Guest Author Series - Welcome Tina Pinson

Tina Pinson is a fellow author with me at Desert Breeze Publishing. She lives in Colorado and her latest release is "In the Manor of the Ghost," an inspriational romance. Welcome, Tina!

STEPH: What was the inspiration behind "In The Manor of Ghost?"

TINA:
In the Manor of the Ghost has romance, a love story and a ghost. And I'd traveled to Minnesota and wanted to use that as the backdrop for a book. But mainly it was written as a reminder that some of the houses we reside in aren't always made of lumber or stones. They are fashioned from our fears and are as thick around us as a wall might be. And some of the Ghosts we face are those fears, real or perceived they haunt us.

I built some lovely walls about myself, and I think where I was at in life pulled the story out of me. Made me deal with some of my fears of inadequacy. I identified with Kaitlin, because I'd lost a loved one, (my father had passed away not long before) and I wondered if and I fit in, but I think identified more with Devlin in some aspects of the story and his journey to find himself.

STEPH: Can you tell us a little about the plot?

TINA:
In the Manor of the Ghost takes place in Minnesota, 1972. Devlin is a lawyer, with a unique background. His spirit and trust were torn, leaving him to question if love can ever be his again. Although he seems gruff on the surface, he has a quiet accepting spirit. The Manor Devlin lives in, was once a place of joy and safety. It was used as a safe house during the Indian Raids a decade earlier. After losing his wife and daughter, Clayborne Manor has become a dark, sad place with too many haunting memories. But the walls around Devlin's spirit seem to be almost as thick as the Manor's.

Kaitlin lost her husband and daughter in a fire, and went through years of therapy for her burns. She hopes moving to Minnesota to live with her sister, Constance, will help heal her spirit.

Accepting a contract to marry Devlin, Kaitlin finds herself living in the Clayborne Manor. When she begins to uncover secrets and resurrect ghosts, she questions the sanity of her choice. Does she have the strength to break down the walls that confine those who reside in the Manor? Does she have the faith to lead them to the one who sets the captive free? I find Kaitlin's resilience, gentle and loving spirit endearing.


STEPH: Is this the first novel you wrote?

TINA:
My first novel, a four-part serial, takes the main characters through loss in the Civil war and on the Oregon trail to Oregon. Someday I hope to get it published. STEPH: That sounds really cool, Tina. You should get it published!

STEPH: Do you cast your characters? If so, who are your leads?

TINA:
I don't always cast my characters. I write them and sometimes try to find the face that fits. In this case, Devlin would be a young Adrian Paul, during his Highlander years. Kaitlin would be Zoey Deschanel.

STEPH: How long have you been writing? What gave you the itch to write?

TINA:
I started writing in elementary school, I tell people I started because I was always getting in trouble making up stories to save my hide from getting in trouble, and writing fiction gave me an outlet for my imagination. There is probably some truth to that, but I always loved words, could see stories in my head for years and decided to start writing them down.

STEPH: I see you write inspirational. Have you written any other genres? What other genres appeal to you?


TINA:
I haven't written much beyond inspirational. I believe strongly that God blessed me with my imagination and I should use it to touch lives with His love, and truth somehow. If I wasn't an inspirational writer I suppose I'd have to write those hot and heavily sensual exotic sex type stories. OKAY, I AM SO KIDDING. I would probably tackle murder mysteries or sci-fi. I am working on a Sci-fi right now, but I have an inspirational thread in it.

STEPH: Do you have any words for an aspiring writer?

TINA:
You will be tested, you will learn to persevere, you will be disheartened, and want to give up several times a day. But hang in there, study, learn your craft, research, and read, all those things are important, but first and foremost, write from the heart and imagination that God gave you. Use the voice and gift he gave you. He gave it to you for such a time as this and no one else can write quite like you do.


STEPH: What's your writer's space like?

TINA:
Sometimes it's actually clean, I'm kind of a disorganized/organized person. Certain things like my cupboards I like to put everything in their row. Beans, soups, corn… writing I have stacks and binders for what I'm working on. Of course, right now I don't even have a desk, so I have a black bag with the stacks I'm working on, and use the corner of the couch or my treadmill when writing.

STEPH: What's the last movie you saw?

TINA:
Went and saw the Last Air Bender.

STEPH: Thanks for being here today, Tina.
You can find Tina's book, available as an EBook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Sony Store, All Romance, Books on Board, and soon on Borders Ebook store, and Kobo.