A psychic friend once told me, "I see success for you but late in life." Twenty plus years ago that didn't seem very encouraging, but now, in my early (very early) sixties, I think any measure of success I experience would qualify as "late in life."


Luckily, Dan Janik, Publisher of Savant Books and Publications, saw promise in my pitch for HELLO, NORMA JEAN: a woman has a near-death experience, and her guide back to life is Marilyn Monroe. I'm sure I made it through the slush pile in Dan's email inbox partly due to the everlasting allure of Marilyn Monroe. Nearly 50 years after her death, she still generates a lot of heat and a lot of interest.

While there are metaphysical themes offered in my book, the near-death experience I describe for Kate Davis was actually one that my mother experienced when she was giving birth to my younger brother in November of 1951. Nanny (as we all lovingly called her after the arrival of her first grandchild) felt the same guilt that Kate feels at wanting to stay in the kingdom but being told that it wasn't yet her time.

Nanny lived her remaining 35 years on earth totally uplifted by her near-death experience. It colored the choices and decisions she made in future years—much like what we expect of Kate after her time on earth with Marilyn, now transformed into the Norma Jean she would have been had she lived.

I hope you enjoy HELLO, NORMA JEAN, and CALLING NORMA JEAN, the planned sequel that we're hoping will be published in August of 2012, the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death. We might even squeeze in THE LOONS before the sequel is available. THE LOONS is a rocking ride, similar to the screwball comedy films of the thirties.

Please stay in touch, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support. I've wanted this for as long as I can remember. Having written from the time I was a kid, always writing around full-time jobs and the demands of raising a family, I feel like a youngster who gave up play time to practice for a sport they love, and now I've qualified for the Olympics. Holding my book, HELLO, NORMA JEAN, in my hands for the first time will surely seem like being awarded my own gold medal.

Sincerely, Sue Dolleris Author of HELLO, NORMA JEAN