I have Trisha Wilson on my blog today.  Trisha will be giving away one copy of one of her books to a commentor today, so be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win.

1. How did you get started writing?

I began writing poems when I was a teenager. I was very introverted and that became the only way I could seem to express my feelings. I never thought I could do more (I get distracted very easily! Ha!) But, at Christmastime 2004, I was spending the holiday alone (no family or friends around me) and as you can imagine, I was very depressed. I escaped into my imagination and the rest, as they say, is history. “An Unforgettable Christmas”, my first book was born.

2. What genre(s) do you write in and why?

I write romance and romantic suspense. That’s all I’ve ever read, even as a teen. I’d have one with me at all times (seriously! Even at school!). So, I know that there are many readers who prefer the same type of book that I do, therefore that’s what I aim to write; something that I’d enjoy reading even if my name wasn’t on it. I’ve never been a fan of paranormal or erotica, so I keep my stories clean, as well, with no bad language or sex scenes.

3. Tell us about your current series.

Currently, I’m working on my “Indigo Girls Series” (Romantic suspense)… it is about four friends who met in high school and became fast friends. They’ve overcome a lot of trials together, and now they’re in their early 30s with each wondering about the path their life has taken, unaware of the upheaval that’s about to happen to each of them.

I’ve already released book 1, titled “Daring To Trust”. It follows the reunion between Julia and Mark…a married couple who have been estranged for 4 years. Mark is an undercover cop, so only after a mission goes wrong and he almost dies, does he realize what he’s missing and returns to Julia to see if there’s a chance to rekindle what they once had.

Book 2 is “Daring To Love” and it tells Ellen’s story. She has a dark secret in her past that only a couple of people know about. Due to this, she doesn’t believe that she’s capable of loving a man. She has walls built up so high that it’ll take a strong man to knock them down. (Coming  in January 2012!)

Book 3 will be “Daring To Hope” …that will go through Jae’s journey. Her life has been full of heartbreak and the one thing she wants she believes she can never have.

Book 4 – “Daring To Dream” – follows Abby. She’s always been the good girl, doing what everyone thinks she should do, instead of following her own heart.

4. What inspired your latest book?

“Daring To Trust”, well really the entire Indigo Girls Series, came to me when I realized how many people I knew were going through tough times: cancer mainly, but also miscarriages, some form of abuse, and just other health problems in general. So I thought why can’t I incorporate some of these things into my characters, and see how they would deal with that? I’m hoping they’ll inspire someone who may be going through the same thing or something similar. Maybe they can take away from it that anything is possible if you trust in God and lean on Him to see you through the bad times, but also He’ll be there cheering you on during the good times.

5. What is your favorite part of writing?

My favorite part about writing is the creativity. You can make your characters do and say anything, and it’s perfectly normal. Now, if I said some of the things my characters did in real life, I’d be admitted to an insane asylum I’m sure!

6. What is your least favorite part of writing?

My least favorite part is the writer’s block that inevitably comes. You can be in the middle of a scene, sometimes even a conversation, and then you just get “stuck”… “Where do I go from here?” Staring at the blinking cursor on the screen is the most dreadful part, especially when your mind is going to real-life responsibilities, such as “What am I going to fix for supper?” or “Do I need to do some laundry?” – I find myself procrastinating A LOT, ha ha!

7. What is your next project and when will it be released?

Currently, I’m working on book 2 of the Indigo Girls Series, titled “Daring To Love”. This is Ellen’s story, and I PLAN on having it finished by the end of January.

8. What is your typical day like?

You’re going to laugh at my typical day. I don’t have kids (Unless you count my dog, Snickers, who acts like one most of the time), so I have the privilege of sleeping in A LOT.

I usually don’t get up till at least 8 a.m. – I don’t set an alarm unless I have to be somewhere. I grab a diet mountain dew out of the fridge, sit down at my computer, and check my email and sales stats. I usually stay in a zombie like trance for an hour & half to two hours…Seriously!

After I finish that, I open up my WIP and read through what I’ve written thus far, making marks along the way…looks like everything I wrote yesterday is going to be deleted! Yikes!

Around 11, Snickers comes over to me, scratching at my arms, and wanting to be fed. That’s when I realize my belly is growling, too. After I fix us some lunch, I realize I haven’t showered yet and still have my warm & comfy PJs on. So, after I get out of the shower, I usually wind up putting on another pair of PJs (unless of course I plan on going somewhere, which is usually not the case.)

(You’re probably wondering – “Wait, she has a dog. Does he not go outside?” – Yes, my friends, he does, LOL. I guess I forgot to mention that I live with my mom. She can’t do much but she LOVES to walk, and she’s taken over walking Snickers for me during the daytime. Thank you, Momma! Mainly I think she does that because she’s my biggest fan, and every day she asks me, “Trish – Are you almost done with Ellen’s story? I’m ready to read it.”  Ha!)

Around 12:30, I’m back at the computer, staring at that blasted blinking cursor, already forgetting what I took out. So I have to read back over it, change another scene around, and finally, by George I think I’m ready to begin!

Around 4:30, my mom comes over to me and pokes me on the shoulder to get my attention. (I have my music blaring in my ears while I’m writing to minimize distractions, i.e. the phone ringing!) “What’s for supper? I’m getting hungry.” Supper! Eek! I hadn’t thought about that! “Um give me a minute and I’ll get right on that!” After I fix us up something, and we’re eating, she’ll ask, “Are we going to watch anything this evening?” (She doesn’t know how to operate the DVR, no matter how many times I’ve tried to teach her.) I’ll think about it a minute and decide, “That scene can wait another hour. We’ll watch today’s episode of Ellen, if that’s alright with you.” She’ll nod and I’ll get it set up. Of course, after Ellen goes off, I notice that I recorded a movie (must have been in my sleep ‘cause I don’t remember it!) – so we must watch it, right?! I mentioned I procrastinate A LOT, didn’t I?

It’s usually around 8 p.m. by the time we finish watching whatever it was that couldn’t wait *rolls eyes*, so I get back on the computer, and check my email and sales stats again. Then, I’ll browse through Facebook and I have to comment on everything *More procrastinating*, then about this time, my best friend usually texts me, “Whatcha doin’?” Hanging my head in shame, I reply, “Facebook.” She replies, “Oh. How’s the book coming along?” That conversation lasts around an hour, depending on when she decides to go to bed. Have I mentioned procrastination? Ha!

After that texting conversation, I turn my cell phone off – ‘cause really I know no one else will be texting that late. I go play a game of Zuma Blitz – addicting plus more procrastination. Once I lose terribly, my WIP is reopened and once again, I read through the days catastrophes of writing and wind up changing something yet again. I finally figured out where I was going to take that scene, so I start writing again, only to be interrupted by Snickers scratching at my arm again, yawning. So, I go into the bedroom, prop my door open, plug up the electric blanket (he’s spoiled!), and tell him to go to bed. Sometimes he does…most of the time he doesn’t.

I write for a couple of more hours, and then my eyelids start getting heavy. The yawning is full-blown now, and I check the time. Holy cow! It’s 2 a.m. I guess it’s time for bed! Of course once I go to bed, Snickers has suddenly gotten his second wind and wants to play for an hour. If I don’t, then I know I won’t be sleeping in at all – he’ll be waking me up before sunup wanting to play again.

Told you that you’d laugh! Lol 

9. How much time do you spend promoting your books?  What works best for you?

I don’t really promote the way a lot of authors do. Promotion and marketing is my weakness. I stink at it, period! A couple of times a week (yes, I said week!) I’ll post something on my Facebook author page, which automatically goes to my twitter feed. I know a lot of people use Twitter but I get lost in there…no joke! I entered both of my books, “An Unforgettable Christmas” & “Daring To Trust” into the KDP Select program, and since doing that I’ve gotten more sales and more reviews than I received the first two months of publication. Will it help in the long run? I’m really not sure.

10. How has your experience with self-publishing been?

I’ve loved it! No deadlines, which is an absolute must for me. I have migraines a lot, so sometimes my typical day turns into taking Imitrex and lying in bed for hours at a time with the curtains closed and complete silence. Thanks to a great group of Indie writers I’ve found online, indieromanceink – they provide advice, tips and everything in between. I really don’t know where I’d be today without them: probably floundering around the internet trying to figure out what to do. I’ve learned so much from them. I love the insight and friendship they’ve brought to everyone there.

11. Where do you get the ideas for your stories?

They come from everywhere! They can come from a song I’m listening to, a movie I’m watching, a book I’m reading or sometimes just someone I’m talking to. They’ve also been known to come from a segment on the news.

12. What advice do you have for other authors wanting to self-publish?

Do it! The e-reader audience is growing, and so is the publishing industry since we can do it on our own now. If you have a finished and polished manuscript, don’t wait. Who knows how hard it will be to get your foot in the door and your books in front of potential readers a year from now? Be confident in what you have written…if you’re not, no one else will be. Develop a thick skin, if you don’t already have one. You’ll have to deal with critics like never before. As someone once told me, if you ever get a bad review, don’t take it personally; learn from it! Then go to your favorite book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble…read the low reviews on it. Even the best books out there have negative reviews. It doesn’t mean yours is a bad book, necessarily – it just means it wasn’t meant for that particular reader. Grow from it and move on.

Thank you for having me on your blog, Cindy!

“Daring To Trust” can be purchased on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MJVRWY My website is http://trishawilson.weebly.com/. I can also be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTrishaWilson & Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/Trish73179. You can also email me directly at TrishaWilson79@gmail.com .