Interview with Patricia Beal

Then, an on-stage kiss between Ana and Claus changes everything.
​
Convinced the kiss is more than a one-time mistake, Peter breaks off their engagement. With an old dog crippled by arthritis and dreams deferred but not left behind, Ana moves to Germany to be with Claus. But the ghost of his late wife, Ana’s own feelings for Peter, and the pressure of earning a spot in a large ballet company are a high price for a shot at success. Ana seems on the verge of having everything she ever dreamed of, but will it be enough?”

I knew I wanted her name to be Ana, after Brazilian ballerina Ana Botafogo. But why would an American girl have that name? Mom. Of course. That also worked with the Catholic background I gave her, a background similar to mine, and I did grow up in Brazil, so I know the whole thing would be legit – yes, personal background.

Fantastic!
Are you a pantser or a plotter? Care to share how your writing process goes?

Pantser all the way. The novel began in my mind as a single scene—a ballerina stuck at the top of a marquee, something that kind of happened to me once. From there it grew a chapter at a time, one per Saturday, during a six-month period.

I wasn’t a Christian when I wrote the first version of A Season to Dance, so the story was initially just about big dreams and dreamy suitors. But the whole time, God had me writing my own salvation story.

I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, but for most of my life I believed there had to be some kind of god out there and that being a good person was important. But in the summer of 2012, that early version of the novel was rejected in three different continents on the same week. I was tired and lonely, and I freaked out. I decided the notion of a loving god was absurd. There was no loving god, if there was a god at all.

Self-gratification became the chief end of my existence, and I looked behind every door for happiness and satisfaction. I didn’t find anything worth keeping though, and at the end of every new pursuit, I was still tired and lonely.

Then Jesus passed by. I was born again in January of 2013, and soon after that, I realized the novel wasn’t complete. I cancelled a trip to a secular writers’ conference and started a fourteen-month rewrite. This book, A Season to Dance, wrote me—not the other way around. I journeyed with Ana and pray that now others will journey with us, beyond expectations and suffering and to the very heart of Christ.

I think God is a plotter. He knew where the whole thing was going all along. But how could I have known that I was writing my own salvation story? ❤ 

That is so beautiful. God is definitely a plotter!
What are three elements that are always present in your writing and why?

Ballet – because it’s my forever passion. It wakes up the magic in me.

God – because the world is so busy and loud, if what I do doesn’t help seek and save that which is lost, I can use my God-given 24 hours a day doing something else.

Reality – because I have Asperger’s and it would drive me crazy to make up a place and what’s in it. I have to know with certainty. If I write an airport scene (like the opening of the manuscript I’m polishing now), I have to be at that airport, at the time of day and day of the week the characters are there. I don’t want to imagine the sounds and the smells, I want to report what’s actually there—in lyrical prose. That’s where the artistry comes in. To have my work grounded in a healthy degree of reality is important to me. In A Season to Dance, I really was lost when I wrote the lost parts. I really was discovering Christianity when I wrote those parts. I really was at Callaway Gardens when I wrote Callaway. I was in Germany when I wrote Germany. I was losing my dog, when I wrote Ana’s dog. I was born again when Ana was born again. There was a personal surrender that went along with her every surrender. And I really am a ballerina, too. But she’s better than me. I never moved beyond pre-professional companies.

That’s awesome how you use reality. How about some fun fact questions?

Sure.

Mamba or Starburst?

Starburst the candy? I like that… Let me go Google “Mamba” … I’m back. Candy. I’ve never tried Mamba. Maybe I should.

You should! It’s good. Shorts or skirts?

Skirts.

​Opera or Play?

Play.

Coffee or tea?

Both. Coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon.

Makes sense to me! How can readers support you on your writing journey?

Read my book ❤ 

I pray you find many readers! Thank you so much for coming!