Writing Daze - Writing and Book Promotion

The Canker Death - Book Spotlight - author James Bottino

2012-02-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

Our spotlighted person today is James Bottino, author of the fantasy and science fiction novel The Canker Death . Join him as he virtually tours the blogosphere in February 2012 on his first tour with Pump Up Your Book!

About The Canker Death

When the reclusive, cynical systems administrator, Petor Fidelistro, discovers that one of his own servers has been cracked late one night, he makes it his personal business to track down the perpetrator. What his search uncovers thrusts him, unaware, into a mad shifting between worlds, time and alien minds.
Fighting to keep his grip on reality, and forcing him to cope with his past, Petor finds himself uncontrollably transitioning between sentient minds that range from semi-conscious to dominant, from beings whose bodies and identities he can control, to those who control him so fully as to be unaware of his presence.
As the story unfolds, Petor gathers clues in a twisting mystery that sends him shifting between the mourning child Nanzicwital; the golem giant Faskin; the lascivious, female ambassador Desidia; and Nokinis, an insane prisoner with whom Petor battles for mastery of his own memories. As he struggles to make sense of what is happening to him, Petor finds himself embroiled in the tumultuous upheaval of a ubiquitous society that transcends life, itself.

About James Bottino

James R. Bottino’s life-long interests mix esoteric and disparate fields of study. By day, his foremost influences have been the study of literature and the art of writing. Following these pursuits led him to read anything he could in these areas and to complete every under-graduate and graduate course available to him in the field of creative writing. Following this line, he taught high school English throughout the 1990’s, focusing on the teaching of writing.
By night, when no one was looking, he studied computer systems / networks, computer languages, and operating systems, learning anything he could in these areas, first as a hobby, and, finally, as a career. This mixture of literature and technology served as the inspiration for the The Canker Death’s protagonist, Petor.
James currently lives in a suburb of Chicago, with his wife, daughter, two Australian cattle dogs and far, far too many books and abstruse computers.

You can visit his website at TheCankerDeath.com

Dog News – Risky Behavior and Feel Good Moments Gone Bad

2012-02-09T16:17:00.000-08:00

This week has brought startling news coverage concerning dogs. The first incident McDonald’s pulled an ad that spotlighted eating a Chicken McBite was less risky than petting a stray pit bull. In another feel good moment gone terribly wrong a dog bites a news anchorwoman while in front of a studio audience.

Read more here at Dogs Rule Cats Drool

New Book for Review: A Boy Called Duct Tape by Christopher Cloud

2012-02-08T14:59:00.000-08:00

About A Boy Called Duct Tape

Pablo Perez is a 12-year-old poor kid without much going for him. His classmates have dubbed him “Duct Tape” because his tattered discount-store sneakers are held together with…you guessed it, duct tape. He can’t escape the bullying.

Pablo’s luck, however, changes after he finds a $20 gold coin while swimming in a river near his home. Pablo later buys a $1 treasure map at the county fair. The map shows the route to the “lost treasure” of Jesse James. Pablo can’t help but wonder: Is there a link between the map and the gold coin? He is determined to find out, and he, his 9-year-old sister and 13-year-old cousin hire an ill-natured cave guide, and begin a treacherous underground adventure in search of the lost treasure.

If you would like to review A Boy Called Duct Tape, email Rebecca at Rebecca.camarena@yahoo.com. Deadline for inquiries ends Feb 29 or until the tour is filled. Thank you.

Do Diets and Exercise Really Work

2012-02-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

Do Diets and Exercise Really Work?

The diet and exercise programs that we usually follow obviously do not lead to permanent weight loss since the population of our country is becoming heavier and heavier with each passing year. We cannot lose weight and keep it off because these standard programs work against the physiology of our bodies. However, the good news is that eating and exercising in a way that works with our bodies can produce a permanent self-controlling normal weight without the struggle and hunger normally experienced in the weight loss quest.

Conventional diets say that all that matters when you want to lose weight is the number of calories consumed minus the number burned by physical activity. Although calories do have an effect, they are not the primary determining factor in how much we weigh. Our hormones, such as insulin, cortisol, leptin and others, are what really determine our weight. If your hormones are saying, “Deposit that food! A famine is in the land!” you will not be able to lose weight even if the number of calories you consume is very low. Because they work against body chemistry, calorie-counting diets rarely result in permanent weight loss. After dieters reach their goal, they usually re-gain most or all of the weight they lost. They may even be heavier than when they started; if they lost muscle mass, their metabolic rate will be lower than before their diet.

The key to losing weight easily and without hunger is to keep your body in a “burn fat” mode by keeping your blood sugar level stable and your insulin level low and stable. This can be achieved by eating protein-containing breakfasts and small between-meal snacks and by keeping carbohydrate intake at a sensible level with most of the carbohydrates low to moderate on the glycemic index (GI). (Low to moderate GI carbohydrates do not promote dramatic swings in blood sugar and insulin levels. See this page – http://www.foodallergyandglutenfreeweightloss.com/glycemic_index.html – for more about the glycemic index and how it can help you lose weight). Carbohydrates should be eaten with protein. For more details about how to balance carbohydrates with protein for stable insulin and blood sugar levels, see the third paragraph of this page – http://www.foodallergyandglutenfreeweightloss.com/carbohydrate_foods.html.

Keeping insulin levels low and stable most or all of the time is crucial to weight loss because insulin levels regulate the activity of two enzymes that control fat metabolism. High insulin activates an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase. This enzyme catalyzes the production of triglycerides from any fatty acids (digested fat units in the form that is absorbed by the intestine) eaten in a meal. Thus, excess insulin promotes storage of fat by our fat cells rather than using it for fuel after a meal. In a person with normal insulin levels, any recently eaten fats could have been used for energy during the two hours after a meal. If insulin levels are high, dietary fat will be stored in the fat cells instead. In addition, high insulin levels in the blood inhibit the activity of the enzyme triglyceride lipase which breaks down stored fat for use as energy. Thus, if you have chronically high insulin, you cannot burn your own body fat!

Conventional diets are based on the faulty assumption that “calories in minus calories out” determines our weight. Thus, the goal of these diets is to keep the calories eaten very low. Because fat has more calories per gram than carbohydrate or protein, these diets are very low in fat (counterproductive because fat gives a meal or snack staying power), low in protein (because protein foods usually contain fat) and high in carbohydrates (which are low in fat). This high-carbohydrate, low-protein eating pattern produces high insulin levels, which through the actions of the enzymes that control fat metabolism, make weight loss nearly impossible. Since high insulin and low blood sugar levels produce a feeling of hunger, it is also very difficult to resist eating. If we resist until mealtime, we’re likely to overeat when dinnertime comes around. This also contributes to the failure of conventional diets. In addition, if we do have the willpower to lose this way, we will usually lose muscle mass in addition to fat. Lower muscle mass results in a permanently lower metabolic rate after the weight loss goal is reached, making maintenance of lower weight impossible without permanent calorie restriction.

If insulin levels are low and stable, any type of activity will burn recently eaten food or body fat. Your body will be in the “burn fat” mode most or all of the time if you follow the eating pattern described above; thus, exercise of any kind will help you lose weight. Walkers are most successful at achieving and maintaining a normal weight because walking is not overly strenuous and does not unsettle weight controlling hormones. Exercise that is prolonged, excessive, or done without food can cause the release of stress hormones, thus raising insulin levels and putting our bodies into the “store fat” mode. Weight loss specialist Cheryle Hart, MD, recommends no more than 25 minutes of exercise at a time done three days a week or 12 minutes done daily. This pattern of exercise will keep your metabolism higher all the time (as will a good walk daily) while allowing you to remain in the “burn fat” mode. For a complete explanation of how exercise can help with weight loss, see this page – http://www.foodallergyandglutenfreeweightloss.com/exercise_right.html.

Standard exercise programs which require exercise of over 25 minutes at a time do not work well because they raise insulin levels, thus putting the exerciser in the “store fat” mode. So save your money! Don’t hire a trainer or join a gym. Instead eat correctly to be able to burn fat, and walk, garden, clean house or go for a leisurely bike ride. These activities provide moderate exercise, which is the most effective for permanent weight loss, while you accomplish something productive or enjoy yourself. You CAN lose weight easily and without self- torture if you base your efforts on accurate knowledge of your body rather than on the faulty assumptions of “calorie math” weight loss plans.

Nickie Dumke enjoys helping people with food allergies and gluten intolerance find solutions to their health and weight problems. She began writing books to help others with multiple food allergies over 20 years ago and the process culminated in The Ultimate Food Allergy Cookbook and Survival Guide. She says, “This book contains everything I know to help with food allergies,” and it has helped many people come back from near-starvation. Her other books address issues such as how to deal with time and money pressures on special diets, keeping allergic children happy on their diets, and more. A few years ago, while listening to the struggles of an allergic friend on the Weight Watchers™ diet, she remembered her own weight struggles* many years ago and thought, “There has to be a better way.” This was the beginning of a new quest, and she is now helping those who are overweight due to inflammation (often due to unsuspected food allergies) or high-in-rice gluten-free diets, as well as those who are not food sensitive but want to lose weight permanently, healthily, and without feeling hungry and deprived. Her unique approach to weight and health presented in Food Allergy and Gluten-Free Weight Loss is based on body physiology and reveals why conventional weight-loss diets work against rather than with our bodies and therefore rarely result in permanent weight loss. * (Nickie’s weight loss story, briefly, is that in her early 20s she could not lose on a calorie-counting diet in spite of repeatedly further reducing the number of calories she ate and swimming vigorously and often. Then she found a diet based on blood sugar control, lost weight without being hungry, and still weighs what she did in her mid-20s). Nickie has had multiple food allergies for 30 years and has been cooking for special diets for family members and friends for even longer. Regardless of how complex your dietary needs are or how much or little cooking you have done, she has the books and recipes you need. Her books present the science behind multiple food allergies and weight control in an easily-understood manner. She has BS degrees in medical technology and microbiology. She and her husband live in Louisville, Colorado and have two grown sons. You can visit Nickie’s websites at http://www.foodallergyandglutenfreeweightloss.com and http://www.food-allergy.org.

About Food Allergy and Gluten-Free Weight Loss

Food Allergy and Gluten-Free Weight Loss answers the question, “Why is it so hard to lose weight?” Because it’s hard to put a puzzle together if you’re missing some of the pieces. We’ve been missing or ignoring the most important pieces in the puzzle of how our bodies determine whether to store or burn fat. Those puzzle pieces are hormones such as insulin, cortisol, leptin, and others. In addition, we’ve been given some puzzle pieces that don’t belong or fit in the weight-control puzzle. Much of what we’ve heard about dieting and exercise is incorrect and can cause loss of muscle mass instead of fat or even result in weight gain. The idea that weight is determined solely by “calories in minus calories out” is an assumption not based in reality. Most weight-loss diets require us to endure hunger much of the time, but hunger means that our blood sugar is falling or low and our insulin level may be rising. Prolonged hunger leads to the release of adrenal hormones, and the hormonal cascade which follows results in the inability to burn our own body fat as well as causing any fat we eat to be stored rather than burned to give us energy. Another problem with most weight loss diets is that they strictly dictate food choices, lack the flexibility that those on special diets for food allergies or gluten-intolerance require, and deprive us of pleasure. Individuals with food allergies face additional weight-loss challenges such as inflammation due to allergies which can lead to our master weight control hormone, leptin, being unable to do its job of maintaining a healthy weight. Those with gluten intolerance often eat a diet too high rice. Rice is the only grain which is high on the glycemic index in its whole grain form; thus eating too much of it will raise insulin levels and cause the body to deposit fat. Although the recipes in this book were developed for those on special diets, non-sensitive people will enjoy them as well, and the weight loss principles in this book will help anyone lose weight. (A chapter of recipes made with wheat and other problematic foods is included for those on unrestricted diets). The most frustrating deficiency of conventional weight loss diets is that they don’t work long-term. Low-calorie, low-fat diets can lead to loss of muscle mass, and with less muscle to burn calories, this type of diet effectively reduces metabolic rate so we need less food. Rare is the person who loses weight by counting calories and keeps it off after they liberalize their diet! However, continual dieting for the rest of your life is not the way you need to live, and you do not have to be deprived of pleasure in order to lose weight. Overweight is not due to a lack of willpower. Rather, it is due to a chemical imbalance in our bodies. Once we begin to correct that imbalance by applying the principles in Food Allergy and Gluten-Free Weight Loss, we can lose weight without hunger or deprivation and can maintain a healthy weight permanently and easily by regaining normal self-regulating hormonal control of our weight.

Pump Up Your Book! Announces Feb ‘12 Authors on Virtual Book Tours

2012-02-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

Summary: Announcement of Pump Up Your Book! Virtual Book Tours’ list of authors for February 2012.

Spread the love in February 2012 by joining a talented and diverse group of authors, who are touring with Pump Up Your Book! Virtual Book Tours.

Follow them as they travel the blogosphere from February 6^th through February 29th. There are genres for everyone: from adventure stories to romance novels, from children’s books to young adult titles, from autobiographies to political nonfiction and more!

Helping us celebrate the month dedicated to love, authors Joan Bird and K. T. Wells tour with their contemporary romance novels. Kathy Holmes is talking about her women’s fiction book, “Letters on Balboa Island,” and Charlotte Hubbard is on tour with her Amish inspirational novel, “Summer of Secrets.”

Fantasy novels come to you from Lou Aronica and Stephanie Keyes, while Karen Simpson returns with her contemporary speculative fiction book, “Acts of Grace.” Deby Eisenberg and Mitchell Maxwell tour with historical novels, and thrillers come to you from M. D. Cliatt, William Landay, Robert McCabe, Peyman Pejman, and Pamela Samuels Young.

D.B. Blackbird tours with the children’s book, “Jekyll Says…Good Deeds Cats Do, That You Should Too!” and Fiona Ingram returns with her middle grade adventure novel, “The Secret of the Sacred Scarab.” Lory Kaufman is back to share the first two books in his Verona Series, and Will Robertson tours with his comic book, “Casey and Kyle: So Much For Being On Our Best Behavior!!!”

Also on tour in February are: James R. Bottino, W.H. Buxton, Gordon Gumpertz, Abby Luby, Trish McCallan, Brian Meeks, Alicia Singleton, and J. Yinka Thomas. Best-selling author Loree Lough is talking about “Honor Redeemed” from her First Responder Series, and Robert Tillotson shares his literary comic novel, “Acts of God While on Vacation.”

In the world of nonfiction, Nicolette Dumke and Tom McLaughlin return to talk about their books, while Michael Charney shares his political offering, “Chasing Glen Beck.” Christian books come to you from Edward Mrkvicka and Dr. Michael J. Norman, and Rachel Greer returns with her poetry collection, “Words of Inspiration From Your Own Kind.” Also on tour are Selwyn Mills and his autobiography, “Confessions of a Color Blind House Painter,” and Chris Shella shares his years of experience in the legal book, “Grinding It Out: How to Build a Six-Figure Law Practice.”

Visit YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQBxZ_VPuNw to view a video trailer introducing our authors on tour in February.

Pump Up Your Book! is a virtual book tour agency for authors who want quality service at an affordable price. More information can be found on our website at www.pumpupyourbook.com.

Echo Falls – author interview – Jaime McDougall

2011-12-09T22:04:00.000-08:00

About Echo Falls

Running from a nightmare stalking her every move, Phoebe Martin arrives in Echo Falls hoping she has finally found a safe place to stop. But trouble has a way of catching up and soon the signs are there.

After a vicious attack in an alley, policeman Aidan O’Bryan is left with Phoebe as his only path to understanding why the Echo Falls werewolf pack – his pack – is being attacked. When another pack member is killed, Phoebe is forced to confront her past before she loses Aidan and everything she has come to love.

Love and duty become one as Aidan strives to prevent Phoebe from becoming the next victim. But with Phoebe just as determined to protect Aidan and her new home, secrets from her past threaten to tear them apart.

Will love give Phoebe the strength to trust Aidan and face her fears, or will her past destroy her future.

About Jaime McDougall

Jaime McDougall is a citizen of the world, currently loving life in beautiful country Victoria in Australia. She loves eating sushi, kidnapping her husband and naming her pets in honour of science fiction authors.

She has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: High School: The Real Deal and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Campus Chronicles. So You Want to Write a Guest Post: An Author’s Guide to Promoting with Guest Blogging is her most recent non-fiction ebook. She has also enjoyed writing a column called ‘The New Australian’ in local newspapers as well as various articles online.

Echo Falls is her first paranormal romance novel. You can buy it now at:

Amazon ( Kindle ) | Barnes and Noble ( Nook ) | Smashwords ( Multiformat )
Amazon ( Print ) | Barnes and Noble ( Print )

You can visit her website at InkyBlots.com

Interview

Q: Biggest Pet Peeve about the writing life.

Right now, my biggest pet peeve is finding time to write. It's the busy season, so when I'm not doing work, I'm doing holiday related things. When I'm not doing those, I'm trying to sort through a load of paperwork that has popped up. Sometimes it seems never-ending...

Q: Biggest Career Surprise

That people enjoyed my book! Haha. I think there is almost always the doubt when you put your work out there that anyone will read it. Then, when people read it, whether people will like it.

I actually haven't been surprised that people enjoyed it (I have faith in my work) so much as being surprised at the enthusiasm people have for Echo Falls. Between good reviews and numerous requests for a sequel, I am so pleasantly surprised with people's enthusiasm.

Q: Worst rejection you’ve ever received?

This is going to sound strange, but the worst rejection has to be no rejection at all. At least with a rejection, you have an answer. The not knowing annoys me to no end and leaves me in this strange state of limbo...

Q: What’s next for you?

The sequel to Echo Falls. After you get asked enough times when/if there will be a sequel, you tend to accept that you need to write a sequel. Haha.

Fading Echoes takes place about seventeen years after Echo Falls. The story focuses on Charlotte who, because she is the child of two 'natural born' werewolves, has some abilities that go above and beyond the normal werewolf heritage...

Q: What are a few of your favorite genres and why?

I like pretty much anything paranormal. Paranormal romance, urban fantasy, etc. I look at the world and think that there is more than what our five senses are telling us. These genres explore that thought.

Q: Do you have a writer’s studio? Describe it for us and what is the view you see from the window?

I wish I did. I was walking in town a week or so back and saw a fully furnished apartment for rent. If I could, I'd love to rent that. It's above ground level, is right by the post office and grocery store, has a balcony where you can look at the city centre, has one minute walking access to many cafes... I'll have to dream a bit longer, though.

Winds of Change - author interview Carole Eglash Kosoff

2011-12-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

Winds of Change Book Tour

Carole Eglash-Kosoff lives and writes in Valley Village, California. She graduated from UCLA and spent her career in business, teaching, and traveling. She has visited more than seventy countries. An avid student of history, she researched the decades preceding and following the Civil War for nearly three years, including time in Louisiana, the setting for Winds of Change and her earlier novel, When Stars Align. It is a story of bi-racial love. It is a story of war, reconstruction, and racism, but primarily, it is a story of hope.

This is her third book. In 2006, following the death of her husband, she volunteered to teach in South Africa. Her first book, The Human Spirit – Apartheid’s Unheralded Heroes, tells the true life stories of an amazing array of men and women who have devoted their lives during the worst years of apartheid to help the children, the elderly, and the disabled of the townships. These people cared when no one else did and their efforts continue to this day.

Her second book, When Stars Align, chronicles the Civil War and Reconstruction through the love affair of Amy, a white girl, and Thaddeus, a colored man born of the rape of an eleven year old slave girl and the teen heir to Moss Grove.
You can visit her website at www.windsofchange-thebook.com or connect with her at Facebook at www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=553077163.

About Winds of Change

The racially charged love and conflict of the critically acclaimed When Stars Align become more entrenched after the Civil War and Reconstruction. Amy had taken her daughter, nephew, and a son she’d had never been able to acknowledge, born from her love with Thaddeus, her colored lover, to San Francisco, as a refuge from the intense racial scrutiny of the South.
They are forced to return to their old home, Moss Grove, a successful Mississippi River cotton plantation, as young adults. They discover facts about themselves that refute everything they believed regarding both their parents and their racial background. It changes the lives of each of them. Bess and Stephen’s love is thwarted. Josiah struggles with echoes of his past.
It is a tumultuous time in American history that includes the inventions of airplanes, automobiles, telephones and movies midst decades of lynchings and economic turmoil. It is the Spanish-American War and World War I. Racial biases complicate lives and relationships as newly arrived immigrants vie with white and Negro workers all trying to gain a piece of the American dream. Winds of Change is a soaring historic fiction novel that stands alone but follows the next generation from those we came to know in When Stars Align into the 20^th century. It is a socially relevant, historically accurate, saga of decades often overlooked in American

history.

Interview

Q: Give us an example of a typical writing day.

I don’t write everyday but I try to write at least 4-5 times a week. I write until I hit a ‘glitch’. Rather than force it, I stop and let my mind wander to other things. Usually the answer hits me about 4 in the morning.

Q: Do you write on a computer or with pen/pencil and paper?

I use a computer that allows me flexibility in editing. I can also send it to friends who critique both the plot and the grammar.

Q: Do you work from an outline?

I do on the non-fiction I write but not on the historic novels. My novels, however, span decades, and I need to know where the story is heading.

Q: Biggest Pet Peeve about the writing life.

Having to do so much marketing by myself. I love the writing and I have even come to be tolerant of the publishing process but the new paradigm of books and ebooks makes marketing my responsibility.

Q: Biggest Career Surprise

That at this point in my life I’d be working on writing my 4^th book.

Q: Worst rejection you’ve ever received?

It didn’t have to do with my writing but with a life event and it wasn’t easy to deal with and move forward.

Q: Nicest rejection you’ve ever received?

I’d love to represent your book but I can’t find a publisher.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully alive and still traveling and playing tennis and writing.

Q: What’s next for you?

Finishing my current book and beginning on the next.

Q: Who is your favorite author, and why?

Two…Gore Vidal and William Manchester…they bring history alive.

Q: What are a few of your favorite genres and why?

Historic fiction, historic non-fiction and social science fiction.

Q: In writing your book/novel if you could do it again what would you do differently?

My current novel, Winds of Change, contains a great deal of history. I had hoped to have more plot and less history but the events were so compelling I wasn’t able to accomplish it…I would try again.

Q: Where do you write from? (location and description)

I have a pleasant well lit office, music in the background, and dogs lounging nearby.

Q: Do you have a writer’s studio? Describe it for us and what is the view you see from the window?

Lawn and trees

Q: Writer’s Block – If you have ever experienced it – how did you resolve it?

By walking away from the computer until my mind unravels the problems.

Q: Have you ever abandoned any books/novels in progress?

Not recently but I have in prior years

Q: Advice for the audience, first time authors, those choosing the writing life.

Keep reading and writing.

Q: Who or what was your greatest influence that made you want to be a writer/author?

My love of telling a story.

Q: How did you feel holding your book in your hands for the first time?

It was magic and I could feel my entire body tremor.

Lagan Love - author interview - Peter Murphy

2011-11-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

Peter Murphy was born in Killarney where he spent his first three years before his family was deported to Dublin, the Strumpet City. Growing up in the verdant braes of Templeogue, Peter was schooled by the De La Salle brothers in Churchtown where he played rugby for ‘The Wine and Gold’. He also played football (soccer) in secret!

After that, he graduated and studied the Humanities in Grogan’s under the guidance of Scot’s corner and the bar staff; Paddy, Tommy and Sean. Murphy financed his education by working summers on the buildings sites of London in such places as Cricklewood, Camden Town and Kilburn. Murphy also tramped the roads of Europe playing music and living without a care in the world. But his move to Canada changed all of that. He only came over for awhile – thirty years ago. He took a day job and played music in the bars at night until the demands of family life intervened. Having raised his children and packed them off to University, Murphy answered the long ignored internal voice and began to write. He has no plans to make plans for the future and is happy to let things unfold as they do anyway. LAGAN LOVE is his first novel.

You can visit his website at www.peterdamienmurphy.com or his blog at www.peterdamienmurphy.blogspot.com. Connect with him at Twitter at www.twitter.com/PeeloMurphy and Facebook at www.facebook.com/LaganLove.

Visit his tour page at Pump Up Your Book

About Lagan Love
If you know something about passion, and desire, and giving everything to live your dreams then leave your world behind for a while. Come with Janice to Dublin, in the mid nineteen-eighties when a better future beckoned and the past was restless, whispering in the shadows for the Old Ways. Janice has grown tired of her sheltered existence in Toronto and when Aidan leads her through the veils of the Celtic Twilight, she doesn’t hesitate. In their love, Aidan, Dublin’s rising poet, sees a chance for redemption and Janice sees a chance for recognition. Sinead tells her that it is all nonsense as she keeps her head down and her eyes fixed on her own prize – a place in Ireland’s prospering future. She used to go out with Aidan, before he met Janice, so there is little she can say. And besides, she has enough to do as her parents are torn apart by the rumours of church scandals. But after a few nights in Grogan’s, where Dublin’s bohemians gather, or a day in Clonmacnoise among the ruins of Celtic Crosses, it won’t matter as the ghosts of Aidan’s mythologies take form and prey on the friends until everything is at risk. Lagan Love is a sensuous story of Love, Lust and Loss that will bring into question the cost we pay for our dreams.

Q: Give us an example of a typical writing day.

On a good day I start early (5 or 6 AM) and write new copy until midday. I break for lunch, a quick check on emails, etc. and then take a nap. I spend the later part of the afternoon catching up on what is going on in the wider world, watching European football games and interacting with real people – like my family. By 7 PM I get back to work and edit what I wrote earlier until night.

On a bad day I start early; shuffle punctuation until noon, get distracted by the internet, smoke too much and, when frustration gets the better of me, wander the neighbourhood until it is too late to worry about all that might have been achieved!

Q: Do you write on a computer or with pen/pencil and paper?

I worked as a computer programmer for years so working on the computer is natural for me. I like that I can write, edit and delete, add notes, cut and paste, and review without wasting paper. That said; proofing on screen is very difficult. Also, I spend a lot of time arguing with my word processor about syntax and spelling. I have tried pen and paper but my handwriting has deteriorated to the point that even I can hardly read it.

Q: Do you work from an outline?

Yes, but my outline for Lagan Love was completely hijacked by my unruly characters and they were right – they made it a better story. But I learn as I go and the outline for my next work is more flexible, focusing more on the story arc and leaving room for my characters to grow and go as they must. Without an outline a story could be a great adventure from which the writer might never return – and that might be the best way for a writer to ride off into the sunset!

Q: What’s next for you?

I have my next two books outlined and one drafted. I hope to go back and explore all that lies in interpersonal relationships and the relationships between people and their history and mythology. We are, whether we admit it or not, greatly influenced by all that has gone before. This is as true for the radical as the conservative. I want my stories to be readable and enjoyable on the surface but also riddled with rabbit holes down which the more Alice-like among us can wander.

Q: Writer’s Block – If you have ever experienced it – how did you resolve it?

I do not believe in writer’s block but I do accept the existence of procrastination and inertia. There are times when the creative process is beyond me but I find that these can be the best times to edit and review. By doing these things I can coax my creative self back into the mood. I suppose it is the same in every area of life. How many of us have been at work and wished we were somewhere else? What can you do but roll up your sleeves and get busy doing things until you get something done? That was the most valuable lesson I learned from my years in my day-jobs.

Q: How did you feel holding your book in your hands for the first time?

It was incredible. I felt validated and relieved – and to be totally honest – a little impressed with myself. I immediately sat down and reread it, making mental notes as to what was good and what could have been better. However the bigger thrill came when I sat and watched by son devour it from cover to cover – pausing only to pass comments that were not unkind!

Donations to Clarity - Guest Post - Noah Baird

2011-11-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

About Donations to Clarity

The plan was simple: hoax bigfoot, then sell tours to bigfoot enthusiasts. The plan wasn’t brilliant, and neither were Harry, Earl, and Patch. The three chemical-abusing friends only wanted to avoid the 9 to 5 rat race, but their antics attract the attention of a real bigfoot. When the misogynistic Earl is mistaken for a female bigfoot by the nearsighted creature and captured; it is just the beginning of their problems.

The U.S. Government has a plan to naturalize the mythical creatures living within the U.S. borders. The problem is the plan needs to be carried out carefully. You can’t just drop little green men and Sasquatch in the middle of Walmart without warning Ma and Pa Taxpayer. The naturalization program is not ready to be set into motion, and the rogue bigfoot is bringing too much attention to itself, including a feisty investigative reporter who uncovers the truth of the government conspiracy and two bigfoot researchers. No longer able to contain the situation, government agents are tasked with eliminating the bigfoot and all witnesses.
Between bong hits and water balloon fights, Harry and Patch come up with a plan to save Earl and the lovestruck bigfoot. Where do you hide a giant, mythical creature? In an insane asylum, because who is going to listen to them?

Along the way, the three friends learn Star Wars was a government training film for children, the truth behind Elvis meeting President Nixon, and the significance of the weight of the human turd.

Guest Post

Genre and Your Swim Lane

My publisher asked me what project I was working on. I replied I was working on two children’s books. After some discussion, he suggested I may want to publish the books under a pseudonym. A pseudonym is publisher code for “You’re a foul-mouthed, vulgar, smart-ass, and no parent will read a book to their children written by you”. If I wasn’t such a “foul-mouthed, vulgar, smart-ass,” I may have been insulted.

I started to write a children’s book because my two half-werewolf children asked me to write a book they could read. If you haven’t read my book, Donations to Clarity, it is a comedic fiction/satire which isn’t appropriate for children (It’s full of foul-mouthed, vulgar, smart-ass-ness!). Trying to write a children’s book taught me something: It’s really hard to write outside of your genre. Writers are told to write what we know. A key component of writing what you know is to read works of your genre. The main idea is, as a writer, you will begin to intuitively know what works for your chosen genre.

The problem is, I don’t want to just read humor and satire. I also like to read nonfiction and thrillers. We need to explore and to test the boundaries of our comfort zones. Think of what of what you watch on TV. You probably don’t just watch comedies or thrillers. You probably have a fairly wide range of interests from history, to sitcoms, to documentaries, to sci-fi. My reading also reflects my interests.

When I was trying to find a publisher, I submitted several articles of flash fiction to different literary magazines. If you aren’t familiar with flash fiction, it’s extremely short fiction. Typical word count can range from 55 to 500 words. What flash fiction teaches is to write concisely and with brevity. It can make your writing very muscular by forcing you to chop out the fluff. As part of my research into writing flash fiction, I turned to an unlikely source: songwriters. Makes sense, right? Songwriters paint stories and pictures in very few words that resonate with the audience. Think of Harry Chapin’s Cat’s in the Cradle. The song is a cautionary tale which has left an indelible impression on millions, and it’s only 440 words long if you include all of the choruses. It’s 314 words long with only one chorus. This is a great example of making a powerful impression with relatively few words.

As I was writing flash fiction and sending out query letters for my manuscript, I read Cormic McCarthy’s The Road. The novel inspired me and influenced much of my writing at the time. I didn’t realize it then, but writing outside of my genre was challenging me. As writers, we develop plots, characters, and themes, but writing in another genre forced you to pay attention to the subtle tones and textures of your writing.

The next time you are at a crossroads in your manuscript, try writing some flash fiction in another genre. If you write science fiction; try to write a romantic scene. If you write romance, try writing a satire which doesn’t include a saucy sex-pot rolling in the hay with the dark rogue with a sculpted chest. For me, it was trying not to be a foul-mouthed, vulgar, smart-ass; which is harder than you might think.

Noah Baird wanted to attend the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, but his grades weren’t good enough (who knew?). However, his grades were good enough to fly for the U.S. Navy (again, who knew?), where he spent 14 years until the government figured out surfers don’t make the best military aviators. He has also tried to be a stand-up comedian in Hawaii for Japanese tourists where the language barrier really screwed up some great jokes. On the bright side, a sailboat was named after the punchline of one of his jokes.

He has several political satire pieces published on The Spoof under the pen name orioncrew. Noah received his bachelors in Historical and Political Sciences from Chaminade University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He knows nothing about hoaxing Bigfoot. Donations to Clarity is his first novel.

You can visit his website at www.noahbaird.com or his blog at www.noahbaird.wordpress.com.

Connect with him at Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Noah-Baird-Writer/100193913390453.

Fundamentally Different - author interview - David Friedman

2011-11-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

Paperback Writer welcomes David Friedman author of the business/leadership Fundamentally Different.

About Fundamentally Different

In Fundamentally Different, Friedman uses stories and examples from his 27 years of business leadership experience to make clear the connection between values and success in a way that’s as enjoyable to read as it is insightful.

Is organizational culture just a New Age obsession that distracts us from the real work of business? What role do values play in organizational success? How can we create greater consistency between the values we say are important and the ones that actually show up in the routine behavior of our people? What’s the most important common denominator found in all dysfunctional organizations, and how can we avoid it?

In his new book, Fundamentally Different, David Friedman provides the answers to these questions and more. You’ll learn:

The 8 keys steps the most successful companies use to institutionalize their values
Why listening can actually have more impact than speaking
What a “filter” is and how it affects everything we believe to be true
The 5 components of good decisions
The role of curiosity in increasing effectiveness
Why “rebar” is the key to creating lasting change

With his compelling logic and easy-to-understand style, David shares the most important insights he learned during a 27-year business career in which he led one of the most unique and successful companies in his industry. Captured in his self-styled Fundamentals, this collection of wisdom is so simple, yet powerful, that you’ll wonder why the principles he describes aren’t more commonplace in every organization across America.

But David’s Fundamentals aren’t just about business. They’re a guidebook for life. And like so many other people who’ve already embraced them, you’ll no doubt find your life enriched by their practice.

Visit the author’s tour page at Pump Up Your Book

Purchase the book at Amazon in kindle or book format

About David Friedman

How does a philosophy major with virtually no finance, marketing, or management education go on to become an award-winning business leader?

To understand that, you have to understand David Friedman’s approach to life. While he’s always been known for his discipline and his relentless work ethic, what sets David apart, more than anything, is his curiosity and his philosophical nature. He’s a student of business, and of life. Quite simply, he’s a thinker. And that thoughtfulness has influenced his entire career.

“I never felt my lack of formal business education was a limitation,” says David. “I always thought of it as an asset. Not being saddled with traditional thinking, at every stage of my career I felt free to follow my instincts – even when it led to what some might consider to be unconventional approaches.”

From the beginning, David saw RSI not as an insurance agency, but as a generic customer service business. He was curious to learn what made a service organization great and he was quick to apply what he was discovering. Under David’s leadership, RSI became the standard by which not only other insurance agencies were measured, but service companies in other industries as well.

He also became fascinated by leadership and organizational development. From Open Book Management to The Collaborative Way, David developed a deep appreciation for the power of organizational culture. While he may have had an instinctual knack for leadership, it was his philosophical nature that prompted him to search for underlying principles he could more easily teach to those around him.

In fact, David is a natural teacher. He has a remarkable ability to explain even the most difficult concepts in ways that anyone can easily understand. Ever the philosopher, David not only sees the subtleties and nuances of complex issues, but he has a true gift for communicating his insights with amazing clarity. His recent book, Fundamentally Different, is perhaps the greatest testament to this gift. As you read it or listen to it, you’ll no doubt see both the philosopher and the teacher at his best.

Visit the author online at www.djfriedman.com or www.Fundamentally-Different.com. You’ll find his blog at http://djfriedman.com/blog/.

Interview

Q: Do you write on a computer or with pen/pencil and paper?

I write on a computer as I’ve become much faster typing than writing. It’s also much easier to read what I’ve typed than it would be to read my handwriting. However, my notes are usually handwritten. I find that when I’m just thinking through an idea, or trying to figure out how I want to approach a topic, or working out the flow of ideas, it’s easier for me to do this with a pen and paper.

Q: Do you work from an outline?

I don’t usually make a formal, detailed outline, though I almost always have a plan in mind. Typically this looks like a handwritten, often scribbled, list of topics and the order in which I want to cover them. I tend to be a very logical person and I like to have thought through how each idea will flow into the next one to create a narrative that’s easy for the reader to follow.

Q: What’s next for you?

Right now, I’m pretty focused on speaking and consulting engagements, and working on developing materials to supplement my book. I often do talks, seminars, and workshops teaching the concepts that are in the book. As I do these, I’m always thinking about additional materials that I can create that will help make the program I deliver more impactful for people.

Q: Who is your favorite author, and why?

I don’t really have a favorite author. I like many different authors in many different genres. However, one that I particularly enjoy is Robert Fulghum. He’s the author of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, as well as several other books. I love his wisdom, his humor, and his ability to communicate in such a warm, unpretentious, inviting style.

Q: Where do you write from? (location and description)

I have an office in my house where I do my writing. I have a large desk and credenza, 2 computers (a PC and an iMac), and plenty of space to spread out. The office has a beautiful view of my backyard so I get plenty of sunlight. I also have a massage chair that can be awfully nice to sit in when my back and shoulders are sore from sitting at the computer for too long!

Q: Time Frame: From start to finish

Believe it or not, I wrote my entire book in just 5 weeks! To be fair, it was really years in the making in that the book is based on lessons I learned and taught throughout my career. When I actually sat down to begin writing it, I set goals for myself in terms of milestones I wanted to reach at different points in time. I figured it would take me about 3 months to complete. However, the more I wrote, the more excited I became about how good it was, and the more excited I became about seeing the finished product. Of course, my family will tell you that I tend to become obsessed when I get excited about something and I worked mostly non-stop for 5 weeks to finish it!

Giveaway - Win a Copy of Hollywood Stories

2011-11-14T22:28:00.000-08:00

Join us for a giveaway at Hollywood Daze. Leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of Hollywood Stories; Entertaining Anecdotes about the Stars and the Legends of the Movies!

Givaway winner will be picked Dec 15.

About Hollywood Stories
Just when you thought you've heard everything about Hollywood comes a totally original new book -- a special blend of biography, history and lore.

Hollywood Stories is packed with wild, wonderful short tales about famous stars, movies, directors and many others who have been a part of the world's most fascinating, unpredictable industry!

Reflect How Fabulous You Are

2011-10-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

By Tamara Elizabeth

Fabulously Fifty and Reflecting It! – Discovering My Lovable Me is my story, a story of a woman who has discovered how through my reflections, the truly fabulously lovable me; the authentic me that I was born to be. Today I am a confident, lovable courageous woman who realizes that fairytales don’t always have the ending of children’s books, but they can have the ending and continuation of what we truly

want and believe. I have sass, courage, spunk, determination and attitude.

This book is the result of hard work and perseverance on a self-love journey. It is the reflection of my life and from these reflections I have created a workbook for women traversing their own transitions to help them keep focused and heading in the direction of success. Each essay will strike a cord with the reader, as I have been where she has journeyed.

I am your voice. I speak as you. I have been where you have travelled.

I have finished licking my wounds and jumped back into the ring.

I want you to understand that I have walked in your shoes and have never given

up. You can restart your life at any time you want and still succeed in whatever you

desire. This is not always easy but if it was then the journey wouldn’t be quite as

exciting.

Do You Find Yourself Asking These Questions?

-Why is this happening to me?

-Am I to blame?

-Will I survive and make it on my own?

-Where do I go from here?

-Who am I – really?

-Why I feel lost and alone?

-Why am I not lovable?

-Is this my fault?

-What planet am I really on?

-Am I crazy or just lost my mind?

If you do, then Fabulously Fifty and Reflecting It! – Discovering My Lovable Me is

just the book for you. So sit back and enjoy discovering 7 ways on how to tackle those

nagging questions and get back to business of living life as the perfect lovable you.

Reflect on the stages in your life that has let you to this point:

Every situation and challenge happened as it was meant to because you are here to learn from our

experiences. So look as each stage of your life as a gift to be opened and displayed on

your shelf of successes.

Reflect on your life and state it in ONLY six words:

Life can get pretty overwhelming at times. So close your eyes, take 5 deep breaths

and let your mind wonder as a child does looking at daisies in a field. Once you are

relaxed describe your moment in time in 6 words. Once you have chosen the perfect

six words, feel the release. Life doesn’t appear so complicated. You can feel simplicity

take over and now you can tackle this situation with clear thoughts, balanced emotions and

decisive actions.

Reflect on the tiny steps you need to take to achieve your future desires:

Thinking about the future is about beginning with each day and living in the

moment. Remember you have to start the race in order to finish it. Each step you

take along that course gets you one more step to finishing. Time doesn’t matter just

the journey and the finish line.

Reflect on how to manifest your universal abundance:

Be careful of your thoughts and words. They have tremendous power. What you

think is what you are – the intensity and quality of your thoughts impact how you manifest your life

greatly whether you realize it or not. Realize your right to an abundant life. The

universe offers you everything for you to feast on – you just have to pick up the plate

and stand at the buffet.

Reflect on your fears and don’t let them control you:

Fears appear as monsters lurking in the shadows of your life because of your need

to control your future. Security of knowing the unknown derives from low self-love.

When your self-esteem dips below the “fill line”, the ugly beast of fear rises up and

tries to halt you in your path. Fear keeps us “stuck” unwilling to move forward

outside of our comfort zone. But to bloom and blossom we need to feel those butterflies.

They fly in formation to let us know we are on to something. We are growing we are

leaving the familiar for the unknown we are doing what we are meant to be doing all along.

Reflect on your challenges from the past – briefly and learn from them:

Learning to accept and allow – when you let go and allow the lessons of your life to

move you forward, you will realize that without the challenges you had to hurdle

you would not be the person you are today. The good, the bad, and the very ugly of

situations and relationships are all part of my mosaic.

Reflect on your passions and celebrate them:

You find your authentic passions by digging deep. Discover the things that carbonate

your blood and keep you in the present. Your pesky “inner child” wants to keep you

stuck in the past where she can control you. You can only grow and move forward

while your feet are firmly in the present. So which do you chose? That’s right – take

the time to discover your passions.

Tamara Elizabeth is a speaker, author, self love coach, radio host, a master motivator of women in transition, conductress of motivational seminars, professional photographer, small space designer, lover of social media, mother of 5, and a fabulously loveable woman after her first 50 years. She is determined to create a revolution of women.
Tamara started her life over at fifty and believes that if she can do it, any woman can. That’s when she decided to take her experiences and help others with her latest book, Fabulously Fifty and Reflecting It! – Discovering My Loveable Me.
I have 4 greatest accomplishments in my life – my 4 grown children. My next greatest joy is my step son that I have had the honor of nurturing for the past 7 years.
Visit her website at www.moximize.me.
Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Moximize_Me and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/moximize.

Finding a Lost Angel - Book Review by Dick Jordan

2011-10-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

Friday Five – Secret Lives by Barbara Ardinger

2011-10-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

On Fridays, we have our visiting authors share the Five Fun or Laugh About it Later type things that happened during the writing and publishing of their novel. Today, we welcome Barbara Ardinger author of Secret Lives.

About Barbara Ardinger

Barbara Ardinger, Ph.D. (www.barbaraardinger.com), is the author of Secret Lives, a new novel about crones and other magical folks, and Pagan Every Day, a unique daybook of daily meditations. Her earlier books include Goddess Meditations, Finding New Goddesses (a parody of goddess encyclopedias), and Quicksilver Moon (a realistic novel … except for the vampire). Her day job is freelance editing for people who have good ideas but don’t want to embarrass themselves in print. To date, she has edited more than 250 books, both fiction and nonfiction, on a wide range of topics. Barbara was born in St. Louis, Missouri, earned her Ph.D. at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and now lives in southern California with her two rescued Maine coon cats, Schroedinger and Heisenberg.

My website: http://www.barbaraardinger.com/secret-lives

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Lives-Barbara-Ardinger/dp/1466251786/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316117982&sr=1-7

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Secret-Lives/140993335978461

About Secret Lives

Set in Long Beach’s historic Rose Park neighborhood, Secret Lives tells the adventures in a year in the lives of a circle of crones, mothers, and a maiden. Among the other characters are the Green Man, an ageless Neolithic shaman, a ghostly inquisitor, the Norns gone mad in the modern world, and a lost goddess who reminds us of Red Riding Hood. And then there’s Madame Blavatsky, the talking cat that is the circle’s too-familiar familiar. There are both earthly love and cosmic war in Secret Lives, and there are also 15 rituals in the 27 chapters.

Secret Lives is a big novel about big issues—aging and death, the way our society treats its senior citizens, women’s friendships, the powers of love, the theory and practice of magic, the rebirth of the Goddess and Her ancient religion. It’s about the untidy mysteries of human life.

As the baby boom generation ages, the issues addressed in Secret Lives become more significant to readers. Also more recognizable. Issues that used to matter only to their parents are now starting to pop up in the boomers’ own lives. This novel will thus appeal not only to the large audience that reads pagan fiction, but also to mainstream readers who love a good, complicated story and may be curious about pagans and gods and goddesses. As they read, they will learn a great deal.

FIVE FUN THINGS:

1. As I began writing Secret Lives, which is about a circle of elderly women who do magical work, I remembered a couple years earlier when I wrote columns for a business magazine in Orange Co., California. I’d met Nina and Marie, aged 96 and 98, who told me they were “taking care of the older folks.” How inspirational they were! Equally inspiration were my grandmother, who bought her first pantsuit at age 76 after my grandfather died; my ex-husband’s great-grandmother, who was 100 years old when I met her; and the grandmother of one of my friends, who told me a “dirty joke” that I put in the book.

2. I started writing Secret Lives before I had a computer. I typed 300 or 400 pages on an IBM Selectric typewriter. When I got my first computer, I had to key the whole thing in again, using WordPerfect 5.1. Then I bought a new computer and had to type it again, this time in Word XP (which I still use). Altogether, the book has had perhaps five titles, and I’ve archived it on paper (from the typewriter), 8-inch floppy disks, 5-inch floppy disks, and 3-inch disks. Now it’s on a CD. Of course, every time I retyped it, I also did a lot of rewriting … which might help explain why the book is now 650 pages long. (And every page is worth reading!)

3. I also got to remember events from my younger years. Some of the characters go to the same college I did in southeast Missouri. One of them takes a trip into the Ozarks and the guys at the gas station don’t know where the put the gas in a Volkswagen Bug. That happened to me in 1967. One of the characters remembers living in the same dormitory I lived in and how the girls threw her a party the night she lost her virginity. I remember those parties with bottles of “Paris Nights” eau de cologne, Rod McKuen albums, and bouquets of wilted flowers. Ahhh, the olden days, when we were all young and innocent. (Well, I was!)

4. I used to read cards at psychic fairs, but I quit because they were so boring. So I decided that when my women went to a psychic fair, they’d use magic to pep it up. The furniture starts dancing. The books start parading around the room. All sorts of energy breaks loose. It was enormous fun to write.

5. I also had great fun writing about the talking cat. She looks very much like the calico cat who lived with me for twenty-one years, but she talks like she’s from New Jersey. I named her Madame Blavatsky, after the famous occultist of the late 19^th century who founded Theosophy. In the FREE READER’S GUIDE on my website

http://www.barbaraardinger.com/secret-lives I write about the transmigration of souls, which is one of the core doctrines of Theosophy. It teaches that the soul rises from mineral to plant to animal to human to angel. We might think that, like Don Marquis’s archy the cockroach, Madame Blavatsky is going the wrong direction, but it’s necessary to remember that the cat is the highest form of life. In my imagination, HPB’s soul began in a fluorite mine and progressed to a mugwort bush. Next, she was a Russian bear, then the famous occultist. After spending eight more happy lives as Felis catus, she will begin climbing up through the nine angelic hierarchies.

Death with Dignity - author interview - Robert Orfali

2011-10-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today, at Writing Daze visiting author Robert Orfali makes a compelling case for legalized physician-assisted dying after he watched his wife die from cancer. We had the chance to ask him the following question.

Q: Our spouses become so much a part of us that it is hard to go on with live after they pass. Imagine you find a letter from your wife, Jeri, and it said, “Thanks for the adventures now go have your own adventures.” What would some of those adventures be?

Robert Orfali and his wife Jeri

A: Actually, Jeri left me with an assignment that has thrown me into a new adventure. On her dying bed, she told me, “I waited too long.” Being a cancer patient, Jeri was in support of physician assisted dying as it is practiced in the states of Oregon and Washington. Sadly, that was not an option for her in Hawaii where she died. My “adventure” is to help pass “Jeri’s Bill” in Hawaii to lift that cruel prohibition, and make it easier for people who are in Jeri’s situation.

As part of my new adventure I have published two books. The year after Jeri died, I wrote Grieving a Soulmate: The Love Story Behind Till Death Do Us Part. One year later, I came out with Death with Dignity: The Case for Legalizing Physician-Assisted Dying and Euthanasia. This last book is about how our end-of-life system works and how to make it better. I go over the good, the bad, and the ugly. I make a strong case that assisted dying complements hospice. By providing both, Oregon now has the best palliative-care system in America. Currently, I am working on passing the bill in Hawaii. It is a very exciting time.

To answer your question, Jeri pointed the way to a set of totally unexpected adventures. I feel like a voyager exploring this strange landscape we call “the end of life.” For the first time in my life, I am not in death-denying mode. Instead, I took on the issues of death and dying head-on. I’m exploring areas that most humans avoid. In the process, I have become an authority on the subject of death and dying. Yes, my life has taken a strange turn. Grief was a long meditation on death and dying. Now, I am exploring the legislative terrain.

One final thought. People, like me, who want to pass “Death with Dignity” laws have become society’s consumer watchdogs for the end-of-life system. I believe that assisted dying is the gold standard in palliative care. Jeri wanted to drink a “final cocktail” and die peacefully on her own terms. The cocktail sets the bar for a “good death.” Hospice and palliative care must be at least as good as the final cocktail alternative. In states where the cocktail option is available, the palliative care people have to work harder to meet the competition. They have a higher bar to meet. Reducing end-of-life suffering is a noble cause and an exciting adventure. Thank you, Jeri.

About Death with Dignity

In Death with Dignity, Orfali makes a compelling case for legalized physician-assisted dying. Using the latest data from Oregon and the Netherlands, he puts a fresh new slant on perennial debate topics such as “slippery slopes,” “the integrity of medicine,” and “sanctity of life.” His engaging writing style brings clarity to these issues. The content is thought-provoking; the arguments are well-researched, air-tight, and original.

This extraordinary book provides an in-depth look at how we die in America today. It examines the shortcomings of our end-of-life system. You’ll learn about terminal torture in hospital ICUs and about the alternatives: hospice and palliative care. With laser-sharp focus, Orfali scrutinizes the good, the bad, and the ugly. He provides an insightful critique of the practice of palliative sedation. The book makes a strong case that assisted dying complements hospice. By providing both, Oregon now has the best palliative-care system in America. Reading this book, above all, may help you or someone you care about navigate this strange landscape we call “end of life.” It can be your gentle and informed guide to “a good death” in the age of hospice and high-tech medical intervention.

Visit the author’s tour page at Pump Up Your Book

Read book excerpts at Death with Dignity

Purchase Death with Dignity in book or kindle format at Amazon

About Robert Orfali

Robert Orfali, the guru of client/server systems in the early days of Silicon Valley, co-authored three best-selling books that demystified the complexity of these mission-critical systems and made them understandable to a whole new generation of programmers. The books sold over a million copies. In this book, Robert uses his analytical skills to deconstruct the most complex system he has yet encountered: our modern end-of-life system. He wrote this book after helping his soulmate and coauthor, Jeri, navigate her death from ovarian cancer in 2009. The deep emotions Robert felt allowed him to look at how we die from a different perspective, another angle. Robert also wrote Grieving a Soulmate.

Pump Up Your Book! Announces Oct' 11 Authors on Virtual Book Tours

2011-09-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

Pump Up Your Book! Announces Oct ‘11 Authors on Virtual Book Tours

Join a talented and diverse group of 42 authors, promoting 44 books, who are touring with Pump Up Your Book! Virtual Book Tours during the month of October 2011.

Follow them as they travel the blogosphere from October 3rd through October 28^th to discuss their books. There are genres for everyone: from literary fiction to satire, from fantasy to historical fiction, from true crime to memoir, and more!

Award-winning authors Kathi Macias and Marilyn Meredith return for their ninth virtual book tours to promote their latest releases. Literary fiction comes to you from Gregory Allen, John Banks, Lilian Duval, Peter Murphy, David Rocklin, Phyllis Schieber, and KJ Steele. Barbara Ardinger tours with her pagan fiction and Goddess spirituality book, “Secret Lives,” and Alberto Rios Arias promotes his historical mystery novel, “A Death for Beauty.”

Fantasy titles come to you from Richard Blunt, David Brown, and Mary Ann Loesch. Lory Kaufman returns to talk about his YA fantasy novels, “The Lens and the Looker,” and “The Bronze and the Brimstone.” Patty Friedmann is also promoting her young adult novel, “Taken Away.”

Women’s fiction authors in October include Sharon Bially and Mary Carter, while Roger Bagg and Crystal Connor promote their science-fiction books. Josi Kilpack is back to dish about her latest culinary mystery, “Pumpkin Roll,” and Davis Aujourd’hui shares all about his satirical novel, “The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude.”

Children’s authors Candace Hall and NeonSeon tour with their books in October. Also on tour are Gregory Earls, Sandi Gelles- Cole, John Langdon, Greg Messel, M.E. Patterson, Mitzi Penzes, Karen Simpson, and Lynn Voedisch.

The month of October is also host to several non-fiction offerings. Tamara Elizabeth returns with her self-help book, “Fabulous Fifty and Reflecting It,” and Mitchell Gibson talks about his book, “Nine Insights for a Happy and Successful Life.” David Gibb is promoting his true crime novel, “Camouflaged Killer,” and Nemo James returns with his music world memoir, “Just A Few Seconds.”

Also on tour are Terrell Dunnum, Emily Sue Harvey, Chen Lizra, Tom McLaughlin, Robert Orfali, and Robyn Wheeler.

Visit YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deidUItSe6s to view a video trailer introducing our authors on tour in October.

Pump Up Your Book! is a virtual book tour agency for authors who want quality service at an affordable price. More information can be found on their website at www.pumpupyourbook.com.

Barbara Ardinger Author of Secret Lives Tours with Pump Up Your Book in October – Read Book Excerpt Here

2011-09-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

Barbara Ardinger, Local Long Beach resident and author of Secret Lives bases her book in Long Beach. She will be on a Virtual Book Tour this month with Pump Up Your Book and her press release appears in the Long Beach Post online edition. Visit her tour page at Pump Up Your Book. Follow her on facebook

Find Barbara Ardinger at her website where you can enjoy more book excerpts. Purchase her book at Amazon.

Secret Lives Excerpt

Now the four spoke in chorus, their voices growing with the force that was moving around the circle.

Watchers above, we summon you to our work. From the starry paths upon which you dance, lend us your far-seeing wisdom. Quicken our magic tonight.

Watchers below, we summon you to our work. From the dark and hidden worlds that wait beneath, lend us your powers of fertility and rebirth. Quicken our magic tonight.

The air was tingling now and a palpable energy was moving around the room.

Time is present. Power is here.

As the invocations echoed back from beyond the walls of Herta’s ordinary living room, four of the women lit the indigo candles, their flames dancing and redoubling in the gathering energies. Herta folded her hands at her heart and nodded her head in an ancient gesture of greeting.

She looks like one of the Sibyls, Brooke thought, and she looked again at the women she’d known and worked with for fifteen years. Our familiar friends, but tonight they’re the Erinyes. The Holy Furies. The avengers of the ancient world are present in this room. These women look perfectly capable of pursuing any criminal to his death. And probably beyond.

Eyes closed, Herta spoke again. “Terrible and invisible powers now present, justice is our intent. The cleansing of this neighborhood is our intent. A seed planted here to carry order throughout the city is our intent. Protection for all who live in fear, no matter where—this is our intent.”

* * *

And softly and slowly, with gradually increasing volume, the thirteen women began their chant, wordless at first, simple humming. Then drawn-out vowels were added, and some women added Names, and others added Words and Calls in languages little used in modern times. Accompanied by Julia and Margaretta on doumbeks, the women chanted, and soon the energies they were drawing up began to coalesce in their circle. The force of the chant grew, the sounds whirling, snaking, rushing in a shimmering vortex in the center of the modest living room.

As the chanting and drumming grew to their howling, screeching climax, Herta stood up. She reached out with both hands as if to grasp the power, and she focused it on the covered basket on the teacart before her.

The chant peaked, an orgasmic release of energy skirring around the circle, an incandescent elemental energy—

There! Herta caught the almost visible power in her hands and flung it into the basket with all the force she and the circle now embodied.

“It is done.”

Silence now.

Breathing heavily, some of them still swaying, the women sat for many moments with their eyes closed. Herta sat with closed eyes, too, feeling the energy return to ground, feeling it flow back to its source.

“Girls,” she said at last, “we’ve done it. We have empowered our guardian.”

The women looked at her, then at the teacart. They were about to be shown what Herta had drawn from her mother’s second old book, the book they had opened only a few times before. The last time—twenty years earlier, in the days of an undeclared war across the Pacific—they had created a different kind of protection. They had built a shield that would bring their sons and daughters home from Vietnam, safe and whole. One who had come home was Milly’s husband.

“As you all know, under the full moon in Cancer, I prepared a small nest in a box. I built it upon agate and jasper for strength and protection, upon petrified wood for transformation and great age, upon obsidian for grounded fire. I lined this small nest with the molted skin of a snake for rebirth, with bears’ claws and sharks’ teeth for ferocity, with owls’ feathers for swift and silent flight. I prepared this nest for three fresh eggs, laid on the day of the dark moon. One egg I painted white, one red, the third, black. Now we will see which egg hatches. And what hatches. We have birthed our avenger.”

She gestured toward the teacart. “Listen.”

They heard pecking and scratching, the splintering of an eggshell, the familiar sounds of hatching. And then unfamiliar sounds … a harsh bark, a cough, a rough hiss.

Herta lifted the large oval basket that covered the nest. “Look.”

There it lay, a box lined with gold cloth that cradled a bed of stones and a nest lined with snakeskin and claws and teeth and feathers. Two of the eggs lay intact, unfertilized, unhatched. But the black shell lay in pieces.

And sitting on the edge of the nest was a tiny, green, four-footed animal, its pale golden wings still plastered damply against its scaly sides. Its golden eyes were barely open.

“Our guardian. A creature as old as the heavens, as fierce as the fiery powers of earth.”