Please help me in welcoming this months Chatting With Buckeyes Author, Patricia Sargeant who writes romantic suspense novels.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
Oooh! Right off the bat with a hard question. Way to make a guest feel comfortable. LOL! Just teasing. I'm really happy to be here and I appreciate your letting me visit with you and your friends.
Oh, man! This is a really hard question. I'm just not interesting. And I'm further distracted by the fact that, as I'm answering this question, my Jets are going down in flames to the Green Bay Packers at home. OMG! Why is this happening??? [[Look away from the TV.]]
OK. I think I've got this. People would be surprised to learn that I play air guitar before I go jogging. It helps me get into the mood. (smile)
Heated Rivalry, your newest release, is about an NBA Player. Are you a big NBA fan?
I do love basketball, both the pros and college. I love watching the games so, in addition to being a New York Knicks fan (I grew up in New York.), I've become attached to several teams, including the New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. I go crazy over March Madness and the Playoffs. The heart-racing anxiety. The edge-of-your-seat suspense. The soul-destroying despair as the Knicks miss yet another post-season.
Can you tell us a little bit about your books?
I'd love to. Thank you for asking. I write romantic suspense and contemporary romance. My romantic suspense - You Belong to Me and On Fire - put ordinary people in extraordinary situations. In my contemporary romances - Sweet Deception and Heated Rivalry - my characters are forced to face and conquer their inner demons.
I construct my story plots around themes. You Belong to Me's theme is family. How do you define family? On Fire's theme is trust and a caution not to judge people based on your experience with others. Sweet Deception's theme is identity. Do you define yourself or do you allow others to tell you who you are? Heated Rivalry's theme is self-worth. How do you measure your value?
Do you have a favorite among your books?
I truly don't. I love each of my stories, but for different reasons. You Belong to Me reunites a divorced couple who never stopped loving each other. In On Fire, the heroine helps the hero to heal from a very bad personal experience and to learn to trust again. In Sweet Deception, the hero and heroine become each others' champion when it seems like everyone is against them. In Heated Rivalry, the hero and heroine help each other to become more self-confident.
I think it would be very hard for any author to write a story he or she didn't truly love. So much time and emotion - and anxiety - go into every scene. If you don't love what you're writing, you couldn't write it. Now, years down the road, an author may go back to a book and think, "Oh, I could do an even better job with this story now." But that's not a reflection of how much he or she loves the story.
Do you have any favorite romance authors? If so, who?
Oh, so many! So many! In truth, I'm afraid to list anyone for fear of leaving someone out inadvertently. I have so few friends, you see, I would hate to risk a relationship. LOL!
I will say that I'm looking forward to Lori Foster and Dianne Castell's Readers & Authors Get Together. It's scheduled for Friday, June 3 through Sunday, June 5, 2011, at the Cincinnati Marriott. A lot of my super fav romance authors will be there, many of whom are from Ohio. Registration opens January 2011, but there's some information on Lori Foster's website, www.LoriFoster.com.
Ohio Questions:
Do you have a favorite Ohio Sports team?
I have a lot of favorite Ohio sports teams. In the NCAA, football and basketball, I enjoy The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cincinnati Bearcats. (Apparently, Notre Dame enjoyed watching the Bearcats, too, which is the reason they stole Cincinnati's head football coach. I'm still really ticked over that.) I also like the Cleveland Cavaliers (when they're not playing my Knicks. Sorry.) and the Cincinnati Bengals (when they're not playing my Jets. Sorry.)
Where is your favorite place in Ohio to go?
Highbanks Metro Park in Lewis Center (outside of Columbus) and Eden Park in Cincinnati. I love walking in the park with my husband and those are two of our absolute favorites.
What's the best thing about living in Ohio?
The space. I grew up in New York and I lived in Los Angeles before returning to Columbus. No a lot of personal space in those cities.
What is your favorite C City? Cleveland, Columbus or Cincinnati?
I enjoy all of those cities. There's a lot to do in each of them - sporting events, concerts, museums. I admit, though, it's been a while since I've been to Cleveland. I'll have to correct that. LOL!
Thank you so much for inviting me over to chat. I've had a wonderful time! And I'd love to send one of your commenters a copy of Sweet Deception, my single-title, contemporary romance, which takes place in Columbus. The Giveaway for Sweet Deception will be from Monday November 22nd 2010 until 11:59pm Monday November 29th 2010. If I don't hear from the winner within two days, I will have to choose a new one.
Where to find Patricia:
