Trish Perry's TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

1) How did this story come to you?
I actually wrote Too Good to Be True before The Guy I’m Not Dating. I had just finished writing an intense supernatural thriller and needed to write something more light and fun. I wanted Ren, the heroine, to be funny but somewhat vulnerable emotionally. I knew her story would have much to do with our timing versus God's. I had specific romantic encounters in mind for her and Tru, the hero. The more serious facets of the story—surviving divorce, infertility, trying to adopt, and honoring one's humorously manipulative parents—just started floating around in my head while I folded laundry, applied my makeup, drove to the grocery store. As often happens, the random ideas settled into place once I sat down at the computer and got to work. That "settling" is one of God's many blessings during the writing process—great fun!

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
As I mentioned above, I had already written a book (still unpublished) before I started Too Good to Be True. I was four chapters into Too Good when I entered a writing contest with the first three chapters. The judge was a literary agent who awarded me first place and asked the contest coordinator for my contact information. I was thrilled to sign on with her! Once I finished the manuscript, she began shopping it to various houses until we received an offer. In fact, because I immediately began writing The Guy I’m Not Dating once I finished Too Good to Be True, my agent was able to get me a two-book contract. So it’s in a new writer’s best interest to keep on writing, even after that first manuscript is done and out there. That first contract came about after I had been seriously writing for about ten years.

3) What do you love most about being a writer?
I feel I’m doing what God created me to do. This isn’t a money-making endeavor by any means—not for the majority of novelists, anyway. And this certainly isn’t the path to fame. But when I hear from a reader that a particular book of mine was exactly what God wanted her to read at that point in her life? It doesn’t get any better than that. A total blessing.

4) What frustrates you about being a writer?

Definitely the blank page. Once I get started, words flow. But it can be such a struggle to get those first few words down. Lately I’ve been doing a bit more writing by hand than I usually do. I’m finding I don’t censor myself as much when I write by hand, and I love sitting down to the computer afterward and already having something to slap down on that page.

5) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I used to sing in a rock band. Loved it.
I can’t swim. I don’t mean I’m not a strong swimmer. I mean it’s curtains for me if I get in water over my head.
I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

6) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I’m excited to be writing my next contemporary romance series, the first book of which probably won’t release until early 2011. The Tea Shop Series is set in historic Middleburg, Virginia. Each book will involve a different set of characters. The first book, The Perfect Blend, is about a young woman who burns all of her bridges and dashes to Middleburg to elope with her fiancé, only to find nothing is working out as she expected.

7) Parting comments?
I invite your readers to stop by my blog at http://www.trishperry.com/. I typically interview two novelists a week, and they give away a signed copy of their current book and talk about their novels, their lives, and the craft of writing.