A.W. Hartoin - Action, Intrigue and WW2 Espionage

USA Today Bestselling author A.W. Hartoin grew up in rural Missouri, but her grandmother lived in the Central West End area of St. Louis. The CWE fascinated her with its enormous houses, every one unique. She was sure there was a story behind each ornate door. Going to Grandma's house was a treat and an adventure. As an adult, A.W. Hartoin decided she needed a whole lot more life experience if she was going to write good characters so she joined the Air Force. It was the best education she could've hoped for. She met her husband and traveled the world, living in Alaska, Italy, and Germany before settling in Colorado where she now lives with her family, a Great Dane, a skanky cat, and six bad chickens. As our Author of the Day, A.W. tells us all about her book, The Paris Package.

Please give us a short introduction to what The Paris Package is about.

The Paris Package begins in Venice and takes a pair of American honeymooners to Vienna on the Kristallnacht where they lose their tour guide and gain a package the Nazi SS will do anything to recover.

What inspired you to write about a honeymoon that turns treacherous on the eve of WWII?

Years ago, I read Schindler's Legacy: True Stories of the List Survivors. When I got to one particular survivor’s story, he mentioned the Kristallnacht and living through that horrible night in Vienna. History and literature classes were always my favorites, but I had never even heard the word Kristallnacht before, a glaring omission in my education, so I started doing research. While going through individual stories of that night, particularly in Vienna, a favorite city of mine, I began to wonder what it would’ve been like to live through that if you were an outsider, a person who just so happened to be in Vienna on that fateful night, and Stella Bled Lawrence, a young and naive honeymooner, was born.

Why did you pick 1938 as the backdrop for your book?

1938 was a year where signs of the coming war and the Holocaust were clearly there and everyone was doing their best to ignore or avoid the truth. The juxtaposition of the United States happily coming out of the Great Depression with so much hope on the horizon and Europe coming under the boot heel of the Nazis at the same time holds continuing interest for me. So much could’ve been done and wasn’t.

Tell us more about Stella Bled Lawrence. What makes her tick?

Stella Bled Lawrence might be my favorite character. She’s a sheltered heiress to a famous beer brewing empire, who’s naive to the political landscape of the world but also well-trained in business, art, and literature, among other things. She loves her family above all, including her ne’er-do-well uncle. Josiah took her off the beaten path of social engagements and charity work, teaching her the skills to survive the unsurvivable. Stella knows her own mind and when she decided to marry Nicky Lawrence nothing could dissuade her. For him, she can and will get through anything.

This is the first book in a series. Can it be read as a standalone? How do the other books in this series tie in with this one?

The Paris Package can be read as a standalone. That is how I wrote it initially, but when my beta-readers came back with their opinions, it was clear that this book could be the start to a great series. The second book, Strangers in Venice, picks up where first book ends. Stella and Nicky try the do the right thing, but it’s very hard to make that work out.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I love to cook and some people think I’m good at it, but that shouldn’t be a surprise. There’s a whole lot of food going on in my books. My other secret skill is travel planning. My family and I travel to do my research and I find all the nooks and crannies to make places come alive and I love doing that.

How much research did this book require from you? What was the most interesting aspect of this research?

The research was tremendous. I spent an unreasonable amount of time trying to find the perfect shade of lipstick for Stella and the exact layout of Italian train cars. It’s both great fun and frustrating. The most interesting aspect has been looking into the lead up to the Holocaust and how people were experiencing and coping with what was happening to their lives. Diaries have been particularly helpful with that.

Was there a single defining moment or event where you suddenly thought, 'Now I'm an Author,' as in—this is now my career?"

There was no single moment, just a lot of little things. When I was twelve it dawned on me that not everyone had full-length novels in their heads. I knew I was a writer then, but a career wasn’t part of the equation. I just wanted to write and have fun doing it.

Is there something that compels you to write? And do you find that writing helps you achieve a clarity about yourself or ideas you've been struggling with?

If I don’t write I begin to get agitated and stressed. Stories are always there, ignoring them simply isn’t an option. I have learned a lot about myself, mostly by looking back at what I’ve written. There’s more of me in there than I realized originally and I know myself better for it.

Among the wealth of characters in The Paris Package, who was the most difficult to create?

Nicky Lawrence was difficult in the sense that I don’t know him well, because Stella doesn’t know him well. We’re learning about Nicky together the way people do over time and when life’s coming at you hard and fast.

What is your favorite motivational phrase?

Suck it up, buttercup. That’s probably not a motivational phrase in traditional sense, but it works for me.

When working on a new book, what’s the first thing you do?

Title generally comes first and I work from there. The title sometimes changes to fit what happens, but I have great affection for the originals.

What are you working on right now?

I’m writing the tenth book in Mercy Watts Mysteries series. The starting title was Heat Source. We’ll see what happens.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

The best place to get to know me is Facebook. I check it every day and try to respond quickly. Email is more difficult, for some reason.