Patricia Raybon Virtual Book Tour

Tell us about yourself.

I write memoirs. I also write inspirational non-fiction on faith and spirituality. I grew up in the church in a small black neighborhood in Denver. Much of my writing is influenced by this background. Thus, my first book, My First White Friend, an award-winning memoir, is about race and forgiveness. My second book, I Told the Mountain to Move, a prayer memoir, follows my journey as a lifelong Christian to finally learn to pray. I loved writing both books and both were well-received—and life-changing to write.

What type of jobs or careers have you worked in the past?

I’m a trained journalist. So before writing books, I worked as a newspaper reporter and editor in Colorado, where I grew up. For a dozen years, I worked in Denver where I was Sunday magazine editor at The Denver Post. Before that, I was a features writer. I specialized in writing human-interest articles, working for The Denver Post and later for the Scripps Howard newspaper in Denver, the Rocky Mountain News.

From there, after a year’s break, I left newspapers to teach journalism at the University of Colorado at Boulder for 15 years. I taught magazine journalism to undergrads and graduate students. Then I left teaching to write full time.

However, in a big way I’m also a family person. I’ve been married to my husband Dan for 35 amazing years. We have two beautiful grown daughters, one great son-in-law and four awesome grandkids. Family and faith infuse my writing, in fact. Or as I say: My faith is my life. My family is, too. My writing reflects both aspects in a significant way.

Who are your favorite authors?

I love the classics. For memoir writing, for example, I love James Baldwin, Wallace Stegner, Tobias Wolff, Frederick Douglass—just to name a few. For fiction, I’m still learning from Charles Dickens, Eudora Welty, Toni Morrison and others.

Among faith writers, my favorites are Philip Yancey, Richard Foster, Eugene Peterson, Ann Spangler and so many others.

What are your favorite books?

The Bible tops the list. If I were ever lost on a deserted island, the Bible would be my first and last choice in reading. However, my favorite book of fiction, hands down, is Alan Payton’s extraordinary South African novel, Cry, the Beloved Country. It’s a pretty much perfect story, perfect novel, perfect drama and perfect morality play. The amazing thing is that Payton wrote it in only a few months. I love that part of the story because when writers have something truly important to say, nothing will stop them. That was true with this book and it remains my all-time favorite.

When did you begin to realize you wanted to write?

I’ve been writing stories since I learned to read as a first grader. Then in third grade, my classroom teacher—Mrs. Laura Smith at Columbine Elementary School in Denver—asked me if I wanted to “be a writer.” I piped up: Yes! So she looked at me and said, “well, you are.” What a beautiful dream to give to a child who loves to write. In fact, when my first book came out, I invited Mrs. Smith to be my special guest at my first book signing at The Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver. I introduced her to the crowd and people stood and gave her a standing ovation. She has since passed away. But what a privilege to honor her that way. Her belief in me as a writer started me on my journey. Then my parents took it from there, always supporting my writing dreams. They never doubted I would be a writer. What a wonderful gift for Black parents to give a Black child growing up in the Fifties. I will be forever grateful to these beloved people for believing in me.

Tell us about your journey to publication.

I was published as a newspaper reporter for years. However, when I started teaching at the University of Colorado, I was required, for tenure, to be published in national venues. So I started writing personal essays about my life as an African American, a wife, a mother, a Christian and so on. Almost every time I submitted an essay—to USA Today, USA Weekend, National Public Radio, then to The New York Times Sunday Magazine–the essay would sell and get published.

Then, after publishing a couple of pieces in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, agents started contacting me, asking if I’d written a book and could they represent me. I hadn’t written a book. But after about the 30^th or so agent contacted me, my husband gave me a pep talk, saying, “Maybe it’s time you wrote that book.” So that’s what I did. I wrote my racial forgiveness memoir, My First White Friend. However, I had an agent before I even had a book idea. Highly unusual. It doesn’t happen like that anymore.

But there’s more to the story. Because my new agent was friends with an editor at Penguin Putnam, a major publishing house, and they offered me a book contract. But my agent turned it down, asking for more money, and Penguin agreed. Again, highly unusual. So I’m grateful for this unique aspect of my journey to publication.

Many writers struggle for years to find representation. But, for some reason, I was blessed to land an agent, a publishing house and a contract for my first book—which is still in print. I learned a lot in that experience. The main thing it taught me is to believe in yourself, especially as a writer. I didn’t know a soul in New York, but I submitted my essays to the New York Times and the magazine editor bought them. I also learned to always present my best work. I’ve had success selling my articles and books, I believe, because I aim for excellence. Editors appreciate that. Readers do, too. So that’s what I try to offer. Quality work.

I also try to watch what God is doing—and let God lead. When I get ahead of God, whether in my book life or my family life, I get off track. The Bible says God sees the beginning from the end, so I try to follow where God is going. When it comes to book writing, His path for me is always best.

Are you a full-time writer? If so, describe your day.

I write full-time when I’m working on a book. That means, my mornings start with devotions and reflection and prayer—trying to listen to God. Then I sit down and get to work. I write weekdays, breaking for lunch, then finishing about 5. I have a family. So I can’t stay buried forever in my office. I want to cook dinner with my husband, talk on the phone to my daughters, grandchildren, friends and church buddies.

That ebb and flow of life finds its way back into my writing. So I like what the author Anne Lamott says—that writing is about paying attention. So when things happen in your life, if you’re a writer, take mental notes. God may be trying to say: Put that in your book!