Fiction—Romance, Women’s Fiction
Date Published: August 2018
Publisher: Front Street Press
Elite athlete Rainey Abbott is an intense competitor on the outside, but inside, she feels a daunting apprehension about her chances of finding true love. Her life as a downhill skier and race car driver keeps her on the edge, but her love life is stuck in neutral. A tragedy from her past has left her feeling insecure and unlovable.
Now that she’s in her thirties, Rainey’s best friend Natalie insists she take a leap and try online dating. Rainey connects with brian85 and becomes cautiously hopeful as a natural attraction grows between them. Fearful a face to face meeting could ruin the magic, Rainey enlists Natalie to scheme up an encounter between the two where Brian is unaware he is meeting his online mystery woman. Rainey is left feeling both guilty about the deception and disappointed by something Brian says.
When they finally meet in earnest, Rainey’s insecurities threaten to derail the blossoming romance. As she struggles with self-acceptance, she reveals the risks we all must take to have a chance for love.
Interview with Tricia
Downing
Interview #1
Interview #1
What is
the hardest part of writing your books?
I think the hardest part about writing is getting the first words
on the paper. When I wrote my memoir I started from the very beginning of my
story and it seemed like it was almost impossible to begin. As I wrote Chance
for Rain, I dreamt up a scene that is actually in the middle of the book, so I
wrote that part and the rest of the story fell in around it. That made it
easier I think than trying to come up with the first sentence. I left that part
until much later.
One other thing I find difficult about writing is giving myself
the opportunity to write. Since I have a full-time job and write on the side,
sometimes it seems like a luxury to spend four or five hours in front of the
computer in my imaginary world, but now that my first novel is out there, I’m
looking forward to being kinder to myself in carving out writing time and
diligently working on my next project.
What
songs are most played on your Ipod?
I’m generally listening to music when I am working out—either
riding my handcycle or lifting weights, so I like something upbeat or
motivational. Some of my favorites are: Sia, Eminem, Jason Mraz, Beyonce and
Rihanna.
Do you
have critique partners or beta readers?
I am not currently in a writing group, so as I wrote Chance for
Rain, I enlisted the help of fellow “word nerd” types, as well as athletes and
my friends who also experience disability, as my central character, Rainey, is
a paraplegic.
What book
are you reading now?
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
How did
you start your writing career?
I majored in Journalism in college, so I’ve been doing some sort
of writing ever since, whether it be magazine articles, press releases or
speaking presentations. However, I wrote my first book, Cycle of Hope, which is
a memoir, in 2010. I primarily wrote it to document a life-changing accident I
experienced in 2000, when I was paralyzed from the chest down. I didn’t know
when I wrote that book, that writing would become something that I would pursue
and have a desire to turn out more books. Further, I never imagined I would
turn to a fiction writing career, but after completing Chance for Rain as my
debut novel, I am excited about jumping into another story and honing my
writing skills. It has been an incredible experience from pushing myself as a
writer, to learning about the production and marketing side of publishing. I
look forward to continuing to write to see what comes up for me next!
Tell us
about your next release.
I have two books in mind and know I will eventually write both,
but will play around with them to see which will come first. One of my
objectives is to bring more characters with disabilities to fiction literature,
so I’m fairly certain that whatever storyline I come up with will include a
character who experiences some sort of disability. As an individual with a
disability myself, I find that these characters are often missing in literature
or are seen in tragic, unfortunate circumstances. I’d like to show the
disability experience for what it is—another example of the human experience.
Interview #2
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Chance for
Rain?
Rainey May Abbott is our central
character. She is a daredevil athlete (both skiing and car racing), but she is anything
but bold in her love life. Why? As a teenager, Rainey was in a car accident in
which she became paralyzed and she now uses a wheelchair for mobility. As a
result, she’s afraid she won’t find love with a disability.
Brian is the love interest she
has met online and he’s a truly likable guy, but even as she gets to know him,
Rainey doesn’t trust that he could possibly be sincere. Brian has no idea why she
keeps him at arm’s length, but he’s intrigued to find out.
Natalie is Rainey’s best friend
and the link to her missing confidence. Natalie encourages Rainey to begin
online dating and is there to cheer and nudge her along in forming a relationship
with Brian.
Can you
tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the
future?
I have so many ideas swirling in my brain right
now, I’m not sure which I will run with next, but I will continue with my goal
of bringing characters with disabilities to life, and likely in another
romance. I am a sucker for a good love story and a happy ending!
How long would you say it takes you to write a book?
Chance for Rain is my first
novel, but my second book. I published Cycle of Hope in 2010 and it was a much
different experience for me than Chance for Rain because it had a different
goal. I am a motivational speaker and after my presentations, audience members
often want to hear “the rest of the story.” That book was a long process—in
thinking time that is—I tried for probably six years to get the first words on
the paper. It never happened. But when the time was right, I sat down and wrote
the entire thing in nine days. It sort of all just fell out of my head and
landed on paper. It went through little editing and is definitely a
what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of book. With Chance for Rain, it was a story
that just came into my brain as I was trying to fall asleep one night and kept
waking me. So, each time, I’d sit up, write a few more paragraphs, then lie
down again, then more ideas, write, close my eyes, get up, repeat. Apparently,
it wanted to be written, though from start to publication, it was eight years.
Whether or not I’ve done it justice, we’ll have to see about that. But it’s a
combination of the book I wish I would have taken the time to write when I
wrote Cycle of Hope, as well as part fiction and part education about life with
a disability. Because I wanted the book to be a much higher quality, it went
through four major edits and so much tweaking and I still wonder if there are
things I should have included or improved. So, I’d have to say, I’ve had two
very different writing experiences in my two books and I am still learning
about my ideal writing process and how long a future project will take, but I
hope to get to the finish line before another eight years!
What is
your favorite childhood book?
I think there are many books I could probably list here, but one
of my favorites is The Saggy Baggy Elephant and Tawny Scrawny Lion
If you could spend the day with one of the characters from Chance
for Rain who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular
character, where you would go and what you would do.
I would love to spend the day
with Rainey’s best friend, Natalie. She is full of verve and seems to be the
kind of person who could scare up some good trouble, yet never get caught. I
think she’s spontaneous and fun. I could see jumping into the car on a whim and
heading out on a cross country road trip, finding excitement in any
destination.
What was the hardest scene from Chance for Rain to write?
For me, the difficulty was in
writing Rainey’s experiences in the hospital and rehabbing from her accident.
Since I drew Rainey from my experience of sustaining a spinal cord injury, I
have written and spoken about the accident, rehab, and returning to everyday
life, so many times, sometimes it feels tedious. But I have to remember that
the reader is very new to this and is interested in the process of how a person
navigates this type of injury. For me, the real interest was in the love story
and Rainey and Brian getting to know each other on an intimate level.
What made
you want to become a writer?
I majored in Journalism in college, so I’ve been doing some sort
of writing ever since then, whether it be magazine articles, press releases or speaking
presentations. Then I published Cycle of Hope in 2010 and thought that was the
end of my book writing. I had no idea that writing would become something I
would continue to pursue and have a desire to turn out more books. Further, I
never imagined I would turn to a fiction writing career, but after truly
enjoying the process of writing Chance for Rain, I am excited about jumping
into another story and honing my writing skills. I look forward to continuing
to write to see what comes up for me next!
Just for fun
(a Favorite song: This changes by the week, but
right now I am loving Living in the Moment by Jason Mraz
(b Favorite book: My favorite recent read is small
great things by Jodi Picoult
(c Favorite movie: Love Actually
(d Favorite tv show: The Walking Dead and The Good
Doctor (current), Switched at Birth or Dance Academy (on Netflix)
(e Favorite Food: Artichokes, cantaloupe and Oreos
(f Favorite drink: Lemonade
(g Favorite website: YouTube…you can learn about or
see almost anything!
Thanks so much for visiting with us today!
About the Author
Tricia Downing is recognized as a pioneer in the sport of women’s paratriathlon, as the first female paraplegic to finish an Iron distance triathlon. She has competed in that sport both nationally and internationally, in addition to competing in road racing and other endurance events. She has represented the United States in international competition in five different sport disciplines—cycling (as a tandem pilot prior to her 2000 accident), triathlon, duathlon, rowing and Olympic style shooting, in which she was a member of Team USA at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
She was featured in the Warren Miller documentary Superior Beings and on the lifestyle TV magazine show Life Moments. She has been featured in Muscle and Fitness Hers, Mile High Sports and Rocky Mountain Sports magazines.
Additionally, she is founder of The Cycle of Hope (www.thecycleofhope.org), a non-profit organization designed for female wheelchair users to promote health and healing on all levels—mind, body and spirit.
Tricia studied Journalism as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland and holds Masters degrees in both Sports Management (Eastern Illinois University) and Disability Studies (Regis University).
She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband Steve and two cats, Jack and Charlie. Visit Tricia at triciadowning.com
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1 comments:
thanks for hosting
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