Interview With Author Pat Fonda
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, I’m Pat Fonda. Reading and writing have been two of my favorite pastimes since I was a teenager. After my first child was born I used the internet a lot to learn abut parenting, family, relationships and child development.
Then I got attracted to becoming an indie author to share my experiences and insights in these topics with other parents.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Gaming Addiction In Children: Boost Your Kid’s Self-Control, Avoid The Mistakes Parents Make & Turn Video Game Play Into A Positive Experience For The Whole Family
I was inspired to write this book because of a need to find answers myself to the problem of gaming addiction in children. This is a problem nearly every family with children has to grapple with at some point, given the abundance of gaming equipment, tablets, and smartphones.
Most parents are clueless on how to help their kids from getting addicted to video gaming, plus research indicates that gaming produces in the gamers brain a high that is very similar to that produced by drugs like the amphetamines.
I thought it would be a good idea to share what ii had learned with other parents.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think I have any unusual writing habits, except perhaps that I’m not so disciplined as to stick to a daily writing schedule consistently.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Growing up I only read fiction, but in adulthood I have settled for writing non-fiction. Some of the fiction authors who impressed me include, Alistair MacLean (British), Harold Robbins, Danielle Steele.
What are you working on now?
Following the publication of Gaming addiction in Children I’ve started work on a book on how to develop emotional intelligence in kids. Today we live in the Information age, and there’s a lot we can do as parents that parents in past generations couldn’t.
We also face tougher challenges as parents today.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use press releases, partly because I like writing them. I’m still new at book promotion. I will be researching other methods soon.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I remember someone saying that to become a good writer you should aim to have 100,000 words under your belt – in other words you have to write and write and write.
My advice is to not focus on the rewards at first, but the process. When you get good at the craft, and you’re delivering quality content, the rewards will come. Also, having written a good book, you should spend a good amount of time on the marketing.
Find a marketing method that works for you and invest 80% of your marketing time on that method alone.