Beth Trissel's Interview

Today's spotlight is on award-winning, multi-published author, Beth Trissel.
Beth writes American Historical books with a paranormal twist:
Daughter of the Wind, Enemy of the King, Through the Fire, Somewhere my Love.
Beth was a 2008 Golden Heart® Finalist, 2008 Winner at Preditor's & Editor's Readers Poll and Publisher’s Weekly BHB Reader’s Choice Best Books of 2009. Her latest paranormal, Somewhere My Lass, will be released at The Wild Rose Press on May 26, 2010.

Please join me in welcoming Beth Trissel.
Beth, thank you for spending the day with us. Please, tell us a little about yourself.

Where are you from? When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Thanks much for having me. Lovely to be here. I’m from Virginia for the past several hundred years, family wise, but also spent much of my childhood in Taiwan and Tennessee. Between the two, I much preferred Tennessee. Taiwan was pretty primitive in those days. Memories surface when I watch Indiana Jone’s movies of swinging bridges strung between mountain peaks over plunging ravines…natives missing limbs from venomous snake bites….noisy, stifling bus rides with crated chickens perched on women’s laps, children clutching piglets, and men spitting red betelnut juice.

Are there any authors that have influenced you or your work?
The very first historical romance I ever read was Katherine by Anya Seton. Wow, it made an enormous impression on me. Just to name one.

Do you have a favorite book or series?
I love quaint and cozy British author Miss Read in my downtime. I’m weird, I know. I read little fiction, mostly non for research.

What are your hobbies or interests?
I’m an avid gardener, have a burgeoning family with ever more darling little grand babies, nieces…and I’m a British program addict. My mom says I am an Anglophile. Sounds perverted but it just means there are few British period films, murder mysteries, or hilarious comedies that I’ve missed. I’ve seen every Jane Austen based production ever made. Oddly though, I’m also an American history fanatic, but the two are intertwined.

Speaking of, can you tell us more about your books? What inspired you to write them?
I’m a multi-pubbed, in historical and light paranormal romance, author with a passion for the past. Family genealogy plays a significant role in my inspiration. Our roots reach well back into colonial America and much further into the British Isles.

How long did it take for you to get published and what was the journey like?
I was like a sled dog pushing on through blinding snow with rejections galore and no end in sight for 12 plus years (and I even had a good agent at one point) until I finally found the Promised Land, otherwise known as The Wild Rose Press.

Any current projects you're excited about and can share with our readers?
Yes, indeed. I have a light paranormal release coming out at The Wild Rose on May 26th, Somewhere My Lass, a unique suspenseful Scottish time travel and the next book in my ‘Somewhere’ series.

Do you write to music or the TV? Music, mostly Celtic and soundtracks from movies that take me from ‘here’ to ‘there.’ I try to forge ahead and write despite the frequent children’s movies playing in the background when the little people are over – which is often.

Do you plot your story before you write it or do you sit and let it flow? I’m a panser trying to be more of a plotter but not really succeeding. I rely heavily on obsessive research. It’s my armor and guiding light.

Most people see writers as hermits, closed off in a room, clacking away at the keyboard until the final page is typed. Do you consider yourself this disciplined as a writer?
I’m not always allowed this luxury with all the people coming and going, but the cave days are ideal.

They say you can learn a lot about a person by their surroundings. What does your work area look like?
Cluttered, homey, filled with pets, flowers & herbs from the garden. And a lot of toys.

What do you consider your guilty pleasure?
I need to acquire one of those.

And here is a blurb of Somewhere My Lass.

Blurb: Neil MacKenzie’s well ordered life turns to chaos when Mora Campbell shows up claiming he’s her fiancé from 1602 Scotland. Her avowal that she was chased to the future by clan chieftain, Red MacDonald, is utter nonsense, and Neil must convince her that she is just addled from a blow to her head–or so he believes until the MacDonald himself shows up wanting blood. Mora knows the Neil of the future is truly her beloved Niall who disappeared from the past. Although her kinsmen believe he’s dead, and she is now destined to marry Niall’s brother, she’s convinced that if she and Neil return to the past, all will be right. The only problem is how to get back to 1602 before it’s too late. The balance of the present and future are in peril if she marries another, and the Neil of the present will cease to exist. An ancient relic and a few good friends in the future help pave the way back to the past, but will Mora and Neil be too late to save a love that began centuries before?
Beth Trissel's books are available at the Wild Rose Press.