Patricia Donovan is the author of four novels, including The Remarkable Miss Digby which in 2022 was shortlisted for a NZ Booklovers Award. Her latest book, Rita Vegas, continues her notable exploration of genre. Donovan says that while her novels span numerous genres, they share a common theme: a woman’s journey and her quest, in the face of obstacles, to find her strengths and make her way in the world.
‘I like to challenge myself as a writer, to find new and unfamiliar ways to address that theme.’
‘What inspires me to start writing is a dilemma of some sort – such as a troublesome sibling (The Madison Gap), or draconian governance (The Collections) or, as in Rita Vegas, an unexplained death – because this gives me something for my characters to respond to. The circumstances determine the genre and once they are established, my stories quickly become about the characters, what happens to them, what they say and do, what drives them. This is why I write, to explore the human experience.’
After graduating from the University of Canterbury, with an MA (Hons) in English Literature, Donovan has worked in corporate communications, in Australia and New Zealand.
World-wide rights to her books are available.
