Interviewing Patrice Fitzgerald, along with reading her book, was a privilege. Along with this privilege, I have had the opportunity to get to know this author personally. As you read this interview and get to know more about Ms. Fitzgerald, you will ask yourself ‘how can one woman do so much?’ I asked this question myself and then she would comment on one my posts on Facebook, or I would discover an e-mail in my in-box from Ms. Fitzgerald asking how my book is coming along. In addition to being an engaging writer, Ms. Fitzgerald genuinely cares about other people and other writers who hope to one day impact readers the same way Running impacted me.
Kimberly: Can you tell us a bit about your background?
Ms. Fitzgerald: I'm one of those people who has always been involved with reading and writing, but somewhere along the way I decided that I had better be "serious" and study law rather than planning to write or sing, both of which seemed to be great fun but risky as career choices. So after college and law school, I practiced intellectual property law at a couple of big corporations and through my own law firm. There were some good aspects to being a lawyer, but I yearned to be more creative, and eventually gave it up to be a freelance writer and novelist.
Kimberly: Was Running inspired by anything or anyone in your past?
Ms. Fitzgerald: I first conceived of Running way back when Bill Clinton was dealing with the Lewinsky scandal. I thought… what if the country were faced with a woman politician with a past? How would that play out? Is there a double standard in politics?
Kimberly: Two females running against each other in the Presidential Race -- do you ever see this as happening? Is it maybe your forecast for the future?
Ms. Fitzgerald: I definitely see the possibility of two women running against each other for the office of President. As soon as we have one serious candidate, we're likely to get two soon after. In fact, I was afraid I'd missed the boat on publishing "Running" because I was so sure that Hillary Clinton would be the nominee for a moment there… but the tide turned, as it so often does, and Obama became the front-runner.
Kimberly: It was interesting to read about Zane as I don't feel the public really knows how many functional addicts there are in business world -- whether it's coke or prescription drugs. Is Zane based on characters you have known?
Ms. Fitzgerald: Zane is a character primarily from my imagination. But I know a lot of folks who manage to function while having an alcohol problem, and I figured cocaine was much the same. He was great fun to write, because he's so much at war with himself all the time. Looking cool and successful on the outside while being pummeled by self-doubt. And then by the end… watch out.
Kimberly: When you sat down to write Running, did you first do an outline, or just 'run' with it?
Kimberly: Can you tell us a bit about your background?
Ms. Fitzgerald: I'm one of those people who has always been involved with reading and writing, but somewhere along the way I decided that I had better be "serious" and study law rather than planning to write or sing, both of which seemed to be great fun but risky as career choices. So after college and law school, I practiced intellectual property law at a couple of big corporations and through my own law firm. There were some good aspects to being a lawyer, but I yearned to be more creative, and eventually gave it up to be a freelance writer and novelist.
Kimberly: Was Running inspired by anything or anyone in your past?
Ms. Fitzgerald: I first conceived of Running way back when Bill Clinton was dealing with the Lewinsky scandal. I thought… what if the country were faced with a woman politician with a past? How would that play out? Is there a double standard in politics?
Kimberly: Two females running against each other in the Presidential Race -- do you ever see this as happening? Is it maybe your forecast for the future?
Ms. Fitzgerald: I definitely see the possibility of two women running against each other for the office of President. As soon as we have one serious candidate, we're likely to get two soon after. In fact, I was afraid I'd missed the boat on publishing "Running" because I was so sure that Hillary Clinton would be the nominee for a moment there… but the tide turned, as it so often does, and Obama became the front-runner.
Kimberly: It was interesting to read about Zane as I don't feel the public really knows how many functional addicts there are in business world -- whether it's coke or prescription drugs. Is Zane based on characters you have known?
Ms. Fitzgerald: Zane is a character primarily from my imagination. But I know a lot of folks who manage to function while having an alcohol problem, and I figured cocaine was much the same. He was great fun to write, because he's so much at war with himself all the time. Looking cool and successful on the outside while being pummeled by self-doubt. And then by the end… watch out.
Kimberly: When you sat down to write Running, did you first do an outline, or just 'run' with it?
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