7 Questions with Robert Redd, Author and Florida Historian

Robert Redd lives in central Florida.  He earned a B.A. in American Studies from Stetson University and an M.A. in Public History from American Public University System. He previously served as the Executive Director for the New Smyrna Museum of History., and he is currently the Cultural Coordinator for Volusia County, Florida. He considers himself a regional historian with wide-ranging interests. As of November, 2023, he has written or co-written seven books about Florida history, with another on the way soon. His website is https://robertreddhistorian.com/ .

1. How and when did you get hooked on history?

I suppose the interest has always been there. It just took something to bring it out. One

summer while in college I worked in the college bookstore so I got to handle a lot of titles

and see what was being used in courses. From there, I chose my major, American

Studies.

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

A lot of my personal life revolves around my interest in history. My wife and my

honeymoon revolved around several locations steeped in history. While many folks seek

out beaches, theme parks, or all-inclusive resorts for vacations, we are looking for areas

with history we can explore, museums, areas with a cultural impact.

I seldom read fiction. I am usually reading history for research projects or personal

interest. Right now, my nightstand has books on Bloody Sunday, the American Civil War,

the donut in American history, and several journal articles for a project I am working on.

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

For the last 10 years or so, history has been an important part of my professional life. I

served as Executive Director for a small community museum for four years before

moving into a role in county government.

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

I think the study of history is often more important in a broader context rather than

knowing every field movement on a specific battlefield.

Knowing and understanding the past, which are two different things, can help us

understand the present and how we arrived here. The past can also help guide us

toward the future. We can understand patterns and trends that have repeated

themselves. Hopefully, in spotting trends, we can avoid those that have proven harmful

in the past.

By understanding the struggles, of say, African Americans and women in gaining the

right to vote, we can understand and hopefully address their concerns and anger as

voting rights cases make their way through the legal system.

The study of history also allows for students of any age to develop critical thinking skills.

They are better able to analyze information and determine its credibility. The ability to

independently think is something that seems to be disappearing in our world.

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and

why?

This actually becomes a difficult question. I suppose an overriding interest has been the

American Civil War. Living a far distance from most major battlefields however can put a

damper on that enthusiasm. For such study, being able to walk the fields is crucial in my

estimation.

A recent interest has become the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry, Northern

Ireland. While that particular day is crucial in the study of the issue of Catholic civil rights

and the struggle for Irish independence, it leads to so much more and how did issues

come to such a head that day. What does that day, fifty years ago, mean to those still

living with the tragedy today.

Finally, having worked in a small community museum, I find it important on a local level,

to keep up with things happening in your community. The type questions I most often

received were about restaurants, hotels, other businesses, people, buildings, and roads.

These were things that people were asking about from their lifetime. They weren’t

usually asking about events from 100+ years ago. They were asking about things from

say the 1950s through the early 2000s. Are we doing a good job of preserving that type

of history so that in another 50 years when people are asking about things from their

childhood (you know, the good ole days,) we are able to answer? I think the answer is

often, no. The reply I often receive is, oh, it will be on the internet. Well, maybe.

6.        In addition to being an author, you serve as the Cultural

Coordinator of Volusia County Florida. What does that job entail exactly?

I do work for the County of Volusia, in Parks, Recreation, & Culture. As Cultural

Coordinator I work with the county Art in Public Places program. This program ensures

that new construction projects with a public element follow county ordinance in having a

very small percentage of their construction budget allocated to public art. The most

recent project has been a remodeling of Daytona International Airport and adding art to

their collection.

 

I monitor and oversee the county Community Cultural Grant program. This program

helps provide operating funding to qualified 501C organizations. This fiscal year the

county if proving funding to 30 culturally based (art, history, music, theatre, etc.)

organizations. These organizations submit applications which are vetted and scored by

the Cultural Council advisory board. I work closely with the Cultural Council throughout

the year and serve as their staff liaison.

I also handle grant writing for Parks. I often create a primary draft which Is then reviewed

and edited. I handle much of the grant reporting for awards we receive. The most recent

application I have completed involves replacing a deteriorating seawall that if not correct

could endanger boat ramp access to a popular body of water.

I work with other cultural initiatives the county may be involved in. I have helped create

historic markers, I respond to inquiries from the public, and “other duties as assigned.”

7.        Please tell us about a couple of your recent and/or upcoming

book projects?

My most recent book is titled Civil Rights in Florida. That is my seventh book published

with Arcadia/History Press. It covers stories such as Jackie Robinson, the 1955

Tallahassee Bus Boycott, woman’s suffrage in the state, and more.

In May 2024, my next book will be released. I am honored to be co-author with Dr. Nick

Wynne and Dr. Joe Knetsch on a book titled Florida in Flight: An Aviation History. This

will also be published by History Press and is an introduction to the history of flight in

Florida.

Currently, I am at work on a book tentatively titled Florida Scoundrels. This will probably

be released in early 2025. I’m about half way through it right now. It will tell the story of

some of the many “scoundrels” throughout Florida history. I plan to avoid the obvious

such as Aileen Wuornos, Casey Anthony, George Zimmerman, and the like. There’s too

easy in a way and people are tired of them.

 

7 Questions With "Katherine Sewing" - Historical Fashion and Hair Blogger

 

Katherine runs the Youtube channel, blog, and instagram "Katherine Sewing", where fllowers learn about historical hair care and hand made fashion.  She loves learning about history in a deep sense, not just what happened and why, but what other perspectives there are on that, and what it felt like to live and dress in historical times.  She enjoys examining how their perspectives differed from ours, and how we can apply that to understanding our cultural blind spots today. Her website is https://www.katherinesewing.com/ 

1. How and when did you get  hooked on history?

I have a love of history in my blood. My Dad built the home I grew up in with a Victorian design and used historical stone masonry techniques. The earliest drawings I remember making as young child were of women wearing historical dresses, or women from ancient Egypt. I got hooked on vintage style as a teenager, and later full blown historical fashion as well as hair care in my early twenties. I felt disenchanted with not only modern fashion and hair care, but also many modern ways of "doing life".

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

I love delving into historical solutions to my modern problems, such as historical clothing and hair care techniques. Myself and most of the members of my immediate family all have a love of history and historical aesthetics, that show up for us differently.

3. How does history play  a part of your professional life/career?

History is the inspiration for everything I create and the subjects I research. As a late teenage I got into professional oil portraiture, inspired by the historical masters. Now I create online content around interpreting historical sewing, dressing, and hair care into modern day life.

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

Studying history is important because it is the only way to gain a more complete perspective of the way our world and life is today. This allows us to critically evaluate practices and ways of thinking which would otherwise be taken for granted. Thus, studying history gives us more freedom to craft our life and worldview in the way that serves us best, rather than mindlessly accepting current norms which may have already been proven unsuccessful (or otherwise unsuitable for us) by history.

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

I love learning about historical fashion, hair care, and art. I also have a love for classical literature. I am attracted to all of these topics because I feel that more effort, time and thought were put into these (and other) areas throughout most of history, due to their different primary aims in the past. I believe they were led primarily by the pursuit of beauty and excellence, rather than utilitarian, mass production, or commercial aims. Especially when it comes to literature, I feel that I can relate and find more substance in historical literature. As a Christian, I am also of late enjoying studying early Church history to better understand my faith.

6.  What is "Katherine Sewing" and how did it come about?

 "Katherine Sewing" is the online enterprise I have created, that first began as an excuse to prioritize and film my historical fashion projects. It has now evolved into the primary income source for my family, and allows me to share my expertise and inspire others in the areas of historical hair care, aesthetics, and creativity.

7.  what do you hope followers of "Katherine Sewing" take away with them?

I hope followers of "Katherine Sewing" come away with a love for beauty, and a willingness to take the time to  achieve it. I also hope they come away with an ability to think critically about our current ways of dressing and  caring for ourselves. I also hope to inspire women that motherhood is not a death sentence to our creativity, but  can rather be a source of inspiration.

7 Questions With Author Judy Pearson

 

Judy Pearson is a best-selling author, an accomplished presenter, and a graduate of Michigan State University. But her favorite title is “story teller.” With five books and millions of published words to her credit, she’s also a fan of history and intrigued by what motivates unsung heroes and heroines to act so selflessly.

Judy was named one of Chicago’s Most Inspirational Women, a Top Phoenix Woman to Know, a Warrior with Hope and a Phoenix Healthcare Hero. Judy and her husband live in Nokomis, FL, loving life and making one another laugh every day. Learn more about her and her books at  JudithLPearson.com  .

1. How and when did you get hooked on history?

My dad was a WWII pilot. And he also loved the “olden days of the wild west.” Consequently, television shows with those themes were a constant in our house. And he loved to regale me (and later my two sons) with extra tidbits about whatever he was watching.

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

Fast forward to my college years. I was a French major at Michigan State, was fluent in the language and spent a year at a university in Rennes, France. I enrolled in literature and history classes with the other French students, and spent every weekend possible visiting historical places in the country.

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

Although I began my writing life wanting to be a novelist, when I uncovered the documents that led to my first published biography, Belly of the Beast, I was able to secure a top agent in NYC. His advice then still serves me well: there are lots of novelists, but if you become an expert in a time period, you’ll develop a following. And I’m fortunate to have done that.

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

The classic reason is that studying history helps us repeating our mistakes. That’s true to a certain extent. But I have another favorite reason: the past is prologue. It’s etched into the brick facade of the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. (one of my favorite and frequent haunts). Everything we do today, personally and as a nation, is driven by our experiences in the past. Like a book’s prologue, it’s what drives our future.

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

Oh man, that’s like asking me to name my favorite child! I began my career immersed in WWII. And that’s still a favorite. But my last two books and my current project are primarily set in the 1960s and 1970s. From a business standpoint, that’s a good era as baby boomers remember it and are prodigious readers.

6. You’ve said that you write “stories that inspire” about “unsung heroes”. How do you discover subjects for your books and what are the common threads that run through your subjects? 

It seems that my subjects find me. Some have unexpectedly turned up, as in the case of my first two biographies. The last two and my current project are part of a trilogy I’m writing completely out of order. Research for one led to the next and then the next. But the common thread is courage. We know about Amelia Earhart, George Patton, and Abigail Adams. But Estel Myers, Virginia Hall, Susie Leigh and Mary Lasker aren’t familiar names. And yet the courage of each changed the lives of millions.

7. Please tell us about your most recent book and, if you want to share, your next project(s)?

Crusade to Heal America: The Remarkable Life of Mary Lasker came out in September,  2023. She was a wealthy socialite, but spent every waking hour lobbying Congress for medical research funding. It’s because of Mary that the National Institutes of Health is plural and that President Richard Nixon signed the 1971 National Cancer Act. 

From that research (and research for the previous book, From Shadows to Life: A Biography of the Cancer Survivorship Movement) I learned about the three women in my current project. With a working title of Radical Sisters, it’s the story of how Shirley Temple Black, Rose Kushner and Evelyn Lauder used their breast cancer diagnoses to further the women’s health revolution of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. The target publication date is spring 2025. 

7 Questions With Maura Graber, Editor of the Etiquipedia Etiquette Encyclopedia

 

Are you a fan, like me, of "The Gilded Age" TV series and amazed by the elaborate societal rules of the day? Today's subject is an etiquette consult for the show.

Maura J. Graber began her Southern California image enhancement business in 1984. By 1988

she had launched a clothing line sold throughout the U.S.. Graber ventured into the field of etiquette in 1990, and has since taught thousands of students from all walks of life. Schoolchildren, celebrities, CEOs, homeless youths & teens in 'at-risk' groups, have all benefitted from her courses in social graces and the vital skills needed to help them navigate the intricate, and sometimes baffling, social pathways they'll encounter throughout their lives.

Her popular books, seminars on etiquette, antique cutlery, dining history and etiquette history, have made Graber a sought-after authority and speaker. A frequent guest on radio and television news programs since the 1990’s, Graber was a featured regularly on Southern California’s KVCR-PBS for 14 years, where she also produced news segments and gave restaurant reviews. Maura has been covered in hundreds of publications, including The Los Angeles Times, Victoria Magazine, Country

Living, Korea Times, Parenting Magazine and “Historie.”

As matriarch of the Graber Olive House and C.C. Graber Olive Co., she is involved in the historic family olive business, but continues to consult, teach etiquette and write. Most recently she’s worked as a historical etiquette and dining consultant for Julian Fellowes on his hit HBO period drama, The Gilded Age and is the site editor and creator of the online site, Etiquipedia Etiquette Encyclopedia. Her popular books on antiques, history and dining etiquette are available on Amazon. Her newest book will be available in January 2024. (Blog Link https://etiquipedia.blogspot.com/ )

1. How and when did you get hooked on history? 

I think I always have been hooked on history, even when I was young, though I wasn’t aware of the fact until I was in college. One professor in particular used to stress that he didn’t consider himself a teacher as much as he did a historian. I feel myself thinking more and more that way about myself as I get older.

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life? 

Some of my fondest memories of conversations I’ve had throughout my life, are some I had with those born in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century. I was always asking much older relatives and their friends about what their lives were like when they were younger. Those stories have stuck with me. I know I used those stories when raising my kids and still use them in my work teaching etiquette. Those stories are really something to learn from, even if many just illustrate how the times and technology may change, but human behavior remains pretty much the same, regardless of the era one lives in.

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career? 

I started collecting odd, unusual utensils in 1990, when I first opened the RSVP Institute of Etiquette. I started teaching etiquette to children and teens. I found that odd old utensils kept my students interested in setting a table properly and how to eat and serve foods, etc… I soon was teaching adults, putting on 9 course gilded age etiquette dinner seminars in our historic home, and the adults loved my odd utensils, too. Before I knew it, I was in “Victoria” and “Country Living” magazines, the Los Angeles Times and several other publications discussing my antiques. I was asked to lecture for various groups like the DAR and at museums, etc… and still do talks, going into history of all sorts. It’s much more than the dining utensils. 

Now, in my 34th year teaching etiquette, I have written 3 books on the subject of dining history and utensils created and the etiquette used, along with discussing other antiques. People enjoy learning about the history more than I realized. In the past dozen years, along with teaching etiquette classes, my forks and Etiquipedia were featured in an article on the history of the fork in Europe in the European magazine “Historie”, I have given numerous talks on the errors made in period dramas and was a most recently a guest on two Shakespearean history podcast episodes. Since the late-2020, I have been consulting for the HBO series, “The Gilded Age,” by Julian Fellowes. I’m currently finishing up writing my 4th book and brushing up on 19th century aristocratic  etiquette for consulting on a proposed period drama series set in Umbria Italy.

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

We all can learn so much from the past that would help us avoid making similar mistakes in the future. People tearing down  or removing statues of historical figures, like Teddy Roosevelt for example, are robbing future generations of developing a natural curiosity in who someone was and why he or she was an important figure. You can’t change the past by removing evidence of what happened. You’re simply keeping future generations from that knowledge.

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why? 

I was always fascinated by the Victorian era. It is such a dichotomy, what with the image that the Victorian era can conjure up of a genteel, and well-mannered age, and the reality of Queen Victoria’s own manners being so horrific. She had some of the worst table manners and social manners in Great Britain at the time! Just recently I have really been studying more on the Georgian and Regency periods, as they were pivotal with regard to the fork becoming the dominant table utensil it is today. 

6. What is Etiquipedia and how did it come to be? 

The Etiquipedia Etiquette Encyclopedia is a free, online resource with thousands of articles on etiquette and etiquette history. I have no ads or pop-ups. One can look up just about anything regarding manners, etiquette, decorum and diplomacy. The impetus for the site was a conversation I had with an instructor trainee of mine at the end of 2011. I was always encouraging her to research anything she read about etiquette to make certain she wasn’t getting incorrect information. There is a lot of incorrect etiquette online. She was lamenting the fact that there was no place to go online that had everything in one spot. I got the idea to do it then. I came up with a name and set up the blogspot. In the beginning, there were so few posts and I encouraged her to contribute some articles on subjects I had her research. Sadly, she died very suddenly in 2015, so I pushed myself harder to make it a great site. Now, I try to publish one new post each day.

 7. What do you hope your readers and followers take from your work?

I hope my readers benefit in some way from what I post, other than just getting better grades on tests or for classes. About 4 years into creating the site I discovered that links to more than a few articles from my site are on school websites, all around the world. One university in Japan asked if they could reprint a dining history article in their course books. I get numerous questions emailed to me regarding research for class assignments and I’m always happy to help. I also receive DM’s on Instagram. I’ll wake up early in the morning to a DM from a follower out antique shopping or at a flea market in Italy or France, Argentina, etc… complete with photos, asking me what the item was used for and what the etiquette was for it and why. The fact that these people, young and old, around the world are reaching out and asking me about the history of something is truly extraordinary and so unexpected. It’s very flattering, but in the grand scheme of things, I’m just one of millions out there who love sharing history with others.

 

7 Questions With Cheryl Bartlam Du Bois, Author and Screenwriter

 

Cheryl du Bois, a talented writer and screenwriting instructor, has written many books and screenplays during her career. Her BFA from VCU and graduate studies at UCLA and AFI in film and writing have armed her with knowledge and skills in the literary world as well as the entertainment and communications industry. She also holds her USCG Merchant Mariner Captain’s license. After 30 years working in Los Angeles in the entertainment industry, she now resides in Florida writing full-time and driving passenger vessels from Port Canaveral.

1. 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. 

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

7 Questions With Debra Ann Pawlak, Author and Screenwriter

 

Debra Ann Pawlak has been writing professionally since 2000. Most recently, she has co-written three

historical fiction novels with her writing partner, Cheryl Bartlam Du Bois. Together, they have also

completed a screenplay based on the life of Civil War legend Sarah Emma Edmonds and were named

finalists in the Filmmatic Screenplay Competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017. The screenplay was also featured at the Beverly Hills Film Festival that same year. In addition, Debra has written a non-fiction book called Bringing Up Oscar, The Men and Women Who Founded the Academy about the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Bringing Up Oscar was 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. In the past, Debra was a regular contributor to two on-line entertainment magazines based in Los Angeles. She profiled a variety of personalities, including French entertainer Mistinguet, legendary outlaw Belle Starr,  and Hollywood’s original It Girl, Clara Bow. She also covered such intriguing events as the 1914 sinking of the Empress of Ireland in the St. Lawrence Seaway, the 1927 Bath School massacre in Michigan and the rum-running antics of Detroit’s own mobsters, The Purple Gang, during Prohibition.

She has also written multiple Hollywood history articles about the fascinating world of silent film and the nearly forgotten personalities who, at one time, held the world spellbound. Among those early Hollywood figures were flapper Colleen Moore, who ushered in the Jazz Age, rotund Fatty Arbuckle, the blacklisted funny man accused of murder, as well as Tinseltown’s first super couple, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and his wife, Mary Pickford, who defined Hollywood royalty.  Debra also authored a book, Farmington and Farmington Hills, for Arcadia Publishing’s ‘Making of

America’ series. In addition, she contributed to three Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Her work has also appeared in various magazines such as The Writer, Aviation History, Pennsylvania Heritage, and

Michigan History. Her many articles for Michigan History Magazine include a cover story on Danny

Thomas and most recently, a profile of Earle Graser, radio’s original Lone Ranger. She has written an in-depth profile on John Philip Sousa, which was released on CD by Allegro Music. Additionally, she

completed a middle school book profiling the legendary Bruce Lee and was also a regular contributor to

Scoliosis Quarterly Magazine.

1. How and when did you get hooked on history?

I have been a history buff ever since I can remember. Always interested in what came before, I

love reading about historical events and the daring people who found themselves challenged by

circumstances beyond their control. Men and women often make decisions based on social,

political, and/or catastrophic conditions—for example, fleeing their native country, an abrupt name

change, or a sudden switch in careers. There is always a reason, whether it’s apparent or not,

why people do what they do. I have always believed that we can learn from what came before us

if we take the time to discover our past. History is always dull when you are forced to memorize

dates and places without understanding the impacts behind them. Extraordinary times call for

extraordinary people and this is what history is all about.

2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?

On a personal level, I am putting together a family history and, in some cases, I have been able

to go back at least 10 generations and I’ve discovered some noteworthy ancestors. For example,

on my dad’s side (French Canadian), I’ve found two women (both of them my 8 th great

grandmothers) who were considered ‘Daughters of the King’—a group of more than 800 French

girls who volunteered to sail to Canada from France in the 1600s in order to help settle the area.

It’s a fascinating story and I am proud to claim both of these ladies as part of my heritage. I’ve

also found that families are messy and just when you think you have them figured out, something

turns up to surprise you. If you’re lucky, you may even find a wonderful cousin you never knew

you had. I’ve had the pleasure of finding two who share my interest in researching the family

history!

3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?

As an author, I like writing about history. When you really take a look at it, the past is filled with

sudden twists and unexpected U-turns. There is rarely a dull moment. In addition to entertaining

my readers, I also like to teach them something they might not have known before. If I can spur

them on to do a little research of their own—even better! Often times, when writing a book, the

research will lead you to your next book. Something will stick in your head and you just know

what the upcoming topic will be. For example, my writing partner, Cheryl Bartlam Du Bois, and I

first collaborated on a Civil War novel (Soldier, Spy, Heroine) based on the life of Michigan’s own

Sarah Emma Edmonds who disguised herself as a man and served heroically in the Union Army.

Her inspiration was based on a fictional character—Fanny Campbell. Fanny Campbell became

the focus of our second book (Captain, Pirate, Heroine), and in turn, one of Fanny’s mentors was

Moll Pitcher. Moll was a real person known as the Psychic of Lynn, (Massachusetts) and our

third book (Seer, Spy, Heroine) is based on her.

4. Why is studying/knowing history important?

I firmly believe that knowing what came before us, should keep us from making the same

mistakes that our ancestors made. Today’s cancel culture saddens me. It tells me that what

came before us is insignificant and the fact that we are holding people, who lived during an

entirely different era, accountable to our current standards seems unfair. Many flawed men and

women made good decisions to improve their living conditions and/or fight back against evil.

Were they perfect? Absolutely not, but regardless, they made a positive difference. No one is

perfect and unless you are, you shouldn’t throw stones. The talented actress Hattie McDaniel

comes to mind. She worked hard under the constraints society handed her and was the first

black person to win an Oscar for her role as Mammy in Gone With the Wind (1939). Upon her

acceptance of the award she said she hoped that she was a credit to her race. Now, she has

been criticized for saying that. Why? Hattie McDaniel worked tirelessly to make the world a

better place both professionally and personally. She was also a highly-respected member of the

Hollywood community. Was she short-changed—yes! Did she deserve it—no! But instead of

criticizing her, we should be thanking her. The world could surely use more caring people like

Hattie McDaniel.

5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?

My very favorite period to read and write about is pre-1950 Hollywood. It is a fascinating era filled

with unique characters both on and off the screen. The movie industry evolved at the beginning

of the twentieth century and the men and women who built this business and molded this art form

had no playbook to follow. As a matter of fact, they all came from other walks of life, ranging from

Alaskan gold miners to cowpokes to college professors; there was even an amateur

anesthesiologist in the bunch. Through their dedication and hard work, they shaped what we see

on the silver screen today and they did it through trial and error along with a sense of the future.

All the while, they contended with illnesses, unhappy marriages, aging parents, and difficult

children. They survived two world wars, a depression, and prohibition, but they endured and their

stories are unique.

Pawlak with writing partner Cheryl Bartlam Du Bois with Moll Pitcher's table in the Lee Mansion in Marblehead Massachusetts

6. Your most recent books, with co-author Cheryl Bartlam Du Bois, are the

  titles in the Secret Heroine Series. Who are the stories about ?

There are actually three books in the series. The first book is titled Soldier, Spy, Heroine and is

based on the Civil War adventures of Sarah Emma Edmonds. She left her Canadian home to

escape an abusive father and ended up in Flint, Michigan disguised as a man she called Franklin

Thompson. When the war broke out, she joined the Union Army and courageously served as a

nurse, mail carrier, and then a spy who infiltrated rebel camps. Edmonds is the only woman who

was admitted to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a powerful veteran’s group for the Union

Army. She also collected a soldier’s pension from the U.S. government.

The second book in our Secret Heroine series is Captain, Pirate, Heroine, a retelling of the Fanny

Campbell story, which was originally published in the 1840s. It was the first novel to feature a

woman who took charge of her life. That original book was a best seller and inspired Sarah

Emma Edmonds as well as many other women during that time, to challenge themselves. Set in

the early days of the Revolutionary War, Fanny took to the sea, disguising herself as a man in

order to save her lover, William Lovell, who was held captive in Cuba’s infamous prison, La

Cabana. Fanny instigated a mutiny, battled with pirates and high seas, before bringing back

William and three well-stocked ships to Beverly Harbor where the new Continental Navy was

being formed.

Our latest book, Seer, Spy, Heroine, is also set during the Revolutionary War. It is centered on

Moll Pitcher, the great Psychic of Lynn who was world-famous for her ability to see the future.

The granddaughter of the Wizard of Marblehead, she inherited her talents and used them to trick

British Officers, who often came to her for readings, into revealing their secrets. Who would ever

suspect a simple woman to report back to the Sons of Liberty with the intelligence she learned?

A contemporary of General George Washington and Brigadier General John Glover, she not only

acted as a spy for the colonies, but also hid guns along with ammunition deep in the Wolf Pits of

Lynn Woods directly behind her house. Many a sailor and fisherman refused to board their ships

without first consulting Moll about their safety and the success of their voyages. Moll is a

fascinating lady who never once hesitated to step up and help the cause, but sadly she has been

forgotten.

7. Are there more Secret Heroine stories to come?

Right now, we are concentrating on the marketing aspect of our books. We have found it is much

easier to write the books than promote them. Both Cheryl and I are also working independently

on other historical fiction books. If enough people are interested, however, we will continue our

series and showcase more Secret Heroines. I am sure there is an endless supply of ladies who qualify!