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Our interview today is with Kathrine Pasour. Thank you Katherine for being here today and for agreeing to do this interview.
Question: What do you think prepared you or qualifies you to write in your chosen genre?
Answer: God gives us gifts and the opportunity to use those talents to His glory! God has blessed me with the ability to write and I love it! I wrote short stories in high school and scholarly papers in college and amazingly enjoyed both. As a college professor, I share with my students that I enjoy writing and they think I am crazy! I have been writing Christmas plays for my church for more than twenty years. Sheltered by an Angel’s Wings is my first novel.
Question: Tell us a little about your “real” (Non-writing) life — family, job, church life. Does it give you inspiration for your writing? Does it get in the way of your writing, or are there times when you get help, from people or circumstances?
Answer: In my “real” life I am a college teacher and administrator and I work a long week. I love my job, but it is demanding. I am active in my church and that takes a lot of my week-end time. My husband and I live on a farm and have horses and that takes even more time. Writing often comes in fourth in regard to opportunity! My Christian faith, my troubled young adult years, and my “country girl” background have had a strong impact on my writing.
Question: Tell us about things you enjoy — what you do for fun or personal satisfaction?
Answer: I love to read! I enjoy riding horses, working in the yard, and almost any outdoor activity. Writing brings me joy, particularly when my plays and books can bring happiness and inspiration to others.
Question: Have you done anything writing-related, but besides your books, that seemed to get a lot of positive response? Something that encouraged you?
Answer: As mentioned earlier, I write Christmas plays for my church. These plays include the Christmas story, but are set in a parallel theme. For example, three years ago I wrote a play entitled “Mary and Joseph” which focused on the emotions that Mary and Joseph might have felt and how they came to accept that their circumstances were all part of God’s plan. Imagine how Mary worried when she knew that Joseph was going to be told about her pregnancy. Consider the anguish Joseph felt when he made the decision to marry Mary in spite of his belief that she had been unfaithful. Think about the joy that both experienced when they realized God had blessed them beyond measure!
This past year, my play focused on the Wise Men—I gave them personalities and created a story in which their lives were profoundly changed by their journey and encounter with Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.
Question: Tell us about your newest book. Make us want to read it.
Answer: Sheltered by an Angel’s Wings: Emily Ratliffe always wanted to travel. When she gets the opportunity to present her work at a conference in England, her hotel is struck by a biological terrorist attack. All the hotel’s occupants become ill, and many die as the hotel is put under quarantine. Ratliffe also gets sick, but manages to survive thanks to the prayers of an old friend. Ratliffe then decides to save the rest of the hotel—through prayer, and physical and spiritual care giving. She also uncovers the identity of the terrorist behind the attack. Meanwhile the professor develops a deep friendship with Edward Fitzwilliam, an undercover British intelligence officer posing as the hotel manager. She eventually returns home to her husband and children in North Carolina—but murderous terrorists have her in their sights, and it’s up to Fitzwilliam to save her. (excerpt from Kirkus Review)
Question: What is the “message” of your writing? (For example, is your purpose to encourage old-fashioned values, encourage romance, or do you have different purposes in different books?)
Answer: It is my hope and prayer that my writing can be a witness for Jesus in the form of an entertaining story. The Lord blessed me with a love for education and the ability to write a creative story and I pray that my writing will bring glory to God.
Question: Tell us one place you visited or person you met, that made a big impression on you, and why.
Answer: Two years ago, several colleagues and I took a group of students to Germany. We visited many cultural and historical sites. However, the one with greatest impact was Buchenwald Concentration Camp. I already knew the history of the Holocaust, but to walk in the actual location of one of these death camps was a sobering experience. The ground seemed to cry out with the voices of those who had been silenced forever through horrible suffering and tragic death. My prayer is that we never forget these atrocities and that we can overcome the human tendency to be so evil to one another.
Question: Tell us one place you want to visit, or person you want to meet, and why.
Answer: Many years ago during a very traumatic point in my life, I completed the Beth Moore Bible Study, “Breaking Free.” This Bible Study, along with the prayers of my Bible Study group, changed my life and helped me to break free from the bondage of sin. Although I wrote Beth a letter thanking her, it would be a special joy to meet her face to face so I could express my appreciation to her in person.
Question: What’s your next project? Tell us so we can’t wait for it to come out!
Answer: My next book is a story of one man’s search for redemption. He has performed a sin so horrendous that he believes himself beyond God’s forgiveness. When Joseph is given an unexpected opportunity for happiness, he believes himself unworthy and turns away.
Michelle works as an Acquisition Specialist for an international company that guarantees satisfaction for whatever item a customer might need to make that finishing touch on home furnishings. Michelle flies all over the world seeking these special items. On a routine trip to London, Michelle is shocked to discover that her seat mate is a convicted murderer that terrorized participants at an International Education conference she had attended seven years previously. She thought Joseph safely behind bars, but now he is sitting beside her? In a surprising twist of events, Michelle becomes the target of a relentless killer and the terrorist that so frightened her may be her only hope for survival.
Question: What are your future projects?
Answer: I will continue to write plays and hope to publish a series of plays. I am also working on a biography of my grandmother and great-grandmother who taught school from 1860 to 1910. My love of history, education, and writing mesh nicely in this book to chronicle both their teaching experiences and personal lives.
Excerpts from Amazon Reviews of Sheltered by an Angel’s Wings: amzn.to/1hlHwyR (shortened version of link, full version below)
“Sheltered by an Angel’s Wings has everything that makes for a good story. There is strong faith in God, adventure, romance, a real-to-life marriage, challenges, redemption, a strong heroine, and villains all in a modern setting.”
“This has to be one of the most incredible books I have read. I look forward to Katherine’s next novel.”
“Emily and her group of courageous helpers combat the sickness with something far more powerful than medicine—the Word of God and prayer! It’s exciting and faith filled as you journey with Emily into physical and spiritual warfare.”
“This powerful novel drew me in. Katherine Pasour has found a way to satisfy the intellectual, the romantic, and the history buff. It was like John Grisham meets Pride and Prejudice…The author has done the almost impossible in today’s world; she has given us a book set in modern times, while giving us heroes and a heroine with both character and manners without being prudish. God’s ways and His Word are lifted up. I can give no greater compliment.”
“I don’t believe I have ever read a book quite like this. I loved the detail Ms. Pasour took to weave the Bible passages into the story in a workable way that didn’t detract from the story itself. What an amazing gift she has for writing to glorify God!”
“There were so many twists and turns in the story that I was unable to put it down. The ending left me with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.”
Link to Kirkus Review is below: “A Christian oriented thriller with a wild but entertaining plot”
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/katherine-pasour/sheltered-by-an-angels-wings/
Katherine’s website: www.katherinepasour.net
Facebook author page: on.fb.me/11wlszI (short version, full version below)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sheltered-by-an-Angels-Wings-By-Katherine-Pasour/201239893348038
Twitter: @katherinepasour
Katherine
/ May 10, 2014Russell, Thanks so much for the opportunity to share my story on Grace and Faith 4 U. Wishing you a blessed journey! Katherine