Welcome to theBookpleasures.com interview series. 

Today, we have the pleasure of interviewing Patricia Vaccarino, a talented author and media entrepreneur. 

Patricia's journey from Yonkers, New York, to becoming a renowned figure in the world of public relations and writing is nothing short of inspiring. 

So let's delve into her experiences, achievements, and the captivating stories she has shared with the world.

Norm: Patricia, your cross-country journey in a Chevy Impala sounds like an incredible adventure. How did this experience shape your perspective and influence your future endeavors?

Patricia: I was twenty-one and had never traveled south of New Jersey. The farther south I traveled, the more I realized southerners did not admire people from the north. I stopped in a small cafeteria called the Homestead in South Knoxville, Tennessee.

Three burly women wearing hairnets and large aprons over cotton house dresses stood behind a stainless-steel counter, serving up soups and stews from large steaming cauldrons. As soon as I opened my mouth, they gave me the stink eye.

They had a hard time understanding what I was saying, and I couldn’t understand them. 

It was the first time that I understood my Yonkers accent was unintelligible to the rest of the world. Every town in the world had its own way of speaking, and I had better pay attention if I wanted to survive. It made me develop a keen ear for writing dialogue. 

Norm: As a paralegal in antitrust law and later a law school student, what made you transition from the legal field to pursue a career in public relations?

Patricia:I had always wanted to become a writer, but I needed another career to complement writing, so I could make a living. The obvious career path would be teaching at a college level, but I didn’t have the temperament to work in academia. I thought the study of law was an intellectual pursuit, but it was really like learning a trade, becoming a plumber—a paper plumber filing motions to meet procedural deadlines!

I found that thinking like a lawyer stifled my creativity. I knew I was too eccentric to get a decent job and become a partner at a prestigious law firm. I began writing anything and everything, roving as a freelance writer. My first article was about the benefits of cruciferous vegetables for the American Cancer Society newsletter! 

Norm: Could you share with us some memorable moments from your early days in public relations, particularly your work with Kaye Smith Productions? How did this opportunity shape your understanding of the industry?

Patricia: While I roved around Seattle for freelance writing gigs, Gary Noren, a film director with Kaye Smith Productions, asked me to write their press releases.

I knew nothing about public relations, but I was a quick study. P.R. Executive Sandy Cogan had her own firm. She began outsourcing work for me and became my mentor.

I soon learned that if I wrote press releases that were good stories, they would be placed as “as is” as content in media outlets.

I didn’t get the byline for these stories, but that did not matter because I was getting paid by my client.

One of my first press releases appeared as a brief article in the Hollywood Reporter.

I could also expand my press releases to write feature articles in publications such as On Location Magazine. I also wrote a column about the film business for a publication called The Seattle Monthly. My writing talent gave me an edge in P.R., because the media wants good stories. 

Norm: It's impressive that you established your own national PR firm, Xanthus Communications. What were some challenges you faced while building your company, and how did you overcome them?

Patricia: Building a company takes passion, persistence, and intense focus—those traits are inherent in my nature.

I knew when to seize an opportunity. I also have to mention that I had a great mentor, Linda Ayares, who had many more years of experience than I had at the time.

Linda was a brilliant strategic thinker who had deep experience on a global scale.

She taught me almost everything I know about P.R. and what it took to build a business. From that standpoint, building a business was not a challenge.

The most tough decision I faced was personal. While I was building my company, I was a single parent raising three children and taking care of my mother who was disabled. Sometimes I couldn’t be fully present for my children, and I was a dismal tutor helping them with homework. (I’ve already explained that teaching is not my forte.)

My ability to hyperfocus allowed me to build a business and to keep a roof over our heads. Had it been different, I would probably be that same person, that same mother.

It’s not that I’m a terrible mother. My mind is always going places and I’m guilty of being an introvert. I have a highly evolved internal world, and I live fully in my interior world. Whether I am building a business or I’m creating books, articles and essays, my head is above the stars, seeing something or envisioning something that needs to be brought to life. 

Norm: PR for People® has helped to provide a platform for individuals to share their news with the world. What inspired you to create this unique media company, and how has it grown over the years?

Patricia: PR for People® spun off from Xanthus Communications in 2010.

With so many magazines and newspapers going out of business, there was a media meltdown that made it more competitive to get quality news written about my clients. PR for People® The Connector Magazine, and its accompanying news portal, made it possible to publish high quality articles about my clients and to distribute these stories to a much larger audience.

Then I expanded coverage to write stories about people who were not our clients. I aimed to tell the stories about real people who are doing amazing things in the world and deserve recognition but cannot afford to hire a P.R. firm. It’s my way of equalizing the playing field. 

Norm: Retirement from public relations in 2019 marked a significant transition for you. Why did you decide to maintain PR for People® as a pro-bono enterprise, and what has been its impact on the community?

Patricia: PR for People® (https://www.prforpeople.com/about/news-room) allows me to use my talent and energy as a force for good in this world.

When I was in business, my commitment to my work and to my family left little time for friendships. Ironically, now that I’ve retired, I have a coterie of former clients who have become my dear friends.

As a full-time writer, PR for People® has become part of my daily writing regimen.

I’m always scouting for good stories about people who are making a difference in this world. PR for People® also has many other writers who have written or are currently writing stories about people who are doing good work in the world. 

Norm: With your extensive writing experience, which aspect of writing do you find most fulfilling? Is there a particular piece or project that holds a special place in your heart?

Patricia: After the third book in the trilogy, So Not Yonkers, was published, I felt as though I could leave this world, knowing I had accomplished something that might stand the test of time.

I’m very proud of capturing a place and time in Yonkers history. I will continue to write about issues specific to Yonkers, and to the Working Class.

I’m developing a collection of essays, NOTES from the Working Class, that can be found on YonkersBooks.com.

I hope I live long enough to write ten more books, but if the Yonkers Trilogy is the last work in my literary career, I feel satisfied that I have fulfilled my destiny. (I’ll leave this world without kicking and screaming!)

Norm: Your historical fiction works set in Yonkers showcase your deep connection to your hometown. What inspired you to explore historical narratives through fiction, and what do you hope readers take away from these stories?

Patricia: I want people to understand the Yonkers working-class culture, circa 1969-1973.

I want people to learn the nuances of Yonkers' culture in the same way Edna O’Brien depicted Ireland during the 1960s and Willa Cather conjured the Great Plains in the mid-Nineteenth Century. The Yonkers Trilogy establishes a time and place in New York history that will never come again. 

Norm: The Death of a Library: An American Tragedy is a thought-provoking monograph that sheds light on the demolition of the Yonkers Carnegie Library. Could you share the inspiration behind this project and the significance it holds for you?

Patricia: I left my hometown of Yonkers at seventeen, but I never forgot the Yonkers Carnegie Library, which was the most beautiful building in the city.

The library was featured in the first two books of the Yonkers Trilogy. The commonly held belief was that the library was destroyed in 1982 to widen a road into a major arterial.

Yet, I became interested in what happened to the library because so many people disagreed about why the library had to be destroyed. I felt a moral obligation to set the record straight, by finding out what really happened.

I had intended to write an article, but I quickly found there were too many moving parts, so it evolved to become a monograph.

I discovered that what had happened to the library is a metaphor for what can happen to our democracy if we are not vigilant and take care of what we have.

I am deeply saddened by the loss of the library, but I feel some consolation in knowing that it will live on in the books that I wrote about Yonkers.

Norm: Social media has allowed you to connect with a substantial audience of over 40,000 followers. How do you use these platforms to engage with your readers and share your work effectively?

Patricia: I push out our news stories, book reviews and other newsworthy items on Facebook and Twitter.

Even though I have many thousands of followers on Twitter, little value is returned. The media uses Twitter, but I do not know if it makes a dent in the massive clutter.

Facebook is a more successful endeavor because people do read posts and respond to them. I also have a successful online book group on Facebook called Yonkers Books. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/YonkersBooks)

I did use Pinterest and Instagram but terminated the accounts because I found that “visual” social media does not stimulate interest in “The Connector Magazine” or books.

I am not interested in exploring TikTok or Snapchat, again for the same reason—visual media is not the best social media tool to use for books, articles, essays, newspapers, and magazines. 

The most effective tool is to build a genuine community—to find people who want to identify with your work because they want something more in life than just to be entertained. They are searching for meaning and they want to be inspired.

Norm: I would like to express my gratitude for your contributions to this interview. Your knowledge and perspective have undoubtedly enriched the conversation. I wish you continued success in your future endeavors, and I hope we can connect again. 

Norm Goldman -- bookpleasures.com
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