Interview with Womagwriter Patsy Collins

Today my guest is Patsy Collins! I know it's a bit weird to be my own guest but heck, I'm a writer! At least I'm not talking to myself as you've kindly supplied a good selection of questions.

Penny asked, "Are you an Owl or a Lark? Which is your best time for writing?"

Neither! I need a lot of sleep. 
Generally the morning is my most productive writing time but I can, and do, write at any time of the day.

Sue Blackburn asked, "Are you a disciplined writer in that you have a strict routine?"

Yes and no, Sue. I try to be disciplined and work on my writing for a reasonable time each day, but my routine is flexible. Usually I have several projects on the go at different stages, so if I don't feel like writing one story, I edit another instead.

I travel quite a bit with photogrpher my photographer husband in our campervan, and although I still write away from home, I'm more likely to get distracted. 

Fay Knowles asked, "What's your secret to getting your short stories published so frequently?"

Dogged determination and persistence, Fay. I get plenty of rejections, but I don't let them discourage me. Instead I try to write what the editors are looking for and do my best to look at things differently and come up with unusual ideas. Sometimes though it's very difficult to know why one story sells and others don't.
Wendy asked a really excellent question. ''Do you have a lovely new book featuring a hunky fireman coming out anytime soon and if so where can I get it?'" 

Funny you should ask that, Wendy as actually I do! (oddly several other people made similar enquiries ... almost as though someone put them up to it.) 

Firestarter is a romantic comedy. If it's half as much fun to read as it was to write, people are going to enjoy it a lot.  Firestarter isn't officially due out until November 5th but for once I'm not leaving the promotion stuff until it's too late. (Offers to host me on blogs and the like most welcome).

You can order Firestarter here. My local book shop will be stocking it and it'll be available from some libraries. 

Julie Day asked, "What started you writing short stories for womags? and which magazine was your first one in?"

I took creative writing classes and my tutor (author June Hampson) suggested I submit to womags, Julie. I'm very glad she did. My first acceptance was from The Weekly News, but The Lady actually published me first.

Julie also wondered, "Do you reward yourself with each success?"

Yes! That's very important. A sale gets the biggest celebration and I'll treat myself to something nice to eat or drink, but I think we should congratulate ourself on every achievement along the way.

Thank you for all the questions! I had lots more, so this interview is to be continued ....