SWRT 300 | Finding Penrose – Paula Sheridan’s book-to-film journey
June 20, 2024

This week, Alida and Kathryn welcome Paula Sheridan back to the Round Table to discuss her new project, Finding Penrose.

Paula’s novel has already captured the hearts of celebrities, plus the media, with 100’s of articles already published. And with two renowned film producers adapting Penrose’s story for the big screen, they’re now in talks with a Hollywood director and actors.

This heart-warming and captivating tale is based on the real-life story of Penrose Matsile, a young boy in 1922 Colonial Africa who was stolen from his village and forced into a life of slavery. Despite the unimaginable odds, Penrose spent his entire life courageously fighting to reclaim his identity and freedom.

We’re excited to share Penrose’s story with you, and my fellow author, Paula Sheridan, would be honored to have you join her on this incredible book-to-film journey through her exclusive launch campaign. Paula shares with us why she chose to fund this project herself–with community backing–instead of putting it in the hands of producers and risk the integrity of Penrose’s story.

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AUDIO

SHOW NOTES

Things we talked about: 

 

The origen story to Finding Penrose. (3:38)

 

Why didn’t it work as a memoire? (11:00)

 

How did Paula maintain the heart of the story, while fictionalize it? (13:10)

 

How were the book and screenplay created together? (18:20)

 

The art of converting a novel to a screenplay. (22:20)

 

How long has Paula been working on this story? (28:10)

 

How was Paula true to the characters? (36:09)

 

Why is Paula doing a Kickstarter? (48:30)

 

What is Paula’s message for writers? (57:00)

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Paula Sheridan is an award-winning entrepreneur and the award-winning author of The People’s Book Prize for her debut novel, The Grotto’s Secret, written under her pen name, Paula Wynne. Harbouring a near-obsessive love of learning the craft of writing, Paula has been scribbling down the stuff in her head ever since she can remember.

Paula came up with the idea for Page Turner Awards when she won The People’s Book Prize in 2017 and received her award from Sir Frederick Forsyth at a glittering awards ceremony in London.

When she’s not day-dreaming up plots for new historical thrillers while walking her Springer Spaniel in the Andalusian countryside, she’s helping Indie Authors to achieve their dream of seeing the novels in a reader’s hands, through her reading community on Book Luver. Paula also blogs about writing techniques and reviews writing books on Writing Goals.

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About Your Hosts

Alida

Alida Winternheimer is an award-winning author with an MFA in writing from Hamline University. She pursues her fervor for all things story as a writing coach, developmental editor, and teacher. Three times nominated for the Pushcart Prize, she is also a notable in Best American Essays and winner of the Page Turner Award. Author of The Story Works Guide to Writing Fiction Series, Alida lives and writes in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She camps, bikes, and kayaks in her free time. Unless it’s winter, in which case she drinks chai by the fire. You can find more at www.alidawinternheimer.com.

Kathryn
Kathryn Arnold writes fantasy and anything else that sparks her creativity from her home in Kingston, Washington. She currently earns her living as an insurance underwriting assistant, where she also creates marketing and web copy. When not writing, she plays (and teaches) piano and keyboard in a band (or two), and is working on starting a ministry team with her husband. You can find Kathryn at www.skyfirewords.com.
Robert
Robert Scanlon was born in Australia, but whisked off to England when only a baby. After many years complaining about the weather, he did the sensible thing and moved back to Australia. Despite a career in the music industry, followed by decades teaching public speaking, Robert is an introvert who adores reading. Robert grew up on a diet of sci-fi masters, eventually discovering he had read the library’s entire science fiction section. Now he has to write his own. Robert is the author of Constellation, book one of the Blood Empire space opera series. Find out more at www.RobertScanlon.com