Author Pat Black-Gould’s PBS Interview

December 3, 2022

I drove author Pat Black-Gould to WSRE, a PBS television station that is located on the grounds of the Pensacola State College campus. She had an appointment to tape an interview about her book, The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Story.

The receptionist led us into the “green” room to await her debut. (Only the rug was green though.) A TV played a PBS show while we waited for a well-known interviewer, Jeff Weeks. He’s the type of person who immediately puts everyone at ease. We then went to a studio with a balcony lined with comfortable chairs to the left, and the raised stage to the right. There were three cameras, each at different angles. The room was dark, the lighting directed at Pat and Jeff Weeks,

with a screen as a backdrop that flashed pictures of the book’s illustrations.

Pat’s experience as an actor/director helped dissolve any visible stage fright. As the cameras rolled, the interview could have taken place at home in her living room. Jeff clearly had read the book, asked the right questions, and let Pat tell the story about the Holocaust from a child’s point of view.

The interview won’t debut until January. I’ll post the date. If you, like me, don’t have cable TV, you can still find the PBS shows on Roku. To watch this and more of Jeff Week’s interviews, select PBS Pensacola on the “streaming stations” list on ROKU.

UPDATE: PBS Pensacola will run Pat’s interview on Friday, January 6th at 10:30am, Saturday, January 7th at 3:30pm and Sunday, January 8th at 11:30am. There will be broadcast dates likely during 2023 and on the PBS Video app as well.

The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Journey, is available on Amazon in both hardcover and paperback. The book has already earned a Gold Medal Award. My suggestion is to read the book from cover to cover. There are gems after the actual story, including the “paper clip” Tennessee school project. That’s the part that always has me in tears.