Trish Perry Trish, describe yourself for our visitors.

I’m still pretty much a goofball, even at my age. I think I enjoy laughing more than just about any other activity in life, so I often seek people and opportunities to that end. Not that I don’t take anything seriously, but I get amazingly energized by sharing an uncontrollable fit of laughter with others.

Hobby-wise, I love to read, watch films, eat good food, dance, and sing. My book and film tastes run the gamut, from romantic comedies to tragedies that make me cry and haunt me for days.

Similarly, I enjoy experimenting with music styles. My son and I recently saw the dance troupe Pilobolus perform. The music to which they danced was unusual—European sounding. I hunted around on Amazon and found the CD for the movie, Everything is Illuminated, which the Pilobolus troupe must have used. I love finding music unlike what I’ve heard before.

My favorite ministry was serving on the worship team at my church. I had to cut back on that, though, as family and writing responsibilities increased. But I’ll still crank things up when I’m alone—I have a karaoke machine, so I don’t have to use a hairbrush as a mike. The neighbors haven’t complained. Yet.

How do you find time to connect with God?

Isn’t it something that we struggle with this? Finding time with God—you’d think it would be at the top of the list. I’m certainly not as consistent as I’d like to be. But I try to focus on God for a brief time every morning, as soon as I get out of bed. I don’t exactly pray; I simply shut my mind off and sit still, in case there’s anything He wants to plant in my mind or heart for the day. I’m always amazed at how often my day is focused and productive when I do that. And I do my Bible study during lunch, if I’m home. Other than that, I’m just constantly touching base with Him during the day, while I’m driving or carrying out some task, like laundry. I try very hard to listen for His guidance as often as I can.

Do you have a favorite bible verse and or quote you wish to share?

For the past two years, Isaiah 41:10 has given me fantastic comfort: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I’ve needed a bit of “upholding” over the past couple of years, and He’s really been there for me in wonderful ways.

Who are your favorite authors? Favorite books?

I don’t really have favorite authors. I read as many different authors as I can. Usually, when asked this question, I focus on recent books and authors I’ve enjoyed, so I’ll do that here.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, was smart, touching, and beautifully written. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne, and Exodus, by Leon Uris, both told stories of the Holocaust. Boyne’s book was deliberately childlike, which made it especially haunting. Uris’ book was in the old epic style, with enough backstory to make any contemporary editor scream. Yet it was an excellent account of Jewish history, and I enjoyed it. I got such pleasure recently from a couple of fun Christian novels, Age Before Beauty, by Virginia Smith, and Fools Rush in, by Janice Thompson. Both lots of fun.

Tell us about your journey to publication.

I started writing when I was working on my Psychology degree (as an adult). At that time, my writing was for English Composition and other such classes. But I noticed how much I enjoyed it, and my professors encouraged me to write more. So I took Creative Writing classes and slowly wrote a supernatural Christian novel that I’d love to publish some day. By the time I finished that novel, I was in the mood for writing something more light and humorous. So I wrote the books with which I broke into publishing (The Guy I’m Not Dating and Too Good to Be True). My publisher asked me to write the two books that followed—that’s a great feeling, to have your publisher come to you with a request. Lovely. God has sent some interesting opportunities my way, and now I’ve published four novels and look forward to publishing more, if it’s His will.

Sunset Beach cover Tell us about your current book.

Here’s my short description of Sunset Beach. This one has all new characters, different from my first three books.

Sonny Miller is tired of not knowing who she is. Soon she’ll begin graduate school to earn her masters in Psychology. But how can she counsel future clients about their identities when she isn’t even sure about her own? To that end she has cooked up a little meeting at a certain beach house in San Diego.

Sonny’s mother, classical soprano Teresa Miller, isn’t aware she’s about to be reunited at the beach house with her sister, Melanie Hines, after 25 years of estrangement. And Sonny isn’t aware her mother has invited a surprise guest of her own. Russian adoptee, Irina Petrova, finds herself dragged along on a trip so tumultuous she summons her handsome concert violinist brother for moral support.

The four women converge on the funky little beach house in San Diego, each with her own disappointments and hopes about family, identity, and love. For Sonny, the trip reveals all she expected and more than she ever dreamed.

How did you come up with ideas for this book?

Harvest House wanted another book with the same setting (the beach house), so that part of the story was established for me in advance. My first step, then, was to create a main character, which is where I usually begin. In developing my main character’s backstory, I discover storyline ideas. The same thing happens when I create the romantic hero and the secondary characters. And then their lives begin to intersect. I should point out that all of this planning is just that—preparatory work before I actually write any of the book. The stories in this series all take place within a one- or two-week period, so the challenge exists to develop relationships quickly and believably. That’s really only possible by giving each character a rich past that will have a quick and significant impact on the other characters.

All of this to say, “Ideas?” Honestly, while I’m doing the above groundwork, I’m praying like the dickens for inspiration. And He always gives it to me.

Did you have a favorite character(s)? Who and why?

Inevitably I enjoy my “bad guy” the most. But as a writer of contemporary romance, I have pretty tame bad guys—it’s not as if they pack heat or plan abductions or anything. For instance, in Sunset Beach, I would categorize Teresa, Sonny’s mother, as the bad guy. She’s self-centered, sarcastic, and full of failings. She’s the one who has kept Sonny in the dark all her life, and she continues to forestall Sonny’
s discovery about her past. She’s just a complex mess of a woman, and that’s a fun character to write. Of course, I’d hate to actually have a person like that in my life.

What’s next for you?

I’m actually not sure as of today. I have proposals for six novels being considered, and I have one more to put together this month. My plan is to wait on the Lord as far as which (if any) of these projects merits my attention the most. I hope to know something in the near future, but it’s all up to Him.

Where can visitors find you online?