Interview with Tricia Mills

Tricia Mills is the author of the upcoming YA book, Heartbreak River. It will be released on April 16 and you can visit her at her website.

KBB: What inspired you to become a writer?

TM: I’ve always had an active imagination and have been creating stories, at least in my head, since I was very young. It just seemed natural — especially since I didn’t have a burning desire to become a biologist or mathematician. 🙂

KBB: Do you have a best and worst moment in your career?

TM: Best — two things: when I got the news that I’d sold my first book and when I saw my first book for the first time.
Worst — Probably the summer before I sold. I was depressed after 10 years of trying to sell to a publisher, and I seriously considered quitting. I’m so glad that I didn’t!

KBB: What would you say is the best thing about being a writer?

TM: I love that my job is creating fun stories for people to read, and that I am my own boss and can make my own work hours.

KBB: Did you have another career picked if writing didn’t work out and if so, what was it?

TM: I’ve actually worked since the mid 1990s as a journalist, first at a newspaper and then at a magazine. I still do contract work for the magazine part-time. So also writing related, just a different kind of writing.

KBB: How did you come up with the idea for Heartbreak River?

TM: It was a combination of factors. First, I rode Amtrak’s California Zephyr train to California for a business trip, and for about 200 miles in Colorado it meanders along the Colorado River, where lots of people take rafting trips. It seems to be great fun for the rafters to wave at the train and, yes, sometimes moon it. 🙂 I wondered what it would be like to run one of those rafting outfitter businesses, especially if you were a teen and it was your family’s business. Then I added in my own fear of the water, which is something the heroine struggles with for a particular reason.

KBB: Are any of your characters based on people you know?

TM: All characters are sort of a mishmash of myself, people I know, characters traits I’ve seen portrayed on TV or in movies, and stuff I’m just dreamed up.

KBB: Do you have a favorite character from Heartbreak River? If so, why?

TM: Alex, the heroine, because she has to face a lot and comes out stronger on the other side. I find that very empowering, and I hope readers do too.

KBB: Are you currently working on or planning any more YA books? If so, do you have any ideas of summaries?

TM: I’m currently working on revisions for my second YA novel, Ice and Desire, which is due out in the summer of 2010. Here’s the blurb:

Marissa Craig finally gets up the nerve and tells her long-time friend Spencer that she likes him as more than a friend. The best part? Spencer likes her as more than a friend too. With the perfect boy to love and be loved by, she begins her senior year at her small Alaska school and indulges in the dream of becoming a costume designer for the movie industry. Life is perfect — until tragedy strikes. Marissa’s perfect life turns upside down as she deals with an unbearable loss, doubts about her future, a best friend whose home life is getting worse by the day, and unexpected feelings for an unexpected boy.

KBB: Thanks again Tricia! I can’t wait to read Heartbreak River and I’ll be looking forward to reading Ice and Desire next year! Readers check back for a review of Heartbreak River later this week!

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2 comments

  1. great post! Ice and desire sounds rather intriguing…
    and I know what you mean! There’s so many books i want, but for some odd reason, my parents don’t think buying me books is a good investment. They’re crazy…:-D
    -AMY