Pat McDermott Gets Lost in a Story

Please help me welcome Pat McDermott to our blog today! Pat and I met through the Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, and I'm thrilled to get the chance to interview her!

                                                                                   

                                               BIO:
          Born and educated in Boston, Massachusetts, Pat grew up in a family full of music and myths that have found their way into her stories. Her "Band of Roses" trilogy and her young adult novel, Glancing Through the Glimmer, are romantic adventures set in an Ireland that might have been.

         Pat is a member of the New Hampshire Writers' Project, Seacoast Writers' Association, Romance Writers of America, and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. Pat's favorite non-writing activities include cooking, hiking, reading, and traveling, especially to Ireland. She lives and writes in New Hampshire.

        

About A Band of Roses:

Irish kings still rule the Emerald Isle— and a princess is in trouble . . . Ancient Irish traditions remain strong in a world where High King Brian Boru survived  the Battle of Clontarf and established a dynasty that rules Ireland to this day. When greed for oil prompts England's Regent to claim an Irish island in the North Atlantic, Ireland's Crown Princess Talty becomes a pawn in a murderous plot to seize the throne of England.  From Japan to California to an eleventh century Ireland preparing for the Battle of Clontarf, Talty must hide her true identity, through she can't hide her ingrained training as a member of the Fianna: the warriors who guard the Kingdom of Ireland. She brings home a discovery worth more than any oil well, yet all she wants is to return to her family and Neil Boru, the adoptive cousin she secretly loves and cannot have- or so she thinks. Neil has a secret of his own, one that emerges as the Boru clan works with MI6 to thwart an invasion of Ireland and bring Talty home. Want to read an excerpt of A Band of Roses? Click here!

ALEXA:  Pat, how often to you get lost in a story?

PAT:     Not often enough, Alexa. I do get lost in whatever story I’m currently writing, and when I’m writing, I tend to read lots of non-fiction for research. But I love it when a story I’m reading for pleasure has me eager to hide away and read it. Nothing beats a well-written story that makes you forget about everything else.

ALEXA:  Whats the first book you remember reading?

PAT:     Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans. Loved those “twelve little girls in two straight lines.”
 

ALEXA:   Whats your favorite fairy tale?

PAT:     Sleeping Beauty. A beautiful princess, fairies and magic, an evil witch and her sinister spells, a handsome prince. Can’t go wrong with all that.

ALEXA:    Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?

PAT:     That’s a tough one, as I’ve written and enjoy reading both. I’d have to go with Action Adventure.

Making friends at the Connemara Heritage and History Centre, Ireland

ALEXA: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why?

PAT: I’d love to visit pre-Christian Ireland to meet some of the personalities from ancient lore and poetry, listen to the music, learn the dances, hear firsthand how the shanachies told their tales, and find an answer or two to some of the mysteries those magical people left behind. For example, there are several modern theories, but why did the inhabitants of ancient Ireland really build homes on islands in the middle of lakes?

ALEXA:   Where do you read and how often?

PAT:     I have a reading chair beside a gas fireplace, very nice during snowstorms. I also read in bed almost every night.

ALEXA: What sound or noise do you love?

PAT:    The sound of ocean waves. So restful, yet a gentle reminder of the power of the mighty ocean.

ALEXA:  What's your favorite movie of all time?

PAT:     It’s a tie between Casablanca and Ghostbusters.

ALEXA: Who's your favorite villain?

PAT:    The wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz.

ALEXA:   Be honest, when reading...do you put yourself in the heroines role?

PAT:     Of course. I also put myself in the hero’s role, the villain’s role, and the secondary characters’ roles. Depends which POV I’m writing in at the moment. I suppose it’s kind of scary to think one person can morph into so many different characters, but I know I’m not the only writer who does this. I suspect readers do it too, as they enjoy getting inside characters’ heads.

ALEXA:   Whats your favorite kind of story to get lost in?

PAT:     Lately I’ve been enjoying YA adventures, and I love pirate stories and good mysteries.

 

Pat, thanks so much for taking time to join us today! Folks, Pat will be giving away an e-copy of A Band of Roses to one lucky commenter!

  

Contact: pat@patmcdermott.net 

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Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be e-mailed Internationally. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.