Spotlight on Patsy Collins, Up The Garden Path and Giveaway!

We invited author Patsy Collins to share with us. She also brought along a gift! Over to Patsy now...

 

Patsy's blog

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My dad is a farmer, my grandparents were all very keen gardeners, my
Uncle regularly wins prizes for the vegetables and flowers he grows 
and my brother is a landscape gardener and nurseryman. I was destined 
to either hate all forms of plant in rebellion or become a keen 
gardener myself. Clearly I'm not the rebellious type.

Gardening and writing seem entirely compatible interests. They're both 
creative and require time and patience to get right. A handful of 
seeds is similar to the initial idea for a story. Both need tending 
carefully if they're to reach their potential. Editing and pruning 
aren't so very different and getting a rejection slip is as bad as 
discovering slugs have eaten all your marigolds!

I find working on my allotment often leads to me thinking up story 
ideas (maybe it has something to do with there being nothing to write 
them down on!). You could say I spend time plotting on my plot. That's 
not the only benefit though as many of my stories are directly 
influenced by plants and gardens. It's not something I did 
intentionally at first but once I managed to sell a few with a garden 
setting it seemed sensible to write more. A lot more. I'm delighted 
that Alfie Dog Fiction have published a few (24) of them in a 
collection. So delighted I felt the need to run round in circles and 
tell everyone! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQO6loDMtS0

Up the Garden Path


Eleanor has a traditional garden her grandchildren will love; won't 
they? Mrs Dalrymple's country home seems the perfect refuge for Daryl 
and there's no reason Emma can't call the big house home, is there?

Homes and gardens aren't always peaceful havens though. Ted's 
tranquility is under threat from a BBQ for teenage twins, Penny the 
Jack Russell is called upon to protect her mistress from a terrifying 
intruder, avoiding Frances's annoying neighbour was almost the death 
of her and Rachel can't bring herself to step out the back door.

A walk in the countryside might be less traumatic, unless your beloved 
tree has been damaged as badly as your heart or Mrs Bishop is lurking 
to find fault with all you do. Even the simple act of arranging 
flowers causes problems if your boss is as mean as Brenda's.

Valerie managed to dig herself out of depression on her allotment but 
Sally was faced with the perils of half an hour in the potting shed 
with the attractive yet infuriating Jim.

Gardens, plants and people all have their story. Let me lead you up 
the garden path and tell you a few.

Buy links

 

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Alfie Dog