When you read an extraordinary debut novel, such as All We Had, (8/5/2014) Scribner, by talented author, sculptor and painter, Annie Weatherwax, you can only imagine a film based on the novel, and its cast of colorful stars.  

Recently released, a dream turns into a reality, with the announcement of Katie Holmes moving to Director's Chair for the Mother-Daughter story based on novel "ALL WE HAD!"

I spoke with Boston author, Annie this past week, via email, as we often communicate through Twitter and Goodreads.  She is blown away and excited, and thinks Josh Boone, the screenplay writer is amazing, contributing thanks to her Scribner agent, Esther Newberg, for getting the novel in front of Katie. 

I was introduced to Annie and All We Had, through NetGalley and Scribner last year, and was fortunate to receive an advanced reading copy.   After reading-- my review was a glowing 5 out of 5 stars and landed on my

Top 30 List of Best Books of 2014
Read My Review  
Publisher's Weekly Review 

There are a few more books on this list-- four stand out, all 2014 debuts: Laura Lane McNeal's Dollbaby, Mary Kubica's The Good Girl, Dwayne Alexander Smith's Forty Acres, and Amy Conner's The Right Thing--predicting they will be next on the movie deal list.

Looking forward to Annie's next masterpiece- an author you will want to follow for years to come.  Just think, this is only her debut novel!  I am looking forward to a front row seat!  Congratulations, Annie for sharing.  For all you fans, I have put together some highlights.

Katie Holmes Moves to Director's Chair for Mother-Daughter Story "All We Had" 

Dave McNary

All We Had

Stunning Debut Novel  

The stunning debut novel from sculptor and painter Annie Weatherwax, a wry and sharply observed portrait of a gritty mother and daughter, living on the edge of poverty, who find an unlikely home amid the quirky residents of small town America.

For thirteen-year-old Ruthie Carmichael and her mother, Rita, life has never been stable. The only sure thing is their love for each other. Though Rita works more than one job, the pair teeters on the edge of poverty. When their landlord kicks them out, Rita resorts to her movie-star looks and produces carpet-installer Phil, "an instant boyfriend," who takes them in.

Before long, Ruthie convinces her mother to leave and in their battered Ford Escort, they head East in search of a better life. When money runs out and their car breaks down, they find themselves stranded in a small town called Fat River where their luck finally takes a turn. Rita lands a steady job waitressing at Tiny’s, the local diner. With enough money to pay their bills, they rent a house and Fat River becomes the first place they call home.

Peter Pam, Tiny’s transgender waitress and the novel’s voice of warmth and reason, becomes Ruthie’s closest friend. Arlene, the no-nonsense head waitress, takes Rita under her wing. The townspeople—Hank and Dotty Hanson, the elderly owners of the embattled local hardware store, and even their chatter-mouth neighbor Patti—become Ruthie and Rita’s family.

Into this quirky utopia comes smooth-talking mortgage broker Vick Ward, who entices Rita with a subprime loan. Why rent when you can own? Almost as soon as Rita buys a house their fortunes change. Faced once again with the prospect of homelessness, Rita reverts to survival mode, and the price she pays to keep them out of poverty changes their lives forever.

Accomplished visual artist Annie Weatherwax has written a stunning, heartrending first novel. Ruthie’s wry voice and razor sharp observations about American life in the twenty-first century infuse the prose with disarming honesty and humor. All We Had heralds the arrival of a powerful new voice in contemporary fiction. Website   Buy the Book 

ALL WE HAD

Annie Weatherwax, Author 

Before turning to writing I had a long career sculpting superheroes and cartoon characters for DC Comics, Nickelodeon, Pixar and others. My short stories have appeared in The Southern Review, The Sun Magazine and elsewhere. In 2009 I was awarded the Robert Olen Butler Prize for Fiction and I have written for the New York Times. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, I am currently a full time painter and writer.

What is most important to me as an artist and a writer is authenticity of voice. If I had to classify my own voice, I’d call it comic realism. It is a heightened, stylized wryness that often plunges into darkness. It permeates everything I do. Like my visual work, my fiction is bold and colorful with an undercurrent of darkness.

My artistic inspiration comes from many places. My fictional characters are often inspired by paintings—Alice Neel’s portraits are my favorites. And the boldness of Lorrie Moore’s characters have inspired my paintings. Both my painting and writing styles are influenced by the campy melodrama of Pop artists such as James Rosenquist and Andy Warhol.

Yet what drives my work most is my voice—a dark and light, frivolous and grave, sardonic and serious sensibility that feels embedded in my DNA. In life, as in art, I cannot see reality without seeing the absurdity of it too. Read More  Follow Annie on Twitter  @WeatherwaxAnnie

Katie Holmes looks forward to directing her first film, based on the Annie Weatherwax book “All We Had,” about a poverty-stricken mother and daughter.

“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Holmes, who also stars, said at a party for her DuJour cover.

“These characters are unique . . . Their dialogue is so honest and that’s not always seen on-screen between mother and daughter. I think it has the potential to feel like movies that inspired me when I was growing up, like ‘Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’ and ‘Terms of Endearment.’ ” Read More  

PEOPLE

BY LYNETTE RICE

@lynetterice

01/27/2015 AT 01:00 PM EST

Holmes is keeping a busy slate: She's prepping to make her directorial debut – and star in – All We Had, the adaptation of Annie Weatherwax's novel about a mother (Holmes) and daughter living on the edge of poverty who find an unlikely home in small-town America.  Holmes optioned the book in July, before its Aug. 5 publication.

Josh Boone

Director of “The Fault in Our Stars,” has come on board to adapt the script. 

Josh Boon, 35 Director-writer-producer

Boone spent years shopping projects he’d written to direct while working at a record store, until he finally made his feature debut in 2012 with his script “Stuck in Love.” Now his career has hit the big time, courtesy of smash “The Fault in Our Stars.” Next, he’s adapting and directing Stephen King’s “The Stand,” and writing “All We Had,” to be produced by Jane Rosenthal and Katie Holmes. “It feels like I pushed a boulder up a hill for 10 years and now it’s finally rolling down the other side. ‘Fault’ opened doorways to worlds I only dreamed of stepping through when I was 12 and reading ‘The Stand.’ ” Read More   

Thibeca Productions  

Tribeca Productions, a film and television production company, was co-founded in 1989 by actor Robert De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal in the lower Manhattan neighborhood of TriBeCa. De Niro, Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff are also the co-founders of the Tribeca Film Festival.

The production company was founded at the beginning of a revival of interest in the film production community in filming in New York City. Prior to the 1990s it made more economic sense for production companies to film urban scenes in cities such as Vancouver and Toronto in Canada. Since the founding of Tribeca Productions other production facilities have moved into various neighborhoods in NYC and filming around the city and in the streets has again become commonplace. 

About Scribner   

Founded in 1846 by Charles Scribner, Scribner was originally a publisher of religious books. By 1870, the company had turned to literature and begun publishing, in addition to books, Scribner’s Monthly, “an illustrated magazine for the people.” The magazine and its successor, Scribner’s Magazine, attracted fresh young writers, many of whom became Scribner authors.

Charles Scribner II took over in 1879 after the deaths of his father and older brother, and under this guidance, the company became identified with the giants of twentieth-century American literature, such as Henry James and Edith Wharton. In short succession, Charles Scribner’s Sons published Ring Lardner, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Famed editors Maxwell Perkins and John Hall Wheelock realized that a new era in American literature was dawning, and in 1920 F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first novel, This Side of Paradise, proclaimed the Jazz Age. Website 

About Judith D. Collins

Media Professional and Principal of The Collins Group, marketing firm in West Palm Beach, FL, specializing in web content strategy for the hospitality, real estate, and the publishing industry.

Judy is an avid reader of 500+ books a year, reviewer, and blogger. A professional member of NetGalley, and Top Reviewer on Amazon, NetGalley, BookLikes, Library Thing, and Goodreads.

You can find her reviews and connect via her popular blogs, and social media at JDC Must Read Books. Website