Nearly 50 years after her death, Marilyn Monroe remains one of the most popular public figures of all time.  Thousands of fans still talk about her on websites and in chat rooms, her image appears on an endless stream of commercial products, and artists and authors recreate her in their imaginations.


Why are we so enthralled by the memory of this woman? Why does she exert such a powerful pull nearly a half century after her death? In part, of course, it is because she was both extraordinarily beautiful and exceptionally talented. But it is also because her struggle to find love and acceptance was cut short by her untimely death, leaving us all to speculate how she would have grown—as an actress and a person—had she been able to live out her life here on earth. 

In HELLO, NORMA JEAN, author Sue Dolleris has created a world in which the spirit of Marilyn Monroe is able to return to earth for a few days, during which time she is able to become the beautiful seventy-something woman she could have become if the world and her own fragile psyche had allowed.

The book is also the story of Kate Davis, a 37-year old happily married mother of twins who manages to balance her life as wife and mother with a career as a successful corporate lawyer.  But all that changes when Kate has a near-death experience. 

When she recovers consciousness in her hospital room, she finds that her guide back to life is none other than the spirit of Marilyn Monroe, who now prefers, however, to be called "Norma Jean."  Spirit Norma Jean, who lets herself be seen only by Kate and her best friend Beth, spends several days on earth. During that time Norma Jean is able to help Kate make several important decisions about her life, including the decision to give up corporate law and redirect her legal skills.

Kate, in turn, through the very special relationship that is revealed between them, is able to help Norma Jean resolve some of the most important emotional issues that troubled her during her life on earth as Marilyn Monroe. Norma Jean is finally able to accept herself as beautiful inside, just as she was beautiful outside when she lived among us.

And there the story would end happily, with Spirit Norma Jean returning to the kingdom at peace with herself, and Kate resuming her life as a wife and mother along with her new career, except… in her zeal to help Kate find her new path, Norma Jean has inadvertently exposed Kate and her family to terrible danger when… 

But that's another story.

I hope that you enjoy HELLO, NORMA JEAN now, and look for THE LOONS next.  It's a complete departure, like a 1930s screwball comedy.  Then we're back with Norma Jean and Kate in CALLING NORMA JEAN, scheduled for the summer of 2012, in time for the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death.

Sincerely,
Sue Dolleris
Author of HELLO, NORMA JEAN