Introducing . . . Tristi Pinkston

Hi, there! My name is Tristi Pinkston. I'm a wife, a mother, a home schooler, an editor, a media reviewer, a blogger (both professional and hobby) and a headless chicken. In my other incarnations, I've been a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, a Nursery leader, a reading tutor, a floral designer, a jewelry maker, a babysitter, a nanny, the assistant manager at a Mexican food restaurant (which went over a lot better than the one week I spent working at Arctic Circle, but there's no need to dredge up painful memories) and a cashier at a craft store. The craft store faced full west and had no decent air conditioning except for on the silk flower aisle, which was, of course, far away from the cash register. Again, a painful memory.

Moving on to happier times, I published my first novel, "Nothing to Regret," in the fall of 2002. It's a historical fiction novel about the Japanese internment camps during World War II, but we get some cool espionage and a little romance in there. My second book was "Strength to Endure," published in 2004. It's also historical fiction, set in World War II but this time in Germany as I explore the Nazi concentration camps and the ability we have to rise above adversity. My third novel is "Season of Sacrifice," and is the most historically detailed of the three as it's the true story of my great-great-grandfather, who engineered the passage through the Hole in the Rock in southern Utah.

My newest release is my first publication with Cedar Fort. Titled "Agent in Old Lace," it's my first contemporary story. I call it a contemporary/mystery/suspense/romance/humor, but that is kinda long so Cedar Fort decided to call it a romantic suspense. That is a little more to the point.

It's been an interesting journey, writing historical fiction for so long and then trying my hand at something new. Each genre has its challenges and its rewards. I'll be the first to say that historical fiction is hard work. There's a lot of research and double-checking that goes on, even if you don't use a tenth of what you learned in the final product. Writing in a contemporary genre takes off some of that stress, and I've been able to concentrate a little more on the actual mechanics of writing more than ever before. I've learned so much over the last few years ... who knew I used the word "was" so much? And what about "that?" Right now I'm working on taking out "just" and "little bit." I'll probably even graduate to where I'm eliminating "just a little bit."

Life is a little crazy around here, with the writing and the home schooling going on, but it's also a lot of fun. I hope you'll enjoy hanging out here and getting to know me better, along with all the other awesome Cedar Fort authors at the Writing Fortress.