Q & A with Pat White

 

Q) Why do you write fiction?

A) It’s cheaper than therapy.

 

Q) No seriously.

A) It’s seriously cheaper than therapy. Plus I get to create a world where bad guys get their just deserts.
What does that mean, anyway?  Just deserts?  Is that all you get?  What about the entrée? (Sorry, ADD moment.)

 

Q) I see you started in journalism and PR? How does that translate to writing fiction?

A) Not very easily. A completely different skill set. I wasn’t even reading fiction at the time I started writing it. I was obsessed with reading parenting books so I wouldn’t screw up my kids too much. Now they’re writing. Hmm.

 

Q) What inspires you to write?

A) Deadlines. Looming closer, about to smack me in the face. WHACK!

Okay, okay, what inspires me to write?  I find inspiration everywhere.  Cliché, huh?  No really, check it out:

A few years ago I saw a news story about a woman who disappeared on a ferry. Her car was still on the ferry.  Her purse was still in the car.  No one saw her dive into the water. Yet she vanished.  Poof!

How can you not write a story about that?  And why haven’t I written it yet?

 

Q) What do you like writing better: books or screenplays?

A) Trick question.

 

Q) What’s your trick answer?

A) I like them for very different reasons. I love writing books because I can get so deeply into my characters’ heads. I love writing scripts because I’m a visual storyteller.  Plus my strength is dialogue.

 

Q) What are your favorite books or movies?

A) Some favorite books are: To Kill a Mockingbird, A Return to Love, The Catcher in the Rye, Jurassic Park, Jane Eyre.

Movies: Love Actually, Soapdish, Empire Strikes Back, While You Were Sleeping, Laura, The Apartment.  And what’s with The Hunt for Red October?  I mean anytime I’m channel surfing and it’s on, I can’t stop watching!

 

Q) The most challenging aspect of being a writer?

A) Turning off the inner critic. She needs to take a vacation somewhere far away.  Bali, Australia, The Congo.  I mean, I know I forgot a comma, now back off will ya’!

 

Q) What are you doing when you’re not writing?

A) Mostly trying to keep my Border Collie Mix from jumping the fence and redesigning my neighbor’s garden. I’m serious. That’s a big deal because my neighbor has a professionally landscaped yard worthy of a Better Homes & Gardens magazine cover.  If I don’t want to get kicked out of the neighborhood I’d better get Luke under control.

 

Q) How about we wrap up with some random questions?

A) Uh…

 

Favorite food?

… Chocolate.

 

Favorite beverage?

… Green tea!!!  Oh, you mean that kind of beverage?  Bushmills Black.

 

Favorite color?

… Purple.

 

Favorite Pizza?

… Lou Malnatti’s – Chicago Deep Dish.  Anything else isn’t pizza.  (You can take the girl out of Chicago, but you can’t take the sports teams or pizza preferences out of the girl.)

 

Regrets?

… Are we talking existential?

 

Dreams?

… I’m living the dream.  I’m married to an incredible guy, I’ve got two amazing sons and a wonderful daughter-in-law. I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and at this very moment, Luke is not trying to jump the fence. Doesn’t get much better than that.