Patricia Davids is an award-winning, bestselling author of
more than 25 Inspiration and Amish romance novels. Her book, A Home for Hannah,
won the Romantic Times Review's Choice Award for Best Love Inspired Novel of
2012. She was a finalist in both the Review's Choice Awards and the National Reader's
Choice Awards in 2011. In Nov. of 2013 her trilogy, Christmas Bride of Amish
County landed her on the USA Today bestsellers list. She has sold over
2,000,000 books world-wide since her first novel appeared in stores in 2006.
Born and raised in central Kansas, Patricia has found a way
to combine her Midwest values and sense of humor into emotionally rich stories
that deal with contemporary subjects. Her Amish novels have become increasingly
popular with readers who are looking for books with a bit of nostalgia, a sweet
romance, and a measure of faith in our turbulent world. Patricia currently
resides with her family and her dogs in Wichita, Kansas.
Amish midwife Anne Stoltzfus is used to late-night visitors—but she's shocked to find reclusive bachelor Joseph Lapp on her doorstep with a baby in his arms. Their neighborly quarrels are pushed aside when Joseph explains that his sister has left her daughter in his care—and Joseph needs Anne to be her nanny.
Soon they're bonding over baby Leah, and the love they feel for her is healing them both. When Joseph makes an offer of marriage, Anne's painful past resurfaces and she's unsure of what to do. But taking a chance could mean love—and family—are waiting just across the fence.
READ A LITTLE, BUY THE BOOK
Jan Schliesman: How often do
you Get Lost In A Story?
Patricia Davids: I'm a
little ashamed to admit that I don't read for pleasure the way I used to. I
have four books out in 2015. That kind of schedule doesn't leave me much time
to read for more than research. Don't feel sorry for me. I love research. I can
spend hours reading about topics like dairy goats and pumpkins as I did for my
new release, The Amish Midwife. Before I became a writer, it was nothing for me
to read three books or more a week. I was an AVID reader. I do miss those days
and when my schedule permits, I'm going to become a reader again.
Jan: Like many authors, writing was your second career. What did all of
those rejected stories teach you? If you could do it differently, would you go
back and change anything?
Patricia: You're right. My first career was as a
neonatal nurse. I loved it, but I had dreamed about writing a novel from the
time I was in high school. Rejection letters taught me that persistence pays
off. It was my intent to make each and every editor who rejected me sorry for
passing on such talent. It also taught me that ice cream soothes many wounds.
Jan: What is your
definition of romance?
Patricia: Really? Couldn't you ask me what is the
meaning of life instead?
Romance is so many different things to
different people. Its meaning has changed for me over the years, as well. Once
it was a pulse-pounding rush that made me want to die if he didn't kiss me. The
only place I felt complete was in his arms. Later, it was as simple as a shared
glance across a crowded room. When our eyes met, we both smiled. Always. It was
seeing the love spring into his eyes when he caught sight of me. That was
romance, baby.
Jan: This year marked your 25th release with Harlequin.
Congratulations! All of your stories have been through the Love Inspired
imprint. How did you stumble upon your niche?
Patricia: Rejections drove me to it. No kidding.
Before that story, I have to share a
secret. Not all of my books have been Love Inspired. I have another identity. I
published a contemporary cowboy story for Harlequin's Superromance line under
the pen name of Hope Navarre called A Ranch for His Family. Because it
wasn't inspirational, my editor suggested I use a different name. I was okay
with that because when I first dreamed of writing, I wanted to be Hope Navarre,
Romance Author. It has such a cool ring to it. And, I grew up on a farm between
Hope and Navarre Kansas.
Okay. Back to how my rejections drove me
to the inspirational market.
I love my heroes. My heroines are okay
women, but I love my heroes. In the early days of my career, many of my
rejection letters said my hero was just "too nice a guy." I can't
help it. I like nice guys. However, they weren't popular or selling in the
secular market. They were looking for alpha heroes.
I belong to a writing group called the
Wichita Area Romance Authors and at one of their meetings, I heard author
Deborah Raney talk about the growing inspirational market. It was truly a
lightbulb over the head moment. I knew I needed to send my stories to where
they liked nice guys. I revised my third completed manuscript and my agent sent
it out to a number of inspirational publishing houses. I quickly got a boat
load of rejections because I didn't understand what elements an inspirational
story needed. However, Joan Marlow Golan, (a brilliant former editor for
Harlequin) saw something she liked in my voice. Her letter to me was one
paragraph about what a great writer I was and three pages of suggested
revisions. It was painful, but I made those changes and BOOM, I was a published
author. My first book came out in 2006.
My switch to Amish romance came because
my editor Emily Rodmell saw how popular Amish fiction was becoming back in 2009
and asked me to develop a series for Love Inspired. That series ended up being
13 books and one novella. The genre remains very popular with readers. If as a
reader you're turned off by inspirational fiction because you feel it is
preachy, try one of mine. I don't preach. Yes, the faith element is an integral
part of the story but only because the CHARACTERS live that way. The REAL STORY
IS THE ROMANCE.
Jan: What snacks always occupy your writing space?
Patricia: That's easy. Coffee, coffee, more
coffee, almonds, black licorice and at rare times, dark chocolate. Oh, and
coffee.
Jan: What does a typical writing day look like for you? Any rituals you
following while writing a book?
Patricia: My divorced daughter and her two
children live with me along with two dogs. No day is typical. I do like to
write late at night. 10 pm until 2 am are my most productive times, but when
I'm a week past my deadline, I have been known to write for 48 hours straight
with only a few 30 minute naps. Honest. I love that kind of from-the-gut
writing. I do my best work then.
Jan: What’s the
best writing advice you’ve received?
What would you share with new authors?
Patricia: My dear friend Roxann Delaney once told
me I had to understand my character's deep internal motivation. If the
character is driven by that motivation, makes decisions based on the
motivation, then they become a believable character.
If you want to be a writer, always
remember that publishing is a small world. Be professional. An editor who once
rejected me is now Executive Editor for Love Inspired, the line I write for.
She is delighted at my success and her reason for rejecting me was never
personal.
Jan: If you could live anywhere but Kansas, where would you go?
Jan: What do you like to do in your spare time?
Patricia: Spare time? You're talking to someone
who puts out three to four books a year. Who has spare time?
I cook, I clean, I do yard work, I play
with the dogs and when the itch can't be ignored, I grab my pole and go
fishing. Or, I go to Maine, or Montana, or somewhere else I enjoy visiting.
Jan’s GOTTA ASK:
Patricia’s GOTTA ANSWER:
Black
Walnut, hands down. Don't feed me anything else unless it is vanilla on a slice
of hot cherry pie. (Okay, you could twist my arm and make me eat any
Haagen-Dazs flavor and I would still be your friend for life.)
FIND
PATRICIA DAVIDS:
Contact: pat@patriciadavids.com
Website: www.patriciadavids.com
Coming up next: Patricia's second book in her Amish
Bachelors series, An Amish Noel, will be out on Dec 1st.
HUGE THANKS to Patricia for a wonderful interview! As an added bonus, Patricia is giving away TWO copies of her latest release, The Amish Midwife!
Click below for your chance to WIN!
In
recent years, the inspirational market has been flooded with Amish romances. As
a reader, what do you feel makes a "good" Amish romance?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Great having you here on the blog today, Patricia!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jan, It was great to be invited.
DeleteWelcome, Patricia!
ReplyDeleteThank you Alexa.
DeleteA good Amish romance - I like the sweetness, but I would like to see more passion,
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Tammy, but my publisher is very strict about keeping it sweet. If I ever self-pub, I might kick it up a notch.
DeleteI am always looking for books to share their HEAs with me... enjoy seeing different cultures, locations, etc. in books.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy seeing different ways of life, too. That's why I enjoy traveling.
DeleteHEA
ReplyDelete