Friday, October 31, 2014

ARIA Expo Blog Tour, Patricia Mitchell

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.








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