I am pleased to bring to you the input from a recent interview with the lovely Patrice Locke, author of several wonderful works of women’s fiction.

Is writing your first profession?

Yes it is.  I have a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University.  I worked as a reporter and editor for newspapers and radio stations for several years.  Then I taught English from mid-school to college level.  I’m now writing full-time–fiction, which allows for the happy endings journalism sometimes doesn’t.

What are the favorite bodies of your work and why?

I have published three books.  The one I’m working on is always my favorite.  I think it has to be, though, I loved each project as it worked itself out.  I’m not a planner when it comes to writing, so the process can be slow for me.  I do lots and lots of rewrites and revisions, because the story takes shape for me as I go along.  I always start with a big idea, but the roads to form that idea into a story have many forks and construction zones during the process.  It’s challenging, but one of my favorite things about writing.

From where do you derive writing inspiration?

My ideas just occur to me.  The pivotal scene in EXIT SIGNS came to me in the Denver Airport where I was waiting for a flight.  I imagined what would happen if two former lovers ran into each other and revealed some secrets that changed everything.  For FRESH START,  the initial idea was to write a character completely unlike myself–she’s so confident that any sort of defeat isn’t even in her vocabulary.  Until she blows it all and has to change everything about herself.  HAPPIEST MARRIAGE happened when I couldn’t stop thinking about the EXIT SIGNS characters and wondered what they were up to three years later.

Tell us a little about your newest work.

My newest book is called THE HAPPIEST MARRIAGE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.  It was released May 1st by Soul Mate Publishing.  It’s a story about a woman who seems to “have it all,” but can’t stop worrying that she could lose it all at any minute.  Despite that dire sounding predicament, it’s mostly a comedy.