Member Spotlight:  Trish Mayfield, Take 2
Author: Jody Wallace
Original Publication Date in Love Notes: July 2007
(Read Trish Take 1)

Not satisfied with one interview of long-distance member Trish Mayfield, we did another one that has slightly different questions.  If you are an RWA member and you'd like to participate in an MCRW member, just contact us!

Q. Are you a native of Nashville or somewhere else? If somewhere else, where, and how did you end up here?

A. I've lived in Milan, TN all my life (except for a short stint in Memphis while I was in school).

Q. What made you decide to try your hand at writing romance novels?

A. Shortly after my 10-year high school reunion, I was thinking about a classmate who had moved to Nashville to pursue his dreams of a career in music. I was pretty much in awe of him for having the courage to do that. The next thing I knew, I was telling my husband that I was going to write a book. My goal was to be the next Mary Higgins Clark. After all, how hard could it be? <g> Then in 1999 (I think) I went with Page and Betsy to the Duel on the Delta conference. Erica Spindler was there, and I was excited to get to hear her speak. That trip opened my eyes to romance and I've been hooked ever-since.

Q. Tell us about your "WIP" or work-in-progress? What in specific do you write?

A. I write romantic suspense and I'm currently working on a serial killer/amnesia story.

Q: How do you balance your writing with your other responsibilities? (Yes, as always, I'm looking for tips...)

A. You mean there can be balance? LOL. I'm pretty lucky, both my kids are in school and I only work 2 days/week. That leaves a lot of writing time. The problem with having a lot of writing time, is that there is always time to do it later. But so far, none of my clocks or calendars say "later", so I don't do nearly as much as I should.

Q. What do you do when you're not writing? Do you have a "day" job, hobbies, obsessions?

A. I am a dental hygienist.

Q. Do you have children, pets, plants, a spouse, dust bunnies, a thimble collection or anything like that?

A. I've been married for 16 years. I have a 12 year old daughter, a 9 year old son, 3 cats, 4 dogs, 2 fish, a duck, and too damn many dust bunnies to count. I sew, embroidery and cross-stitch. I also help with homework a lot. And I bake a mean loaf of sourdough bread!

Q. What are some of your favorite books, romance and other?

A. Wow. Ask a hard question, why don'cha? Mr. Perfect, Kill and Tell and Open Season by Linda Howard, Still Waters, Cry Wolf and Lucky's Lady by Tami Hoag, anything by Erica Spindler, both of Allison Brennan's trilogies, Rocky St. Claire's Bullett Catcher series, The DragonRider series by Anne McCaffrey and the Deryni series by Katherine Kurtz. That's by no means all of the books on my keeper shelves, but it's all I can think of right now.

Q. If you could go on a dream vacation anywhere in the world on someone else's perfectly legitimate dime, where would you go, who would you take, and what would you do?

A. I can't imagine going on a vacation without my family (not a real one, anyway), so they'd have to go with me. I'd be glad to have them along for about 5 minutes, then I'd wonder why in the world I didn't leave them all at home. I'd want to take my indoor cat with me, but she hates to have to leave the house. I would take an Alaskan cruise and I would spend all my time reading and relaxing and enjoying someone else cooking and cleaning for a change!

Q: Tell us a secret!

A. I have been struggling lately with an almost paralyzing fear that my writing sucks. Any tips?

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