It’s been a long time coming, but Patricia Reed is finally ready to release her debut novel.
Taken straight from the back cover, Tap Dancing on Quicksand is a thrilling novel that follows the ups and downs of a young woman named Jessica. In the beginning, Jessica’s marriage to handsome hotelier Julian reads like a romance novel, but her marital bliss soon begins to unravel as she realizes she has not only married into money, but mayhem, madness and perhaps murder as well. Desperate to save her marriage and the life she has built for her young son, Jessica becomes the keeper of things she dare not say out loud.
A combination of romance, intense suspense, and an examination of the darker side of human nature, Tap Dancing on Quicksand deals with issues that women have faced for centuries—loving too much, spousal and child abuse, alcoholism and drug addiction, family secrets and dysfunction.
“My characters just kind of fell out of the sky—the whole idea of the book just kind of hit me and everything sort of unraveled from there,” Reed said. “I knew I wanted the book to address some social issues that are alive and well today.”
Despite always having a passion for writing, spending most of her free time diving deep into the fictional world of her imagination, Reed said it wasn’t until the early 1990s that she first sat down in front of her typewriter with the intent to write a novel.
After weeks of intense focus, the first draft of Tap Dancing on Quicksand was born.
“My writing comes from some sort of connection with the universe—I get this intense urge to express myself, not knowing exactly what it is that I have to say,” Reed said. “Often in the mornings I would sit down and just start typing away.
“It was like watching a soap opera unfold.”
By the late 1990s, the final edits and tweaks had been completed and Reed began the daunting task of finding a publisher. After some hunting, she managed to find an agent out of Los Angeles, who had promised the budding author that she would soon see her work up on shelves.
However, just as things were looking up, the unexpected happened. Reed received word that her agent had died.
“I was sad to lose a friend, but it also meant that my book wouldn’t go ahead either,” Reed said. “I tried calling the company, but no one seemed to know what I was talking about.”
Feeling defeated, Reed put her manuscript on hold—putting it on a shelf and letting it collect dust for years.
“I was just done. I was so discouraged that I wanted to take the manuscript and burn it at Lake Annette or something like that,” Reed said. “I just wanted it gone.”
However, a gut-wrenching feeling told her to hold onto the manuscript.
Years later, while cleaning out some old boxes, she stumbled across it.
“I thought about burning it all over again, but then I started reading it and this fire kind of started back up,” Reed said. “I knew I couldn’t just let this die.”
This time around, Reed looked at the possibility of self-publishing. After weighing out her options, she found an independent publishing company, Friesen Press, which teamed her up with an editor.
“I was worried at first. I had put so much time into this and I thought an editor was going to make me change a bunch of things,” the author said. “But in the end I think Jessica became a much stronger character.”
Under the pseudonym of Killarney Greene, Reed will officially launch her book on Oct. 15 at the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives.
“I chose a pseudonym because I just wanted to keep a bit of privacy,” Reed said. “Everyone already knows me in Jasper, but I don’t need people all over the place knowing that I’m writing these books.”
While the book is fictional, Reed said she drew inspiration from real places and experiences.
“The book was born and bred in Jasper so there’s some scenery based off the town. There’s one scene in particular where you can tell I’m talking about the bridge at Old Fort Point,” she said. “A lot of the plot wasn’t based on my own life, but things I’ve heard or witnessed.
“I address a lot of social problems in the book so I’m hoping it might inspire people to get help for themselves—for them to know everything’s not their fault.” Â
Reed’s book launch on Oct. 15 will start at 7 p.m. at the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives.
The author is currently working on her second novel and hopes to release it within the next year.
“Once I hit my stride, I can write 24/7,” Reed said. “Inspiration just comes to me.”
Kayla Byrne [email protected]
