KATHERINE, a former member of the Writers Guild of America, West, earned that privilege by developing storylines for television and being contributing writer. Three of her original screenplays were acquired under paid options although the film production companies’ various problems prevented the completion of those motion pictures.
Currently available is the finished memoir entitled FROM BUDAPEST TO HOLLYWOOD – Searching for the Promised Land. The easy reading story details her transformation from war baby to nationally ranked gymnast; from refugee dishwasher in the Midwest to trial paralegal in Beverly Hills; from dumb, abusable foreigner to American writer. The heart-wrenching to hilarious story emotionally moves the reader on unexpected levels.
BookLife reviewer wrote:
Plot/Idea: From Budapest to Hollywood is a richly told story that begins with the author's childhood in, and escape from, communist Hungary. Mitchell delivers a multilayered chronicle of her life and its many unexpected diversions.
Prose: Mitchell's writing is polished, immersive, and, honest. The author beautifully describes harrowing moments from her childhood and the challenges inherent in immigration and assimilation, while later portions of the memoir focus on her modeling and writing careers, complicated relationships, motherhood, and more.
Originality: Mitchell's life story is a fascinating one. Her ability to place her family's personal experience within a broader historical context is admirable, while the trajectory of her life from Budapest, to the Midwest, New York, and California, is vibrantly and thoughtfully explored.
Although trained in screenwriting, after leaving Hollywood, Katherine studied the narrative form in order to switch to novels. Her works are: YOURS FOREVER . . . MAYBE, a romantic adventure novel first published in 2012. Her second women’s fiction set in the 1950s entitled WASTED . . . MAYBE, is more edgy, little darker with a satisfying ending. A third . . . MAYBE novel, SHELBY’S WAY . . . MAYBE, is more literary, also character driven women’s fiction, leaning on relationships and inherent interactions. On the backburner are full drafts of a lighthearted novella titled CARNAL WOMAN—A TRAVELOGUE, about a one-week sojourn in picturesque Portugal; THE ISLAND, a television series proposal which has morphed into the blueprint for a novel; and A SKIRT AND A SMILE, a collection of sexy short stories.
She has been compared to some of the greats of contemporary works.
