A Conversation With Author, Patricia Brandon
For the rest of 2019, I plan to feature various authors and writers in interview-styled posts. Writers will find some jewels of helpful information within these interviews, and readers, I hope, will find their next "To Be Read" book.When I started this series of author interviews, I posted an open call on my blog for authors to contact me if they wanted to participate. Patricia Brandon responded. Although, she has connections to SCWA and has won their coveted Carrie McCray award, I have not met her personally. Her personal story sounds interesting, and I hope to meet her in person some day soon.
Patricia Brandon
Patricia Brandon retired from over thirty-four years of service as a school counselor, a licensed professional counselor, and a mediator. She is the recipient of a Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Award and her book, The Center of Gravity, was recently awarded The Coffee Pot Bookclub Award. The reviewer gave it 5 stars and dubbed it as highly recommended. Her first book, In the Valley of Achor, is a gritty, inspirational, and poignant memoir about her first year facing a rare form of paralysis. She continues the journey to walk again one day at a time.
I have just started writing another historical fiction, Come Not Down The Lanes, that will take place in 1919 western North Carolina. A great deal of change happened during that time. Prohibition was newly enacted, and women would soon have the right to vote. Plus, World War I and a dangerous flu pandemic had just ended. The story centers around a young woman who spends a summer as a camp counselor at a new exclusive camp for girls and becomes involved in what, at first, seems like a local town murder. But a strange and morbid old ritual may hold clues that will reveal something bigger. The novel will be somewhat autobiographical, in that I spent a summer as a counselor in the Cashiers/Sapphire Valley area when I was in college, and can draw on many of those incredible experiences. There will be some romance, coming of age as a young woman during that time period, mystery, history, fun, and hopefully a good, redemptive tale of the human spirit!
What are you working on?
I love historical fiction and most of my writing is of that genre. My recently published, The Center of Gravity, takes place between 1933 Europe and 1976 South Carolina. It weaves together the story of a young woman, Sonne Becker, who is tricked into service as a food tester for Adolf Hitler, and the story of a French art professor, Rainer von Bauchelle, who is forced to assist the Nazis in the restoration of the priceless Amber Room in Konigsberg Castle. While Sonne is forced to endure more abuse and carries a life-changing secret, Rainer hides dangerous secrets, too. His best friend is a Jew who fights for the Alsatian Resistance, and his family hides Jews at their Colmar winery.I have just started writing another historical fiction, Come Not Down The Lanes, that will take place in 1919 western North Carolina. A great deal of change happened during that time. Prohibition was newly enacted, and women would soon have the right to vote. Plus, World War I and a dangerous flu pandemic had just ended. The story centers around a young woman who spends a summer as a camp counselor at a new exclusive camp for girls and becomes involved in what, at first, seems like a local town murder. But a strange and morbid old ritual may hold clues that will reveal something bigger. The novel will be somewhat autobiographical, in that I spent a summer as a counselor in the Cashiers/Sapphire Valley area when I was in college, and can draw on many of those incredible experiences. There will be some romance, coming of age as a young woman during that time period, mystery, history, fun, and hopefully a good, redemptive tale of the human spirit!
How does your book differ from others in its genre?
Both of these books draw on some little-known history from their respective time periods. I’m fascinated by history and human behavior, and so it’s important to me to stay as true to the time period and facts as possible while weaving a fictional story.Why do you write what you do?
Well, I guess that was kind of answered in the previous question already. When people read my stories, I want them to say, “I didn’t know that, or a lot of that” or that the story made them think, or gave a different perspective.How does your writing process work?
I should have a more definitive answer for this quetion, but I don’t. Truth is, I’m still learning the craft - not just the actual writing part, but the research gathering, editing, cover design, queries, marketing, networking, and so forth. I’m still churning away at publicity for The Center of Gravity, which has gotten some great reviews thus far, but I'm also in the middle of lots of research for Come Not Down The Lanes. I've written a very rough first few pages.
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