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 DREAMSby 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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