FAQs: Who is Tricia Ballad?
I'm blessed. I get to experience my own real-life romance every day. What writer wouldn't draw inspiration from that?
I met my best friend and love of my life two months into our freshman year of college. Three children and several years of marriage later, we're still happily attached at the hip. (And expecting our fourth child in May!)
Since childhood, I knew I wanted to be a writer. And I definitely have the years and years of journals and stories to show for it! In high school, my mother - practical soul!- strongly advised that I might want to consider a career where I had a better chance of making a living. The idea of being a starving artist might be romantic, but the cold hard reality is a lot less fun. (continued next page...)
...and why does she write...
So in college I double majored in Computer Science and English. Although
I eventually dropped the Computer Science degree, I still garnered enough
experience to make a living as a full-time technical writer.
My passion, however, is writing stories and that's what I've thrown myself into over the last year. My goal is to create stories that inject a little magic into otherwise hum-drum situations and draw readers out of every day life.
It's the biggest thrill to hear that one of my stories brought a smile to someone's face or gave them a much needed break from reality and that's what I'm always aiming for.
Still curious? There's more...
What kind of bio is that? You're still practically a stranger! I want more background information...
Well, I was born in Etna, California, but grew up in Los Angeles. I'm the youngest of seven children and an only child at the same time. My birthday is December 15th and that makes me a fiery Sagittarius (for those of you that care). And I'm over 30.That's a start. What about your favorites? You know, favorite color, favorite writers, favorite activities when you're not writing.
You ARE curious, aren't you? My favorite colors are soft blues and greens. I love to bake artisan breads and elaborate desserts when I have time. I love to read (of course!). When I'm not devouring the latest romance novels, I read a lot of high fantasy. I love David Eddings, Edward Abbey, and the queen of romance novels, Nora Roberts.
You have three kids and one on the way; how do you find time to write?!?
That is definitely one of my greatest challenges. With a growing family and a story idea file that keeps growing faster than I can keep up with it, I'm constantly wishing I had more quiet time to concentrate on writing. When I do get two or three hours of dedicated work time, I really hit the keyboard. The rest of the time, I carry my laptop around so I can work whereever the little ones are playing. Most importantly, I have to keep a regular writing schedule, or the little details and responsibilities of life take over and I never quite get around to putting words on paper.
Whew! That's a lot of talking about myself. If you're still curious, why not send me an e-mail at tricia at triciaballad dot com? I look forward to hearing from you!