Author Patricia Rockwell.......by Joyce oroz

Patricia Rockwell is our wonderful guest writer today. She is the owner of Cozy Cat Press, a small publishing company specializing in and limited to Cozy mysteries. (Mysteries in the old tradition--nice clean murder, not too bloody and sex and bad language are out.) She has corralled 27 writers into her cozy coral, including me. We are a happy bunch, since Patricia knows how to get our books into the market place quickly and lookin' good!          

Patricia is a fabulous and proficient writer. I recently ask her a few questions about her life's story, and now I will share her answers with you.                                      

Was there someone, something or an event in your life that set you on the road to being an author?

Patricia, "No one particular event. I've always loved reading--and mostly murder mysteries. Agatha Christie was always a favorite. I liked the convoluted but gentle plots (which I now know are cozies). I often thought that once I retired I might try my hand at writing a cozy and when I did, I discovered that I loved it!"

What do you like about writing and what bugs you about it?

2. I love the creative part about writing. I'm a very organized person so I like to prepare my outline in advance and then just let it flow once I actually start writing. There's not much that bugs me. Maybe with as many books as I have in each of my two series, one problem is keeping track of all of my characters. For instance, if I have one of my minor characters die in book #3, then he can't pop up again in book #4.

How long have you been writing books and what other writing do you do?

 I've been writing cozy mysteries since I retired--about three years ago. My first book SOUNDS OF MURDER was published in 2010. However, before that, in my career as a Communication professor and researcher, I wrote a LOT--mostly research papers that were published in academic journals and a few scholarly books.

Please tell us about your protagonist. Is she--he a lot like you? What are his--her assets and weaknesses?

I have two series, so I have two protagonists. Pamela Barnes is my amateur sleuth in my acoustic mystery series. She is a Psychology professor at a small southern university (she is actually me) and solves murders using sound clues which was my own research area. My other protagonist is Essie Cobb in my senior sleuth mystery series. She is a ninety-year-old resident of the Happy Haven Assisted Living Facility and she and her fellow residents solve mysteries there. She is based on my own mother who was quite a gal.

What do you like to do when you are not writing? 

 When not writing, I love to travel--especially by car, train, and ship. I hate planes and will not fly. I like to read (obviously) and exercise (especially walking). However, running my company Cozy Cat Press takes up most of my time.

Patricia, where can we find your books?

 All of the books in both of my series are available at Amazon in both print and ebook and at Smashwords, CreateSpace, and Barnes and Noble. My blog is www.PatriciaRockwellAuthor.com and my FB page is: www.facebook.com/PatriciaRockwellAuthor and I also have an author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003MR9BMG

Thank you Patricia--happy writing!