Interview of Author Tricia Andersen

Today I'm presenting an interview or romance author Tricia Andersen.

Latest Book: Breaking the Silence (Hard Drive Series #2)
Buy Link: Amazon
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3KaVjVKNL8

BIO:
Tricia Andersen lives in Iowa with her husband, Brian and her three children – her sons, Jake and Jon, and her daughter, Alex. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in English and from Kirkwood Community College with an Associate of Arts degree in Communications Media/Public Relations. Along with writing (which she loves to do), Tricia practices mixed martial arts, coaches and participates in track and field, reads, sews and is involved in many of her children's activities.

Tricia is one of the hosts of the Blog Talk Radio show Freshly Booked, a part of Writers Online Network. She is also a member of the Romance Writers of America.

Q: How did you celebrate publishing your first book?
A: My husband sent me flowers and took me to dinner. He’s a great guy.

Q: Of all your characters, who’s your favorite, and why?
A: My favorite character is Rico Choate. He’s smooth, charming – and he is based on someone I care about.

Q: Do you eat comfort food/listen to music when writing?
A: I listen to music, usually hard rock. It gets me in the mood to write.

Q: How do you choose names for your characters?
A: I have a baby name book. If I’m ever at a loss for a name (which happens a lot) I consult the book.

Q: Give one advice tip to an aspiring author.
A: Never give up. Keep writing. Keep submitting. Keep believing in yourself.

Q: Have you ever used an incident from your real life into one of your books?
A: Breaking the Cycle has a heroine with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. My daughter, Ali, has it also. Quite a bit of what she goes through is in the book.

Q: Out of your entire backlist, which book has the best opening line? What's the line?
A: Probably Black Irish. “Soul-sucking hellhole!"

Fun Stuff:
Q: What is your favorite holiday and why?
A: Halloween. Truthfully the reason why is that my birthday is the day before (the 30th). While the other kids got candy, I got presents.

Q: What are two things people might be surprised to know about you?
A: Maybe not so surprising - I am a mixed martial artist. I started while researching Breaking the Cycle. Another – I live in a city in Iowa. I would be lost on a farm.

Q: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I wanted to write – books, articles, whatever. I just wanted someone to read what I wrote.

Q: Favorite food.
A: Spaghetti.

Q: Favorite happy memory.
A: My wedding day. I had been crying (happy tears). When my Dad and I reached the end of the aisle to meet my husband (who was terrified I was changing my mind), I said “Hi” to him. He gave me a big smile and said “Hi” back.

Q: Favorite drink.
A: Coffee followed by water.

Q: Hot summer days or chilly winter nights?
A: Hot summer days. I hate being cold.

Q: What is the top thing on your bucket list?
A: Travel overseas primarily to Ireland, England and China.

Q: If you could have a super power, what would it be?
A: To heal.

Tell us where to find you: website(s), publisher’s page(s), blog(s), Facebook page(s), etc. List them all!
http://triciaandersen.com/
https://www.facebook.com/t.l.andersenauthor

BLURB:
MMA Bad Boy Rico Choate falls for Avery, a deaf Marine – but will she stick around when she learns of his career in the octagon?

Rico Choate is a MMA bad boy with a love ‘em and leave ‘em attitude. That is until he meets Avery Walker, a deaf Marine who lost her hearing when her transport was destroyed in an I.E.D explosion in Afghanistan. He falls hard for her, even learning sign language from his friend, Chloe, so he can talk to her.

Avery has worked hard to overcome her deafness. She doesn’t need anyone’s sympathy. She’s living a perfectly normal life and has no time for celebrities who have everything handed to them on a silver platter.

Because of Avery’s pride, Rico to keep his career in mixed martial arts a secret. But how long can he keep such a huge part of his life separate from the woman he loves? And if she does find out, how will she react? Can Avery set her stubbornness aside, or will secrets and pride keep these two apart?

EXCERPT:
Rico weaved from one interstate to the other until they were in Saint Paul. The entire time, he held her hand in his. He parked the car in front of a large, concrete building lined with windows.

Ice skating? she signed.

He laughed. You wanted to be cool.

That is true. But I can’t do this.

He frowned. Why not?

I can’t ice skate.

You do not know how?

I do. When I was young, I was very good at it. But I cannot do it now.

Because you are deaf?

Yes.

He smirked at her. I did not realize that you ice skate with your ears.

That is not funny, Rico.

Come on, Avery. We’ll have fun. I promise I will not let you fall.

She gazed at him as he grinned at her. Her eyes wandered over his chiseled physique. He certainly could keep his word. She sighed as she hopped out of the passenger seat and turned back to him. All right. Let’s go.

Absolutely! Rico jumped out with her and raced around the vehicle to take her hand. He pulled her close and wrapped his arm around her waist as they strolled in.

Rico paid their admission as Avery slipped into the restroom to change into her lightweight sweater and jeans. She watched his eyes wander over her head to toe as a smile spread across his face. He certainly seemed pleased. He took both pairs of skates the attendant offered before following her to a bench. Then, they tugged on their skates and, carefully stepping on the thick, black mat on the floor, they made their way out to the ice.

They skated around the rink laughing, sometimes hand in hand, sometimes trying awkwardly to race each other. Avery hadn’t been ice skating in years, not since she’d lost her hearing. It had ended up on the virtual list of activities she stubbornly believed she could no longer do. Rico had proved to her she could.

She gazed up to him as he smiled at her. He certainly was turning out to be her hero. Not that she needed one. She didn’t. But it was definitely nice to have one, just in case.

They were so wrapped up in each other, neither of them noticed the little boys that flew between them until it was too late. The last one hooked his skate with Avery’s. She was off her feet in a split second. She clenched her eyes in anticipation of the cold impact on her butt. Instead, two strong arms kept her from falling. Her eyes fluttered open, and she glanced around.

Rico had caught her just as he’d promised. Her eyes locked with his sapphire blue ones. She wanted to protest, to joke just how cliché this was. Here he was, cradling her in his arms after saving her from falling, his lips dangerously close to hers. They must have looked like they belonged on the front of a romance novel. But her breath caught in her throat as she clung to him, her gaze drifting to his mouth.

She gasped as he gathered her closer and softly kissed her. Her fingers buried into his hair as he deepened it, his lips parting hers as his tongue slowly grazed across her teeth then tangled with hers. Their eyes met for a moment as the kiss broke. Avery fought against her breath coming out in ragged gasps, but it was no use. So, that’s what kissing Rico Choate is like. It was light years better than she had imagined.