Additional information
by Sheila Simmons (Author)
"Memoir of a Minnie Riperton Fan" is the story of a writer's journey through the life and times of her childhood idol, singer Minnie Riperton -- best known for her five-octave range and the 1975 hit song, "Lovin' You." In Cleveland, where persistently cloudy skies serve as a backdrop for the writer's disillusionment with life, our writer abandons her newspaper job. She travels to Chicago, Florida, New York, Acapulco and L.A. to explore the seemingly fairy-tale life of Riperton, who died of breast cancer at the age of 31. Through her chase for Pam Grier, Stevie Wonder, Muhammad Ali's wife Khalilah, family members of Earth, Wind & Fire producer Charles Stepney and others from '60s and '70s music, our writer discovers not only Minnie, but herself. This soundtrack-laced literary mix of "Eat, Pray, Love" and "Julie & Julia" will have readers laughing, crying, reflecting and singing.
Author Biography
Sheila Simmons is a freelance writer and public relations consultant who lives in Philadelphia. She began her professional writing career as a newspaper business reporter, and later covered government, education, and arts and entertainment. Her work has appeared in newspapers in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Providence, R.I., and Raleigh and Asheville, N.C. She is a native of Asheville, and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the mother of a son.
