LOCAL AUTHOR DEBUTS MEMOIR ABOUT HER FATHER’S LIFE

Santa Ana, CA — Cherie Kerr launches a busy book tour as she unveils her new book, Charlie’s Notes, the story of her father’s life and musical career as a prominent jazz musician. The local Santa Ana resident and businesswoman, Kerr, best known in the Orange County community as a publicist, a public speaking and communications coach, as well as for her work with the county’s premiere sketch and improvisational comedy organization, the Orange County Crazies, has written six other books, however, each of those are of the self-help genre: this latest work is a memoir.

Already lauded as a fascinating story, many prestigious individuals have provided testimonials for Charlie’s Notes including best-selling author, Gus Lee (China Boy and Chasing Hepburn); film producer, Lee Mendelson; Mark Dagostino, journalist and regular contributor to People magazine; Keely Baribeau “E! Entertainment” producer; and legendary jazz bassist, Ron Carter.

According to Kerr, the book was an arduous task and took her eight years to complete. “It was both painful and exhilarating to write,” she says.

Gathering her father’s scribbled notes from boxes and files, sifting through hundreds of pages of notes supplied by her aunts and uncles on her Italian side of the family, conducting countless interviews with many other individuals, and compiling memories of her own, Kerr has chronicled the life and times of her musical father, Charlie DePietro, who appeared in more than 50 feature films in the 40s, 50s and 60s, and played twice as many private parties at the homes of such celebrities as Judy Garland, Bob Hope, Steve Allen and Howard Hughes, to name but a few.

“I could only fit so much into the book,” Kerr says about the 367-page manuscript, “though I could have written several volumes! I selected the highlights of what I thought would tell my father’s story. I attempted to capture the excitement and frustrations—the highs and lows of his life.”

Kerr went on to explain her primary reason for writing the book was to let her children and grandchildren know their history.

Charlie’s Notes spans a century—from 1900 to 2003—starting with Kerr’s Italian immigrant grandparents’ arrival in New York. She finishes the tale with her father’s death as he tragically succumbs to Alzheimer’s in August 2003.

Kerr, who has won numerous awards for her work as a journalist, publicist and author, has a series of books to help the business professional with his/her public speaking and communication skills including: “I’ve Asked Miller to Say A Few Words,” “When I Say This…” “Do You Mean That?,” “What’s So Funny?” Networking Skills That Will Get You the Job You Want and Death by PowerPoint: How To Avoid Killing Your Presentation and Sucking the Life Out of Your Audience. She also has written a book on how to write sketch comedy: Build to Laugh: How To Construct Sketch Comedy with the Fast and Funny Formula. All books are sold throughout the country.

Charlie's Notes is now available at Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton Bookseller, Borders Books, amazon.com, and in all other major bookstores.