Pauline Hayton hails from the north east of England. She worked as a probation officer in her hometown of Middlesbrough before immigrating to the United States in 1991. She and her husband currently live in Naples, Florida with four abandoned cats who adopted them. She figures there must be a sign at the end of her drive that says two mugs live here.
She never, ever wanted to be a writer. It was not on her bucket list. Nevertheless, she started writing in 1996, after listening to her father's war stories and reading his tattered wartime diaries. She found them so interesting, she felt compelled to write them down for her grandchildren who had only ever known their grandfather as a doddering old man. The project turned into her first book, her father's war memoir, "A Corporal's War: the WWII Adventures of a Royal Engineer."
Researching for this book, she discovered the true WWII story of a remarkable woman, Ursula Graham Bower and wrote "Naga Queen" which is based mainly on the letters Ursula wrote home to her mother when she was living with the Naga tribes doing anthropological work. When the British Army discovered her, they recruited her into a clandestine unit to spy on the Japanese. She received a medal for her activities. While researching "Naga Queen" Hayton became friends with Ursula's daughter through whom Hayton became involved in bettering the lives of the Naga tribes in northeast India. This also led to a new book, "Chasing Brenda",(since renamed "Grandma Rambo") a lighthearted adventure in Nagaland, written after the author visited Magulong village, where she and her husband support a school, at a time when there was rebel activity in the area.
"Myanmar:In my Father's Footsteps. A Journey of Rebirth and Remembrance" is a travelogue of a trip taken in 2006. After surviving two battles with cancer, Hayton wanted to celebrate being alive and decided to visit the places where her father fought the Japanese in Burma during WWII. It was a healing, life-changing journey for her.
Her book "If You Love Me, Kill Me", a funny, sad and intense story, is based on the author's painful, personal experiences while caring for her elderly parents.
The author published her memoir "Still Pedaling" in 2015, with the hope that anyone facing hardships and challenges can lessen their pain by recognizing how a greater power is on hand, bringing help and support.
In 2016, Hayton published "Extreme Delight" an anthology of short true and fictional stories and poems, as well as her first children's book "The Unfriendly Bee."
"No Long Goodbyes" published 2019 is romantic fiction set in the 1942 Japanese invasion of Burma. This is the third book in a series to bring attention to a neglected part of WWII, the China/Burma/Indian theater of war, otherwise known as CBI. Hayton had not planned to write a romance, but the characters had other ideas. Everything that happened to heroine Kate, happened to refugees fleeing the invading force. More than half a million people walked out of Burma to India. It is estimated that between 20,000 to 100,000 died. Nobody has the correct figures. This book is my salute to those brave souls.
It's amazing when you are shown that you are on the right path in your writing. My first sale of "No Long Goodbyes" came almost by accident. I was introduced to a man whose friend fled on foot from Burma in 1942. He bought the book to give to this friend for his 93rd birthday.
My other two books that honor the forgotten army in CBI are "A Corporal's War" and "Naga Queen."
I recently published two short stories as ebooks: A love story "On Pilots' Wings" and a murder story "When the Bough Breaks."
Having changed the title of "Chasing Brenda" to "Grandma Rambo" I followed this with turning "Grandma Rambo" into a podcast that can be listened to like a radio play for free on any podcast provider. There is also a puzzle available through Amazon which you can do while you listen to the twelve episodes. The possiblity of "Grandma Rambo" being made into a movie looms.
Experimenting again, my latest novella, "Molly's Heroes" is available in serial format on Kindle-Vella.
While I continue to pound my keyboard, I wish you happy and enjoyable reading.
