Guest Blogger - Patricia Kiyono

I would like to introduce my guest author, Patricia Kiyono, and her novel, The Partridge and the Peartree. She hails from West Michigan, about 20 miles from Lake Michigan. She writes historical and contemporary sweet romances. When asked what are her favorite things to do to relax, she said she loves to do all things crafty--sewing, crocheting, and card-making. She also likes to play word games online.

        What inspired you to write your first book?
My first published novella, The Legacy, was inspired by something my mom told me. My dad was an American soldier who stayed in Japan after the Korean War. She was a secretary in the same office. When they decided to get married, Mom’s relatives investigated Dad’s family and discovered he had ties to a shogun, back in the samurai era. That got me thinking about different artifacts I’d seen in our house when I was a child. What if somewhere in the basement or garage, there was a trunk of treasures from that ancestor?

       What was the hardest part of writing your book?

      The Partridge and the Peartree was my very first attempt at writing a regency romance. I’d read romances set during that era, but I had no idea how structured the culture was. What a person said and did depended greatly on who was speaking, and to whom they spoke. I had to do a lot of research, and even then I got a lot wrong. The first edition was published in 2011 with Clean Reads (then Astraea Press). I got the rights back later and re-published it with Eskape Press, at which time I corrected several no-nos pointed out by reviewers. And then when Eskape closed its doors, Dingbat Publishing gave me yet another opportunity to improve it.

  BLURB:
Phillip Peartree, Duke of Bartlett, dreamed of a peaceful life with a suitable mate until a hunting accident left him scarred and nearly deaf. Resigned to spending the rest of his days alone, Phillip has devoted himself to rebuilding his family estate. But a chance encounter with a lovely young woman in a dusty bookstore rekindles his almost-forgotten hopes and dreams.

Lady Amelia Partridge has no time for the frivolity of the London social scene. In addition to her work with the Ladies Literary Society, she has a mission — educating poor children in the city. She also has a secret life, one she fears might drive away the young duke who has become increasingly important to her.

BIOGRAPHY:
During her first career, Patricia Kiyono taught elementary music, computer classes, elementary classrooms, and junior high social studies. She now teaches music education at the university level.

She lives in southwest Michigan with her husband, not far from her children and grandchildren. Current interests, aside from writing, include sewing, crocheting, scrap booking, and music. A love of travel and an interest in faraway people inspires her to create stories about different cultures.

 Author Links:  Patricia Kiyono can be found on Amazon and at her Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest.

The Partridge and the Peartree can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and Kobo.