Lisa Pell has kindly
agreed to guest post here about her work, and share her inspiration for
becoming a writer.
About The Author:
Guest Post:
Daddy’s Moonlight Gleam
It was a moonlight gleam in my
Daddy’s eye that led to me and my novel, Who’s
Your Daddy, Baby. Perhaps it was a weird moonbeam that led me to a writing
career.
I
have enjoyed writing since pre-school years with scribbles on Go, Dog, Go!, and as an adult have made
my living as a journalist and communications specialist with a focus on
writing. While I have considered myself a professional writer since my first
job as a young newspaper reporter back in the early 1980s, I never thought of
myself seriously as an author until I
began writing Who’s Your Daddy, Baby? When I was in my twenties, my mother told
me I should write a book someday. Back
then I told her I couldn’t think of anything to write about. Little did my mother know I would write a
book about her dating life long after she was gone. I guess that lends credence to the old adage,
“Be careful what you wish for!”
Inspired
by my own experience, Who’s Your Daddy,
Baby? is the story of my alter ego, Lori Pomay, whose name is what I call a
"mutt-a-zation" of the French word for clueless. A happily married
career woman living in suburban Washington, D.C., she undergoes genetic testing
for in vitro fertilization and her world is rocked when she is told the dad she
always knew could not possibly have been her biological father. When discussing
blood type incompatibilities, the doctor, in his lovely French accent, said,
"I senk you better senk about the milkman." This mid-life shocker
sends my character into an alternately hilarious, heartwarming, and
heartbreaking search for truth about her heritage – from Appalachian Cherokees
to a Purple King on a church stage, with high-rolling gamblers, car dealers,
dentists, and all manner of older, confused amnesiacs along for the ride. It’s
a mystery which should appeal to those searching for their roots, with DNA testing
foibles and myths of history exposed. I'm fond of saying it's a mystery only a
mother could create, but Paul McCartney might say only your mother should know.
I'm a major Beatles fan, was even calling myself the Egg Woman during the in
vitro process.
For the future, I’m thinking more fiction, maybe
even a musical or movie script. I began writing stories with a concept for a
novel in mind about ten years ago, which I soon realized needed to be a
trilogy. The Distortions series is about a woman convicted of a murder she
didn’t commit, an amazing Rock ‘n’ Roll performer, and a character with ties to
a few Presidents. It’s a parody of Earth
far in the future on “Planet Malaprop,” very similar to “Hearth,” and I’ve thought
about a fourth installment for Distortions. In addition, I’ve been speaking with several
individuals about co-writing some of their stories.
With
the help of professional musicians, I also had fun writing and recording two
bluesy, rockin’ music videos, “The Ballad of Who’s Your Daddy, Baby?” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rWXRSRPGRU, and “Nothin’ Butt a
Mutt” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGv09fZuops, featuring toddlers,
then puppies and kittens interpreting Who’s
Your Daddy, Baby? The Who’s Your Daddy, Baby? project has been
a soul-searching, multi-media experience of tremendous professional and emotional
growth for me. I’ve written additional songs for my first novel and look
forward to having more fun with writing projects. Thank you, Lucy, for allowing me to shine a
little bit in the Moonlight Gleam.
Who's Your Daddy, Baby?:
Author: Lisa Pell
Publication Date: July 24, 2012
Inspired by the author’s experience, Who’s Your Daddy, Baby? is the story of Lori McGuire Pomay, a happily married career woman living in suburban Washington, D.C. Lori undergoes genetic testing for in vitro fertilization and her world is rocked when she is told the dad she always knew could not possibly have been her biological father. This mid-life shocker sends her into an alternately hilarious, heartwarming, and heartbreaking search for truth about her heritage – from Appalachian Cherokees to Purple Kings on a church stage, with high-rolling gamblers, car dealers, dentists, and all manner of confused amnesiacs in their seventies along for the ride.
With Lori’s mother having died in the 1990s, taking many of the answers to her questions with her, the situation was rife with miscalculations. Initially, the protagonist Lori McGuire Pomay’s only clues to a prospective unknown biological father’s identity are memories of her late mother discussing pre-marital dating in the mountains of southwestern Virginia, and faded old letters from several paternal contenders, written around the time of her conception in the apparently swinging spring of 1958. The hunt eventually involves possibly ten paternal prospects; their families and friends; the membership of two churches; the high-rolling gambler ex-husband of a famous Hollywood actress; two families of car dealers; several free-spirited road trips around Virginia, and numerous humorous telephone calls and e-mails.
It all boils down to timing and opportunity. Lori learns more than she ever wanted to know about the vagaries of female fertility, the fallibility of half-siblingship DNA testing, problems with blood type testing/mutations, the impact of several genetic mutations – and her late mother’s courtships. Readers learn more than they might have known about Appalachian heritage, northern European ethnicity, inbreeding, sex and Rock n’ Roll in the 1950s, the bonds of motherhood, and the nature of paternity. Throw in the onset of a puzzling hereditary vertigo condition set off by hormone injections, plus a trip to the hospital for chest pains, and "Who’s Your Daddy, Baby?" will leave your head spinning.
It’s a magical mystery tour and “Who Done It” classic maybe only a mother could create, and as Paul McCartney might say, the answer to which maybe only your mother should know. Then again, there’s the possibility medical testing mistakes might be fueling this comedy of errors, but, whatever the answer, Lori’s world is forever changed by the journey.
Find Who's Your Daddy Baby Online:
Praise for Lisa Pell’s Who’s Your Daddy, Baby?:
“This is a knockout idea for a novel.– William Kuhn, author of Reading Jackie
Lisa Pell had me riveted in the first paragraph.”
“The topic is certainly current, given the space age approaches to fertility. Add to that the– Catherine Astolfo, author of the Emily Taylor Mysteries and Past President of Crime Writers of Canada
connections through the cyber world and the story couldn’t be more contemporary or
intriguing…However, what I really liked most about this book was the writing.
It’s intelligent and witty, informative yet easy to read.”
Happy reading until next time!
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