Trisha writes occasional articles and stories, has many years' experience of manuscript assessment (she is part of the www.storytracks.net team) and has judged short story and novel competitions.
She loves exploring food, gardens and old houses and these preoccupations are a recurring theme in her novels. When she has a little spare time, Trisha loves to walk on the nearby beach or stroll around the world-famous Bodnant Gardens, and also paints, mainly in oils.
Trisha is the author of thirteen novels and Avon HarperCollins will publish her latest romantic comedy, Chocolate Wishes, on March 4th. A Winter's Tale was a Times bestseller and was also shortlisted for the 2009 Melissa Nathan award for romantic comedy. Her current paperback from Avon is Wedding Tiers.
She has also written a Regency novel, Lord Rayven's Revenge, published by Hale. (She always knew her extensive collection of Regency newspapers would come in useful one day!) In Lord Rayven's Revenge she combines a deep interest in the early Gothic novel with her fascination for Regency England, creating a lively and unforgettable literary heroine.
Trisha Ashley is a member of the Society of Authors, the Welsh Academi and the Romantic Novelists' Association.
As to how she got published, Trisha says: "I wasn't an overnight success, by any means! For years I submitted manuscripts of satirical novels to publishers and received rave rejections, saying they thought my writing was hysterically funny (hopefully in a good way...) though they just couldn't see quite how to market it. But then I had the great good fortune to be taken on by literary agent Judith Murdoch, who immediately put her finger on the problem.
'Trisha, this romantic comedy hasn't got any romance in it at all,' she informed me succinctly. 'Go away and put some in.'
So I did, and soon my first romantic comedy, Good Husband Material, was published.
And the greatest asset any writer can have? Trisha says: 'Apart from a wonderful agent, the answer has to be good friends, without a doubt!'