note from PCH in reference to #SIBA10:  I know you will get a million wonderful notes, BUT I want to make sure I tell you what a fabulous weekend this was!   I am grateful you include me and I”m honored to be part of the weekend.
My Gratitude.   Patti Callahan Henry

Patti Callahan Henry, Driftwood Summer, SIBA Fiction Nominee is a NYT bestselling novelist of seven novels who doesn’t twitter because she can’t say anything in less than three hundred pages. She’s going to try though. Her latest book is a Fall Okra Pick.

Favorite book as a child?
The Narnia Chronicles with Nancy Drew coming in fast behind, and only because I was desperately in love with Ned Nickerson. Even his name is adorable.

What are you reading right now?
My children’s teacher updates and my Senior daughter’s college applications. Oh, you mean books? Emily Giffin’s Heart of the Matter

Share a favorite segment from your book:
Opening line to Driftwood Summer: Bookstore owner Riley Sheffield believed that even the most ordinary life was like a good novel, a tale to be told.

Why that title?
I titled this novel Driftwood Summer because the publishing house made me. Okay, not true. Well, sort of true, but no wholly true. I titled this book after the independent bookstore in the story called Driftwood Cottage.

Why independent bookstores matter?
Indies matter in the same way individuals matter: because if we take out the independent and individualistic soul of our writing and our book selling, we take out the heart. And how awful would that be? Very!

Favorite part of writing a book?
Asking “What if” and then letting it unfold into a story that will take me in wild directions. I get whiplash and wish I were an outliner. and then I discover magic and I’m in love with storytelling all over again.

Least favorite part of writing a book?
Editing; For me, editing is similar to taking a sharp object and poking it into my eyes while trying to read and concentrate jumping on one foot drunk.

Are you working on anything new?
Just finished a holiday novella, coming out October 12th. There’s nothing like writing during the month of July about garland, snow and angels . Sort of like wearing a parka to the pool; it feels wrong.

Do you have any superstitions, lucky charms, or rituals around your writing?
Music. Always music in the background.

Comment on the writing life…
The writing life is a charmed life full of magic and mystery I wouldn’t trade for any other life.

Hardest part of the creation to publication experience?
Marketing. I am not a natural business person; I live in the world of imagination and I like that world.

Why do you write?
Because I’m a ‘wonderer’, always and forever looking around asking, “I wonder what will happen next?” And because I was always a bit of a bookworm nerd.

When do you write?
Whenever I can. Mostly in the mornings when the three teenagers are asleep or at school.

When did you know you were a writer?
I knew when I was too young to remember my age, but I forgot what I knew and then came back to the innate write as a mother of three children.

What, or Who, will you dish on, as in gossip about?
Anything compatriots want to dish on. Well, almost anything.

What would make you a scintillating dinner guest?
I laugh at everyone’s jokes.

Who is your favorite new author?
Susan Rebecca White.

What is your drink of choice?
Depends on my mood. Chardonnay or Margarita — both on opposite sides of the mood spectrum.

What is your favorite food?
Spicy food. Something with a bit of fun in it.