Hollywood and humanity, book talk tonight at Talk Story

HANAPEPE — Talk Story bookstore in Hanapepe will be hosting visiting husband and wife authors Dan Bessie and Jeanne Johnson for a book talk tonight at 5 p.m.

Dan Bessie’s book “Reeling Through Hollywood — How I Spent 40 Fabulous Years in Film and Never Made a Nickel” is a cautionary tale for those dreaming about big payoffs in the film or media industry.

Bessie got his start in the industry through MGM as an animator for the cartoon “Tom & Jerry” in the 1950s. He continued in animation with television commercials and Saturday morning cartoons.

Bessie expanded into live action films (1973 “Executive Action” starring Burt Lancaster) and went on to create more than 100 films of his own including “Peter and the Wolf” (1981, with Ray Bolger — CBS, HBO, The Disney Channel).

Jeanne Johnson’s book is titled “Starlings in the Park” which is a collection of 18 short stories which demonstrate how ordinary people overcome solitude, loss and hardship.

Many of the characters in the book are modeled on Johnson’s life experiences. A story about a character named Peter who is battling grief in his prison cell was no doubt influenced by Johnson’s work as a counselor in a men’s prison.

The authors are taking a week-long vacation on Kaua‘i after a recent book tour in California, and Bessie, a repeat visitor to Kaua‘i, is introducing the island’s beauty to his wife Johnson, a first-time visitor.

They will be discussing their books, how they found each other through the Internet, and providing an inside look at authorship and publishing; the couple has created their own small press company called Blue Lupin Press.

The talk starts at 5 p.m. tonight at Talk Story bookstore in Hanapepe and is free to the public. After the discussion, Bessie and Johnson will be available for book signings, and there will be live music courtesy of Talk Story bookstore.

For more information about the event, call Talk Story at 335-6469.