Author Interview ~ Patti Hill

I’m expecting the galleys of the third novel in the Garden Gates series, In Every Flower, any day now, so I’ll be slogging word by word through the manuscript for the last time. The release is set for October of 2006. Out now are books one and two, Like a Watered Garden—a finalist for a Christy in the First Novel category—and Always Green. I write contemporary women’s fiction that my editor pitched to the publishing committee this way, “The story’s about a young widow, and it makes you laugh a lot.” I’m sure everyone stared back at her like she was nuts. That’s my brave and wonderful editor, Charlene Patterson. She convinced Bethany House to give Mibby and her friends a chance to come to life in my readers’ hearts. I’m so grateful and humbled by the opportunity.

Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head.

Lorraine Snelling critiqued the first chapter of Like a Watered Garden at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference and urged me to go home to write two more chapters as fast as I could--five months!--and to send the proposal to Bethany House with her blessing. About the time I sent the manuscript off, singing a little ditty about being a soon-to-be published author, I ruptured a disk in my neck. The pain kept me side-tracked from life and writing for two years. So, when Bethany House rejected the manuscript, I was relieved, because the pain made writing anything impossible. I only mention my injury because the experience was an invaluable refining process. I believe Like a Watered Garden is a much more authentic story because of the grief I experienced over losing my health and my dream.

Several months after surgery, I started writing again, one page at a time. I gradually increased my quota to three pages a day. When I finished--Hallelujah!--I sent the manuscript off to an agent suggested by Lorraine. Janet Kobobel Grant took the manuscript to CBA in 2004 and managed to place the manuscript in the hands of six editors. Thankfully, Bethany House had long since forgotten their earlier misgivings over the manuscript and offered a 3-book contract.

Because I’d stashed the manuscript in the guest bedroom closet during the darkest days of my injury and slid the door closed like a tomb, the publication of
Like a Watered Garden will always be a testament to God’s faithfulness. He resurrected my health and my dream. Finishing the manuscript was just as miraculous as getting it published.

Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work?

You mean there are authors who can write without self-doubt? Really? I thought self-doubt was a job qualification for a writer. Golly, that gives me quite a bit to think about.

What mistakes have you made while seeking publication?

I wish I’d been a whole lot smarter about the marketing demands publication makes on a writer, not just that marketing must be done, but the time the process takes away from writing. I’m considering hiring a publicist for book four, a stand-alone book that’s still tucked in the folds of my brain. Here, story, story!

What’s the best advice you’ve heard on writing/publication?

Write what you love to read. I love Elizabeth Berg, Kaye Gibbons, and Sandra Dallas, just to name a few. But I wanted to write with the beauty of these sister writers through the eyes of a Christ-centered world view. It’s been fun trying.

What’s the worst piece of writing advice you’ve heard?

From an agent at a writing conference: “Rewrite the beginning of your story. Have the policemen pounding on the door. You need lots of action to hook the reader. Sirens. Flashing lights. You get the picture.” I blinked at the man and thanked him.

Do you have a scripture or quote that has been speaking to you lately?

Yes! “A good woman...understands she is not just loved in some generic way, as an anonymous human being, but she is loved as an individual, a one-of-a-kind creation. She knows that her personality, her gifts, her passions, her dreams—her unique life—matters to God.” Lynne Hybels, nice girls don’t change the world

I’ve been struggling a bit—well, okay, a lot—over what my publisher et al consider my “brand.” Would I ever be taken seriously? Lynne’s insight helped me realize that my brand is not a brand. This is the way God made me. I’m just being the “good” woman God intended me to be. Kind of quirky. Very intense. A tad neurotic.

As far as scripture verses, I’ve been reading through the Bible in a year since January 1st. No specific verse comes to mind, but I’m more aware of how the Father feels about idols. In Jeremiah He refers to idols as scarecrows in the melon patch--not terribly animated and certainly not God. I’ve been looking around my house, asking myself, Is this something that I depend on to satisfy a longing only my Father can satisfy? Do I honor my possessions with my time and energy more than my Heavenly Father? These have been good questions for me to ask.

Is there a particularly difficult set back that you’ve gone through in your writing career you are willing to share?

Besides 15 months of pain and three surgeries, none that I can think of.

What are a few of your favorite books? (Not written by you.)

I have too many favorites, so let me tell you about one of the books I’m reading now, Daughters of Hope by Kay Marshall Strom and Michele Rickett. Kay was one of the keynote speakers at Mount Hermon this year. The book tells the stories of women faithfully proclaiming the Gospel in the face of persecution. They meet in secret and whisper their praises under real danger of being imprisoned or worse. I pray I never take the privilege of worshipping God at the top of my lungs (think resounding gong) again. When day is done, I’m reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Such self-restraint and poetic passing and honesty. I love it.

Do you have a pet peeve having to do with this biz?

I’d love to see CBA books shelved alongside ABA fiction in places like Barnes and Noble, just like my grocery store now stocks health food and organic offerings with the good ol’ processed foods. By doing so, the grocery industry has made alternative food offerings more mainline—even to me! I actually paid more for a can of organic tomatoes, and I’m glad I did. Yum!

Can you give us a view into a typical day of your writing life?

I get to my office about ten o’clock—must spend time with the Father, walk my dog, and go to Curves first. I revise the three pages of twaddle I wrote the day before and write three more pages of twaddle to revise the next morning. This can take 4-6 hours with timeout for Frisbee throwing with the dog and lunch and mail call. When I’m done writing for the day, I zip out of the house in search of human interaction. This more frequently than not is accomplished at the grocery store where I can be found tasting salads at the deli counter.

Was there ever a time in your writing career you thought of quitting?

Ten minutes ago when my left cheek went numb. All other thoughts of quitting came before I was published, and all I’d heard was doom and gloom about the publishing world. Most of what I’d heard was great fiction.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?

Least favorite: The isolation that’s inherent with this occupation. My favorite part: Hearing from readers who gain encouragement and a fresh perspective of God from my writing. It’s very addictive.

Parting words?

If you’re an aspiring writer, be patient with the process of developing the skills that come with the calling. Weak skills will trivialize your story. No one hears the call to be a surgeon and expects to be transplanting kidneys the next day. Pilots log hours and hours with their instructors before they solo. Even potential plumbers must complete a prescribed set of classes, an apprenticeship, and time as a journeyman before he or she is handed a golden wrench. Take classes. Read books. Write anything for anyone.(Instructions for a fertilizer bag was my first published piece. I’ve sold 25,000 bags!). Practice. Listen. Learn.

Here’s a quote I keep by my computer: “Be careless, reckless! Be a lion! Be a pirate! When you write.” Brenda Ueland