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April's Author of the Month is Patricia McLinn. Patricia writes for
Silhouette Special Edition and her April release is LEAST LIKELY WEDDING?
the latest in her Tobias, Wisconsin series. Readers will remember the hero Rob from
WEDDING OF THE CENTURY and THE UNEXPECTED WEDDING GUEST. Visit Patricia at
her website: http://www.patriciamclinn.com
Debora: Patricia, what influences can you point to that spurred you on to become a writer?
Patricia: Reading is certainly the primary influence in my becoming a
writer. From the time I started to read, I was hooked on experiencing
other worlds, other times, other lives through books. I always had stories
in my head -- and thought everyone did – so writing gave me an outlet
for all that imagination.
Also, my family can sit around talking for days at a time and that verbal
focus certainly had an influence. My father, in particular, is a true
storyteller. After years of … ahem, gentle persuasion, he is writing his
memoirs for the family so we’ll have those stories in printed form.
Debora: There are a lot of romance writers who have a background in
journalism. Do you think journalism is good training for an aspiring
writer, especially the writing to deadlines? Would you say that it had any
negative aspects?
Patricia: Journalism is an excellent training ground for aspiring writers.
It certainly teaches the value of a deadline, and how much can be
accomplished in 60 seconds! Working in journalism should also give an
aspiring writer a professional attitude toward being edited, as well as
the responsibility that goes with having his/her name on the work.
When it comes to the craft of writing, journalism teaches a writer to
express him/herself succinctly, to put together coherent sentences and
paragraphs and – perhaps most important for me – to capture character
and dialogue. Doing interviews and getting quotes truly is about capturing
character and dialogue – often about capturing character through
dialogue.
Covering sports was particularly good training. For one thing, I had a lot
of experience dealing with and observing how men respond under pressure.
Also, there’s innate drama in sports. Deb Dixon has written a book about
writing that focuses on characters’ Goal, Motivation and Conflict –
and there’s certainly all that in sports.
The one area where I had to overcome my journalism background in writing
fiction was show vs. tell. In journalism, you cut to the chase – He was
angry. In fiction, you build the case – He crushed the paper cup in his
fisted hand.
Debora: What do you like the most about being a romance writer? The
least?
Patricia: What I like the most is the culture of romance fiction. That’s
awfully broad, so let me explain:
I see the characters in my books and other romance books that I love as
real people with real problems who – and this is vital – work to
overcome those problems. Those are the kind of characters I want to spend
my time with, reading or writing.
It makes sense, too, that the readers and writers who are drawn to romance
generally have the same approach. So, both within our books and within our
community, there is a general sense of hopefulness, a cultural belief in
the ability of people to change and improve.
To get back to journalism succinctness, there’s little Woe Is Me-ism.
Least? Hmm. I'd like total freedom, more money and more time, so I
suppose not having those – yet <g> -- is what I like least.
Debora: Have you encountered any negativity for being a category romance
author?
Patricia: You mean from snobs? Sure. But my experience is that most of the
people who criticize romance books, who make generalizations about
“Harlequins,” etc., know little if anything about them. They are
basing their biases on what “everyone knows” without experiencing the
work themselves. At best that’s totally inadequate scholarship, at worst
it’s bigotry. I can’t respect either one, and it’s hard to get too
worked up about negative comments from people I don’t respect.
Debora: What do you like about writing for Silhouette Special Edition?
Patricia: I love the sense of community in Special Edition books. The
feeling that these are places and people I could encounter and enjoy.
Debora: Do you have a favorite 'theme' in category romance that you enjoy
writing the most? (eg weddings, ranch stories, etc) Is there a theme that
you would love to write about but can't?
Patricia: I like too many themes to pick a “most.” Weddings? Yes.
Ranch stories? Yes. Family connections? Yes. Place connections? Yes. I
like ‘em all <g>.
I can’t think of any theme I’d like to write about but can’t.
Debora: Do you enjoy booksignings? Do you have any funny stories about a
booksigning?
Patricia: Ah, booksignings. I have a love-hate relationship with
booksignings. I love meeting readers and booksellers (sainthood should
definitely be instituted for great booksellers.) I hate trying to be a
salesperson for my books.
It’s not that I don’t believe in my books and think readers would
enjoy them. But spitting out why is pure torture. I’m much better
selling friends’ books <g>
The incident I remember most vividly at a booksigning was having a lovely
elderly couple come up to the table. The woman was buying several books
from each of the several authors there. I started talking with the man,
who was simply beaming with pride at his wife. It turned out that he could
not read, and she had learned only about 10 years earlier. And he was so
incredibly proud of her and pleased to buy her as many books as she could
ever want. Makes me tear up now to think of them.
Debora: What inspires you as a person? As a writer?
Patricia: The goodness of people inspires me greatly as a person. When
people rise above pettiness, when they do small kindnesses, when they make
great sacrifices, when they consider others.
As a writer, I am inspired by a quote from the late actress Jessica Tandy.
My paraphrase of it is that she wanted to make movies that left the
audience feeling glad to be a member of the human race. If my books leave
one reader feeling that way, then I've succeeded.
As both a writer and a person, I am inspired by a quote from Helen Keller:
"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the
overcoming of it."
Debora: I see from your website that you're a dog person. Does Riley help
you write? <g>
Patricia: With one exception, the answer is an unequivocal NO! He’s a
distraction and a temptation, trying to lure me into playing or going for
a walk when I should be at the computer. In fact, It's All His Fault.
<g> He is a total nag about going for a walk. Not only does he know what time
we go, but he tries to nudge it up a little earlier each day. And he is
not subtle. When you've been poked by that long nose of a collie who's
determined to make his presence felt, let me tell you, you know you've
been poked!
The one exception was for the Wyoming Wildflowers trilogy, especially
MATCH MADE IN WYOMING, when the dog introduced in that book, Sin, was
Riley's alter ego. (And that name – Sin – was no accident.) I got to
recycle some of Riley's shenanigans, so I could say, yes, he helped the
writing then.
Debora: Anything you'd like to say to your readers, especially a
first-time reader reading this interview?
Patricia: I just froze. I was merrily typing along and I came to this
question, and it's like the booksigning problem. Ack!
Deep breaths. <g> Okay, here's what I would say to a first-time reader:
I hope you'll come to my website and read excerpts from my books –
more than covers or back blurbs or anything else, that will give you a
good feel for the experience you would have reading one of my books.
And while you're at the website, I hope you'll look at the revolving
quotes on the home page. Those quotes are either from reviewers or from my
wonderful readers, and I thank them all for being much better at
encapsulating my books than I am! ~~~~
Debora: Thank you, Patricia, for the fascinating interview! Best of luck,
and we'll be waiting for your next release, BABY BLUES AND WEDDING BELLS
this coming June!
(Click
here for a review of LEAST LIKELY WEDDING?)
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