Sharing My Story:
What's a Sleuth
Without a Dog...and a Cat?

 --Pat's flash fiction story "Secondhand Shoe," won a 2006 Derringer Award! The Derringer is awarded annually to the best short mystery fiction in different length categories by the Short Mystery Fiction Society (SMFS).

ABOUT PATRICIA HARRINGTON

Okay, so just who are you, Pat? 

I live in the Pacific Northwest and have four great kids with four even greater granddaughters!  For umpteen years, I've been a grant writer, helping a variety of nonprofit organizations and public agencies.  I love gardening and drink Irish breakfast tea-and oh, yes I'm a Pepsi fan.  In fact, I won a short mystery story contest about that recently. 

How did I get started writing mysteries?  By reading them as a kid.  Bet you read Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and Sherlock Holmes, too!  Louise May Alcott is the author who most inspired me to become a writer.  And Ross Macdonald with his Lew Archer series was my model for writing mysteries-though I "don't do PI."

I write mysteries because I like the old-fashioned theme of them: in the end, justice must be served.  Over time, this premise has changed or been ignored, but I like to think it can happen with my characters.  Happy Reading!

Oh, yes, I wear a grantwriting hat, too!

Besides writing mysteries and children's fiction, I am a consultant to nonprofit organizations. In that role, I write grants that help fund programs to carry out the missions of these nonprofits. To date, I have written over $45 million of funded grants. A partial list of clients includes the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis, the Indochinese Cultural and Service Center, Tacoma Housing Authority, Lewis County Civic and Arts Association, Catholic Community Services, and Safe Streets Camapign.

In addition to my writing ventures, I have been an adjunct professor/instructor at the University of Puget Sound, South Puget Sound Community College, Central Washington University, Tacoma Community College and City University.

My stories/writing on the web

Mystery lovers can go to these sites not only to look at my stories, but also to find excellent mystery/sci fi ezines and websites. Take a look at these short works of mine: "Vying for a Soul," set in Antigua at AlienSkin, "A Set for Murder" at Mysterical-e , "Sharp Eyes," at USA DeepSouth and "A Man's Gotta Do," (one of my favorites!)