Guest Blogger - Tristi Pinkston, Author of Agent in Old Lace

I recently reviewed Agent in Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston. In case you missed that review, you can find it here.

Tristi is currently touring the blogosphere to let people know all about her contemporary romantic suspense novel Agent of Old Lace, and I agreed to host her. Actually, if she hadn't asked I would have offered because I loved her last book, Season of Sacrifice so much, I knew I wanted to read Agent in Old Lace the minute it was available.

Though Tristi told me it might be dangerous, I allowed her to take the reins and discuss whatever she wanted to today. So, I'm taking a nap for a few moments and Tristi is moving in.

Catching the Waves
By Tristi Pinkston

When a surfer wants to catch a wave, he goes out into the water and gets ready, holding his board poised just right. When the wave comes, he takes full advantage, placing the board and hopping on, holding his arms just so in order to keep his balance, and he rides that wave as far as it will take him. As he’s standing in the water, waiting, he doesn’t feel guilty if the wave doesn’t come right when he thought it would. He just waits a minute, remaining ready, and then enjoys the ride when it comes.

Spurts of creativity are very much like waves. They come and they go, sometimes pounding into the beach and sometimes gently lapping, often with gaps in between. Writers ride those waves of creativity, tapping out pages upon pages as the wave takes them into shore. Yet, for some reason, the analogy stops here. Whereas the surfer patiently waits for the wave, knowing one is coming, the writer frets and stresses. “Where’s my next wave?” he moans. “I’m a fraud. A failure. I’ll never get published. I’ll never finish this book. I’m stuck and I don’t know how to fix it. I’m a loser.”

What the writer needs to realize is what the surfer knows instinctively. The wave will come. It might not come right now, or thirty seconds from now, but it will come. No amount of stressing or whining will bring it any sooner. The question is, are you poised in the water, gripping your board, ready to leap on when the time is right?

1. Are you getting enough rest? Sleep is one of the major factors in creativity. If you just can’t come up with a decent idea to save your life, it’s time for a nap, or two or three … whatever you need to recharge.

2. Are you feeding your mind? If you’re writing a romance, are you reading romances, watching romantic movies, and snuggling up with your sweetie? You’ve got to feed the fire. If you’re writing a historical fiction, read them. If you’re writing a nonfiction text, read them. Keep your brain firing on those topics so that when your idea flares to life, it won’t be like trying to start a rusty chainsaw.

3. Are you taking enough time away from the computer? That might seem counterproductive, but it’s not. Sitting in the same place day after day, staring at the screen, isn’t the most awe-inspiring place you could be. If the screen is mocking you, take a break. Go for a walk. Get some oxygen flowing. Go shopping. Sometimes changing your atmosphere is the best thing you can do to get those ideas coming again.

You are not a failure if your ideas seem slow in coming. You just need some time to recharge yourself and possibly even remind yourself why you love to write in the first place. It should never feel like a chore. If that’s where you are right now, take a break. Then get back in the water and wait for the wave. It will come.


I'm back! I popped in at Tristi's blog and noticed this post from the day she kicked off her virtual book tour. It's not often I read of an author interviewing herself, so please check it out.

You can also find Tristi online at her website.

Agent in Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston--Book Review

Mystery, suspense and romance create a fast-paced and engaging read in Agent in Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston.

Shannon Tanner's world turns upside down when she realizes her boyfriend Mark isn't the Prince Charming she thought he was. When she discovers his secret, Mark turns on her and Shannon's life is suddenly in danger.

The FBI assigns a female agent to go undercover as Shannon's roomate to see if they can flush out Mark. But when this agent is injured right before the assignment, the FBI must turn to their top agent, Rick Holden.

For a while things seem like they will be okay. Rick is by Shannon's side--even though he's wearing a dress most of the time--and Mark might have taken off for good. When Shannon's best friend Tate is kidnapped, Shannon realizes that only way to stop Mark once and for all is to make Rick move out. Can Shannon lure Mark out into the open? And if she does, can Rick save her before it's too late?

After enjoying Tristi's novel, Season of Sacrifice--which we reviewed here--I knew I wanted to read Agent in Old Lace when it came out. This is a decidely different book than Season of Sacrifice, but it is equally as engaging and riveting.

Shannon discovers her life isn't quite as perfect as it seems and she suddenly finds herself in danger from the man who supposedly loves her. In steps Rick Holden, the dashing FBI agent who ends up having to room with her to keep her safe from Mark. That proves challenging because everyone knows Shannon would never have a male roommate, so Rick becomes a woman. This leads to many funny scenes that help to break up the suspense of Mark being on the lose and waiting for the chance to get back at Shannon.

One of the subplots of Agent in Old Lace is that while all this is going on, Shannon's father is fighting for his life from some mysterious illness that the doctors have yet to identify. This raises the stakes for Shannon because she needs to worry about her father's health, her mother's safety, and trying to draw Mark out without getting killed. Pinkston certainly knows how to push characters to their limits.

While the formula has been done before, the extra element of faith that is added to Agent in Old Lace makes this romantic suspense novel unique. All the main characters are LDS, and Shannon uses the power of prayer on more than one occasion to help bring her through her troubles.

Fans of romantic suspense will be flocking to Agent of Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston. Don't miss this one. It's worth every penny!


Title: Agent in Old Lace
Author: Tristi Pinkston
Publisher: Bonneville Books
ISBN: 978-1-59955-308-5
SRP: $13.00

Season of Sacrifice by Tristi Pinkston--book review

Season of Sacrifice by Tristi Pinkston is a powerful story of faith rising up against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Ben Perkins wants more out of life than working in the coal mines of Wales, so when The Church begins organizing shiploads of Saints to go across to New York and then onto Utah, he decides to leave his home and journey to America. He leaves behind his sweetheart, young Mary Ann Williams, but he promises to send enough money for her passage as soon as he can.

After receiving Ben's wages, Mary Ann travels with the rest of Ben's family to America. Mary Ann and Ben are married in October 1869. The rest of Mary Ann's family, including her younger sister, Sarah, join them in Utah in 1878.

When the Perkins family is asked to join the San Juan mission to create a trail through Southern Utah, Sarah accompanies them to help care for the children.

The planned six-week journey, turns into six months of hard labor as the Saints blast through cliffs, build roads, and create dugways to make a trail to San Juan. They survive dangerous conditions, believing they cannot turn back because it is what the Lord has called them to do.

Relief comes at last when they finally settle in San Juan. But relief for Ben, Mary Ann, and Sarah is short-lived. Ben announces that he has been called to enter into a plural marriage and to take Sarah as his second wife. Can these Saints follow the Lord's commandments? Can they push aside their own feelings and practice obedience? Will their lives ever be good again?

I approached this novel with a a tiny bit of anxiety. I had only read one other book that had Mormon characters in it and they weren't the good guys. In addition, I didn't know how much polygamy was going to play a role in this novel or how it would be portrayed. The author did an amazing job with this story and I can honestly say that my anxiety was unnecessary.

Season of Sacrifice tells the story of Tristi Pinkston's great-great grandfather Ben Perkins and his family. Their devotion to their faith is inspiring. The hardships they faced--astounding. The decisions they had to make are unthinkable in this day and age. They were true pioneers in every sense of the word.

Pinkston broke the book up into four parts--each flowing nicely into the other. From the time Ben appears as a coal miner through to the birth of the first child born to Sarah and Ben Perkins, you follow him and his family through every emotion, every decision, every hardship. You journey with them in the cramped quarters onboard the ship to America. You ride the dusty trail with them. You're there as they blast through the cliff that will become known as "Hole in the Rock". You feel their relief when they finally arrive at San Juan. And mostly, you feel for both Sarah and her sister, Mary Ann, as they struggle to obey the Lord's commandments.

Pinkston provides a Cast of Characters at the beginning of the novel, which allows the reader to reference back if necessary...though I was so caught up in this fascinating story, I never needed to refer to it. In addition to the Epilogue, Pinkston provides a list of Chapter Notes, which tells the reader what is historically accurate and what is portrayed in such a way as to add to the plot of the story. She also provides a touching Afterword about polygamy, which seeks to help readers understand the origins of plural marriage and it's place in the Mormon Church, and indicates her own difficulties in writing about Sarah's marriage to Ben. Also included are some wonderful family photos to provide faces to some of the characters the reader meets along the way.

Season of Sacrifice is a gripping page-turner that will find you clinging to the very last word!


Title: Season of Sacrifice
Author: Tristi Pinkston
Publisher: Golden Wings Enterprises
ISBN: 978-0-9794340-1-3
U.S. Price: $16.95