Just as you can’t stop the juice oozing from the flesh of a perfectly ripe mango, you won’t be able to contain the tears—of both laughter and sadness—when you read Annabelle Tometich’s moving and authentic story of growing up as a Filipino-Slavic female born and raised in Fort Myers. I devoured all 309 pages in one sitting.
When I chanced upon an email announcing a Fort Myers-based author was signing her debut book, The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony, at an art gallery in Naples, I took notice. An author born and raised in Fort Myers? A bona fide New York publishing house? Who? What?
A freelance writer, Tometich is most noted as former food critic Jean Le Boeuf, who wrote for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. I acquired an advance copy of the book and was mesmerized from the opening sentence: “Nobody’s from Fort Myers.” On the surface, most would agree with that statement—it’s a city of Northern transplants. Tometich, however, was also describing how she felt about herself. By the book’s end, she discovers she is very much a somebody—as does the reader. And for so successfully sharing her story, she received book offers from three major publishing companies.
I had the opportunity to chat with Tometich one afternoon in late May while she was driving to pick up her 10-year-old daughter from school.
NI: Was writing a book something you always wanted to do?
Tometich: No. I stumbled through life, concerned more with finding something fun to do. I was a pre-med student at one time, majoring in psychology. I do not have a journalism degree but got a job with the newspaper I grew up reading. After almost 15 years of reviewing restaurants, I decided maybe I could write a book. That was 2019. I sometimes call The Mango Tree my midlife crisis. (I was 39 at the time.)
Initially, what content did you think you would write about?
I started the process thinking the book would be a collection of essays—with recipes included—from my days as a food critic.
Did you wonder if anyone would be interested in and want to read your story?
Oh yes. I struggled with confidence. I soon realized the essays were superficial and that I wasn’t connecting the dots. Artis Henderson, a good friend and mentor, also born and raised in Fort Myers and author of Unremarried Widow, encouraged me to enroll in writing workshops. I did. And I just kept writing, eventually discovering what my story was.
Have you thought about who might play you if your book makes it to the big screen?
I have. My kids especially enjoy pondering this. I have a long list of half-Filipino actresses, including Olivia Isabel Rodrigo and Hailee Steinfeld.
There seems to be an absence of bookstores in the country and a prevalence of e-readers. Where are you selling physical copies of The Mango Tree?
I have huge support from the few indie bookstores that still exist, like MacIntosh Books + Paper in Sanibel and Blinking Owl Books in Fort Myers. Coincidentally, a neighbor of my mother’s is the manager of the local Barnes & Noble Booksellers and has been very helpful. I have tours and signings scheduled for Gainesville, the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Long Beach, Los Angeles, and more.
Are you going to keep writing books?
Definitely. A children’s picture book I wrote will soon be published. My agent always saw my memoir as two books—one a coming-of-age story and the second about my time as a restaurant critic.
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