Guest Author: Trish Morey

I still have a copy of Trish Morey’s very first book, “The Greek Boss’s Demand” on my bookshelf. It was the start of my love of Trish’s ‘passionate, emotional, page turning stories’ and now sits beside many other titles she’s written. In short, no title I see written by Trish hasn’t accompanied me to the check-out of the bookstore, and I’m not alone in feeling this way. Trish’s third publication won an Australian Romantic Book of the Year award (RuBY), her story “A Storm Within” was nominated for a RITA Award, and many of her other titles have been nominated for awards. Trish is a USA Today Best-selling author but she didn’t always write romances...

Trish obtained a degree in economics and then qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Just a little different from being a romance writer!! I remember seeing her talk at an RWA (Australia) conference and she conveyed how she’d written story after story and been rejected until finally she received a contract to write for Harlequin Mills & Boon. Of course, Trish has also now been published by Tule Publishing, Harlequin Mira Australia and Pan Macmillan and is no doubt used to collecting her box of author copies from the post office. But, I remember her saying how she went to the post office the first time her author copies arrived and how exciting it was to open the box and ‘smell the books’, to ‘see the books and hold them’. She described this experience with so much passion, I expect it’s something I’ll always be able to visualise clearly!

My recommendation is to make “The Trouble with Choices” by Trish Morey, (or Trish Moreyova as the translation goes in Czech!), a priority read. 

Welcome to the Quick Author Quizzing Blog, Trish. 

Thank you, Alyssa!  First, can I say, I’m a bit gobsmacked by your gorgeous intro, so it’s not just a pleasure to be here, but a real honour.

The intro is well deserved, but let's talk about your latest release “The Trouble with Choices” (Published by Harlequin MIRA) and whether it posed any particular challenges to write.

The Trouble with Choices is a standalone single title, (though if you’ve read Cherry Season, you’d already be familiar with the gorgeous Adelaide Hills setting and the Faraday family). The Trouble with Choices tells the story of the three Faraday sisters, all of whom are forced to face up to and live with the consequences of the decisions they have made.

It’s also a story about their eccentric grandparents who have their own issues, an apple orchadist, a jack of all trades handyman, a gorgeous Irishman, a male cat called Fat Cat (spoiler alert! that isn’t a male cat at all) and an orphaned joey. And then some.

Basically it’s a story about sisters, family, relationships, secrets and the stuff life throws at you along the way, along with the tears, laughs and love that comes from it.

As to whether the story presented any particular challenges to write – you could say so. In 2016 the previous incarnation of this story was rejected by a major Australian publisher (quite correctly too!) and it was back to the drawing board. 2 years later, with a new publisher behind me and a bigger, richer story, I’m really proud to see The Trouble with Choices released into the wild. It’s an exciting time!

I have read Cherry Season, so I'm definitely looking forward to The Trouble With Choices. What’s next for you as an author?

I have a Harlequin Presents called “Consequence of the Greek’s Revenge”, coming out in October this year. I love my Presents/Sexy romances, but it’s proved quite a challenge switching from one format to the other. I have one more Presents/Sexy in my contract, so I’ll let you know how that goesJ

Meanwhile I’m finishing up my next single title book, which has the tentative title of “The Five Stages of Forgiveness”. (Who knows what it will end up being called?) It’s a story about three best friends at high school, separated by distance and betrayal, who 20 years on, need to find their way back to friendship.

Some authors have a little cringe at their first published work, yet “The Greek Boss’s Demand” is still a thoroughly enjoyable read so you set a great standard right from the start. How do feel your writing has changed since your first published title?

Gosh, that’s so fabulous of you to say so. I have to admit to having a little cringe right now, because that first published book, published waaaaaay back (it seems) in 2003, is out in an anthology called “A Taste of Paradise” right now, and I know there’s things I’d love to change or do a little differently now. But maybe that’s true with every book you ever write. One thing I am grateful for (even if not at the time) is that it took me 11 years to sell. That was one long apprenticeship, but I learned a lot in that time, and I am forever grateful that the first book I wrote, and my crappy ensuing efforts for 11 years, was never (and will never be) published.

Over that time I think I’ve grown more confident in what I’m writing, or maybe I should say, what I think might work. Only a bit though, because being a writer is to be full of self-doubt. And while I love my Presents/Sexy romances, I am loving the foray into longer books, and the extra breadth and scope that adds to my writing. I especially love the addition of humour, something I’ve had to keep on a tight leash in a short, angsty romance. It’s nice to let that part of me off the chain for a bit.

Actually, I’ve decided that I have no clue and that I need to ask a reader how my writing has changedJ

I know you get lots of fan mail from all over the world and I think you may even have met with one of your avid fans on a trip to the Middle East. Is there one letter that stands out as being from an out-of-the-way place where you were surprised to find that your books had been read?

You know, I had a think about this, and I don’t think there is one special stand out – other than that amazing meet up with Liba in Israel of course. That was a hoot, just finding the meeting place in a foreign country. The reader contact always surprises and delights me and being friended on Facebook by someone who’s translated your books into Italian, how cool is that?

It’s always special to be contacted by readers who have been touched by your stories. But probably what has touched me more than anything is receiving mail from people who have read Stone Castles, a book dedicated to my late Dad and a book with a dose of family history infused. I’ve had so many emails from people who’ve read the book and the dedication and who knew my Dad, who went to high school with him back in the 1940’s or knew him in some other arena, and it was just lovely. I felt I was learning more about my dad when he couldn’t tell me those stories himself, and after losing him, it was just so very, very special.

We’re blessed as writers. We really are. We touch people in ways we never see and then they touch us.

You're right. At the second RT Convention I attended in the US, I met a lady who told me she'd had a small stroke in the year after I'd met her and that one of my books was the first book she'd been able to read after the stroke. That was special! I'd love to keep chatting, but my promise to busy authors is always to limit this blog to five quick questions. So, for the last question...What are the three most essential qualities in your ideal romantic hero?

Ah. I do love a good hero. I’ve been lucky enough to be married to one to close to 30 years. I’d say he’d have integrity at his core, a good soul, and a sense of humour.  Not necessarily in that order.

Thanks again, Trish, for being a guest author on the blog.

Thanks so much for having me! You made me remember some lovely times!

You may find out more about Trish on her website: www.trishmorey.com/

I have three wonderful Australian authors coming up in the next three blogs and then some fabulous international guests. I hope you'll join me on the 27th of June as I welcome Anne Gracie to the Quick Author Quizzing. Until then, Happy Reading!

Alyssa J. Montgomery

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About the Blogger:

Alyssa J. Montgomery is an Australian contemporary romance author who is published by Escape Publishing (Harlequin Enterprises, Australia). She also 

writes medieval romance as Alyssa James,

 

http://www.alyssajmontgomery.com/