Patti Flinn
Patti Flinn is an author from central Ohio who loves food, books, and smooth jazz.
Flinn published her first suspense novel, THE LIST, in 2000. Reviews of the story–rife with superstition and set in the steamy heat of the deep south–convinced her that maybe writing was going to be a thing for her.
Under the pen name Ava Bleu—proponent of extraordinary love–Flinn went on to release THE DIVA OF PEDDLER’S CREEK. With this first romance Flinn won the 2010 Romance Writers Ink Award for Romantic Comedy, was nominated for 2011 Romance Slam Jam’s Emma Debut Author of the year, and was a finalist for the 2011 More than Magic Contest for Best Romantic Comedy. On its heels was GLORIOUSSUNSET, a finalist for the 2015 Phillis Wheatley Award for Fiction sponsored by the Harlem Book Fair. Flinn later penned a different kind of love story with THE IVYHURST series of novellas, delving into relationships among couples and neighbors in a town slowly being gentrified.
After taking a break, Flinn dipped her toe back into the waters in 2020, releasing her first children’s novel, ALAYA AND HER SPARKLING RIVER (in both English and French). She fully returned to writing adult novels in 2022, delving deeply into historical fiction. In September 2022 she released, VÉRONIQUE’S JOURNEY, the story of a young woman of African descent in 18th-century France, earning a 2023 IPPY Award for best adult fiction ebook. The short novel, VÉRONIQUE’S MOON, follows the same character. Both novel shorts serve as an introduction and parallel story to the upcoming full-length 3-book series, THE LAST FAVORITE’S PAGE. Based on—and inspired by—French historical figure Louis-Benoit Zamor, the latest series explores what life might have been like for this black man who was forever known as a traitor for turning over the infamous mistress of King Louis XV, Madame Jeanne du Barry, to the French Revolutionary Tribunal.
In fall of 2023, Flinn was awarded a grant from the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC).
Flinn’s life-long love of books started early, organically leading to a B.A. in English, where she learned to analyze and interpret classic literature. This unique perspective showed her that literature was about much more than proper grammar and the story on the page. Driving her writing is the understanding that every work of fiction informs future readers of the circumstances, values, and beliefs of that time.
In addition to her fiction works Patti has been a grant-writer, a ghostwriter, and a copywriter. Her writing has been featured in The Writer Magazine, The Ascent, and Thrive Global. And when serving the community, she has naturally gravitated to the cause she loves, working as a tutor for the Columbus Literacy Council and ColumbusReads. When she’s not writing or reading, Flinn loves to bake and is slowly growing a collection of unique and antique cookbooks. After returning to school for her MBA, Flinn created the “Exploring My Happy” blog to encourage women Gen X and older to keep pursuing their dreams, no matter their age.
A believer in the importance of literature, communication, the arts, and community service, Patti Flinn strives to encourage everyone to fulfill their dreams and find the “extraordinary” individual within.