More on Tricia Goyer...

The first thing that I wanted to know was what kind of education did Tricia have to accomplish so many goals.  I cringed, expecting to hear of several Master's degrees and other assorted academics. Instead I learned that she only had a high school diploma...but received most of her training from attending writer's conferences and retreats, and soaking up everything she could learn.

Things were different back then.  Tricia would write the first three chapters and submit them to contest after contest, and agent and editor; meanwhile beginning a new story and send it out too. At that time you didn't have to have a completed manuscript, just the first three chapters, so if one didn't garner the attention of agents she threw it in the pile and started another one...and another one, until she found the one that did. The best advice she ever received was to follow her heart.  If she wrote from the heart, she found the words just flowed, and her first contract was offered! After reading her first three chapters they requested three more...and she finally finished a manuscript and turned it into her dream.

She remembers the first time she saw her dream in its finished form in a book store. They were traveling across country and stopped at the store, wearing her sweats and no make up on, she ran in to buy a few things. There on the shelf in the book section sat her book! She was feeling so thrilled, then she saw a woman walk by carrying her book under her arm! She was going to buy her book! John told her to go introduce herself. At first she had her doubts, but then she walked over and asked the lady if she were going to buy that book. When the lady told her she liked what she had read on the back cover and that it sounded interesting, Tricia introduced herself and graciously signed her first sale.

There was much to learn about what she could and couldn't say in the CBA as opposed to secular writing, and there were strict guidelines on what words were allowed and which ones were banned. Can you imagine her surprise when she was told her book had two restricted words and had to be rewritten..."Shoot, and Darn" were almost enough to get her rejected! She found alternatives and they were replaced. Today they are not as rigid and there are many more freedoms than there used to be.

All of Tricia's stories are based on true headlines, and even though she took freedoms with the characters, often placing herself in the situation, she enjoys the research that introduces her to the real people behind the stories.

One of Tricia's bits of advice is to write every chance you can get. write for blogs, write for magazines, write for newspapers, anything to get your words out there and get people acquainted with your work. Tricia had over 30 articles written for "Light and Life" Magazine  and she was asked to write a devotion for Women of Faith Study Bible! You never know where something might take you. This month Tricia is featured in Guide Posts Magazine.