Author Spotlight: Gretel Patch’s Memoir Journey Through the Lucinda Literary Mastermind

If you’ve ever felt uncertain about how to bring your memoir to market, Gretel Patch’s journey shows what’s possible when you match a powerful personal story with expert guidance and a supportive literary community.

A mother of four, diplomat’s wife, lifelong storyteller, and valued member of Lucinda Literary’s Mastermind, Gretel has spent nearly two decades building bridges between cultures and communities. Her life is one of constant movement—across continents, customs, and languages—and yet, her writing anchors it all. When it came time to bring her memoir to life, she didn’t just want to write beautifully; she wanted to publish strategically. And that’s when she found Lucinda Literary.

After discovering Get Signed through a webinar hosted by memoir expert Marion Roach Smith, Gretel instantly felt a connection. “Lucinda’s down-to-earth style helped me feel hopeful that I could actually get published,” she recalls. “She demystified an industry that was near impossible to decipher.”

From there, Gretel participated in a range of LL offerings, from Ask an Agent Q&As on Instagram to publishing bootcamps. But when Book Publishing Accelerators launched in Summer 2024, she jumped at the chance for deeper strategy and insight, and accelerated her progress. “Throughout that summer, I was buoyed up by Lucinda’s expert feedback and my fellow accelerators’ support.”

That momentum led to her invitation into the inaugural cohort of the Mastermind Program, where Gretel embarked on the next phase of her publishing journey.

Gretel entered the Lucinda Literary Mastermind with a near-complete manuscript and a working draft of her proposal. She left with a polished pitch, a refined manuscript, and, most importantly, the confidence to move toward publication with purpose and resilience.

“The Mastermind stripped me down to my writing bones and undid me in the best way,” Gretel reflects. “Putting it all on the table and opening up my heart to this level of tough love is hard. Yet, there is something powerful in being known, to have a room full of accomplished people care enough to fuel me forward. Even though our manuscripts are well underway, it’s been like witnessing a birth: of an idea, a next chapter, a title, a message.”

Lucinda’s feedback, Gretel says, was always offered with “compassionate precision.” And the program’s palpable sense of camaraderie built quickly and helped knit the community of writers together, fueling their growth. “We started our bi-weekly meetups as strangers, mere faces on a screen. When we gathered for our Spring meetup in NYC, we met as friends. By Fall, we reunited as family.”

Gretel is currently querying agents and awaiting news from a publisher that accepted her unagented submission during their open reading period. Though one dream agent passed, the door is far from closed. “With the tools, knowledge, and confidence I’ve gained, I have no doubt I will be signed soon,” she says. “And I’m ready.”

Lucinda has been continually struck by Gretel’s steady commitment to the work, sharing, “Gretel is a steadfast, tireless writer who’s always willing to dive deeper into her work; she has the quiet strength every memoirist needs. Watching her show up, again and again, even after setbacks, has been inspirational, and it’s been a joy to witness her publishing journey unfold over the past year.”

Home Anywhere: A Mother’s Pilgrimage to Cultivate Roots Across Borders is a sweeping memoir that captures the emotional complexity, cultural richness, and spiritual grounding of a life lived in motion. As the spouse of a U.S. diplomat and a mother of four, Gretel traces her journey from the arid heat of Djibouti and Saudi Arabia, to the colorful chaos of Kathmandu and Mumbai, to the coastal richness of Sydney and the urban cadence of Frankfurt.

But this is more than a travelogue. With lyrical prose and profound honesty, Gretel explores the toll of constant upheaval, the tenacity of maternal love, and the sustaining grace of faith. Each chapter reveals what it means to bloom in unfamiliar soil, offering wisdom and kinship to those who feel unrooted in their own lives.

Written for Christian readers, foreign service families, global citizens, and anyone who’s ever asked “Where do I truly belong?”, Home Anywhere is a deeply personal invitation to discover that home is not just a place we find, but something we create. And ultimately, become.

Gretel’s journey reminds us that the road from book deal to publication is long and winding, but it’s one worth walking—and the path becomes easier when you’re supported by a close community of fellow writers.

To anyone writing across borders—literal or metaphorical—Gretel’s journey is a powerful reminder that your voice matters, your message is needed, and your book belongs in the world.

Meet Gretel Patch
📍 Writer | Diplomat’s Wife | Global Community Builder
🌐 Website: GretelPatch.com
📰 Substack: At Home Anywhere
💼 LinkedIn: Gretel Patch