How and when did you get hooked on history?
I grew up on a property on the outskirts of Richmond, VA in the area that was then considered Fair Oaks. That exact property had served as a hospital camp for injured from the Civil War during the Seven Days Battle and many soldiers had been buried there. I saw strange things as a child and could sense the intensity of history and the past activity around me. My father would take me hunting for Civil War relics and I played with the neighborhood children in the surrounding trenches that had been dug all around the neighborhood. As a teenager we dared each other to walk through the haunted battlefields in the area at night. These experiences intrigued me and when Debra Ann Pawlak submitted a treatment to F.O.C.U.S., my screenwriting Institute, on Sarah Emma Edmonds’ heroic service dressed as a man for the Union Army I was fascinated. In fact, she served as a field nurse/medic in the Battle of Fair Oaks and Malvern Hill––likely on our very property. When Spielberg produced Lincoln and revived filmmaking about the Civil War and it was a success, I called Debra the next day and said let’s write the movie together. First, we wrote a feature screenplay about Edmonds, then decided that we needed to tell more of the story, so we backed into the Historical Novel. Although our books are as close to accurate as we can be, we have to categorize them as Historical Fiction since we include dialogue in them.
What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?
I grew up boating and sailing on the Chesapeake Bay and then I graduated college I moved to Ponce Inlet, Florida to sail professionally. Due to my time spent on the water I was able to study, take the test, and acquire my Six Passenger US Coast Guard Merchant Marine Captain’s license in 1979. I was the second woman on the East coast to receive that license and the first woman had already lost hers due to a terrible accident. They did not want to issue another woman a license and I had to fight the Captain that was doing my oral interview for it, insisting that if the only reason that he was refusing me a license was because I was female, then that was most definitely prejudice. When he finally gave up and pulled out the certificate to issue it, the license read, “…and he can safely be entrusted to operate…” He looked at it confused and uncertain what to do with it and I simply suggested that he put it in the typewriter and XX out he and type she above it. So, I suppose I was indeed a small part of history in the Marine Industry for furthering women’s future in the industry.
I upgraded my license three years later to 100-ton Ocean Operator and today hold my 100-ton Master Merchant Mariner license to this day. I am in the process of upgrading to 200-ton this year.
Working in the Marine Industry has greatly aided my writing since I have now written 3 marine related historical books––WEST OF THE EQUATOR, and our two newest––THE REVOLUTION: Captain, Pirate, Heroine and THE REVOLUTION II: Seer, Spy, Heroine.
How does history play a part of your professional life/career?
In 1986 I moved to Park City, Utah and went to work for Robert Redford assisting with graphic design and marketing for what was then The United States Film Festival (aka The Sundance Film Festival). Although I had worked in television all through college as a graphic designer and animator, I was totally inspired by Redford to learn screenwriting and start producing film. I wrote a number of screenplays for myself and for hire over the years and then one day I decided to write a book.
My first novel, WEST OF THE EQUATOR: In Search of Paradise, was written about my experiences in the West Indies from 1980-’86, sailing my 50’ Peter Spronk catamaran from St, Maarten to St. Barth almost every day. Built in 1979, today that boat is considered a classic wooden catamaran and can still stand up to racing with modern day cats. I was so fascinated by the vast history of the Greater and Lesser Antilles that I read everything I could find about the area and I included much of the islands’ history in my novel. Today, this book is considered Historical Fiction and is being republished this year as ISLAND FEVER. I then adapted the book for the screen when it was first optioned by the Godfather of Hollywood, Ray Stark and later by Jeff Apple (In The Line Of Fire & The Recruit).
Also, while I was living on my boat with no television and little entertainment, I voraciously read Historical Fiction books by Wilber Smith. I have read most of his 55 titles and see him as one of the most prolific and entertaining HF authors on the market. In fact, I later went on to option his book, THE SUNBIRD, for a major motion picture. Unfortunately, the partner I optioned it with later went out of business.
Why is studying/knowing history important?
Studying history is important so that we understand where we came from and what we are made of. But most importantly, so we that we don’t repeat our past mistakes and genocides. I see the current movement to erase history as a huge set-back for mankind. Only a fool ignores their mistakes and blindly moves forward not learning from our history.
What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?
I have now written 5 Historical Fiction books about war, SOLDIER, SPY, HEROINE (Civil War); THE REVOLUTION: Captain, Pirate, Heroine; THE REVOLUTION II: Seer, Spy, Heroine (Revolutionary War); A DREAM OF DEMOCRACY (WWII); BACK OFF I’M A DALTON (Korean War) and I have to say that I find the Revolutionary War period the most powerful. Not only that the Patriots sacrificed so much to fight for what they believed in, but because it was the start of the American Navy and it launched the Merchant Marine Industry into the future, turning what was considered piracy, into legal privateering. Not to mention that it fostered the founding of our country.
You and your writing partner have written 3 titles in a series of books called “Secret Heroines.” Who are they and why are their stories important to tell?
I believe that Debra has provided a better description of these 3 amazing women, Sarah Emma Edmonds, Fanny Campbell, and Moll (Mary) Pitcher, than I ever could. These 3 brave women served a great cause and should never have been left out of American History. Although, no one knows for sure the true identity of Fanny Campbell from the original 1840s book, her character has served to inspire and free women around the world to pursue their dreams.
You are an historical writer and a screenwriter. How do the two fields complement each other?
Due to the fact that I started as a screenwriter, as did Nicholas Sparks, I write my books based on screenplay format as did Sparks. This system has never failed me and we are well aware of Sparks’ success. In fact, when I decided the write WEST OF THE EQUATOR, I went to Hawaii alone on vacation and locked myself in my room with a copy of THE HORSE WHISPERER and many pads of paper. Then I read and wrote long hand for a week. When I left, I had 8 finished chapters of my book that I never changed other than corrections. So, I can honestly say that Nicholas Sparks taught me how to write a novel as did my professor at American Film Institute who taught me script structure.
Ultimately, every time I write a book my ultimate goal is to see it on the screen, either big or small. Unfortunately, not that many people read books anymore, so for them to learn more about our history, film and TV are the best mediums to convey information about our mistakes and successes throughout history.
Since my film literary agent passed away a few years ago I am currently talking to one of his partners about moving forward with our new books, which we have already adapted for television. I also still write directly for film and TV and have a few new TV series in the works.
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