A little while ago I asked the readers of my blog (that would be you lol) to ask me questions for a reader interview.
This is the result! 🙂
How did you get the first idea that turned into a book?
I got my first idea for a book while dreaming. I dreamt about a parallel world where people fought together with dragons. Every night the story evolved. I loved it so much that I just had to write it down. This let to my first fantasy novel Drägan Duma.
Where were you when the idea occurred to you?
In my bed lol. But I am a daydreamer as well, so I kind of dreamt the whole story together.
Was anyone with you?
My husband. He was also the one who encouraged me to write the story down when I told him about it.
How has your life changed since publishing a book?
My life changed quite a bit since the publishing of my books. Before, I wasn’t comfortable with big groups of people. Now, I don’t really have a choice. When there is a signing session at a bookstore or a festival, there are a lot of people and I have to deal with that.
It also made me more confident about myself. It’s awesome to hear that people enjoy your work! And I love writing, so for me this is a dream coming true.
A lot of your poems are very personal and full of emotion; did you find it difficult to open yourself up to be so honest with your readers?
Yes, I found it very difficult to open up. Not just to my readers, but in general as well. Until a year and a half ago, I was a very closed off person. I was an expert in hiding my feelings and pretending to be a ‘normal’ human being. I also didn’t knew that I have PTSD, so I just thought that I was crazy! Better to hide that lol. 😉 But in my writings, I have always been completely honest. I just didn’t share it with someone else. This changed when I started blogging and got diagnosed with PTSD. At lot started to make sense all of a sudden. And the people I met through blogging were so supportive of me that I felt safe enough to show more about myself.
At this time in my life, I don’t care anymore. I show who I am through my writings. My fears, hopes, failure, grief and strength, it’s all written large in my words. I became myself again, the person I am supposed to be, without the numbness, masks and suppression, because of writing.
With such a strong literary inclination Patty, is your name by any chance of Irish extraction?
A very interesting question! Patty is actually short for Patricia, which is a name of Latin origin. It is a name that evolved from the word Patrician which means ‘noble’. As a name it became popular in Ireland and Scotland in the 18th century. In Holland, Patty is pronounced differently than in the English language. ‘Pa’ is pronounced the same, but ‘tty’ is pronounced like ‘tea’.
If you had $10 dollars in your pocket and you had to spend it something, what would it be?
If $10 was all I had, I would spend it on food for sure! If I have $10 in my pocket and a bit more on my bank account, I would spend it on anything. A card for someone, ice cream, a bus ticket, for whatever I need it for first.
If you could interview TWO well-known celebrity who would they be?
O, this is a hard one! I am not that great in interviewing people and I don’t have a lot of celebrities I look up to or something. I would choose Anne Mc Caffrey because I just love her books and Stephen King, also because of his book but I like his personality as well. It would be fun to learn what drives them and to hear their view on things. If I could interview two celebrities who are not alive anymore, I would choose Edgar Allan Poe and either Abraham Lincoln or Steve Irwin.
If you could choose on have an empty box or full box, which would you choose?
Hahaha, this of course depends on what’s inside the box! 😉 But if I didn’t knew, I would probably pick the full one anyway because I am a very curious person! Besides, I could always turn it into an empty box afterwards. 🙂
What makes Patty smile & giggle and brighten her day?
Well, I actually am not a giggling kind of girl lol. But I do smile a lot. As for brightening my day, there are plenty of options, a kind note or card from someone I hold dear, a friend or family member who is doing well on something or is just happy, someone telling me they enjoy my work, the sun shining, a brand new book. Lots of things brighten my day! 🙂
How are things going with your Dutch fantasy novel and when will it be available in English?
Things are going surprisingly well, considering this is my debut novel! At the moment, I just started recording my book for the audio version which is exiting and makes me very nervous lol. This Sunday I will be attending a book signing at one of the largest book markets in our country together with several famous authors, so that is exiting and scary too! 🙂 I don’t know when it will be available in English yet, my publisher does want to get it translated, but that will take time and money. But when I know something, you guys will be the first to know! 🙂
Thank you all for the questions, this was fun! 🙂
Lots of Love
Patty
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