Good Morning, Booklovers!
Welcome to this week's Coffee Chat. My guest is mystery/thriller author Patricia Hale. It's nice to meet you, Pat. How do you take your coffee?
PH: Thanks so much for the opportunity to be with you on the Coffee Chat. I take my coffee with cream and sugar, please.
Ally: Easily done. While I pour, you have time to tell readers about your background.
Welcome to this week's Coffee Chat. My guest is mystery/thriller author Patricia Hale. It's nice to meet you, Pat. How do you take your coffee?
PH: Thanks so much for the opportunity to be with you on the Coffee Chat. I take my coffee with cream and sugar, please.
Ally: Easily done. While I pour, you have time to tell readers about your background.
BIO:
Patricia Hale lives in Standish, ME with her husband. She is a graduate of the MFA program at Goddard College, a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and the NH Writers Project. When the computer is off, you can find Patricia on the sideline of her grandsons’ sporting events or hiking the trails near her home with her German shepherd and a very bossy Beagle.
Something Unique about you: “I am a member of the Beagle Freedom Project. An organization that contracts with labs still using animals for testing, primarily Beagles due to their size and disposition. These animals are bred and born in laboratories and live their entire lives inside never knowing grass or sunlight. When the labs finish with them, they are euthanized. Now, thanks to Beagle Freedom when the lab is finished testing products on the dogs, volunteers pick them up and they are sent to foster homes to become acclimated to normal “dog-life” then they are placed in “forever homes” with loving families. If interested in making a difference, go to Beagle Freedom’s website and see the manufacturers that still do animal testing. By not using their products you can take a stand against animal testing.”
Contact Links:
Website: http://www.patriciahale.org
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7113831
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patricia.hale.102
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/patricia-hale
Patricia Hale lives in Standish, ME with her husband. She is a graduate of the MFA program at Goddard College, a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and the NH Writers Project. When the computer is off, you can find Patricia on the sideline of her grandsons’ sporting events or hiking the trails near her home with her German shepherd and a very bossy Beagle.
Something Unique about you: “I am a member of the Beagle Freedom Project. An organization that contracts with labs still using animals for testing, primarily Beagles due to their size and disposition. These animals are bred and born in laboratories and live their entire lives inside never knowing grass or sunlight. When the labs finish with them, they are euthanized. Now, thanks to Beagle Freedom when the lab is finished testing products on the dogs, volunteers pick them up and they are sent to foster homes to become acclimated to normal “dog-life” then they are placed in “forever homes” with loving families. If interested in making a difference, go to Beagle Freedom’s website and see the manufacturers that still do animal testing. By not using their products you can take a stand against animal testing.”
Contact Links:
Website: http://www.patriciahale.org
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7113831
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patricia.hale.102
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/patricia-hale
INTERVIEW:
Ally: Every good mystery thriller has an interesting bad guy behind it. What makes a good villain?
PH: Every villain has to have at least one redeeming quality. He/she is good to their dog or kind to an elderly parent or neighbor. A reader needs something to identify with in order to care about any character, even a bad guy. It’s easy to hate someone horrible. If you can make the reader care about the villain or help them understand what makes him/her behave the way they do, then you’ve created internal conflict for the reader. And those conflicted feelings hold a reader’s interest and keeps them turning the pages.
Ally: What’s the best writing/marketing advice you’ve been given?
PH: To write every day. Like anything else, practice makes perfect. (Well, not perfect, but… better.) And don’t be disheartened by rejections. They are learning tools. Use them as incentive to push yourself harder. Marketing is tough for most writers. As an introvert, the last thing I want to do is shine the light on myself or be the center of attention. But a friend pointed out that I am the most knowledgeable when it comes to my work. And so, when speaking about my story or characters I remind myself that I am the expert on this topic and I do my best to feel confident. (Sometimes it works.)
Ally: Do people in your real life show up in your work?
PH: I tend to steal quirks, obsessions and crazy behaviors from my friends and co-workers. Most of the time they’re happy to recognize bits of themselves in my characters. My own opinions show up as well. I share many of Britt Callahan’s likes and dislikes, especially in wine and men. Her partner, Griff Cole, isn’t based on anyone in particular, but is a compilation of my favorite qualities. Attentive, but independent, strong, vulnerable, sense of humor, ethical and kind. Congrats to anyone who has found a living/breathing Griff.
Ally: Which of your books is your personal favorite and why?
PH: Scar Tissue is my favorite. It is character driven while the other books in the series are more plot driven. The characters in Scar Tissue have more depth and because of that, the story has more layers to offer the reader. Britt’s character demonstrates a lot of growth stemming from her ordeal in the previous book, Durable Goods. She comes into her own in Scar Tissue and makes some decisions that will, I believe, surprise the reader. I hope to continue with more character driven work. No matter how good a plot is, a reader has to like the characters and care what happens to them to stay interested. As a writer, so do I.
Ally: What is your next writing project?
PH: My current project is a work of contemporary fiction. It’s the story of two families who are long-time friends, but when a tragedy takes place involving both of their sons, family outweighs friendship. The novel is a testament to lies, loyalty and how far a parent will go to protect those they love.
Ally: I’d like to finish the interview with a few get-to-know-you, quick-answer questions.
Ally: Every good mystery thriller has an interesting bad guy behind it. What makes a good villain?
PH: Every villain has to have at least one redeeming quality. He/she is good to their dog or kind to an elderly parent or neighbor. A reader needs something to identify with in order to care about any character, even a bad guy. It’s easy to hate someone horrible. If you can make the reader care about the villain or help them understand what makes him/her behave the way they do, then you’ve created internal conflict for the reader. And those conflicted feelings hold a reader’s interest and keeps them turning the pages.
Ally: What’s the best writing/marketing advice you’ve been given?
PH: To write every day. Like anything else, practice makes perfect. (Well, not perfect, but… better.) And don’t be disheartened by rejections. They are learning tools. Use them as incentive to push yourself harder. Marketing is tough for most writers. As an introvert, the last thing I want to do is shine the light on myself or be the center of attention. But a friend pointed out that I am the most knowledgeable when it comes to my work. And so, when speaking about my story or characters I remind myself that I am the expert on this topic and I do my best to feel confident. (Sometimes it works.)
Ally: Do people in your real life show up in your work?
PH: I tend to steal quirks, obsessions and crazy behaviors from my friends and co-workers. Most of the time they’re happy to recognize bits of themselves in my characters. My own opinions show up as well. I share many of Britt Callahan’s likes and dislikes, especially in wine and men. Her partner, Griff Cole, isn’t based on anyone in particular, but is a compilation of my favorite qualities. Attentive, but independent, strong, vulnerable, sense of humor, ethical and kind. Congrats to anyone who has found a living/breathing Griff.
Ally: Which of your books is your personal favorite and why?
PH: Scar Tissue is my favorite. It is character driven while the other books in the series are more plot driven. The characters in Scar Tissue have more depth and because of that, the story has more layers to offer the reader. Britt’s character demonstrates a lot of growth stemming from her ordeal in the previous book, Durable Goods. She comes into her own in Scar Tissue and makes some decisions that will, I believe, surprise the reader. I hope to continue with more character driven work. No matter how good a plot is, a reader has to like the characters and care what happens to them to stay interested. As a writer, so do I.
Ally: What is your next writing project?
PH: My current project is a work of contemporary fiction. It’s the story of two families who are long-time friends, but when a tragedy takes place involving both of their sons, family outweighs friendship. The novel is a testament to lies, loyalty and how far a parent will go to protect those they love.
Ally: I’d like to finish the interview with a few get-to-know-you, quick-answer questions.
- a. Favorite tv show: Homeland
- b. Something different in your handbag: A very small book titled, 642 Tiny Things to Write About, a journal of writing prompts. It keeps me busy when I’m stuck in traffic.
- c. Your pets: Enya, a German Shepherd, and Muddy, a Beagle.
- d. Hobbies: yoga, hiking, kayaking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
- e. Favorite after five drink: Pinot Gris
Scar Tissue
Genre: thriller
Rating: PG-13
Blurb:
Track star, Ashley Lambert, has just been accepted into the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, so when she jumps eighteen stories to her death her parents hire the PI team of Griff Cole and Britt Callahan to find out why. The investigation exposes a deeply disturbed family hiding behind a façade of perfection and follows Ashley’s descent into performance enhancing drugs and blackmail. Ashley’s coaches, peers and even her parents come into question. The disturbing truth behind Ashley’s death begs the question, what constitutes love?
Meanwhile, things don’t add up next door. Britt’s working overtime researching their new neighbors whose one-year-old son disappeared four years ago. Rhea McKenzie, has a secret and bruises aren’t the only thing she’s trying to hide. When an off-hand comment discloses a connection to Ashley Lambert the two cases become entwined, setting off an unstoppable chain of events. Britt is sucked into an alliance with Rhea and driven to make decisions that challenge her ethics, threaten her relationship and in the end, push her over a line she never thought she’d cross.
Buy link: Amazon: http://authl.it/ae1
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