My Addiction Books Interviews Story Merchant Client Lisa Cerasoli about her Book and Short Film

Interview - Lisa Cerasoli on her novel Nora Jones Fades Away

 Interview – Lisa Cerasoli for her novel Nora Jo Fades Away which led to the short film 14 Days with Alzheimer’s. (The Memory Thief)

Lisa Cerasoli seems to have had a busy lifestyle since graduating high school. She worked in L.A as an actor for a while and played roles in various series such as Oh, Grow Up, Diagnosis Murder, Pensacola Wings of Gold (Wow), The Pretender and was a series regular on General Hospital. Nowadays she is known for her novels, On the Brink of Insanity and As Nora Jo fades Away: confession of a Caregiver, and her new film, “14 DAYS with Alzheimer’s.”

Lisa was introduced to me via Ken Atchity who also introduced her to her love for writing, and was the executive producer on “14 DAYS with Alzheimer’s.”

Before I really get into our whole interview I have to ask. Pensacola Wings of Gold. Tssk tssk - how was it to work with Kenny Johnson? He was like one of my Oh so bad crushes when I was a teen? 

If memory serves, Kenny had the most incredible pecs sitting atop a sweet six pack with perfectly bronzed skin and...He was a mighty fine kisser. I’m sorry; is that what you meant? I mean, he was great to work with - he knew all of his lines ALL THE TIME! And he’s very nice.

Ha ha ha - Okay, so now that I’m over that.

From everything I have read to date, I can see that your life holds a whole whack of crazy but interesting experiences. I usually call these busy lifestyles - full. What is your interpretation?

I read in The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need that due to the nature of my sign - double Aquarius with my moon in Gemini - I attract oddballs. Also, I’m childlike and childish. That said, I like oddballs (I might even be one). And I outgrew “childish” when I moved from Hollywood to Northern Michigan to care for my dying father, and then his father...and then his mother. Both my grandparents died of Alzheimer’s. My grandmother, the fabulous Miss Nora Jo, died in my home two years ago, surrounded by loved ones. I love acting and writing, but I’m incredibly lucky to have been able to be there for my family. Plus, my caregiving experiences brought out the more intense writer in me, and a filmmaker that had been itching to come to the surface for years. In summation, my interpretation of my life is that it is “colorful.” It keeps me on my toes.

As Nora Jo fades Away is a memoir based on your own grandmother. How did it feel to write and publish something that was so close to your heart?

It made the caregiving experience more fulfilling. That might sound harsh, but caring for someone with Alzheimer’s is extremely draining, both emotionally and physically. My gram got “interviewed” for the book a bunch, so she felt like she was a part of the process, even if she couldn’t remember it. It kept us both busy. Also, when the book got published, she absolutely adored the photo I put on the cover, which was a shot of her when she was twenty-five. She looked like a Hollywood starlet, truly. She’d walk by the book and say, “Who is that gorgeous girl on the cover of that book? Oh, for God’s sake, it’s me!” She was so proud. And I felt like I had figured out how to build a bridge between the life I had left behind and the one I had now as a caregiver. I guess you could call that “purpose.” I felt like my old life and new one had joined forces and I found my purpose.

I could never write reality, simply since my life always seems fairly dull in comparison with others, what was your initial worry prior to publishing something so personal?

Well, I’m not so sure I believe that for a second - that your life is dull. Is it possible that you don’t want to “lay it all out there?” That’s what a memoir or nonfiction is to me, it’s taking “your story” and  laying it ALL out there. Otherwise, it’s just a documentation of facts, which can be drab, or dull or boring. I didn’t have any worries regarding the intimacy of the subject matter Anybody could ask me anything about my life within five minutes of meeting me and I’d give them a straight answer. I’ve always been like that: an open book. The only way to write a book on Alzheimer’s is to get down-right personal. My goal was to reach out to caregivers, create awareness and entertain while I was doing it. Where’s the fun in learning when it feels like work? Also, caregiving is a lonely job. I knew I couldn’t have been the only person feeling that. And, I had yet to read a book on the subject that defined every aspect of the illness. We had fun. I went nuts a few times (a day). There were real scares, but also moments that were so touching between my gram and my five-year-old daughter, Jazz, because of the illness.  If I didn’t write about all of it, what would have been the point?

Your ratings on Amazon are 5 Star, was it a relief to have so many readers accept, like and associate with your work?

Yup, yup and yup! But, my favorite part since I’ve been able to tour the country with the book and the film is seeing the relief in other people’s eyes when I speak so frankly about my experience.

How did the novel transgress into the short film “14 Days with Alzheimer’s?”

I had just returned from Maria Shriver’s 2010 March Against Alzheimer’s in Long Beach, California and I felt like there could be a faster and more “current” way to create Alzheimer’s awareness and reach the masses, especially younger generations. When that dawned on me, the answer was simple: film. I had to start filming us. So, I bought a FLIP and carried it around day and night. I pulled that thing out every time I felt any kind of “Alzheimer’s moment” happening. And I took out the camera for quite a few regular, day-in-the-life scenes, and to interview gram. The documentary is a culmination of all of that.

The Short Film has thus far received fifteen national awards during 2011, ’12 and ’13 including Audience Choice Award in Boulder’s Life & Death Matters Film Fest, a WIN at the Los Angeles REEL Film Festival, plus Best Unscripted Film in Randy Becker’s 2013 Web Series and Indie Film Competition. This is definitely putting something close on another level, how did you cope with the upward spiral?

I was happily surprised and so grateful that people wanted to “participate” in my story, even as a viewer. Watching a film about Alzheimer’s and caregiving is a bonding experience. My film had a zero budget and I was a first-time filmmaker. I am indebted to Ken Atchity for stepping into the executive producer position. He guided me through post production. I had all this film footage on my hands and virtually no film making skills. So, we started with a one minute and thirty second mini-movie and worked up to the twenty-nine minute final version. We’d like to see “14 DAYS...” as a feature, so we’re not done yet!

Was the idea always to support research and patients of Alzheimer’s?

Yes, the idea from the onset of the memoir was to create awareness for people who suffer from Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related illnesses, and to connect the people who care for those people. Caregivers need to know that they are not alone in their feelings or their endeavors. Now, bear in mind that I was already a writer, so the idea was also to occupy my mind and my grandmother’s time. Writer’s “need” to write. And my gram needed near-constant companionship. “Necessity is the Mother of Invention,” that’s what they say. I guess, together, Gram and I created a book and then a film.

How has the general public changed towards you as a person since the release of your novels and films?

Total strangers will whisper to me their secrets often before I even know their names. It’s pretty amazing to know that in some way the book and film have compelled people to “free” themselves, if only temporarily, of the stories that burden them as caregivers.

From reading your own Bio one would think that your life has reached the sky, where to from here on-wards?

I have a long way to go, a lot of people to reach and a slew of new ideas bouncing around my brain.  I’d like to see As Nora Jo Fades Away on the New York Times Best Seller list (pretty please!). Let’s start there.

Where could fans and followers stay in contact?

www.lisacerasoli.com is my official website. I have a YouTubeChannel: LisaMarieCerasoli.

And you can find Lisa on Facebook. I take messages and orders off there all the time.

Twitter: @lisacerasoli

Thank you so much for the interview!

Lisa thanks for allowing MA to get a glimpse of your very hectic lifestyle. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Noise and Notes: Gerald Blaine on 'The Kennedy Detail'

For Noise and Notes, Blaine sat down to discuss what it's like to protect a U.S. President, how the agency changed after the assassination, and the American public gravitated towards conspiracy theories in the decades after.

Former U.S. Secret Service Agent Gerald Blaine has spent his life thinking about security. In his book "The Kennedy Detail" co-authored with journalist Lisa McCubbin, Blaine chronicles his time protecting former President John F. Kennedy up until the assassination in Dallas. It also looks at how the shooting was traumatic for Blaine's fellow agents and how each dealt with the president's death differently. The book has been the subject of 2011 documentary and is set to be a feature film to be filmed in New Orleans

Readers' Favorite Reviews The Messiah Matrix

Book Review
Reviewed by Maria Beltran for Readers' Favorite

"The Messiah Matrix" is a brave novel that threatens to destroy a Christian myth. After a scholar-monsignor is killed in a mysterious hit and run accident in Rome, Father Ryan receives a confession that will change his life forever. At the same time, in a wreck off the coast of ancient Judea, Emily, a young archaeologist discovers an old coin that will become the key evidence that will challenge the Catholic Church's beliefs. What follows is a series of events that will bring these two people together. They will seek the truth together starting from the old port of Caesaria to the catacombs of Rome. And in the course of this journey, they will also fall in love with each other.

"The Messiah Matrix" is a novel that may subvert the foundation of the Catholic Church itself. Dr. Kenneth John Atchity has succeeded in writing an intriguing novel that will make the reader think twice about the identity of Jesus Christ. Action starts on the first page and the reader is sucked in as the suspense grows throughout the novel. Passionate about the truth, the characters of Father Ryan and Emily are both interesting and compelling. The narrative goes on in an exhilarating pace that left me breathless. Atchity knows his subject and cleverly weaves an interesting story around it. Being a Classical scholar and a Yale Ph. D graduate, it is a given that he has done his research. Coming up with this intense and action packed novel just shows his versatility. Peppered with historical facts, "The Messiah Matrix" may well make us question our accepted belief on the identity of the son of God himself.

Sarasota Magazine Interviews Clint Hill

Mrs. Kennedy and Me: Q&A with Author Clint Hill

Courageous is the word that comes to mind when one thinks of Clint Hill.  Maybe you don’t recognize the name right off – but it’s certain you know the man. Hill was the Secret Service agent who leaped onto the back of President and Mrs. Kennedy’s motorcade on that fateful November day in Dallas, 1963.  He’s a memorable figure of bravery during a time of great grief.

Clint Hill, referred to by Mrs. Kennedy as “Mr. Hill,” was the Secret Service agent assigned to Jackie as she entered the White House as First Lady. In his memoir Mrs. Kennedy and Me, co-written with Lisa McCubbin, he recounts the days of Camelot and his role as one of her knights in shinning armor.
I caught up with Clint–or rather, Mr. Hill–for a brief Q&A just before he and co-author Lisa McCubbin make their way to Sarasota for Designing Women Boutique Ambassador’s Guild’s “Out to Lunch“ event on March 5. The luncheon is at 11:30 a.m. in Sarasota’s newest ballroom venue The Francis, 1289 N. Palm Avenue; Sarasota Magazine is a proud sponsor. Ticket pricing begins at $95/per person, call (941) 366-5293.



Tell us something we might not know about the woman behind the style icon, Jackie Kennedy? 
I do not believe that people really know what a hands-on mother Mrs. Kennedy was. Yes, they had a nanny; however, Mrs. Kennedy directed everything the children did. She spent as much time as possible with Caroline and John.  I also do not believe people realize how dedicated she was to her husband.  She made every effort to give the President the opportunity to relax and spend some time away from the stress and strains of the office. For instance, arranging small, intimate dinner parties with close friends.

On a lighter style note, as her Secret Service agent I imagine you accompanied her to a store or two – share with us her favorite spots to shop.
Although she enjoyed going to antique stores in New York and clothing stores in Palm Beach, it became impossible to do so because of the crowds that gathered when she appeared.  It became necessary to have vendors come to her.  And I, on occasion, shopped for her myself.



Many photos were taken of the First Lady with you within a polite distance – do you have a favorite?
Yes, at the airport in Rome, where she is trying to decide about a gift to bring home to the President and is asking my advice.  This photo is on the back cover of the book.



Do you have a favorite tender moment memory of Mrs. Kennedy with her children?
She loved to ride horses and shared that passion with John and Caroline.  In Middleburg, she would ride her horse, holding John, while Caroline rode her pony, Macaroni, alongside them.

Where did she seem most at home?
She seemed to be at home whenever she and the children were together with the President—whether that was Hyannis Port, Palm Beach or Middleburg.

It’s clear in this memoir that you admire Mrs. Kennedy a great deal – what do you respect most about her?
Her determination to raise her children as unspoiled as possible, knowing that the entire world was, and always would be, watching.

Mrs. Kennedy was a tremendously high-profile figure, so much so that while in Paris in 1961, President Kennedy remarked that he would be remembered as “the man who accompanied Jackie Kennedy to Paris.”  What was it like protecting a woman of such popularity?
Like all protective assignments, the more popular the figure, the more difficult the job. Her desire for privacy and her continued spontaneity required me to be very creative.



During your four years as her Secret Service agent I’m sure you encountered some incredibly notable world influencers and celebrities – anyone that you remember fondly?
Gianni Agnelli, president of Fiat Corporation, and Princess Irena Galitzine, noted designer—both of whom I met in Italy.

In the book, you have many anecdotes about the family – would you share one with us here?
Some of my fondest memories are of being with Mrs. Kennedy, the President, and the children, while they enjoyed their deep love of the water activities off the coast of Cape Cod: sailing, water skiing, and swimming.



What’s next for you, Mr. Hill?
This process of writing and promoting Mrs. Kennedy and Me with Lisa McCubbin has been so enjoyable and beneficial to me, that we are now working on another project together—a new book, that is anticipated to be released in November 2013.

AEI Client Gerald Blaine Talks to Charleston High School Students About Kennedy's Assassination

REMEMBERING JACK: Former Secret Service agent talks to students about Kennedy’s assassination, ripple effects

By JEROD CLAPP jerod.clapp@newsandtribune.com



CHARLESTOWN — While waiting for him to arrive in Austin, Texas, Jerry Blaine got word that the man he’d been assigned to protect was killed in Dallas.

Blaine — a former Secret Service agent who was on protection detail for three presidents, including John F. Kennedy — talked to students at Charlestown High School about his time on the service and the repercussions Kennedy’s death had on the United States.

Bill Halter attended the talk and said the day Kennedy was shot sticks out in his memory, even though it seemed like forever ago to the students in the crowd.

“It’s ancient history to them, but I can vividly remember being in class and a girl burst into class telling us the president had been shot,” Halter said. “It shocked us all.”

Blaine talked to students about his experience as written in his book, “The Kennedy Detail.”

But as conspiracy theories about the assassination still circulate 50 years later, Blaine said he and his fellow agents discount the notion of a second shooter from a grassy knoll that day.

“This story needs to be told and the only answers [about that day] that are reliable are from the agents who were there,” Blaine said. “We wrote the book to make sure the conspiracy theorists didn’t kidnap history.”

He said Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy’s assassin, acted alone in firing all three shots by himself. But he said in a broader perspective, tragedies like that are likely to happen again and have become more frequent, partly because of larger population in the United States.

Dr. Tim McDonald, an Advanced Placement government teacher at New Washington High School, said he helped set up Blaine’s visit to schools across the district. He said with today’s generation of students so far removed from the events, he wanted to make sure they understood what the assassination meant for America.

“I think it’s a vital part of history,” McDonald said. “It’s at least close enough in recent history with the Kennedy assassination, so to have them talk to someone who was there with Kennedy, it brings the presidency down to their level.”

Blaine said the country was beginning to see a lot of change during Kennedy’s presidency, including key moments of the civil rights movement. Though dissension began to take root after Kennedy’s death, Blaine said he hopes he can reach students and assure them that in spite of conspiracy theories and dangers, they can trust lawmakers and others.

“There were a number of things that happened that just added divisiveness in the country,” Blaine said. “I like to talk to young people who don’t know, who may have heard it from their parents, so that they might trust the government.”

All Things That Mattter Talks With Kenneth Atchity About The Messiah Matrix

ALL THINGS THAT MATTER

A place to read about issues confronting a world that is spinning out of control and a place that offers solutions.

The Messiah Matrix?

A timely piece as the age of worn out dogma comes to an end.

That's the premise behind The Messiah Matrix, a consciousness-raising thriller whose protagonists delve into the secrets of the past—and expose those who hide them still. Follow a young, skeptical Jesuit priest and a vivacious, brilliant archaeologist as they pursue their passion for truth—while fighting to control their passion for each other. Together they uncover a Roman imperial stratagem that leads them to unveil the Vatican's best-kept secret—a secret so sensitive the Curia never wanted it to be known.

From the first page to the last this contemporary thriller takes the reader on an exhilarating quest from the ancient city of Caesarea to Rome's catacombs and beyond, and provides gripping confirmation for all those who have ever wondered about the actual historical existence of the "Christian Savior".

The Messiah Matrix may prove to be the most thought-provoking thriller ever written. Classical scholar and Yale Ph.D. Dr. Kenneth John Atchity is the only author alive today capable of creating this literary and historically-based masterpiece.

What was your inspiration for writing The Messiah Matrix?

I've long been intrigued by the parallelism between the first two Caesars, Julius and Augustus, and Jesus Christ. As far back as my Jesuit high school years it was pointed out to me that their histories were strangely intertwined. Then, a few years ago, a client and business partner directed me to a little-known 1899 book on the history of Augustus Caesar titled The Worship of Augustus Caesar. Its author, Alexander Del Mar, (1836–1926) was director of the U.S. Bureau of Statistics during the period 1866-69. He was a respected numismatist as well as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury appointed in 1872. Del Mar's history of Augustus derived from a study of  coins, monuments, calendars, eras, and astronomical and astrological cycles. His account  established a new chronology and includeda survey of history and religion.  In the book Del Mar  reveals the legerdemain of the early church, conclusively demonstrating how Christianity absorbed pagan religious beliefs and motifs and claimed them as its own. His work exposes hidden religious facts that have been buried for millennia, and reminded me of discoveries I made during my years as a student and professor of classical literature—of "Christian" lines that occur in Aeschylus, Sophocles, and especially Virgil.

Why is The Messiah Matrix relevant today?

With the resignation of Benedict XVI, and his book on the origins of Christianity and the nativity scene in particular, the issues fictionalized in the novel are now revealed in reality: the internal Vatican politics that go against the spiritual grain, the questioning of the historicity of the Jesus narrative, the long litany of sins committed behind the mask of organized religion, etc.

 As a Christian, will I learn anything new about the roots of Christianity in The Messiah Matrix?

The true history of Christianity has been shrouded in mystery for millennia, partly intentionally and partly out of ignorance. The Messiah Matrix reveals important aspects concerning the roots of Christianity, lost to history until now, that will change the reader's understanding, possibly forever.

Why is Augustus Caesar the central historical figure of The Messiah Matrix?

Augustus Caesar was the most powerful ruler in the history of Rome, and perhaps the most powerful ruler in the history of the Western World.  His Pax Romana, the two-hundred years of peace he established throughout his empire after taming the entire periphery of the Mediterranean, which the Romans referred to as mare nostrum, "our lake," remains unrivalled in world history.  He was all-powerful and exerted vast, pervasive influence throughout his Empire, an influence that remains with us to this day. His shrewd policies concerning religious tolerance, celebrated in the construction of the Pantheon in Rome, initially led him to allow continuance of the religions of the nations he conquered. He eventually realized that a multi religious empire would lead to civil unrest so he took measures to create a single religion that he believed would engender peace among the nations.

Is The Messiah Matrix anti-Christian?

No, if we define Christianity as a way of life incorporating the distillation of thousands of years of spiritual wisdom, then The Messiah Matrix supports that aspect of Christianity wholeheartedly. On the other hand, if we define Christianity as literal history in which the Son of God preached and performed miracles in Judea, the novel demonstrates that this literalist view was deliberately constructed, as readers of the novel will discover. The Messiah Matrix actually glorifies Christianity's origins by revealing the truth about the universal principles at the foundation of the Christian religion.

How can I determine fact from fiction in The Messiah Matrix?

You'll find a chart of actual historical data versus Biblical/mythical history at the end of the novel. All of the factual elements in this chart can be found in The Messiah Matrix. I've also provided an extensive bibliography listed on this website for the intrepid reader! And I welcome other questions, and your feedback on the subject.

Available on Amazon

Join AEI Associate Richard Rappaport at The American Bar Association Forum on The Entertainment and Sports Industries

Register online at:
www.americanbar.org/groups/ entertainment_sports/events_cle.html.

Questions? Call 312-988-5580

CIA hero of Charlie Wilson’s War

This invitation should provide a little local color related to the John Kiriakou (whistleblower on torture) case.

John has been sentenced to 30 months in prison – the only CIA agent going to jail.

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