Mike:
Hi, Pat.
I’m happy to have yet another Association of Rhode Island Author (ARIA) to
introduce to my Overlords fan base. As
with the others, we’re going to do an old fashioned interview. Here we go!
Mike: Pat, please introduce yourself to my
Overlords fans with a little information about you and where you’re from.
Pat
:
I am a Rhode Islander, born in Johnston,
and with the exception of a few years, I’ve lived here all my life. I began writing in about fifth grade when my
teacher would assign me essays as punishment for my sarcastic attitude; what
started as punishment became my passion.
I studied English, Communications and Creative Writing at Rhode Island
College. Two years ago, with the help
and support from my family and my fantastic book coach, Lisa Tener, I wrote a
collection of essays about my mother’s life growing up on Federal Hill during
the Great Depression. I self published “A
Girl from the Hill – My Mother’s Journey from Italian Girl to American Woman”
last April. I have done various readings
and am slowly getting myself immersed into the world of professional writing as
I hold down my steady job as a Business Analyst. I live in Smithfield with my husband Jeremy,
daughter Julia and beagle Trudy.
Mike: What are you working on
these days and what’s the current status of that project?
Pat
:
Right now I am working on my second
book, which is in fact my first middle grade/YA book. I just began the process of totally
restructuring it based on an epiphany I experienced while I was driving my
daughter to basketball practice. We were arguing about her music and my music
and it all just came together. I hope to
cover mother daughter relationships from a whole new level in this book, and
show how a mother can give her daughter strength from anywhere at any point in
her life, if the daughter is ready to look in the right places.
Mike:
Can you tell the audience what inspires you to
write?
Pat: I write to connect with people, to tell
stories and present descriptions that express how I feel but that I believe
others can relate to. I love when my
work results in something that a reader finds truly funny, or meaningful, something
that they can hold onto and use to branch off into other new and interesting
directions. I also write as therapy, to
work through difficult or indescribable emotions. I am extremely sensitive and
am sometimes bursting with feelings that need to be expressed in productive and
positive ways. I’ve always done this but
only recently understand why I do it.
Mike:
What genre do you enjoy
writing the most?
Pat
: I love writing essays, which is why I enjoy
blogging so much. I enjoy taking a
subject and examining it in various ways, but also challenging myself to keep
it brief enough to peak someone’s interest without getting preachy.
Mike: Any upcoming projects we should now about?
Pat
: Well my in-progress book, working Title -
‘Carry That Weight,’ deals with mothers, daughters, music, health and
power. Hoping that it hits a chord with
YA and/or Middle Grade readers, as they are at a point in life when they are
able to still receive valuable lessons from a very unique perspective as they
discover the ‘grey’ in life instead of classifying everything as black and
white they way younger children often do.
Finding the grey is part of becoming a well-rounded, mature adult.
Mike:
OK, time for some quick ones, ready? Favorite movie?
Pat: Rio Bravo – big Western fan and it’s got Dean
Martin and Ricky Nelson!
Mike:
Favorite food or dish to make?
Pat: Anything that my 14 year old will actually eat
and not complain about.
Mike:
Favorite place you have ever visited?
Pat
:
Dublin, with London a close second.
Mike: Favorite music band?
Pat
:
The Beatles.
Mike: Favorite book, and no it can’t be one of
yours!
Pat
:
Memoirs of a Geisha.
Mike: Pat, thanks for being such a good sport! Is there anything you would like to leave my
fans with?
Pat
:
Try to make positive connections with
other people to gain different perspectives whenever you can. Even if you’re dead set against what a person
stands for, everyone has motivations and reasons for what he or she does. You don’t have to like it, but you can always
learn from it.
Mike: Pat, thanks for
being part of this great blog series. Please follow the links below to
get in touch with Pat and most importantly, buy her books!
Pat’s book is available online in various
formats on Amazon, B&N, Alibris and the Balboa Press Bookstore.
