Tricia Mingerink is a twenty-something, book-loving, horse-riding country girl. She lives in Michigan with her family and their pack of pets. When she isn’t writing, she can be found pursuing backwoods adventures across the country. You can connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest,
Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog
About the book:
Welcome, Tricia! For those who may not know, what gave you the idea for the series?
Tricia: It was really a combination of things. I had recently graduated from a public college where Iâd have several instances where I shouldâve stood up for my faith and I didnât. I also had just finished researching my great-grandparentsâ experiences during WWII in the Netherlands. WWII tore the Netherlands apart. Some Christians joined the Dutch Resistance. Some Christians didnât believe they should rebel against the government and did nothing. Others went so far as to help the Nazis and turn in their fellow Christians for Resistance activity. Those two things inspired The Blades of Acktar.
Which comes easier to you, writing plot or writing characters?
Tricia: Plot. By far. My sister-in-law spends hours walking with me while I complain about how hard characters are to write. I go through drafts and drafts trying to get the characters right. In Dare, Renna had a habit of disappearing in a scene, even the ones from her POV. In Deny, she was flat through most of the book. As my editor said, Renna has a shell, but she shouldnât have a shell from the reader. The problem was, she had a shell from the writer too!
Speaking of characters, how did you decide what needed to happen with the characters in Deny? Did you have specific plans for them as far as what how you wanted them to develop and what needed to happen to make that development occur?
Tricia: I tend to get ideas in big chunks. When I got the idea for The Blades of Acktar, I knew most of the first book and the third book all at once. To figure out what had to happen in Deny, I had to decide what would get the characters from Dare to Book 3. And that was the events of Deny.
What was the most difficult thing about writing a sequel?
Tricia: The expectations. When I released Dare, only a few people had any expectation of what the book would be like. Now I have readers depending on me to deliver the same great story with Deny as I did with Dare. Preferably get even better. And that pressure was almost crippling at first because, as far as first drafts go, Deny was much weaker than Dare. It took rather drastic re-writing to get the book to what it is now.
What was the thing that most surprised you about the story or characters in this book?
Tricia: Jamie is probably the character that surprised me most. In the first draft, Jamie didnât have much of a role. I actually considered cutting him entirely, until I wrote the draft of Book 3 and realized that he was a really important character. Iâm really glad I didnât! The response of my early readers to Jamie has really surprised me.
Teaser question: Is there a scene you are particularly proud of? Can you answer that without giving too much away? đ
Tricia: The climax scene. I canât really say too much about it, but itâs one of the few scenes that didnât change much during revisions.
If there is one message you really hope to convey to your readers through this book, what is it?
Tricia: God is in control even in our darkest moments. Sometimes it doesnât make sense to us and itâs easy to doubt during those times. Doubt is natural. Weakness is natural. If we didnât have that doubt and weakness, we wouldnât be able to see the strength found in God.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog, Tricia!
Deny comes out November 30th! Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win signed copies of Dare and Deny! Make sure to follow the blog tour leading up to the Facebook Launch Party on December 4th as well. Just click on the names of the bloggers and you will be taken directly to their pages.
- Introduce the launch and blog tour â Tricia Mingerink
- Author Interview â Gabriela Paige
- Book Review â Abby Cashen
- Author Interview â Jessica Dowell
- Character Chat #1 â Tricia Mingerink
- Book Review â Jessica Dowell
- Book Review â Alyssa Van Fossen
- Book Review â Hope Brockway
- Author Interview â Abby Cashen
- Book Review â Gabriela Paige
- Character Chat #2 â Tricia Mingerink
- Book Review â Kim Moss
- Book Review â Shantelle Hannu
- Author Interview â Kim Moss
- Author Interview â Hope Brockway
- Book Review â Claire Banschbach
- Release Day!
- Character Chat #3 â Tricia Mingerink
- Book Review â Jaye L. Knight
- Author Interview â Claire Banschbach
- Author Interview â Shantelle Hannu
- Facebook Party! 7:00 PM EST