Featured Writer: Alice Fitzpatrick
On creating space to write and writing advice.
Hello all,
Welcome to the 52nd edition of Women Writing!
About the author…
Alice Fitzpatrick has contributed short stories to literary magazines and anthologies such as the Crime Writers of Canada’s 40th anniversary anthology Cold Canadian Crime and the Toronto Sisters in Crime anthology The Whole She-Bang 3. She is also a two-time finalist for the Killer Nashville Claymore Award. Her summers spent with her Welsh family in Pembrokeshire and tales of the disappearance of family members inspired the creation of the Meredith Island Mysteries series. Secrets in the Water, released in June 2024, is the first in the series. The traditional mystery appeals to her keen interest in psychology as she’s intrigued by what makes seemingly ordinary people commit murder. She is a fearless champion of singing, cats, all things Welsh, and the Oxford comma. Alice lives in Toronto but dreams of a cottage on the Welsh coast.
“My favorite piece of advice comes from Darcy Pattison: ‘The first draft of a story is to tell you what the story is. The next drafts are a search for the best way to tell this story.’ … Getting it less than perfect is a valuable part of the process.
On a writing routine …
I’m awake at eight, read for an hour, and then check my emails and social media. Over breakfast I watch a crime show or two which I rationalize as research. My alternative excuse is that the cats are sitting on me, and I can’t disturb them. By now it’s early afternoon, and I can’t put off writing any longer. The good news is that once I get started, I usually keep going until six, seven, or even eight o’clock.
On writing spaces …
I’ve converted one of the bedrooms in my house into an office, where I work surrounded by books, my two rescue cats, and family photographs. A picture of my grandfather, who ran his own business until he retired in his eighties, encourages me to keep going, while a photo of me when I was dancing reminds me of my creative side. My great-grandfather posing with his pet fox taken in the middle of London gives me permission to be eccentric. As for music, my favourite genre is classical. But if there’s a vocal line, my training as a singer means that I can’t resist singing along, and if it’s instrumental, the ballet dancer in me choreographs. So, the only way I can keep focused on my writing is to be in total silence.
On writing communities …
I belong to many crime groups: Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers Association (UK), and Crime Cymru (Welsh crime writers). I also belong to many online crime writers’ groups. They’re all helpful and supportive in their own way, but I especially rely on the Crimescenewriter2 group as a source of information for technical questions about police procedure, forensic matters, and most recently, what would a lawyer do to get disbarred but not jailed.
On challenges …
When I was naïve and unpublished, I believed my writing life would consist of sitting at home churning out books, graciously receiving praise for my work, and making the occasional appearance to sell even more books. Then I actually published a book. Be careful what you wish for because it was then that reality set in.
I didn’t realize how much time marketing would take up. Not only the marketing itself, but the steep learning curve to get me to the place where I could do it. My life is consumed by asking people to write reviews, begging people to sign up for my newsletter, writing newsletters, posting on social media, guest blogs, taking pictures of my cats to post (because there are only so many Buy My Book, Review My Book, Buy My Book posts you can do before you turn people off), appearances at conferences and literary festivals, and sending out letters and application forms to set up events and appearances at libraries and high school classrooms. As a debut novelist I’m doing it all. I can’t afford to be selective—not yet. So marketing is my biggest challenge.
Since this is keeping me from writing, I’ve recently hired a publicist for the next few months and to handle the publicity for my next book to be released in June 2025.
On the best writing advice …
My favorite piece of advice comes from Darcy Pattison: “The first draft of a story is to tell you what the story is. The next drafts are a search for the best way to tell this story.”
As a perfectionist—and what writer isn’t or doesn’t aspire to be—I get hung up on getting the first draft as good as I can. In the past, this would often stop me in my tracks as I edited and re-edited what I’d already written, afraid to continue in case I got it wrong. I come back to Darcy’s advice time and time again as it gives me permission to let go of expectations of immediate perfection. Getting it less than perfect is a valuable part of the process.
On the worst writing advice …
In order to give yourself something to write the next day, stop in the middle of a scene. The problem is that I need to get the full scene down while I know where I’m going. When I come up with an idea just before I fall asleep, I have to turn on the light and write it down knowing that it will be lost if I don’t. Likewise, if I stop in the middle of a scene, I fear I’ll forget what comes next, so I make copious notes. At that point I might as well finish the scene.
On advice from personal experiences …
If you’re looking for a traditional publisher, don’t be afraid to take your publishing journey into your own hands. There are lots of publishers to whom you can submit without an agent. In fact, I found it easier to get a publishing contract than to get an agent. I had the mistaken idea that once I signed with an agent, a contract with a publisher was guaranteed. It wasn’t. My agent couldn’t sell my book, even though I repeatedly asked her to submit to publishers outside of the US who would be better fit for a Canadian writing a Welsh mystery. She didn’t. But I got three publishing offers by myself—one from the UK, one from the US, and one from Canada. I rejected the first two and accepted the third with Edmonton-based Stonehouse Publishing. If you don’t have an agent, please don’t sign anything unless you check with an intellectual property lawyer. There are some dodgy contracts out there.
On a recent publication …
Secrets in the Water, my debut novel and the first Meredith Island Mystery, was released in June of this year. A Dark Death, the second in the series, will be published in June, 2025. The third book, A Killer Cold, will be released the following year. I’m currently writing the fifth book in the series and looking for a home for a standalone, That Which is Lost, inspired by a horrific accident in which eight students in a stolen car plunged off a cliff in my hometown in 1974.
Alice’s online spaces …
UPCOMING OFFERINGS…
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Time away from the obligations and interruptions of everyday life
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Dinah and Liisa thoughtfully prepared a writers getaway that balanced creativity and writing time. We were spoiled with beautiful scenery, good company, craft discussions, a welcoming setting , and a bevy of treats including a chocolate tasting and delicious meals." ~Nancy Daoust
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Happy writing!
Women Writing is a weekly newsletter featuring women who are doing the difficult work of writing. If you enjoyed reading the newsletter, please share it with a fellow writer. Let’s inspire each other!
Liisa Kovala is an Author Accelerator certified book coach. She is the author of Sisu’s Winter War (Latitude 46, 2022) and Surviving Stutthof: My Father’s Memories Behind the Death Gate (Latitude 46, 2017). Her short stories and creative non-fiction have been published in a variety of anthologies and literary magazines. Liisa is a member of The Writers’ Union of Canada, Canadian Authors Association, and past-president of Sudbury Writers’ Guild. Visit liisakovala.com.
Great to hear from someone writing in this genre! I agree about “stop in the middle”—especially as I get older and find myself standing in rooms wondering why I’m there, I’m reluctant to leave a scene before it’s completely down, tho still imperfect.
Hi Alice, thank you for sharing your ideas and experiences. I'm curious about the idea of hiring a publicist. Like you, I am published traditionally, but I've never hired a publicist to do additional marketing. Does your publicist have a speciality in crime writing or is she a generalist that could also do publicity for a children's picture book writer? Is there a blog or resource you could direct me to about hiring a publicist? Thanks so much.