Hello.

I’m a romantic novelist and short story writer. My short stories regularly appear in UK magazines, and sometimes in publications in Ireland, Sweden, Australia, South Africa …

My debut novel Escape to the Country was first published after I won a writing competition. I’ve since published three more romances, A Year and a Day, Firestarter and Leave Nothing But Footprints. There’s also the slightly darker contemporary novel, Paint Me a Picture which is set in and around Portsmouth. For my most recent novel, Acting Like A Killer, I’ve turned to crime!

Twenty–plus themed collections of my short stories are available, including a small free one. The themes include romance, family stories, those involving plants and gardens, ghost stories, crime, and tales about food, work and time. For more details about, and other ways to obtain, any of my books, please use the website’s menu options.

I’ve had some success with writing competitions, resulting in prizes such as tea with the local mayor, a silver trophy, T-shirt, dinner in the House of Commons where my poem was performed, an e-reader, books, cheques, book tokens and pens and other appropriate goodies.

As well as fiction I sometimes write articles and books about writing. A Year Of Ideas: 365 sets of writing prompts and exercises is self descriptive. From Story Idea to Reader (co-written with Rosemary J. Kind) is an accessible guide to writing and publishing fiction.

I’m very lucky to be able to spend a lot of the spring, summer and autumn (and some of the winter) travelling with my husband in our campervan

If you don’t bump into me in a tearooms, at a castle, or on a beach you can catch up with me all over the web. My Amazon Author page is here. I’m on Twitter, Facebook, and run a blog for writers. You can also sign up for my occasional newsletters here, and get a free short story as well as updates on my writing.

As well as my own writing news, the womagwriter blog includes, writing prompts, lots of free to enter writing competitions and publishing opportunities in all genres and forms. You’ll also be able to find official guidelines for women’s magazines in the UK and abroad. Tips and advice, for submitting to these and interviews with successful womag writers.

If you’d like to take part in writerly conversation then do join me for #writingchat on twitter, Wednesday evenings from 8-9 UK time. Just tweet using the #writingchat hashtag.

You can email me at patsycollins53 (at) yahoo.com or leave a question/comment on one of my posts here or on womagwriter.

All words and images on this site are subject to copyright. Please ask if you’d like to use them. Links to this site or my blog are welcome and no permission is needed.