THE CAPTAIN AND MRS. VYE - MaryAnn Diorio - One Free Book

Welcome back, MaryAnn. Tell us about your salvation experience. Oh, how I love to tell this story! Thank you for the opportunity to do so.

I received Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord at the age of 25. I had just returned from a year of living in Italy where I studied for my Master’s degree. Because of the readings required in my course of study, I returned home with questions about the existence of God. (Warning here: Be careful where you or your children get an education! :)

Up to that point, I had been a devoted member of the Catholic Church. One Sunday morning, I was feeling very depressed as I entered church. But when I left, I felt even more depressed. Something wasn’t right. The service should have encouraged me. Instead, it added more questions to my already large repertoire.

As I left church, I stood on the steps and in my heart, I cried out to God. “Lord,” I said, “is this all there is to You? If not, please show me!”

Shortly thereafter, a fellow teacher at the school where I taught, who was a Christian, invited me to a meeting of Campus Crusade for Christ. A young woman named Margo witnessed to me, but I was afraid to accept Christ because I had been taught that only Catholics go to heaven. But she was so kind and loving, and I know she prayed for me.

For two years afterward, the Lord kept sending me people to witness to me about being born again. Finally, in December 1970, as I was watching Billy Graham on TV, I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord. And I have never been the same.

For a full, detailed version of my testimony, your readers can visit my website at https://www.maryanndiorio.com/how-to-live-forever.

I love hearing salvation stories. You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why? This is a very difficult question for me as so many fellow writers have helped me grow along the way. But I suppose I would choose the members of my mastermind group. We meet once a month via Zoom, yet we have never met in person. I would love to attend a retreat with them.

Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that. Yes. I used to speak in person, but now I speak only via Zoom. My speaking ministry has been primarily to women, especially hurting women. Of course, all women have hurt at some point in their lives. That’s the reason we all need a Savior.
If I could summarize the theme of my speaking ministry, it is to help women expose the lies in their lives and replace them with the truth. As John 8: 32 states, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Over my 77 years of life, it is the truth of God’s Word that has sustained me and seen me through many difficult challenges. I want to share the truth of God’s Word with women so that they, too, can be set free wherever they need to be.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it? I ran into a pole and said, “Excuse me!”  I handled it by laughing with those who witnessed the event and laughed as well.

People are always telling me that they’d like to write a book someday. I’m sure they do to you, too. What would you tell someone who came up to you and said that? I would say, “Then write it!”  I believe that a desire is an indication of a talent.

Tell us about the featured book. The Captain and Mrs. Vye started only as a title. One day, Holy Spirit just dropped the title into my spirit and it grabbed my attention. At that point, I had no idea at all about the story or its plot.

Then I started asking myself some questions. Who is Mrs. Vye? What is her problem? Her biggest dream? The biggest fear keeping her from achieving that dream? As a result of the answers to those questions, the story began taking shape. As I wrote it, I felt a keen sense of Holy Spirit’s presence guiding me.

There were times I had no clue where I was going. But then I prayed, and the Lord answered with a way to move forward. He always makes a way for us, doesn’t He? Glory to His Holy Name! J

Please give us the first page of the book.
Cape May, New Jersey

Monday, February 17, 1873

As she faced her husband in the lovely sitting room of their spacious home, Loretta Vye's fragile hold on joy slipped. Her stomach tensed as she clutched the gold cross around her neck, a gift from her late mother on Loretta's eighth birthday. She always grabbed hold of it when she was upset. “You're leaving again? When?”

“Tomorrow, my dear.”

“Tomorrow?” Her voice rose several decibels.

A frown darkened his angular face. “Yes, dear.” He turned away from her momentarily, clasping his hands behind his back, and then faced her again. “An urgent situation has arisen that requires I leave immediately.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?
They can find me at https://www.maryanndiorio.com

Thank you so much for this opportunity, Lena. I am most grateful to you!

It’s my pleasure to host you on my blog again.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/Captain-Mrs-Vye-Book-Wives/dp/1959699008/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1668618123&sr=1-1

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 2 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com