Today we welcome Patti Hill, one of my
all-time favorite voices in Christian fiction. When you pick up one of her
books, you’ll see why. She has a fresh, beautiful voice – lyrical without being
ostentatious, heartfelt and whimsical and easy to read and emotionally complex
all in one. Oh, and did I mention funny? It’s no
wonder she’s multi-published and a Christy award finalist. Not only that, she’s
just the sweetest person you’ll ever meet. I’m so thrilled to have her with us
at the Alley on this extremely exciting day!
What’s that? Why is today exciting? You
mean you didn’t know? Today – drumroll, please –
is the official launch of Patti Hill’s newest release, Goodness & Mercy!
To kick off with a bang, Patti’s novel will be FREE on Amazon in e-book form for three days only, starting today! If that’s not enough, Patti will also
be giving away a paperback copy to one lucky commenter – all details at the end.
Without further ado, here’s Patti:
Bio: Patti Hill is an unlikely novelist. Books
played only a small part in her life until her high-school years. And she only
remembers her mother reading to her once. Her mother’s voice flowed like water.
Always resistant to sleep, young Hill
created stories to entertain herself until stories of galloping Arabian
stallions and pirate ships segued into dreams. That was the beginning. Then she discovered people enjoyed
hearing her stories—real or imagined. She loved having an audience. Still does.
She didn’t think to write a story until she
read a novel so beautiful that when it ended, she was bereft. A passion to orchestrate words,
characters, and stories consumed her. Fortunately, she’d married a man who
thought leaving a good-paying career to write novels was a splendid idea. In
other words, she is a kept woman.
Happily so. In Colorado. She is the author of six novels. Writing is one
way she worships Papa God.
Welcome, Patti! We’re going to pick your
brain a little today. Goodness & Mercy
is your first historical fiction. What challenges did you face in this new
genre?
I had a terrible time stopping the research
phase. I interviewed people, picked peaches, spent hours in the oral history
department of the local museum, anything to get into the skin of the people who
lived during WW II and insert myself into their lives of the people of Palisade,
Colorado. I met the most amazing people, like a 95-year-old man who ascended
Mt. Belvedere with the 10th Mountain Division. Everyone was generous. The bonus was
learning so much about my own valley.
I can just about smell those sun-warmed
peaches. You actually make research sound like fun. (Can you tell I’ll never be
an historical fiction author? Love reading it, but phew – hard work for the
author!) Why did you decide to try historical fiction?
Over the years, my mom had asked me
repeatedly to write her story. Writing my family’s story, including six
siblings and all of their children, scared me to death. There were too many
perspectives on what had happened. So, I borrowed the premise of my mom’s
story.
In 1946, my grandmother was declared an
unfit mother, and my grandfather was institutionalized for a mental breakdown.
At sixteen, my mom quit school and set about being breadwinner and caregiver to
her six siblings, ranging in age from 2 to 14. The state eventually stepped in
and took her siblings to orphanages.
Although dispersed, Mom managed to keep her
siblings a family. I have relationships with all of my aunts and uncles. Thanks
to Mom, we are a family.
I love the tenacity Mom demonstrated, and I
put that quality in my main character, Lucy. She has twin siblings, Goody and
Mercy, a boy and girl, when her parents are killed. Lucy tries to be all the
twins need, but the state steps in and the 8-year-old twins head off for an
orphanage. When a farmer and his wife decide to adopt Goody, the question
becomes: How far will Lucy go to keep her shrinking family together?
I love your premise. The fact that it’s
based on a real-life story is goosebump-worthy. What a rich vein of family lore
you have to mine. Okay: let’s get down to the nitty gritty. What is your
writing day like?
Since I work in my home, I like to have my
ducks in a row before going to my desk. For me, that means time with Papa God.
I talk back to Him daily in my journal. It’s a great time. Then I take my
Australian shepherd, Tillie, for a long walk. We both need to work out the
kinks. Once I’ve cleaned up, I do a household job, and then it’s off to work. I
unplug the phone, look at the pages I wrote the day before, and write three
more. It’s amazing how quickly the pages add up. When I reach my writing goal,
I’m out the door to meet a friend for a cold drink or spend time with my dad.
This is how I regenerate.
Sounds like you’ve achieved a great
work/ life balance. Did you always want to be a writer?
Heavens, no! I told my 8th grade
math teacher I didn’t need to solve for X because I was going to be an
entertainer. I left my ingénue stage in time to marry and have two sons, so I
stayed home with the boys for most of their growing-up years before I returned
to college for my literature degree. I was born a teacher, so I taught
elementary school for a while.
But I’d read that beautiful story. And I
couldn’t think of anything else I wanted to do. I quit teaching—the original
plan was for a year—but I hadn’t even written the first page after one year. I
was discovering that writing was hard work. I buckled down, got the first
chapter written. Within months, I had a book contract for Like a Watered
Garden.
You realize we all hate you right now.
Or at least, we would if you weren’t so completely loveable. Seriously, it’s a
credit to the caliber of your writing that you snagged the attention of a
publisher so quickly. I’m impressed. What advice do you have for aspiring
writers?
Don’t make publication your goal. Make
writing God-honoring stories your goal. Be willing to put the time and sweat it
takes to be a good writer. Take classes at your local college or attend writers
conferences to hone your skills. Keep learning. Never be satisfied, but never
go safe either. Above all, persist. Persistence is the secret ingredient to
being a good writer. And one more thing I wish someone had told me: Start
small. Write short stories or novellas. They’re a great way to experiment with
ideas, and if your experiment tanks, you haven’t lost all the time and effort a
novel requires.
Great tips, Patti. There’s a lot to chew
on there. I’m so pleased you could come and hang out with us today.
The best to you!
***
Isn’t she lovely? So here’s the lowdown.
To win a SIGNED paperback copy of Patti’s novel, please comment below with why
you would like to read Goodness & Mercy. One winner will be announced in the weekend edition.
If you win, you can keep one and give the other as a
gift to a book-loving friend. Or keep it just to sniff the pages (I know you still
love the smell of paper and ink, even if you ARE a Cool Kid with a Kindle). Or
leave it casually lying around on your coffee table, open to the autographed
flyleaf, so everyone can be suitably impressed by your authorial connections.
Whatever the case, we are determined to
get Patti’s newest novel into as many hands as possible, so get commenting and
get clicking! And if you read it and enjoy it, please help spread the word by
writing a review or recommending the book to a friend!
TWEETABLES
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FREE e-book, GOODNESS & MERCY, available three days only: Click to Tweet
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