Spotlight shines on Patti Lacy

Let me introduce today's spotlighted author Patti Lacy.
She is a very interesting lady and has already proven herself to be a great writer. Her first novel An Irish Woman's Tale is one that stayed with me well after I had finished the book.

Patti, tell us a little about yourself.

In 1955, I was born in the back seat of a Buick parked in the middle of a street in Waco, Texas, and have somehow ended up in Normal, Illinois! After college and marriage, I followed a family passion to call “the little red schoolhouse” my office. Then things got crazy when I put away my roll book, picked up a court reporter’s steno machine, and juggled a new job with motherhood. After my babies flew from the nest, The Spirit urged me to write a story I heard in 1995, when our family moved to Indiana. Since 2005, I’ve been writing novels about the secrets women keep and why they keep them

I have been to Waco, Texas but not to Normal, Illinois. What a crazy adventure!

Please tell us a little about Bayou Saw.
Sally Stevens, the chatty Southerner who unearths Mary’s past in An Irishwoman’s Tale, has her own burial ground for secrets: the slimy mud of a Louisiana bayou. When memories of segregation, a blood oath, and a chain link fence bubble to the surface, Sally must face the truth—or risk destroying her family and herself. Kregel Publications will release What the Bayou Saw on April 30, 2009.

Where can readers find you on the Web?
http://www.pattilacy.com/

What is the craziest thing you have ever done?

That’s the beautiful thing about living under the Spirit’s power! Every day becomes a patchwork quilt of adventures! Last summer, me and Sue, a good friend, darted across the street and zigzagged through spray spurting from golf course sprinklers just to enjoy the gift of water. Last week a woman who sat near me and a friend at a local coffeehouse overheard our God Talk and started asking questions. Today that virtual stranger and I are having coffee at 9:00. I call that God Crazy and think Him for it constantly.

What is your favorite children’s book?
That’s like asking Imelda Marcos to choose her favorite pair of shoes! I’ll say Beautiful Joe since I used this heartrending story narrated by a dog in my latest work in progress. I also devoured The Illustrated Children’s Bible, Nancy Drew mysteries, Pippi Longstocking, Black Beauty…Stop, Patti. Stop!!!

What book are you reading now? What books are found lying around your home?
Ooh, dear Donna, you’re talking to a girl who grew up with books in the bathroom cabinets instead of toilet paper and towels. Books constantly attempt to seize every room of our Normal home. They creep onto tables, under beds, into closets. I’ve even found one or two in my bathroom!

I’m itching to read The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner, The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb, and The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean. Oh, those crisp new pages are calling, but first I must finish a poignant manuscript by my friend Melanie Dobson that I can hardly put down to do my own work. Look for it soon in stores everywhere, including WalMart!

It sounds like you have been peeking in my bathroom cabinets. My wonderful husband just gave up a wall in the garage to build me book shelves to store all that have outgrown the other shelves.

What are you working on next?
The ink is still damp on My Name is Sheba, my latest work in progress. Whoopee! It feels so good to write that last word, doesn’t it?

Since last summer, when Xiu Wang became a soul sister and I roomed with Millie Samuelson at ACFW in Minnesota, my mind has been held captive by riveting tales of China. Here’s my current hook: Xiu Lu, a Harvard-educated physician, seeks U.S. citizenship not for the usual reasons of freedom and opportunity, but to reconnect with the daughter she threw to the river gods from the banks of the Yangtze.

Yes, my passport is updated! China, here I come!

Let’s pretend money is not a factor, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Um, China! The travel bug has bitten as has the bookworm (do worms bite?!) If God allows, my husband and I would like to sail the Greek islands and the canals of Venice, hike the Canadian Rockies, and revisit some unforgettable places like the Washington State Islands, Vancouver, and Switzerland, home of my brother Bucky.

I think I need to write a book with a setting in some wonderful place so I can travel too.

What do you find most challenging about writing?
The money side of the business. Just give me a room of my own, a library card, a hooked-up computer and a nearby coffee shop, the whisperings of the Spirit, and I can soar on wings like eagles. (Okay, the coffee shop is probably not a must.) Sigh…those things cost $$. Back to the problem…

I can see that as a real issue but are you sure the coffee shop isn't a must?

What is your favorite verse from the Bible? Why?
Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Oh, dear sisters, I struggled so with the concept of God allowing bad things to happen. When I saw God using negative circumstances in my life and in the lives of my friends, the hierarchy of God’s sovereignty clicked into place in my muddled brain. As I write my stories, this verse resonates with the troubled characters who must turn “all things” to God. Including that lying habit. Including that rape. Including that abandonment.

This is a wonderful verse. At times it is hard to accept that all things work for the good.

I always am trying to learn new ways to be organized in the office, what is your favorite organizational tool?
Ooh, sounds like I have a new scatterbrained friend! Every New Year’s I buy a leather-bound Day Planner and carry it everywhere, along with my tattered Bible (okay, sometimes I use a sleek portable version.) Then I keep my schedule posted on my website and do my best to update. Otherwise my office is a whirlwind of CDs, letters, names and story snippets scribbled on unused deposit slips, business cards, half-empty cups of coffee, piles of books, candles…If I could get my camera to work, I’d attach a visual.

Oh, I can be your new scatterbrained friend! I carry the Day Planner too but I must confess it doesn't help if you misplace it. I do think you have been peeking and rummaging through my house. You just described my office perfectly.

What would you like readers to say about your writing?
That crazy woman sure can tell a story about broken women who God puts back together.

I loved your first novel and look forward to reading this one as soon as I get my hands on it.

Donna, you are a lovely hostess! Thanks for this wonderful opportunity!
Blessings to all,
Patti

If you would like to win a copy of this novel be sure to leave a comment with a way to contact you and answer the Daily Question. Without that...well... you are out of the drawing and that would simply be sad. Deadline to enter is April 13th.

DAILY QUESTION: Since Patti's novel is about secrets and family I thought I would challenge us a bit. If you had a secret that could harm a family member but would help a friend what would you do? I will chime in later with my answer.

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