May 12, 2020

Meet Gail Mencini

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gail Mencini.

Gail, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in a rural community in Nebraska, where everyone knew their neighbors and summers were spent outdoors—working, playing, or watching fireflies. My love for reading books and imagining characters and their stories germinated during those days of creating my own world. My parents raised me to be independent. College and grad school brought me training in accounting and tax law, and for many years I practiced as a CPA using that knowledge. My college electives were all in literature classes, however, which should have been a hint as to where my passion lies.

The miracle in my life occurred when I married my loving husband, Ray, and I became an “instant mother” to three young boys. Ray, along with our eventual four sons, their activities, and our dogs, filled my life with joy. For many years I spent my days cooking, driving to schools and sports activities, and coordinating a busy household.

One hot July summer in Key West, Florida, my husband and I toured Ernest Hemingway’s house. Smacked in the face with the master writer’s ghost and palpable presence, I confessed my secret desire to write books. Unlike me, my husband felt only the heat and humidity and not a trace of Ernest. My confession led to a manuscript that won contests and had a New York agent pitching it, but otherwise never saw the light of day.

I continued to write and plot novels, none of which I finished. A mixed blessing came my way a handful of years ago. I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My husband, a radiologist specializing in Breast Imaging, actually found my cancer. At that point, he stepped away as my physician and turned his assistance into that of caretaker through my surgeries and treatment.

My cancer journey held a blessing for me. It made me reevaluate my life priorities, including my career as a writer. I decided if I wanted to write something that would be published, I needed to believe in myself and make it happen.

One day, a family friend mentioned the upcoming college reunion of his semester abroad class. That mere sentence insinuated itself into my imagination and my dreams and ultimately became the premise of my debut novel, To Tuscany with Love, (January 2014, Capriole Group.)

Following the publication of my novel, I was invited to join the Colorado Authors’ League and I later served on the Board. The association with fellow professional writers has been both personally and professionally rewarding.

I began my love affair with Colorado as a young girl. My parents honeymooned in Eldora and brought our family to Colorado to hike and fish nearly every year until I went to college. When I moved to the Denver area as a CPA, I soon learned of the heroic 10th Mountain Division troops who trained on skis and snowshoes at Camp Hale in Colorado during World War II. The history of this unique Army Division fascinated me.

The 10th Mountain Division joined the battlefields late in the war but significantly factored in the defeat of the German Army in Italy. The bravery and ingenuity of these troops are legendary. In Italy, the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division never lost a battle or gave up ground. Some of these soldiers returned to Colorado after the war and started ski resorts and industries that shaped the future of the ski industry in this country. My desire to honor the World War II 10th Mountain Division troops shaped the story of my historical novel, It Happened in Tuscany, released February 2020 (Capriole Group.) Friendship, love, and following one’s passion are consistent themes in my novels. These three are my takeaways from my cancer journey. In every speaking engagement, I urge my audiences to “move with purpose and passion in the direction of your dreams.”

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My road as a writer has been a rugged jeep track up the mountains, embedded with rocks, mismarked roads, streams to ford, and unmarked hazards. Before trying my hand at fiction writing, I avidly read books, attended various writing conferences, and studied at workshops to learn the craft. I wrote and revised and eventually decided my first manuscript was ready for me to send out queries to agents. I attended a three-day workshop sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. At the conference, I experienced the joy of convincing an agent to read my full manuscript on her return to New York City. I also decided, based on my conference sessions, that I, unfortunately, needed to completely rewrite my manuscript before submission.

Of the New York agents initially interested in representing my book, one highly regarded successful agent who showed strong interest died before taking me on. Another agent had a nervous breakdown. I’m confident the first’s untimely demise and the second agent’s breakdown had nothing to do with my manuscript or me. I sent countless query letters out and took heart in the “good” rejections I received. I consider any handwritten or unique rejection letter that encourages me or compliments my work to be “good.”

When my editor read my “finished” manuscript of To Tuscany with Love, which took years to write and revise, she was complimentary but suggested I rewrite the first two-thirds, or the last one-third, of the book because they didn’t belong in the same genre. I believed in the quality of my work, thought about for a month, and rewrote the last third of the book. Persistence and belief in yourself are critical to success as a writer.

Please tell us about your work.
My novels are character-driven, with a strong sense of setting. I love to bring in the local food, wine, architecture, and history of a location. My first two novels even include recipes in the back!

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood is hiking through the trees up a trail in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains and smelling the evergreens’ fragrance, with the stillness of the forest surrounding me.

Pricing:

To Tuscany with Love, ISBN 978-1-938592-00-3; $16.95
It Happened in Tuscany, ISBN 978-1-938592-15-7; $16.95

Contact Info:

Website: www.GailMencini.com
Instagram: @gailmencini
Facebook: @GailMencini.Author
Twitter: @gailmencini

Image Credit:
Ashlee Bratton, www.Ashography.com

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