Paula Hrbacek Interview Part 2

Welcome everyone to another great week of the Writer's Revolution.  I am your host, the author of The Phoenix Blade, Andrew Hess.  Our guest this week is author Paula Hrbacek

If you could only bring three items with you to a deserted island (non-writing items or people) what would they be and why?

Craft projects, to relax in the evening with.  Music to listen to, because when I’m sad, I like to dance.  Something to read, either a novel or a psychology book.

The world is going to end tomorrow.  How do you live out your remaining time?

I’d publish my next novel just to be able to say that I did it.  I’d help out where I could.  I’d tell everyone I love how I feel.

Someone wants to make a movie based on your life.  Who would you pick to play you?

Helen Hunt has my eyes and nose, but she’s much more daring than I am.  I’m rather introverted.  I’m the youngest child in my family, and the youngest grandchild overall.  I’m not as outspoken as she is because of that.

Alive or dead, who is the one person you would want to interview and why?

Like I said, I’m rather introverted.  I’d probably buy their book instead.  Well, maybe not.  I’ve seen several books for sale that I was tempted to buy, but I was too shy to admit that I really liked that person, so I decided to wait for the paperback.

Okay, crystal ball time.  Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

I’d like to have a few more titles published that I can be proud of, and a few more grandchildren to hug.

Any final words for our readers?

Please take the time to post a review of what you read.  Authors need reviews so badly.  It doesn’t have to be an essay; just a few sentences that say what you liked or didn’t like will be enough.

Where can we find you?

Facebook fan pagewww.facebook.com/pages/Paula-Hrbacek/199054570166688 Amazon author pagehttps://www.amazon.com/author/paulahrbacek Book reviewshttp://www.examiner.com/book-review-8-in-panama-city/paula-hrbacek Good Reads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/81744.Paula_Knoderer_Hrbacek/ Web pagehttp://paulahrbacek.weebly.com/ Twitterhttps://twitter.com/PHrbacek Linked Inhttp://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=104609576&trk=tab_pro    Stars Shine After Dark, a sweet 

Paula Hrbacek Interview Part 1

Welcome everyone to another great week of the Writer's Revolution.  I am your host, the author of The Phoenix Blade, Andrew Hess.  Our guest this week is author Paula Hrbacek

Tell me a little about yourself.

I graduated from the University of Missouri with degrees in journalism and art.  I’ve always been a little bit torn between those two interests.  I’m married, with four children and five grandchildren.  We live in Pensacola FL.

What inspired you to write?  What type of genre do you write?

I’ve wanted to be a writer since the third grade.  It’s just something that has always been in my heart.  When you feel a calling to a destiny, it comes from God, and what you do should be in keeping with God’s will.  I write sweet stories and helpful articles, because that is what I think I’m supposed to be doing with this gift.Tell me about your book.Stars Shine After Dark is about two stars.  Mona is an actress, raised in Holly wood, who wants to have a more normal life, and a more mature image.  She decides to take time off from acting and go to UCLA.  She becomes friends with her agent’s niece, and meets Tim, the star quarterback for the Bruins.  At first, it seems like a fairy tale, but someone is leaking stories about them to the tabloid papers.  The stories take the facts and twist them just enough to make it look like something else.  The story is about truth; not only telling the truth, but being true to that inner desire that fills your heart.

Tell us about the main character, what makes them unique and what makes them tick

Mona was raised in Hollywood as a child actress.  Her parents did all of her management, but they have to duck out of the picture for health reasons.  She is now a young woman, taking steps on her own for the first time, managing her own career, making her own decisions for the first time.  She is strong, but also a little afraid.

What inspired you to write this book?

Stars Shine After Dark is a sweet love story set at UCLA.  It was inspired when someone I cared about was facing a divorce.  When someone is going through that, the last thing you should say is “I know what to do” because, really, you don’t know.  So I took my concerns and insights, gave them to fictional characters, and worked out the problem as a story.

What other books or blogs have you written?

My first three books are out of print now; St. Louis Is for Families, a tourist guide, Created in Faith, a craft book, and Bible Verses for Young Children, a coloring book.  My current books include Day Camp in Hawaii, a leader’s resource for program ideas that is suited for any type of summer camp or recreational program.  It has games, skits, crafts, and all the things you do at camp, all using a tropical theme. I’m working on my second novel, which I hope to release soon. I also write two newspaper columns for The Examiner.  One is about children’s arts and crafts.  The other is about books and writing. Were your other books self-published or traditionally published? The first three were traditionally published by the publisher I worked for.  I guess it’s true that you need to know someone, because that’s what happened to me.  They were assignments from my boss.  Stars and Day Camp are self-published.  Stars doesn’t quite fit into the romance category because the characters get married half way through the book.  Day Camp has a very small market, so I published it to be of service to the few camp directors that are looking for program ideas. Who is your greatest writing inspiration? When I was growing up, I wanted to be the next hints to Heloise.  My first published piece was a handy hint, and I’ve been published in her column three times. 

Paula Hrbacek novels

Welcome everyone to another great week of the Writer's Revolution.  I am your host, the author of The Phoenix Blade, Andrew Hess.  Our guest this week is author Paula Hrbacek

Stars Shine After Dark takes romance past the wedding and into the conflicts that lie ahead.

Stars Shine After Dark, by Paula Hrbacek is a sweet love story that has faith woven through the plot and used as a means of making decisions.  Faith is the compass that guides them through their problems. 

Mona is an actress who grew up in Hollywood.  She is trying to revamp her image from a child actor to a mature woman.  She decides to go to college, and makes friends with her agent’s niece.  The niece introduces her to Tim, a football star for UCLA.

They are both stars, both successful.  It should be a fairy tale romance, but someone is leaking stories to the press that aren’t true.  Mona intends to find out who is leaking the stories, and stop it.

Tim is offered a contract to play professional ball, but before he can sign the contract, his career is ended by a car crash.  Mona reacts by being strong, and kicking her own career into high gear.  Tim goes into real estate, and hates his job.  He is jealous of her success.  He thinks about divorce, and comes up with a plan that will let them separate without harming Mona’s image in the eyes of her conservative fans.  He still loves her, he just isn’t happy with his life.  He discusses his problems with a friend, a woman who also has broken dreams and unfulfilled ambitions.  Because of her insights, Tim turns to meditation and examines his heart.

Mona finds her answer by reading the book of Hosea.  She realizes that she has lost sight of what is really important to her, and decides to change her relationship with Tim.  They may have been going through a dark period, but if they are stars, they will find a way to keep their love shining.

On Higher Ground features angels and divine intervention

The story features three humans and two angels.  The angels have been assigned to help the humans find God’s will for their lives.  They offer inspiration, good luck, divine intervention, and at times, appear in human form.

“One review of the book didn’t like the angels,” comments the author.  “She said that everything I had to say about a “still small voice” should have been attributed to the Holy Spirit, instead.  She’s right.  It could have been the Holy Spirit, but I had to use angels in order to create a dialogue.  Characters speak when they don’t understand or don’t know something.  The Holy Spirit doesn’t need to explain anything to the rest of the Trinity, because they already agree with each other.  So, instead, I made one angel an apprentice, and one a supervisor, so that they would have something to talk about.”

At the end of each chapter, the angels discuss why God has answered one prayer with a no, and another with a yes.  The angels take a look at why bad things happen to nice people.  It also discusses why good things happen to not so nice people and why bad things happen to bad people.

The main character is a young adult woman, Melanie Worlds, who has run out of luck; no job, no friends, no future.  Desperately wanting to replace the middleclass life she once knew up on “the Hill”, her faith is being tested to the limits.  JT, her newest friend, is up to something, but Melanie isn’t sure what it is.  And then Brad, her high school crush, comes back to town.  She can’t let him know how bad it is, or he’ll lose all respect for her.  And, to make matters worse, someone is trying to break into her apartment. 

None of her prayers are getting answered, and she feels all alone.  But she’s not.  Two guardian angels have been assigned to help these three humans.  The angels know God’s plan, and it’s going to take everything they’ve got to pull it off.  To battle temptation, the angels will need to instill courage; courage to dare, courage to dream, and most of all, courage to love one another.

Week 11 Preview Paula Hrbacek

Welcome everyone to another great week of the Writer's Revolution.  I am your host, the author of The Phoenix Blade, Andrew Hess.  Our guest this week is author Paula Hrbacek

Paula Hrbacek has a BJ in magazines and a BA in art from the University of Missouri, and certification in both elementary education and after school care in the state of Florida. She and her husband have four children, and are active in Boy Scouts and other youth programs.

She writes two columns for The Examiner, a free online newspaper. Her arts and crafts column, http://www.examiner.com/childrens-arts-and-crafts-1-in-panama-city/paula-hrbacek has local events for children, crafts for youth groups, after school care and summer camp, as well as art lessons and beginning crafts. Her book review column, http://www.examiner.com/book-review-8-in-panama-city/paula-hrbacek, features books for women and self published authors. Click on the subscribe button at the bottom of the page, and follow her articles for free.

Paula has published four trade paperbacks and a long list of magazine articles in publications such as Highlights, Flower and Garden, Modern Romances, Family Fun, Scouting, Instructor, Am. Scouting Digest, and others. She has several lesson plans for art posted on The Lesson Plan Page.
Follow her on Twitter as @PHrbacek, on Good Reads, Linked In and Facebook. Her web site is http://paulahrbacek.weebly.com/