DR. MEL'S MESSAGE - From my novels to my other projects, no telling what you will read. This is the only place you will get to read about how I developed a screenplay into a novel and what is the driving force. I will talk about many things from films to books to acting to producing. It really will depend on where my mind takes me. I hope you will join me on this journey.
Finn Hemingway knows for a fact that she's been born at the wrong time into the wrong family with the wrong talents, making her three dreams for the future almost impossible to attain. She burns to be a trial lawyer in an era when Ruth Bader Ginsburg is being told to type and when a man who is 500th in his law school class is hired over a woman who is first in hers. She yearns to find true love when the family curse dictates that love always ends for the Hemingways, and usually, it ends badly. And finally, she'd give up the first two dreams if she were able to triumph on the third. She longs to have an impact on the only thing that matters to her father: his writing. To accomplish that would require a miracle. All three dreams are almost impossible, but it's the "almost" that keeps Finn going. Ernest Hemingway had three sons but ached to have a daughter.
"GEM!" 5 Stars (Shrabastee Chakraborty for Readers' Favorite)Hemingway's Daughter is a beautiful book, merging a memoir and a coming-of-age story. While the central character never existed in reality, you couldn't have guessed it from the book. This is a gem of a book, a heartwarming read to anyone who wished to read realistic fiction.
"REMARKABLE FICTION SO REAL ONE MAY START TO BELIEVE HEMINGWAY REALLY HAD A DAUGHTER" 5 Stars (Maria Beltran for Readers' Favorite)
"UNRIVALED MIX OF FICTION AND REALITY! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED HEMINGWAY'S DAUGHTER. THE CHARACTERS FELT SO REAL THAT IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THEY ARE FICTIONAL" 5 Stars (Foluso Falaye for Readers' Favorite)
"Through Finley's narration, we have a peep into Hemingway's failings and significant victories. The plot is intriguing and captivating. I found myself glued to this book right till the very last page." ONLINEBOOKCLUB.
"Hemingway's Daughter is well-written fiction that could easily have passed as non-fiction had I not known Hemingway did not have a daughter. I read this book in one day because the pages kept turning themselves. It made me cry. It made me laugh. It made me cheer. I recommend this book to anyone who appreciates a story written like a piece of art instead of just words on a page." Reviewed by Kristi Elizabeth for City Book Review, San Francisco.
"Christine Whitehead does an excellent job of winding the realities of writer Hemingway's fiery personality with the fictional presence of a daughter who must make her own way in life under the umbrella of her father's fame. Thought-provoking and steeped in Hemingway's personality and a fictional daughter's challenges, Hemingway's Daughter is especially recommended for fans of the literary figure who are interested in exploring the glue of what held Hemingway's family together, and the possibilities of a different approach had a daughter been involved." Reviewed by Diane Donovan for MidWest Review.
"This is an amazing, beautifully written book. Although it is a work of historical fiction, the events and timelines are indicated as accurate. Due to the author's dedicated research efforts and talent as a storyteller, it's nearly impossible to tease out the actual from the fantasy. The intricate role Finn plays in her father's life will leave fans wishing she was real, that she could have really had a place in this fascinating man's orbit." Jennifer Padgett for City Book Review, Manhattan.
Publisher : Independently published (July 2, 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 426 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8723557581
Item Weight : 1.38 pounds
Dimensions : 5.5 x 1.07 x 8.5 inches
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
www.christinewhitehead.com and www.theblogalsorises.com
Lawyer by day; novelist by night, Christine Whitehead can't resist a good joke, a large dog or four, a gray horse, anything and everything Hemingway, or a great love story. She writes about what she knows, but just as often about what she doesn’t know. When not in a courtroom or a barn, she can be found roaming the woods of Connecticut with said large dogs and sometimes on that gray horse.
In 1953, Terry moves with her family from a city in Ohio to an undeveloped area of Venezuela. Can the girl from Ohio grow to love Venezuela? How will Venezuela and the United States influence her life? What are the long-lasting memories?
It was 1953, when Terry, a thirteen years old girl and her family move from a city in Ohio to an undeveloped area of Venezuela, near the confluence of two large rivers, the Orinoco River and the Caroní River with the jungle nearby. At that time, the country of Venezuela was filled with freedom, freedom for everyone. There was beauty everywhere. Much of the beauty was in the warm welcoming spirit of the Venezuelan people. Years have passed, life has changed for Terry but her memories and love of the Venezuela she knew has remained with her forever. A personal decision caused her to leave Venezuela and to move forward with her life the best way she could. This is Terry's story. A story that blends two countries together creating long-lasting memories. Memories to be shared and cherished.
Estelle McDoniel is an author, educator, and creator of several projects including her first book titled, "Registered Nurse to Rear Admiral" which was was fondly accepted by nurses, Navy women, and those readers having a knowledge of and respect for history.
"Inspiring Influence" focuses on Gabriel and Ty. Gabriel as well as John James are adopted at the age of 10 by Michael. While at the park, Gabriel notices Ty. He believes Ty to be lost and alone. Ty runs off when Michael walks over. Michael, John James, and Gabriel keep going to the park to look for Ty. After John James draws a photo of Ty, the family helps look for him. Years later, they find Ty in the ER. Michael's brother pulls in favors so Michael can quickly adopt Ty. After years of abuse, Ty does not understand why they care. When they are 18 John James, Gabriel, and Ty still live with Michael. They are close to their couins Jye and Kye. Gabriel is an inspiring influence to his adopted brothers and to his cousins by adoption.
Selena started writing at age 15. Years later the hobby turned into a passion. Selena writes because it is part of her. She feels the Lord blessed her with the gift and she wants to share it. Selena hopes to inspire with her writing. Her favorite part of writing is the characters. Selena's writing and imagination helped her get through a lot of pain. She wants to do that for others.
The legend of the Pirates Pixie intrigues the young friends when they meet a new character on their journey, who changes a simple trip for a delicious lunch into a new adventure. Will they find what they are looking for ? What is the secret of the little red boat ?
The second in the series features our favourite characters and a few new introductions. Join Mr Wobble his brother and friends as they set off on their first solo journey up the river Lark.
I hope you are enjoying meeting the characters as much as I enjoy writing about them. The stories are based on actual birds and wildlife who live on our rivers and banks in England. Their delightful personalities, kindness, and tolerance in sharing their habitats with us humans is always greatly appreciated and respected. Their family units are not so dissimilar to us humans in some ways. Love and happiness sit alongside the odd disagreement with family and friends but are often soon forgotten.
I first met the wonderful Mr. Wobble in 2016, he became a companion and a joy to live alongside. Visiting our boat most days (of course for food ! ) but always engaging and delightful.
Life on a river can teach us so many things. The richness of simplicity, the wonder of stillness in a world so busy and loud at times but, most of all how each and every creature has its own very unique personality. The website is now available so you can see actual pictures and videos of Mr. Wobble, his family, and friends and enjoy their wonderful personalities as much as we have.
I hope there will be many more stories to share with you, I am busily preparing future books with the hope to release them during autumn and winter 2021 and beyond. Thank you again for your support.
Online Marketing Secrets For Beginners: Discover the most successful practices in marketing and outsmart the competition, +100 mistakes beginners should avoid. Kindle Edition
Are you launching your first business and wondering how to get yourself in front of your target audience?
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And in today's world of digital everything, the fast pace flow makes it even more difficult.
What worked last month might be completely outdated by now, and what's trending in pop culture might shift at the snap of a finger.
The good news is that you can still build an effective marketing strategy, create a community around your brand and mission, and bring in results like you’ve never seen before.
And it’s easier than you think!
All you need is to be let into the secrets that every successful entrepreneur knows.
In Online Marketing Secrets for Beginners, you’ll discover:
The #1 thing you need to do if you want to successfully promote your business — and how to do it
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Ex musician, assembly line worker and alcoholic, John Coleman Sr. is a man with deferred and shattered dreams. Living in a Chicago housing project during the 60’s he is a father raising his eight-member family; four girls, two musical prodigy boys and a mentally unstable wife, in a drug, gang and gun infested environment among households with absent dads. During a competitive time of young musical prodigies, he fights for a pathway out of the projects through his talented sons. On a quest to find a way out, he drags his gifted boys on a whirlwind journey of hope, from talent shows to south side Blues clubs and observes their reputation growing with each performance. But along with the journey to see his boys “get great”, is his ongoing struggle with alcohol, his wife’s neurotic behavior and the fortified barrier of resentment from his jealous daughters all brought on by a family history of mental illness. Not only does John Coleman Sr. have to contend with the inner turmoil of his family, but a family tragedy shakes him to the core and threatens the sanctity of his high-spirited loved ones. The 'GREAT' Kickin'dog is a Black experience during a turbulent time of civil rights in the 6o's and free spirits of the 70's embedded in the cradle of Chicago's segregation. It is a coming-of-age saga of passion, perseverance and the courage to rise above; a compelling story of hope and the question of fate.
Tell your readers a little about yourself, where you grew
up, where you live now, where you went to , etc. Let them get to know the
personal you.
I
was born in Oregon, lived in L.A. for a couple of years, and ended up in
Claremont, California, where I graduated from high school. I was shy and so
afraid of having to go to the prom that I arranged to graduate early and go to
Europe with a couple of friends. When they returned home, I continued on through
Europe, the Soviet Union on the Trans-Siberian railway, Japan, Hawaii, and
home.
I
went to Humboldt State College majoring in being a hippie. After my focused
studies learning how to drive a bus, bake bread, and make bellbottom jeans, I
headed to Europe to study Transcendental Meditation. After that followed a
back-and-forth between TM in Europe and junior college in the USA.
I
worked a variety of jobs: as a grocery clerk, postal worker, meditation
instructor, construction worker, garbage man, bread truck driver, UPS driver,
high-rise and residential window washer, commercial real estate salesman,
rehabbed-rented-sold houses, was a landlord, a technical writer, a business
writer, a magazine editor, a cartoonist, and a Christmas tree lot manager.
I
finally graduated from Antioch University with a degree in business at the age
of 31. After my father passed away from Alzheimer's in 2016, I moved to Mexico.
Here I study Pilates and yoga, work on writing projects, enjoy living in a
different culture, and eat the best tortillas in the world.
What inspired you to author your book?
I
was house sitting for a friend in Seattle, Washington. I'd been working on another
book for about a year. One morning I awoke with the idea in my head for Fast
Food Detective and just started laughing. I thought, “I have to write this
as a book. It will only take a couple of months and I'll get back to my other
book." That was 32 years ago. I had to learn to write, and life kept getting in
the way.
Where did you get the inspiration for your book’s cover?
I’d
tried a couple of other cover ideas that didn’t work. One day I was at my desk,
frustrated with my lack of progress, when I took out a piece of paper and drew
a mockup of what I wanted. “Okay,” I said. “This is what I'm looking for.” I
drew an approximation of what the cover should look like, with some borders
around it. That's the cover, you see. Then a friend suggested I put a little
picture in the center with a gun and some French fries. I liked it.
Who has been the most significant influence on you
personally and as a writer?
I
studied Transcendental Meditation for a long time. I would have to say
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the man who brought TM to the USA, has had the most
profound influence of any person in my life. His audio and video lectures completely
blew my socks off
As
far as who had the most influence on me as a writer… it would have to be the
writer, Neal Stephenson. I had an idea for a book, told Neil about it, and said
I thought he should write it. He said, “No, you should write it; it's your
story.” I thought he was nuts. One day, I walked downstairs, got a piece of
paper, and I just started writing. It was so fun to be able to create your own
reality on paper. Thanks, Neil!
As
far as influencing my writing style? I don’t have a clue. A friend of mine
found a book on the road that somebody had probably chucked out the window. It
was a collection of short stories: Mark Twain, William Faulkner, F. Scott
Fitzgerald, James Joyce, John Steinbeck, Hemingway… The book was really beat
up. I started reading it and was blown away by the skill in which these guys
used words.
What were your struggles or obstacles you had to overcome
to get this book written?
That's
funny. The struggles and obstacles I had to overcome were that I didn't know
how to write! I’d gotten encouragement from my seventh-grade teacher, Mrs.
Porter, and a college professor, Bob Burroughs; that was all. But their
encouragement was always there, in the back of my mind.
I
wrote the basic bones of Fast Food Detective in a couple of weeks in
1989. I’d give it to somebody to look at and they would rip it apart. I would
go back to work. When I thought it was finished again, I’d show it to someone
else and they would rip it apart again. Ego training. I ended up writing the
book in a lot of state parks, sitting in my truck.
Life also got in the way. I’d have to stop and work.
When you come home from work physically exhausted, it's hard to get excited
about sitting in front of a computer. In the morning, you've got to get back to
work. And of course, there was the usual: a breakup with a girl, taking care of
my father, buying and fixing up houses, the challenges of living in piles of
concrete and sheetrock dust, selling Christmas trees in Los Angeles, losing
everything in the stock market... You know, the usual.
It's
the story of an assistant manager of a fast-food restaurant, Larry Gibsom,
who’s big fantasy in life is to be a detective. His midget boss, Pinwhip, comes
back early from vacation to find Larry hasn’t been following his strict rules of
conduct. Larry ends up getting fired.
Down
and out, he stumbles on a book that guides him into his new career—as a
detective. He invests all his money in an office, a gun, and a stack of
business cards. No one calls. He’s dead in the water. Then one night he gets a
call from the richest man in the world; he wants to hire Larry. Larry’s job:
take down Venus Van Damme, the head of the woman’s lib organization The National
Organization of Organized Women, who’s stolen his wife “off to stuff envelopes
and talk about equality.”
Our
detective wannabe Larry follows clues that lead him to Nebraska, where he is
joined by the mysterious and beautiful Bobby Broadski. That’s it; I can't say
anything more. It's a fun read, I had fun writing it, and I think people will enjoy
it.
My
target audience doesn't have anything to do with age. It has to do with a sense
of humor. I think it would be a great book for kids of junior high school age
and up. At the front of the book, it says: “To those who get that love and
laughter are really what make the world go ‘round.” That's my audience;
they are my tribe.
If you were going to give one reason for anyone looking
at your book to read, why should they buy it?
Do
they like to laugh? Do they value laughter? Are they a romantic? Do they have
the ability to laugh at themselves and the rest of the world? If they do,
they're going to love this book. If they don’t, they need to read it!
What do you consider your greatest success in life?
Somewhere
in the course of living life, growing up and going through all those ups and
downs, the struggles of being broke then flush with money, being healthy and
being sick; you know, all those things we all go through even when we don't
want to… especially when we don't want to! Those horrible things that make us
better people and make us who we are…
My
greatest success in life is a result of all those ups and downs teaching me to
love people and to understand that on whatever level I am and whatever level
they are, even if those levels are vastly different, that we're both on the
same path. And that path is the path to maturity, compassion, and eventually
what people call “sainthood.”
What one unique thing sets you apart from other writers
in your genre?
I'm
nuts.
How do you overcome writer’s block?
I’ve
never had what most people call writers block. I’ve had times when I didn’t
know how to get the plot from point A to point B. But when I sit down at the
computer or the pen, the words come out.
The
only time I ever have what most people call “writer’s block” is when I get
tired. As soon as I find things aren't working, I stop. I wait until the next
morning when I’m energetic, or after my meditation in the afternoon, when I’m
full of energy again.
Trying
to write when you are not at your peak of energy and clarity is a losing
proposition! Not only is it a waste of time, but it puts a negative association
in your mind about writing and not being creative. Meditation refreshes me on
that level; sleep refreshes me on that level. Because of the way I approach
writing (a subject of my blogs) when I put my pen to the paper, I know from the
first scene to the last scene where I’m going.
So,
it's just a matter of being energetic and clear-headed, and having fun. That's
my edge, my secret formula; have fun! Sometimes I get so much energy writing
that I have to run up and down the hallway yelling. As soon as you start to get
tired, stop! Go meditate, eat, walk, take a nap, whatever. And if you're still
not clear and sparkly in your head after that, wait till tomorrow.
What one piece of advice do you have for new authors.
I
talk about a number of pieces of advice on my blog, so I would suggest they
read those. But the #1 piece of advice is: Make it fun and make it emotional; for
you.
When
you think about your story, when you close your eyes and think about your story
in detail, it should make you laugh, and it should make you cry. It should make
you feel emotions! You should be excited about writing this story and sharing
it with the rest of us. If it's not emotionally powerful for you—I'm not
talking about the reader here, I'm talking about you—change it until it is. Or
get another idea.
Oh,
and I just have to say this after whizzing through my book in only 32 years:
you haven’t failed until you give up. As long as you're still working on it, where
is the failure?
Tell your readers anything else you want to share.
I
think writing is about bringing to the paper all the fun, the feelings of
sadness, the joy, all the emotions that are inside of you, illustrated through
the experiences of your characters. To fill the container of yourself, of your
heart, of your spirit or wherever it is that writing comes from, to fill that
container with emotional experiences, some wonderful, some tough, you have to
experience life. So, go out and do it. Take risks, go places, meet people. Be
safe, but don't hide from experiencing the world. And all blessings and fun to
you!
