Tricia grew up in Collinsville, Illinois, a town famous for the largest catsup bottle in the world and the biggest producer of horseradish in the known universe. It's a condiment kind of town. She still makes frequent trips there to visit her family.

She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching Rhetoric and Composition, both from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, MO. 

She attends writing conferences and is a member of Saturday Writers, a chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild. She keeps abreast of writing issues through the internet and by subscribing to writing magazines and newsletters. She has written for Missouri Life, Fiery-Foods and BBQ Magazine, and Babble.com. Her "This I Believe" essay was read on St. Louis On the Air in December 2006.

She is married and has a fourteen-year-old daughter and an eleven-year-old son. She shamelessly uses them for writing material.