In the News
In 2022, I wrote a pilot screenplay for a TV series to adapt my book for the screen while searching for a show runner who can embrace my vision or develop his or her own. In July, 2022, Screenwriting Staffing rated my pilot screenplay script “CONSIDER on script” and in August recommended my script to its network of film professionals for their consideration. In September, 2022, ScreenCraft selected my project as a semifinalist in its Fall 2022 Virtual Pitch Competition, one of 150 selected from about 1,000 entries.
Visit http://www.plainevue.fr/ for more information about Chartres cathedral in the Plainview Mageure&Loir magazine (in French) readable online at that site.
Visit “bluedechartres” on Instagram for a stream of amazing photos of the cathedral, its interior and its environs.
Events
In January 2020, I gave a talk about my book to members of the Sertoma fraternal club gathered in a meeting in Littleton, Colorado.
In March 2020, I was scheduled to sign books at the Tucson Festival of Books, but the festival was cancelled due to Covid. I’ll be at the festival instead to sign books in March 2021.
In March 2020, my book launch party, a private event in Green Valley, AZ, was indefinitely postponed due to Covid.
On May 26, 2020, I gave a talk about my book via zoom to members of the Jewish Federation of Utah.
On June 10, 2020, Cynthia Brian, founder of an empowerment program, and Authors Guild member, interviewed me on her June 10 Voice of America network radio program called Starstyle—Be the Star You Are! She's been assisting authors whose book launches have been cancelled due to Covid. I am grateful she did so for me too. The interview is available as a podcast at: https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/123790/saving-the-light-at-chartres-reading-love-prepping-for-college-admissions and at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/starstyle-be-the-star-you-are/id669630180?mt=2 with my portion of each starting at15:31.
On July 25, 2020, Vick Mickunas, host of the long-running Book Nook radio program on WYSO.org 91.3 FM (NPR affiliate), was kind enough to interview me about my book Saving the Light at Chartres (Stackpole Books 2020) for his July 25 program, available on demand at https://www.wyso.org/show/book-nook/2020-08-08/book-nook-saving-the-light-at-chartres-how-the-great-cathedral-and-its-stained-glass-treasures-were-rescued-during-world-war-ii-by-victor-a-pollak or as a podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/book-nook/id1113636483.
In August, 2020, author Kathleen Kelley Reardon, Professor Emerita of Management and Organization at USC Business School, and author of many books including a new crime mystery Damned if She Does, included my virtual interview on her Visiting Authors Blog page at http://www.comebacksatwork.com/?page_id=2689. Thank you, Kathleen. Kathleen has published 10 nonfiction books and two novels. She’ll be participating in the Dublin (Ireland) Writers Festival. Kirkus Reviews described her latest book - Damned if She Does - a MeToo crime mystery that takes place at a Manhattan academic conference and throughout NYC - as “informed and searing.” They have selected it for their September announcement of “Great Indie Books Worth Discovering.” It’s a sequel to her debut crime mystery, Shadow Campus, which takes place in Los Angeles and opens with a young female professor hanging in her office, nearly dead, on the eve of her tenure decision. Forbes described it as a “fast-paced” and a “masterful debut.” She is working on the third crime mystery in the trilogy, which will take place in West Cork, Ireland where she currently lives.
Also In August, 2020, I was featured in an Authors Guild Spotlight, The Writing Life, at https://www.authorsguild.org/the-writing-life/member-spotlight-victor-a-pollak/.
In December, 2020, my book was featured by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture in its “One for the Books: The Year’s Suggested Architecture Books for Gift Giving AASL Column” as one of the “notable architecture books” of 2020, calling it “A compelling story that adds new insight into what has been written about how France’s cultural heritage was saved from the ravages of World War II.” https://www.acsa-arch.org/2020/12/15/oneforthebooks-suggestedarchitecturebooks/
In 2021. I seek to adapt my book into a TV series or feature film. My synopsis entry (with no character development) for Saving the Light at Chartres was recognized as one of the 175 semi-finalists among 1,400 entrants in the ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition for 2020-21, and in 2022 is on the Red List as #16 for all time among historical book/manuscripts currently being tracked by CoverFly. https://writers.coverfly.com/the-red-list.
In 2022, in March, I participated in the Indie Author’s Pavilion at the Tucson Festival of Books on the U. of Arizona campus.
Future events
For 2023-24, I’m available to present zoom talks and readings. If you or your group are interested, please contact me using the contact form on this website.
I’ve received gratifying feedback on the book. If you read it and would like to write a review, please do so and post it on Amazon, Goodreads or some other site, and please send me a link.