Category Archives: Rhode Island Expo Spotlight

Rhode Island Author Expo Spotlight – Patricia Mitchell #riauthors

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Rhode Island Author Expo Spotlight – Patricia Mitchell

This post was originally posted on Martha Reynold’s blog and has been reposted here with author permission, minor revisions have been made.

When did I first consider myself a writer? I never really thought about it. Stories play over in a continuous loop in my head today, and for as long as I can remember. (I’m hoping to go digital soon, but who has time?). Decades of meticulous construction have resulted in what is now my slanted but seemingly parallel universe that places me as star, heroine, beauty, clown, and the most popular victim simultaneously. But identifying the exact moment when pencil met paper and sparks flickered stumped me at first. Then I remembered.

My fifth grade teacher, Mr. Z, punished me once by assigning me a ten page essay about appropriate classroom behavior. Such punishments were aptly named “Sides,” as in 10 Sides, 20 Sides, and for some poor souls, 50 and 60 Sides or more. Each Side represented one page of white-lined composition paper. One could get a Sides essay assignment, or be asked to repeat a phrase, like “I will raise my hand when I want to speak in class” for a given number of sides. I dreaded my first 10-sided essay – what could I possibly come up with to fill so many pages?

Luckily, like many ten-year-olds, I prided myself in expressing sarcasm at every opportunity, and decided Mr. Z needed a good dose for daring to punish me, a stellar, albeit obnoxiously loud and awkward student. I soon discovered as I babbled along I had plenty to say. At the same time I found the assignment most enjoyable. Fun, even.

Fifth grade stumbled on, and I found myself misbehaving in hopes of receiving more essay assignments. Mr. Z did not disappoint. He enjoyed it as well, assigning me essays when he could have easily given me a sentence to repeat forever. “Ten sides, Patricia,” became a lyrical phrase rivaling those of the DeFranco Family, the Bay City Rollers, and Shaun Cassidy, feeding my twisted little fifth grade mind and heart with purpose.

Mr. Z began to write his own comments in reply, and handed essays back for me to read. Sometimes he would simply write “Ha!” next to a particular sentence, egging me on to write more. The punishment morphed into amusing banter and helped me survive fifth grade, the most awkward stage of my life to date (other than menopause); full of peer pressure, hormones and meaningless work.

After nearly a lifetime, I’ve gained the confidence to write for more than just me, or a teacher with an assignment due. It’s with much gratitude I now attribute this special time of learning to conquer what often fails me in the world outside my head: reaching out, connecting, and giving the stories inside me that continue to pile up a chance for release.

Mr. Z, thanks a thousand times over. Or at least 10 sides worth.

Patricia Mitchell recently published A Girl from the Hill: My Mother’s Journey from Italian Girl to American Woman, and is currently working on a teen novel. You can read more of her essays on her website here.

Rhode Island Author Expo Spotlight – Julien Ayotte #riauthors

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Rhode Island Author Expo Spotlight – Julien Ayotte

This post was originally posted on Martha Reynold’s blog and has been reposted here with author permission, minor revisions have been made.

Following a successful career in the corporate and legal worlds as a financial executive, I retired in early 2002, expecting fully to enjoy myself traveling, and playing golf and tennis. Never did I expect to become an author of mystery and suspense thrillers.
When I was cleaning out some drawers in my office at home, I came across several chapters of a novel I had started to write in 1987. The first chapter was so old that the typewritten pages had turned yellow….aah, the good old days of the electric typewriter. My oldest daughter Barbara, an English major and graduate of Boston College, read the fifteen chapters in my manuscript and insisted I complete it. This happened in 2012, and out came Flower of Heaven, my debut novel.

Since its release, Flower of Heaven has won four national book awards, has gained over a hundred reviews on Amazon, has been cited by Kirkus Reviews as an intriguing global thriller, and has been an Amazon best-seller twice in the last year.
Thousands of readers told me they wanted a sequel. So, in 2014, I released Dangerous Bloodlineswhich picked up right where Flower of Heaven left off.

In the short time since its release, DangerousBloodlines has attained a 4.9 rating out of 5.0 on Amazon, and has captured two national book awards. Bill Reynolds, a columnist from the Providence Journal, cited Dangerous Bloodlines as a thriller that is well worth your while.

In Flower of Heaven, a young French woman, Franҫoise Dupont, has an innocent affair with a young American on holiday in Paris, never aware that he was a priest. The affair ends as abruptly as it began, but not without its consequences. Franҫoise is pregnant and delivers twin sons. Virtually penniless and destitute, she gives the boys up for adoption and begins to pick up her life again. While working at the Louvre, she meets her Prince Charming, an Arab prince. They fall in love and marry, but Franҫoise is constantly tormented at having given up her sons years before. The aftermath of this bad decision is revealed in international thrills and intrigue.

In Dangerous Bloodlines, Franҫoise Dupont, now Queen Farah of an oil-rich Middle Eastern country, continues the search for her twin sons. Thirty-five years later, their lives now are at risk from ruthless enemies of her husband, the King. A page-turning journey from Paris to Stockholm, to the vineyards of Orvieto, Italy, and to a remote hospital in war-torn Ethiopia, Dangerous Bloodlines will keep you guessing.

Julien Ayotte has a B.S., M.B.A., and PhD, all in business and finance, and served for many years as an adjunct professor of finance and investments in five graduate school MBA programs. During his extensive career, he has written over fifty articles in major legal publications and co-authored a financial planning book in 2001 entitled Wealth Building for Professionals.
A Life Before, his upcoming third novel, is expected to be released in February, 2016. His goal is to continue to write a new novel every year or so for many more years.

To read more about the author, visit his website here. Both of his books make excellent holiday gifts and he will be signing and selling them at the Association of Rhode Island Annual Author Expo at the Lincoln Mall on December 5th…….his seventy-fourth birthday.

Ayotte and his wife live in Cumberland. He is an Extraordinary Minister at St. Joseph’s Church in Woonsocket, the chair of its finance committee, and an altar server. He also is the Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors at Community Care Alliance.