I first met Trish Perry at the ACFW Conference last September in Dallas. I was interested in meeting Trish because the title of her first book The Guy I’m Not Dating intrigued me. I couldn’t wait to read the story. (And I wasn’t disappointed.)

Trish Perry is an award-winning author and has two novels with Harvest House Publishers – The Guy I’m Not Dating and Too Good to Be True. She is also the editor of Ink and the Spirit, the quarterly newsletter of the Capital Christian Writers organization in the Washington metropolitan area. She has written for The Washington Post Magazine, Whispers from Heaven, The War Cry, Pockets, and The Sun magazines; for the compilation books, All is Calm, All is Bright (Baker/Revell), and The Wish, the Wait, the Wonder (Harper Collins); for Keys for Kids and The One Year Book of Devotions for Girls 2 (Tyndale), and for The Washington Post On-line. Trish holds a summa cum laude B.A. degree in Psychology and worked as a stockbroker in the 1980s.

Trish enjoys reading, singing, and eating things that are bad for her. (Oh, now that sounds familiar!) Her favorite movies are those that make her laugh and cry, sometimes simultaneously. She lives in Virginia with her son, who cracks her up. She loves her three big, goofy dogs (who are, nevertheless, banished forever to the great outdoors) and her feral cat Tuffy (who can beat the pants off of any one of those mongrels anytime he has to).

A cat lover always rates points in my book. :)

I asked Trish to share a humorous memory with us…

“Like most writers I tend to be a bit shy, so I often “wing it,” rather than asking for specific help or directions.

I’ve always been that way. Before I was old enough to read, the first time I used the public restroom, I entered (and used) the boys’ bathroom rather than asking which was which. I broke out into a sweat the first time I had to guess which coffee drink to order at Starbuck’s. And at my first writers’ conference, I misunderstood where I was supposed to get my name tag when I first checked in. The tag was in the welcome folder I was given, but I didn’t know that. Instead, I spotted a big silver bowl holding countless cards with peoples’ names on them. I dug through that bowl for ages, collecting the various cards in a pile in my hand, while I searched for the card with my name on it. I thought it was the strangest method of providing nametags to people. I finally gave up and timidly asked a group of women (who were watching me intently) how they had managed to find their tags. “It’s in your folder,” one of them told me.

I had been digging through, and removing names from, a raffle bowl, as if I were trying to improve my chances of winning a prize in a future drawing. My efforts at avoiding embarrassment often lead to far worse situations than I fear. But sometimes they also lead to some pretty good fodder for my books’ heroines.”

Trish’s debut novel The Guy I’m Not Dating is a fun, delightful, chick-lit novel!

Here’s the back-cover copy:

Kara Richardson has finally suffered one breakup too many. She’s decided to go the no-dating route to romance, although she’s not quite sure how that works.

She couldn’t have picked a worse time to meet Gabe Paolino. Gorgeous men hardly faze Kara. A personal trainer, she works with hunks every day. But Gabe, the handsome young deli owner in town, proves way too available and way too challenging for Kara’s vow of friendship. How will she adhere to her new lifestyle without scaring Gabe away?

Enter matchmaking friends, a strange elderly aunt, three demanding teens, and one hard-to-take vixen with eyes for Gabe. Add an overcrowded road trip and plenty of God’s blessings, and Kara may discover that the guy she’s not dating is the best boyfriend she’s ever had.

If you haven’t read it yet, don’t wait!

The sequel Too Good To Be True has just released from Harvest House Publishers in March 2007. This book follows one of the characters from book one on a new adventure.

When Ren Young faints at her local Wal-Mart, she’s “rescued” by Tru Sayers, who seems perfect; but both of these potential lovebirds have formidable mothers with plans of their own.

Also available at
Chrisitan Book Distributors and Barnes & Noble.

I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy of Too Good To Be True before it released. Just seeing how both mothers acted toward Ren and Tru made me want to be nothing like them when I’m finally tagged with the title of “mother-in-law”. :) A good lesson in how not to treat our children’s future mates. Well done! (And the romance is fun too!)

I asked Trish if she would give us a behind-the-scenes look at her writing.

Jill: When and how did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

Trish: The dawning was gradual, Jill, which is, admittedly, my style. I’m not your lightening-bolt type of gal in the self-awareness department. I dabbled in writing when I was younger—poems, personal essays, short stories—but I was too shy to tell anyone I enjoyed it and, frankly, too unaware of my own drives and desires until well into my adult years. I was keenly drawn to most things creative, so my hobbies always involved artistic endeavors; painting, singing, dancing. But I didn’t pursue writing until I started following Christ, after I reached my 30s. He was definitely the One who clued me in, steering me away from a career as a psychological counselor and toward writing for Him.

Jill: Tell me a bit about what you write now and what you hope to write in the future.

Trish: My current series is chick lit, or romantic comedy. I embellish the category that way, because my heroines, while full of those chick-lit foibles, don’t tend to be “all about the clothes” or the career, or the coffee and chocolate. My books are relationship driven, and among the laughs and the romance, they feature some serious life issues, such as divorce, infertility, respect for the elderly, diabetes, racial prejudice, and more. The overall feel is light, but the books are, after all, about young women living in the world and facing real-life issues. For that reason I would envision a future shift—if any—into pure women’s fiction. But I don’t think I’ll ever walk away from humor in my books. No matter how tough life might get, humor is too important a gift from God to ignore. And in an entirely different direction, the first book I ever wrote was a spiritual warfare novel, which my closest group of friends/readers especially enjoyed. One day I might seek a publisher for that, but I’m awaiting God’s guidance there.

Jill: If and when did you realize your writing was a calling?

Trish: After the Lord captured my heart, He just poured on the awakenings, Jill. He was the one who led me to return to college as an adult to get my Psychology degree, but as I finished that work, He tweaked His guidance in a terrific way. I had become drawn to writing, but I knew I had to get busy working on my doctorate if I wanted to counsel patients. I remember making the bed one morning, actually complaining a bit to Him. “Lord, all along I’ve felt Your guidance with the Psych thing. But now I’m not feeling it. Why aren’t You guiding me anymore?” Within seconds I nearly felt His chuckle and nearly heard His voice saying, “Hello? If you’ve always felt My guidance with the Psych thing and now you’re feeling pulled in another direction, what do you think I’m doing?” He even made me laugh with that one. I embraced His calling to write before I even finished making the bed.

Jill: What means did God use to confirm in your heart that this is exactly what He has prepared for you to do for Him?

Trish: There was a period when I began to doubt that moment He touched me as I made the bed. I had submitted a number of small writings, receiving either no response or outright rejection. One day I felt particularly doubtful, and He chose to bless me with two confirmations that very day—made me cry, as if He had reached down and patted me on the back. I received both my first acceptance letter—for a poem for The War Cry magazine—and a notice that my home town had chosen to adopt a town motto I had written. Certainly not the stuff of Hemingway’s success, but sometimes He speaks to us in whispers, and I heard His whisper loud and clear that day.

Jill: Can you share one struggle that entered your life as a result of writing and how God helped you to overcome it, to make you more like Christ?

Trish: I’d have to say I’m in the midst of such a struggle, Jill. You can’t write true Christian fiction without laying your beliefs on the table, you know? I’ve never hidden my beliefs, but neither am I likely to be found on your local sidewalk corner, trying to reach the heathen masses. Since the release of my first novel, I’ve been quite aware that some of my friends and family members are put off by how faithfully I embrace the Lord’s Word, without bending it for today’s cultural mores. I hope to never sound judgmental with my gay relative or my
way-liberal friend or anyone else who reads what I write. I’m just as sinful as the next person. But my sin is sin, nonetheless, and my characters’ sins are sins, too (albeit fictional ones), and the need for the Lord’s salvation is a huge part of what I write. When I’m confronted about the faith expressed in my books, I pray I’ll reflect Christ’s love and be used to draw others to Him.

Jill: You’re so right, Trish. Along that same idea, is there a particular joy in this writing business/ministry that God has used to remind you that He is, in fact, using your words to His glory?

Trish: The best confirmations He sends my way are reactions from people who read my books and take the time to write to me about them, or even post their comments on the various book sites. My books aren’t meant to be “message” books. But often readers will hear a message that just fits their situation and they let me know about it. I don’t know if such readers are aware that God is using them as vessels to encourage those who write for Him, but that’s exactly what happens when readers respond like that.

Jill: That’s exactly how I felt – I sensed God giving me new insight as I read Too Good To Be True. I’m not that far off from gaining daughters-in-law someday, and your story truly helped me to see how important a mom’s influence can be, and how much she has to guard how she treats her children and those they love.

Has writing opened opportunities for you to give your testimony and witness for Christ or minister to fellow believers? If so, can you give one example?

Trish: Yes, I’ve found that I’ve been asked to share my testimony far more often now, in connection with my writing journey. Most often that happens when I’m interviewed. As a matter of fact, I just finished sharing my testimony at the request of a young woman’s book-review blogspot. The idea of that testimony reaching many readers at once, via cyberspace, is a thrill. I pray someone out there will identify with my story and accept Him into her heart.

If you want to read more about Trish and her writing, please visit her website. And stop on by one of the websites to purchase Trish’s books!

Thank you, Trish, for a great interview and for joining us this month on Spotlight.