Thursday, April 22, 2010

Author Interview: KELLY FITZPATRICK

Ladies and gentlemen, today I am especially pleased to welcome debut contemporary romance author Kelly Fitzpatrick to the blog. You see, booklovers, I knew Kelly when Lily in Wonderland was a twinkle in her eye. Today that book is available from Cerridwen! In my (hopelessly biased) opinion, if you're looking for a new author with a bright, original voice and you like a little whodunit in your romance, you can't go wrong with Kelly & Lily. And now... welcome, Kelly! (Applause!)

First of all, thanks for having me Vivi. Let’s get this party started.

Q - What do you find attractive in a hero?

A – I enjoy a sense of humor. A guy can raise the attraction meter just by being fun and funny. Personally, I like the tall, dark and handsome—Latin if we’re getting specific. I know, I know. My husband is a 5 foot 9 inch tall, fair skinned Irishman with blue eyes. Go figure. But he makes me laugh. Sometimes I laugh with him, sometimes at him.

I don’t like to go into too much detail about looks until the reader knows what he’s about, because what if the reader’s college boyfriend was a tall, lanky, sandy haired basketball player with blue eyes and so is my hero, and he knocked her up and slept with her dorm mate? I want the reader to fall in love with the man inside. With that said, Deputy Tobias Dodd, my hero in Lily in Wonderland is hot.


Q – If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

A – You know, my day job is so dull I want to stick a sharp number 2 pencil through my skull. If I weren’t terrified of public speaking, I’d be a standup comedian. Hecklers would make me cry. Too much attention makes me turn cherry red.

I also have a passion for antiques. I’ve fantasized about owning an antique store. I enjoy the treasure hunt, but not so much the idea of selling them in a storefront of a sleepy little town. That’s the beauty of writing. My characters can do all the things I’m terrified to do.

Q – What three things do you absolutely need in order to write?

A – I need quiet above all else. Solitude. No distractions. I like to write early in the morning or late at night when everyone else is asleep. When the house is empty is even better. Next I need either my laptop or paper and pen (I can use a pencil in a pinch, but I prefer a pen). That’s it. Sometimes I listen to music, but not too loud. I like to have a bottle of water, but it’s not essential. When I’m totally dehydrated, it’s time for a break.

Q – In ten years, where do you want to be as a writer?

A – Yes, Vivi, I’m going to answer this question. I want to be financially able to support myself with my writing. That doesn’t mean I won’t have a job outside of writing, but I want to be able to tell the day job to “suck it” if I want to. There is such freedom in money. Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it can buy chocolate, clothes, and an annual dental cleaning, all of which make me happy. But just to be clear, I’m very cheap so I don’t need much money.

I’d like to be nominated for Rita. There, I said it. Why not? Shoot for the moon. I should say I’d like to win, because I said I wanted to be a Golden Heart finalist and I was, but I didn’t win, maybe because I didn’t want it bad enough. Although it was out of my hands.

(Okay, I am flat out stunned Kelly answered this question. I've been nagging her about having a vision for her writing career for... well, years.)

Q – What was your path to publication?

A – Contests, contests, and more contests. Lily in Wonderland won the Rose City RWA Golden Rose in 2008 with a full request from Cerridwen Press. They rejected it with suggested changes and invited me to resubmit. My dear friend, Vivi, critiqued the manuscript within an inch of its life. I resubmitted. Bada bing bada boom, eight or so weeks later it sold. I got the e-mail while Vivi and I were out to lunch. If I remember correctly I’d spent the entire meal whining about not hearing anything back about my resubmission.

Q – What is your favorite writing memory?

A – I have a couple. No, I take that back. I have a few. Wait, I have so many. Every time I was a finalist in a contest was special to me. I’ll tell you every time I was moved to cry, but only happy tears, because writing has made me cry often. I cried when I got the call from the RWA that I was a Golden Heart finalist. Less than a month later, I cried when I got the e-mail that Cerridwen wanted to publish Lily in Wonderland. I think I cried a little when Lily won the Golden Rose only because (A) I’m a crybaby. (B) I’d been told over an over again Lily Tucker was not likable. She’s just misunderstood. So if you like gum-smacking, sass-talking, wise-cracking heroines, Lily is your gal.

She's my kind of heroine. :) Thank you, Kelly, for joining us today! On this fine Thursday, one lucky commenter will win a download of Kelly's debut novel, Lily in Wonderland. And Kelly has another contest going on she'd like you to know about, so I'll hand it back to her...

I’m having a drawing for a lap quilt I made myself. If you’d like to be entered in the drawing, leave me your e-mail address and I will pick a winner at the end of my whirlwind promotional tour. Please, only continental US entries. I don’t want to mail it to Bora Bora and blow my promo budget. For more chances to win, you can visit my website,
www.kellyfitzpatrick.webs.com
and leave me a comment. You can e-mail me. You can stop by any other site I’m blogging at, which will be on my calendar at my website.

Thanks again, Kelly! And good luck, booklovers!

19 comments:

booklover0226 said...

I enjoyed the interview and look forward in reading Lily in Wonderland and Kelly's other works.

Thanks,
Tracey D

Unknown said...

A quilter and a writer...I think I love you. And to top it all off, you write sassy heroines.

But, I'm not continental US *sniffle*

Nancy G said...

Great interview-I love it when the two people in an interview makr that special "connection" and make it more interesting.

joshgranny@msn.com

Drea Becraft said...

Your a woman of many talents!

Thanks for blogging with us today Kelly!

Vivant said...

Excellent interview, Vivi and Kelly. I adore sassy heroines and the men who love them, so I'm looking forward to meeting Lily and Tobias.

Kaki said...

Great interview. I love the author's wit and style, so how can I not love her writing.

Autumn Jordon said...

Great interview, ladies. I love reading about people I'm aquainted with just to see if we have more in common and, Kelly we do. I antiques and LOVE going to estate sales. There is nothing like finding a treasure.

Also, the DH with a sense of humor. Humor is why my husband got me. Among other qualites. WINK. But seriously, all my heros, even the quiet loners, have that side to them. Love it.

I must get Lily In Wonderland. Of course I'll want a name plate to go with it.

Anonymous said...

I could see you as a comedian...or a sitcom writer. You are too darn funny and I seriously wish you lived right here in Louisiana so we could hang. Can't wait to read the book.

I loved Vivi's Ghost shrink books because of her stinkin' wonderful voice. And I KNOW I'm gonna love yours too. I'm going to order it on the Kindle today! Congrats!

Liz Talley

KELLY FITZPATRICK said...

Good Morning! Thanks everyone for coming by and helping me celebrate. And thanks especially to Vivi. I wouldn't spend my release day anywhere else but here (not that I got a ton of offers).I'm all aflutter. First thing I did this morning was make sure my book cover moved from "coming soon" to "just arrived" on the Cerridwen website. Check.

I do have to go to work. Yuk! But I doubt I'll get any work done. I'll pop back by during the day.

Sherry said...

I really enjoyed the interview and I can't wait to read your book.

sstrode@scrtc.com

Bev Pettersen said...

Enjoyed the interview, Kelly. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on Lily In Wonderland! A sassy heroine --looking foward to reading it.

Gwynlyn said...

Happy release day, Kelly!

I often say I dreamed of Pierce Brosnan but married Grizzly Adams. Glad to know I'm not the only one who did a complete 180 when it came down to the wire!

Best of luck with Lily. She's on my B&N shopping list. I hope you do bookplates or something for her, up the road. I'd love an autograph, Sister.

Jeannie Lin said...

Wonderful interview Kelly! Lily in Wonderland sounds like a fantastic read and I loved hearing about the story's journey as much as hearing about the story itself.

Congrats on the debut and what a lovely quilt!

Rita said...

Great Q&A
Kelly, here's to many sales and more books

Elisa Beatty said...

Tall Latin guys with a great sense of humor... okay, Kelly, that thought is going to keep my brain busy all morning. Yum!

Lily in Wonderland sounds fabulous--I bet I'll really enjoy your heroine!

Good luck...enjoy your release day! Hurray!

KELLY FITZPATRICK said...

Thank you, Sista's.

tina joyce said...

Happy Release Day, Kelly!! May there be many, many more!

Fedora said...

What a fun sounding book, Kelly! I'm adding that to the TBB. And I've always admired quilting--hats off to you for being so multitalented!

KELLY FITZPATRICK said...

Thanks everyone! Except for being at work all day, I had a great release day. My hubby brought me lunch, and he's making me dinner too. I feel like queen for a day. And I'm glad you all were a part of it. For all those who left me an email - you're going in my quilt drawing.