Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I love writing! I write non-fiction and fiction.
I’ve written three books for moms and am in the process of writing a series of mini-books for moms (50-70 pages long). The mini books are filled with encouragement and practical tips you can put in place that same day.
In addition to my non-fiction for moms, I started writing fiction in Spring 2020. I write sweet-clean romance and have written three books in my series so far. Each book is a stand-alone story, only connected to the others by way of characters who overlap. My characters are relatable and realistic. The challenges they face bring readers into the story. My books are filled with swoon-worthy moments and always end in a happily ever after.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Romancing the Rancher is my latest book. It’s the story of Ryder, a man who has grown up on a ranch his whole life. At the time of the story, he has begun to feel restless and wants something more. Patrice is a spunky woman who lives in Los Angeles and has worked her way up in the fashion industry. When she comes to Hill Country, Texas for work and a visit with friends, Patrice intends to indulge her cowboy fetish. Meeting Ryder exceeds what Patrice had in mind. But, they are from different worlds. Can they bridge their differences and find a way to make a relationship work between them?
My inspiration for the book came from the many trips I have taken with one of my dearest friends to Hill Country Texas. When I started writing fiction, Patrice “showed up” as the best friend of one of my characters in book one. I immediately knew I wanted her to find her forever love. Patrice has a thing for cowboys, so the idea of bringing her to Hill Country to meet her rancher grew over time and I knew I wanted to write their story.
Patrice is a woman of color and I wanted to acknowledge the challenges she and Ryder would face, not only bridging the differences between his bucolic life and her lifestyle of fashion and city-living. I wanted to work through the difficulties couples often face when they enter into a biracial relationship. While my book isn’t “agenda-driven,” I would be remiss to write their story without addressing the way family and friends react to them being interracial. So, the story brings in their challenges and also works through some of the ways they handle these issues when they come up.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Doesn’t every writer have unusual writing habits? For example, I have a friend who writes prolifically and she uses her thumbs to type on her phone while she’s on the elliptical! That’s not me … I’d never be able to coordinate writing and an elliptical machine … That would be the last book I ever wrote–published posthumously! But, I do have my quirks. One is that I write very fast. I wrote my first work of fiction in a week. I also rarely hit writer’s block. I think that is because I take breaks between books until I feel the book percolate and bubble up and press me to get it out onto “paper” (computer). Then I write and write and write. Since I don’t force myself to write daily, I don’t think I hit many of the walls that daily writers encounter. If I’m not ready to write, I don’t. And when I am, watch out, it’s time for me to hole up and write for hours and hours.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jamie Langston Turner is one of my all-time favorite fiction writers. Her books inspire me to write relatable characters and real-life situations. Emma St. Clair is a dear friend of mine. She writes sweet-clean romance and has mentored me in my journey toward being a better writer. In non-fiction, Lysa TerKeurst and Alli Worthington have inspired me.
What are you working on now?
I’m now working on book four in my series: Not Falling for My Boss. It’s an enemies to lovers story about a young executive who runs his own financial planning company and his type-A office manager. I love the way this story is shaping up. It’s still in the brainstorming stage of development, but it already has some surprising and delightful elements.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My ARC team (Advanced Readers) are awesome! They share my book through word-of-mouth and they leave reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and BookBub. Beyond their amazing support, I usually do some paid promos like Freebooksy, free99books, and others.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write because you love it. Don’t let the drama and demands of writing life keep you from writing and creating and loving the process. Commit yourself to honing the craft of storytelling for the rest of your life.
Write first, edit later. Don’t let your editing brain keep you from writing.
Find other writers who are awesome and generous and pick their brains. Pour into other writers and form communities with them. We thrive together.
Take hurtful feedback into consideration. What could be true about what they said? How can I improve what I wrote based on this feedback? What is just opinion, and what might be fact?
Don’t skimp on your cover. It really is a make-it-or-break-it first impression to your reader.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Best writing advice: Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, kill your darlings (Stephen King). He was referring to the fact that we have to be willing to edit and edit and cut the things we love in order to make the story the best it can be.
Best advice for life: Trust God; Clean House; Help Others.
What are you reading now?
OH MY GOODNESS. Now, now? I’m finishing Rachel John’s book Engaging Mr. Darcy (a modern P&P revision). I am also listening to Letters to the Lost on audiobook. I read almost a book a day — sometimes more — so check with me tomorrow and you’ll hear other titles. Today I finished a Whitney Dineen book that wasn’t my favorite of all hers, but still was a fun read. I’m also reading The Fire in Fiction. It’s a book for writers about craft. Loving it so far!
What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing this five-book series. Then I have another series in my imagination–set at a coastal inn in Connecticut, run by twin sisters. After that, I have a women’s fiction story bubbling up in my heart. It’s about a woman going through a mid-life crisis, wondering if her mediocre life and bland marriage are all she has to show for living. I’m also working on my mini-books for moms (non-fiction). The next one is on time management.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Seriously? This is a question we have to answer? If I were going to be stranded on an island and I could take only three books I would take Some Wildflower in My Heart by Jamie Langston Turner, The Bible, and the C.S. Lewis. Signature Classics Anthology. Yes. I’m cheating by taking an anthology. Honestly, I’d grow weary of the story, but I love it so much that I’ve re-read it many times, so it proves to be an old friend I want to revisit. How can we honestly pick three books? Thank God we don’t have to!
Author Websites and Profiles
Patty H Scott Website
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