Out of the Blue: "Clay" It Forward [Paperback]

Jeannie Holleman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 13, 2005

Once upon a time in Raleigh, North Carolina, there lived a geeky little momma's boy with curly hair, thick glasses, and a voice that could bring the angels to tears. He didn't fit the mold of an American Idol, but when he opened his mouth and poured his soul into a microphone, Clay Aiken literally rewrote the rules on Idol-hood. In the short time since he took second place in the television competition (and we all know he wuz robbed!), Clay has risen far beyond mere American Idol status, to be idolized and adored by fans worldwide.OUT OF THE BLUE is not just another story of this remarkable talent's unlikely rise to international fame. That story is in these pages, but Jeannie Holleman wanted this book to be much more than that. So it is also the story of the profound effect Clay has had on his fans, how he has inspired them to acts of kindness and compassion, and how everyone he touches - with his voice, his demeanor, and his actions - is inspired to spread his gentle message.OUT OF THE BLUE is a hometown Raleigh girl's tribute to Clay Aiken, a superstar who seemed to burst from nowhere. But it is also a tribute to the amazing power of friendship, for "out of the blue," Jeannie Holleman has met hundreds of new "Clay friends" from all over the US and the world. She has spent nearly three years collecting their stories of how Clay - and being a Clay fan - has changed their lives for the better. Many of these fans, having seen their personal worlds transformed, are now working to help change the world at large. Like their idol, Clay Aiken, it is their fondest wish to "make a difference."OUT OF THE BLUE is, as its author says, "a long love letter to a sweet hometown boy." But it is also a love letter - humorous, touching, and utterly sincere - to his remarkable fans. This book is 564 pages long, and includes over 160 personal photos.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JEANNIE HOLLEMAN is a writer, mother, grandmother and free spirit who lives in North Carolina with a raucous menagerie that includes a 225-pound Saint Bernard named Elvis, a Chihuahua named Taco, and a miniature dachshund, Petey. To keep the dogs in line, she has two birds: a loquacious African Grey parrot called Roc, who knows over 600 words and can sing the theme from The Andy Griffith Show, and a brilliantly feathered red and purple Eclectus parrot named Reba Mac, who does not talk but (appropriately enough) sings and listens to music all day.Growing up virtually next door to Clay Aiken's extended family, the McGhees, Jeannie had the unique privilege of watching Clay grow from a sweet but awkward little boy to a superstar. She is particularly close to his grandmother, Amaryllis McGhee, whom Clay calls "Nanny" and who played a major role in Clay's upbringing.For ten years Jeannie lived in Wilmington, North Carolina, which was also home to a major movie studio. Many of the Lifetime Channel Movies have been filmed in Wilmington, as have television series such as Matlock. Jeannie was an extra in thirteen of these episodes, as well as in films such as Sleeping With The Enemy, Weekend At Bernie's, and many others. While living in Wilmington, Jeannie started a four-color magazine called The Wedding Guide of the Carolinas, and she also owned a restaurant called Hot Diggity Dogs.While pursuing her various careers, Jeannie raised two wonderful children, Ryan and Natalie. In November of 2004 Ryan's wife Heather gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Ashley Rose, making Jeannie a grandmother for the second time. She is also the proud grandmother of Keenan, the son of her daughter Natalie. And in April of 2005 she became the delighted godmother to Evie, Jordan and Jonathan, three extraordinary children in Los Angeles whose family she met through her association with Clayton's fans.Out of the Blue is Jeannie Holleman's first published book. She is also working on another book, an

Product Details

• Paperback: 564 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (December 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1425905218
• ISBN-13: 978-1425905217
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,663,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Yet One More Negative Review, August 12, 2006

By 

Elizabeth Simmons (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of the Blue: "Clay" It Forward (Paperback)

I bought and read the book several months ago. I am a Clay Aiken fan and a participant on several of the Clay Aiken message boards. The bottom line is this: the main Clay Aiken message boards are well interconnected--information passes rapidly from one to the other. The vast majority of Clay fans feel that it was unethical and illegal for Holleman to have sold copies of DVDs of Clay singing at her daughter's wedding and copies of Clay's pre-American Idol demo CDs on E-Bay. Clay fans were aware of this profiteering long before they ever learned that Holleman was writing a book. Any posted disapproval of the book from Clay's family or friends--the alleged basis of Holleman's law suit--is simply beside the point. Had it not been provided, some dedicated Clay fan would have paid the outrageous price, bought and read the book, and effectively informed the entire message board community not to buy the book.

This book is both excruciatingly boring and highly invasive of the privacy of Clay and his family. The author had little real contact with Clay, although she presents herself as being a long-time friend of Clay's "family" (loosely defined to her advantage). This is blatantly obvious from the book itself, although I doubt that it was obvious to the many trusting Clay fans who "befriended her" and subsequently contributed "tribute" letters for the book. Moreover, Holleman spends considerable space in the book "screaming at" the nasty Clay fans who don't think she should have sold those DVDs and CDs--probably most of the potential buyers for this book. She also rants about Clay fans she claims are stalkers, even as she keeps revealing herself to be the stalker supreme. Ergo, it is not surprising that no one is buying her book.

My heartfelt sympathies go out to any who wrote a positive review and/or contributed a "tribute" to the book and now regret that.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I Cannot Believe I Bought This Book!, August 26, 2006

By 

FKM - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of the Blue: "Clay" It Forward (Paperback)

I bought this book when it was first published - but I did not do my homework before I bought it - if I had, I would never have done so. I thought I was buying a tribute to Clay by a friend. It is, instead, a poorly written book by someone who does not know Clay at all. You can get more facts about Clay on any fan web site. It is also the most boring book I have ever tried to read. Save your money, by-pass this book, and spend your money on the new CD instead!

57 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unauthorized, August 6, 2006

By 

Ms. C. "Book Teacher" (NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of the Blue: "Clay" It Forward (Paperback)

Unauthorized - that should give you a clue. I believe this to be a misguided attempt to take advantage of people's love of an extremely popular vocalist/Humanitarian.
Stay far, far away. You will find the book riddled with poor grammar, poor sentence and paragraph structure.

Where is the track record for this "author"? Is it published by a well-known or trusted publishing house? Does the "author" have previous works? As a school librarian I taught my students to investigate the source when judging the validity of information. I would hope people would do that before purchasing this item.