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Pat Backley of Ōrewa never thought she would have a new career as an author at the age of 70, but that is precisely what has happened.
Her first book, Daisy, featured in Hibiscus Matters last year. Since then, she has been writing prolifically. She published her memoirs From There to Here, With an Awful Lot in Between and co-authored The Warrior Women Project: A Sisterhood of Immigrant Women. The Second Daisy, the sequel to Daisy, came out in December 2021.
Recently, Pat published two new books: a travel memoir and a novel inspired by her grandfather.
Seventy Years’ Worth of Travel is her light-hearted account of exploring the world.
“I’ve travelled from Yugoslavia in 1966 to Egypt, Tunisia and Lille, and many other places, and this book shows how the world, and travel, have changed over the last 70 years,” Pat says.
The other book, Valentine George, is a novel, loosely based on the life of Pat’s grandfather, who died when she was 17 years old. It follows his story from being born in the slums of London in 1894, through two world wars and up to the ‘swinging 60s’.
Pat says she is proud to be able to make sure her grandfather’s story is told.
Working on both books simultaneously was a challenge, as she had to switch between the different disciplines of writing fiction and non-fiction.
“Writing fiction is a joy. Once an idea pops into my head, I just sit down and write. But writing non-fiction is a little harder. Everything has to be accurate, no room for reckless imagination here! Handwritten notes and old photos litter my office.’
Pat counts herself lucky that, overall, she finds writing easy.
“I often joke that it is almost as if someone has taken off the top of my head and 70 years’ worth of words are flying out! Having found my perfect career at the age of 70, I now intend to write until I die,” she says.
She is already hard at work on her next novel.
WIN these books Hibiscus Matters has one copy of each of Pat’s two new books to give away. To go in the draw, ‘like’ Hibiscus Matters on Facebook and message us your name and phone number with ‘Valentine George’ or ‘Seventy Years’ Worth of Travel’ Giveaway in the message. Or, write your name, address, daytime phone number and the name of the book you’d like to win on the back of an envelope and post to Book Giveaway, Hibiscus Matters, 21 Florence Avenue, Ōrewa 0931. Entries close Friday, July 1. Seventy Years’ Worth of Travel and Valentine George are available from book retailers and www.patbackley.com
