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THE BLUE BUTTERFLY
A Novel of Marion Davies
The true-life story of Marion Davies’ thirty-four-year relationship with William Randolph Hearst including a whirlwind courtship, a movie career spanning two decades and forty-four films, a secret child, and harrowing family excesses, not to mention a secret love affair with Charlie Chaplin. The Blue Butterfly is a behind-the-scenes look into the opulent private life of Marion Davies and how the movie Citizen Kane stole her legacy and turned everyone against her.
Leslie Johansen Nack goes where no author has gone before with this vibrant period novel that brilliantly reimagines the life of legendary film star, Marion Davies.
Leslie Johansen Nack’s latest novel is a vibrant and complex historical fiction account of Marion Davies’ thirty-four-year relationship with William Randolph Hearst. Davies is known as one of the great actresses of her generation and Nack proves just how timeless her story really is, taking readers on a whirlwind journey of her life
A detailed, moving portrait of a complex woman in a complex life.
FOURTEEN
A Daughter’s Memoir of Adventure, Sailing and Survival
Fourteen is a coming-of-age adventure when, at the age of 14, Leslie and her two sisters have to batten down the hatches on their 45-foot sailboat to navigate the Pacific Ocean and French Polynesia, as well as the stormy temper of their larger-than-life Norwegian father.
Nack’s interest in sailing is not superficial. She has a respect for the ocean that her father teaches her; this is one of the reasons she is so close to him. But she knows she has much more to learn. She battles the standard teenager demons of boys and school, but her unconventional home life is a fascinating tale. Set against the background of life with a floating home, the teenage angst is not the focus of the story. [Fourteen] is not just a sailing story, nor is it a coming of age tale, but a splendid mix of the two.
Fourteen is the poignant and gripping coming-of-age story of Leslie Johansen Nack, a smart, strong girl who sails to Tahiti with her two sisters and predatory father in 1975. With him as captain of their 45’ boat, Nack’s life depends upon him…until he falls ill. The skills and confidence Nack gains from sailing, combined with her indomitable will, help Nack fight back against her father’s abuse—and might even help her save his life. In candid, clear, even-handed prose, Leslie Johansen Nack’s Fourteen is an important book, one that takes us on a lush journey to distant lands and through the complexities and resilience of the human spirit.
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The Blue Butterfly, A Novel of Marion Davies
ABOUT LESLIE
The Blue Butterfly, A Novel of Marion Davies has won five indie awards including 2022 IBPA Gold Medal for Historical Fiction.
Fourteen, A Daughter’s Memoir, received five indie awards, including the 2016 Finalist in Memoir at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
Before she started writing, she raised two children, ran a mechanical engineering business with her husband, took care of her aging mother, and dreamed of retirement when she could write full-time. She did everything late in life, including getting her degree in English Literature from UCLA. She lives in San Diego and enjoys sailing, hiking and reading.
