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Twenty years of living in Elliot Lake have proven to be very productive and creative in the life and career of Canadian author Patricia C. Lee.
Her fourth book, First Gear, has just been released worldwide via Amazon, Chapters, Barnes & Noble, Target online, Walmart online, and so on. All of her books were written here in Elliot Lake.
First Gear took Lee eight months at the keyboard. Then there was editing, various other stages in the production process, printing, and distribution. In all, it's been about a year.
She says the main character, Sadie Hawkins, arose from her own imagination and basically screamed at her to be brought to life in the new book.
She loosely bases Hawkins on the life and character of a close friend, when they were both younger.
It's an intense detective mystery with all the elements expected in a good read including romance, murder, failed marriage, intrigue, tested relationships, money struggles, scrapes with the law, jail time, and joy.
Nor is Lee's product a girl's book. She told ElliotLakeToday it was written to appeal to all readers, genders, and adult age groups. She said her own sense of humour which she describes as "unusual" is what allows her to inject a few chuckles into her writing.
At the heart of the creative process, she calls herself a "plotter." Lee says, "I am what's called a plotter. In writing, there are two types of writers; 'plotters' and 'pantsers'. Pantser means flying by the seat of your pants. I am very much a planner in my life in general. So what I do is when I have an idea in my head, I put down the main key points in point form, the beginning, and end.
"Things like that. Then, when I start writing it, I will get ideas and I'll write those sub notes beside it. I try to use both sides of my brain. I like to touch upon all different things."
The work is planned as the first of an ongoing series. The second book of three is now being written. Her main character is a young American woman in the moving and freight business so it's only natural that Sadie Hawkins will at some point pick up and leave Texas where this first mystery novel is set, and move somewhere else. (Possibly Elliot Lake?)
Lee says she, like many others, entered her writing career with visions of grandeur. "However as you get more into your career as a writer, you understand that 'no', you're not going to make money on this. So you have decided if you're going to keep going, or you're going to pack it in."
Fortunately for us, Lee decided to stick it through.
There is an outdoor launch party set for Patricia Lee's First Gear this Saturday, Aug. 15, from 10 a.m. to noon at Elliot Lake's Westview Park. She will greet people outdoors in the Westview Park Pavilion holding out high hopes for weekend fair weather.
Everyone is welcome. Lee's quick to say visitors need not buy the book although there will be a good supply of them on hand and available to be autographed and sold on Saturday.
"Hopeful everybody will wear masks and use social distancing," she added.
For more information on First Gear, go to her listing on Amazon.