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Monday, August 11, 2008

Blog Tour - Trish Perry and Beach Dreams

I'm thrilled today to be part of the kickoff of a good friend of mine's 2-week blog tour. Her 3rd book, Beach Dreams, closes out a trilogy featuring an endearing cast of characters you'll grow to love from page 1. Combined with witty dialogue, comical yet true-to-life situations and Trish's characteristic sense of humor, this book is the perfect bookend to the "beach" series begun by Sally John as well as Trish's own books. If you love romantic comedy, you're going to love this one!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Trish Perry is an award-winning writer of The Guy I'm Not Dating and Too Good to Be True. She served for seven yeras as the editor of Ink and the Spirit, a quarterly newsletter of the Capital Christian Writers organization in the Washington DC area. She has published numerous short stories, essays, devotionals, and poetry in Christian and general market media, and she is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers group. She discovered her love of writing while earning a degree in Psychology. She switched career paths in 1997 and never looked back. Her debut novel placed second in the 2007 FHL Inspirational Readers' Choice Contest, and her second novel is a current finalist in the 2008 FHL IRCC.

Trish lives in Northern Virginia with her hilarious teenaged son, and has a gorgeous adult daughter and an amazing grandson. You can learn more about Trish at her website, http://www.trishperry.com/.

BEACH DREAMS
by Trish Perry
Published by Harvest House Publishers

ABOUT THE BOOK

Following up on Sally John's bestselling Beach House series (The Beach House and Castles in the Sand-nearly 45,000 in combined sales) is a brand-new Beach House book from veteran Harvest House novelist Trish Perry.

Tiffany LeBoeuf has a problem. She has lost her job, her mother has recently passed away, and she has zero social life. And then she meets Jeremy. But Tiff is a new Christian and knows she shouldn't be attracted to this unbelieving (but charming!) Brit. And then there's Eve. . . Jeremy's girlfriend. When Tiff reserves a cozy beach house in San Diego for a much-needed retreat, a mix-up causes a double-booking, and Tiff ends up sharing the beach house with Eve. When Jeremy arrives to surprise Eve, he surprises Tiff as well. As Jeremy settles in at the house next door, events and secrets unravel that surprise everyone.

A fun, contemporary romance about how God uses even our mistakes to bring about His divine purposes. Beach Dreams is the perfect get-away read.

Buy Your Copy of Beach Dreams Today!

Read an Excerpt

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. What gave you the inspiration for this book?

My two lead characters, Tiff and Jeremy, have been kicking around with me for a few years, and my editor and I were dying to give them their own story. They were fun secondary characters in The Guy I'm Not Dating and Too Good to Be True. Jeremy is such a misguided sweety and Tiff has been the gal you love to hate for two novels now. So I thought it would be entertaining to throw them together and see what happened. The setting, San Diego, came along with the contract, as Beach Dreams is the third in The Beach House series, created by Sally John. So, although I originally planned for Tiff and Jeremy’s story to take place in the Washington, D.C. area, I sent them to the other side of the country. The circumstances of that trip made for some fun plot points!

2. How much of your own experiences influenced your characters? What aspects became traits that are theirs and theirs alone?

There isn't a way to say this without making myself sound awful, but I hatch most of my characters' weaknesses out of my own experiences. Tiff's selfish nature, Jeremy's misjudgement about the motives of others, both of their struggles with giving control over to God, that kind of thing. And my characters have experiences such as living with an alcoholic, losing a loved one, going through breakups, and learning to love again that bear the markings of my own experiences. And then there's the gift of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time—they get that from me.

3. What themes exist in Beach Dreams that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

Last year at the American Christian Fiction Writers conference, Robin Jones Gunn talked about the fact that every Christian writer will eventually notice an overriding theme to her body of work. She said to watch for that, because that's the main message the Lord has put on your heart to share with others. I've discovered that the idea of leaning on God's guidance, above all else, is my overriding theme. So I think that's the part of me that eventually flavored my characters and influenced my plot line for Beach Dreams. Tiff can be selfish and manipulative because she forgets to seek His guidance. Jeremy makes all kinds of misjudgements about the motivations of others, because he's slow in trusting God’s guidance. Fortunately for me as a writer, some of these failings can lead to situations that are humorous to those not actually having to experience them!

4. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

I can't really say any of it was difficult (other than a very short deadline). But there is a scene between Tiff and her father (no spoilers here), for which I had to step away from the computer and completely immerse myself into Tiff's frame of mind, as if what was happening to her was actually happening to me. Until I did that, I wasn't aware of how she was going to react to him. But when I "became" the character, I broke down in tears and knew exactly how she would react. I have to say I loved how moving the experience was!

My favorite parts to write are the humorous moments of dialogue, especially between the hero and heroine or the heroine and her closest friends. My favorite parts of life are the humorous moments of dialogue too!

5. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

To date, I'm not sure which book will come out next. I'm talking with Harvest House about an idea I put together last week for a summer 2009 release, but I can't share anything about that yet. And I'm also working on a romantic comedy set in Washington, D.C., but I'm not sure about the status of that project, with regard to publication. I'm in a holding pattern at the moment, and since Beach Dreams just released two weeks ago, I'm giving it my focus right now. As soon as I know something definite about the next book, I'll be sure to post it on my blog at http://www.trishperry.com/ As always, I'm eager to jump into the next story!

CONTEST

In addition to a book giveaway, you can participate in a special contest related to Beach Dreams (prize: a beach bag filled with a few goodies) by posting a response to the following prompt: How has God used a mistake you made - big or small - for his purposes?

The example may be serious or funny, complex or simple, and you may or may not have realized he was even using it at the time it occurred. All entries must be received by 5pm CST on August 22. Trish will judge the entries and declare her favorite.

So, come on and play. Post your comment on this blog entry and Trish will include it with the others she'll be reading to select her favorite. You never know. It could be you!

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Thank you, Trish, for being in the spotlight with us.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win a FREE copy of Beach Dreams.

If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post. Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). Wouldn't want you to miss out on winning a book. :)

And if you want to make certain you don't miss anything, check the box that says 'email follow-up comments to:' when you leave a comment and they'll be sent to the email address associated with your blogging account. That way you'll be notified of any comments and will know when I announce the winner.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada only.

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Here is a link to the other bloggers participating in this tour. If you have more than one story to share, feel free to post on other bloggers' entries for more chances to win. Good luck!

http://blogtourspot.com/perry-blog-tour/perry-blog-tour-stops

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11 comments:

Lindsey said...

Oh man... I haven't read anything by this author before, but I read the excerpt and now I'm hooked! :-) Please enter me in the drawing!

In life, I keep making mistakes - all the time. If it weren't for the grace of God... :-) I'm so glad He loves us no matter what. I can think of a big thing but it's a little personal to be posting on here. Well, the timing of my baby (now three months old)... I was going through a very hard time when I got pregnant and thought that it was bad timing to BE pregnant. I kept asking God why and kept feeling like He was saying, "Trust me." Now I have a beautiful three-month-old baby girl I wouldn't trade for anything. God has really put my life back together and shown me that no matter how bleak the outlook, He's in control - and that it's worth it to trust Him. :-)

Thank you!

Unknown said...

Amber and Trish,

Thanks for the giveaways.

Please enter me for Trish's book and for the Beach Dreams special theme drawing.

As for how God uses my mistakes for His purposes that is a huge question.

I know I bungle things more often than not and especially if I am not letting Him direct things but He always manages to get things back on track eventually somehow although I still have to suffer the results of my pride in thinking I am capable on my own. Despite the messes I manage to land in though He allows my experiences to speak to others that cross my path that may be in the place I was at when I made a choice that didn't turn out so great and being able to share His faithfulness and how He walked beside me even when I was being a "rebellious" child can be encouraging and motivate them to make a different choice than I did the first time around.

Melissa
forest_rose[at]yahoo[dot]com

Anonymous said...

Oh my, I just read the excerpt and this book sounds awesome. I have never read this author before and really want to. I know that I have made so many wrong decisions and so glad that we have Him to forgive us and be with us when we do.

Blessings,
Jo
ladijo40(at)aol(dot)com

windycindy said...

Hi, Another great interview! I never tire of learning about new authors and their writing lives. Please enter me in your drawing for this fun book!
Many thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

☻☼♫☺☻ Lia ☻☼♫☺☻ said...

Hey! Kinda new to, uhh, all this. So if I come across sounding like a two year old, please excuse it. I'm actually three years old. But, uhhhhh, sooooooo. Yeah, enter me in the... book drawing thingy *play suspense music here*

The Book Club Network - TBCN said...

Please put me in the hat for a chance to win Beach Dreams. Thanks.

Nora
music-mama@fredstlaurent.com

haras w said...

i enjoyed her other two books in the BEACH DREAMS Series and this one sounds really good. please enter my name in the draw.
thanks,
sarahwoll at hotmail dot com

Krista Phillips said...

I am a romantic comedy lover so look forward to reading this!

Wow, how did God use a mistake I made.... There are so many, it is a tough choice!!

First, I guess it is hard for me to call much of anything a *mistake* when God used it in a good way. I married when I was 18 and had my daughter a year later, so many people view that as a *mistake* but I view it as a blessing!

Ok, I've decided to go for funny. When I was a Junior in High school, we went to church summer camp. The kids I was hanging out with decided to skip out on the evening *game* and sneak into the boys dorm and hide out instead. I didn't realize this was their intent until I found myself IN the dorm and couldn't get out (counselors all around). Needless to say, we were caught, and little miss "Never do anything wrong" (aka me) was mortified. They almost kicked us out of camp! Instead, we were up all night picking up trash as punishment.

So, yes, it was a BIG mistake. But... God has used it as a funny story to tell (I actually use it in my first book!). It also helped loosen me up (let's face it, I was a goody two-shoes prick back then...)

I just realized I have no idea the correct spelling of Goody Two-shoes, or is it too-shoes, or too-shoos, or two-shoos...

tetewa said...

Enjoyed the post today! tWarner419@aol.com

Tiffany Amber Stockton said...

We have a winner from this drawing and that is:

KRISTA!

Congratulations! I've sent your mailing information to Trish so she can send out your book.

One other winner selected today. Check out Allie Pleiter to see if you've won.

As always, thanks for your continued support.

squiresj said...

This is a hard one but what came to me was the day I took the wrong car. I started to take the car without air conditioning because the other one had just been working on. It wanted to run too fast and seemed one could not slow it down. But at the last minute I took the wrong car. Didn't get far from my house when the car stuck and would not shut off. The car was running out of control at 60 miles an hour. I could not stop it. I had my two girls with me. It stopped when it hit a tree and I broke my ankle. That ankle has been pinned together for 10 years. I continued to teach my class from a wheelchair then. Again 10 years later, I have to have that ankle fused. Now this is when God used the mistake. I had to have this operation and I was totally scared. But when I entered the room after the surgery, the Holy Spirit was there. It was 2 days of holy laughter which helped get through the pain. My roommate had waited all afternoon for someone to enter that room. She had to have a metal rod put in her leg. We laughed for two days and our room was known as the relaxation room. My doctor shook his head because I did not push pain meds. That roommate and I are good friends all because of a mistake 10 years earlier.