CL Pauwels at Large

What can I say about Fatál Wood, the protagonist of my new novel (besides pre-order here!)? I’ve learned I have to let her speak for herself! She woke me one morning to introduce herself with what is now the opening line of the first chapter in Fatal Errors: “So I’m a hacker – get over it.”

Yes, there are voices in my head, and yes, they sometimes have a story to tell. (I was fascinated to learn recently that some people don’t have voices in their thoughts, only images and impressions. How quiet that must be!)

The resulting first-person narrative of Fatál’s story unspooled in fits and starts. Her voice is strong, confident, with more than a little attitude…most of the time. When her carefully rebuilt life goes sideways, compliments of a second betrayal, and of her own too-impulsive behavior, that voice wavers a bit. But she recovers, and grows.

Along the way, Fatál introduced me to her beloved grandmother Zigana, her best friend Carmen, a father we discovered together, and a motley group of other folks I could never have imagined if I were a plotter with outlines and character sketches and chapter synopses.

Panster all the way!

Because Fatál told me she was one-quarter Romani (Gypsy), I had to figure out where she lived. I also needed to be careful to present her heritage with sensitivity; I did not want to be clichéd or exploitative, and I sincerely hope I’ve been successful. Many of the family traits I describe come from my own background as well, and I’m fairly certain there’s no Romani in my lineage…although Irish Travellers are not out of the question.

I also wanted to move this series from the old hometown covered in my Toledo Trilogy, but while I love our new Yellow Springs environs, I couldn’t see her origins fitting into that little village or the surrounding Southwest Ohio region.

Boy, was I wrong.

If I wanted to write local, I needed to find a reason for Zigana to move to SW Ohio. A familiar story about the itinerant Travellers I remember hearing about when growing up seemed like a good start. But when I started researching Romani in Ohio…surprise!

One of the first recorded Romani landowners in the country settled in North Dayton. Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum in Dayton is the final resting place for an entire community of Romani, including “Queen” Matilda Stanley, whose 1877 burial was written up in the New York Times (August 7, 1878). Her monument is pictured on the cover of Fatal Errors.

It turns out Fatál belonged in this part of the state long before I did!

Fatal Errors – my new hacker suspense series, now available for pre-order, with official release date of August 13, 2024!

Next week: How Fatál became a hacker