Fiction Writing – Patricia J. Parsons

Travel Inspires Writing – Again!

Posted on 1 Feb 2025 by Patricia J. Parsons

It’s not the first time this has happened, and it’s not likely to be the last. I find myself on an absorbing trip (because I love to travel and even write about it), and the next thing I know, the experience and the locale inspire a story. In my view, travel is one of the most inspiring experiences for writers. But that’s just me.

Two summers ago, a ten-day cross-island trip in Newfoundland inspired a book that seems to have started a new series. We Came From Away: That Summer on “The Rock” was inspired by a combination of that trip experience and the fact that my mother turned 100 years old that year. (She’s now 102!). Then, last year, my husband and I spent a month travelling in Brazil on a cruise up the Brazilian coast, into the Amazon River, and onto Miami. It seemed that the characters in We CAme From Away hadn’t finished with me yet. Now there’s a sequel: Meet Me in Miami.

February 1 seems like a great day for some armchair travel to a tropical location, doesn’t it? So, I’m inviting you along for some of that travel. Here’s the new book launching today.

What travels from your past might inspire a story … and a book?

Here’s what it’s about:

Life may not offer do-overs, but it might offer second chances.

Dr. Claire Barrett has it all. At least it seems that way to everyone but Claire. A successful doctor with two almost grown and successful children, an international reputation as one of the world’s finest pediatric surgeons, Claire at age fifty is as beautiful, stylish and driven as ever. She prides herself in making the best decisions to have gotten her where she is today. She did it all herself and from her home base in St. John’s, Newfoundland. But there is one decision that rankles. She should never have allowed Peter O’Brien to get away. She should never have agreed to the divorce. Was it her only mistake? Now she has a plan to fix that. She will win him back.

Eliza Houlihan Cohen, a New Yorker by way of Canada’s east coast, is a successful cookbook author. After years of putting up with her philandering husband Jake and his whining mother, she has finally broken free. And now that she’s met Dr. Peter O’Brien, she wonders if she might take another chance on love.

Eliza hates Miami, but when Peter asks her to take a cruise with him, ending in Miami, and she asks her daughter Izzy to meet her there for a holiday, Eliza decides she can cope. By the time her cruise through the Amazon reaches Miami, Eliza will wish she had never laid eyes on Peter’s ex-wife, Claire. The question is, though, will she feel the same about Peter?

Vanity, conceit and a single-minded pursuit of career goals, though, will only take you so far in this life. There comes a time when you must face the fact that everything is not about you.

It’s available from Amazon (which the cover above is linked to) or any other online retailer you like.

And … if you haven’t read We Came From Away yet …

Nora Houlihan’s children have been long gone from their family home in Newfoundland. Now, she is about to turn 100 and wants her children and grandchildren to find out what they’ve been missing on her beloved island. So, she arranges for her “come-from-away” family members to take a cross-island tour before her birthday party. By the time they are finished, they will be forever changed—and nothing in the family will ever be the same.

They say you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family. The question is this. If you could pick your family, would YOU choose yours?

Books, Fiction Writing, Nonfiction Writing, Self-Publishing

Write and Publish a Book in a Year: It Can Be Done

Posted on 10 Aug 2024 by Patricia J. Parsons

Three years ago, I started a little YouTube channel for writers—or, more precisely, aspiring writers. More than thirty years ago, I began teaching writing to university students. And before that, I started writing—and publishing. These three elements of my writing and publishing career have finally come together in my newest book.

Over the past decade, I’ve become increasingly concerned about the seemingly uncountable number of people who are writing books—and publishing them, for better or for worse. Many of these would-be writers have no one other than Facebook writing groups to answer their questions. Many of those people in Facebook (and LinkedIn) groups either have little more knowledge and expertise than they do or, worse, are only there to try to sell their services to unsuspecting writers.

There is little doubt in my mind that every new writer could benefit from a writing tutor, teacher, guide or even sherpa for this journey because it is, indeed, a journey. And that’s just how I’ve framed my new book.

One Year to Author: Your Roadmap Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Book in Twelve Months is a compilation of the lessons I’ve learned in almost forty years of writing and publishing. It’s written in a workbook format so that you can use it as your roadmap as you begin to understand what you need to know to write and publish in the next twelve months—and actually accomplish your goal.

Here’s a glimpse of what it’s all about.

One Year to Author on Amazon…

Backstory, Books, Fiction Writing

Novel Backstory: The Seeds of Inspiration

Posted on 18 Feb 2024 by Patricia J. Parsons

Every time I read a novel, I’m intrigued about the source of the inspiration and how the story developed in the writer’s mind during the writing. My own process has evolved over the years to the point where I consider myself to be in the role of transcriptionist as my characters take over and force me to tell their story. I used to plan everything and try to tell my stories. That didn’t work for me.

My most recent book had an interesting genesis, and how the underlying premise evolved might be interesting for other writers – or even my readers. I know it’s interesting to me! I wrote about it on my style blog, and if you’re interested, surf away…

Is Sewing a Domestic Art?