Sit Down with Jessica R. Patch

by Patricia Bradley

Today we're going to sit down with Jessica Patch and talk about writing. I met Jessica in 2013 when we rode together to Cincinnati to an American Christian Fiction Writers Conference. For some odd reason, I called her Robin...I guess like Batman and Robin? And I've called her that ever since. Here's a short bio:

Jessica R. Patch is a New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than thirty novels. Known for her pulse-pounding plots, emotionally charged characters, and signature twists, Jessica’s stories explore themes of justice, resilience, and the unshakable power of hope.

Whether weaving inspirational stories of danger edged with romance or crafting chilling thrillers that probe the shadows of the human heart, Jessica delivers fiction that thrills while shining light in the darkest places.

She makes her home in Northwest Mississippi, where she enjoys life with her family, a good cup of tea, and dreaming up her next edge-of-your-seat story usually over tacos and queso.

Leave a comment with your email address, and Jessica will randomly pick a winner to receive a copy of The Other Sister!

Patricia: When did you start writing?

Jessica: I started writing for publication in 2008.

Patricia Bradley: Oh, wow! That's when I returned to writing after working in the abstinence program in our state for 8 years! Okay, why romantic suspense novels? 

Jessica: I’ve always loved suspense and mystery and romance, so it made sense.

Patricia: Same here! What’s the hardest part of writing romantic suspense? 

Jessica: The words. LOL 

Patricia: Oh, my goodness, yes! So how long does it generally take you to write a novel? 

Jessica: I’ve written an LIS in 8 days but I don’t recommend it. Usually I like to write one in 30 days and revise in 10. For a trade? I write the first draft in 3 months and take a month or so to revise.

Patricia: I may want to put you in a book and...it takes me months to write a book! Are you a panster or plotter or somewhere in between? 

Jessica: I’m an outliner and a meticulous brainstormer. I know I need ABC but how I get from A to B to C, I’m not sure. I do know my cast and their GMC and the twists and villain.

Patricia: Oh, how I wish I could do that! I do have to know my cast and their goals, motivation and conflict, but I don't always know who the villain is... What would you fear the most if Homeland Security went through your computer? 

Jessica: Fear? Nothing. But I’d squirm. ;-)

Patricia: Yeah, me, too. What is the most rewarding or frustrating thing about writing? 

Jessica: Rewarding: Reader letters when the story has moved them in some way. Frustrating? Having to do it on days I don’t want to. LOL

Patricia: Absolutely about reader letters! And I've been there, have the headaches to prove it about writing when I don't want to! What are you working on now? 

Jessica: I’m working on revising my 2027 thriller: Long After We Left Her. 

Patricia: I can't wait! Tell us about your current book. It is amazing!

Jessica: The Girl Upstairs is a story about a former homicide detective who’s going through a rough patch in her marriage as they move into an idyllic small town in Maine, right into a fixer-upper. But the moment Gwen arrives, weird things happen and a bone is found by a hunter’s dog on her property. So naturally, she investigates to uncover a house with a dark history and secrets buried in her backyard.

Patricia: The Girl Upstairs completely captured me! Talk about twists that I didn't see coming! You can read my Suspense Sisters review of it here. Anything you want to add?

Jessica: I’d love for you to join me through my monthly newsletter and get Patched In. You’ll receive a free short thriller. https://jessicarpatch.com/subscribe/ And come hang out at my unhinged corner of the world: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jessicarpatch/

Here's the back cover copy of The Girl Upstairs. You can purchase it here.

“Jessica R. Patch weaves a dark, twisty tapestry that’s both unsettling and unexpectedly hopeful. Masterful.” –New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan

She bought this house to save her marriage. Unearthing its secrets might just claim her life.

Gwen McDaniel’s life is broken. But she knows the perfect place to fix it. Cold Harbor, Maine is where she used to vacation with her parents as a child, an idyllic small town with views of Acadia National Park. Here, she and Steven can start over, renovating their cliff-side fixer-upper while patching up their marriage. Soon, everything will be better.

Except from the moment they arrive, Gwen sees and hears things, and it’s more than just the drafts and shadows that are part of any old house. Steven downplays her fears, warning her not to fixate on problems as she has in the past. But Gwen spent years as a homicide detective, and her instincts don’t lie. Something happened here. Proof comes when she rips up the attic’s old carpet to discover a chilling message carved into the wood.

As Gwen delves into the history of the house and Cold Harbor community, she begins to piece the fragments together. And gradually, a terrifying picture emerges: A missing girl. A house of horrors. And a dark, decades-old nightmare that is more haunting than Gwen ever imagined…

Here's a little more about Jessica:

You’re invited to join the Patched In community at her website: www.jessicarpatch.com and receive a FREE short thriller, Nobody Has to Know.

Jessica is represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary Management.

BUY LINK: Purchase from your favorite retailer https://jessicarpatch.com/book/the-girl-upstairs/

Leave a comment with your contact info for a chance to win an ebook copy of The Other Sister, "A twisty tale packed with juicy surprises.” –Kimberly Belle, internationally bestselling author of The Paris Widow

She thought she was the only one lying about her identity. Until she stepped into her sister’s life.

 

 

WHAT'S HOT IN INSPIRATIONAL SUSPENSE

 Wondering what's hot in inspirational suspense this week? Jessica Patch has a new Love Inspired Suspense that released August 28!

They’re on a cold trail

and running out of time.

Convinced his brother was wrongly convicted of murder years ago, detective Cash Ryland’s determined to find the real killer—even if it puts him in the crosshairs. But he needs help from cold case investigator Mae Vogel, whom he mistreated in high school. Can they put their past aside to solve the murder…before the killer succeeds in silencing them for good?

From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.

You can find buy links here.

A Visit With Jessica Patch

by Patricia Bradley

Today we're sitting down and talking to Jessica Patch. (You can read her bio at the end) She's giving away a print copy of Recovered Secrets to one commenter. (US Address) And you can read my review of Recovered Secrets at my website.


What do you do when you’re not writing? Any interesting hobbies? 

Like most writers, I’m reading in my genre and out. But I have a passion to teach the Word, so I spend my free time teaching bible studies. 

Last year, I took a God-led break from writing to teach the Bible chronologically, and then in December 2019, I launched a discipleship/mentorship program for women.  A.C.T. Abide, Connect, Train in godliness. 

Eighteen women from the chronological bible study were prayed over and invited to be a mentor in 2020 to 3-5 women, reading chronologically and slowly pulling out the story through major characters in the Bible and looking at the Word, Women in the Word, and Worldview. It’s enhanced so many lives that are sadly Bible illiterate! 

We can tell the story of Cinderella or Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Three Bears, but when it comes to telling God’s story, we don’t really know much of it other than Jesus coming, dying, raising from the dead and giving us eternal life. It was a year spent well, and I wouldn’t trade it!

That sounds like an amazing year, Jessica! What was your favorite book as a teen or child? 

As a child, I adored The Little House on the Prairie series. I remember checking them out from the library and reading them on the bus during the ride home which was about thirty to forty minutes! As a teen, I devoured the Sweet Valley High series. It’s probably why I love a lot of drama in stories I read (and write)! :-)

What genre did you start out writing? Have you changed course? Why or why not? 

The first book I wrote was a contemporary romance but it did have an element of mystery since a cold case came to light. After that I wrote 6 contemporary romances and then switched back to romantic suspense. I still write in both genres but I’m traditionally published with the romantic suspense. My CR novels are indie published.

I love your romantic suspense books. Any other genres you’d like to try?

I have a cozy mystery series in my brain and actually have 5 covers with titles sitting in my hard drive awaiting the day I have time to write them! I enjoy cozies because you can add a good measure of humor and I enjoy adding laughs to my stories regardless of the genre. I also love reading Young Adult paranormal, but I doubt I’ll ever try my hand.

I've thought about writing cozies, but like you haven't had the time! What is the most important thing you’d like readers to take away from your books? 

Writing to a Christian audience, for me, is a form of discipleship—equipping the body. The struggles that my characters go through aren’t any different from the ones we face in reality, though we don’t usually have crazed killers coming after us to teach us the lesson (or maybe you do!). 

At the end of the day, yes, be entertained and escape awhile but mostly I want readers to come away feeling hopeful about their circumstances and situation. Fictional characters but real hope. And what God can do for those fictional characters, He can do for you, but you have to do your part too! 

So I say all that to say: Hope. I want readers to experience hope.

I've seen that in your books. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’d like to give to unpublished authors? 

I think it’s easy to become obsessed with getting published and being so focused on the dream God gives that we forget the Dream-Giver is our exceedingly great reward (Genesis 15). We must do the work. Write every day. But remember before the work, comes time with the One who assigns us the work. Don’t let your intimate relationship with Jesus suffer. 

Writing is ministry, and it’s an offering to Him for sure, but it doesn’t take the place of being IN the Word, worshipping, and prayer. We need that FIRST and FOREMOST before we can tell the story He places in our hearts. I think you’ll find the more time you spend with Him, the clearer the story He wants you to write will become!

I loved the book you've feature today, Jessica.



A blank memory. A new life.

But her borrowed time just ran out

Two years after Grace Thackery washed up on a small-town Mississippi riverbank, she has the first clue about the life she doesn’t remember: someone wants her dead. And while search-and-rescue director Hollis Montgomery’s determined to protect her, the secrets of her past are darker than they expected. Can the bond between Grace and Hollis survive her true identity…and an assassin?
 You can purchase Recovered Secrets at:
Amazon for only $3.99 for the Kindle version.


Bio and links

Jessica R. Patch is known for her dry wit and signature twists whether she's penned a contemporary romance or romantic suspense. When she's not hunched over her laptop (or in physical therapy because she's been hunched over her laptop), you can find her cozy on the couch in her mid-south home watching way too much Netflix with her family, going on "adventures" in the name of book research, and collecting recipes to amazing dishes she'll probably never cook. Sign up for her newsletter "Patched In" at www.jessicarpatch.com. Jessica is represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary Management.


Follow me on BookBub! https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jessica-r-patch

Sign up for exclusive emails and get Patched In https://www.jessicarpatch.com

Let’s connect on my Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/jessicarpatch/

Leave a comment to be entered in a drawing for Recovered Secrets. Jessica took a year off from writing to teach Bible studies. Do you think it hurts an author to take a year off from writing?

Interview and a giveaway with LIS author Jessica Patch!

Let's welcome author Jessica Patch! Jessica has graciously offered to give away a copy of her new Love Inspired Suspense, Fatal Reunion! Post a comment to be entered to win! 

SS: What genre do you write and why? I write romantic suspense and contemporary romance.

I’ve always loved romance and falling in love, so naturally it’s going to be in all my books. And I find that the greatest love is the love of Jesus. It’s a Divine romance of pursuing so I can’t help but weave that through the pages. I also write suspense because I love a good mystery (I tend to write more of a whodunit) and my main message is always hope. The world is full of evil and horrific things. When I write suspense, I have the opportunity to show love, grace, mercy, and the opportunity to rise above frightening circumstances and find hope in all that darkness. 

 SS: Tell us about your current release. Protective Duty is my 2nd Love Inspired Suspense and it follows Eric Hale, who was a minor character in Fatal Reunion, and FBI agent Bryn Eastman. They’re working to solve a serial murder case in Memphis, TN. It’s a little tense since they were once a couple until a tragedy ripped them apart, not to mention the killer sets his sights on Bryn. I love a reunion romance!

 SS: Where did you get the idea for this book? Good question. As I wrote Fatal Reunion, Eric Hale was written for comedic relief but as the story unfolded, he let me know that he had a story to tell. So…I guess it came from my fictional character. Ha!

 SS: Tell us about your main character. Bryn Eastman, is my heroine. She was once a swimmer with dreams to be a swim coach but a terrible event put her on a new path and she’s now an FBI agent specializing in victimology. She’s strong and brave, but vulnerable and trying to reconcile everything she’s been through in the last eight years. Eric Hale is a homicide detective for the Memphis Police Department. Eric is funny, brave, protective, and an all-around good guy. He hates how he and Bryn left each other but there really isn’t any way they can be together after what happened. So he’s just been getting by so to speak. 

 SS: Is there a spiritual message in your book? If so, what is it? The spiritual message of this book is: Sometimes our purpose is born from our greatest tragedies.

 SS: What are you working on now? I am about to start the final edits for my 3rd Love Inspired Suspense (Concealed Identity), polish a proposal for another series with Love Inspired, and I’m going to begin a romantic comedy for a collection coming out in the spring. I’m staying busy! But I love it.

 SS: Tell us three things about yourself that would surprise your readers. 

1. I once sort of cheated on my husband during church. Ha! During prayer, our pastor asked us to pray with our spouses, so leaving my eyes closed, I scooted up on my knees, wrapped my arms around his neck and with my lips against his neck began to pray. It was then I realized, he didn’t smell or feel the same…I wasn’t latched on to my husband but the man who had just been released from prison (if I’m lying I’m dying) and was trying out church for the first time. My husband invited him to sit with us and then during altar time, my husband quietly went to pray. I had no idea! I didn’t know what to do, so I finished the prayer! Yes, I did! Then sat down humiliated. 

2. I once crashed into a cop car in the turn lane, shattering his window all over him so he couldn’t get out. I didn’t get a ticket because technically it was his fault. The people gawking were wild. 

3. I don’t like getting flowers. I know, I know. Flowers are romantic and I write romance but I’d rather have the cash. Isn’t that terrible?  

SS: Where can readers find you on the Internet? I’m always on Facebook, Instagram, @jessicarpatch on twitter and of course my website. 

 SS: Anything else you’d like to share with us? I’d love for you to subscribe to my newsletter Patched In. I only share book-related news, sometimes FREE books, and I never give out your email address. Subscribe on my website to the Patched In.