Trish Jensen never meant to become an author. Never aspired to it, in fact it wasn't even in the top ten of jobs on her, "If you could do/be anything, what would it be?" list.
But
after seven years in corporate America, she recognized climbing that particular
ladder wasn't what she wanted, either. So while she figured out what truly felt
right, she decided to go back to school for her MBA. After one semester of
THAT, she recognized it would still be the same ladder, just made of better
wood, a better view from her office, and yet still a desk job.
So she
made a leap to another, really rickety ladder, taking English and creative
writing classes just to clear her head and make her brain work in a completely
new way. When she tackled the final for her creative writing class, the first
chapter of a novel, a crazed writer was born.
She
loves this ladder, although she realized rather quickly that it never really
becomes less rickety, and along the way there are many rungs that crack or
break, making climbing a wonderfully scary, uncertain but never boring
proposition.
Yet
sitting here in her office -- admittedly with a beautiful view of mountains and
wildlife rather than high-rises -- a horrible thought occurs to her. It's a desk
job.
(Note to readers. I ask our authors to provide short blurbs. Here's Trish's. Obviously, she's a rule follower.)
“He fell for her. Hard, and often.” THE HARDER THEY FALL, Bell Bridge Books, April 2012
DONNELL: Trish, thanks for joining us. I know better than to ask you about the corporate world, so let’s start with: What’s your favorite room in your house?
TRISH: Hmmm, that’s a tough one. My bedroom, because I love to
sleep, the kitchen, because I love to eat, and my office, because I love to
write. As long as there’s a television in all rooms, I’m good, because mostly I
need to have noise. But okay, I’ll pick my office where I write, just in case
my editor reads this.
DONNELL: Ocean or
mountains?
TRISH: I live in the
mountains, so LOVE THEM! But ocean because when I get to go, it’s such a happy
experience. Except the sand in the swimsuit and hair. Scratchy and gritty are
not my favorite sensations.
DONNELL: Did you know
you had a gift for humor before your MBA?
TRISH: Hehehe! You wouldn’t believe my submission for my application. Did I know I had a gift for it? I don’t know. But it was what got me out of trouble most of my life. You have no idea how many police officers I had laughing during my youth. I grew up in a family that lived with humor. We still do. Did I know it? I don’t know. It was just ingrained. Family dinners were hysterical. One of my father’s lessons was, “Always laugh at yourself first, beat everyone else to the punch.” It’s something I live by.
DONNELL : Name one
of your characters you would NOT want to show up at a dinner party. Name a character who you would invite.
TRISH: Hmmm, I guess I wouldn’t want to invite Bunny, the
hitman (from Against His Will),
because his manners pretty much suck. I’d want Muffin the English Bulldog (from
the same book), because he’s more entertaining and intelligent than most humans
I know.
DONNELL: Are you
good at darts?
TRISH: When I was in
college, I kicked butt at darts. Free beer was a given if anyone challenged me.
Now? Not so much. But I’d have fun playing.
DONNELL: What’s in
your refrigerator right now?
TRISH: A lot of things that should have been thrown out
months ago. I go to the grocery store and buy things because they sound good at
the time. And never look at them twice once brought home. Lots of milk. I’m a milk lover. Lots of
cottage cheese. Lots of cheese. I love a zillion types of cheese. Can’t live
without grapes, oranges, strawberry yogurt.
It’s a really good thing I’m not lactose intolerant.
What’s more interesting is what’s in my pantry. Fifty
different types of dog treats (my dog is slightly spoiled…and fat), and Ramen
noodle soup. I live on that soup, doused with hot pepper flakes. If food
doesn’t set my mouth on fire, I’m not interested. So for a starving artist
writer, Ramen noodles and pepper flakes works.
DONNELL: Do you enjoy
reality TV?
TRISH: Actually, yes. But not the type of reality most
people enjoy. I love Dancing With The Stars, American Idol, that kind of
thing. Competition shows displaying
talent. Reality with people baring their souls and body parts, not so much. I
remember asking people what the heck Jersey Shore was, and who Snooki was, and
they laughed hysterically at my stupidity. Not big on those. More happy to
watch the ones where talent is actually called for. Although I DO love Gene
Simmons’ Family Jewels, just because I love his honesty about his faults. And
he has a ton of them. But he also has a heart.
DONNELL: What music
do you enjoy, and do you listen while writing?
TRISH: I like music, but not hugely involved with it. And no, I never listen to music while writing. I have TV on 24/7, writing or not. I can’t listen to music because I want to sing along. But can’t stand silence. So I have “white noise” going on all of the time, even when I sleep. Silence spooks me. So TV it is. And since I’m a justice freak, it’s usually any type of mystery/police/trial stuff. I LOVE watching people getting caught being bad. Should have been a police officer or prosecutor.
DONNELL: Complete
this story. Your tractor has broken down
in the middle of a corn field. Two
people come to your rescue, Farmer Ben who knows his way around a tool belt,
and a stranger built like Adonis who, er… doesn’t have any tools.
TRISH: I thank Farmer
Ben profusely for fixing my machine, and invite Adonis to join me in a
margarita from my Mark Harmon cooler while we wait. I mean really, was that a
tough one?
DONNELL: (Showoff ;)) Do you ever suffer from writer’s block &, if so, what do you do about it?
TRISH: ALL THE TIME! And I call my best friend and critique
partner and talk it through. Or we have critique, discuss and she and my other
friend rev me up. They give me ideas, and I drive home so happy and so ready to
get to work. I also write to my editor and say, “what do you think?” and she’s
SO amazing about throwing out ideas. I LOVE her.
DONNELL: Do you have
a tradition from childhood that you cherish today?
TRISH: A TON of them. But if I had to choose one, it’s that
every morning on my birthday, my mother calls me at 5:12 AM, the time I was
born, to wish me a happy birthday. Now that I think about it, it’s a pain in
the patootie, but it’s still a sweet tradition. Then again, she never fails to
remind me that she was up all night birthing me. My dad gets on the phone and
says, “I’m sure it was beautiful. I was sleeping well except when your mom kept
waking me up screaming. It was kind of rude of her, but I forgave her.”
DONNELL: If you could
meet anyone, alive or dead, past or present, who would it be?
TRISH: Mark Twain.
That man was brilliant, funny, and had an incredible ability to sum up the
human race.
AND NOW READERS, TRISH HAS A QUESTION FOR YOU.
TRISH JENSEN'S QUESTION FOR READERS: Excluding politicians (PLEASE), who would you
consider a role model for you, yourself or your children?
Winner gets choice of any earlier Trish Jensen' books in e-book or any books in print.
Note:
Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses
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not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an
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