Patti Callahan Henry gives off a great vibe...plus a book giveaway

Introduction and interview by Tracey Meyers

**Giveaway is now closed**

At the end of a workshop I attended in mid-February, we were asked to write down on an index card three words that described the energy that each person in our group gave off.

When I look at a picture of Patti Callahan Henry, I pick up a strong vibe from her.  If I had to pick three words to describe her just by looking at her picture, I'd pick - relaxed, laid back, confident. (Yes, I picked up all that from a picture!)

The daughter of an Irish minister, Patti grew up in Philadelphia and moved south when she was 12 years old.  Though she dreamed of becoming a novelist, she took a more "realistic" path and got her degree in nursing from Auburn University and a Master's degree in Child Health from Georgia State University.  After having her third child, she finally decided to put down on paper the stories that had been in her head. Fast forward to the present, and she's now celebrating the publication of her NINTH novel, And Then I Found You (reviewed here).

Today, we welcome Patti to Chick Lit Central where she tells us more about her experiences with writing and give us a greater insight to what makes her....her.

Thanks to Wunderkind PR, we have a copy of Patti's newest novel, And Then I Found You for a lucky reader located in the US!

You can visit Patti at her website, Facebook and Twitter. You can also purchase (for 99 cents) Friend Request, the short, non-fiction story that inspired And Then I Found You.


Name the top three life experiences that have had a great influence on your writing:
This is a great question as I’ve never once thought about it, and it seems important to know about myself! I think the first thing that happened is that I grew up in a house where books were everywhere: on shelves, at bedsides, on the floor and the coffee table. My dad is a preacher and he was an avid reader with a large library. I think I read The Screwtape Letters before I was into double-digit age. The second thing that happened is that when I was twelve years old, we moved from Pennsylvania to South Florida. Can you say culture shock? I disappeared into novels, books, libraries and letters. I joined the Latin Club and became enthralled with mythology and story. And the third significant thing that happened was that after I had three kids, my then five-year-old daughter told me she wanted to write a book. Her very wish reminded me of my own and I took off on a brand new journey I’d always meant to do.

Which of your novels would you most like to see turned into a movie?
It’s a tie between Losing the Moon (because I love Nick Lowry and want to see him come alive on screen) and this new book, And Then I Found You. This new novel was inspired by a true story and I think that it would translate beautifully to the screen!

What does writing do for you that no other art form or profession could do?
Writing is possibly the only thing I can do and not think about doing anything else. Writing is the one thing I do that takes me to the places I can’t go any other time. Mostly I don’t even know exactly what I think or believe until I write it down.

At what point did you realize that you could turn writing into a full-time career?
When I acquired my agent, Kim Whalen, I knew that writing would be a career. I didn’t of course know the ups and downs, the ins and outs, the wonder and agony, but I did know that it was a career.

Dancing With The Stars calls to see if you'd like to be on their upcoming season, do you participate or not?
I want to say “yes” because I want to say “yes” to every adventure in life, but I’d hesitate for sure. I’m a terrible dancer, an uncoordinated bookworm and I have stage fright. I’m agonizingly self-conscious and I think it would be torture for me. And yet – I’d say “yes” for the adventure of it all.

Do you believe in miracles? If so, tell us about the greatest miracle you've experienced in your life.
I completely believe in miracles, the unseen and the synchronicities in life that make it magical. If I chose a miracle, it would be the morning that my then ten-month-old son was standing behind the tire of a minivan driven by a woman picking up my daughter for carpool. She ran over him and the tire miraculously ran over the exact right area of his hip so as not to crush his stomach or his legs, but his flexible hips. It was the scariest moment of my life. The ER didn’t believe he’d been “run over” until they saw the tire marks.

What words would others use to describe you?
This is incredibly difficult to answer. I want to choose all the lovely things one would say about another and yet how would I know? I just turned and asked my fourteen-year-old son and he rolled his eyes without an answer. So I texted my twenty year old daughter and asked her. She said “Electric” and “Wordy”, which I love, although I’m not sure exactly what she means. She then added “funny and all things good”, which I’ll take. But friends would probably say energetic or fun. I’d like to think I’m thoughtful and kind, but you’d have to ask them!

What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear would involve something terrible happening to my children, something that couldn’t be undone. I try very hard not to think about it….

A huge thanks for Patti for such a fantastic interview and to Wunderkind PR for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win And Then I Found You:
Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your Facebook page or blog if  you can receive messages there.) 

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: Do you believe in miracles, and why?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Follow us on Twitter and/or Pinterest.
6. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

US only. Giveaway ends April 15th at midnight EST.