| [Wings 'n' Things/Aviation...column 324...Oct. 18, 2004]
AUTHOR IN OUR MIDST Laurence and Pauline Furey have recently moved to southwest Ocala from Port Orchard, WA on the western side of Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest. They have done a lot of moving around in their time (Laurence is a retired US Navy Captain) before deciding to settle in Marion County. Moving can be an annoyance, but if you're a writer, relocating provides interesting background to your literary efforts. This has been the case with Pauline. Originally from southern England, and a former nurse, flight attendant, model, film script editor, and yacht broker she is also a published author of two novels - The Faldetta and The Long Man. With such variety in her past she has incorporated much of what she has lived into two fascinating reads, blending fact and fiction through her characters and their actions. The Faldetta is a story of 1950's commercial aviation involving British European Airways and Pan American Airways. Lead character Kate Hawkins cuts short a nursing career to become an airline hostess in 1953. She is rebounding from an inability to cope with the deaths of two of her medical charges, turning to her dream of travel. Romance enters the story as Kate struggles with forfeiting a budding involvement with a rising young surgeon to fulfill her quest for round-the-world adventure. The story goes from postwar London to the Middle East, Europe, America, and the Far East, keeping the reader involved all along the way. The Long Man is a historically accurate and fast-paced novel of World War II that takes place in England and France during a 1939-1945 time frame. It describes in detail the British Army's evacuation of the Dunkirk beaches, the air Battle of Britain and remarkable achievements of Hurricane and Spitfire fighter pilots, the subsequent devastating Blitz of London and surrounding areas by the German Luftwaffe, the terror of V-l and V-2 rocket attacks, the exploits of the gallant women ferry pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary, the French Resistance activity, and British family life during the period. Although a novel, the author went into meticulous detail with her research, taking great care to accurately represent this period of history, some from her own memories as a young child. The story is told through five highly diverse characters who offer five entirely different aspects of similar events during that time. Her characters include an experienced agent and civilian pilot working for British Intelligence, a Parisian Jew who is coerced into becoming a double agent, an Air Transport Auxiliary pilot, a pilot injured in the Battle of Britain who goes from a fighter squadron to a Special Operations Squadron, and a 10-year-old girl whose character is the link drawing the other characters and the network of the plot together. The Faldetta is now out of print and Pauline has donated several dozen personal copies to local Ocala nursing homes, health care facilities, seniors' residential sites and the Marion County Library. The Long Man is published by and available through Trafford Publishing, Amazon.com, or Barnes and Nobel. Personally-signed copies can also be obtained directly from the author for $20, which includes postage and handling. It is strongly recommended that you get hold of a copy of each book; you will not regret it. Both are well-written and extremely interesting reads. Pauline is open to speaking engagements as well and may be contacted at 237-1487, txkjeftii^@garthjin_k.net. or Highlands at Heathbrook, 5101 SW 60th Street Road, Apt. 3608, Ocala, FL 34474. Welcome to Ocala, Pauline and Laurence! |