All The Stuff You Want to Know About Patty…and Stuff You Didn’t!

Who is Patty Blount?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So glad you asked. Here are some random Patty-trivia facts.

Patty spends her days writing facts and her nights writing contemporary romantic fiction. A coworker once said if Patty were a super-villain, she’d be called The Quibbler. Her costume would be covered in exclamation points. Fueled by a serious chocolate obsession, a love of bad science-fiction movies, and a weird attraction to exclamation points, Patty looks for ways to mix business with pleasure, mining her day job for ideas to use in her fiction.

Though she’s passionate about happily-ever-afters, her first story wasn’t a romance at all. Penalty Killer, a whodunit, was written on a dare from her oldest son. Though unpublished, it was the subject of so many seventh-grade book reports that year, the English teacher requested a copy and later returned it, covered in red ink.

Ripped from the headlines, Patty’s debut novel, Send, a YA story about a former cyber-bully learning to deal with the suicide he caused with a single thoughtless click, was conceived when her boss suggested she learn about social media. Send was released August, 2012 from Sourcebooks Fire.

Patty is a master multi-tasker, squeezing in reading time whenever she can  – in the gym, while waiting on long lines and even while cooking dinner.

Patty’s spent the last year trying valiantly to come up with an author branding statement and finding it easier to just write books. Some slogans rejected so far: Love keeps fighting, changing hearts and minds, love makes us strong. If you have a suggestion, email her! Update: Patty has chosen READ | ROAR! | REVEL as her slogan.

Patty is represented by Jennifer Wills of The Seymour Agency. You can contact her through their website. For adaptation rights to novels published prior to 2020, please contact Evan Gregory at The Ethan Ellenberg Agency.

Favorite Chocolate: Godiva! Hershey’s Kisses. Godiva!

Favorite TV Show: The X-Files, Supernatural, Outlander

Favorite Book Boyfriend: Roarke from the JD Robb series; Jamie Fraser from Outlander, and Levi Cooper from Kristan Higgins’ The Best Man.

Favorite Punctuation Mark:  !

Favorite Food:  See Favorite Chocolate, above

Favorite Book:  *gasps* Just one?

Favorite Writer: *gasps again* There are SO many, Patty can’t choose just one. Jeff Somers for his Avery Cates series. Nora Roberts for romance. Sherry Thomas for historical romances. Gayle Forman for her Where She Went sequel to If I Stay. Katie McGarry for her Pushing The Limits series.

Favorite Movie: Airplane! Patty has seen it a few dozen times now.

Favorite Bad Movie: Mega-Python vs. Gata-Roid. Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. No, really.

Favorite Crush: Gilles Marini makes Patty melt. And now that Outlander is a big hit, Gilles has a little competition from Sam Heughan… okay, maybe a LOT of competition. *fans face* Come on, Gilles! Show us what you look like in a kilt! Have you seen Patty’s blog post from when she got to meet Gilles in person? ?

Are you a student doing a report on Patty?

If you’re doing a report or presentation about Patty, here are some things you can use.

Patty lives on Long Island with her family. She’s been married to her childhood sweetie, who is an aircraft mechanic, since she was 19. She has two sons who are in their twenties. One is a motorsports reporter and the other is studying medicine. Patty and her youngest son often read books together, holding their own book club meetings. She’s over 50 but won’t tell you her exact age but will tell you she’s a Scorpio and almost all the zodiac characteristics are true for her.

Patty loves to read. When she’s not writing her own stories, chances are she’s reading somebody else’s. But asking her to pick a favorite book? Not happening! There are far too many to choose just one.

Patty is a car enthusiast. She learned to drive on a 1965 Chevy Impala that once belonged to her grandfather and a year later, learned to drive a stick shift on a Renault Fuego. “One day, I hope to buy a classic 1969 Pontiac GTO. It’s the original muscle car,” Patty admits.

Patty wants you to know she’s generally really easy going, but there are a few things that seriously make her mad. “I don’t understand people hating feminists! Feminists just want equal rights. Why is that so wrong?” she wonders. “People think feminists are man-hating radicals but most of us just want to enjoy the same rights and privileges as men. I think men can — and should — raise their voices to fight against injustice, instead of treating us like adversaries.”

Patty also has no love for bullying. “I cannot understand why people deliberately hurt someone’s feelings to make themselves feel better.” Patty’s oldest son was bullied when he was in sixth grade and it’s left lasting scars. Patty is also a vocal supporter of stronger, stricter laws that make it harder for unstable people to obtain weapons.

Patty always wanted to be a writer but couldn’t seem to actually finish a book. “It wasn’t until I was at work one day and suddenly realized I always get my projects completed on time. So why can’t I treat a book like a project?” Patty did just that and it worked. She was finally able to finish a book. She wrote one, then two and finally, it was her fifth or sixth try that got published — that book was SEND.

Patty works full time in addition to writing novels. She is currently employed as an instructional designer, creating sales training curricula for a Long Island-based technical company. She listens to audio books during her hour-long commute. Her favorite narrators are Nick Mondelli and the late Anna Fields.

Patty suffers from an auto-immune disease that often causes acute pain. Patty writes with dictation software during those times.

In the great Plot vs. Seat-of-your-Pants debate, Patty is a devoted plotter, and frequently has several boards going at once, looking for the project that ‘speaks’ loudest to write next. For her boards, Patty uses science fair project tri-panels, with each panel representing an Act. She covers each panel with sticky notes to represent key incidents in each character’s story trajectory.

Patty writes whenever she can make time, often getting up early to write before work. She belongs to several chapters of the Romance Writers of America including Long Island Romance Writers, Connecticut Romance Writers and YARWA, the young adult online chapter.

Patty frequently speaks at schools local to her, or via Skype for those not so close. She is a BOCES-listed presenter. She presents on a variety of subjects including bullying and internet safety, #MeToo topics related to her novels, the art and craft of writing, developing compelling teen characters, and nurturing your creative side while battling chronic pain. If you’d like more information about booking Patty for your school or event, email her at pattyblount3 at gmail dot com.

Are you an event coordinator looking for a keynote speaker? 

Patty has delivered several inspiring keynote addresses. Here’s one keynote address you can view to see Patty in action. Contact her directly at pattyblount3 at gmail dot com to discuss travel schedules, themes, and availability, etc.

Where Do You Go For Writing Help?

Another excellent question! Visit these excellent sites:

Some of my favorite YA authors:

Some of my favorite authors in other genres

  • Jeff Somers
  • Bill Cameron
  • Sean Ferrell
  • Kennedy Ryan
  • Jeannie Moon
  • Jennifer Gracen
  • Jolyse Barnett
  • Kristan Higgins
  • Sherri Thomas
  • Vicky Dreiling
  • Nora Roberts
  • Diane Mott Davidson
  • Nika Rhone
  • Pamela Burford
  • Meara Platt

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