TREASURES OF THE HEART - Mike Lynch - One Free E-Book

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Welcome back, Mike. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

It all comes down to the story. Is it different? Does it capture my attention? I figure if it's interesting for me, it will be interesting for others. As to how I come up with a particular story, that’s hard to say. Sometimes they just come to me in a moment. Other times, it may come from a casual conversation, or a story in the news, or God whispering an idea in my ear. I suppose that’s why I can't stick to one genre.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

Is it too much of a cliché to say the day I married my wife? We've been together 22 years now, and going strong.

I don’t think it’s cliché at all. How has being published changed your life?

It has certainly soaked up most of my free time. Most writers will attest to the fact that when they're not writing, they're still thinking about their story. Writing has also forced me to be more of a disciplined person. Even though I may not feel like it at times, I need to sit in front of the computer and work on the next chapter or do some revisions. It is a taskmaster that is never satisfied until the book is done. Probably the best way writing has changed my life is all the people I've had a chance to meet along the way—other writers, people who've bought my books, hopeful writers I've helped over the years. I always enjoy talking about writing with them, and what inspires me.

What are you reading right now?

I'm actually reading a story my daughter wrote for my birthday, a story about a king and a queen who lived in a castle during the medieval period. She is a very good writer in her own right, much better than I was at her age.

What is your current work in progress?

I have started on my next novel with a fellow writer I've known for a few years, Stuart Clark. He and I are working on a novel called Mind Writer, a futuristic story that deals with the ethics of cloning and how it would affect society if people could keep themselves alive for generations.

What would be your dream vacation?

There are two places I would love to visit—Jerusalem and Pompeii. History is my passion, and those two cities are probably the most interesting historical places in the world in my opinion. Rome with be a close third, followed by Istanbul.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

It depends on the kind of genre I choose for each story. If it's a sci-fi story, then space will fit in there somewhere. If it's a fantasy, than alternate dimensions. If it's a romance, then I tend to gravitate toward small towns with an eclectic group of people who live there, and if it's a historically-based story, then sometime in the past that works best for the setting.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

That's a tough one. There are so many interesting people in the world I wish I could ask a thousand questions. If I had to choose one, I would say Stephen Spielberg. I love movies, and his have been some of my top favorites. Despite his obvious success as a filmmaker over the last 40 years, he seems to be just as creative and excited about his projects as when he first started. I hope to have that kind of passion in my life years from now. Plus, I'm sure he would have a whole treasure trove of stories to share.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I pretty much said it in the previous question. I love films. I love watching them, and then analyzing them afterward. I enjoy hearing behind-the-scenes stories about a movie. How it was made, the problems experienced along the way, things we learn from them. To me, there are few things better than being taken away on an exciting journey for a couple of hours to far-off places and meeting interesting people along the way.

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

For me, my most difficult writing obstacle is knowing when it's time to stop. It doesn't matter how many times I've edited a story, I can always find something to fix. I've basically come to the conclusion that a story is never really finished, you just have to decide it's done, than then send it to the publisher.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Write, write, write. Submit what you've written to a publisher, and then write some more. I know that's not new, but the only way we'll be really good writers is through practice. There's just no substitute for time in front of the computer. Most writers who go back and read their earlier works often cringe. Their stories are generally much less polished than they are today. But at that time, it was the best they could do. Honing their skills came by writing one story after the other. Clunky sentences, weak characters, and flat storytelling fell by the wayside over time, replaced with gems that have found their way into readers' hands. That’s what all writers should aspire to in my humble opinion, and that comes by writing.

Tell us about the featured book.

It is titled, Treasures of the Heart. This is an adventure story I co-authored with Brandon Barr.

Bree McKinney is your run of the mill researchers who is happy to lose herself in her work as an oceanographer, until she meets a mysterious stranger, Jack Castle. He's charming ex-Navy SEAL who needs her help to find the HMS             Sheba Queen’s rumored cargo of gold, a legendary British warship that mysteriously sank off the New England coast in 1779. Bree finds herself falling in love as they search for the lost treasure, but their search takes a life or death turn when a dangerous man from Jack’s past catches up with him, and will stop at nothing to claim the gold for himself.

There are a lot of twists and turns in the story that will keep the reader engaged from the first page to the last, plus a nice romantic element that will warm anyone's heart. If you're in the mood for a nice little buried treasure story, then Treasures of the Heart will be right up your alley. 

Please give us the first page of the book. 

CHAPTER 1 

Another wave crashed over the bow, slamming Samuel Piper onto the deck. Half   frozen, he clung to the mizzenmast with one hand, his cutlass tightly gripped in the other. The Sheba Queen trembled under his feet as gale force winds blew against her without remorse. If she hadn’t run aground against Lucifer’s Horns, a jagged grouping of rocks less than a mile from shore, the ship would have foundered under the torrent, and he'd likely be dead, his life quickly ended by the frigid waters. The misery he endured at present still         seemed a cruel mercy.

Samuel pulled himself back to his feet and caught glimpses of two men fighting through thick sheets of rain. One lunged forward with his sword while the other parried the thrust that was intended to finish him off. Clangs of metal against metal pierced through a succession of thunder claps that lit the ship, casting it in an eerie glow. The darkness that followed was total, and Samuel navigated the ship by memory, his eyes recovering slowly from the blinding flashes cast down from an angry sky above.

“To the quarter deck!” someone yelled. “We make our stand there.”

Quick, disjointed movements caught Samuel’s attention. He turned in the direction from where they originated, just in time to catch the edge of a sword coming down on him. A man twice his size materialized in the dark, his shadowy outline like a massive beam. Samuel raised his cutlass just in time to fend off the blow, but the power of his opponent's crushing attack sent him stumbling back into the ship’s rigging.

His laced shirt and pantaloons soaked by rain, the Spaniard came at him again just as a thirty-foot wall of water slammed into the ship. The Sheba Queen teetered noisily against Lucifer’s Horns, momentarily halting the Spaniard’s attack as the two men held onto whatever they could.

“Preparar a morir usted perro,” he said, and thrust his sword at Samuel again.

He used his smaller size to his advantage, and darted out of the way quicker than his unwieldy adversary could move.

With the same devastating impact as before, still another wave crashed into the ship, this time knocking Samuel onto the deck. The Spaniard gained the upper hand, and made a wide cut with his sword, slicing Samuel’s arm. He ground his teeth, fighting the searing pain, and rolled out of the way before the man could finish him off.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

The best place to find me is my website: www.mikelynchbooks.com

Thank you, Mike, for sharing this new book with us.

Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.
Treasures of The Heart


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