Patricia L. Steffy published her first book My Letter to Fear: Essays on Life, Love and the Search for Prince Charming. She is another debuting author, who has experience as a screenwriter. Currently Patricia is developing a web movie series that may become a huge hit one day. You may find more info, a trailer and many interesting answers in the interview below! Enjoy our next guest 🙂

– What is your last book My Letter to Fear: Essays on Life, Love and the Search for Prince Charming about?
– “My Letter to Fear: Essays on Life, Love and the Search for Prince Charming” is a collection of essays on a wide variety of topics, including aging, abuse, life expectations, addiction, relationships, body image and beauty myths. Much like life, some of the pieces are funny, some of them are sad and some of them are ridiculous. Hopefully, all of them are relatable in some way to readers.

– How you decide to write the story?
– I was going through a period of real change in my life. I had just quit my job of nearly 17 years, and I was really taking stock of my life. That included looking at the differences between the expectations I had for my life when I was a teenager versus what my adult reality turned out to be. Those ponderings became the first set of essays that I wrote. Then I began interviewing women — friends, friends of friends (and so on) about the issues they were facing (career, romance, relationships generally, aging, etc). Those interviews and my own perspective on them drove the writing process.
– What was the biggest challenge during the write up process?
– I wanted every piece, whether it was a funny one about anal bleaching or a serious one about someone’s breakdown, to be emotionally honest. That meant getting to a place mentally each day that would allow me to express what I needed to without the usual filters we put on ourselves. That was difficult for me.
– Tell us something more about your main character? Is it close to someone from your real life?
– Each of the stories is about a specific experience one of the interviewee’s (or I) had. In that respect, there is a different character in each piece, even though every story is reflected through me. Every story is true, although some of the names have been changed.
– How much time you need to finish the story and to publish it?
– That’s a little complicated to work out. I wrote the first 20 or so pieces over the course of a couple of months, and then it was workshopped during a charity benefit for the East Los Angeles Women’s Center. The work got great feedback from the actors and the audience, and that spurred me on to really consider turning it into something real, but that didn’t happen right away. I was a bit entangled in other commitments, but once I was free of those, I sat down and wrote another 35 or 40 pieces in a very short time—less than two months, I think. So, from start to publishing, it probably took two years, but the actual time spent writing it was less than four months.
– What about yours previous works?
– This is my first book. I’ve been writing a blog called “Dating in LA and Other Urban Myths” since 2006, and I’m a screenwriter. In fact, we’ve just shot a pilot for a web series that is based on the early writings of the blog. It stars Lesley Fera (Pretty Little Liars), Jen Lilley (Days of Our Lives), Kristoffer Polaha (Life Unexpected) and Tamara Taylor (Bones). We’re pursuing funding right now to film the entire first season. You can see a trailer for it here: https://vimeo.com/77469627
– Who are you?
– How long do you have? Kidding! I’m a writer, producer and wanderer. I attended Kenyon College and American University, and I’m a refuge from the corporate world. On any given day you’ll find me writing about traveling in California, the trouble with relationships in Los Angeles and fictional business intrigue—and I love it all!
– What are your writing habits?
– I try to write every day, although I don’t always have the freedom to write creatively each day, and I’m trying to change that. I’m best in a quiet, dark room because I’m easily distracted. I like listening to classical/instrumental music or rain sounds as I write because I find that those pieces can get me focused and in a particular mood that is conducive to writing.
– Are you satisfied by the sales of the book and do you plan another one?
– I’m glad people are finding the book, but I will always want more people to read it. I find that once someone has read it, the conversations that flow from their reactions are fascinating. I like being the cause of that spark of debate, and I hope that the book finds a wider audience in order to keep those conversations growing.
– What are you doing to promote by the best possible way your book?
– I’m reaching out to bloggers in hopes that they will want to read the book, and share it with their readers, and sending it out for reviews to media. But the biggest thing we are doing to promote the book is actually coming up on September 20th in Los Angeles. We are doing a showcase reading of excerpts of the book. I’m so blessed because an incredible group of actresses has agreed to do the readings, and more are joining the show every day. Right now Nikki DeLoach (Awkward.), Lesley Fera (Pretty Little Liars), Jen Lilley (Days of Our Lives) and Julie McNiven (Supernatural) are set to join the fun, and we’ll be announcing additional cast members soon. Tickets are free, so if you know anyone who is interested and in Los Angeles, they can go here to get all the information and reserve seats: http://datingandothermyths.com/showcase/
– You worked in a law company. What was the most pleasant and the most awful parts of your work?
– I made great friends at the firm, and it provided a stability that I needed. The most difficult thing about working for a law firm—hmmm I probably shouldn’t say.
– Why you decide to escape from the corporate world?
– I needed to feel connected to the work I was doing. When you work crazy long hours, and you don’t feel connected to the work, and you don’t feel valued, life isn’t going to be very enjoyable. I decided that if I was going to work all day and night, I wanted it to be on something that had meaning to me.
– What are the key points to be successful movie producer?
– Organization! It is the single most useful skill I have. Also, if you have the ability to see the potential in a project, even if it is not quite on the page yet, you can help develop a good idea into a great one. I think the ability to network and bring in funding is also critical, but I’m still learning those skills.

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Don’t wait a minute, go and check
My Letter to Fear: Essays on Life, Love and the Search for Prince Charming