Monday 8 October 2012

Interview with Paulette Mahurin

Happy Monday, everyone. I know, I know. The weekend's over already. Not to worry. I'm here to take away your Monday morning blues with an entertaining interview. Today we're talking with author Paulette Mahurin about her book THE PERSECUTION OF MILDRED DUNLAP.

Welcome, Paulette! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a Nurse Practitioner, specializing in women's health in Ojai, CA where I live with my husband, Terry, and our two dogs (rescued from a kill shelter) Max & Bella. When I'm not involved in writing I'm helping rescue dogs. The profits from my book are going to the Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center (SPARC), the first no-kill shelter in VC, CA.

Sounds like a great cause! How long have you been writing?

Since I was ten, but seriously since in college, when I wrote two award winning short stories.

Tell us about THE PERSECUTION OF MILDRED DUNLAP. What’s the story about?

After the imprisonment of Oscar Wilde, for gross indecency, the impact around the world changed the views on homosexuality from a conservative tolerance to hatred and abuse. This is the story of the impact of Wilde's imprisonment on a small Nevada town, a lesbian couple in particular. It's a chronicle of hatred and abuse, with all its unintended consequences, and how love and friendship heal.

How did the idea of the story come to you?

I was in a writing class doing an exercise from a photo. We had to write a ten minute mystery. The photo I had was two women standing very close together, wearing turn of the twentieth century clothing. The initial seed for the story popped up then, to make them a lesbian couple afraid of being found out.

Do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self-edit?

I've had several readers, three professional editors, and I read read read and reread till it feels right.

Are you a planner or a pantser?

Hmmmmmmmm. I had to look up panster. I'm a little and lot of both. I planned out what the town would look like, diagrammed it, studied Sear's catalog's from that time period for what would be in the general store, and ranch homes, etc. but when writing let flow what came, including the schedule I kept. As it progressed I put in a lot more time and became more organized with the flow, but in the beginning it was more like vomiting out the story, getting it down, then going back to see what was not necessary.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Getting out of my own way, letting the story be what's important and not me trying to show off how much I researched by writing overly long parts with the history. That was hard because I spent many months reading and researching, only to have a paragraph included, sometimes just a sentence, because more jarred attention from the action of the story. What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

To make everyone happy. Wouldn't that be incredible!

What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Myself, lol. A friend had told me to google myself and so I did. That was weird, for sure.

Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: purple, persecution, and percussion.

She wore the signs of persecution on her body, her skin turned purple with his percussion, and the ER doctor wondered if he should do a full body X-ray series for broken bones. 

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ...

With my dogs at the dog park, rescuing dogs, hanging with family, friends, or at work.

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

The first thing I felt after reading this was a fullness in my heart, a sense that words can't really touch on the gratitude that I feel, that you here Dorothy are willing to help a stranger promote her book, that another stranger reads and likes it, that there is so much unbelievable support for us indie authors out there, I don't know that there are words adequate. But I will say this, since profits are going to the first no-kill shelter and helping to save dogs and cats lives, that everyone involved in the success of this book is assisting with that effort and I thank you for that with everything in me. There have been so many wonderful people who have invited me to their blogs, reviewed my book, send me messages, supported the book's facebook page, and tweeted things about it...so many acts of kindness, to all of you, THANK YOU!!!

That's so sweet. And finally, where can people find you and your book online?

facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/ThePersecutionOfMildredDunlap

Book's blogsite:
http://thepersecutionofmildreddunlap.wordpress.com/

Twitter page:
https://twitter.com/MahurinPaulette

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the%20persecution%20of%20mildred%20dunlap&sprefix=the%20perse&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Athe%20persecution%20of%20mildred%20dunlap&ajr=2

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you to the lovely Dorothy Dreyer for inviting me over to this great blog site for the interview. I'm grateful for you help in spreading the word for my book, especially since profits are all going to the first & only no-kill animal shelter in Ventura County, CA. (Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center)
Paulette