A Letter from Danielle for January ’22
Hi everyone,
We’ve started a new year, hopefully a healthier and easier one than the past two years. We start with a clean slate, full of hope for the future. January is often a quiet month of hibernation, the holiday festivities are over, the weather tends to be bad in most places, and it’s a great time to catch up on projects and curl up with a good book. And I have lots of good books for you to start the year off!!!
Invisible is my new hardcover, about a woman who grew up with a mother who left when she was a young child and left her with a father who never made her feel welcome in his life. He was severe and paid little attention to her. She became fascinated by going to the movies while still a child and was mesmerized by the excitement and glamour she saw on screen. The mother who abandoned her was an aspiring actress, and she always hoped to catch a glimpse of her in a film. As she got older, all she wanted was a chance to work on films herself, not as an actress, but as a director. A summer internship in Hollywood while she was in college fueled the fire of her ambitions to be a filmmaker. She had no desire to be in the spotlight herself, and greatly preferred to be “invisible”, while observing life from a safe place in the wings.
When an important director notices her during her internship, he convinces her to take a small part in one of his films, and she is rapidly catapulted into stardom—still wishing she could be behind the scenes making a movie, not starring in one. She pursues the opportunity she’s been given, and becomes a very successful actress, while still preferring to be “invisible.”
As the book evolves, she is eventually faced with the choice between the challenges and burdens and sometimes pains of fame, and her lifetime dream of being a filmmaker herself, in the invisible role she has wished for all her life. She has to decide who she is and what she wants: the life she wants in the eye of the storm of fame, or invisibly, behind the scenes. It’s a painful choice as she struggles between her dreams and her obligations, and has to decide which path to take in order to be true to herself.
And, in paperback this month, Finding Ashley will be coming out! It’s about mothers and daughters and sisters (a theme I love), and the search for the baby one woman gave up for adoption when she was fifteen—and has never been able to locate as an adult. It’s also about the relationship between sisters who, even when they have drifted apart for a long time and events bring them back together, discover that their bond to each other is still strong. It’s about one of the subjects I love to write about: human relationships, and the strength, resilience, and perseverance of the human spirit even in adversity—and our ability to recover from life’s blows.
I hope that you enjoy both books!!!
Have a peaceful month of January, and have fun reading!!!
Love,
Danielle