Guest post by Carol Sue Gershman, author of "The Jewish Lady, The Black Man, and the Road Trip"

About the Author

Constantly reinventing herself, Carol Sue Gershman attended the Miami Dade College memoir class and decided that she would turn her two and a half page “Adventure in Love Story” into a book. Never having written before, it was passion that drove her each day to write.

After spending 25 years in New York City, she was one of the first to arrive into the new phenomenon of Miami Beach (South Beach) She is presently writing her next book while working on laws to ban
smoking in residential buildings.

Now at 73 she will take her completed book back on the road re-living the cities and states visited on the road trip. You might just see her driving her hot yellow mustang convertible packed with books, hats and what it takes for life on the road.

Finding Love After 50

I personally have had more love affairs after 50 than ever before. In fact, love started pouring in after 50.

How can I explain this...

As a 14 year old teenager I fell in love with a guy. I knew the moment I saw him that I wanted to marry him, and while I did date, I was more of a lady in waiting for him to come around. Yes, I did win him over and we had many, many happy years together and are dear friends to this day.

However, we ended up separating after all, and I began to date.

I had the opportunity of going back to when I was 19 in spirit, the age that I married and re-living those same years. It was at the time that the younger man, older woman came into focus so I had a slew of potential dates.

I travelled all over the world and met men; in fact I probably enjoyed the company of men in most countries of the world. Please do not get me wrong as I was not promiscuous. I was making up for my teenage years and having experiences.

I had shorter term relationships as I did not want anything close to marriage, but as I grew and got older, my relationships got longer. I can honestly say that fifty is fabulous, sixty in sensational and seventy sizzles all with passion and all by dating. My theory is to keep yourself in good shape, keep yourself healthy and stylish and stay up with the times. If you do that, it makes no difference what so ever how old you are.

I think on line dating is terrific. When I put up a great picture and smile and write something clever I am inundated with responses. I might do that for a month at a time, stopping and later picking it up again. I have met some great guys on the free sites like Craigslist, Google; there is no need to sign up for expensive sites that lock you in.

I imagine it is good to set your goals, rich man, poor man, handsome, charming, etc. but I am an independent woman so good companionship is what I look for. I also have no qualms about sharing expenses with a man. Unless if he is very wealthy, I am sure he is watching his money as well, and I do not take advantage. At this point of life men usually have a ex-wife or kids to think about, so sharing is fine with me.

There is nothing wrong with calling a man, in fact setting it up that way is a blessing. Nobody likes waiting by the phone.

The next time you are attracted to a man ask him for his card immediately!. How often have I made that mistake and sometimes the opportunity passes...

Love after 50 or 60 is more passionate than back then. And with the right partner it can be a lot more fun. We know the tricks.

Carol Sue

About the Book

A late 60 year old, interracial, innovative, passionate couple travel from Miami to Montreal in a hot yellow mustang convertible visiting family and friends that takes the reader far past the turns of the road.

Cleverly written in flashbooks, this memoir is about life: Marriage, children, grandchildren, race, sex, guilt, loneliness, birthday parties, facelifts, travel, and obsession.

When her lover walked out, it was obsession that drove her to write. Carol Sue Gershman took all of her negative energy and pain and turned it into a book. She hoped that she would shock him with their story; they would read it together, realize their mistakes and go right back together again. She describes her obsession at this age not to be any different from when she was 14 years old.

This book is long overdue; Having grown up in the 50’s she holds back nothing about what it took for her to cross the racial boundary. She details older people having passionate sex telling the younger generations, YES WE DO.

In this page turning and sometimes humorous memoir, she lives agelessly and passionately. Women and a few good men will learn that THEY CAN TOO, if they do not pay any attention to how old they are!

Explore your own passion and purpose as you read this sizzling memoir

Guest Post by Kathleen Guler, author of "A Land Beyond Ravens"

About the Author

Novelist Kathleen Cunningham Guler is the author of the multi-award winning Macsen’s Treasure Series. Drawing on a long background in literature and history as well as her Welsh and Scottish heritage, she has published numerous articles, essays, reviews, short stories and poetry. The author is a member of the Historical Novel Society, the International Arthurian Society and participates in various writing organizations.

You can visit her website at KathleenGuler.com

When the Dark Ages are a little too dark…


Thank you so much for inviting me to write a guest post. I am honored!

Most writers of historical fiction will say veracity to history must be respected. With regard to this notion, I was once asked at a conference: what are the primary sources for the Macsen’s Treasure Series?

With Dark Age fifth century Britain—the start of the alleged historical time of King Arthur—facts are notoriously difficult to locate, given that very little documentation survives and that which does is not reliable. Not wanting to sound incompetent, I answered with a concession that secondary sources—narratives and annals written down in much later periods—were the only works available. Because these sources originated from a Celtic oral tradition (Celts had taboos against the written word), and because they are not contemporary to Arthur’s time, they have suffered through multiple translations, unreliable copyists, and grandiose embellishments to get what we have today. We simply do not know how much is true.

The Macsen’s Treasure Series is based on three things: the era’s known history, the legend that subsequently spun out of the earlier oral tradition and pure imagination. For setting I have used a broad array of facts drawn from archaeology. This gives an idea of place, time and culture—details of everyday life of fifth century people—clothing, food, habits, if could they read, languages spoken, and so on. We also know that as the Roman Empire began to falter in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, the occupying Roman leadership and military gradually evacuated, the last leaving around AD 410. This left Britain open to invaders: Picts from north of Hadrian’s Wall, Irish from the west, then Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, Jutes, among others) from the continent.

Much debate has gone on about whether the Germanic people were actually invaders or settlers. They were probably a combination. Either way, their settlements encroached westward, displacing native people and causing great tension. Then around AD 500, they appear to have been pushed back and a prosperous period of peace ensued. This stability is attributed to an improvement in British leadership. The legendary King Arthur? Perhaps. In the mid-sixth century, alas, British strength fell apart and the Anglo-Saxons methodically conquered the land now called England.

Combined with this history, the legend provides part of the story’s framework. Among other sources for the legend, I have drawn on Geoffrey of Monmouth’s The History of the Kings of Britain, Nennius’s History of the Britons, and the Welsh Annals. These all likely contain some truth; some don’t even mention Arthur by name. None prove he existed. However some scholars make a good claim of his existence through intense analysis of these tiny bits of information.

I’ve spent years reading between the lines of these sources, trying to peel off the layers of misinformation that cover the underlying stories. In between I’ve used logic and imagination to fill in the gaps. It’s my hope that the stories will bring my readers a little light to the Dark Ages.

About the Book

No one in 5th century Britain knows more secrets than master spy Marcus ap Iorwerth, and that makes him a dangerous man. It also makes him a hunted one. For nearly three decades he has manipulated stubborn, irascible kings and warlords in a quest to not only unite them against foreign invasion but to stop them from destroying each other as well. And along with his beloved wife Claerwen, he has followed a greater, even more perilous pursuit—to forge a clear path for the fulfillment of Merlin the Enchanter’s famed prophecy that one day a great king will take command, the king known as Arthur of the Britons.

Now, with Arthur at last on the brink of adulthood and already showing great promise as a leader, Marcus discovers that the emerging Christian church is gaining enough power to dangerously shift control of Britain. At the same time Claerwen, gifted with second sight, is plagued with strange dreams that connect inexplicable doom to both Arthur and a long lost grail sacred to Britain’s high kings.

As foreboding mounts, Marcus struggles to prevent the church from crushing Arthur’s chances of becoming an effective king. But how he goes about it sets up the very doom that Claerwen sees. Will she be able to stop him? Or will her visions send Marcus to his own doom as well?

Guest post by Gary Morgenstein, author of "Jesse's Girl"

In addition to Jesse’s Girl, Gary Morgenstein’s most recent novels, both available exclusively on Amazon.com, are the political baseball thriller Take Me Out to the Ballgame and the romantic triangle Loving Rabbi Thalia Kleinman. His chillingly prophetic play Ponzi Man played to sell-out crowds at a recent New York Fringe Festival. A PR consultant for Syfy Channel, he lives in Brooklyn, New York, with lots of books and rock and roll CDs. You can visit him at www.facebook.com/people/Gary-Morgenstein/1011217889. Guest Post: PRAYER WORKS – ALONG WITH BLOOD, SWEAT, TEARS AND TOIL While racing out of the cave every morning in my loincloth and shaking the spear at the sky might’ve had some impact on getting published, the old-fashioned dictum of persistence prevailed. That, and opening my eyes to the new paradigm in publishing. My first two novels were published through traditional houses. But a friend of mine, the best-selling author Maximillien de Lafayette, encouraged me to publish my latest thriller Jesse’s Girl, about a widowed father searching for his adopted teenage son who has run away from a drug treatment program to find his biological sister, through Amazon. I followed that with Loving Rabbi Thalia Kleinman, about a divorced man who falls in love with a beautiful woman rabbi. I figured if it was good enough for President Obama (he choose Amazon rather than traditional publishers for his two books) then it was good enough for Gary Morgenstein. What a pleasure it’s been. While I certainly think traditional publishing has a critical role to play, it’s wonderful that authors are not constrained through just one avenue anymore. Agent/editor/acquisition board, you are pursuing a very narrow path where one person can easily erect a roadblock to your art. Once Amazon has accepted your book just like other publisher, they pay excellent royalties, the quality of their design is top-flight and by the way, they are the largest online store in the world. Not too shabby. Unlike bookstores, they won’t send your book back to the warehouse if it doesn’t sell after two weeks. The greater challenge becomes promoting. The gap isn’t as great as it once was since most traditional publishers don’t market writers’ books anyway, only the top sellers, forcing authors to do their own guerrilla marketing and PR. So you must promote promote promote. Target your audience and then target where they might go. The vast preponderance of books is bought online. Go to book bloggers. Figure out niche markets. For Jesse’s Girl, my building blocks beyond the general audience were parents and the addiction and adoption communities. I also retained Pump Up Your Book Promotions, run by Dorothy Thompson, who has been brilliant and extraordinarily helpful. Be relentless, passionate, articulate. Rejection is a way of life to a writer and more people will brush you off then welcome you. But the most important thing you can do is get your work published. Traditional, Amazon, or e-books. You are the writer and you have to make sure that no one stands between you and your readers. That is the wonder of the new paradigm. How much should a parent sacrifice for a troubled child? In Gary Morgenstein’s taut new thriller, Jesse’s Girl, the answer is – anything. Anchored around a floundering father-son relationship, finding roots and re-uniting vanished bonds, the timely novel about teen addiction and adoption follows a desperate father’s search for his son, who has run away from a wilderness program to find his biological sister in Kentucky. Available exclusively from Amazon.com, Jesse’s Girl opens as a jarring phone wakes lifelong Brooklynite Teddy Mentor well after midnight. It’s the Montana wilderness program saying that his 16-year-old adopted son has vanished – and they haven’t a clue where he’s gone. Only two weeks ago, Jesse had been taken to the program by escorts to deal with substance abuse problems. Jeopardizing his flagging PR job in New York, Mentor rushes across the country to find Jesse, who is off on his own quest: to find Theresa, the sister he’s never known. When Teddy finally discovers Jesse at a bus stop in Illinois, he is torn between sending him back or joining his son on a journey to find this girl in Kentucky. He decides to go. They become embroiled in a grisly crime when Theresa’s abusive husband Beau attacks her – Jesse stabs the big beast of a man, leaving him for dead. Given Jesse’s misdemeanor criminal record, Teddy can’t go to the authorities without risking his son’s arrest. However, Beau is not dead, merely wounded, and he hunts them down, thirsty for revenge. Teddy, Jesse and Theresa flee across the Bluegrass State with Beau in hot pursuit. Seeking safety but finding trouble, their story leads them to an ultimately shattering question: is Theresa really Jesse’s sister or has he been scammed? Ever since he’d got the call in the middle of the night that Molly had died, Teddy Mentor had moved the phone away from the end table by the bed. Here in this bedroom, once theirs, then hers, now his, it sat on a pea green marble table just beneath the window. Even across the room, six feet away, the phone still jolted him. On the second ring, he stiffened like some zombie come to life. It was about Jesse. It was one of his dealers calling about money. It was a desk sergeant. It was the morgue. On the third ring he remembered: Jesse was safe. Let it ring. He had no one else to lose. He stumbled toward the phone and stubbed his toe on the end table. Down he went to one knee. At fifty-four, stubbing your toe was like being shot. He scowled at the digital clock which he’d also moved so he wouldn’t count the sleep lost, the hours ticking off into the ozone, never to be retrieved. Slamming down the clock because, of course, that was to blame, Teddy grimaced and answered the phone on the fifth ring. One-eighteen and he had to pee for the second time that night. “Yeah,” he said hoarsely. A faint crackle like a connection from space hummed, followed by a cheerful voice with a Western tinge. “Hello, Mr. Mentor, this is Paul Jennings at the Mountain Wilderness Center.” Teddy flinched. Oh no. “Hi.” “I am so sorry to bother you so late.” “What happened?” “Well sir,” Paul hesitated, “we had a little incident with Jesse last night.” He closed his eyes, as if that would help. “Is he okay?” “Nothing like that. He wasn’t hurt or anything.” Pause. “He left the premises during the night.” Teddy rubbed his eyes hard, trying to wake up because this wasn’t supposed to happen. This was supposed to be when the nightmare started ending. But from the window came the smell of bagged garbage drifting up the courtyard two floors below, carried on a warm late July breeze, so he knew it wasn’t a dream, it was real and it sucked. “Great. Why?” “We don’t know for sure.” “Did you try asking him?” Teddy couldn’t remember if Paul was the fat one with glasses or the thin one with a red beard. He had only seen their pictures from the staff page on the web site. “Well that’s the rub, sir.” Paul cleared his throat. “Jesse hasn’t returned yet.” Teddy sat cross-legged on the floor and wished he hadn’t quit smoking. “How long has he been gone?” “We’re not really sure, sir.” “What the hell do you mean? I just paid you ten grand and you lose my son after two weeks?” “I understand you’re upset.” “That’s one word for it.” How late was the mini-mart on Seventh Street open, he could get cigarettes there. “He disappears in the middle of the night and you just discovered that now?” “Oh no, sir,” Paul chuckled, eager to deliver reassuring news. “We saw he was no longer in the cabin around seven this morning when the residents gathered for breakfast. He’d tucked a pillow under his blanket, darn old-fashioned trick but seemed to work…” “He’s a clever boy,” Teddy said. Here we go again. Here we fucking go again. “That’s one word for it,” Paul answered slowly. Right. Paul was the fat one -- Teddy remembered now. “One of his roommates contacted the tech on duty and we then set out looking for him. The group just returned a few minutes ago and that’s when I called you.” “So where do you guess he is?” His armpits were drenched. “That’s the good news. Nearest town is Morton, that’s more than twenty-two miles away. Twenty-two point three, actually, sir. So it’s unlikely he would’ve made it that far.” “He could’ve hitched a ride.” “Folks around here know better than to pick up one of our kids. We’ve got the sheriff on this, he’s sent out an alert. Not many places for Jesse to hide, doubt he had any food. He’ll come back hungry and thirsty, they usually do.” “Or he won’t because he’s hurt.” Paul chuckled again. “I don’t think so, sir. Like I said, this happens sometimes. Kids get anxious, frightened, think running away is an option.” “But you don’t know for sure he’s okay. You don’t know for sure where he is.” Teddy’s lower back ached, from muscles or bones or everything else. He wanted to lie down and close his eyes and make it all go away. Paul’s voice hardened slightly. “We know these kids, sir. Just wanted to give you a shout and let you know not to worry.” “You don’t think I’m going to worry that my 16-year-old son is missing somewhere in the middle of Montana?” Teddy shouted. “Sir, it sounds far worse than it is.” “Silly me for over-reacting.” Teddy chest tightened. “When will you call me back?” “When we find him, sir.” “When do you think that will be?” “Hard to say.” “Few hours, few days, few weeks, what’s the standard time frame when you misplace an adolescent?” “Is none. Don’t worry. We will find him. Just hang tight and we will stay in touch.” Teddy sat there for a moment, his head aching. Damn you, Jesse, he muttered. Damn you for doing this. For saying fuck you, Dad, once again.

Guest post by Marilyn Meredity, author of "Dispel the Mist"

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over twenty-five published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest, Dispel the Mist from Mundania Press. Under the name of F. M. Meredith she writes the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series. No Sanctuary is the newest from Oak Tree Press.

She is a member of EPIC, four chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, WOK, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She was an instructor for Writer’s Digest School for ten years, served as an instructor at the Maui Writer’s Retreat and many other writer’s conferences. She makes her home in Springville CA, much like Bear Creek where Deputy Tempe Crabtree lives. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com/.

Is The Hairy Man Real?

A wonderful pictograph of the Hairy Man and his family is located in a rock shelter created by huge boulders on the Tule River Indian Reservation. The pictograph is between 500 and 1000 years old. Other colorful pictographs decorate the side and ceiling of the shelter: a coyote, centipede, frog, the moon, geometric shapes, and many other objects.

Like Big Foot, legends abound on the reservations that feature the Hairy Man including a few recent sightings.

In Marilyn Meredith’s latest mystery, Dispel the Mist, featuring Deputy Tempe Crabtree, while investigating the murder of a popular Tulare County Supervisor, Tempe has an encounter with the Hairy Man.

"I had more fun writing this book than any of my previous books because I had the opportunity to visit the rock shelter and see the wonderful pictographs of the Hairy Man," Marilyn said.

"While there I was warned by our Indian guide not to visit the shelter at night. It is a difficult place to find in the daytime, I’d never try to do it at night. I asked why and his answer was there are too many spirits out at night. I could hardly keep from smiling, of course Tempe would come there at night." And that was the beginning of Dispel the Mist.

Of course the next question for Marilyn is, "Do you believe in the Hairy Man?"

Her answer, "It’s a lot more fun to believe than not." She suggests doubters should read her book and find out.


ABOUT THE BOOK:

A Tulare County Supervisor, with both Native American and Mexican roots, dies under suspicious circumstances. Because of Deputy Tempe Crabtree’s own ties to the Bear Creek Indian Reservation, she’s asked to help with the investigation. To complicate matters, besides the supervisor’s husband, several others had reason to want the woman dead.

Tempe has unsettling dreams, dreams that may predict the future and bring back memories of her grandmother’s stories about the legend of the Hairy Man. Once again, Tempe’s life is threatened and this time, she fears no one will come to her rescue in time.

WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID ABOUT BOOKS IN THE DEPUTY TEMPE CRABTREE SERIES!

“…Calling the Dead, Judgment Fire and now Kindred Spirits are books not to be missed. The mystery as well as the way Hutch and Tempe work out their differences makes for interesting reading.” – Patricia Reid, Best Sellers World

“…Marilyn Meredith has her own unique writing style which brings her readers in and allows them to put the pieces together like a puzzle, and to help solve the mystery as they are engaged in the reading of her work…” – Terry South, Quality Book Reviews

“…You cannot go wrong with Tempe Crabtree.” – Sarah Brewley, WP Book Reviews

“Marilyn’s stories flow and you don’t want to put the book down. I can’t wait for the next one to go on sale.” – Keith Bettinger, Author of: Fighting Crime With “Some” Day and Lenny, or What Happens When Car 54 Where Are You Meets Dragnet

EXCERPT:

Her first dream was about her grandmother. Once again, Tempe was a child, cuddling against the soft warm body. Grandma’s nut brown wrinkled face, always expressive when she told Tempe the Indian stories. Love for her granddaughter apparent in her dark eyes. Tempe smelled the lavender that grandma always sprinkled into her dresser drawers. In the dream, she told a story Tempe had never heard before.

In the old days, women learned never to leave their acorn meal unattended. All day long they made ground acorns on the big rocks near the river. Then they took the meal down to the water to wash out the poison. They left it in the sun to dry, but when they came back it was gone.

Grandma paused dramatically and Tempe gasped. Who could have taken the acorn meal?

None of the women took it. None of the children took it. When they looked around they found big footprints in the sand where they left the meal, so they knew the Hairy Man had eaten it. He liked Indian food too and was smart enough to know he needed to wait until the acorn meal was leached of its bitterness before he took it. After that, they always set aside a portion of the leached meal for the Hairy Man. The women always wondered if the sound of them pounding the acorns let him know when it was time to come for his share of the food.

Tempe wanted to ask her grandmother questions about the Hairy Man, like did he still come for the acorn meal, but she faded away.

The only reason Tempe remembered this dream was because she had an urgent need to go to the bathroom. On her way back to bed, she noticed Hutch hadn’t joined her, so it must still be evening. Still sleepy, she thought briefly about the dream deciding it had absolutely no relationship to Supervisor Quintera’s death and promptly returned to her slumber.

Her next dream was a nightmare. Tempe knew she was on the reservation, but it was different looking as familiar places often are in dreams. The buildings all seemed dilapidated and badly in need of repair though she couldn’t see them clearly because of a grayish-yellow swirling mist surrounding everything. Jagged black mountain peaks poked through the clouds. Though she was alone, a feeling of menace was so prevalent, she could almost smell it.

In fact, she did smell a sour aroma mixed with smoke, like someone was burning trash with something toxic in it. Not knowing exactly what to do or where to go, she walked down the road which instead of being paved was dirt, and filled with rocks. No vehicles were around, either moving or parked.

Without warning, a large man who resembled Cruz Murphy stepped out of the fog. He held up a hand, palm out. “Stop. Danger ahead.”

“Maybe I can help,” Tempe said, moving closer to him, but as she did, he faded into the mist.

“Chief Murphy. Cruz, wait. Tell me what’s going on. I need to know.”

He didn’t answer, but another figure appeared from the gloom, Daniel Burcena dressed all in black. His features sharp and menacing. “You should heed warnings that are given to you. You may have native blood flowing through your veins, but your heart isn’t on the reservation. Everyone who lives here can see that. Go back where you came from.”

“I loved my grandmother,” Tempe said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t proud of my Indian heritage. Let me make it up to her.”

“It’s too late. Way too late.”

A warning siren blew. People ran from the buildings, spilling out onto the road and crowding around Tempe. What was going on? The siren stopped for a moment. It sounded again. More shrill this time. It stopped and then shrieked again.

It was the phone. Tempe shook the nightmare from her mind and picked up the receiver. “Deputy Crabtree.”

A strange voice, one that sounded like it was electronically altered growled, “Stay away from Painted Rock.”

Guest post by Carol Zelaya, author of "Emily Waits for Her Family"

Emily Waits for Her Familyis the true story of the special bond between a tiny bird and a little girl, from first meeting to leaving, from new life to old friends. This story is told in a timeless, three-part series, with an easy-reading rhyme, and is certain to delight and touch your heart. Emily Waits for Her Family is the true story of the special bond between a tiny bird and a little girl, from first meeting to leaving, from new life to old friends. This story is told in a timeless, three-part series, with an easy-reading rhyme, and is certain to delight and touch your heart.

This book is about how to build a relationship with a wild bird, and the illustrations are suited to primary grades. While there are other authors known for their portrayals of nature and animals, they have not promoted the scientific observation techniques that are used and included in a chart at the end of this book.

Since the book is basically adult-hand size, it is better to read it with a child or two in order for the students to see the detail in each illustration.

Teachers have found this book helpful in the classroom. The scientific information about birds and observing them is valuable; the artwork is naturalistic, detailed and uses warm colors, which might elicit drawing or collage activities; the mathematical skill of sequencing is used; and the rhyme scheme, while simplistic and forced at times, presents a predictable vocabulary that can be used by early readers and those seeking sight-word increases.

The strength of this book and the rest of the series (Caring for Emily's Family, and Emily's New Home) is that in addressing the need for observation and documentation without interfering with the animals or plants, our students may become involved with our living environment without using a "virtual" tool.

Carol Zelaya lives and writes in the Portland, OR area. She has written Emily’s story in hope of educating children about nature’s precious gifts that are all around us when we take the time to notice.

Zelaya is touring the Pacific Northwest in 2008 and is donating signed copies of her book to several low-income neighborhood schools and libraries to share her love of reading and nature.

You can visit Carol online at http://emilythechickadee.com/about-carol.html

This book is about how to build a relationship with a wild bird, and the illustrations are suited to primary grades. While there are other authors known for their portrayals of nature and animals, they have not promoted the scientific observation techniques that are used and included in a chart at the end of this book.

Since the book is basically adult-hand size, it is better to read it with a child or two in order for the students to see the detail in each illustration.

Teachers have found this book helpful in the classroom. The scientific information about birds and observing them is valuable; the artwork is naturalistic, detailed and uses warm colors, which might elicit drawing or collage activities; the mathematical skill of sequencing is used; and the rhyme scheme, while simplistic and forced at times, presents a predictable vocabulary that can be used by early readers and those seeking sight-word increases.

The strength of this book and the rest of the series (Caring for Emily's Family, and Emily's New Home) is that in addressing the need for observation and documentation without interfering with the animals or plants, our students may become involved with our living environment without using a "virtual" tool.

Carol Zelaya lives and writes in the Portland, OR area. She has written Emily’s story in hope of educating children about nature’s precious gifts that are all around us when we take the time to notice.

Zelaya is touring the Pacific Northwest in 2008 and is donating signed copies of her book to several low-income neighborhood schools and libraries to share her love of reading and nature.

You can visit Carol online at http://emilythechickadee.com/about-carol.html




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carol Zelaya is a former nurse, recently widowed, and mother of two grown children. She grew up in the Chicago area, where she eventually met and married her husband and where they raised a family. Having relocated to Oregon in 1996, Zelaya began her love affair with nature and its beautiful creatures. Inspired by her surroundings, she started taking pictures and writing. Writing poetry led to writing three children’s books, of course, in rhyme. Zelaya’s Emily the Chickadee books are the true story of the special bond between a tiny bird and a little girl and the true meaning of family.

Carol is now moving to the San Diego area to be near her children. You can visit her online at http://www.emilythechickadee.com/.


ABOUT THE BOOK:


Read Emily Waits for Her Family and follow the true story of the special bond between a tiny bird and a little girl, from first meeting to leaving, from new life to old friends. This story is told in a timeless, three-part series, with an easy-reading rhyme, and is certain to delight and touch your heart.

Guest post by Stella Mazzuchelli, author of "Silk Flowers Never Die"

Silk Flowers Never Die is an important and intensely personal memoir, powerfully showing with humanity and humor, the difficulties that exist for any family trying to cope with schizophrenia and mental distress. In a compelling story that reveals how much stranger than fiction fact is, Stella Mazzucchelli describes her determination to preserve her son from the worst effects of mental illness, while his young wife is dying of cancer.

In the process of trying to rise to these challenges, Stella is transformed from a beautiful, over-protected Society woman with alcohol issues, to an impressive, courageous earth-mother who now campaigns to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness by using her privileged position to positive effect. This moving book is informative on a host of subjects, ranging from the lifestyle of the International Super-Rich to the profundities of facing terminal illness and mental disease. Due to its intelligence, insight, and compassion the appeal of this amazing story and struggle should be universal.

Cutting Loose the Demons by Stella Mazzucchelli
Handling alcohol together with any form of stress and anxiety is a deadly formula; it completely drains your energy, obscures your ability to make rational decisions and helps you escape a problem that you cannot really escape from. It became my only friend as I was alone and my life tightly interlocked with my son's while coming to terms and living with the onset of his illness. Of course alcohol was already an issue when my son's illness invaded our life, but I wobbled dangerously on the edge in order to cope and blot out the isolation and pain. I found that the bottle was my invisible friend who came to visit and I was reluctant to let go as momentarily my darkness was filled with color. The problem of course was when I was forced to cope without its aid. My mind felt as if the simplest task was a feat, cooking a meal caused nausea and I was not the best care giver for my son's condition. I was riddled with guilt and shame. I felt like a marathon runner who never reaches the finishing line and yet was not allowed to stop. In other words, I coped very badly, I even made mistakes with medical decisions that I could have handled differently. In a way, I do not know how I would have lived through those initial stages of his illness without alcohol, but I assure you I would have been a better mother. I did eventually kick the habit when later on when my son got married, he became a father and his wife died of cancer a year after giving birth to his daughter. I realized when my granddaughter was three years old and relied on me as a substitute mother that I could not bring her up to be a responsible and loving person if I continued to drink. I cut loose my demons, took off the tinted glasses and I think that I am doing a pretty good job handling my tenacious, intelligent and beautiful teenage granddaughter who calls me 'Mum'.
Stella Metaxa Mazzucchelli was born in Athens, Greece and married, aged eighteen, Riccardo Mazzucchelli, the famous Italian businessman. During their twenty-two year marriage, they lived in Zambia and London, where she became a well-known figure on the social scene, and had a brief and successful modeling career at the unusual age of 28. Fedele is their only child. After their divorce, Riccardo married Ivana Trump in 1995, though the marriage was short lived. Stella now lives in Athens where she brings up her granddaughter Katerina. As well as being involved in the property and renovation business, which ensures she maintains connections with London, she is also a tireless campaigner for the better understanding of schizophrenia and mental illness. Silk Flowers Never Die is her first book.
You can find Stella online at http://www.dynastypress.co.uk and at her blog http://www.dynastypress.co.uk/news.html

Join Stella Mazzucchelli, author of the biography/psychology book, Silk Flowers Never Die (Dynasty Press Ltd, October '09), as she virtually tours the blogosphere in October on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stella Metaxa Mazzucchelli was born in Athens, Greece and married, aged eighteen, Riccardo Mazzucchelli, the famous Italian businessman. During their twenty two year marriage, they lived in Zambia and London, where she became a well-known figure on the social scene, and had a brief and successful modelling career at the unusual age of 28. Fedele is their only child. After their divorce, Riccardo married Ivana Trump in 1995, though the marriage was short lived. Stella now lives in Athens where she brings up her grand-daughter Katerina. As well as being involved in the property and renovation business, which ensures she maintains connections with London, she is also a tireless campaigner for the better understanding of schizophrenia and mental illness. Silk Flowers Never Die is her first book.

You can visit her publisher online at http://www.dynastypress.co.uk/.


ABOUT THE BOOK:

Silk Flowers Never Die is an important and intensely personal memoir, powerfully showing with humanity and humor, the difficulties that exist for any family trying to cope with schizophrenia and mental distress. In a compelling story that reveals how much stranger than fiction fact is, Stella Mazzucchelli describes her determination to preserve her son from the worst effects of mental illness, while his young wife is dying of cancer.

In the process of trying to rise to these challenges, Stella is transformed from a beautiful, over-protected Society woman with alcohol issues, to an impressive, courageous earth-mother who now campaigns to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness by using her privileged position to positive effect. This moving book is informative on a host of subjects, ranging from the lifestyle of the International Super-Rich to the profundities of facing terminal illness and mental disease. Due to its intelligence, insight, and compassion the appeal of this amazing story and struggle should be universal.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT SILK FLOWERS NEVER DIE!

"A must-read...a moving, informative, and humorous account of living through personal tragedy amidst great privilege...shows how common sense and a good heart are more important than all the money in the world." - Lady Colin Campbell, author of Daughter of Narcissus

Guest Post by Scott Gale, Author of "Your Family Constitution"

Don't Settle for Chaos:
How to Create Effective Boundaries for a Stronger, Healthier Family
By Scott Gale

Getting a newspaper that lies 20 feet outside the front door should be about as time-consuming as it is strenuous. It requires virtually no physical effort and only about 20 seconds of time. So, why should this simple task cause tension and erode the delicate relationship between parent and child?

In a small suburb of Los Angeles, Brian is “Super-Dad.” He works hard to keep his family healthy and content. He wants nothing more than to see his two boys, Todd and Andy, grow up to be responsible and productive adults.

To teach his children about responsibility, he started asking his kids to get the newspaper each morning, but not formally tasking either one with the job. A couple of weeks in, his attempts to instill responsibility began to crater under the weight of unclear expectations.

On a typical morning, Brian would ask Todd to get the newspaper. Todd would respond with an immediate attempt to excuse himself from duty, citing that he got the paper yesterday or recently performed some unrelated chore around the house. When Brian then turned to Andy, he would also plead his case, claiming that he had retrieved the paper three times in a row this week, as opposed to Todd’s one, even though Todd’s effort was more recent.

The intensity and outcome of each day’s “discussion” would depend on the delicate balance between Brian’s resolve and each boy’s determination to remain glued to the television. On some days Brian would hold firm until he saw results, on other days he would concede. The fact that Brian, Todd and Andy spent several minutes to debate a 20-second task didn’t matter … this was about principle.

If you have kids, you understand how lines in the sand get drawn over trivial issues. You know the fiery potential of each small request that requires a child to detach from a television program or videogame, even if for only 20 seconds. Every request that may cause boredom, discomfort or inconvenience gets immediately challenged and rejected, putting the onus on Mom and Dad to stand their ground or quietly withdraw their demand.

Like Brian, most parents want to raise good kids who reflect their values; but they must juggle this ideal among competing career needs and personal pursuits. In the end, it’s not hard to see why so many parents struggle. Without the right tools, family life can be a thankless series of battles separated by isolated moments of contentment.

If you relate to Brian’s plight, you need the right tools, too. Follow these tips to create effective boundaries and inspire cooperative behavior in your household.

Lean on the 3 C’s, Clarity, Consistency and Commitment, when setting and enforcing boundaries.
In the midst of today’s busy lifestyle, practicing the 3 C’s at home is daunting task. It requires real effort by parents to figure out what is important to them, decide which behaviors require concrete structure, and enforce the rules even when they cause inconvenience to themselves.

What many parents don’t realize is how much more satisfying and enjoyable family life can be after the initial investment of time and effort required to establish the 3 C’s. Once children know that boundaries are firm, with real and predictable consequences tied to them, the practice of testing those boundaries becomes frustrating for the child. As living within the rules becomes routine, the tension surrounding those “sore spots” fades away.

Listen and understand. Don’t jump to conclusions.
Recurring stress in any relationship causes defensiveness. Human tendency is to hear words under such tense circumstances, then interpret them to support their existing defensive stance. In other words, true listening stops and word-twisting inadvertently becomes the norm.

Kids are especially prone to such behavior, but it is harder for them to recognize this. Therefore, the burden is put on parents to break the cycle and actively listen; to ask questions and ensure understanding; to make amends before emotional barriers become too high.

This is especially important when setting boundaries and resolving important issues, as any miscommunication or lack of understanding can lead to “band-aid” solutions that may temporarily ease the pain, but never truly fix the problem.

Focus on cleaning up a few big issues, rather than fixing all the small ones.
The old adage “Rome wasn’t built in a day” has never been so true. Trying to fix all family problems in one fell swoop is essentially conceding defeat. In order to make sustainable improvement, families must identify the biggest sources of tension and fix those first. Once the biggies are out of the way, emotions subside, healthier routines develop, and families can refocus their efforts on the next wave of problems slated for repair.

Plan fun activities that everyone in the family can enjoy together. As the world turns and people evolve, sometimes family members forget how to enjoy each other’s company. They grow bored with favorite shared activities and never replace them. Once this happens, laughs are harder to come by and bonds become more strained.

Find activities to share a family unit, as well as individually with each member. When out shopping (i.e. shoes at a sporting goods store), keep your eyes pealed for something fun (i.e. bocce set) and bring it home to enjoy with your loved ones. Worst case, it bombs and you’re out a few bucks. Best case, you find a shared pastime to fill in until you find the next one.

Focus on improvement … not perfection. If life were about perfection, we’d all be doomed to bitter failure. Don’t expect it from yourself or those around you. Doing so will lead to certain disappointment. Make a commitment to gradually improve. Establish the family infrastructure (i.e. 3 C’s) and communication patterns to start the ball rolling uphill. Then enjoy the continued progress you see in yourself and those around you. Remember, life is sweeter when your look forward.

Use these tips to enjoy the parenting experience to the fullest, while effectively teaching life’s many lessons and raising well-balanced kids. Parenting today is hard … no one will argue with that. That’s why it’s more important than ever before for parents to be thoughtful, prepared and resourceful.

Don’t get caught spending five minutes to solve a 20-second problem. Instead, invest the time up front and solve such issues before they become problems.

Scott Gale is an author and instructor at University of California Irvine. His passion is helping families communicate and re-connect in spite of today’s hectic lifestyle and increased demands. Scott’s new book, “Your Family Constitution: A Modern Approach to Family Values and Household Structure,” inspires readers to increase togetherness and progressively improve by leveraging clarity, consistency and commitment.

For more information on his book or to learn how to create your customized Family Constitution visit: http://www.yourfamilyconstitution.com/ or e-mail: sgale@yourfamilyconstitution.com .

Your Family Constitution Helps Busy Parents to Create Manageable Family StructureJust in time… a formerly stressed-out dad’s perspective provides a common-sense playbook to reach family harmony. As today’s parents cope with scores of competing obligations and responsibilities, raising kids with good core values is an extreme challenge. Combine this perpetual struggle with the effects of technological distractions, societal lack of discipline, and failures to communicate, and it is not hard to understand why so many parents throw up their hands in defeat and accept mere survival.

Author Scott Gale refused to settle for chaos. Instead, he designed a powerful tool that allowed him to alleviate family challenges through the thoughtful application of clarity, consistency and commitment (the “3Cs”). Your Family Constitution tells his story and provides a step-by-step process that parents can follow to balance schedules and produce time they never before had, improve family communication, relieve pent-up frustration, and wrap healthy boundaries around core values; applying rewards, consequences and accountability standards to maintain them.

A stressed-out parent downloaded the first chapter and replied, “You are easy to read, easy to understand and easy to identify with. It seems that intentional parenting has gotten lost, and you've provided a blueprint for creating a family with positive family values, ideals and rules to live and grow by. So, thanks for your courage to detail your own experience and offer personal insights for the benefit of frustrated, busy and untrained parents.”