Lottery

Perry’s IQ is only 76, but he’s not stupid. His grandmother taught him everything he needs to know to survive. She taught him to write things down so he won’t forget them. She taught him to play the lottery every week. And, most important, she taught him who to trust. When Gram dies, Perry is left orphaned and bereft at the age of thirty-one. Then he wins twelve million dollars with his weekly Washington State Lottery ticket and finds he has more family than he know what to do with…

___

Patricia Wood reads from Lottery

Patricia Wood

is a PhD student at the University of Hawaii, focusing on education, disability and diversity. Lottery is inspired by her work, as well as by a number of events in her life, including her father winning the Washington State Lottery. She lives with her husband aboard a sailboat moored in Ko’Olina, Hawaii. This is her first novel. Patricia has one son, Andrew, who lives in Everett, where Lottery is set.

Patricia Wood's q & a

What sparked Lottery?
Although most think Lottery was inspired by my father’s lottery win, in reality it was mostly inspired by my work in disability studies and my ex-brother in law who has Down syndrome. And then there was Perry’s voice that spoke to me out of my subconscious who wanted to tell me a story...

Where and when is the novel set?
Lottery is set in some undefined present time in the waterfront town of Everett, Washington, USA. In reality it could be set anywhere in the world.

Do you have a favourite character in the novel?
My favorite character is Keith. I knew so many struggling Vietnam veterans who were damaged, I knew I had to include one in my novel. When readers write me — they all seem to know a Keith and his troubles resonate with them.

What's your favourite children's book and why?
Only one? It would be have to be Black Beauty. Told in first person with an unusual narrator, it allowed me to understand a unique perspective and demonstrated to me how empathy for circumstances can be created. It made me care deeply. Much like my intention in Lottery.