Veronica: Today my guest is author Patricia Preston and she handles five quick questions.

    Of all the characters you’ve created, which one is your favorite?

Pat: I can’t single one out. They have all been favorites, especially when I’m writing about them.  Otherwise, I adore Darlene, my Marilyn Monroe wannabe from the 50’s, because she makes me laugh. (VS NOTE: Darlene is in Laid to Rest and Haints in Hollywood.)

What’s your go-to “writing avoidance” technique?

Pat: (If) There’s a new episode of Walking Dead on tonight….I need to watch the Walking Dead marathon first….

If you were able to go on a writing retreat, where would it be? 

Pat: New Orleans. Wouldn’t be much writing going on.

What’s the word you love to use (and overuse, so you have to take it out of your book during edits)?

Pat: Cuss words… 🙂

Name the first thing you’ll do when you make a million dollars from your books.

 Pat: Go to Paris for an extended vacation. Maybe buy a house in the hills near Nashville and a winter home in New Orleans. I would be happy!!!

The book blurb:

Six years ago, ambitious med student Marla Grant gave into temptation with a gorgeous man. Now a busy doctor and a loving single mom, the only thing that matters to Marla more than her adorable daughter is the Lafayette Falls Community Clinic. When its funding is threatened, Marla is determined to find out why—until she learns the person responsible is none other than the powerful, persuasive man of her long-ago fling and the unsuspecting father of her child…

Carson Blackwell has never forgotten bright, beautiful Marla. When he discovers that she runs the clinic his grandmother’s foundation funds, it’s the perfect chance to put an end to his ongoing infatuation—and use his leverage to cement a new business deal. He needs a fake girlfriend for one week in Hawaii, and Marla is just the woman for the job. It’s a win-win situation, until they realize the attraction between them isn’t feigned, and the heat has never died down. Only the secrets they’re both keeping stand in the way of a future together—and a love that could last a lifetime.

Author Bio:

Patricia Preston loves writing mainstream romantic fiction with picturesque settings and a host of unforgettable characters whose lives entwine in feel-good stories about life, love and finding happiness.

She also writes short stories and historicals. She won William Faulkner Award for Short Fiction, the Lone Star Writing Competition for Historical Romance, and Harlequin’s World’s Best Romances Short Story Competition. She is repped by the Seymour Agency.

Besides writing, she’s also worked as a librarian, medical office manager, and in a cosmetic department where she played with makeup all day. Her favorite place to hang out is her writing cave where must-haves are iced tea and epic music. She also enjoys photography, movies, and research trips to New Orleans.

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