Author Interview with Patience Griffin and Giveaway

Meet Patience Griffin, author of To Scotland with Love.

PATIENCE GRIFFIN grew up in a small town along the Mississippi River, living life in a close-knit community. She loves to quilt and has gained some recognition with her September 11th Story Quilt which has toured the country as the property of the Pentagon. With a master’s degree in nuclear engineering, she’s a nerdy girl to the core, but loves to read books which make her laugh. She lives in Texas with a hyper Sheltie, a Bishon-poo and a bulimic stray cat.

Find Patience at:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

A la Twitter style, please describe your book in 140 characters or less.
Welcome to the Scottish seaside town of Gandiegow--where a spunky reporter and a sexy movie star write their own unforgettable story of love.

What types of scenes are your most favorite to write?
I really enjoy the scenes that have a lot of emotion in them because to me that’s what reading is all about. It’s fun to right a scene where everything goes wrong for the hero and heroine because their emotions are heightened. Sad scenes can be very satisfying because the emotions are raw. Resolution scenes are particularly gratifying because all the emotions can be wrapped up to make the reader feel like they themselves had a happily-ever-after.

If you could have dinner with any three authors (alive or dead), who would you choose and why?
The first person who came to mind was Jane Austen. I didn’t find Jane until I was twenty-two and a new mother. She completely transported me to her world and I’ve been crushing on Mr. Darcy, Colonel Brandon, and Captain Wentworth ever since. It wasn’t until later when I read her letters that I thought it would be a hoot to be in her inner circle, her confidante. She had a wicked wit about her that I can appreciate. I’m sure I would’ve been scandalized by what she said, but constantly laughing.

The other two were harder to pick. Here’s the great thing about being a romance writer and involved in RWA—I’ve met a lot of the women writers with whom I would like to hang out. Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Janet Chapman to name two. And in a few weeks I’m going to a tea with Diana Gabaldon as the guest of honor.

Taking all that into consideration, I finally chose my last two dinner mates— Amy Tan and Olivia Goldsmith. I don’t expect to run into them at a conference or share a shuttle with them (that’s how I met Vicki Lewis Thompson). Amy Tan made me feel what it would be like to walk out of China, helped me to live past my own experiences, gave me a different perspective on life. I found a sisterhood in Olivia Goldsmith’s books, a common ground. In Switcheroo, when she drove the car into the pool, I laughed so hard that I cried, because I had experienced that kind of desperation in my own life.

Thank you for that great question. I enjoyed making a list of all my favorite authors and thinking about why I love their stories so much. You made me think!

What are you favorite types of stories to read?
I love Scotland set romances—historical or contemporary. Give me a wee bit of plaid and a man in a kilt and I’m there. I love books that are smart and funny with big plots and lots of subplots. And of course, I love happy endings.

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
Right now, I am completing the third book in the Kilts and Quilts series. I’m having a lot of fun with it. One of my critique partners is seriously in love with the hero in book three. I told her, if she doesn’t stop swooning over the hero, that I’m going to rat her out to her husband.

To escape your daily life, do you submerge yourself with books, television, people, or shopping? What is your cathartic routine?

Welcome to the charming Scottish seaside town of Gandiegow—where two people have returned home for different reasons, but to find the same thing.…

Caitriona Macleod gave up her career as an investigative reporter for the role of perfect wife. But after her husband is found dead in his mistress’s bed, a devastated Cait leaves Chicago for the birthplace she hasn’t seen since she was a child. She’s hoping to heal and to reconnect with her gran. The last thing she expects to find in Gandiegow is the Sexiest Man Alive! She just may have stumbled on the ticket to reigniting her career—if her heart doesn’t get in the way.

Graham Buchanan is a movie star with many secrets. A Gandiegow native, he frequently hides out in his hometown between films. He also has a son he’ll do anything to protect. But Cait Macleod is too damn appealing—even if she is a journalist.

Quilting with her gran and the other women of the village brings Cait a peace she hasn’t known in years. But if she turns in the story about Graham, Gandiegow will never forgive her for betraying one of its own. Should she suffer the consequences to resurrect her career? Or listen to her battered and bruised heart and give love another chance?

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N |

Check out the Kilts and Quilts series:

Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs: 

• 2 copy of To Scotland with Love

To Enter: 

• Please answer Patience's question: To escape your daily life, do you submerge yourself with books, television, people, or shopping? What is your cathartic routine?
• US shipping ONLY.
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 

Special thanks to Patience Griffin & Penguin for sponsoring this giveaway.

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