“Wally: The True Wallace Reid Story” authored by Pulitzer-nominated author and Casa Linda resident David Menefee.
“I have to write for 15 minutes every morning, or I don’t get my breakfast,” says Pulitzer-nominated author and Casa Linda resident David Menefee. “I learned early on, if you just write a page a day for a year, you’ll end up with a book.” Menefee’s methods have proven fruitful. With 15 book titles under his belt and more content generated on a daily basis, this neighborhood writer has penned everything from newspaper and magazine articles to novels, non-fiction books and screenplays. The former Dallas Times Herald and Parade writer with a deep-rooted love for the silent movie era recently was nominated for a Pulitzer for his non-fiction book “Wally: The True Wallace Reid Story”. With a forward from well-respected Turner Classic Movies’ host Robert Osborne, “Wally” thoroughly chronicles the life of Reid, one of the silent movie era’s most celebrated actors. “Ever since I saw my first silent film at 13 years old, I have been entranced by this era,” Menefee says. “The stars of this time were much larger than what we see today; their popularity was universal because they communicated in a variety of languages through subtitles. The reason that many may know of Mary Pickford or Charlie Chaplin but not of Wallace Reid is because, unfortunately, many of his films have been lost over time … but his stardom was just as large as the others.” The book contains more than 200 rare photographs, most of which were restored by Menefee himself. “I enjoy photo restoration because it’s a relaxing break from writing,” says Menefee, who works from his Casa Linda home. Next he is working on the “Margo Cranston” detective mystery series — a mental vacation wrought with imagination, as Menefee describes it. Menefee always has multiple writing projects brewing, and the process appears seamless for this seasoned writer. This is probably because he has truly found his niche. “The transition from periodical writing to book writing was not easy at first, and I could wallpaper my home with all of the rejections I got … but the difference between writing articles and writing books — and the thing that I like most — is permanence. Books come back to haunt you,” Menefee says.
