Author inspired to write while recovering from surgery

Abu Dhabi: When the time came to send the final email confirming all details for her first novel, Patricia Blais could not let go.

"I just sat and cried for ages. It is my baby and I wanted to keep it safe and sheltered from any disappointments that may come. But, like my children, I had to let go and trust that all will be well," she said.

The first of a trilogy set, The Young Oak Tree, which is available on Amazon, tells the story of Alice Johnson, a young woman who escapes a difficult marriage with her young daughter and while staying with relatives in a village in Scotland, decides to purchase a dilapidated hotel. But as renovations get under way, a body is discovered and that leads to the revelation of the village's dark secrets.

"The idea for the book began in 2000 when I was recovering from surgery…as it began to grow, I asked my husband, Luc, to purchase a dictaphone and began recording my thoughts," Patricia said.

"However, I really started working on it 18 months ago…the writing process actually began last Nov-ember and I finished it in March. I wanted to release it before the summer so people could enjoy it as an easy read," she added.

The 57-year-old Scottish expatriate also revealed that the book is being published under the pseudonym Katrin Blue.

"I chose this as Blue is my maiden name and it is dying out. There is only the son of my cousin who may be carrying it on at present, depending on the sex of his partner's due baby. ‘Katrin' is because my mother, for unknown reasons, called me Kat as a nickname and Katrin is a Scottish name," Patricia said.

As with many authors, elements of her life as well as the experiences of people she knows began creeping into the book. "They say life is stranger than fiction, and in this case, it was quite true," Patricia said.

Feedback

"In fact, when I would show the manuscripts to my daughters, in addition to insightful feedback, they would constantly say they could see traces of me in the story, whether it was things I usually say, or the way I would say them," she added.

While some writers lam-ent the difficulties they face when crafting their worlds, the retired French International Baccalaureate teacher had no such qualms.

"Oh, I never had any problems writing — in fact I had trouble stopping. Once, just before I was going to bed, an idea struck me and I decided to quickly type it up. Instead of a few minutes, I ended up writing until 4am," Patricia said.

After facing various difficulties in approaching traditional publishing houses, and seeing what happened to a fellow author, Blais decided to join the growing online publishing market.

She found a e-publishing company that she said pays her a relatively high royalty for each copy sold. Blais plans to have her book in print. She also plans to organising a launch party.