books, art, music

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NBA star Doug Christie and his wife, Jackie, announce the release of their first book, No Ordinary Love, scheduled to debut June 1st, 2007.

The book - released through the Christies’ publishing company, Infinite Love Publishing - provides a candid look at the Christie’s own relationship and illustrates how mutual respect, friendship, and a commitment to monogamy serve as the foundation of their marriage. The book also offers other couples important advice on maintaining a lasting, loving relationship.

 Doug and Jackie have a distinctly unique bond, which over the course of 12 years has garnered both public acclaim and scrutiny. No Ordinary Love chronicles the Christies’ story from their “love at first sight” meeting in Seattle to present day as they spread their message of “infinite love.”

As visible figures in the world of professional sports, the Christies’ have experienced criticism from peers and media, yet they continue to rely on their impenetrable bond and ironclad value system to rise above public judgment.  Continue reading »

Business Guru Jane Treber Macken calls on her 36 years of acclaimed expertise in the business field to put together her first book, The Art of Managing: How to Build a Better Workplace and Relationships. 

Her vast knowledge in both business and psychology bring a holistic flow to her methods, making her strategy a natural marriage between the two fields.  “Bridging business and psychology will assist you not only in managing your workplace, but also in managing your personal life.  Both are really about successfully managing relationships.”

“The Art of Managing” is the enlightened manager’s guide to a more effective management style.  It teaches and sharpens skills in successful communication based on personality types and levels of ability and motivation.  By positively exploiting certain character ‘flaws’ and traits and knowing another’s behavior style, managers can boost both individual vision and group interoperability.  Continue reading »

Paper War: Nazi Propaganda In One Battle, On A Single Day Cassino, Italy, May 11, 1944, from Mark Batty Publisher is a stunning graphical look at the Nazi war machine’s most powerful weapon: Propaganda.

On May 11, 1944, as the 8th Indian Division of 13 British Corps prepared for the Battle of Monte Cassino, the waiting soldiers were bombarded with Nazi propaganda leaflets from a mortar battery on the Cassino side of the Rapido River. As the Germans identified various ethnic divisions, soldiers were targeted with leaflets in English, Polish, and for the Indian Division, Urdu and Hindi.

In retaliation, the Allies barraged the German soldiers with a safe conduct leaflet, and a “contemptuous ‘Wo ist Hitler?’ (Where is Hitler)” leaflet.

As Peter Batty, an Indian soldier who collected the leaflets wrote “In spite of the volume of propaganda material fired at us on that Thursday in May, the effects that it had on us was considerably less dramatic than those minutes of total silence that we had experienced earlier in the afternoon of the 11th” when a standstill in artillery fire created “an unnatural quiet.” Continue reading »

Grady Harp is an Amazon Top 10 Reviewer

A Year with the Hoopers, by by James Hoby.

James Hoby is a writer new to this reader, an artist who is a welcome discovery. Like some of our more controversial novelists of the time - Jonathan Safran Foer, Michael Chabon, Augusten Burroughs, Mark Haddon, etc.

Hoby begins his witty diatribe about contemporary society’s preoccupation with other people’s privacy with a gimmick that works: Hoby tells us in his introduction that his idea for this book came ‘in June 2005, when a large box was thrown from a passing van into my front yard. ‘Inside the box, I found a grass-stained baseball, a torn pair of shorts, a blue-green vase, various other worthless items, and a tremendous amount of shredded paper, which was used as packing material.’

He then states he obtained software for his computer and enlisted the help of two teenagers to scan the mess into his computer and then unscramble the contents, the body of the book being those assembled bits of information. Is this true or is this the beginning of a mad gossipy peek into the lives of one Hooper family? Does it matter? No.

What follows is one of the most hilarious series of characters and interweaving stories that has appeared in print. At the same time, Hoby demonstrates his comedic genius in writing biting and intelligent satire, the likes of which few writers can imitate. Continue reading »

Arlington Heights
by Erica Lewis

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS is author Erica Lewis’ second novel following the auspicious debut of THE MANSION.

It is gratifying to observe an author’s steady growth as demonstrated by this very fine, fresh new novel that addresses the course of a gifted and beautiful black woman who overcomes the stigmata of a youth of mistakes to become one of the more powerful forces in New York’s fashion and business scene.

Lewis takes us on a journey that speaks not only to the incredible climb up the ladder of success, but also takes the courage to unveil all of the consequences of decisions made along the way by a woman so focused on escape from her past that she nearly loses her soul.

Arlington Cavanaugh as we meet her is a stunningly beautiful black woman who has reached the age of thirty-five and knowing she is past her prime as a model, has committed her life to the building of a highly regarded fashion magazine, HEIGHTS. Continue reading »

Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man’s Prison
by T.J. Parsell

Grady Harp is an Amazon Top 10 Reviewer

T.J. Parsell had many things going against him - after a life that would have been the destruction of most other youths suffering an abusive home life and going to prison for ‘armed robbery’ which in fact was a Photo Mat trick holdup with a toy gun - and he ends up a winner.

This book, his first outing as a professional writer, is a tightly woven tale in the manner of a ‘rake’s progress’ of what life inside our penal system is truly like.

Fortunately for us, as readers, Parsell was able to successfully turn his life around after his incarceration and become an advocate for human rights, while concurrently presenting to the public the evidence that he has a natural gift for storytelling. This is not the typical ‘confessions of a bad boy who survived’: this is a finely written novel that explores characterization, atmosphere, and the trials of existing in the ‘other world’ inside prison bars. Continue reading »

The Reality Diet: Lose the Pounds for Good with a Cardiologist’s Simple, Healthy, Proven Plan
by Dr. Steven Schnur

Over the past 15 years I have tried many diet plans and found that most of them did not work over the long-term. They either were too restricting, too complicated or too time-consuming.

Dr. Schnur’s approach to weight loss is a simple, commonsense approach. “The Reality Diet” is not a fad diet for people who want to drop the weight overnight. It is a long-term lifestyle change.

As a cardiologist, Dr. Schnur was alarmed at how many unhealthy diet plans are available. As he tried to help people who had significant damage from unhealthy lifestyles, he knew there had to be a better way. He began studying everything he could about the subject and came up with a simple, healthy approach to weight loss.

Dr. Schnur explains in the beginning of the book that “…you will lose eight to ten pounds, mostly fat, in the first month – no water or lean muscle, but that weight will stay off. “The Reality Diet ensures that you eat the right carbohydrates, the right proteins, and the right fats and, unlike any other diet out there, plenty of satisfying, healthy fiber.”

His premise is that fiber is very filling so we eat less of it and don’t feel the hunger pangs during the weight loss process. Continue reading »

Harriet Klausner is Amazon’s #1 Reviewer

Bachelors Puzzle
by Judith Pella 

In 1882, the female members of the Mainland Church look forward to the new unmarried circuit riding preacher Zack Hartley who will live in the small Oregon town even though he will be on the road more than home.

The women work together on a welcoming quilt that turns into a somewhat acrimonious rivalry once everyone meets the handsome minister.

Zack fumbles with his religious chores, but no one cares. He visits the sick, but does not pray for a miracle; instead he does women’s chores like the wash and the cooking. This only endears him further in the hearts and minds of the female practitioners who see a caring man who would make a good son-in-law.

However, none of the women know that this eligible bachelor has secrets involving Portland crime rings and dangerous thugs that will make most of them withdraw their opinion that he is a prized spouse.

The first “Patchwork Circle” historical tale is a delightful post Reconstruction Era novel starring likable townsfolk and a devilish minister. The story line is lighthearted fun as the women compete to gain the attention of the newcomer whose earthly ways endear him with the sewing circle females.

Yet with all the rivalry friendship that abounds as the women teach Zack (perhaps too easily) what caring for others mean; he has a serious chance for redemption and love if he can go through the eye of the Lord’s needle.

Harriet Klausner is Amazon’s #1 Reviewer

Dancing Shoes and Honky-Tonk Blues
by LuAnn McLane

Reality TV arrives in rural Misty Creek, Kentucky when a ballroom dancing contest is planned. However, most of the contestants signing on take the contest seriously, but the show’s sponsors are lampooning the locals as redneck hillbillies who would not know what a ballroom looked like let alone be able to perform one the dances.

Local waitress Abby Harper was going to pass as she had no doubt that she and any other “yokel” was meant to be ridiculed. However, when she learns $50,000 is the winner’s prize, she signs on although her natural reticence and two left feet make her feel more like performing clown than a dancer.

Her partner is Mexico City ballroom dancing champion Rio Martin. As they rehearse, an attraction ignites even as both are irate that the hosts plan this as a big joke. Led by Rio and Abby, every dancer vows to prove that the hicks can dance with the best city slickers.

This is a fun small town drama starring a delightful seemingly opposites lead couple and an eccentric but likable support cast. The romance flows mostly on the dance floor as Rio is determined to turn Abby into the darling of the cha-cha crowd. Fans will enjoy dancing step by step with this pair and the other contestants especially since the ballroom dance is the most developed “character” with the cast being predominantly two-step deep.

Sioux Dawn: The Fetterman Massacre, 1866
by Terry C. Johnston

I had the great pleasure of spending a week with author (and storyteller extraordinare) Terry C. Johnston back in 1995.

At the time, Terry was leading a History America Tour, and our route covered the major hot spots of the Plains Indian Wars, including Fort Phil Kearney, site of the Fetterman Massacre.

Terry’s novel, Sioux Dawn, follows the footsteps of fictional Sergeant Seamus Donegan as he trods through the historically accurate tale of the tragic opening of the Plains Indian Wars that took place at Wyoming’s Fort Kearney.

The time was 1866.  The Civil War had just ended and a great westward march had begun. As settlers and soldiers poured out of the East along the Bozeman Trail, they ventured deep into Sioux hunting grounds. In response, Red Cloud, Crazy Horse and their warriors devised a plan to draw soldiers out of the fort and into an inescapable trap. Continue reading »