, and because I now design covers, I usually stop at whichever book catches my eye first. Doesn’t matter the genre or if it’s old or new. I do usually first gravitate toward the curated tables made by employees. My favorite are the ones in indie stores that house books recommended by the staff. That’s always super fun!

Carrie: that’s one of my fave things about indie bookstores! i feel an instant connection to that store & their staff when I see that.

Q: Writing spaces are as diverse as authors and books. Where is your favorite space to write?

Teresa: I love writing in my home office. My husband and I have moved around a lot in the years we’ve been married. This house is the first we’ve lived in that offers me my own, quiet space. I absolutely love not having to leave to find a coffee shop or library to “retreat” to for writing time. Plus, my husband and daughter are great about bringing me coffee!

Carrie: i love that!

Q: Which character in Suddenly Forever was the most difficult to write?

Teresa: Cora, my heroine, was the hardest to write. She’s been through something tragic and I was very sensitive to writing her journey through grief as realistic and relatable without being too “heavy” for readers. Having not been through something like her loss, that was daunting at times. It was also very emotional and writing some of her scenes took a lot out of me. However, I think it’s because of this that I found her journey the most satisfying.

Carrie: I can’t wait to meet her 🙂

Q: Did you have the whole plot outlined before you started writing, or did you let the characters dictate what came next? 

Teresa: When I sit down to write, I usually have a good idea of my characters, the general theme of the book, and the overall story concept. But I let the characters and circumstances finish developing as I write. It was quite different with Suddenly Forever, though. Just before I began writing, while lying in bed one night, it was as though God played the entire story for me in my mind. The characters were crystal clear: their hurts, hopes, and characteristics. I furiously typed out notes on my phone in the dark of my bedroom and by the time my head hit the pillow I knew the beginning, middle, and ending. I felt this story deeply from the start. And so, I began writing the book the next day and was done about six weeks later with the most complete first draft I’ve ever had. It was wild. Because of how it all came to be, I just know God will reach some hurting hearts with its message of hope. GOOSEBUMPS! 

Carrie: oh wow! I have found that books written like that (Stephenia McGee’s new book The Cedar Key, Camille Eide’s The Memoir of Johnny Devine, Pepper Basham’s upcoming The Mistletoe Countess, etc.) are instantly some of my enduring favorites!!!

Q: What do you most want readers to take away from Suddenly Forever?

Teresa: I really hope readers take away from this book that there is hope for renewed life—and maybe love—after life doesn’t go the way we planned. Even if disappointment and grief doesn’t center around the loss of a loved one like it does for Cora and Luke in this book, in every circumstance God wants good for us and can bring renewal. It’s my prayer that readers find that in this story.

Carrie: Amen. A reminder we can all use right now ♥

Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.

Teresa: I’m excited to be releasing a novella titled Somehow, This Christmas in a collection along with authors Jaycee Weaver, Toni Shiloh, Mikal Dawn, and Andrea Boyd. The Something Borrowed: Christmas Weddings Collection releases October 20, but you can pre-order the eBook today [https://amzn.to/33vG2oJ]! In 2021, I will release the third and fourth books in the Laurel Cove Romance series as well as a few novellas in upcoming collections!

Carrie: woohoo!!!

Hurry up and enter this awesome giveaway that Teresa is hosting to celebrate the release of Suddenly Forever – it ends today!!

Enter to win a fall-favorites bundle including:

• Leather Leaf Bookmark
• Cozy Book Sleeve
• Handmade Wood Leaf Earrings
• “Enough” Engraved River Rock
• Oversized Blanket Scarf
• Signed copy of Teresa’s first Laurel Cove Romance Series book, Someplace Familiar
• + more fall goodies!

Open to US readers only. Enter to Win Link: https://forms.gle/XJTdxi2VNxK4qUYF8
Winner announced TODAY, Friday, October 9 during Teresa’s virtual Book Launch Bonfire, which begins at 7:00 PM Central. (event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/941861132963383). Winner will also be contacted by email.

But before you go … What makes you want to read Suddenly Forever by Teresa Tysinger?