Chance for Rain
by Tricia
Downing
GENRE: Chick
Lit/Romance
BLURB:
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.
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.
Excerpt:
“Sometimes
going shopping is work,” Natalie announces as we head back to her house after a
morning at the mall. “You can’t be creative when you’ve been jammed up in an
office for five hours. You have to get out for new ideas to come to you.”
“I
love how you can rationalize almost any of life’s indulgences,” I say. Nat
turns and winks in response to my playful smirk.
“Life
is too short to deny yourself all self-indulgent behavior.” The words hang in
the air slightly, as we both know it was an off-handed comment, but our minds
go immediately back to the event that reinforces her words.
“Yes,
life is short.” I say this in a way that reassures her that her comment was
taken in the spirit it was said, rather than meant to dredge up bad memories.
Though I can’t help but elaborate on the subject. “Do you realize I’m only six
years shy of my mom’s age at the time of the accident?”
“Yep,”
Nat answers a bit too quickly. “I do. And I also realize something else. Your
mom was thirty-eight, married to the love of her life and had two charming
young girls.” I quickly realize I have given her the perfect segue into a
lecture that has been constructed, rehearsed, and delivered to me many times in
many different iterations over the past ten years. Now, as if she is attempting
an intervention while we drive down Colorado Boulevard, Natalie blurts out,
“Rainey, it’s about time we found you a man.”
“Why?
Are you getting tired of hanging out with me?”
“It’s
not that,” she says. “It’s just. That. It’s time,” the words spit out of her
mouth. It’s obvious she wants to punctuate her points. “You can’t keep running
away from it. You’re an incredible catch—beautiful and charming to be around.
Athletic. Everything most girls would die to be.”
I
know she is keenly aware of my resistance, but I get the feeling she isn’t
going to fall for it today. But I also can’t ignore my feelings or my truth.
Interview
with Tricia Downing
As a writer, what
would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
My
spirit animal is a monkey. I have always loved them—their playful nature, acrobatic
tendencies and their overall adorableness. If you go anywhere in my house,
you’ll see monkeys: stuffed animals, stickers, magnets, picture frames and
right now on my earrings and necklace.
How many hours a day
to you put into your writing?
Unfortunately,
since finishing Chance for Rain, my writing time has been sporadic and not very
focused. I have so many ideas in my head, and what ends up happening is I write
down snippets of paragraphs throughout the day, sometimes on my cell phone, or
in my notebook, or on random pages of my calendar. But, I am buckling down this
month for #NaNoWriMo and I’m going focus on finishing the first draft of my
next novel!
Do you read your book
reviews? If yes, do they affect what you write in the future?
I
do read my book reviews! I look at a well thought out review merely as
feedback. There are always going to be people who either like or don’t like
your work and I don’t think that’s something you should take personally. I
believe it’s important to remember that you’re writing to a specific
group/demographic, so if someone who doesn’t like your genre says something bad,
well, that’s only so important. But if someone talks about a character they
would have liked to know more about, or details left out, then it is great
feedback that will make you a better writer.
Do you leave hidden
messages in your books that only a few people will find?
Yes,
there are many hidden messages in Chance for Rain. It’s fun to think that
you’re putting words out there that many people will read, but that only
certain people will see through them to a super-secret meaning.
Can
you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the
future?
My
goal for this part of my writing career is to showcase characters with
disabilities. In my life as a Paralympic athlete, I have the opportunity to
many remarkable people with disabilities and have learned about so many walks
of life, how different disabilities make for interesting and creative stories
and I look forward to introducing these characters to mainstream fiction. And
because I am a sucker for a love story, I’m sure that romance and happy endings
will always be involved.
Do you allow yourself
a certain number of hours to write or do you write as long as the words come?
I
am the kind of writer who likes big chunks of time available to write. I can
jot down little ideas all day long, but when it really comes time to get words
on paper and craft a story, I like to have three or four hours set aside to do
that. Of course, it doesn’t always work that way, but that’s ideal. And, if the
words aren’t coming to me when I do that, I get on my handcycle and go for a
ride. That’s when the words really start flowing.
Do you have a certain
number of words or pages you write per day?
With
my busy schedule, every day is so different and full, that I don’t get to write
on a regular schedule. That is, however, my dream. To have more time to write
and to bring discipline to my practice. Perhaps a 2020 goal?
What inspires you to
write?
Sometimes
it’s a great idea and other times it’s a need to get thoughts out of my head
and down on paper so I can think more clearly about something else I might be
working on. Writing gives me a chance to express myself fully, as I think I’m
much better with words on paper than I am with truly speaking my thoughts and
feelings. Writing is such a cathartic process.
Would you rather:
Read fiction or
non-fiction?
Fiction
Read series or
stand-alone?
Stand-alone
Read Science Fiction
or Horror?
Neither?
Read Stephen King or
Dean Koontz?
Dean
Koontz
Read the book or
watch the movie?
Book
Read an ebook or
paperback?
Paperback
Be trapped alone for
one month in a library with no computer or a room with a computer and Wi-Fi
only?
I
think the library with no computer sounds so much more relaxing!
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
Paralympian,
Speaker, Author, Disability Advocate
On September 17,
2000, Tricia Downing went from being a competitive cyclist to a paraplegic
requiring a wheelchair for mobility. Her life was changed forever, but Tricia’s
competitive spirit and zest for life continued on. Making the transition from
able-bodied cyclist to an athlete with a disability, Tricia has completed over
100 races, including marathons and triathlons, since her accident. She was the
first female paraplegic to complete an Ironman triathlon and qualified for the
Hawaii Ironman World Championship twice. Additionally, she was a member of Team
USA at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Tricia’s professional
life has been immersed in sports as she earned a master’s degree in Sport
Management in 1995 and worked at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado
Springs, Colo. She was the press officer for the USA Table Tennis team at the
1996 Olympic Games.
She has received
many sports accolades, including the USA Triathlon Physically Challenged
Athlete of the Year (2003), Sportswomen of Colorado—Inspiration (’03),
Triathlon (’05), Hall of Fame (’12) Awards, the 2006 Most Inspirational Athlete
from the Challenged Athletes Foundation and the 2008 Courage Award from the
Tempe Sports Authority.
As a community
leader and disability advocate, she was a member of the 2013 class of the Girl
Scouts Women of Distinction. She also received the 2019 Inspiration Award from
Craig Hospital for outstanding community contribution from a Craig Hospital
“graduate.” (Craig is a world-renowned spinal cord and brain injury
rehabilitation hospital) Tricia has truly excelled despite her life-altering
injury.
In addition to her
sports pursuits, Tricia has taken an active leadership role in her community as
a peer mentor to others experiencing spinal cord injuries, she founded Camp
Discovery (and subsequently The Cycle of Hope non-profit) dedicating 10 years
to helping female wheelchair users gain confidence and self-esteem through a
yearly sports and fitness retreat. Additionally, she serves on the board of USA
Shooting, which is the National Governing Body for the Olympic sport of
shooting.
Tricia published her
memoir: Cycle of Hope—A Journey from Paralysis to Possibility in June 2010,
with the second edition released in January 2017. In August of 2018, she
published her first fiction novel Chance for Rain.
Buy Links:
Giveaway:
$50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC
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6 comments:
Congrats on the release. Will your next book be in this same series?
Great interview
Sounds like a good read.
Great post - thanks for sharing and for the awesome giveaway!
I enjoyed the interview!
This book sounds seriously delightful! ☺
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