Dust and Roses Trailer
VOICEOVER (female, early 20s): “The Great Depression . . .
PICTURE: (Stills of poverty, dust storm, bread line, Wichita in ‘30’s)
MUSIC: (may have to experiment) Old time acoustic blues
VOICEOVER: “Some found comfort with family and friends in those hard times.”
PICTURE: (stills of affluence, smartly dressed socialites from public domain ‘30’s movie.)
MUSIC: continue with acoustic blues
VOICEOVER: (pause 3 seconds)
PICTURE: Dissolve to bold text, green on black: Dust and Roses, a historical novel. ,
MUSIC: same acoustic blues
VOICEOVER: “For me, the security of family was an illusion.”
PICTURE: (dissolve to muted scene in a cramped doctor’s office. Establishing shot of Sara seated with middle aged or…
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Katherine McGurk Character Interview
CAMERA ON INTERVIEWER: Today, we are talking with Mrs. Katherine McGurk, a supporting character in the historical novel Dust and Roses by Wes Brummer, published by Wild Rose Press and available on Amazon. (Narrator shows copy of book.) Katherine is a housewife, mother of three and the wife of Sam McGurk, former pastor and popular social commentator on Wichita’s KSKN radio station. This May in 1935, Sam’s local program Heaven and Earth will reach a national audience through the Alliance Broadcasting System. Let’s get to know Katherine better and hear a special message from her about her daughter Sara.
CAMERA ON KATHERINE MCGURK (Interviewer’s Voice off camera): “Missus McGurk, I see by your nice furniture you’re not a part of the twenty-five percent unemployed during these hard times. Why is that?”
KATERINE MCGURK: “Our family has been blessed by Sam’s success in radio. It’s such a new medium and, I think, listeners crave a soothing voice to help them make sense of the Depression. Sometimes it’s hard to know who…
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Stalag Sunflower: Deleted Scene
(This scene takes place just after the unit’s capture the next morning. It was deleted because I needed to shorten the novel. This did not really add to the main plot of the story.)
The morning hours pass, and shadows grow shorter as the sun climbs a cloudless sky. Our scattered groups slowly form into a rough column. Ahead is a long tent from which a row of German soldiers, now prisoners, emerge. We are about to be processed like livestock entering a stockyard. As Brian and I draw closer, I could see uniformed men sitting behind folding tables as the Germans file past. Brian pointed to the line of clerks. “Notice how they’re hunched over their paper work? They look like accountants.”
I motioned to a large square tent next to the fencing. “I wonder what that is?” All the prisoners are toting bundles as they enter the tent..
“Part of the processing, I suppose. Or maybe it’s a changing room. Those look like clothes.” He sighed, “Clean duds. That would be wonderful.”
I pay little attention to Brian’s words. Two American officers, lieutenants, perhaps, and two infantrymen with rifles are surveying the line of prisoners and coming our way. At times, they would stop, seemingly at random, to search a prisoner. While the unfortunate man is forced to empty his pickets, the riflemen would stand aside and scan other prisoners. Didn’t they know? We have no weapons. Many of us had even thrown our knives away for fear of punishment if we were caught hiding one. What could they be looking for? At they draw near, I watch in astonishment as a veteran Afrikaner removes a metal from his around his neck, giving it to his captors.
“That’s an Iron Cross!” Brian is incredulous. “He just gave it to them.”
After placing the medal in a canvas pouch, the officers saunter closer, paying little attention to…