Patricia Simmons Virtual Book Tour

Tell us about yourself.

I’m a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth. I’m passionate about researching my ancestors, then casting them in starring roles in my novels.

I’m a Christian author who believes in writing inspiration from cover-to-cover in stories filled with romance, comedy, and drama. I describe my salvation walk an amazing, powerful, unforgettable, and life-alternating experience after the water and fire baptismal.

Pat has a B.S. in mass communications from Emerson College in Boston, MA.  I am blessed to be the recipients of several awards, nominated, and mentions.

I have been married for almost twenty-nine years and we have a son and daughter. I have converted my sofa-strapped, sports-fanatical husband into an amateur travel agent, untrained bodyguard, and GPS-guided chauffeur.

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

In my chosen field after graduating college, I’ve been a television news writer/assignment editor; radio talk host and board engineer; newspaper feature reporter.  Outside of that, I paid medical claims for ten years, worked in a psychiatry department, and I was an area manager for a home party plan. I did that for ten years when my children were small. Currently, I’m a publicist for a yearly national book convention and work temp assignments from time to time.

Who are your favorite authors?

Hmmm. That’s hard to narrow down. I like a good story and that might entail trying new authors. I have fellow authors who I turn to for advice about anything from editing to marketing. Some of them do not write in my genre, but they would be my favorite authors that would be there for me. As for reading, Henry Louis Gates would probably be my favorite when it comes to the genealogy genre. Since I’m romance frantic and I want to keep my mind clean, I enjoy Christian romance by Vanessa Miller, Kendra Norman-Bellamy and others.

What are your favorite books?

Christian romance and genealogy-related fiction or non-fiction books.

When did you begin to realize you wanted to write?

It was during that time I lost a dear father-figure. I was very close with Pops’ daughter. After the funeral, instead of going to the grave site, I headed back to the house with some of the relatives to help prepare the food for the repast. While we waited, I began to weave a story to a few of the guests. Before long, I had a captive audience. When I finished telling the story, and some learned that I was making it up, they encouraged me write a book. My thoughts were yeah right. During that time, I was working as a radio host. I had interviewed famous and local people, and authors—many of them were self-published. At the time, I didn’t know the difference at the time.

Tell us about your journey to publication.

In one sentence, it was a generic case of receiving rejection letters from agent and publishers.

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

I always have a classic answer when people ask me if I write full time. When an author has a contract and a novel is due, an author will put in overtime to get it done. I have a fellow author, Lisa Watson, who jokes that I am the only person who stays at home and can’t get any writing done, and it’s not because I don’t try. People are constantly interrupting me. I used an excel timesheet to clock in and out when I write. That way I can go back and see if I put in eight hours like a full-time job. After I got laid off from my television job, I work a few temp assignments off and on, but basically I write and participate in vendor days at companies to sell my books to generate additional income. Writers don’t get paid every week or month. We get paid twice a year, unless we turn in a new book and receive advancement.

To be more productive, I try to begin my writing day by 10 am when I’m fully alert. The first thing in the morning, I read my Bible for up to an hour or three chapters and I make notes. It is usually during this time that God reveals plots for my stories as well as possible dialogues where I can inject Christian responses. When I write, I try to stay off the internet , except to check words on dictionary.com or biblegateway.com. Otherwise, I limit checking my emails for an hour or two at a time.

About the Book

The Jamieson Family Legacy series follow the lives of two Jamieson brothers in Boston, Kidd and Ace, and their cousin, Cameron, from St. Louis. The older brother, Kidd, is struggling with anger and resentment issues toward his absentee father who never married his mother. Yet, he had the audacity to demand his illegitimate sons carry his Jamieson name. Ace, on the other hand, is on his collision course to be a chip off the old block when it comes to women. Their highly MIT educated cousin, Cameron Jamieson, is all about saving family from self-destruction. Through genealogy research, Cameron’s mission is to show his cousins their worth as the eleventh generation descendants of a royal African tribe and to give them a choice: live with the stereotypical “angry black men” syndrome or to crush any obstacles that try and stop them to become strong successful black men.

There are three books in the Jamieson Legacy series: Guilty by Association (Kidd’s story), The Guilt Trip (Ace’s story), and Free from Guilt (Cameron’s story). Each of the three Jamieson men have to accept that their past and present are in God’s hand, and without Him they can’t advance to their future blessings. The bonus storyline in Guilty by Association is one that progresses the story of the much-loved character in the previous three book Guilty Series, Grandma BB. This time, she picks up a sidekick Mrs. Valentine.

Guilty by Association is the story of Boston bad boy Kevin “Kidd” Jamieson.  His gripe is with his father who dared to insist that his two illegitimate sons carry his last name.  To add insult to injury, the man never bothered to stick around to provide love and guidance as his boys matured into men.  Kidd’s anger overflows into every area of his life. As his animosity festers, Kidd becomes as a roaring lion, seeking whatever and whomever he can devour.  He’s as gritty as his cousin in St. Louis, Parke Jamieson VI, is polished. The two strong-willed men clash when Kidd relocates to St. Louis where his cousin assures him it’s a land of milk and money in job opportunities. Where is lands a job is far from it.

Through a series of events that involve Grandma BB, her dog named Silent Killer and her Stacy Adams shoes, Kidd meets two women who recognize his hostile tendencies and immediately begin to administer CPR to his soul. LPN Eva Savoy eventually becomes his “Eve,” a woman God created from the underlying goodness hidden in Kidd’s own heart.

Reluctantly, Kidd allows Parke to divulge information about their royal family heritage. While everyone’s care and compassion begins to smother Kidd, he struggles to keep up the bad boy attitude as his walls start to crumble. Kidd learns it’s not his association with the name that identifies him, but the man he becomes that defines him.

About the Author

Pat Simmons is a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth. She is passionate about digging up the dirt on her ancestors, then casting them in starring roles in her novels. She has been a genealogy enthusiast since her great-grandmother died at the young age of ninety-seven years old. Pat has won numerous awards for her novels which include: Talk to Me, Grace and Humility and Still Guilty, which was voted the Best Inspirational Romance for 2010. Pat is best known for her Guilty series: Guilty of Love, Not Guilty of Love, and Still Guilty. She is continuing the series through the Jamieson Family Legacy trilogy: Guilty by Association, The Guilt Trip, Free From Guilt. Pat has recently been nominated for the best Christian fiction award by the African American Literary Awards for her latest release, Crowning Glory.  Pat and her husband live in Missouri and have two children. Visit Patricia at:

www.patsimmons.net

twitter.com@patsimmons

facebook.com/patsimmonsauthor

View the blog tour schedule at :

http://www.tywebbin.com/blog-tours/authors-on-tour/2012-tours/