Patricia Perry Donovan's Blog

Recently, I added about two dozen books to my ‘To Be Read’ pile. The funny thing is, many haven’t even been written yet. Why, then, am I so keen to devour them?  Because I had the honor of being a guest judge as their authors pitched their book premise to The Book Doctors Arielle Eckstut and …

Continue reading Judge Not…Unless, Of Course, You’re Invited To

With a name like Book Cookies, this book club’s gathering to discuss AT WAVE’S END would obviously include a mouth-watering platter of those sweets. What I didn’t expect was a entire repast inspired by my second novel, from Mermaid Cocktails to Faith’s roasted vegetable soup to Maeve’s scones. But books weren’t the only thing on …

Continue reading Book Cookies, Quilts and Facing My 12-Year-Old Self

Imagine an entire day (and evening) devoted to chatting about books and the writing life with dozens of authors. That’s the idea behind the second annual #LakeUnionAuthors Twitter Chat on Tuesday, February 20. How to attend: To participate, all you have to do is hop on over to Twitter, search on the hashtag #LakeUnionAuthors, and …

Continue reading Feb. 20 #LakeUnionAuthors Twitter Chat & Giveaway

When I’m not writing fiction, I work as a journalist, which means I can’t pass up a good interview opportunity. Earlier this year, as guest host of the Lake Union Authors page, I had a ‘behind the scenes’ chat with a key player in bringing novels to life: the audiobook narrator. Teri Clark Linden, Audiobook …

Continue reading Who Gives My Characters Their Voices? Q&A with Audiobook Narrator Teri Clark Linden

Many readers have noted that AT WAVE’S END overflows with food—more than 70 dishes prepared by two chefs between its covers. That’s because when Superstorm Sandy struck the East Coast five years ago today, the event that inspired this novel, cooking was my community’s visceral reaction. Those of us unscathed couldn’t magically rebuild hundreds of …

Continue reading After Hurricane Sandy, Cooking Up Comfort, One Soup at a Time

The nearest thing to poetry I’ve penned in the last twenty-five years is a set of lyrics for the fictional band Amphibian in my first novel, DELIVER HER. So why embarrass myself by sharing my primitive efforts from a recent poetry workshop I attended? Because to my surprise, this workshop broke down my resistance. The …

Continue reading Roadmap to a Poem: Reluctant Verses from My LOVE Galaxy

Waves of doubt washed over me. It’s one thing to write a book inspired by a hurricane that happened five years ago. That window of time permits a certain amount of healing and perspective. It’s quite another to introduce that newly published novel during the calm between two killer storms. That’s the quandary I found …

Continue reading Author Cone of Uncertainty: When Life Imitates Art Imitating Life

As I explained in my opening post in this series on the journey to AT WAVE’S END, many elements contrived to inspire this story. The most powerful was Hurricane Sandy, which struck in 2012. I was polishing a draft of DELIVER HER at the time, but as our shore community reeled from the blow, the …

Continue reading Fred and June: The Breakfast That Nourished AT WAVE’S END

A common query for an author during a book’s launch and beyond is “What inspired this book?” But for many writers, including myself, the ‘story behind the story’ is not always a simple one. Such is the case with AT WAVE’S END, my second novel releasing August 15. As I’ve come to learn about my writing …

Continue reading Why Did I Write AT WAVE’S END? Good Question

A common query for an author during a book’s launch and beyond is “What inspired this book?” But for many writers, including myself, the ‘story behind the story’ is not always a simple one. Such is the case with AT WAVE’S END, my second novel releasing August 15. As I’ve come to learn about my writing …

Continue reading Why Did I Write That Book? Good Question