I don't know about you, but the summers seem to be getting a little warmer than I remember as a
kid. July and August in Florida are the hottest months of the year. If you don't like the heat here during that time, then I would suggest a right relationship with God. I hear Hades is much warmer, and there isn't a glass of ice water in the joint (Luke 16:19-31).Our next guest on the Florida Front Porch probably isn't used to this heat. She comes from the state of cheese: Wisconsin. Maybe, she can bring some cheese curd, and we can share that while we sip on iced tea. Please welcome, Pamela S. Meyers!
Pamela, in ABTS tradition, pretend you are on an elevator with Jimmy Fallon, and he said,
“Hi, I’m Jimmy Fallon, and I’m looking for average Joes & Janes with
not-so-average lives to interview for my next new show segment. And you’re name
is? Ding! The door just shut. You
have twelve floors until you reach the lobby. Go! Give us a quick bio.
In fifty words or less, who is Pamela Meyers?
"I’m a novelist of books that your wife might enjoy more than you because they
are historical romance. Although some men do read my books and like them for
their historical content. They are written from a Christian perspective. Would
that be of interest to you? If so, I’d love to tell you about my faith." (The doors slide open in the lobby, and he runs away as fast
as he can. At least I’m thinking he wouldn’t be interested in hearing about
God. Maybe I’m wrong. I hope I’m wrong.)
I'll be honest. I don't know why I chose Jimmy as the elevator pitch person...Don;t know if he would run or not. Therefore, let's pretend he doesn't and asks...
"Before you ever got a notion of
becoming a writer/author, how old were you, and what were you doing in that
time of your life?"
I grew up in Wisconsin and after some life-changing events moved to Southern
California. I live in the Los Angeles area and worked for an advertising agency
when I first moved there, but then worked a short time at Princess Cruises in
the advertising department. I was laid off before I would have been eligible for
a free cruise. I had several other jobs before I moved back to the Midwest. I
spent a lot of time socializing, and I’ll let it go with that. God started
getting a hold of me just before I moved back, transferring with my company to
the Chicago office, which was actually in the suburbs.
What educational background do you
have?
Graduated from Badger High School in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin where I grew up.
Attended several different colleges picking up classes here and there until I
attended Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL (affiliated with the
Evangelical Free Church) and went through their accelerated adult program. Received
a BA in Group and Interpersonal Communication with a minor in English
Besides storytelling, what talents do you have?
Artistic or craft-related things like knitting, crocheting, drawing, decorating.
When the words aren’t
flowing, what is your favorite comfort food and why?
Chocolate in
any form. No explanation necessary.
Do they make chocolate-covered cheese in Wisconsin? (Inquiring minds want to know and all that...)
When you look for a new car, what are the things that are important to you?
I just purchased a new-to-me car a year ago. I wanted one in which I’d feel safe and had low mileage, no previous accidents, of course. I checked out ads online then picked out two to look at and went to the dealer. I’m got the main things I wanted and more. Love my car J
For all the pet
lovers out there, answer this question: Do you have any?
I’m a cat
lady. Was raised having cats and lived with roommates who had cats and have had
at least two for the past couple of decades. My two rescue cats are Jack and
Meg who are named after my characters in my book, Surprised by Love in Lake
Geneva.
How do you come up with the names for your characters?
I look for lists of proper names of people born at the time of my characters and scan the list until a name catches my eye. For surnames I will look through names connected to the country the character was originally from or his ancestors. I also make sure it’s not a name of someone who lived in the town back then unless I choose to use that actual person.
Of all the
stories/books you have written, which one is your favorite? And what compelled
you to write this story?
Can I say my current series?
Yes. Of course.
It’s really the story of my
heart spread out over three books so far and one more is currently being
written. It’s set in my hometown of history-rich Lake Geneva and begins at the
outset of the Great Chicago Fire which forces the well-to-do people to move
their families to Geneva Lake in Wisconsin where they build magnificent homes
on the lake shore to house their families while Chicago is rebuilt. They came
and never left. So many interesting people. My series spans four generations of
the original family, in each story a strong woman is the heroine. I love
learning about the time of the story and all that was happening in the town
then and in the world.
What surprised you
the most during the research for the book you are currently working on?
I’m always
surprised by interesting things I learn. In my current book, I was surprised to
learn that female pilots were hired to ferry brand new bombers to the airfields
for the war pilots to use in the war. All the pilots were busy at war and they
needed the ladies to get the bombers to where they could be put into service.
Looking back, have
you ever wondered if choosing a different genre would have worked better for
you, as a writer? Have you ever thought about switching genres, or writing in
different genres?
I have switched from contemporary to historical
because an acquiring editor asked me to write a historical set in Lake Geneva.
Until then I’d only written contemporaries, but I wasn’t going to say no. I did
some research on the town’s history and discovered the Riviera Building that
sits at the lake front was built in 1932 and 1933 with it’s grand opening in
May of 1933. I decided to center the story on the building and felt comfortable
with the 1930s. They drove cars and had telephones. I did not want to have them
riding in buggies. Although later I did write in the horse-and-buggy era when I
started writing my current series. I had a lot to learn. LOL
If you had one person you could
meet (think ONLY Bible characters here) and could spend as much time as you
wanted with that individual, who would it be besides Jesus?
I’d love to meet and spend time with Peter. In many ways I can relate to him,
especially the times he’d blurt things out without thinking and how after he’d
denied knowing Jesus three times just as Jesus predicted he would, Jesus came
to him and asked him three times if he love Him and Peter said yes. Then Jesus
said he was to feed his lambs. I’ve sinned greatly in my life and after I came
to my senses and repented and asked for the Lord’s forgiveness he led me to
more involvement in ministry. Just like Peter, I was given ministry involvement
I never dreamed of before.
What Bible scripture has impacted
your life the most, and why?
There
are many scriptures that have impacted me but the one that made a huge
difference and ushered me into surrendering my life to Christ was the account
of the crucifixion in any of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It
was sitting in a church on a Good Friday afternoon as those passages were read
aloud and the realization came over me that Jesus did that for ME personally.
He suffered horribly, taking on my punishment for my sins, every stinking one
of them. I felt humbled and a huge weight seemed to lift off my back. I wasn’t
in a church that taught salvation by faith alone and not by works, but I walked
home feeling like I was ten feet off the ground.
That is so awesome!
Is
there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about you, or anything
we didn’t cover?
I
love to write stories that connect with people deep in their hearts by writing
about real issues people face in real life. My books are romance but with a
heavy dose of women’s fiction, going deep into my characters thoughts and
emotions.
Pamela, we appreciate you talking the time to stop by and help our readers get to know you. Both those who are already fans, and those who have been coming to this site to find new authors to check out!
Dear Readers, if you wish to find out more about Pamela and her writing, you can find her at these locations on the web:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pamela.meyers
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pamelameyers
Website: https://pamelasmeyers.com
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2kqP5CC
Until next time!
Kevin
www.ckevinthompson.com
