Putting cows on the front page since 1885.
Roaring Spring author Trisha Ridinger McKee had three books come out this year.
First, she had "The Beyond" series, which consists of three parts. The third and final one came out in December. She also had a Christmas short story collection published in December.
McKee said that the "Beyond" series started out centered around Ella. She is a middle-age woman whose life is spiraling out of control. Her daughter is a teenager and Ella feels like they are not connected any more. Her husband left her for another woman. Ella realizes that within the last several years, she has lost touch with what makes her happy and who she is. The book starts with a crisis. Then, Ella takes up fishing to get back some of that happiness. A man that she meets through fishing actually saves her. They become friends throughout the book. Ella discovers her joy again.
McKee said that her inspiration for the Beyond Series is "kind of funny." She said that Inspiration can be taken from little things. It could be that someone said a sentence a certain way or the author sees something on television.
The character Ella tries to find her joy by going fishing. It is always something that she wanted to do. Her husband really never wanted to do it. That is when she meets Dennis. McKee said that she was inspired to write the book because a few years back, she was working a job that was really stressful and she was "in a bad place." She was not happy. She said that her husband started taking her fishing. As soon as work was done, she would come home and he would have the boat ready, the fishing rods packed and the couple would go fishing. McKee said that her husband is a "very stoic" man and not very romantic, but when they would go fishing, he would carry everything for both of them. It was kind of romantic in its own way, she said.
"So, that kind of inspired me," she said.
The other two books still have Ella and her story, but it has more focus on her daughter, Lila. She comes of age, goes to college and goes on her own journey.
McKee said, "I had the first book written for a couple of years, but didn't do anything with it. The second and third books took me about two months each to write."
McKee said that she wrote the third book at the same time that she was writing the Christmas short story book.
"I don't think that I will be doing that again. Writing two books at once is just a little crazy," she said.
The Christmas book has eleven short stories revolving around the holidays. There is a little something of everything in there. There are stories about people who are trying to get through the grieving process. There are also stories about finding love, second-chance love and things like that. It even has a story that is connected to the Beyond series.
Christmas book
As for the Christmas book, McKee said that she loves Christmas. It is her favorite time of the year. One of the stories in the book had been previously published. She said that she "really liked" that story and she wanted to publish it again, so she included it in this anthology.
McKee said that she has "big plans" for the future with four books scheduled to be released in 2021. The first book of the Josie series, titled "Through the Motions," will be released March 1. The Katie series, which is related to the Josie series but is a completely separate four-book series, is due out in 2022.
McKee said that she also has a podcast titled "Vox Vomitus," Latin for word vomit.
"We discuss what goes wrong in writing. We also interview writers such as the writer of "Devil's Advocate." He is the ghost writer for V.C. Andrews as well," McKee said.
McKee's books can be purchased at Amazon.com or through her Amazon page at http://www.amazon.com/author/trishamckee. For updates on book readings and events and new releases, visit Trisha's website at http://www.trishamckee.com.
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