1--What is the title of your latest release?
THE YEAR OF WHAT IF
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
When dating expert Carla Carter visits a fortune teller several weeks before her wedding, she’s astonished to learn that her fiancé, Tom, isn’t the man she’s supposed to marry. Instead, the man with the key to her heart is apparently someone she met during her gap year travels around Europe, twenty-one years ago. Fearful that a relationship curse within her family is about to strike again, Carla sets off to revisit her exes in Barcelona, Sardinia, Amsterdam, Paris and Portugal, to find her special someone. But who will it be, and can Carla re-write her entire family history, forever?
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I wanted to take Carla Carter to some iconic places across Europe, so she can re-visit romances she enjoyed two decades earlier, and I thought readers might love to visit these beautiful destinations, too. I’ve personally holidayed in each of the countries featured in the book, except for Sardinia.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Yes. I think Carla would be a fun, caring and considerate friend. I’d love to hear her stories about her highly-superstitious family.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Caring, resourceful, determined
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned a little about the cuisine of Sardinia. My characters get to eat zuppa Gallurese together, a cross between a lasagne and a casserole, made with layers of rustic bread, cheese, herbs and meat broth. Also, seadas, which are crisp, deep-fried pastries filled with lemony fresh cheese and soaked in warm honey. I’d never heard of these dishes before until I wrote the book.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit as I go and sometimes re-write my first chapters over fifty times, to make sure they work. I wish I could write a first draft in one go. It would certainly make life easier.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I love warm crusty bread with lots of real butter and a selection of strong cheeses, served with chutney and grapes.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I work in various places throughout my house. I have a little writing shed in my garden for summer use and a desk in a small bedroom for winter. My inside space features bookshelves, a squashy leather sofa, a dress-makers mannequin and a lot of boxes filled with clothes I need to sort out to send to charity.
10--Who is an author you admire?
The psychological thriller writer B. A. Paris is a good friend of mine. She has such great ideas for her books and they’re real page turners. She’s such a lovely, inspiring person, too.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. When I used to work in an office (in a communications role for a co-operative, nine years ago) my team members and I bought this book and completed a highly-detailed questionnaire to discover our key strengths. It really helped me to understand myself and the way I work and think. My personal key strengths include strategy, collecting ideas, being able to relate to other people and achieving results– all things that are useful when writing novels!
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was lying in bed poorly one Friday evening when my agent phoned to tell me that my debut novel, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, had been bought by an Italian publisher. It was then snapped up in France and Germany. The UK and USA were the sixth and seventh territories to buy it, and the book sold to twenty-six countries in total. It was an astonishing time I’ll always cherish.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I like to mix things up. I might read a feel-good commercial novel followed by a thriller and then non-fiction. It depends on what grabs my attention.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
I have a few favourites, but I love Iron Man. It’s got such a great plot and script, and Robert Downey Jnr and Jeff Bridges are brilliant. I also love The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Ben Stiller. It’s so sweet and underrated. How to Train Your Dragon is another favorite, especially for its character portrayals of the dragons and young Vikings.
15--What is your favorite season?
I am only truly happy in the summer. I need to be warm.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Usually a nice meal with friends and family, and I do love to receive a nice box of chocolates.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I really enjoyed watching the movie Saltburn. There’s been lots of controversy around some of the scenes, but I found it to be an intriguing story with interesting characters and a great soundtrack. It’s kind of a cross between The Talented Mr Ripley and Brideshead Revisited.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Probably Mexican, but Italian is a close second.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I love going charity shopping with my friends and stopping off at a nice café for lunch. I have a small dog that likes to go for long walks, especially at the seaside. I also enjoy altering and making clothes, and sometimes I paint portraits, too.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m currently working on my eighth novel, about a jaded woman who wishes she could go back in time, to the perfect life she once had as an actress in an iconic coffee commercial. And then somehow it happens.
Can the future be rewritten?
On the verge of her second marriage, Carla Carter knows she’s finally found the one. She and her fiancé, Tom, met through Logical Love, a dating agency she founded for the pragmatically minded, and she’s confident that, together, they will dispel an old family curse claiming Carter women are unlucky in love.
For peace of mind, Carla’s family insists she visit a fortune teller before she ties the knot. Except the tarot unexpectedly reveals that the love of Carla’s life is not Tom, but one of the several men she briefly dated during her European gap year—twenty-one years ago. Only weeks away from her big day, Carla sets off across Europe to track down her exes from that unforgettable year, desperate to prove the fortune teller wrong. From Spain to Portugal, Italy to France, will one be her perfect match? And can a face from her past help Carla rewrite her entire family history—forever?
Women's Fiction | Action | Coming of Age [Park Row, On Sale: June 25, 2024, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780778310891 / eISBN: 9780369748409]
PHAEDRA PATRICK is the author of Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone and The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, which has been published in over twenty countries around the world. She studied art and marketing, and has worked as a stained-glass artist, film festival organizer and communications manager. An award-winning short story writer, she now writes full-time. She lives in Saddleworth, UK, with her husband and son.
© 2003-2025 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy