Rebecca Wells | |
---|---|
Born | Alexandria, Louisiana, U.S. | February 3, 1953
Occupation |
|
Language | English |
Nationality | American |
Notable works | Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Little Altars Everywhere |
Website | |
rebeccawellsbooks |
Rebecca Wells (born February 3, 1953) is an American author, actor, and playwright known for the Ya-Ya Sisterhood series, which includes the books Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood , Little Altars Everywhere , Ya-Yas in Bloom, and The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder.
Wells was born and raised in Alexandria, Louisiana, where her family owned and ran a cotton farm. [1] She attended Louisiana State University [2] and, after graduating, the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado, where she studied language and consciousness with Allen Ginsberg and Choyyam Trungapa Rinpoche, as well as acting, movement, and voice with members of The Living Theatre. She then went to New York City, where she studied the Stanislavski Method of acting. [3]
In 1982 she moved to Seattle, Washington, [4] [5] making her home on Bainbridge Island. [6] [7] She currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Wells' first book, Little Altars Everywhere , (1992) recounts the multi-layered saga of the turbulent Walker family in Thornton, Louisiana, from the 1960s to the present and introduces the characters Siddalee Walker, her mother Viviane, and her mother's best friends, the Ya-Yas, whose stories continue in Wells' other books. It won the Western States Book Award [8] and became a New York Times bestseller. [9]
Her second novel, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (1996) explores Siddalee's troubled relationship with her mother, and the deeper understanding she gains when her mother sends her the "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," a scrapbook chronicling the girlhood adventures of Vivi and her three best friends. A number one New York Times bestseller, it won the American Booksellers Award, and was short-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction (now known as the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction). [10] It was adapted for the 2002 film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood starring Sandra Bullock as Siddalee Walker and Ellen Burstyn as her mother Vivi. [11]
Wells' third novel, Ya-Yas in Bloom, (2005) reveals the roots of the friendship of the Ya-Ya sisterhood in the 1930s. [12] Ya-Yas in Bloom reached the #3 spot on both the New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists [13] [14]
Her fourth novel, The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder, (2009) set in 1960s Louisiana, departs from the characters in Wells' other books, an introduces a new character, Calla Lily Ponder, and her friends. [15]
A playwright and actor before she began writing fiction, Wells is known for her one-woman show, Splittin' Hairs, and her play, Gloria Duplex, about a French Quarter erotic dancer who sees the face of God in a disco ball, which was called "one of the glories of the decade" by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. [16] [17] [18]
Chapterhouse: Dune is a 1985 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the last in his Dune series of six novels. It rose to No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Nina Repeta is an American actress best known for her role as Bessie Potter on the television drama Dawson's Creek, which aired from 1998 to 2003.
A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties. An author may also be referred to as a bestseller if their work often appears in a list. Well-known bestseller lists in the U.S. are published by Publishers Weekly, USA Today, The New York Times, and IndieBound. The New York Times tracks book sales from national and independent bookstores, as well as sales from major internet retailers such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
The Secret Garden is a musical based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The musical's script and lyrics are by Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon. It premiered on Broadway in 1991 and ran for 709 performances.
Little Altars Everywhere is a 1992 short story collection by Rebecca Wells which chronicles the adventures of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood—four eccentric women—and their children, affectionately called the Petites Ya-Yas.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is a 1996 novel written by Rebecca Wells. It follows the novel Little Altars Everywhere. In 2005, Wells wrote Ya-Yas in Bloom and then The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood tells the story of the downward spiraling mother-daughter relationship of Vivian Walker and Siddalee Walker.
Shirley Knight Hopkins was an American actress who appeared in more than 50 feature films, television films, television series, and Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in her career, playing leading and character roles. She was a member of the Actors Studio.
Kiersten Warren is an American actress. Her best known roles include Alex Tabor on Saved by the Bell: The College Years and Nora Huntington on Desperate Housewives.
Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan is an Irish stage, television, and film actress. Flanagan is known for her roles in the films James Joyce's Women (1985), Some Mother's Son (1996), Waking Ned (1998), The Others (2001), Four Brothers (2005), Yes Man (2008), The Guard (2011) and Song of the Sea (2014). She is also known for her recurring role as Eloise Hawking in the series Lost (2007–2010). Notable stage productions she has performed in include Ulysses in Nighttown and The Ferryman, both of which earned her Tony Award nominations for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is a 2002 American comedy-drama film starring an ensemble cast headed by Sandra Bullock, co-written and directed by Callie Khouri. It is based on Rebecca Wells' 1996 novel of the same name and its 1992 prequel collection of short stories, Little Altars Everywhere.
Jennifer Weiner is an American writer, television producer, and journalist. She is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her debut novel, published in 2001, was Good in Bed. Her novel In Her Shoes (2002) was made into a movie starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, and Shirley MacLaine.
Calla Lily is a 2006 Philippine television drama series aired by ABS-CBN from May 29 to September 8, 2006, replacing Panday and was replaced by Crazy for You. It revolves around twin sisters Calla and Lily, hence the title.
Patricia Maxwell, is an American writer. A member of the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame and the Affaire de Coeur Romance Hall of Fame, Maxwell has received numerous awards for her writing. Her first novel in the romance genre, Love's Wild Desire, became a New York Times Bestseller.
Gregg Olsen is a New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal bestselling author of nonfiction books and novels, most of which are crime-related. The subjects of his true crime books include convicted child rapist and school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, product tampering killer Stella Nickell, fasting specialist Linda Burfield Hazzard, and former Amishman and convicted murderer Eli Stutzman.
The Carousel Piano Bar & Lounge is the only revolving bar in New Orleans, Louisiana. The bar is inside the Hotel Monteleone and overlooks Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Installed in 1949, the 25-seat circular bar turns on 2,000 large steel rollers, powered by a 1⁄4 hp (190 W) motor. The bar rotates at a rate of one revolution every 15 minutes. In addition to the rotating bar, an adjoining room includes booths and tables with live entertainment offered nightly.
Hotel Monteleone is a family-owned and operated hotel located at 214 Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. The hotel includes the only high-rise building in the interior French Quarter and is well known for its Carousel Piano Bar & Lounge, a rotating bar.
The Raven Cycle is a series of four contemporary fantasy novels written by American author Maggie Stiefvater. The first novel, The Raven Boys, was published by Scholastic in 2012, and the final book, The Raven King, was published on April 26, 2016.
Bonnie Sue Fishman, known professionally as Bonnie Bruckheimer, is an American film and television producer. She has also been known professionally as Bonnie Fishman, Bonnie Martell, and Bonnie Bruckheimer-Martell. She has been nominated for 2 Emmy Awards. In 1985, she and Bette Midler formed their own production company, All Girl Productions, and were producing partners until 2002.
It Ends with Us is a romance novel by Colleen Hoover, published by Atria Books on August 2, 2016. Based on the relationship between her mother and father, Hoover described it as "the hardest book I've ever written."