Part #2 of our chat with author @PatriciaWFischerauthor LUV: What inspired you to start writing romance? How do you switch between journalism and fiction writing? Patricia: I always wanted to write and always did. I have boxes of journals, short stories, half-started books, poems, song lyrics, etc that one day I will go back through. In college, I wanted to create the next James Bond-type series. That stuck in my head for a long time. A thriller bounced around in my brain for a bit, which I may do something with eventually, but the idea of writing romance came after I got married. The first book I wrote was more of a women’s fiction (or Chick Lit depending on to whom you speak about it) and it did well, but I really liked the HEA factor of it. Telling stories of even when things go horribly south, they can work out. No matter all the crazy crap that gets thrown at us, we survive and sometimes we survive very well. With the balance of journalism and fiction writing, they are in such different lanes regarding subject matter, it’s easy to keep them separate, but I’ve had aspects of one or the other cross over from time to time. As for my voice, I usually keep it lighter, but with a strong message. I hope that transcends both areas. LUV: Many people dream about being a writer. What is the one thing you wish you had known when you started your career? What advice would you give writers? Patricia: I wish I’d understood I was dyslexic, which accounted for my horrible spelling. There were too many times I got points off papers because of spelling and it was so frustrating as my message was good, but distracted by misspelled words. So many times, I thought I was simply not as smart as many others in my class, but I was. Yet, when I’d screw up and make a spelling error, people would laugh or they’d look at me like, “What are you stupid?” I knew I wasn’t because I could easily memorize things, remember specific details, and repeat conversations/dialogue verbatim better than anyone in my grade. But yeah, it would have been helpful to know that my brain processed things differently than so many others. That I needed to give myself the best tools possible to succeed, but two of our kids are dyslexic so I recognized it quickly and was able to help them navigate school. Still, it’s frustrating how hard they make it for kids who simply don’t learn the standard way. It’s also infuriating how hard a parent has to fight to get the accommodations for their child to succeed, but that’s another story. Regarding the writing to be published, I wish I’d found a writer’s group that helped me simply embrace the idea of being a writer. I wouldn’t be sitting out here by myself, trying to decide how to navigate the publishing world or even short stories or contests or how to submit anything. And if what I wrote was any good at all because the people around me were all, “Meh, yeah, I guess it’s okay.” That didn’t help me know if it was good, bad, or how to fix it.

Posted by LUV Team at 2024-04-16 19:00:03 UTC