#Friday Author Spotlight Interview with Debra Ann Pawlak @dapwriter

Suspense for the Romantic Heart ~ Author Spotlight with 

Debbie Pawlak 

Amy Romine : If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?

Debra Pawlak : My favorite city in the world is Rome!  There is such a unique blend of old and new.  I am sure that if I could live there for a year, I would come up with a remarkable story about the Eternal City and its glorious history.  And the pasta is to die for! I would probably return with a nice think manuscript, googobs of pictures and a few extra pounds.

AR : What behind-the-scenes tidbit in your life would probably surprise your readers the most?

DP: Most folks are surprised to know that I have steel rods and hooks holding me up!  I am a scoliosis patient and I underwent a 12 hour spinal surgery almost thirty years ago. It made all the difference as I am still here, writing and enjoying life.  It also helped me get a wonderful writing gig for a magazine called ‘Scoliosis Quarterly’, which was dedicated to scoliosis patients and their doctors. I had some wonderful assignments that allowed me to ‘meet’ some pretty impressive people.  Long live curvy girls!

AR : Give a shout-out to a fellow author.

DP : I would like to give a shout-out to my writing partner, Cheryl Bartlam Du Bois!  She is a talented and dedicated writer. I couldn’t ask for a better co-author. I am proud to share my book covers with her!  For many years, Cheryl lived in Los Angeles while I resided in Michigan, but we made it work. Now, she has moved to Florida and we are finally in the same time zone!

AR : What would the logline be for your book?

DP : ‘Bringing Up Oscar, The Men and Women Who Founded the Academy’ 

This book tells the story of how 36 men and women from all over the world, all walks of life, various levels of education and different socio-economic backgrounds ended up in a room together in 1927 Hollywood.

‘Soldier, Spy, Heroine’ (written with Cheryl Bartlam Du Bois)

During America’s darkest hour, a real-life Civil War soldier, nurse and spy emerged to wage war against the Rebels while keeping the ultimate secret—he was really a she.

AR : How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

DP : I have had four books published—all history related.  Since my favorite topic is Hollywood History, I have to say that ‘Bringing Up Oscar’ remains my favorite.  As a matter of fact, it was as named runner-up in the nonfiction category of the 2011 Hollywood Book Festival and took first place in the History:  Media/Entertainment category of the USA Best Books 2011 Awards. 

Early Hollywood is filled with unique individuals who shaped the movies we know today and they shouldn’t be forgotten.  Their stories and their contributions to shaping the cinema into the preeminent art form of the Twentieth Century are just as dramatic (and often times funny) as any film you might see.  Forward-thinkers and hard-working individuals, they wouldn’t take no for an answer. And what a motley crew, they were--former cowboys, Alaskan gold miners, Vaudevillians, and even one amateur anesthesiologist.

AR: What is the most surprising thing you discovered while writing your book(s)?

DP : There is always something to discover and what you find may lead you to your next project.  I discovered Sarah Emma Edmonds (heroine in ‘Soldier, Spy, Heroine’) while researching my book for Arcadia Publishing.  In turn, while writing the Sarah Emma Edmonds book, Cheryl and I discovered Fanny Campbell, who is the lead character in our newest historical novel (we are still seeking a publisher for this one) and through Fanny Campbell, we found Moll Pitcher, the psychic of Lynn, Massachusetts who was a spy for George Washington.  Moll is the subject of our work in progress.

AR: Does one of your main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?

DP : Sarah Emma Edmonds is a special case. She was born in Canada, but settled in Flint, Michigan disguised as a man who sold bibles.  Eventually, she joined the Union Army and acted as a nurse, mail carrier and one of the earliest spies for the newly formed Secret Service.  Her story stands out and she has been inducted into the Michigan’s Women’s Hall of Fame along with such greats as Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, and Betty Ford.  No man was braver and certainly no more caring as she worked tirelessly for the Union cause.

AR : If one of your books was to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it?

DP: Funny you should ask. ‘Soldier, Spy, Heroine’ started out as a screenplay, which was recognized at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017 and featured in the Beverly Hills Film Festival that same year.  As a matter of fact, we launched the book at Sundance. We would love Jennifer Lawrence to consider the part.

AR : Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about?

DP : In the mid-1840s, a best-selling novel, 'Fanny Campbell, The Female Pirate Captain: A Tale of The Revolution' written by Maturin Murray Ballou took the country by storm. It sold more than 75,000 copies for a quarter each and marked the first time that a book centered on a literary heroine who took charge of her own life. Fanny Campbell inspired many girls of the Nineteenth Century including Michigan's own Sarah Emma Edmonds who, at the onset of the Civil War, disguised herself as a man and joined the Union Army. Likewise, Maud Buckley, the widow of a sea captain, was also stirred enough to get her own captain's license and sail the Great Lakes in the 1870s on her very own schooner, which she christened 'The Fanny Campbell'.

Now it's time for a new generation to hear Fanny's story and be inspired by her bravado and daring. In the second book they have coauthored, Debra Ann Pawlak and Cheryl Bartlam Du Bois have once again brought to life a heroine for the ages. It's time for a new generation to hear Fanny's tale, retold for the modern reader. 

Fanny Campbell found herself in the midst of a revolution when the British Colonies in the new world revolted against the Crown. Witnessing such rebellious activity as the Boston Tea Party and living with severe restrictions due to the ban of all things English, she fell in love during perilous times. When her intended was captured and imprisoned in Cuba, she took to the high seas, disguised as a man, named Bartholomew Channing, and commandeered a British brig to rescue her lover. Fighting, Pirates, rough waters, and English enemies, they were reunited and together they commandeered two more British merchant vessels and sent a notorious Pirate ship full of buccaneers into eternity. The captured British ships and their spoils were ultimately given to General Washington and proved invaluable during the Revolutionary War.

Set amid actual events such as the Battle of Lexington and Concord with real heroes of the past like Moll Pitcher, the famed Psychic of Lynn, Fanny’s story unfolds within a colorful period of American history and is sure to please history buffs and armchair adventurers, as well as inspire a new generation of women to meet any challenge head on. 

AR : What do you like to do when you are not writing?

DP: Lots of reading, travelling and spending time with family—especially my four little people.  And, of course, I love to watch old films—even the silent ones!

AR : What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

DP : It’s a little late, but I should have been a scenarist in Hollywood during the silent era.  Or maybe a title card writer. Hanging out at PIckfair with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford would have been at the top of my list.  Imagine hobnobbing with Chaplin, Lloyd and Keaton! Perhaps Irving Thalberg would have given me a job at MGM!

AR : If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

DP : “Come on in!  Let me take you to the library!”

DEBRA ANN PALAK Media Links

Website:  www.debraannpawlak.com

Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/Hollywood-Tales-from-Tinseltown-with-Debra-Ann-Pawlak-111910342180494/

Twitter:  @dapwriter

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Awesome Excerpt Thursday - The View from Kamaloka ~ Gael DeRoane

The ghost of your husband has something to tell you...about your new boyfriend… After the tragic death of her husband, Dan, Amy Shaw leaves her Pennsylvania home for Vermont, accompanied by Teddy Steiner, her bestie who has just broken up with his boyfriend and hopes to find love in the north country. They plan to live in an old house Amy has inherited from her eccentric cousin. Shortly after settling in, Amy meets Eric Jordan, the man of her dreams, and falls hard for him. But when Dan's ghost appears to Amy, bearing the message that she should investigate further into her new man's character and history, complications arise. Set on the shores of Lake Champlain, The View from Kamaloka takes the reader on a journey both light and dark through the realms of romance and the supernatural.

Buy NOW!

Excerpt

Standing over the sink, soaping up the last of the dinner dishes, I watched my husband back our Honda Pilot out of the driveway. He glanced toward the street, his broad shoulders turning slightly, his handsome face still aglow from our flirtations. I wondered if we would always flirt and banter, romantic even into our dotage. The Pilot crept into the street. Dan turned the wheel and was gone, and I felt in my heart the familiar momentary pang that accompanied every one of our partings, no matter how trivial. He was just going to the store. It was a seven-minute drive—we had timed it. And it was Sunday afternoon, no drunks or wild teens likely to be on the road. But ever since falling for Dan three years ago, I had gotten in the habit of believing that every goodbye would be our last. I had loved boys and men before Dan, but never with this painful twist added on.

But I suppose it was natural that the twist should be there. When you lose both your parents in a bizarre accident, it changes the way you think.

I put the last glass in the dish-drainer and turned off the water. Dan would be fine. He would return in a few minutes with ice-cream, and with other items, too, because he loved the colors and bright lights of grocery stores and was inclined to dawdle, succumbing to displays of goods that were newly minted or on sale.

My fear of losing him made sense for another reason. I found myself, at this point in my life, awash in a happiness more poignant and powerful than I had ever known. And in this world of suffering, how could such happiness last?

I dried my hands on the dishtowel and headed for the living room. The baseball game had gone dark to prevent screen burn. DVR, I knew, would keep it that way for ninety minutes.

Pride and Prejudice lay on the arm of the sofa. I had lost count of how many times I’d read it. Ten? At least. These days I dipped into its pages anywhere at all, knowing full well what would happen, but seeking immersion in the lovely sentences and the active minds of the characters.

I stretched out on the sofa, a throw-pillow behind my head, contentedly reading. Despite the heat, I had turned off the air conditioning and opened the windows, for I preferred fresh air almost always. A sudden wind came up, and I closed my eyes, hearing it rustle through the trees.

I dozed. When the book slid from my lap to the floor I reawakened. Glancing at the wall clock, I saw that my involuntary nap had encompassed almost half an hour.

Feeling thirsty, I padded in sock feet to the kitchen and extracted a bottle of water from the fridge. I gulped a third of it down before even closing the door. From afar I heard the wail of a siren.

Once more to the sofa. I picked up the book. Elizabeth Bennett was musing on the amiable appearance of Mr. Wickham. My attention wandered from the page, and my eyes fell upon the black screen of the television set. Why was Dan taking so long at the store?

A refrain entered my mind, from a song the nuns had taught me in grade school.

Oh, dear, what can the matter be? Dear, dear, what can the matter be? Oh, dear, what can the matter be? Johnny’s so long at the fair…

The phone rang, making me jump. It was the land phone, nestled on the credenza between a pile of magazines and an incense burner in the shape of a turtle.

“Hello?”

A dull hiss of a cell phone at the other end—a long pause.

 “Hello?” I repeated. I was growing annoyed.

“Amy. It’s Gwen Varrick, from the club.”

Gwen, an older woman who played tennis at the club where I sometimes gave lessons. “Hi, Gwen. What’s up?”

Another pause.

“Gwen?”

“I’m in Wegmans parking lot. I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to tell you this.”

My heart was suddenly pounding. “Just tell me.”

Gwen spoke what I already knew in my fevered, coursing blood. What I had always feared would happen.

“I’ll come down now,” I said, my voice strangely calm.

“No,” Gwen said. She paused. “He’s not here. The police…took him away. Someone will come to your home.”

I knew how this worked. It had happened to me before. The police never called you. They didn’t want you on the road in a frenzy of grief, a danger to all. An officer would arrive on your doorstep, hat in hand, his face grave. If someone called, it would be a busybody who had been at the scene by chance.

My fist held the phone so hard that it was cramping. I ended the call without saying anything more to Gwen.


Trembling all over, I sat on the sofa, staring into space, waiting for the knock on the door.



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Teaser Tuesday ~ Finders (Finders Ghost Hunting 1)

When an expert Demonologist meets a Reality Show Producer on the Ghost Hunting Show Finders, sparks of true love fly so brightly even the Devil takes notice.

Demonologist Luke Melloy has seen the face of pure evil. He's fought it and sent it back to hell. It's what he does. To Claire Westin, ghosts and demons are just great television and good for ratings. When she’s faced with the truth Luke has seen, her reality is turned upside down as the two are swept into dire straits moments after they meet. Desire sparks between the unlikely pair, throwing their hearts into chaos with a love neither of them expected nor wanted.

When the Demon targets an unsuspecting Claire with his wrath, Luke finds his focus split between his oath to God and the awakening of his heart. Together, can they face the ancient evil and defeat it, or will they lose everything?

Find out in Finders – 
OUT Now!~

Finders consisted of a team of eight to ten paranormal investigators. The supporting technical team was four boom operators and four cameramen. Depending on the size of the other locations, they could have more or fewer. For the investigation of Crestwater Church, Craig and Claire had doubled the number of cameras to enable multiple teams to be filming concurrently. In addition to the film equipment, the paranormal team employed a slew of scientific equipment to collect evidence of paranormal activity during the investigation. With the entire team at work, it would take a full day to set up and calibrate all of the necessary equipment.

The flurry of activity continued around her. Team members waved and said hello. Claire nodded, smiling in response. "How are we looking?" she asked Craig.

"Four hours until sundown, six until lights out. We’re right on schedule. I was just about to go around to the back of the church for some B-Roll shots. The foliage is amazing, and the shots I’m getting are phenomenal."

"Is the church open?"

"Yeah, we haven't locked it down for dinner yet."

"Cool, the three Venti Starbucks on the trip here are calling for an exit."

"Gotcha," Craig replied with a smile and a nod.

Claire inhaled the fresh air. Despite the cold, it was invigorating. She drank up the smell of wood, freshly fallen leaves, and dirt. Taking a closer look at the church, she realized the media photos didn't do justice to the immense structure.

Dark redwood covered the fifty-foot face. Jutting into the sky like a dagger, the roof was pointed and peaked ten feet above the face. The aged wood’s hues shifted with the sunlight, and the sway of trees gave the appearance of the inanimate object breathing. Against the backdrop of the autumn leaves, the sight was staggering and breathtaking. Claire ventured to the wide-mouth doorway opening of the church.

Piles of orange and yellow cords looked like snakes spilling out the open windows. The crunching of leaves beneath her feet and the whipping of the wind made her stride a little quicker. Hurrying up the plethora of steps, she lifted the red hot set tape barrier out of the way and pushed open the door.

As she stepped into the vestibule, the stale air stifled her lungs. The solid wooden door closed behind her, but sunlight continued to stream into the enclosed area via the large windows on either side. Thick darkness beyond the sun's reach constricted the expanse. Even the doors were massive, at twice her height, at least. She guessed they were made from solid walnut, from the ancient trees surrounding the church.

A chilling wisp crept within her hair to the back of her neck, like fingers playing with her hair. Claire instinctively turned. Seeing nothing but feeling a shiver up her spine, she took in the surroundings and searched for the bathroom. Eying a promising door, she made a beeline and found salvation.

Thankfully the facilities were in working order. After washing her hands in cold water, Claire dried them on her jeans. Taking a quick look in the cracked mirror, she adjusted her long brown hair tied up in a ponytail, smoothing any unruly strands and bumps before walking back into the vestibule.

The intricately carved stone lining the archway into the nave caught her eye, and she stopped, inspecting it closer. A carved frame of tree limbs with gnarled and knotted extensions bent and twisted around the mouth of the doorway, amazingly delicate and detailed. She could feel the bark beneath her fingertips despite knowing it was carved in stone.

Hearing Pip barking at the door, Claire moved away from the nave archway to the main entrance. Opening it, she saw no sign of her dog. Confused, she walked outside to the steps.

"Pip? Pippy, come!"

The flurry of activity when she’d arrived had ceased. The Finders crew had disappeared, and Claire remembered Craig mentioning dinner. Hearing another bark, she followed the sound.

"Pippy, come!" Claire said, her patience waning. She wasn't used to Pip not obeying her commands. They were going to need to talk. Finally, the dog appeared, sprinting out of the thick brush. She breathed an unconscious sigh of relief.

"Claire?"

Her heart leaped as Pip barked.

She spun toward the voice, seeing nothing but Pip taking off through the open door of the church. "Pippy!"

Claire chased after him, into the vestibule, but saw no sign of him. He barked again. The sound was muffled. He had to be on the other side of the large arched doors leading to the nave. Claire pulled on the slightly open door. It swept back with a whoosh of air and a loud thud, the sound echoing off the brittle walls, and a shower of dust rained down.

"Fuck. Pip, come here!" she yelled, attempting to not choke within the cloud of decay from the ruin.

Seriously?

Claire grabbed her phone, turning on the flashlight feature, utilizing it to explore. She shivered at the feel of invisible hands pulling her deeper into the darkness. Heart thudding and hands shaking, she struggled to remain calm, though her mind told her to run.

High cathedral ceilings jutted up to the heavens. Faded images of angels and cherubs adorned the beams. The pews remained, dust-covered and overrun by spiders. When the light flashed over the stone altar at the head of the room, Claire's heart skipped.

The sound of metal clanked on the floor, and Claire panicked, thinking she’d dropped her keys. Checking her pocket, she found her keys intact. Using her flashlight, she searched the surrounding floor for the source of the noise. Her eyes focused on a large old-fashioned key a few inches from where she stood. Reaching down, she picked it up. The cold metal felt icy in her hand. She examined it closely.

Pip barked. Claire turned, putting the key in her pocket, and realized how far away from the opening she'd traveled. Pip's fur brushed against her legs. She turned, glaring at him. "You and I are going to talk about this."

"Claire!"

She heard her name and turned. A scorched skull atop a body shrouded in black dominated her vision. Claire instinctively raised her arms, stepping back. The floor beneath her cracked before disappearing from beneath her feet. Her body fell. She screamed. The light above quickly faded, and wet darkness engulfed her senses. The impact rendered her immobile while agonizing pain from icy water shocked her entire body.

With her arms flailing, her senses returned. She struggled to kick her legs despite the hardening of her muscles. Up, I need to go up!

Pushing her arms in front of her, willing the blackness away, she prayed for air.

---

* * * * 

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