With one book entangled in lawsuit, author begins another

Nataly Kelly, the Nashua resident whose book on telephone interpretation has been entangled in the courts because of a dispute with her former employer, is working on another book.

Kelly is collecting anecdotes from interpreters of all kinds – from emergency rooms, to courtrooms, to crucial diplomatic negotiations — to compile “From Our Lips to Your Ears: How Interpreters are Changing the World.”

“I’ve gotten stories from people all over the world,” she said. “There is a lot of interest in the public in interpretation. We keep society moving.”

She said she hopes the book will be published next year. Those with stories to tell can go to fromourlips.com to submit them.

In the meantime, the other book, “Telephone Interpreting: A Comprehensive Guide to the Profession,” is awaiting the outcome of a suit filed by Kelly May 23 in U.S. District Court in Concord against her former employer, NetworkOmni.

According to the suit, NetworkOmni managed to stop the book’s May publication by telling the British publishers — Multimedia Matters — that it was a work for hire and contained confidential and proprietary information.

Kelly contends she wrote the book independently, and the move by NetworkOmni was an attempt by the California company’s executive vice president, Manuel Mendoza, to steal her work in retaliation against her complaints about sex discrimination.

Network Omni has declined comment and so far has not answered the complaint, but it has moved to dismiss it, saying the federal court in New Hampshire lacks jurisdiction to rule on a company that is headquartered in California. – BOB SANDERS