Coffee with Mariel Hemingway (not kidding)

A week or so ago I received an email from Linda Leatherdale, the former Business Editor at the Toronto Sun who is now running marketing for Cambria Canada, a major international supplier of natural stone surfaces for kitchens. Linda kindly wrote that she’d read and loved all my novels and had an interesting opportunity to propose. Mariel Hemingway, the Oscar nominated actor who took Hollywood by storm in Woody Allen’s classic film, Manhattan, is a spokesperson for Cambria and was coming to Toronto on a media tour. Linda then suggested that I join the two of them for coffee and that I bring a copy of my Hemingway-themed novel, No Relation for Mariel. I gave her kind invitation careful thought and due consideration and then, four nanoseconds later, responded with “Where and when?”

Given my longstanding fascination with Ernest Hemingway as a literary titan of the last century, it was an incredible thrill to spend time with his granddaughter (Yes, Ernest Hemingway’s granddaughter!). I did my best to simulate a calm and collected demeanour and we had a wonderful time in the restaurant of the Four Seasons Hotel. Mariel was lovely in every way possible. She was down-to-earth and thoughtful and seemed genuinely interested in my writing and me. We talked about the audio versions of our respective books as both she and I recorded them. She kindly inscribed a copy of her memoir for me and I signed No Relation for her. Then we took photos. As you can see, I look a little like a starstruck idiot, but then again, I doubt people will spend much time looking at me in the photo.

She seemed interested to learn that No Relation is currently in development as a feature film. Wouldn’t it be cool to have Hemingway’s granddaughter appear in a film driven, in large measure, by the iconic writer’s life. Hmmm…