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Urban Reviews: Tell us about
Guilty of Love.
Pat Simmons:
Guilty of Love is a
love story filled with inspiration, genealogy, and a sassy
grandma. The message I’ve tried to convey is for us to run
to God for help and deliverance. Guilty of Love has
characters that don’t know God, those who don’t want to know
God, one who plays with God big time, and another who prays
and believes in the power of God. Everyone has their reason
for their relationship, or lack of a relationship with Him,
and the road to their transformation is definitely NOT
straight.
Urban
Reviews: How did you come up with the storyline for
this book?
Pat Simmons:
God chose me to write about the subject. I definitely didn’t
choose the topic. I had my heart set on another story, but
because I didn’t want to miss any future blessings from God,
I accepted my call and obeyed. Since I was already
researching my family's genealogy, I felt it was important
to build my characters around what I had uncovered so not to
lose that history.
Urban
Reviews: How much of the novel is realistic? Are
experiences based on someone you know, or events in your
life?
Pat Simmons:
The prologue is realistic because I think pregnancy is a
real issue among couples in college relationships. So in
that sense it is realistic.
Cheney's life is realistic
based on the many women who go through life alone because of
self-incrimination. They try unsuccessfully to fill their
lives with distractions that in the end are meaningless.
Grandma BB--I love her. She
is pure fantasy. Her carefree lifestyle is something I wish
for when I’m her age.
Malcolm and Hallison are the
ideal couple that every woman craves. Who wouldn’t want a
man who loves his woman at all costs? When I think about
Malcolm, I have to fan myself.
Urban
Reviews: How did you go about getting your book deal?
Pat Simmons:
Simple formula: submit/reject, submit/reject, submit/reject.
When I opened my email one day prepared to read another
rejection letter, I was SHOCKED! I couldn’t believe someone
actually liked it. Then a week before Guilty of Love
was released, I received another rejection on Guilty of
Love from a publisher that had my manuscript for more
than a year. It just goes to prove that persistence can
change the formula to submit/acceptance. I would encourage
anyone who wants that big break to look to small press and
new imprints. You never know.
Urban
Reviews: Did you set out to do Christian Fiction, or
did it come naturally? Do you think you would ever try out
other genres in the future?
Pat Simmons:
I might tab into mystery, but I really like the comedy I
weave into my storyline.
I wanted to write nothing but
Christian Fiction because I got tired of the sex on page
one, sex on page ten, sex on page 12, etc. Where's the
relationship? Where's the love? To me, many of the stories
were falling short. My motto was not to write anything to
make God ashamed for the sake of a good read.
Urban Reviews: What
does your family and friends think about your new venture
into writing? Were any of them skeptical of your success?
Pat Simmons:
One steadfast supporter was my dear sistah/girlfriend who
reminded me constantly, “What did God say, Pat? He told you
to write it so He will bless it.” Sometimes, I forgot that
the project wasn’t about me, but about what God wanted me to
do. That proof came in the form of an email from a reader
who poured out her soul to me saying she felt that Guilty
of Love was written just for her. After reading it, I
said to myself, “Okay, God, that’s the one You wanted me to
reach.” My other friends and family had an “I’ll believe it
when I see it” attitude.
Urban
Reviews: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Pat Simmons:
Buy good reference books—take an hour to read through a few
chapters to see if they will really help you. Personally, I
like “Writing the Breakout Workout,” not the book, but the
workbook, and “Writing Romance for Dummies.” Even if the
writer doesn’t write romance, it has valuable information
about the industry and what is expected of the author.
Next, get a highly qualified,
not necessarily costly editor. I could refer the one I’ve
used. She has also edited other bestselling authors. She
holds author’s hands. Don’t start changing your manuscript
for an editor unless a contract offer is on the table. I did
it for one editor and she still didn’t buy it.
Urban
Reviews: What books or authors have most influenced
your life?
Pat Simmons:
There are several, but I like the authors who have strong
characters. That makes me to bring my paper people to life.
Urban
Reviews: Do you have anything you are currently
working on?
Pat Simmons:
Yes, Talk to Me is due out November 2008. After that,
I already have the rough draft of two books of a three part
series finished: Delirious and Don’t Stop Praying.
Readers are asking for a sequel to Guilty of Love so
I’ve began an outline. I also have an outline for In the
Blink of an Eye that is strongly calling to me.
Urban
Reviews: What do you want the world to know most about
you?
Pat Simmons:
I have a great sense of humor, and writing to me is a
ministry, but not a sermon. The Bible says, “There’s a time
to laugh, there’s a time to cry.” So why not have both?
Laugh until you cry. |
