Character Spotlight ~ Trish Perry's Tina Milano & Zack Cooper

Zack & Tina

Trish Perry returns with her delightful Tea with Millicent series, with Tea for Two.

Enjoy this insight:~

Brief physical description

Tina Milano, 34, is of Italian descent, so she has rich, dark hair, olive skin, and dark eyes. She's slim but shapely and has a ready smile.

Zack Cooper, 39, is blond and blue-eyed, with skin tanned from working outdoors. He's tall and lean, with a naturally muscular build.

Actor/famous person

I've included my inspiration pics of Linda Fiorentino and Viggo Mortensen.

Strengths and weaknesses

Tina has a patient spirit and loves to help others achieve happiness in their lives, which is one reason she's a counselor. But the other reason she's a counselor is because of the heartbreak she has suffered in her own life and the resulting desire to overcome her personal loss. Her heartbreak has caused her to be hesitant to let anyone--any man--get too close to her emotions.

Zack is humble and has good, old-fashioned morals, even as he tries to remain the "fun" dad to his challenging teenagers. He sometimes speaks too soon when angered or frustrated, and he's in great need of help in how best to discipline his kids constructively.

Your inspiration for the character

I had a friend who experienced something similar to what Tina experienced with her husband, and I thought it was so tragic and would certainly leave some issues for a character to overcome.

And for Zack I just knew I wanted the character to be a farmer of some kind. I decided on a produce farmer because I didn't want him all cow smelly. Middleburg has a vast socio-economic mix--from hunt-country gentry to people living in small, woodsy homes to farmers to boutique owners, and I hadn't yet incorporated someone like Zack into the series. I wanted him to be manly, the salt of the earth, and completely baffled about teenagers.

Background to the story

I knew when I wrote The Perfect Blend (the first book in the Tea with Millicent series) that I would be writing Tina and Zack's story afterward, so I dropped a slight mention of them in TPB. By the time I started writing Tea for Two, I was eager to throw these two people together. I really fell in love with both of them, because they had each been hurt by their former spouses but in far different ways, and they're such good, vulnerable people. It was fun to watch them grow closer and eventually fall in love. I hope readers will feel the same way.

Thanks Trish ~ loved all the detail in your spotlight!

Relz Reviewz Extras

Review of Tea for Two

Character spotlight on Beach Dreams' Jeremy & Tiffany

Visit Trish's website

Buy Trish's books at Amazon or Koorong