Newt and callista gingrich, When Victoria Villante and her mother Michelle set out for Barnes and Noble Booksellers last Saturday, the plan was to pick up a book for Victoria's English class.
"I had to get 'Wuthering Heights' for school," said Victoria Villante.
Her mother, browsing the shelves, saw former Speaker Newt Gingrich's new historical novel, "Victory at Yorktown." Then she saw the sign above it: Speaker Gingrich and his wife would be at the store signing copies of their respective books during an event happening just minutes from when the mother-daughter pair had arrived.
The pair were thrilled.
Victoria Villante, who goes to Gulf Coast High School, said she snapped up a copy of "Victory at Yorktown" as soon as she saw it. "I love history, history is my thing, so I'm so excited to read this," she gushed while waiting in line to have her books signed by the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Villantes were just two of many in line to see the famous political couple. By the time the signing began, a line snaked around the second floor of the Naples bookstore.
While the former speaker and presidential hopeful was promoting his new historical fiction work, his wife, Callista Gingrich, was signing copies of her new children's book.
"This is my second book," explained CallistaGingrich, in reference to her book "Land of the Pilgrim's Pride." She added that, "Both books star Ellis, my time-traveling elephant."
Unfortunately, Ellis—who sometimes makes appearances at signings—wasn't able to make Saturday's event. "Ellis is resting this weekend, he felt bad he couldn't be here this weekend, he really did," said Callista Gingrich, with a smile.
Callista Gingrich says that her goal for writing these children's books was to help foster a love of America in young children. "I write these books because I really want kids to begin to understand what a great nation this is," she said, but she admitted that sometimes making history interesting to the early elementary school crowd has its challenges. In this particular book, Ellis the Elephant travels through each of the 13 original colonies, andCallista Gingrich laughed as she said, "Making Connecticut as a colony interesting to 4-8 year olds, that can be tough."
People waiting in line, however, didn't seem bored by the wait or the book. Almost everyone clutched copies of both author's books— Newt Gingrich's for themselves and Callista Gingrich's for their grandkids.
Dr. and Mrs. Richard Sheehan were doing exactly that. One of the first couples through the line, the part-time Naples residents purchased books by both authors. Richard Sheehan said that, while he'd waited three hours to see Mitt Romney, he was pleased the line on Saturday wasn't that long.
Newt Gingrich's latest book is the conclusion to his fiction series—penned with co-author William Forstchen—on George Washington and the Revolutionary War. "I'm part Irish, so I like to tell stories," said Newt Gingrich, adding, "And I write very fast, but I don't really like to edit."
Luckily, his wife is an ace editor, who actually enjoys picking through copy with a red pen. The two actually say that, in general, they work pretty well together. As a pair they run Gingrich Productions, a multimedia production company that produces books, films, documentaries and presentations on American history and American values. "You have to have a balance, it takes constant self-management" says Newt Gingrich on going into business with your spouse. He adds "sometimes we have a hard time shutting it off at the end of the day, but we're never bored."
And while the busy couple is always on the go—and never bored—they never refuse a chance to come to Naples. "We always love coming to Naples," said the former speaker.
His wife emphatically agreed with him, adding, "Oh yes, it's always nice to be in Naples."
9 years ago
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