About
Hi there! I was born Patricia A. White in New Market, Ontario, Canada and moved to Chicago at the age of 6. My name was changed to DiVita to protect the innocent. No, not really. I was adopted. I grew up in Illinois, attended the U of I and graduated with a degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology which I used for a little while, but it wasn't near as much fun and entertaining as working in restaurants--which I loved. I did a variety of other jobs too, including Financial Planning, ranch work, had a photography business, did videography and construction. I've lived in 6 states and 4 countries and love to travel and experience different cultures, ride horses and motorcycles (especially in the mountains), and I'm very involved in water awareness and conservation. I wrote "Me 'n Jess" in 2001 while living in Ireland (the reason I used my Irish birth name), and was in the process of publishing it when an idea for a restaurant movie took over. "Did I Say Thousand Island?" was premiered in 2007 and has been well received in over 185 countries. I intend to have the movie remade and be used as a benefit movie to raise awareness and funds for the Global Water Crisis (remake4water.org). And the book? I had it published in 2010 for family and a few friends, but now have published it using CreateSpace, and hope you like it! I'm going to donate a portion of the proceeds--in all formats, to water organizations that help people get water. Thanks for helping, and please spread the word!
Description
<p>When Jessica Bryant pesters her wealthy parents to allow her to have a dog as a pet, the answer is a resounding "No"; but they soon come to regret their decision when thier home is broken into one evening whilst they are out and their daughter kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnappers, in the form of four seedy and incompetent characters wearing Disneyland-type masks, take her hostage and keep her incarcerated in a place from which there appears to be no escape. However, they reckon without the resourcefulness of our heroine, and the courage of a wonderful stray dog who comes to her aid and whom she names 'Murdo'. And so begins an exciting and humurous accounting of the couples' adventures together as they consistently foil and outwit the abductors whilst on the run together.<br /> This is a lovely story of the friendship between a girl and a dog, bringing out themes of responsibility, camaraderie, redemption, salvation and self-sacrifice. It includes some wonderful dialogue sequences as Jessica teaches her new four-legged friend how to communicate with her, with additional delightful conversations between the animals when a rabbit and a sparrow join forces with them in an effort to outwit the kidnappers and restore Jessica safely back to her parents' home. </p>
Story Behind The Book
Hi! Jesse was half golden retriever and half white German shepherd. She was born in Tennessee in 1982 and died in Colorado in 1996. This is the story of our life together.
I had wanted to write this book for a few years before Jesse died, but never took the time. Four years after she died, I went back to Ireland on my second horse trek, fell for a handsome Irish fisherman, and just had to go back to see what would happen. I decided that it was the perfect time to write this book. So I did.
I finished this book in 2001 and wrote to some publishers suggesting that it was a marketable story. I received a few responses agreeing with me, but their particular company wasn't geared for this type of book. I was going to keep trying because I thought Jesse should be shared with other dog people.
Around that time, a friend's dog died and I gave him the story to read to cheer him up. He was crazy about it and suggested that it should be a movie. No way. It's a book. I believe he triggered an idea about a movie in my head that completely consumed me and led me to shelving this book. I did make a movie. It's a love story set in the restaurant biz called "Did I Say Thousand Island?"
Now it's time to let Jesse's adventures entertain others too. I hope you enjoy this love story about my silly, yet wonderful friend Jesse. As you will find out, I still don't have another dog...
