Mara Purl was a performer on-camera and on-stage, with her regular character on Days Of Our Lives having been her starting point for soap opera. Purl began her writing career as a journalist for the Associated Press, Rolling Stone, The Financial Times of London, Working Woman Magazine, and The Christian Science Monitor. A prolific fiction author, she also has written a play and several non-fiction books including Act Right: A Manual for the On-Camera Actor with actress Erin Gray. Other Awards include the New York Festivals Award; for her play Mary Shelley: In Her Own Words, the Peak Award; and for public service, Woman of the Year 2002 by the Los Angeles County Commission for Women. Mara Purl is also an accomplished musician. Her instrument is the koto and she recorded and has played on the international stage with many noteworthy musicians including 'Sumahama' recorded with Mike Love and the Beach Boys, Pathless Path recorded with Charles Lloyd and Koto Keys among others.
“The American Heart Association’s initials are A.H.A.—and it really is an organization that’s all about the ‘aha moment’ we each need to share and experience,” Purl states. “How can we have happier, more productive and fulfilled lives by listening not only to our heads but also to our hearts? I think these are vital questions and I look forward to engaging this wonderful audience in these important heart-matters.”
“In the book business, competition for positions on any Amazon.com top-ten list is keen. The list is almost always occupied by block-buster authors, or by super-hot trending phenomena,” said Margot Atwell, associate publisher of Bellekeep Books in New York City.
“It was startling to rank higher than Hunger Games and be in the top-five with Fifty Shades,” Purl gasped. “I was honored to be playing a close game of tag with Nora Roberts in the Romance category, and utterly amazed to have reached #1 in Contemporary Fiction with James Patterson’s latest book actually behind mine. I mean, What the Heart Knows was at #1 in Family Saga with John Grisham at #2. Good ranking is one important part of the publishing equation, and I am very grateful.”
“What I write is Women’s Fiction—a larger, more encompassing genre, which includes romance as a category, but allows for a more complex story structure. Mine is also a Women’s Fiction Series, which makes it even less traditional, in that not all the storylines conclude in each book, some relationships and issues remain unresolved until later in the series.”
“My novels are most definitely romantic—and early editions have won several romance awards. Yet the love relationships don’t conclude the way readers might expect. They’re full of surprises and complexities.”
“I love writing these short stories,” Purl said recently. “They allow for me to explore a side of my characters not always shown in the novels. This holiday story involves a lot of the emotions we all experience during this time, so it's heartfelt and touching. But, it also contains a major family secret that causes a long-awaited resolution for one of the main characters.”
This may be Apple Pie, USA, but hearts are on the line, professions are at stake and a possible murder has tainted the landscape. Ending each plot line in a cliffhanger, Purl closes the saga with a peek at the next installment in the Milford-Haven series. A whirlwind of juicy drama with dangling-carrot closure.
