Marilyn Gardiner
When I was eight-years-old, a public library opened in my small town and I thought heaven was at hand. I loved the librarian there second only to my mother and grandmothers. I devoured Nancy Drew books, two and three a day, and went on to Grace Livingston Hill and Zane Grey with the same ferocious appetite. When I found Mary Roberts Rinehart, my mother began to fear for my eyesight.An addiction to reading led, swiftly, to the need to write. I wrote my first novel that year, mostly penned under the covers at night with the aid of a flashlight or high in the apple tree with the wind rocking a benediction to my fantasy. But it wasn't until I discovered Bess Streeter Aldrich that I discovered what I wanted to write about. Relationships. The way all our lives rub against each other and, in the process, change us in ways both great and small. And so, I write romance.
Over the years I have published in almost every genre. My byline has appeared on everything from children's literature to newspapers, religious curriculum, inspirational material, newsletters, magazines, poetry, etc. My family coped for years with mismatched socks and thrown-together meals, and I maintain a faintly guilty memory of, "Shh, Mom and/or Grandma's writing."
At the moment, I have published five books with, Wings ePress. I am happy to be able to tell you that FLIGHT OF ANGELS, a paranormal romance, is the winner of both the Reviewer's Choice Award and the Golden Wings Award, and was awarded four stars by Romantic Times. Whose baby is Beth carrying? Her own or Olivia's, a woman who has been dead for 600 years?
MY PRETTY LADY, a contemporary romance, has garnered rave reviews as women's general fiction, dealing in layers with a woman's struggle to grow in spirit and move on after a near fatal blow.
My historical romance entitled LIKE A RIVER, MY LOVE, was also given a Golden Wings Award and was awarded four stars by Romantic Times. Floating down the Ohio River in 1778 with George Rogers Clark and his small army, Verity survives capture by Indians, the rigors of flatboat transportation, the unwanted attentions of an overbearing, crude and cruel fellow traveler, and all the dangers of wilderness travel. Love is most definitely not in her plans but the expedition's scout, Trey Owens, is most intriguing. Can she-dare she-trust her heart to a man who prizes his freedom above all things?
KEEPER OF THE SINGING BONES, a real cliff-hanger, is a book of suspense, romance and mystery. Juliet's story takes place deep in the duppy-infested caves of the bush country in Jamaica and is complete with Rastafarians and political intrigue.
In WHEN THE WIND BLOWS I took up the problem of child kidnapping. Little six-year-old Gilly is gone, and only his mother suspects that her estranged husband took him. Complications arise when Molly begins thinking of Colin as more than just the detective in charge of finding her son. The question is: can Colin protect her and still find Gilly in time? WHEN THE WIND BLOWS was also awarded four stars by Romantic Times. One reviewer wrote: "Be prepared to stay up all night with this one. Gardiner writes about a mother's worst nightmare."
Coming Soon:
An out-and-out, unapologetic, ghost story, DANCING LADIES, takes place in a haunted house. It gave me goosebumps even as I wrote! Apparently, Kate is at the mercy of the ghost of her long-dead twin sister, Leah, and she has only an old friend, Cass Reynolds, to help her protect herself and her young son. As the tension builds, Kate is forced to wonder if Leah is trying to murder her by fright or, in her own weird way, save her from some unseen and unknown threat.My one and only Inspirational Romance is entitled A TRIVIAL PURSUIT. In it Lauren struggles with the moral code of today's society. She loves Jeremy, and his young son Michael, with all her heart, and he loves her, but Jeremy has been badly burned by a first marriage and wants nothing to do with a second. Terrified of another commitment, he insists Lauren move in with them without benefit of clergy. He promises devotion, security, his protection, love, a portfolio, etc. but Lauren feels she has to be true to her convictions, and although it breaks her heart, she refuses. Stalemate. And then, Michael runs away�
THINE IS THE KINGDOM is my latest book and deals with a crisis within the family when a mine-waste dam in West Virginia collapses and the resulting flood kills dozens of people. Clary joins a group dedicated to suing Jackston Coal in an effort to force them to bring safety measures up to code, and her husband does not understand. His short-sighted view is that she is trying to bite the hand that feeds them and, as part of management at the mine, he feels a strong sense of loyalty to Jackston. Will their marriage survive the stress and strain?
Thankfully, I have a supportive and extremely patient husband who has had faith in my stories from the beginning. My two grown daughters have given us the blessing of eight healthy and happy grandchildren. As the wife of a Presbyterian minister, a singer with a large Chorale, and now an author, my life is, indeed, full.
I suppose you could say that my career has become a family effort. My husband is my business manager, one daughter keeps the books and another does all the technical computer stuff-none of which (books or graphics) I have a clue about! Between us all, we are building a name for MARILYN'S WINGS.
Visiting hours begin now at Wings ePress, Inc. I hope you find something to make you laugh, make you think, and even cause a few tears.
FLIGHT OF ANGELS*, Winner Golden Wings & Reviewer's Choice Awards
MY PRETTY LADY, Launch Title for Encore L'Amour
LIKE A RIVER MY LOVE*, Winner Gold Wings Award
KEEPER OF THE SINGING BONES, September 2002
WHEN THE WIND BLOWS*, December 2002
All titles published by Wings ePress, Inc.
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