Interview Tricia Lee

by

D. K. Gaston

1) Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Oklahoma but I have lived in many states and several countries.

2) Tell us your latest news?

A Caribbean Summer, my first published romance novel, comes out April 1st.

3) When and why did you begin writing?

When I was very young, my family lived on a farm in east central Oklahoma, and my mother would read stories to my little brother and me every day. I became a daydreamer and would walk around composing stories in my head. Of course, I didn't write anything until I started school and learned to write.

4) When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I think I've always thought of myself that way.

5) What inspired you to pen your first novel?

A Caribbean Summer began as a fantasy that I had before moving to Puerto Rico many years ago. Nothing like that happened, of course, while I was there but the fantasy remained.

6) Who or what has influenced your writing, and in what way?

I accidentally discovered the great Mary Stewart while in college and couldn't believe that books like hers existed. She influenced my desire for adventure and romance and foreign travel.

7) How has your environment/upbringing colored your writing?

Reading was instilled at a very young age.

8) Do you have a specific writing style?

I have no idea. I just write.

9) What genre are you most comfortable writing?

Romance with a bit of mystery.

10) How did you come up with the title for your book(s)?

A Caribbean Summer was easy. The novel takes place on a Caribbean island during the summer. However, I have a manuscript almost ready for submission and trying to find the right title has become quite difficult. Usually, I have titles in mind before I start writing but not with this one.

11) Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Go with your heart and don't let others try to influence your decision.

12) Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your life?

The setting. I lived in the Caribbean for four years. A Caribbean Summer is completely fictional. However, the little boy Jeremy is based on my son when he was small.

13) What books have most influenced your life?

From childhood: Peter Pan by Sir James Barrie; Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. As an adult: My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart; Decision at Delphi by Helen MacInnes; The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier; A Cluster of Separate Sparks by Joan Aiken.

14) What new author has grasped your interest?

Ann B. Ross--her Miss Julia books are a hoot. And I have discovered Wings authors that I love to read: Marie Nicole Ryan, J.D. Webb, Carol McPhee, Kay Sisk, and am looking forward to reading many others.

15) What are your current projects?

I am polishing two romance novels.

16) How does your family and/or friends feel about your book or writing venture in general?

They are as excited as I am!

17) Do you see writing as a long- or short-term career?

I will be writing for the rest of my life.