INTERVIEW WITH PAT HERNANDEZ

 I am pleased to welcome the talented writer, Pat Hernandez today. Pat writes under several different pen names, one for each personality!  A Caribbean Summer, her book written as Tricia Lee is one of my favorite contemporary romances because there is a mystery along with a sexy hero and great writing.

Have a cup of coffee or tea, Pat, and a cranberry scone and tell me about yourself.

  1)     How old were you when you knew you wanted to become a writer?  I’m not sure of the actual age but I was very young. My mother read to my little brother and me and I began to create imaginary worlds of my own, which later translated into stories.

  2)     What did you do for a living in your “previous” life? After I graduated from college I taught Spanish in Las Vegas, Nevada. After teaching private English classes in Mexico City for a while, I moved to Laredo, Texas where I worked for Sears, working my way up to personnel and payroll clerk. After three years, I transferred to Sears in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico as a training coordinator for four years. I transferred to Midwest City, Oklahoma where I was assistant manager of the paint department for my last two years with Sears. Then I returned to teaching Spanish plus art and ESL in Texas for about 21 years.

3)     Do you have a family? I have a son and five grandchildren.

4)     What do your closest relatives thinking of your writing career? They are very supportive.

5)     What genre do you write? Contemporary romance and wacky, off-the-wall mysteries.

6)     Are you a plotter or a pantser? Both. Sometimes I write an outline and follow it. Other times, especially for the romance novels, I let the characters lead me although I know the ending, it’s the journey that thrills me.

 7)     Do your characters ever take over when you’re writing? Oh, definitely.

8)     Do you get inspiration from real people or places? Yes, especially from my time in the Caribbean. My Palmaltas website is a fictional island in the Caribbean.

9)     Have you ever gotten a story idea from a news story? No, I haven’t.

10) Would you like to be any of your heroines? I think, to a certain degree, I am most of my heroines.

11) Would you marry any of your heroes? Definitely!

12) Do you do a lot of editing before you submit a manuscript? Yes, yes, yes! And then have others go over it again for me.

Now some personal questions (please feel free to elaborate) :

1)     Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate

2)     Do you listen to music when you write? No

3)     Favorite color? For clothes--black

4)     Black, white or gray? Black ;)

5)     Favorite ice cream flavor? Turtle

6)     Favorite line of description from one of your books.  From Amorous Ambush by my alter ego, Tricia Lee: Her last word conveyed such a cry for help, a desperate cry of hopelessness that he knew he couldn’t refuse this vision of terrified loveliness.

       7)  Favorite dialogue from one of your books. From A Colorado Destiny (I have lots of favorites so I just plucked one at random): 

“Oh, Blake, I don’t know what I would have done without your good sportsmanship,” she said, handing him a beer. There was nothing like looking at his flexing muscles while he followed her instructions on where to put various pieces of furniture.

“What do you mean by that?” he said, gasping for breath.

“You’re such a good sport to try out positions for the sofa and the chair.”

“Hmm, is that so? I can think of a position for you on this sofa.”

She felt herself turning red at what he was implying. “Is that so?” she said, imitating him.

“Yeah, I could grab you and turn you upside down and give you a few swats for driving me like a common laborer.”

“Well!” she exclaimed with pretended indignation. “What kind of gratitude is that?” But her body heat was rising just at the thought of him grabbing her and playfully manhandling her.

“Gratitude? Are you insane? You’re the one who should be grateful.”

She laughed. “Oh, I am, believe me, I am. In more ways than one.”

      8)  Favorite minor character from your book.  “Johnny” from A Caribbean Summer

9)     Dog or cat? We have both so I can’t choose

10) Country or city? I have lived in both and prefer the city.

11) Beach or mountains? Beach, beach, beach!!!!

12) Skirts or pants? Pants

13) Early morning or late night? Early morning

14) Cruise in the Caribbean or camping in Yellowstone National Park? Silly question—a cruise in the Caribbean.

To read more about Pat's books and find buy links click HERE to go to her website.