Biography
Author of I stand Corrected, Rewind, Balou Uncensored,
Bienvenidos a gatos anónimos, Pasarse cuatro Pueblos and Sesenta segundos dan para mucho,
Patricia Asedegbega Nieto was born to a Spanish mother and a Nigerian father in
Madrid. As a child, she relocated with her family to Nigeria and later returned
to Spain, where she acquired her BSc and master´s degree.
She is currently
living near Madrid with her family and her very stubborn cat, Merlin Mojito.
LINKS
https://twitter.com/Patricias_Place
https://www.facebook.com/PatriciasUniverse
www.patriciascorner.co.uk
Blurb
When I grow up...
"You need a plan B," said Alicia’s mother when at five years old she told her
what she wanted to be when she grew up. Thirty odd years later, Alicia is on
plan D: sharing a flat, no tangible savings, and working for hateful Julia,
whose sole purpose in life is to make her existence utterly miserable. Good
thing she has Oscar and the girls to make the long hours at work bearable. But
when a series of events tears
the close-knit group apart, putting friendships and motives under suspicion,
will Alicia be able to restore balance and set things right? More
importantly, will she ever be able
to upgrade her life to at least plan C?
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?- I hope
that with my books, I´m transmitting the idea that nothing is set in stone and
that things can happen to you even when you feel that all has been said and
done.
Was there an Author who inspired you to write? -I love mystery and
suspense novels, my favorite author is Agatha Christie. Although out styles are
different, she inspired me as her novels are still very much in vogue today.
How did you come up with the characters in your books?- I like
characters that exude strength, whether they are heroes or villains. I try to
give them both positive and negative characteristics that help make them
realistic.
What are your current projects?- I have just finished the novel “When I
grow up…” and I´m also working on the sequel of the book “I stand corrected”.
Hopefully it will be released for Christmas.
Do you see writing as a career? -Yes I do, one I´m positively thrilled
about.
Do you ever picture yourself and one of your heroines? - If so, which
one? I see a bit of myself in each of them as when I´m writing, I put myself in
their shoes and wonder how I would react in the same situation. I guess the one
who could have been me is Alicia in “When I grow up…”
Do you have a favorite heroine/hero from one of your books? If so, who?
.- Balou in “I stand corrected”, he makes me laugh when I reread his parts and
imagine him.
What kind of research do you do for your books? -Some of the places I
write about I´ve lived in so they are very familiar but I like writing from
experience so I ask and talk to people a lot for my books.
What is the hardest part of writing your book?- For me, the writing part
is very enjoyable, I find all that comes after much more difficult.
If you could say anything to your
readers what would it be?- Things aren´t always what they seem.
What is your favorite Genre and
why? -My favourite genre is mystery/suspense. I love not knowing what to expect
and being surprised by the outcome of a good mystery novel.
Do you prefer to write alone or
do you like to collaborate with other authors?- I prefer to write alone.
Do you ever get writer’s block?
If so, how do you get through it?- Not really, if I´m stuck one day, I leave it
and go back the next day and continue.
When you are reading a book, who
is your favorite author? -Agatha Christie
Do you come up with the cover or
does someone else do it? -I come up with the ideas but let the professionals
guide me.
If you could change anything in
your writing what would that be? -I´d like to get better and better at creating
suspense packed full scenes for the reader to enjoy.
What book if any would you want
to be made into a movie?- I´d love my book “I stand corrected” to be made into
a movie. I think it´s an incredibly powerful read.
Who would you want to play the
hero/heroine?- Aishwarya Rai
Everyone uses computers, tablets,
phones and no one uses handwritten form or typewriters, what do you prefer to
use? -My laptop and when I´m not home, I write ideas on my mobile phone.
Is there a ritual you do
everything before you begin your book? -No, I just sit and write.
What do you do when you finish
your book and turn it in to the editor?- When I turn it in to be formatted, is
when I know that in a few days time, it will be in the market and that is when
it sinks in and I get really nervous.
I glance at the clock on top of my desk, willing the
time to go faster. I have been painfully watching the seconds pass by all
morning. In five more minutes Oscar and the girls will be at the kitchen for
our accustomed tea break. He had sent a group message half an hour ago
informing us when he was taking his break and asked if anyone else was
free.
I look nervously at the door, hoping Julia, my boss,
won´t choose that moment to open it for one more useless urgent request, when
we both know it can also be done three hours from now or even tomorrow. She has
a knack for being most inopportune, and if she gives me a task and I take my
break late, I´ll have to sit on my own as the others will already have returned
to their desks. We are only allowed ten minutes off outside our lunch hour—we
always add one or two more, though, as we feel time spent in route to the
kitchen should not be included— and we try to coordinate with one another so we
can take our breaks together.
The seconds tick so slowly. I can hear Julia on the
phone speaking in the voice she uses when she is talking to a client, the same
voice that would mislead anyone who didn´t know her into actually thinking she
is remotely human.
Just in time, I grab the handset and race to the staff
kitchen where Oscar, Emma, Amparo, and Carmen are sitting around the wooden
table staring hungrily at the cream-filled buns resting on a plate. We take
turns in bringing something to accompany the pot of steaming coffee the first
one to arrive makes, and I can´t wait to sink my teeth into what Carmen has
brought for us today.
“Ah, there you are!” Emma exclaims as I rush to pour a
cup of coffee. “We were only going to give you half a minute more before
starting.” The rest start tucking in, while at the same time trying to fill
each other in on their hectic days and how our bosses seem to have a goal of
making our lives even more difficult than necessary, if possible.
We work for Fernández & Associates. It´s the kind
of law firm where the lawyers bill their clients six figures just for answering
the phone. We have some of the most prestigious and wealthy clientele, both in
Spain and abroad. One of our departments deals with international law, so we
cater to all the legal needs of a lot of Spanish businessmen who own companies
in other countries, as well as foreigners who come to set up businesses here in
Spain. It was started by Sergio Fernández Castellón[1], the
father of our present senior partner, Alejandro. He wanted to provide very
personal service to his clients, so our policy has always been to have just
five lawyers, each heading a department. This enables them to have a very close
and direct relationship with each client. Now that Alejandro has taken over, he
is following the same philosophy and, as a result, we have clients that have
been with the firm for over thirty years. We accept new clients strictly on
recommendations and only on rare occasions.
The firm occupies three floors of a building located
in Calle Serrano[2]. The
ground floor holds the reception area and conference rooms. The secretaries and
junior lawyers have offices on the middle floor. And finally, on the top floor,
where few venture except when summoned, the partners have what we like to call
their dens.
The five of us are “corporate personal assistants”,
which is an important sounding title that really means your job description is
whatever the boss wants, no matter how ridiculous it is. We all speak various
languages, have university degrees, and are known for our discretion—except during
our breaks, of course. There, we have no secrets from each other. But really,
apart from it being extremely interesting to know all that goes on with the
other four bosses, confiding in each other has really helped us on more than
one occasion to narrowly escape impending disasters that might otherwise have
cost one or two jobs. So our undercover network is of utmost importance to us
and probably to the firm as well.
I love a good gossip, but sometimes knowing what
someone else´s boss has done is important for me. I can then feel that I am not
the unluckiest person on Earth because I work for Julia.
Julia is a brilliant lawyer. She has two law degrees
and a Masters degree, and she speaks perfect English, German and French. She is
thirty-five years old—I saw both her passport and ID card, information that was
quickly shared with my friends as soon as I discovered it—but she has the
character of a cobra, always ready to spring and attack. For some reason, only
those of us beneath her station have been “lucky” enough to see that side of
her. Her colleagues respect her, and I admit she has earned that esteem by having
practically no life outside of work. But that is where her charm ends,
especially with me. I seem to always be at the receiving end of her attacks.
Sometimes she is all smiles and extremely solicitous, but a second later
succeeds in almost reducing me to tears.
After five years of working for her, I have finally
developed the ability to look directly at her and not lower my head when she
berates me. It all enters through one ear and goes out the other. That, and the
fact that I have convinced myself, after some intense online searches, that she
must have some sort of emotional disorder that she is probably unaware of.
“It has been a difficult morning,” I say. “Julia
missed her dentist appointment and blamed me for it.”
“I know you didn´t forget to tell her,” Oscar replies.
“Go on; shock us with what really happened this time.”
“Yesterday morning, I reminded her that it was at nine
today. Good thing I also sent a text message to her mobile last night. She got
there at ten and was surprised they weren´t able to squeeze her in. She seems
to think everything should be dropped when she arrives somewhere. I tried to
get her to look at the text message where she could have easily seen the time
it was sent, but she refused to, claiming she didn´t receive it. I´m sure she
has erased it. I have a good mind to go through her phone, but I´m not going to
waste my time as I wouldn´t be able to use it as proof anyway. I know she knows
that she isn´t right. It just annoys me how she always seems to blame me for
everything that goes wrong without giving me a chance to defend myself.
Honestly, this firm does not pay me enough for the mental stress she puts me
through.”
“I know what you mean,” says a visibly upset Emma.
“Gonzalo forgot his wife´s birthday again, which must be because when he isn´t
working he is pursuing anything that closely resembles a female. I sent her
flowers as usual, but he didn´t follow it up with a call or do anything
special, and she came to the office looking extremely furious. There was a
mighty row. I´m surprised it wasn´t heard in the surrounding buildings. Guess
who was to blame for everything?”
Amparo says: “You guys are really paying for some past
sins in a big way. I have to say that Alejandro, apart from being very easy on
the eye, has never treated me in a demeaning manner and is quite considerate
for a boss. He even knows when my birthday is and sends me flowers.”
We can´t help but nod in agreement with our mouths
full. Even Oscar, who is about to marry his longtime girlfriend, has often said
that Alejandro is one of those men that should not exist, as they make women
compare what they have at home to them and probably wish they could trade.
Every woman in the firm is secretly in love with him— except Julia who seems
quite indifferent to his charm, but that just reinforces my belief that she
isn´t quite human. He has the dreamiest blue eyes and abundant hair that he
absentmindedly has to push away from his eyes occasionally as it is quite long.
He looks as if he has just effortlessly stepped out of the cover of a magazine;
not at all the image that comes to mind when one thinks of a lawyer. Alejandro
heads the International Law Department, so he is not just a pretty face. He has
succeeded in maintaining and even upgrading the high standards his late father
left the firm with when he handed the reins over to him.
I don´t think he knows I exist, but, like every female
worker here, I too have imagined walking down the aisle with him at one time or
another. Pity that all his girlfriends have been models or rich heiresses and
I, not being one or the other…
We cram all that we can into those short ten minutes,
then hurry back to our desks and daily work routines. As soon as I sit down, I
read a message from Julia asking me to go to her office, where she proceeds to
dictate various letters that need to be sent out. I look up when she finishes
the last one to see if she needs anything more from me and see that she is
looking at her computer screen intently. I take this as an indication that my
presence is no longer required.
“You need to reschedule my dentist appointment and
apologize for the mix up,” she says as I reach for the door handle. I hesitate,
about to argue, but then I wonder what use it would be. I have no desire to
give her one more reason to humiliate me.
I walk away and call as she had asked me to. I say how
sorry I am for the misunderstanding, but Esperanza, the receptionist, and I
both know who really made the mistake. It´s not the first time it has happened,
and it won´t be the last.
I print out the letters, put them into a folder, and
take them back to her so she can sign them and so I can post them on my way
home. Whilst I do this, I reflect on how difficult some women make it for their
own kind sometimes. There is no love lost between us, but for the life of me, I
have no idea what Julia has against me. In my case, it´s because of everything
she has done to me throughout the years. She has killed any affection or
respect I tried time and time again to develop for her. I wonder what she does
when she isn´t working. I know there is no husband or children. She keeps her
personal life under a closed lid. It seems to be women in general she has a
problem with, as the only one of us lowly PAs I have ever seen her smile at is
Oscar.
I go online, as I always do when I need a boost, and
type the words that will lead me to the images that have always taken me to my
happy place...
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