Friday Focus – Patricia Kiyono

by Sarah | Nov 14, 2013 | Author Interview, Friday Dialogues, Guest Authors, Writing

Personal

• Can you tell us a little about yourself? I’m a mom of five, grandmother of nine, and I like to keep busy! But sometimes I’m so busy that I get very unorganized.
• What do you like to read? What’s your favorite genre? I love to read romance, either historical or contemporary.
• What’s your favorite place, real or fictional? I would love to be able to visit Robyn Carr’s Virgin River. It’s full of strong, honorable men and equally strong, resourceful women!
• What’s the best thing you’ve done in your life? I think my greatest achievement has been to raise two intelligent and talented daughters, guiding them into motivated, compassionate adults.
• What has changed for you personally since you wrote your first book? I used to wonder how I’d find story lines to write, but now I can’t find enough hours in the day to flesh out all the ideas that pop into my head!
• Where can people find you on the web? Where can they read more about your books? Readers can find out more about me and my books on my website, blog, facebook, and twitter @PatriciaKiyono

Your Novel

• What inspired you to write this particular story? I wanted to write a Christmas book and was mulling over ideas this past spring. My youngest daughter, aged twenty-six, announced she planned to quite her lucrative job as a technical writer for a very successful industrial firm and move to southern California and try her hand as a screenwriter. My husband and I don’t want her to go, but we can’t stop her from pursuing her dream. So I did the next best thing – I made her the main character in my story!
• Are the names of the characters in your novel important? Since the story is set in west Michigan, several characters as well as the names of the towns have Dutch names. That’s because immigrants from the Netherlands settled the area between Holland and Grand Rapids in the 19^th century, and there are still several Dutch language churches and organizations.
• How much of yourself is hidden in the characters in the book? There is a LOT of me in Sophie – I directed many Christmas programs both as a music teacher and as a mom helping out in my kids’ Sunday School. I also toyed with the idea of trying to “make it big” in the big city, but decided I’m better suited for a quiet family life in the ‘burbs.
• You got the call – your novel is being made into a TV series or movie – who’s in your dream cast? I think Amanda Seyfried would make a good Sophie, and I’d love to see Jake Gyllenhaal as Mitch.

Writing

• Are you a pantser or a plotter? I guess I’m more of a plotter. When I try to write without a plan I tend to go off in too many unrelated directions. I need to have a clear idea of where the story is headed and an idea of how the characters will get there. Sometimes the characters surprise me, but for the most part I stay with my outline.
• Are there any occupational hazards to being an author? I suppose being sedentary is the worst hazard for me. In order to write I have to research, and then I have to brainstorm, research some more, and then I have to actually do the writing. All of this involves sitting. I’m not an active person anyway, so my doctor is continually telling me to get up and move.
• Where do you get your ideas? I start with the conflict – I know that’s not the route most authors take! I take a problem –external one, like the production of a church Christmas pageant. Then I create characters who are affected by that problem, and give them each an internal conflict, such as Mitch’s insecurity as a single parent and Sophie’s desire to “make it big”. Finding conflicts is not difficult – I just watch the news!
• Have you written any other books? I’ve published seven other romances. Three are historicals (The Samurai’s Garden, The Patridge and the Peartree, and Love’s Refrain) and four are contemporary (The Legacy, Aegean Intrigue, The Christmas Phoenix, and The Calico Heart, co-authored with Stephanie Michels).

Quick Questions

• Sing in the rain or dance in the streets? Neither. I’m totally an indoors kid.
• Pen or pencil? Pencil. I make too many mistakes.
• Summer or Winter? Summer!
• Movies or TV?  TV. I can’t sit still long enough to watch a movie!
• Theater or DVD? Theater!
• Rural or Urban? Rural for living, Urban for entertainment. I guess the ‘burbs are a good fit.
• Facial hair or clean shaven?  I’m not picky about that, as long as the facial hair is neat and trimmed.
• Marvel or DC?  DC
• Cowboy or Bad Boy? Cowboy.
• Sunrise or Sunset?  Sunrise
• Fall leaves or Spring flowers?  Fall leaves
• Peanut butter or jelly? Peanut butter
• Spender or Saver? Saver

*~*~*~*

| [amazon_link id=”B00GGNA44C” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amazon[/amazon_link] | BN |

Blurb:

Mitch Carson is tired of the big city. In his former life, he’d been a news photographer in Chicago, where the dangers are endless. But now, he just wants to settle down in this quiet town with his daughter, Angie. Here, his only fear is losing his daughter to his scheming mother-in-law.

Sophie Gardner wants to be a screenwriter. She’s ready to leave small town Zutphen, Michigan and go to Hollywood. With a theater degree under her belt, she’s busy writing scripts while helping out her sister Joanie, who’s bedridden with a difficult pregnancy. Unfortunately, Joanie has somehow coerced Sophie into directing the Christmas pageant at Zutphen Community Church.

When Sophie and Mitch meet, the attraction is instant and mutual. But each wants what the other is trying to get away from. Can they deny their feelings and pursue their dreams? Or will the holiday prove to them that their true wishes might not be what they’d thought?

Bio:

In a previous life, Patricia Kiyono taught elementary school students by day and changed diapers at night. Now she teaches college students part time and changes diapers only when she’s taking care of grandkids. She loves to do anything that doesn’t involve exercise. Right now her favorite activities, other than writing, include scrapbooking, sewing, and making music. She and her husband live in southwest Michigan, near their five children and nine grandchildren.