Author Interview: Patricia Watters
As a kid I hated to read and avoided it if I could, but I loved to write, so whenever there was a writing assignment at school I gave it my all. I also loved the Saturday movies, and Tarzan was my introduction to the concept of hunks. Now, I live in a log cabin located on thirty acres of evergreen forests in the foothills of Oregon’s Coast Range. Still loving to write, I spend my time living a life of romance and adventure through my fictitious characters, and the hunks are in my stories. Although writing is my number one love, over the course of my lifetime I’ve raised laying hens, milk goats, and Tennessee Walking horses, built, plumbed and wired three houses, been a professional photographer, written photo essays for national and international publications, and slept outside under the stars for one whole summer. I currently have 25 books available on Amazon, 13 of them in my Dancing Moon Ranch series, and I’m about ready to start writing the first book in Cajun Cowboys, another contemporary western romance series. I love hearing from readers through the contact box on my website, and I respond to all notes.
About the Author
As a kid I hated to read and avoided it if I could, but I loved to write, so whenever there was a writing assignment at school I gave it my all. I also loved the Saturday movies, and Tarzan was my introduction to the concept of hunks. Now, I live in a log cabin located on thirty acres of evergreen forests in the foothills of Oregon’s Coast Range. Still loving to write, I spend my time living a life of romance and adventure through my fictitious characters, and the hunks are in my stories. Although writing is my number one love, over the course of my lifetime I’ve raised laying hens, milk goats, and Tennessee Walking horses, built, plumbed and wired three houses, been a professional photographer, written photo essays for national and international publications, and slept outside under the stars for one whole summer. I currently have 25 books available on Amazon, 13 of them in my Dancing Moon Ranch series, and I’m about ready to start writing the first book in Cajun Cowboys, another contemporary western romance series. I love hearing from readers through the contact box on my website, and I respond to all notes.
What inspires you to write romance books?
I love when a couple complements each other in ways that bring out the best in both, whether it’s one helping the other overcome adversity, or being forced together to solve a problem, and generally growing and changing for the better. I’m the daughter of a psychoanalyst, so relationships was dinner conversation. I didn’t like it when I was a teenager because I just wanted a “normal” dad like my friends had, but thanks to my dad, dealing with characters’ emotions and inner conflicts comes naturally.
Tell us about how you write:
I mull over a plot idea for some time while researching, and when a plot takes form, I write the blurb, which actually takes a lot of thought, then I start writing. I never plan or outline on paper, or write character sketches because I don’t want to box in my characters. They come alive when they start talking and interacting with other characters, mainly the hero and heroine. My stories are totally character driven. Once the story gets going I can literally stay with it pretty much dawn ’til bedtime, until the story is finished. I do make myself get up and exercise about every hour or two, or take a woods walk when the weather is good.
Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I never talk to my characters. They talk to each other, but snatches of dialog get in my head and sometimes I have to stop the car, or dig paper out of my purse and jot down enough dialog so I can remember.
What advice would you give other writers?
My advice to romance writers is to read books outside the genre. That way they don’t inadvertently start re-writing other author’s stories, or fall into the cliché trap. I read books by authors I admire, outside of my genre, and learn from those. But my main advice is to just keep writing. There’s more to learn from writing than spending time on blogs talking to other struggling writers. It took me about ten books before it all started coming together. My last advice is to never stop reviewing and revising your books. I reread all 22 of my books every 6 months and I always find things to change. As time goes by the changes become subtle, but there are still ways to make every story better.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I’ve published with Harlequin and Avon-Harper Collins, but when given the option of keeping all the control, as well as 70% of the earnings, I learned the entire process and started in. I do everything myself: formatting, covers, writing and editing, which also allows me to change covers if I want, and upload revised versions whenever I fee changes are warranted.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
We’re definitely into the digital age, which I think is great for fiction books, but I’d hate to see non-fiction print versions disappear. When I read non-fiction I have to underline, and highlight, and write notes in the margins, unless it a beautiful table-top book, and it would be a very sad day when you can’t pull a cookbook with beautiful color photos out of the kitchen cabinet and flip pages.
What genres do you write:: contemporary western romance, contemporary romance, historical romance
What formats are your books in: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
Link To Author Page On Amazon
