http://www.thestraintrilogy.com/The Strain
by Alan S. Evans
A novel by Michael Sonbert
http://www.michaelsonbert.com
http://www.myspace.com/michaelsonbert
FIRST30DAYS.COM LAUNCHES THE ULTIMATE RESOLUTION GUIDE FOR 2009
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Free online guide offers key advice in succeeding at keeping resolutions no matter when you begin
NEW YORK, January 8, 2009 — First30Days.com, the premier site focused on guiding people through a variety of personal and professional life changes, has launched The First Thirty Day’s Guide to Keeping New Year’s Resolutions for 2009. The free downloadable guide is filled with information and guidance how to succeed at any change or goal, whether they begin in January or at any time throughout the year.
New beginnings in a new year can be so appealing with the promise of a clean slate, and fresh start filled with lots of hope and optimism. However, even the best intentions on January 1st can go awry as the year progresses. In this world where we have increasingly less personal time, First30Days.com has compiled a short, concise, definitive guide filled with valuable information, useful tools, expert advice, and inspiration, that can be read in a matter of minutes and most importantly, can be applied immediately to change the way you manage your life and get the results you desire.
So while everyone has heard some of the classic advice, this guide is not what you would typically expect. It begins the process by posing some poignant questions. A few examples include: What was the best thing that happened to me last year?; What did I get through that I’m really proud of? And, who do I need to thank and acknowledge for having been there for me? Following these questions is a list of the 10 most common mistakes people make with New Year’s resolutions and how to avoid them, such as:
Never make your resolution on January 1
Don’t take on a resolution alone
Don’t make yourself be perfect
Next, the guide provides 10 useful ways to think about resolutions to better your chances for success with New Ways to Think About Resolutions and Succeed including:
Pick a word of the year
Pick a theme for the year
Figure out what you want, not what you should have
“”First30Days entire mission is about making change easier for people. And January is the month we all think about changes we’d love to make in our lives. As a result, we’ve created a short guide that gives people exactly what they need to know, and threw some inspiration in as well, so that they really can succeed this time. Whatever dream, goal or change it is, this guide has advice everyone should read. It may take just one line in the guide to give you a totally different outlook on 2009, said First30Days.com founder and CEO, Ariane de Bonvoisin.
The Resolutions guide which is available exclusively on First30Days.com is the first in a series of short guides that will be available on specific life changes throughout 2009, whether it be First30Days of divorce, losing a job, meditating or starting a business, among many others. Ariane, who authored the book The First 30 Days: Your Guide to Any Change and a frequent speaker around the country on issues of change recently appeared on the Today Show discussing the Resolutions guide.
About First30Days.com: The First30Days web site which launched in February 2008 is now reaching 1.4million monthly unique visitors (source: COM Score, September 2008) and has nearly 500,000 members. The site features more than 60 specific changes divided into nine specific channels. Including, those relevant to our times such as losing a job, selling a home, starting a business, dealing with depression, smart investing, reducing debt and living frugally.
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For more information or to book an interview with Ariane de Bonvoisin: pr@first30days.com
By Inga C. Ellzey,
Author of The Exchange
For 16 years I was the mistress of a married man. I was single, he was rich. I wanted to be someone. He was a doctor. I was a single mom. He had three kids and a Nanny. I wanted romance and passion. He was horny. His wife was the turkey. I was the gravy. I was, “The Other Woman.”
Being a mistress is exciting . . . at first. Romantic trysts in clandestine restaurants. Lunch quickies. Having sex on the operating table (not that comfortable) or on the exam room floor (oh my aching back).
I was young when I met Adam (not his real name). I was 27, wore a size 8, had gorgeous long blond hair, beautiful teeth and a great personality. He was 43, with a sexy foreign accent . . . and he was a doctor . . . my doctor. That’s how it all started. There was an instant attraction. He scheduled office visits more frequently. I became the last patient of the day. Then I got healed by the good doctor, but fell in love (and he with me). We started an affair that lasted sixteen years.
So here I was the mistress to a married man. Sixteen years you ask me? How is that possible? Didn’t the wife suspect?
Well, in most cases when the affair goes beyond a couple of wooly bully romps in the hay, and extends over many months (or years, as in my case), the wife knows. The wife either knows flat out but doesn’t care, knows but is in denial, or really doesn’t suspect a thing (which is highly unlikely in a long-term situation.) She might be so busy with the soccer Mom thing she really has no idea that her hubby is scoring somewhere else.
In my case the wife knew. She knew I knew she knew and I knew she knew I knew. She knew! But she didn’t care . . . as long as Adam came home to her (most nights) and allowed her kids to attend the best private schools. As long as she could live in her million dollar house, have her Mexican house keeper and Nicaraguan Nanny, drive her gas guzzling Mercedes, wear her Haute Couture clothes, and keep her fancy horses in those snazzy stables . . . she just focused on those versus her husband’s wandering ways.
I was even invited to their house on numerous occasions. I recall one time when they invited me to their beach house for the week end. (Figure that one out?!?!) I was on the beach with Adam making love while she was in the condo making Flan. Boy that Flan was delicious. I still think of her when I order Flan in restaurants.
Then there was this heart attack thingy. Well what happened really was that every Sunday night he would come to my apartment. We would have wild sex, a couple glasses of wine, and then he would leave. Well this one particular Sunday night he went home and had this major heart attack. You know the 9-1-1 call, no breathing, he’s gonna- die-kind of heart attack. Well, wouldn’t you know it but right after he made her call 9-1-1 he made her call me. She knew I knew she knew and I knew she knew I knew! Enough said.
So what are the benefits of being, “The Other Woman?”
Well it depends on how smart you are. Here’s what I got along the way. I got my Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees paid by him. I had to do the studying. He paid the tuition and expenses of a college education. So I got my B.S. (Bachelor in Sex) and my MPA (Masters in Pleasing Adam). No seriously, I did get legitimate college degrees.
I got spending money to buy clothes and shoes. He helped me get a nice car every few years and he paid off my credit cards when I overspent (when I did frequently). After all wifey over there was living in some fancy-dancy mansion while I was living with the Dumb and Dumbers on the left and right side of me in an apartment complex.
And then did I mention the life insurance policy? Now it’s not like I want him to die or anything, after all the affair was over 21 years ago. But if he dies, I still get $100,000.00 . . . tax free.
Well you see when I was his mistress, I agonized about him leaving me (especially after that heart attack stresser), so I made him take out life insurance on himself with me being not only the beneficiary of the policy but (me being college “edicated” and all), I insisted I became of owner of the policy as well. (Thanks to that finance class he paid for.) Being owner of the policy means I have to make the payments on the life insurance annually, but I don’t care. As long as I pay, he can’t cancel it. I still get $100,000.00 tax free when he dies . . . even 21 years after the affair ended. Let’s see how old is he now . . . ?
So what are the disadvantages of being a mistress?
Oh, there are those lonely holidays. But it’s really not that bad when you have those credit cards which you know he will pay off if you overspend. Then there’s reading about him and her in the local newspaper attending some charity ball. He has his arm around her, she’s smiling. The happy couple. Pillars of the community. Until Sunday night!
Marriage? You know in sixteen years, marriage was never addressed. I guess I thought he would leave her eventually. If I was honest with myself I knew he never would. Come on, sixteen years? Duh?
So here I am . . . 21 years later reminiscing about that affair. Don’t tell my present husband. My third (he’s only 35 and I’m, 59 . . . I never was good in math). At any rate, my current hubby wouldn’t like it much if I mentioned dear Adam.
So in conclusion, here’s my advice. If you are going to be a mistress:
1. Enjoy it for what it is . . . an affair.
2. Don’t be afraid to take gifts and monetary remuneration. It’s not immoral. It’s only fair.
3. Don’t expect a marriage proposal. (Most men that are unfaithful will always be unfaithful . . . so who wants to be married to an unfaithful man? Better to just screw him and have fund . . . I mean fun.)
4. Be prepared for lonely nights and fun shopping sprees.
5. Never make life all about him. When it’s over . . . it’s over. Move on. There’s always another Adam just around the corner.
©2008 Inga Ellzey
Author Bio
Inga Ellzey is a self-made multi-millionaire, the owner and president of the Inga Ellzey Practice Group, Inc. She is a leading authority on medical billing, and has written, taught and lectured extensively over the past two decades. The Exchange was written in Yorkshire, England, where she was inspired by the solitude of the remote countryside and the 16th century farmhouse she vacationed in. For Inga Ellzey, The Exchange is yet another dream come true. She lives in Winter Park, Florida.
Please visit www.theexchangenovel.com
By David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD,
Author of Anticancer: A New Way of Life
A Cancer Epidemic Started in 1940
Cancer rates have been climbing steadily since 1940. This is not due simply to the increase use of screening tests or the aging of our population: cancer has been rising in children and adolescents at a rate of 1% per year in the past 25 years. And cancers that have no screening test (lymphomas, pancreatic and testicular cancers for example) have been increasing as fast or faster than those that do (breast, colon, prostate).
The most common cancers in the west are rare in some other countries. In certain regions of rural China in the 1980s, for example, WHO researchers using the same screening tests we use in the west were not able to find any cases of breast cancers. They were told by local physicians “it’s a disease of rich women! You’ll find it in Hong Kong, but not here.”
When Chinese women immigrate to the US, their risk of breast cancer becomes that of American women within one or two generations. The same is true for Japanese men and prostate cancer. Asians are not protected by their genes, but by their life-style.
A Watershed in 1940: Five causes of a cancer epidemic
Five major aspects of our life-style have changed since 1940 and contribute to the progression of cancer:
1. The massive increase of sugar consumption
We went from 12 lbs of refined sugar per person per year in the 1800s to 154 lbs per person per year in 2000.
Cancer cells feed primarily on sugar. To detect where a tumor may be present in the body, we use PET scans that simply measure where radioactive sugar accumulates.
2. The change in the way we feed animals that feed us
Animals used to feed on grass and seeds rich in omega-3 fatty acids that slow the growth of cancer. Hence, meat, milk, cheese, butter, and eggs were all rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Now that animals are fed in feed-lots with corn and soy, omega-3s have practically disappeared from our common foods. Eggs my grandmother used to feed me on the farm I was raised on were a genuine “health food”, filled with the omega-3 DHA necessary for the growth of a child’s brain. Today’s supermarket eggs have practically no DHA and it has been replaced with the pro-inflammatory omega-6 arachidonic acid (AA).
A diet rich in omega-6 fatty acids is associated with a markedly increased risk of breast cancer. As omega-6s stimulate inflammation in the body, they are likely to feed the growth of many other types of cancer too.
Trans-fats, introduced widely in the 1960’s, are now present in almost all industrial foods (pizza, cookies, French fries etc.). They are thought to increase the risk of breast cancer by a factor of 2. A Dutch government report of 2007 estimates that that the number of deaths due to trans-fats in that country exceeds that due to motor vehicle accidents.
3. The introduction of chemicals in all aspects of life
DDT was invented just before WWII. Many common herbicides and pesticides mimic the effects of estrogen hormones in the body. They can stimulate the growth of an existing tumor. In 2005 the CDC found 149 toxic chemicals in the blood and urine of American of all ages that were tested. In 2003 the University of Seattle tested pre-schoolers who eat conventional (non-organic) foods. The level of pesticide residue in their urine was high. For some of them, it exceeded by a factor of 4 the limit recommended by the Environment Protection Agency. Children eating organic diets (70% organic or better) had practically none.
4. The massive reduction in our physical activity
Do you know anyone whose grand-parents did not walk to school? How many children do you know today who walk more than 10 minutes to go to school? Something powerful has happened to our relation to physical activity. We are the most sedentary humans that ever existed.
The risk of a relapse from breast cancer is 50% less in women who walk 30 minutes six times a week. Physical activity is a highly effective protector from cancer that we have eliminated from our lives.
5. The disorganization of our social support networks
We Americans now move on average every 5 years. This means that we change neighbors, often friends, and get further and further away from our aunts and uncles, our parents, and our siblings.
In times of major stress, the most effective protection from adverse psychological and physical effects on our body comes from the strength of our intimate relationships. How strong are they today when we no longer live near each other? Twenty-five percent of us say that we have no one in whom we can confide.
One Australian study found that women with a major stressor in their life and no intimate support had 9.5 times more chances of developing breast cancer.
The encouraging part in this sad picture of an epidemic is that each one of us can start to reverse these societal changes in our own life. We can decide to nourish balance, to stimulate health, in us and around us. We can opt for a new way of life. And in doing so, we simultaneously help prevent cancer if we are cancer free, and strengthen our bodies if we already have it.
©2008 David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD
Author Bio
David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD, is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and cofounder of the Center for Integrative Medicine. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Paris, France. He has been a cancer survivor for 16 years, and is the author of the International Best-Seller Anticancer: A New Way of Life, coming from Viking September 2008.
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beyondstatistics_ARTICLE
By David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD,
Author of Anticancer: A New Way of Life
The “median survival” associated with any given cancer is just that: a median. We can all learn how to boost our physiology to do better than the median, and, hopefully, reach the (very) “long tail” of the survival curve.
I was a successful and ambitious physician and neuroscience researcher. At the age of 31, I discovered in my own brain scanning experiment that I had brain cancer.
Being a physician and scientist is no protection from getting cancer. But it allowed me to dig deeply into the medical and scientific literature to find out everything I could do to help my body resist the disease most efficiently and try to beat the odds.
The first thing I learned is that we all carry cancer cells in us. But I also learned we all have natural defenses that generally prevent these cells from turning into an aggressive disease. In the West, one out of three people will die of cancer. But 2/3 will not. For these 2/3, their natural defenses will have kept cancer at bay. I understood it would be essential for me to learn how to strengthen my defenses if I wanted to beat the odds against me.
I found hope in the story of Stephen Jay Gould, a Harvard professor who was one of the greatest life sciences researchers of the 20th century.
He learned at the age of 40 that he had a mesothelioma of the abdomen. He was told the median survival was 8 months for his type of cancer. He reasoned that this meant that half of the people died before 8 months, but also that half lived longer than that. Being young, in good health (aside from having cancer!), a non-smoker and a light drinker, he had every reason to be in the “good half”.
He also reasoned that within that good half, there is always a small number who live much longer than the dreaded median of 8 months. And indeed, there always are. At then end of any such “survival curve,” there is a small, but ever present, number of people who live an exceptionally long time.
Stephen Jay Gould lived 20 years beyond his diagnosis and died of another disease.
When faced with a serious condition such as cancer, the question is not what the median outcome is, but what we can do to help ourselves do better, perhaps much better, than the median. And there is no better way to that tail end of the curve than combine the best of conventional treatments with a different attitude about our life. An new way of living through which we begin to nourish every aspect of health within our bodies. This can be done by paying attention to five key areas of our life:
1. Cleaning up our immediate environment: in-door pollutants, parabens and phthalates in cosmetics, aluminum in antiperspirants, scratched Teflon pans, PVCs from heated plastics, long cell phone exposures.
2. Cleaning up our diet: reducing sugar (which feeds cancer growth) abundant in desserts, soft drinks (one can of Coke contains 15 coffee-size packs of sugar . . . ), dressings (Ketchup, ready-made salad dressing, etc.), white flour (equivalent to sugar as far as the body is concerned), and reducing omega-6 fatty acids (from red meats, corn, sunflower, soybean and safflower oils, and trans-fats).
3. Adding anti-cancer foods: including foods every day, three times a day, that help fight cancer. Such as green tea, the spices turmeric or ginger, omega-3 rich fatty fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel, etc.), cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, or cabbage, flavoring herbs (thyme, rosemary, mint, basil, sage, etc.), berries for dessert, dark chocolate, and even a little bit of red wine.
4. Engaging in physical activity: it doesn’t have to be marathon training, not even jogging. Just walking 30 minutes six times a week already dramatically reduces the chances of a relapse after breast cancer treatment. And physical activity has been found to help survival with many different types of cancer.
5. Managing our response to stress: we can’t avoid stress in our life, but we can learn to respond differently than with clenched teeth, stone-hard back muscles and pressure in our chest. Basic breathing techniques that have been around as part of oriental mental and physical hygiene techniques for thousands of years (Yoga, Chi Gong, mindfulness meditation) can transform our response to stress and strengthen our resistance to disease.
Now, just imagine how your own personal statistics may change if you engage in all five health habits . . . Once we begin to nourish our health in every aspect, nobody can tell us any longer what odds apply to our individual situation . . .
©2008 David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD
Author Bio
David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD, is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and cofounder of the Center for Integrative Medicine. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Paris, France. He has been a cancer survivor for 16 years, and is the author of the International Best-Seller Anticancer: A New Way of Life, coming from Viking September 2008.
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By David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD,
Author of Anticancer: A New Way of Life
Genes account for at most 15% of cancers. What matters most in prevention or getting the most of treatments is not our genetic makeup but the biology we create within our body to support our natural defenses against tumor growth.
The Genetic Fallacy
Most of us live with the false belief that cancer is a genetic Russian roulette. As one in three of us will die of cancer, the odds are indeed as bad — worse actually — than those of that dreadful game. But it is NOT genetic. A large Scandinavian study of identical twins (who share exactly the same genes) found that in the majority of cases they did not share the risk for cancer. In fact, the authors concluded, in the New England Journal of Medicine, that “inherited genetic factors make a minor contribution to susceptibility to most types of [cancers]. This finding indicates that the environment has the principal role in causing common cancers.”
A New Approach to Cancer: Changing the Terrain
When it comes to treating cancer, there is no alternative to conventional treatments: surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy or, soon, molecular genetics.
However, these treatments target the tumor much like an army wages war: focusing all of its efforts on destroying the cancerous cells. Yet, it’s as important to change the environment that supports the growth new cancer cells as it is to continue to pound them with targeted attacks.
We all need to learn to change the “terrain” — our biology — to make it as inhospitable as possible to cancer growth. As much for prevention as to increase the benefits of treatments.
The new model of cancer that has emerged from the last 10 years of research moves us away from genetics and squarely into the life-style factors that we can control.
Indeed, another New England Journal of Medicine study showed that people who were adopted at birth have the cancer risk of their adoptive parents rather than that of the parents who gave them their genes. At most, genetic factors contribute 15% to our cancer risk. What matters for 85% of cancers is what we do — or do not do enough of — with our life.
Since we all carry cancer cells in us, what determines whether we do develop cancer is to a large extent the balance between factors that promote cancer, and factors that help resist cancer.
Common promoters of cancer are:
- Cigarette smoke and more than two alcoholic beverages per day
- Refined sugar and white flour
- Omega-6 fatty acids and trans-fats (corn, soybean, sunflower and safflower oils, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils)
- A variety of chemical agents present in some foods and household products (parabens, phthalates, PVCs, pesticdes and herbicides)
- Complete lack of physical activity
- Responses to stress that lead to feelings of helplessness and persistent despair rather than a sense that one can help oneself or count on the support of others
Factors that slow down the growth of cancer are:
- Several phytochemicals contained in some fruits and some vegetables, some herbs and spices.
- Omega-3 fatty acids (fatty fish, canola and flaxseed oil, flaxseeds, walnuts, some green vegetables)
- Physical activity (at least 30 minutes of walking six times a week)
- The ability to manage stress so as to avoid helplessness (emotional management through meditation or yoga or good psychotherapy) or benefiting from the support of intimate relationships, or both.
Knowing that genetics are only a minor contribution to cancer helps us realize how much is in our power to help our body be a stronger partner in nourishing life and resisting cancer.
©2008 David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD
Author Bio
David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD, is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and cofounder of the Center for Integrative Medicine. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Paris, France. He has been a cancer survivor for 16 years, and is the author of the International Best-Seller Anticancer: A New Way of Life, coming from Viking September 2008.
Feature of the upcoming book review of The Murder Notebook by Jonathan Santlofer
“Now in THE MURDER NOTEBOOK (William Morrow, On Sale: 6/4/08, ISBN: 9780060882044, $24.95) police sketch artist Nate Rodriguez has visions of two crimes – one past, one present – and continues his winning combination of nail-biting suspense and original art.
Nate Rodriguez has earned the reputation of being brillant and possibly psychic with his ability to draw near-perfect likenesses often on nothing more than a single witness detail, his own inner eye, and his intuition. When he is asked to create a facial reconstruction for a skull found in a burned-out building, Nate seizes the opportunity to put his FBI forensic art training to use. What he does not expect is that the skull — and the face he eventually creates — will take him into his past. But his life is about to get more complicated when homicide detective Terri Russo taps him to assist on a high-profile murder/suicide case and the sketch he provides leads the NYPD to a suspect only hours before a second murder/suicide occurs. Now it’s up to Nate to prove a connection between the cases that no one else wants to make.
With the body count escalating and plagued by nightmare images that have an uncanny resemblance to the murders he is investigating, Nate makes a shocking discovery that brings him dangerously close to highly-confidential military and government programs. Now, more than ever, he knows he must unravel the link between the murder/suicides to expose a shocking secret before more innocent lives – including his own – are lost.
With THE MURDER NOTEBOOK, Santlofer once again pushes the boundaries of the thriller in this masterful blend of art and suspense that make hime “one of the most intriguing and innovative crime-fiction writers to come along in years.”
About the Author:
Jonathan Santlofer is a highly respected artist whose many awards include two National Endowment for the Arts painting grants. His work has been written about and reviewed in The New York Times, Art in America, Artforum, and Arts , and appears in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Art Institute of Chicago, and Institute of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, and numerous private and corporate collections. He serves on the board of Yaddo, the oldest arts colony in the U.S., and resides in New York City. His writing career began in 1989 after a gallery fire destroyed five years of his artwork. To make sense of the loss, he picked up a pen. Now, he pursues both passions – his writing and his artwork – with equal passion. This is his fifth novel. To learn more about him, visit www.jonathansantlofer.com or http://www.myspace.com/forensicnate”
Press Release/Feature of MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE
“Ever read a newspaper story and wonder, “what really happened?” That’s what Judge Kip Gayden thought when he discovered the 1913 headline from the Nashville Tennessean “WOMAN…SUFFRAGE…SENSATIONAL KILLING.” He researched the story of a pillar of the Nashville community, his unfaithful wife and the man that seduces her.
Miscarriage of Justice is an epic account ripped from the headlines of the Tennessean and American, March 16, 1913. It is the story of how a wife’s betrayal leads to a shocking public murder, the killer’s full confession to a local reporter, and a riveting trial. The only thing more surprising than the crime itself is the verdict.
To read more about the origins of this story, read Kip Gayden’s article on HBGUSA.com.
http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/authorslounge/articles/2008/january/article26025.html
Press Release/Feature of The Dark Side of the Supernatural
“Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX – You’ve seen movies and TV shows or read books that have supernatural ideas. A lot of times, they’re entertaining. Young men who are warlocks casting spells, women who see the future, someone who sees and talks to dead people – as ideas go, these have great potential to tell a good story. But are they real? And if so, what does that mean to me?
In The Dark Side of the Supernatural (Zondervan 2008), respected authors Bill Myers and David Wimbish provide a one-stop center for the biblical response to things such as UFO’s, second sight, near-death experiences, Ouija boards and fantasy games, yoga, shamanism, angel encounters, and many others. The Dark Side of the Supernatural will show you the truth behind the supernatural. It’s a handbook that separates truth from fiction, while looking at each topic in light of the Bible.
Bill Myers has spent years researching supernatural phenomena and has even made movies about them. In this book, he’ll share his research, along with interviews and true-life experience of psychics, Satanists, and people who have been possessed and even abducted by aliens. The stories he shares may sound like Hollywood movies, but they are based on real events.
Myers’ encounters with a variety of supernatural topics will open your eyes to what is real and what is fantasy. You’ll learn more about: Wicca and witches * Reincarnation * UFO’s * Ouija boards * Angels and demons * Ghosts and near-death experiences * Satanism * Vampires and more”
Jack With A Twist by Brenda Janowitz hit stores in June 2008, entertaining readers with the further misadventures of her hilarious heroine, Brooke Miller, who’s on the verge of marrying the man of her dreams … Or is she?
When Brooke and her fiance, Jack, end up representing opposing spouses in a celebrity divorce case, and when the paparazzi then make the two of them the lead story, it’s their relationship that ultimately feels the strain.
Depressing? No way. While working through difficult decisions and circus-like crises, Brooke’s optimistic, quirky voice brings the reader along on her laugh-a-page ride and shows just how far one woman will go to have it all.
Marian Keyes has already called this “a funny, sweet romance.”
Carole Matthews has said it’s a “another fun-filled page-turner from Brenda. Every bit as sparkling as the champagne that the bride-to-be’s mother is so fond of…”
Melissa Senate deemed it “A funny, smart, true-to-life novel about being your own woman.”
And Kristin Harmel called it “deliciously entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny and fraught with disaster after hilarious disaster… engaging, fast-paced and thoroughly delightful. Janowitz’s pitch-perfect sequel to Scot on the Rocks is a hilarious look at the not-so-holy side of holy matrimony.”
New York Times Bestseller Elizabeth Lowell Illuminates the Shadowy World of Art Forgery in Blue Smoke and Murder.
“Art is like everything else. It’s worth what someone’s willing to pay for it. Period. In order to make people pay more, much more, auctioneers and experts churn out a lot of blue smoke. The painting being flogged doesn’t change from one decade to the next. Only the volume and quality of blue smoke vaires. And the price of art.” BLUE SMOKE AND MURDER
Recently the Los Angeles Times reported on inflated art appraisals discovered through audits by the IRS; further revealing that overevaluation of art work has led to over $100 million in exaggerated claims in the past two years. Known for her keen eye for compelling news stories, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell began researching this crime trend before it hit headlines, and now features a riveting “case study” of this racket in Blue Smoke and Murder (William Morrow, On Sale May 27, 2008, ISBN 13: 9780060829858, $24.95), an enthralling new thriller. The novel imagines just how far one collector will take this deadly game.”
From Soul Mates to Marriage Physics
New Book Suggests Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage
“Every great fairy tale ends with a wedding – the joining of two lovers who are perfect for each other and who will now live “happily ever after.” For most people, this sounds like the logical formula for a great marriage. Find “the one,” get married, have a happy life. Romantic idealism rules the day – yet the divorce rate continues to climb. Is it possible that, in the last fifty years or so, htere has been a sudden epidemic of people who have inadvertently married someone else’s soul mate, resulting in unions which were destined to fail? Or could it be that modern marriages are constructed on shaky foundation of wrong assumptions?
In his new book, Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage, author and popular speaker Mark Gungor reveals the truth about lasting love – that a successful marriage is not the result of marrying the “right” person, feeling the “right” emotions, thinking the “right” thoughts, or even praying the “right” prayers. It’s about doing the right things – period.
Mark Gungor is a pastor, author, and one of the most highly sought-after speakers on marriage and family in the country today. Each year thousands of couples attend his Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage seminars. After thirty years of speaking to couples, Gungor is convinced that the main problem in marriage is that we just don’t understand the dynamics of true love. “People think that if a marriage is meant to be, it will just be. But marriage is like an ox. It’s a great, productive thing. But if you are going to have an ox, then you’re going to have ox poo,” Gungor quips. “There is no such thing as a poo-free marriage. The problem is, many don’t expect to find any poo at all in their marriage, and when they encounter stuff that stinks, they see it as a sign that they married the wrong person.”
In Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage, couples will discover Marriage Physics, the laws that govern every relationship and determine its outcome. Like anything worth having in this life, marriage requires some hard work – and not just work, but skill. “The good news is that marriage problems are fairly easy to resolve,” Gungor states. “Whenever a husband and wife are willing to study the dynamics of marriage and willing to take the time to understand each other, they will come together in love.” This hilarious, pratical work equips couples with tools that will allow them to work smart, enriching their marriages and avoiding the things that rob and destroy relationships.
Gungor’s trademark style – part stand-up comedy act, part brutal honesty – is so entertaining that even the man who is typically wary of “touchy-feely” books on marriage will find himself laughing out loud, nodding in agreement, and looking forward to the next page. Gungor’s astute, mirthful celebration of the fundamental differences between the sexes is sure to spark lively discussion between husbands and wives, conversation that will lead to a better understanding of one another and, ultimately, a great marriage. Of particular importance, Gungor’s frank discourse on the real dangers that threaten the mind-blowing experience that should be married sex will cause any reader to rethink some common trends. After reading this book, any couple will feel energized and motivated to do the work…and enjoy a real realtionship that leaves every fairy tale in the dust.”
Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage by Mark Gungor, Atria Books, March 25, 2008, ISBN 13: 978-1-4165- 3605-5, 283 pages, hardcover, $24.00
Gloria Gaither Shares Private Thoughts and Prayers
What does a famous lyricist say to God when no one else is listening?
Gloria Gaither has served as the muse for several generations of Gospel Music lovers. Her words were inspired by her own vibrant walk with God, and they seem to grow even sweeter with the passage of time. Today, several decades after penning the lyrics to her first spiritual song, she and her husband, along with many fellow musicians and friends, continue to play to sellout crowds on their Gaither Homecoming tours. In her new work, A Book of Simple Prayers (Regal, July 2008), Gaither presents readers with an unexpected treat – the chance to read over her shoulder as she pours out her heart in prayer.
The book is appealing on many levels, not the least of which is the spontaneity with which it was created. “I never started out to write prayers. But there was a span of time when prayers came whenever I began to write, “Gaither recalls. “I could not begin whatever project was before me until I cleared my mind of the prayer that was tumbling from my heart onto the page.” This torrent of prayers eventually filled several notebooks, and Gaither was in no hurry to share them with anyone else.
“At first, I treasured these prayers and kept them hidden, reading them sometimes in my most private times. I thought my journey was unique and much too personal to reveal to anyone else, Gaither says. “But as the months and now years have passed, I am coming to know that my story is not unique. It is not even my own, but a story within a larger story. As readers look at these, the snapshots of my story unfolding over the course of a year or two, I hope they catch a glimpse of the Author behind it all.”
To countless fans of the Gaither Homecoming events, Gloria Gaither is, in a sense, a cherished friend. A Book of Simple Prayers gives these readers a glimpse into the private, most meaningful area of her life. As they examine her personal contemplations, Gaither is convinced that readers will feel a kinship and connection to their own experiences in life and faith.
A Book of Simnple Prayers will be embraced by anyone who looks for communion with God in the everyday moments of life – whether they are upbeat, disheartening, joyful or sad. Readers from all walks of life will appreciate the moments of honesty and introspection (i.e., Today, I don’t know what to say to You, written after the tragic death of a friend’s young son). Filled with profound questions and beautifully stated truths, this book is the perfect addition to anyone who prays or wants to learn how to pray.
For many people, prayer can sometimes feel like an awkward, forced exercise, one they are “not spiritual enough” to do well. Gaither’s prayers, though obviously articulated with the voice of a gifted poet, serve as practical examples of how we can simply talk to God about the everday stuff of life. The book includes prayers of thanksgiving for her husband, family, and the beauty of creation and prayers of intercession for others – friends, family, and even perfect strangers that she saw on the news. She asks God to ease her sleepless nights, to protect her young grandson as he begins school, to bless a family vacation, and to guide a nation that has lost its way. As they follow Gaither’s lead, readers will be encouraged to begin their own conversations with God.
A Book of Simple Prayers by Gloria Gaither, Regal from Gospel Light, July 2008, ISBN 13: 978-0-8307-4686-6, 175 pages, hardcover, $14.99
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