A New Beginning

Hi, Patty Smith Hall here. As many of you are aware,  Love Inspired Historical, the line I write for, will publish the last set of books this June. It's always difficult to see a line end, particularly when it's closing directly affects you. I won't say I didn't see it coming--just one look at the sales numbers over the last few years, and you wonder why they didn't do it sooner. Many who wrote for this line are venturing into contemporary or romantic suspense while others are still trying to figure out where to go from here.

For me, it's been an easy decision. I love reading and writing historical romance and fiction so changing genres was never an option for me. But I've been blessed since word of the closing hit. Last year, I was published in three novella collections(The American Heiress Bride, Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands
and The Captive Bride.) This summer, I'll have two more released--The Underground Railroad Bride and The Southern Belle Bride. I'm also working on a historical fiction that I hope will be published sometime next year.

That being said, I feel it's time to say good-bye. It's been difficult as I've read Harlequin books since I was eleven years old, and it was my dearest dream to write for them since the late 1980s. But times have changed--though I still read Love Inspired, there are other dreams to follow.

So thank you, readers. You are the reason I write in the first place. I'm honored and humbled that you would read my 'scratchings' as Jo March would say. Thank you to the LI editorial staff for giving me the opportunity to live out my dream and teaching me how to be a better writer. Thank you to my LI sisters who have talked me through plot points and tough times. You are some of the most generous people I know.

And thank you, Lord! You began this work in me when I was barely a child, and gave me the dreams of my heart. How great you are, Father! I can't wait to see what You have in store for me next!

PS--Don't miss the first installment of the Valentine's Day tomorrow! It's going to be fantastic fun!

How Do You Come Up With This Stuff By Patty Smith Hall

Several weeks ago, I helped my cousin’s second grade class complete an English project. In the days before my visit, the kids were assigned to come up with a list of characters and setting for a story that we would complete together in class. The day of my visit arrived. Over the next hour, the kids and I weaved an imaginative story filled with battles and learning right from wrong and the power of a grandmother’s love.

Once we finished and the kids were assigned their new project, I sat down with another cousin who decided to visit that day.

“How do you do that?” she asked after the usual inquiries about grandchildren. “I mean, how do you come up with that stuff?”

I wasn’t sure I could tell her it all started with Batman.

Now, I’m not talking about the George Cooney-Ben Afleck-Val Kilmer caped crusader. I’m going old school with the campy television version starring Adam West and Burt Ward as the dynamic duo! With a right hook(BAM!) and a left upper cut(KAPOW!) these caped crusaders cleaned up Gotham City every week from the likes of the Joker, the Penguin and Catwoman.

But for me, Batman was so much more. It sparked my imagination for the first time in my young life. Many Sunday afternoons while on long boring drives with my parents, I’d step into the fantasy world of Gotham City, coming up with different stories with Batman and Robin. And of course, me.

Silly, I know, but looking back, I realized how much I learned about storytelling basics from the show—romantic conflict(Batman and Catwoman’s charged relationship,) chapter breaks(how would the dynamic duo escape the Riddler’s clutches THIS time?) and satisfying endings(the caped crusaders save the day!)

What were some of your favorite TV shows when you were growing up?

A multi-published author with Love Inspired Historical and Barbour, Patty lives in North Georgia with her husband of 30+ years, Danny; two gorgeous daughters, her son-in-love and a grandboy who has her wrapped around his tiny finger. When she’s not writing on her back porch, she’s spending time with her family or working in her garden.