Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Featured Author - Pat Ritter


Our next featured author, Pat Ritter, comes from the beautiful country of Australia. To be specific, he lives in the Mary Valley on Queensland, the setting for his adventure novel, The Drover.
The Drover Synopsis

Harry Williams from the age of ten years wanted to become a drover, like his father and grandfather before him. This is his life story of leaving school at ten years old, operating his first droving plant at thirteen years and fully operational at twenty-one years old. Droving is now a craft past its used by date. Harry Williams didn't think so.

Motivation for Writing

His inspiration for The Drover came from his late father-in-law, who was a drover. Pat would sit around the campfire with his father-in-law while he ‘spun the best yarns’ of his droving days. Thirty years later, Pat decided to put his history into print.

Pat Ritter has many motivations to keep him writing, and life events to reflect upon. He has been writing since 1986, and at present, has ten novels published. 'Closing The Gap' being his first novel selling 8000 copies. It was traditionally published by The Australian Lions Awareness Foundation to help parents improve communication with their teenage children.

Ten years ago, after writing and self-publishing his third novel, he made a decision to retire and write full time. Pat is passionate and wanted to be a writer no matter what the journey. At the time his wife made a statement, “How are we going to eat?” She wasn't kidding. They purchased their property at Brooloo - set in plans to build a house and retire in a bush setting. The dream of his writing world began to take shape, but then it was suddenly shattered.

Within twelve months he lost the love of his life to cancer. His angel was gone. To keep her alive, Pat wrote a tribute about his wife’s life and posted it on his website www.patritter.com.au - In Remembrance of Bub. Her story is free to download.

One morning, he thought, “What would Bub want me to do?He could hear her say, “You wanted to retire and write - so write”. She always wanted Pat to write stories he told her about his life as a police officer, detective and his demon - alcoholism.

Finally he wrote and published, Confessions of an Alcoholic, where he introduces readers to a character Bundy Quicksilver, which in reality is Pat. The book is about Pat’s life as an alcoholic and how he overcame his demons to understand what caused him to become an alcoholic in the first place.

Pat Ritter’s reason to Self-Publish

In 2009, at the time he was self-publishing and selling the books via his website, Smashwords and Amazon decided to accept e-books from Indie Authors—Pat jumped on the bandwagon. He loves it. Not only does he have total control of what he does, he can promote his writing via social media and blogs.

Stop on by Pat’s website to check out his books.

Pat Ritter’s Website: www.patritter.com.au

Thank you, Pat for introducing us to your works and taking part in the Pay It Forward. I wish you the best with your writing endeavors. 

Spread the word about Pat Ritter - http://bit.ly/T377mM

History and Adventure,
Bea

12 comments:

  1. I agree with Pat. It is great to be in total control of your book production and the promo stuff that goes with it - BUT it is time consuming and darned hard work!! Worth it though... Good luck Pat and thanks to Denise for such an interesting post.

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    1. Thank you Pat for your kind and sincere words of encouragement. You are right it is time consuming and hard work. I love it when I see the results of readers purchasing my books from the other side of the globe.

      Pat Ritter
      Author/Self Publisher

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  2. Thanks, Pat! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

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  3. Bea, that is a wonderful tribute to Pat Ritter. Pat is an inspiration and friend who has never lost his focus on wanting to write and improve his writing with every novel. He embraced e-books from its earliest days. It is hard work writing any novel, but Pat does so with enthusiasm. I value Pat as 'mate' (friend) that is living his dream in retirement. May he go on to have success. However, recognition like you have written is for Pat real 'success'. Thank you for recognising my friend's work. Doug.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I'm glad you like the piece I did on Pat. I don't personally know him, but from our online communication, I can tell he's a wonderful man who enjoys life and writing. It was my pleasure in recognizing Pat.

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  4. Bea, what a wonderfull tribute to Pat. To say That Pat is an inspiration to any author is an understatement His writting is so easy to read I have read every book he has written and I am sure there is more to come As a good freind of Pats for many years I know that this recognition that you have given him will inspire him to accomplish his dream. Thank you Bea for recognising Pats work.Jan

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    1. Thank you so much for letting the world know about his writing. Pat is lucky to have a friend like you. I can pretty much guess Pat's stories come are full passion due to his love of writing and life experiencees. I'm glad I had the opportunity to cross paths with Pat. Take care.

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  5. Thank you for this interview. Gives us indie authors some hope! Will check out his books.

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    1. Anonymous, Thanks for stopping by. Please do take the time to check out Pat's books.

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  6. I have known Pat and his family for 40 years of his life and met him while he was a young Detective in the Qld. Police Force. He has always been a close friend and confidant. I have watched as his writing talents have developed over the years along with life's journey with its ups and downs. I never doubted that he would achieve his goals as an Author. He was a battler who was determined to succeed and has earned the respect of all those who know him. I know he will continue to impress and his latest book will be another one on the popularity list.

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    1. Thank you Graham - my dear friend for your kind words of encouragement. We have been through a great deal in our lives and it is a privilege to have worked beside you so many years ago. If it wasn't for your expertise in forensic science many crimes would have gone unsolved in Queensland.

      Pat Ritter

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  7. Congratulations Pat. I always knew you would be a success.

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