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Padlocked is an epic historical and visionary novel that follows the lives of a group of ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary, life-altering circumstances as Nazi Germany invades Poland in 1939.

Two foreign photojournalists, an American and a Spaniard, are trapped between armies at Festungsfront Oder-Warthe-Bogen, along Poland’s western border with Germany. It is Hank’s last overseas assignment, and he’s been counting the days until he can go home to North Carolina to be with his family. Rafe fled Spain after the dictator, Francisco Franco, targeted his family. The experience changed him, and he now sees the rise of fascism in Europe as a battle between good and evil. They will find themselves embedded with the Polish, Nazi, and Soviet forces at varying times, forcing them to face moral and ethical decisions in their struggles to survive.

A young woman is separated from her sister in Warsaw as the Nazis encircle it. Agata made a vow that she would return to take Elsa to safety, but soldiers and barbed wire prevent her from entering the newly established Jewish sector. She is consumed with guilt over their separation, and when she discovers her sister was taken by train to a work camp near Krakow, she navigates her dangerous, war-torn country in search of her. Her quest will force her to confront a Hell on Earth to find her.

A young man joins the Jungdeutsche Partei, or the Young German Party. Once bullied as a child, Max’s new affiliations promote him to a position where he can dictate life or death and settle scores. In order to thrive under Nazi occupation, he makes daily choices that legitimize brutality and erode humanitarian principles and scruples.

While they don’t know one another at the start of their journeys, each will make decisions that have the power to transform them and place them on paths that ultimately converge on January 27, 1945, as the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front opened the gates to Auschwitz-Birkenau for all the world to witness.

This is ultimately a story about the strength of love, courage, faith, and resilience in the face of unimaginable hatred and obsession with power, and how every decision we make places us further along specific paths.

Guest Post: Pros and Cons of Writing in this Genre

Thank you for hosting me here today, and thanks for the great question about writing in this genre.

Padlocked is a work of literary fiction. The middle combines elements of historical fiction, as in Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago. The book is centered on the characters and how World War II and Nazi occupation alter the course of their lives. Each is an ordinary person caught in extraordinary circumstances, and as their journeys unfold, each must face moral and ethical dilemmas to survive.

The beginning and ending cross into visionary fiction. An explosion at the beginning leaves several main characters hovering between physical existence and the afterlife. They encounter a padlocked gate that only the soul can unlock. What exists on the other side depends on the choices they made, which takes them back to the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland. 

I had been writing a cozy mystery set in North Carolina when I dreamed Padlocked from beginning to end in one night. I felt a bit like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol! When I awakened the next morning, I knew I had to write this book. It is the first story I have truly been passionate about in some time, and one that I believe can make a difference in how we view our lives and the decisions we make.

Because the book is set in World War II Poland, a major advantage was the wealth of information preserved by historical societies, universities, and governments throughout Eastern Europe. A big challenge was the subject matter and how to let events unfold without the book becoming too dark. I introduced a character, Rafe, who brought humor, giving the reader a chance to breathe between more intense scenes, and even in times of war, love exists in many forms.

Another challenge was writing about the afterlife in a way that evokes reality. It is not a place where characters walk among the clouds, though they do encounter dense fog that is mistaken for a weapons blast. Each character meets a different angel at the padlocked gate, depending on their choices during the war. The book circles back around to the gate at the end, when the reader discovers who encountered near-death experiences and whose earthly existence ended.

Read an Excerpt

Max was unprepared for the pandemonium as he stepped outside the building. He supposed it made sense as he could hear the voices from his office even if he hadn’t been able to make out the words. Still, it was jarring to see people who would normally walk with controlled purpose now rushing this way and that, as though the sky were falling. It made him hasten his steps, his heartbeat quickening as he joined the throngs. Many stopped along the way to cheer on the passing army vehicles, but he dodged around them, eager to get his book and get back to work. He didn’t want the soldiers to give his office to anyone else in his absence.

“Max! Max!”

At the sound of his name, he almost hid, thinking his ruse was discovered, but he quickly realized the voice was female. His eyes darted around the crowded faces. After a moment, the horde parted, and Stella rushed through to him.

“They’re on our doorstep!” she shouted excitedly. Her face was aglow, and he wanted nothing more than to scoop her into his arms and kiss her.

But, as others glanced their way, he grabbed her hand and led her to a quieter area. “Stop smiling,” he directed, swinging her around to face him.

“Why?” she demanded.

“They are not here yet. Do you want the Polish Army to pick you up?”

“Why would they? I have done nothing wrong.”

“Oh? Now that they are here and we are locked in a battle with them, you and I are collaborators.”

“Huh! That is not true.”

“Isn’t it?”

“It is not. We knew nothing of their plans to invade. We only know that we like their system of government.”

“And you don’t think they are here to change our system of government to their own?”

“Isn’t it exciting?”

“Stop it, I say. Stop it!” Max wiped his forehead. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“The shop where I worked closed.”

“Closed? Why?”

Stella shrugged. “Excitement. Fear. Maybe a little of both.” She peered at him, her eyes narrowing. “Why are you here and not in the mayor’s office? I would have thought you’d be very busy there.”

“I am very busy.” He pulled at his suit jacket as if straightening it. “I have been promoted.”

“Promoted! To what?”

“I am now a liaison to the military.”

“The Polish military?”

“Do you see another here?” He waved his hand toward the tanks passing by them.

“What are you doing for them?” she breathed, her brow furrowing.

“English translation.”

“You don’t speak English!”

“How do you know that? I do, actually. And I am on a mission, and you are delaying me.”

“Be that way, then.” She pouted briefly before adding, “What will you do when the Nazis arrive in Będzin?”

“How do you know that they will?”

She shrugged. “I am hedging my bets.”

“For right this moment, today, I am a military liaison. That is all I know for now.” He waved as though pushing her away. “Now, go.”

As she started to leave him, he pulled her back into an embrace and kissed her. Startled, he thought she might pull away, but she didn’t. She leaned into him, her tongue flicking inside his mouth and her body pressing against him. She smelled of flowers and musk, and he held her more tightly as he inhaled her essence. Then she abruptly stepped back. “Call on me later,” she said, “when you are no longer working your military liaison shift.”

Then she was gone, as if she had never been there; her petite figure disappeared among the taller men and women crowding the sidewalk. He stared in the direction she’d gone, but when he didn’t spot her among the cluster of people, he turned back in the direction of home.

About the Author:

My full name is Patricia McClelland Terrell, and I have been writing under the pen name p.m.terrell ever since a publisher presented me with my first fiction book cover. The graphic designer had also entered my name in lower-case letters; my editor hated it, and I loved it. It’s been p.m.terrell ever since.

I began writing when I was nine years old, inspired by a schoolteacher and elementary school principal. Scott-Foresman published my first book, a computer instructional for universities, in 1984. Scott-Foresman, Dow-Jones (Richard D. Irwin branch), Palari Publishing, Paralee Press, and Drake Valley Press have published 27 books to date.

Before embarking on a full-time writing career, I founded McClelland Enterprises, Inc., in the Washington, D.C., area in 1984, specializing in workplace computer instruction. I opened another business, Continental Software Development Corporation, in 1994, which focused on custom application development, programming, website design and development, and cybersecurity.

I was honored to be the first female President of the Chesterfield County/Colonial Heights Crime Solvers. Since moving to North Carolina, I served on the boards of the Robeson County Friends of the Library and the Robeson County Arts Council.

I launched The Book ‘Em Foundation with Waynesboro, Virginia, Police Officer Mark Kearney, and assisted in Virginia, New Hampshire, and South Carolina events before establishing the Annual Book ‘Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair, chairing it for several years before turning it over to Robeson Community College in Lumberton, NC.

Padlocked is available in all eBook formats, trade paperback, hardcover, and large print editions.

Website: https://pmterrell.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pmterrell.author/
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/padlocked/id6759671735
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/padlocked-pm-terrell/1149563468
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GPWWNBFN
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/padlocked-2
In France: https://shop.vivlio.com/product/9781935970569_9781935970569_10020/padlocked
In Germany: https://www.thalia.de/shop/home/artikeldetails/A1078388459
All other eBook formats: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1977075