Geoffrey Bain

As a pet lover, one of the toughest decisions you may face will be putting your companion to sleep. Regardless of the “when” or “how”, it is a heartbreaking decision. Geoffrey Bain has compiled priceless information with stories and guidelines for you to have comfort in knowing “when it’s time” to say good-bye.

Just One More Day provides expert guidance from professionals in the field of Veterinary Science, Psychology, and Education. Included is a Quality of Life Chart which allows you to see for yourself how your pet is feeling on a daily basis!

Geoffrey’s book is a compassionately informative guide to assist those in need of comfort during a most difficult and  traumatic  time,  and it will help ease their pain, their guilt, and their suffering.  Because truly, all we really want is Just One More Day with our best friend - our dog.

Geoff Bain was born in Liverpool, England and attended Liverpool Institute High School at the same time as two of the Beatles - Sir Paul McCartney and George Harrison. After some world traveling, he settled in California, and became a Real Estate Broker for thirty years. He currently resides in Southern California.

The inspiration for his first book, Just One More Day, came from an uncertainty as to when it would be the right time to call the vet to say good-bye to Abby, an Australian Shepherd who had just been diagnosed with Bone cancer. Abby was the first dog in Geoff's life and she left her paw-prints on his heart.  This profound experience changed his life and he is now serving others through speaking engagements, book signings and teaching others how to “Heel” a broken heart. Geoff is the CEO for WagDazzle, a new line of pet products. 

Visit www.JustOneMoreDayTheBook.com  for the book trailer and Blog.

Daria Brooks

Consumed by rock music, animation and superhero comic books since age four, writer D H Brooks studied Creative Writing and Comparative Literature at California State University Long Beach, working toward a degree in Electronic Media. Having developed a great interest in Atlantis-related subjects, Ms. Brooks first wrote of the aquatic denizens of Nereidia in comic book form in 1993. She supplied research notes for TechTV's 'pop-up' version of the series "Thunderbirds" ™ and material to A&E Home Video for the DVD "The Best Of Thunderbirds." The author lives in Los Angeles, never far from her beloved Pacific Ocean. D H Brooks is a member of the Society Of Children’s Books Writers And Illustrators, The Greater Los Angeles Writers’ Society and has been a sustaining member of Comic-Con International for over nineteen years. "A Legacy Of The Pacific" is her debut novel.

Synopsis Of “A Legacy Of The Pacific”

Adventure, romance and intrigue meet in a titanic clash within the tale "A Legacy Of The Pacific," a paean to California and her placid blue neighbor. A waif called Pincin, unknowingly the heir to the throne of Nereidia, meets his two sisters: Princess Lile, a willful, ill-tempered warrior, and the winsome, ditsy Princess Ciona. Once joined in their cause, his family assists him in seeking his rightful place among the people of this fantastic seascape of salvaged 1930s California vernacular architecture and billowing kelp forests. During their quest, the siblings encounter heroes from diverse points around the globe who teach them that the myths and legends of the water deities of old have a vital message to impart in aid of saving our oceans and their inhabitants in the present day.

Write to D H Brooks: PO Box 237, Gardena CA 90248-0237

Visit www.alegacyofthepacific.com or e-mail: legacyofpacific@aol.com

Steven W. Booth

The Hungry by Steven W. Booth and Harry Shannon is the first hit book in the Sheriff Penny Miller Series. Sheriff Penny Miller of Flat Rock, Nevada, is the kind of woman who will do whatever it takes to protect those she is sworn to serve. She has no idea that only a few miles away from her quiet home town the U.S. Government is conducting dangerous experiments to create super-soldiers. The experiment goes awry, and they create hoards of ravenous zombies instead. With the arrival of the zombies, Miller finds herself in a desperate struggle to survive the first days of the apocalypse. With an unlikely band of companions that include a murderous biker, her veterinarian ex-husband, a unit of incompetent National Guardsmen, and one of the key Army scientists who created the zombies, Sheriff Miller must do her duty to keep everyone—including herself—alive.

Steven W. Booth has this crazy idea that he can make a living as a publisher and writer, and so far life has not disabused him of this. His first short story, “Jailbreak” (co-written with Harry Shannon), has been published in three different anthologies, including Dead Set (edited by Joe McKinney and Michelle McCrary), and has been downloaded about 20,000 times (for free, but what can you do?).

He has also published “The Widows Laveau” (co-written with Norman L. Rubenstein) in Horror For Good (edited by Mark Scioneaux, R.J. Cavender, and Robert S. Wilson) and “Eosophobia” in Horror Library V (edited by R.J. Cavender).

Steven decided in early 2010 to finally use his MBA (much to his mother’s delight) and start an author services company that helps writers self-publish. After building other people’s books for 18 months, he decided to become a publisher and build books for himself.

Steven’s first novel as both publisher and an author, The Hungry (also co-written with Harry Shannon), was released in October, 2011, and has helped pay the rent. The sequel, The Hungry 2: The Wrath of God is releasing in July, 2012. He has books in the pipeline from Gene O’Neill, Brian Knight, Carol Weekes, Tim Marquitz, Christopher Conlon, and Karl Alexander.

Steven lives in Encino, CA with his wife and far too many cats. Several of the cats are determined to prevent him from ever writing another word by sitting on his keyboard at all opportunities, much to his consternation. The battle continues to this day.

"From the opening line, I loved (The Hungry). I loved how complete it felt. It had so many great elements working for it – the small town setting; the two powerful main characters, as different as they could be, nearly every word between them charged with sexual tension; the satisfying stalemate as neither one gets exactly what they want, but rather what they need. Booth and Shannon brought those different elements together in a seamless whole that progressed with the irresistible momentum of an avalanche. It was a great story, and for a zombie fan like me, it pressed all the right buttons.”

—From the introduction by Joe McKinney, editor of Dead Set: A Zombie Anthology and author of the Dead World series

http://www.geniusbookpublishing.com
http://www.geniusbookpublishing.com/the-hungry/
https://www.createspace.com/3688523
https://www.facebook.com/TheHungryNovel
https://www.facebook.com/GeniusPublishing

David Paul Collins

Fifteen-year-old Jack Sligo runs away from a loving Boston Irish family hoping to get a summer job on a cruise ship. He has no luck on the gritty docks of New York and hitchhikes to a seaport in Alabama. While looking for a ship Jack meets two German seamen and accepts their invitation for drinks and a taste of night life. Hours later, Jack wakes up racked with pain on a ship far at sea, drugged, kidnapped, shanghaied aboard a monstrous African freighter, the SS Iron Prince. He has no idea how he got there, where he’s going, how he’ll ever get back, and is too terrified to ask. With only the clothes on his back, he must contend with strange people, different languages and the challenges of working, unwanted, among sailors who don’t know he is an American. The chief mate and the coal passer know and have plans to get Jack alone and offer a life or death bargain.

The ship’s first port is a remote river town in Venezuela populated by thieves, bums, easy women and surrounded by impenetrable jungle. There is no opportunity for escape. When the ship’s cook disappears, Jack stuffs his ethics and helps to shanghai a replacement. Winston, a Jamaican, on the ship since he was twelve, becomes his friend. They defend their honor together against knife wielding sailors, hurricanes, and the disaster of a shipwreck. Jack is unaware that the ship’s Bo’sun, Manor Nelson and Chips, the gnarled, old ship’s carpenter, have become his protectors. When he learns that the ship’s next port of call is Odessa, USSR, Jack drowns his hopes with a sailors’ best “friend”, rum, and he is shanghaied again.

Shanghaied is based on a true story lived by David Paul Collins as a merchant seaman. The events he survives, the compelling characters in the crew are woven into reality and authenticity by a skilled storyteller.

Mr. Collins was born with a thirst for adventure. As a teenager, he set out to go to sea on his own, working aboard merchant ships sailing under African, Asian and Central American flags and later, on American ships as a member of the National Maritime Union. SHANGHAIED is a fictionalized memoir based on his experiences on a Liberian freighter and the dangerous ways of life at sea in the 1950s. The fictional protagonist, fifteen-year-old Jack Sligo, is looking for a summer job when he is shanghaied on an African freighter. By the time September school bells rang, Jack had learned lessons that would never have been taught at St. Peter’s Central Catholic High School.

http://www.shanghaiedthebook.com/

Cynthia J. Cordell

Cynthia Cordell’s book “Sharing Short Stories” was a way for her to express herself creatively.  These stories aspire to boost the reader’s ego.  The reader only needs to get into the mind of one her characters to feel virtually immersed in the closeness Cynthia has felt with each of her literary creations.

Writer’s block helped her to focus on getting around creative obstacles and created challenges along her writing path that she described as ‘life experiences,’ rather than struggles.  Determined to transform even the most awkward of writer’s stumbling blocks into something positive, her short stories reach out to the optimist in all of us!

Both leisure time and work time – the internet has brought it all together for this young author.  Cynthia J. Cordell, who on the back of her mind, aspires to do a blog, reads and critiques the work of others on online writing communities and forums.

In fact the sunrise each and every morning is a welcome occurrence for her because it’s a chance to get on the internet.  Challenges (great and small), usually those that have to do with researching her writing, are just keyboard clicks away from being resolved.

When she’s not writing, she’s drawing clip art and submitting them to online greeting card websites.

Writing her book “Sharing Short Stories” was a way for her to express herself creatively.  The stories aspire to boost the reader’s ego.  The reader only needs to get into the mind of one her characters to feel virtually immersed in the closeness Cynthia feels with each and every one of her literary creations.

Writer’s block has helped her to focus on getting around creative obstacles and has created challenges along her writing path that she likes to describe now as ‘life experiences,’ rather than struggles.  Determined to transform even the most awkward of writer’s stumbling blocks into something positive, her short stories reach out to the optimist in all of us!

In the 1990’s, Cynthia also worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a software engineer.  Her work there has introduced a smattering of technical insight into her writing.

Charles Domokos has taught post-production classes at the University of Southern California (U.S.C.) School of Cinema & TV and at the U.S.C. Summer Production Workshop from 1988 to 2003 (various Avid platforms). He has also taught TV and post-production courses at Loyola Marymount Univ. (Avid & FCP) and (currently) at Los Angeles City College School of Cinema-TV. He has served as an Avid consultant to TV post-production houses and edited short-form and long-form projects including TV documentaries and independent features. His most recent film RETURN TO VIETNAM won a 2007 Silver Telly (highest award) in the feature tv documentary category.

“Non-linear Editing: The Cutting Edge” provides the foundation for the college-level media student to make the leap into the world of film and HD-based professional post-production, as practiced in the Hollywood media community. This soft-cover text covers basic techniques and generic procedures fundamental to popular visual non-linear editing software from AVID, ADOBE and FINAL CUT and PRO TOOLS audio editing software. This book teaches the basic procedures including synchronization of audio to visuals, film-to-tape conversion, output to tape, output to film, standard definition (SD) to high definition (HD) conversions, and everything in between. There is special emphasis given to sound editing techniques to achieve professional level sound quality. “Non-linear Editing: The Cutting Edge” has been chosen to be part of the Los Angeles Public Library film book collection.

Gardner’s Guide to NLE: The Cutting Edge: ISBN 1589650212; available from www.Amazon.com, www.Barnes & Noble.com, and the Garth Gardner Publishing Company,
1 866 GO GARDNER or www.GoGardner.com

Virginia Elwood-Akers

Caroline Severance presents the biography of one of the forgotten heroines of the American woman's suffrage movement of the nineteenth century. Based upon twenty years of exhaustive research, this is the biography of a woman who was in the forefront of every human rights movement of her time. Caroline was an abolitionist, a suffragist, an advocate for women's health and women physicians, a peace activist, and a socialist. She was a leader of the movement before the Civil War and afterward lived to vote in an American presidential election. Born in western New York when it was the frontier of the United States, she ended her life on another western frontier, in Los Angeles, California. She has been recognized as one of the "builders of the city of Los Angeles."

She witnessed the opening of the Erie Canal, and more than eighty years later, the first air show ever held in Los Angeles. Always advocating the rights of women and realizing their potential as full citizens, she was a founder of the Women's Club Movement, which, far from being a purely social movement, was designed to allow women to discover that they had brains and leadership abilities. This movement was instrumental in the final passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote.

Virginia is a retired librarian who worked for thirty years at California State University, Northridge, as the subject specialist in the field of women studies. She is a second-generation native of Los Angeles - unusual for a person in my generation - who received her BA from UCLA. her MLS from the University of Oregon, and a Master's Degree in Mass Communication from California State University, Northridge. Her first book Women War Correspondents in the Vietnam War, 1961-1975, was published in 1988. She began researching the life of Caroline Severance in 1990. Caroline Severance is the first full-length biography of this important woman in American history.

http://virginiaelwood-akers.com/

Barbara Daoust

Two months before her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Barbara lost Patrick, the love of her life… and discovered that she did not know how to love herself! Lost, confused, and hopeless, she sabotaged friendships, rejected life, and spiraled into a deep depression. Barbara’s story reveals how spiritual laws led her to an expanded view of love – and how you too can live your life feeling more empowered, more authentic, and more loving.

Barbara Daoust is a Spiritual Teacher, Transformation Coach, Speaker and Author. She teaches workshops, tele-seminars, and coaches individuals how to embrace change as an opportunity for personal, professional, and spiritual growth. She shows people who feel stuck, lost, and confused how to move forward in their lives so that they can experience a more fulfilling life of joy, abundance, and true happiness. After the loss of her husband, facing devastating loss and reinvention, Barbara was guided to study Spiritual Psychology at the University of Santa Monica and certified as a Law of Attraction Coach with the Quantum Success Coaching Academy. As a result, her life has truly transformed.

Barbara Daoust
Soul Notes Coaching
Affirming Your Truth
www.truelovetrueself.com
www.barbaradaoust.com
iamsoulnotes@yahoo.com

Kim Gottlieb-Walker

Bob Marley And The Golden Age of Reggae [Titan Books, November 2010, $29.95/£24.99] is a testament in rare, previously unpublished pictures to some of the greatest years of Bob Marley’s career, and the history of reggae and dub music.

Through portraits, performance and personal shots, photographer Kim Gottlieb-Walker charts the rise of reggae with an unparalleled insight into the genre’s most iconic artists. Captured in Jamaica in the mid 1970s and never before published, this collection of powerful and pivotal pictures features Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Hepstones, Inner Circle and Jacob Miller, Jimmy Cliff, Jr Murvin, Toots and The Maytals, George Harrison, Burning Spear and Third World,

Featuring a foreword from Hollywood filmmaker and former Rolling Stone journalist Cameron Crowe, this deluxe hardback collection also includes commentary from Island Records’ Jeff Walker, and founding editor of The Beat magazine, Roger Steffens.

“Kim’s pictures not only capture the humanity of these iconic figures but they also show a sense of intimacy that only photographs by a true artist can convey” – Steven Poster, ASC President of the International Cinematographers’ Guild.

Kim Gottlieb-Walker’s incredibly varied career has covered everything from classic rock and roll, reggae and politics in the 60’s and 70’s to working on major motion pictures and television shows. While still at UCLA (where she received a BA in Motion Picture production) and shortly thereafter, she shot for underground LA newspapers and magazines like Crawdaddy and Music World. Her classic portrait of Jimi Hendrix was shot when she was only 20 and her High Times cover of Bob Marley remains their most popular cover, ever.

She also shot the stills for John Carpenter’s “Halloween", “The Fog”, “Christine”, and "Escape from New York.” She worked at Paramount for nine years as the production photographer for “Cheers” and five years for “Family Ties.”

She is one of the elected representatives for still photographers on the National Executive Board of IATSE Local 600, the International Cinematographers Guild. Her coffee-table photo book "Bob Marley and the Golden Age of Reggae" was published by Titan Press (UK) distributed by Random House (USA) last November and she recently had her first solo gallery show of photos from the book in London at the PROUD Camden. Her website is www.Lenswoman.com <http://www.Lenswoman.com>

About the book:

BOB MARLEY AND THE GOLDEN AGE OF REGGAE

“Kim was the first “outsider” to photograph Marley and the young Jamaican masters around him”–Cameron Crowe

“Herein are stunning images of off-guard moments that only Bob’s closest friends would have been privy to.”-Roger Steffens, founding editor, The Beat

Eric J. Guignard

Eric J. Guignard is an award-winning author and editor living in southern California.

He writes fiction short stories in the genres of horror, speculative, and young adult. He also writes research and knowledge-base articles in genealogy, woodworking, and ecology. Eric has been published in numerous print and online media, recently including publications in: A Very Short Story competition (first place), Coscom Entertainment, The Horror Zine, Hall Brothers, SNM Horror Magazine, Cutting Block Library, Indie Gypsy, and many others. He is editor of the acclaimed anthology, Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations and forthcoming AFTER DEATH… (both from Dark Moon Books).

Eric holds degrees in Communications and Environmental Science, as well as a Master's Degree in Public Administration (California State University Northridge). When not writing, Eric designs and builds custom furniture and is also an amateur entomologist.

Most importantly, he is married to his high school sweetheart, Jeannette, and father to an adventuresome toddler son, Julian James.

Please visit Eric at: www.ericjguignard.com or at his blog: www.ericjguignard.blogspot.com

Overview of DARK TALES OF LOST CIVILIZATIONS

Darkness exists everywhere, and in no place greater than those where spirits and curses still reside. Tread not lightly on ancient lands that have been discovered by this collection of intrepid authors.

In DARK TALES OF LOST CIVILIZATIONS, you will unearth an anthology of twenty-five previously unpublished horror and speculative fiction stories, relating to aspects of civilizations that are crumbling, forgotten, rediscovered, or perhaps merely spoken about in great and fearful whispers.

What is it that lures explorers to distant lands where none have returned? Where is Genghis Khan buried? What happened to Atlantis? Who will displace mankind on Earth? What laments have the Witches of Oz? Answers to these mysteries and other tales are presented within this critically acclaimed anthology by the enclosed authors.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction by Eric J. Guignard
Angel of Destruction by Cynthia D. Witherspoon
The Door Beyond the Water by David Tallerman
To Run a Stick Through a Fish by Mark Lee Pearson
Quivira by Jackson Kuhl
Directions by Michael G. Cornelius
Quetzalcoatl's Conquistador by Jamie Lackey
Königreich der Sorge (Kingdom of Sorrow) by C. Deskin Rink
Gestures of Faith by Fadzlishah Johanabas
Bare Bones by Curtis James McConnell
British Guiana, 1853 by Folly Blaine
The Nightmare Orchestra by Chelsea Armstrong
The Funeral Procession by Jay R. Thurston
Requiem by Jason Andrew
Gilgamesh and the by Mountain by Bruce L. Priddy
Buried Treasure by Rob Rosen
The Small, Black God by Caw Miller
In Eden by Cherstin Holtzman
We Are Not the Favored Children by Matthew Borgard
Rebirth in Dreams by A.J. French
Whale of a Time by Gitte Christensen
Sins of our Fathers by Wendra Chambers
The Talisman of Hatra by Andrew S. Williams
Sumeria to the Stars by Jonathan Vos Post
The Tall Grass by Joe R. Lansdale
The Island Trovar by JC Hemphill
(with interior illustration by Ron Perovich)

http://www.ericjguignard.com/dark_tales.html

Daniel Hentschel

Mendicant Suites is my first collection of poems. There is an eclectic range from haiku and imagist poetry to prose-poems and dramatic monologues. One of the themes is Love, Loss, Madness and Recovery.

Daniel Hentschel grew up on the Pacific Ocean, both in Hawaii and in California. He left his home coast to study theatre with BADA at Oxford and then returned with Stella Adler in Los Angeles. He lived in Japan and speaks Japanese. He studied Creative Writing at Georgetown University where he received his degree in English and Philosophy.

He established the Georgetown Poetry Society. He was a Mount Vernon Poetry finalist and awarded the Lannan Foundation Fellowship. His plays have been performed both in New York City and Los Angeles where he currently resides. This book of poems marks his debut.

Mendicant Suites is a book of beautiful metaphors for the lovers, both surprising (“her jawline like a jet descending”) and erotic (“her hand gestures and I see seaweed sway in the rising swells under a pier”). It is also a book of songs (“I will have you and I will have you all”) – and, I love it when it is able to combine the two, as in:
 
            and the wild leopard of your tongue
            drives the wind through the trees
            crying, “kisses, kisses, kisses!”
 
            I can see that you are
            the little wind
            the little wind lost 
            in a musicbox.
 
And, as if this lyric gift wasn't enough all by itself, there are also beautiful city poems-- meditations during the “drum of hours” in “downtown shops ratchet rippleshut.” And, there is a question of faith: anyone who opens it on “Hopkins’ Question” won’t leave ungrateful. These are gorgeous, piercing lyrics.

—Ilya Kaminsky 

Rick Lenz

Take a Roller Coaster Ride Through the Life of a Real Hollywood Actor
Rick Lenz is an actor who has made it in New York and Hollywood. You have seen him countless times on TV and in the movies. He has been a popular leading man as well as a character actor, consistently avoiding repetition in the roles he chooses. Rick Lenz has played leads opposite some of entertainment's biggest names, and has had recurring or guest starring roles on many of your favorite TV shows.
Yet his book is more than just an ordinary Hollywood insider story. Lenz is a terrific writer with a wicked sense of humor. Also a gifted artist and widely produced playwright, Rick uses his extraordinary storytelling skills to take you into his personal experiences with actors and entertainers we normally only hear about through the rumor mills, and to reveal real-life experiences of heartbreak, suspense, discovery and joy.

His memoir is fascinating. He doesn't pull any punches. Along with plenty of showbiz anecdotes, he tells us about his marriages (especially his final one) and his journey from summer stock through New York, then to Hollywood. He offers us deep insights into an actor's life and living in general. Feeling the shock waves of his stormy family back- ground, including the emotional tremors of nearly losing his daughter who struggled for years with drugs, Rick Lenz is a real life husband and dad and the absorbing reality of that shines through his words.
Spending time with Rick Lenz is fun, enlightening and authentic. If this weren't a true story it would make a mesmerizing fictional adventure. Bottom line: North of Hollywood is edgy, way out of the ordinary, and, as a bonus, funny as hell.

Mary Mann

There Are No Enemies, A Practical Philosophy of Life revives Aristotle’s view of the universe as an integrated whole.  What are the benefits of that?  Humankind is one family.  Our destiny is to find a way to live in harmony with each other and the universe. Our conscience is our inner guide and our democracies are the path we walk on.  The great religions assist us with  each and all of them claiming to be peaceful at their core.  Spirit is one paths are many.
Money has become a religion for great swathes of people in the sense that it has secured peoples’ allegiance over,  or instead of,  their spiritual allegiance to their one God, or scientifically the Life Force of the Universe.  Understanding the true meaning of money as a servant in human endeavor and never a master, is probably the most challenging danger in the early 21st century and now threatens the peace of the world by undermining the accurate meaning of government.

Democracies are struggling to be true to their ideals of offering responsible freedom, heartfelt human equality and equal opportunity for all citizens despite the power of the God of Money. 

In the second edition of There Are No Enemies there are chapters on Egalitarian Democracy, the American Dream Revisited, WOMEN AWAKEN, Visionary Formations for future philosophers to explore and Sound Bites for the Social Media. It urges people to meditate upon their role in a global civilization that offers great potential for all with accompanying great danger that has to be understood before it can be overcome.  May Peace Prevail on Earth in a universe where there are no enemies.           

Science and Spirituality co-authored with Rev. Leland Stewart of Unity-and-Diversity and other compilers, clarifies the common origin of both Science and Spirituality and, through the understanding of spirit is one paths are many, shows how people of all faiths and beliefs can celebrate their common humanity.

Anzac to Understanding includes ANZAC, the Play, A saga of war and peace in the 20th century, and  A Quest for Understanding  which consists of original war letters from Gallipoli and the Western Front in World War I, historical documentation for the play and a journey over two continents by a woman determined to understand why war.

Available at http://www.maryanneetamann.com.http://www.amazon.com.Rev. Dr. Mary Anneeta Mann was born in Australia and educated at the University of
Sydney, Australia, the University of California at Berkeley with the Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. Mary lives close to the NoHo Arts District in North Hollywood and co-sponsors with Radomir Luza  a monthly poetry reading,  Unbuckled NoHo Poetry at the T.U. Studios.

Jeff McArthur

Jeff McArthur fancies himself a cat dude by day, and a sofa-lounging superhero by night.  And somewhere in between, he writes.  Since graduating with a staggeringly useful degree in film and temp work at NYU, Mr. McArthur, as very young children call him with loud snickers, has gone on to an illustrious career of taking bagels and lattes to Hollywood’s finest, such as Jim Belushi and the Shamwow guy.  His own scripts have been turned into award-barren masterpieces of cheap cinema with gripping titles such as ‘Study Hell’ and ‘Stabbin Cabin’.

One night, while sharing some cat-nip with his pet, Fluffy, and Pickles the Sock Monkey, he came to an epiphany.  What does the world need more?  “People giving their un-asked for opinions!” Pickles shouted.  “By god, you’re right!” Jeff exclaimed, and while still in a semi-lucid state, sat down at his computer and spewed words onto the page!

The result was a ten page tirade, and eight people un-friending him on Facebook.  Since that time he has built the universe of Relic Worlds, where corporations run the galaxy, and lost artifacts of ancient civilizations are found in the ruins of ghost cities on distant planets.  You can read more about this universe or even navigate your own adventure in the pick your path books at: www.relicworlds.com

Relic Worlds follows the ongoing adventures of Lancaster James, renowned anthropologist searching the ruins of ancient cities on distant planets for powerful artifacts left behind by long- lost alien civilizations.  He must explore these sites before they are destroyed by corporate empires expanding their territory, or located by corrupt agents seeking fame and fortune.

The Deep Beyond, the first in the Relic Worlds book series, tells the back story of Lancaster’s adventures, when he and his wife Mika were still working together, and how he began his partnership with Little Jack, the corporate spy who protects Lancaster and watches his back.

Pick Your Path Books include Mystic Island, The Lost City, and The Cosmic Orb.  In these, readers choose what decisions Lancaster will make, and his fate is determined by the path the reader takes.  The reader who finds the artifacts in all the books can go to the website for a special prize.

www.relicworlds.com

Gloria Shell Mitchell, enjoys writing skits and personalized poems. Her raps, There’s A Time, I Say and Can You Imagine That? have been presented in churches, youth rallies and schools. She wrote and directed church plays Gimme That Old Time Religion and Jesus Is Alive. An advocate for social justice, she writes about real-life issues and hosts Good News For You, a Tuesday 7:00 p.m. radio program on KTYM.com and KTYM 1460 AM. Her greatest inspiration for sharing her thoughts with the world came from reading her first published piece at age 12, a letter to the editor of Ebony Magazine. Seeing her first published article, Let Yourself Have Fun, inspired her to continue writing. 

In The Garbage Man’s Daughter Series, Gloria, an educator, minister, and former certified public accountant, invites readers to let go of garbage carried from childhood into adult relationships. In addition to tutoring mathematics and teaching social skills, she facilitates divorce recovery groups in her efforts to save the world one family at a time, and is a Jericho Project life coach for female ex-offenders.

Rev. Dr. Gloria is a 2009 graduate of the University of Southern California’s Passing The Mantle (PTM) Program and The Institute for Violence Prevention. She combined her passion for helping hurting people and ability to use qualitative research methods to acquire a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Formation and published Compassionately Addressing Divorce: A Redemptive Model of Ministry to Divorced Christian Leaders, Book 1 Letting Go of SHAME, and Book 2 Letting Go of SECRETS. She is currently reviewing Book 3 Letting Go of STRESS and Book 4 Letting Go of SCARS.

In Letting Go of SHAME, Davida Kincaid narrates her struggles to escape impoverished living conditions in rural America, understand her mother of eighteen children, and adjust to life without her beloved father, a garbage man. Davida shares how her teachers and faith help her to triumph over every crushing blow to her heart.

In Letting Go of SECRETS, timid six-year-old Davida Kincaid learns how to be strong and courageous while growing up a middle child in a family of eighteen children in segregated South Carolina during the 1950s. Davida overcomes various challenges to her family, her character, and her peace when the family moves to Marshall Village. Everybody acquires new friends, including two that jeopardize the family unit, but Davida struggles with one change that catches her completely by surprise.

“Everyone has trash. It is where and how you discard it that makes all the difference in your life and how you continue on. Read this book and your faith and hope will grow too.”   Fran Lewis: Reviewer

Leslie Ann Moore

Ms. Moore is the author of Griffin's Daughter, her debut novel and the first in her romantic fantasy Griffin's Daughter trilogy, was named 2008 IBPA Ben Franklin Award Winner for Best First Fiction. Griffin's Shadow, the second book in the series, has been officially endorsed by both Publisher's Weekly and The Library Journal. Both books are available online at Amazon.com and at local booksellers everywhere.

A native of Los Angeles, Ms. Moore received her doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of California at Davis in 1988. Dr. Moore lives and works in Los Angeles, CA and in her spare time, she practices the beautiful and ancient art of belly dance. She is also the Vice-President of the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society, and Chairs several committees.

Griffin's Destiny, the third and final volume of the Griffin's Daughter Trilogy is now available in paperback direct from the publisher. You can order a signed personalized copy by going to www.ridanpublishing.com

Visit Leslie Ann's website at www.leslieannmoore.com/

Sherri Nickols

EVER WONDER WHERE THAT RADIANT, FUN-LOVING, SEXY WOMAN WENT?
Or ask yourself, “Where did my passion go? How did I lose my Self?”

You are not alone. Millions of women all over the globe are waking up to this reality with a deep desire to get back their sparkle.

Sexy and Sparkling After 40 introduces the SPARKLE system and takes you on an exhilarating journey to banish the blahs and revitalize your radiance. Full of real-life stories and savvy strategies this book will inspire you to overcome limiting beliefs and find your joy. Along with 15 sizzling “Romance-CapadesTM” and celebrity chef recipes to spice things up, this lively, wise book will teach you to:

*Connect with your feminine power
*Communicate from the heart
*Awaken your sensuality
*Boost your sex appeal
*Reclaim your playful, sexy spirit
*Create exciting romantic adventures

Sherri Nickols is an author, motivational speaker and coach. Known as a Sparkling Mojo Specialist trained in transformational healing and identity shifting, she’s also a certified advanced PSYCH-K facilitator.

After divorcing in 1998 she began a business that empowers women all over the world to connect with their raw feminine power. Initially hosting romance parties she taught women how to get in touch with their sensuality, open their hearts and fall deeply in love with themselves.

In 2009 she developed her signature TelePlayshop, Discover How to Find & Own Your Playful, Sexy Self, helping hundreds of women revitalize their radiance and embrace their feminine playful spirit in order to build healthy, loving relationships.

As seen on View From the Bay and San Diego Living, Sherri provides her clients with successful strategies via her blog, www.UnleashYourSparkle.com. private coaching, programs, products and workshops. Her book, Sexy and Sparkling After 40, was released in April 2012.

Kathy Porter

Kathy Porter grew up in Endicott, NY the birthplace of IBM and only a short distance away from where one of her favorite TV series creator, Rod Serling was raised. Kathy’s lifelong interest in Science Fiction ignited when her father, a science teacher, showed her craters on the moon and taught her the constellations. She grew up watching science fiction movies and TV shows. Ray Bradbury’s “Martian Chronicles” was her first delve into a science fiction novel and she has been hooked ever since.

“I think I was born telling stories,” Kathy explained during a recent interview. “As second to the oldest of seven children, my sisters and I shared a bedroom. I loved making up bedtime stories, with an eerie edge and frightening my sisters. Things about fairies, leprechauns, and aliens even back then. If they couldn’t sleep I knew I succeeded.”

In September of 1961 reports of Barney and Betty Hill’s alien abduction claims took the media by storm. Kathy has been fascinated by their story and any story that delved into the “we are not alone” theory ever since.

Earth's Ultimate Conflict is the first novel in Kathy Porter's Gray Guardians Series. Escape From Nuur, the second in the series will be released next year.

What if the treat of a world-wide pandemic, increased seismic activity, and global warming, were all linked to alien abduction?

In the near future this frightening scenario forces Rosa De Angelo t flee Earth with her three alien hybrid children. In doing soma she leaves behind Tony, her soul-mate and husband. Ellen McCarthy is faced with the agonizing choice of abandoning her love-starved hybrid children or finding a way back to her three-month-old human child Griffin, before it’s to late.

With Earth’s inhabitants faced with seemingly insurmountable illness and destruction, two rival alien species offer them salvation. United States President Barbara Unger will make the ultimate decision of who to trust the Grays or the Guardians.

www.grayguardians.com
http://www.booktour.com/author/kathy_porter

Louis Rosen

Henry Gaylord Wilshire: The Millionaire Socialist

The name Wilshire immediately brings to mind Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. The street is familiar to millions of people, yet few know anything about Henry Gaylord Wilshire, the man who developed a 35 acre barley field that would become one of the most famous streets in the world. Was Wilshire a man of the people with an enduring social conscience or an unethical charlatan and self promoter?

Read Henry Gaylord Wilshire: The Millionaire Socialist and decide for yourself.

Author/GLAWS Member Lou Rosen has lived and worked in Los Angeles all his life.He has a degree in history from UCLA and a Ph.D. in education from Claremont Graduate University. He was a high school history teacher and principal for thirty years. He has written three books on educational administration. Lou lives in Pacific Palisades with his wife and their cat Lady Gwendolyn.

Henry Gaylord Wilshire: The Millionaire Socialist available both on Amazon, and all bookstores through Ingram. It is also available as an e book.

Tom Ruck

Late in 2004, Tom Ruck had an idea for a book to honor the American Veteran and scribbled the idea down on a cocktail napkin.  The next morning he read the napkin and decided he had to make this idea a reality and started the process of creating and publishing that idea. Since he was not a known author or photographer, the journey to publication was difficult and most interesting. He created this book as a labor of love to honor the truest of American heroes, our veterans. The result of Tom’s efforts, "Sacred Ground, A Tribute to America’s Veterans" was released by Regnery Publishing and achieved a #5 ranking on Amazon in its’ category.

Acting Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs Gordon H. Mansfield presented Ruck with a Special Commendation Award in Washington, DC.  “Tom Ruck has brought honor and recognition to America’s heroes and the VA,” said Mansfield. “His respect and admiration for the service and sacrifices of our veterans and their families is reflected on every page of this book. Sacred Ground has heightened the public’s awareness of the courage, commitment and sacrifices of America’s Veterans.”   

Mr. Ruck is a frequent guest speaker to veteran support groups around the country and has appeared on over 100 radio and television stations promoting the causes of our America’s Veterans. In 2008, Tom was honored to deliver the opening remarks at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on Memorial Day, presented the keynote address at Irvine College on Veterans Day, and was a guest speaker at the Defender of Freedom Symposium in Washington D.C. Most recently, Tom served as the Master of Ceremonies at the Riverside National Cemetery program this past Memorial Day and was the Keynote Speaker at the 2009 Los Angeles National Cemetery Veterans Day event “Honoring all Veterans.”

Mr. Ruck has been presented to the President of the United States for consideration to the position of Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs in the Department of Veterans Affairs. If the President nominates Mr. Ruck, he would require Senate confirmation before assuming the post.

Sacred Ground was awarded with a Gold Medal from the Military Writers Society of America in non-fiction for 2009. It was named the Overall Grand Prize winner at the Branson Stars & Flags Book Awards, which is part of America’s largest veteran celebration, The Branson week-long “Celebration of Veterans.” And as the Winner in the 2009 USA Best Book Awards in the Military History category.

Learn more and order books at:
Barnes & Noble , Amazon and other fine booksellers.

Otis Sanders

Always & Forever, Love Success Stories of Marriages 20+ Years Strong.

Otis G. Sanders is a professional photographer. His involvement in photography spans more than 20 years. During that time he gained valuable experience in Advertising and Design, Commercial, Editorial, Portrait and Medical Photography.

He specializes in photographing People; on location, in the studio and in their individual environments. While studying photography at The Atlanta College of Art he developed his own style of Character Portraiture. After attending The Atlanta College of Art Otis began exhibiting his work in Galleries and Museums all over the United States and Africa.

In 1999 Otis Launched http://seventhson.org, an on-line exhibition space where he began featuring his work in the "Image gallery" by loading 7 black & white photos which he wrote about, then changed those images on the 7th of each month to give viewers a reason to come again and see different images. To date, visitors from more than 60 countries around the world have visited http://seventhson.org. His work has been purchased by private collectors, Galleries and Museums, and companies in the United States, Africa, and London.

In November of 2011, Otis added "Published Author" to his list accomplishments, by publishing his first table-top photo book entitled: "Always & Forever, Love" Subtitled: Success Stories of Marriages 20+ Years Strong. "Always & Forever, Love" started with the question, "What does it take to have and maintain a loving, lasting, and happy marriage?" With that question, Otis set out to get answers by interviewing and photographing 50 couples of different ethnic backgrounds to find out what they were doing and continue to do to have successful marriages.

This book demonstrates through 50 couples of different ethnic backgrounds how God/Spirituality, Love, Respect, Trust, Communication, Commitment, Togetherness, Forgiveness, Patience & Honesty, are the ingredients that help build strong, lasting marriages.

http://alwaysandforeverlove.org | http://seventhson.org

madeline Sharples

Although Madeline Sharples worked for most of her professional life as a technical writer and editor, grant writer, and proposal manager, she fell in love with poetry and creative writing in grade school. She pursued her writing interests to high school while studying journalism and writing for the high school newspaper, and she studied journalism in college. However, she only began to fulfill her dream to be a professional writer later in life.

Madeline’s memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On (Lucky Press LLC, 2011), is the harrowing but ultimately uplifting tale of the course of years from her son Paul’s diagnosis with bipolar disorder, through his suicide at her home to the present day. It details how Madeline, her husband and younger son weathered every family’s worst nightmare.

In addition to Leaving the Hall Light On, Madeline co-authored Blue-Collar Women: Trailblazing Women Take on Men-Only Jobs (New Horizon Press, 1994) a book about women in nontraditional professions and co-edited the poetry anthology, The Great American Poetry Show, Volumes 1 (Muse Media, 2004) and 2 (2010). Her poetry accompanies the work of photographer Paul Blieden in two books, The Emerging Goddess and Intimacy as well as appearing in print and online on many occasions.

Madeline is now a full-time writer and is working on her next book, a novel, based in the 1920s. She and Bob, her husband of 40 years, live in Manhattan Beach, California, a small beach community south of Los Angeles. Her younger son Ben lives in Santa Monica, California with his wife Marissa.

For more information and to buy books, please visit:

LuckyPress | www.MadelineSharples.com | Book trailer | Blog

Nancy Shiffrin

GAME WITH VARIATIONS, Love Poems by Nancy Shiffrin, reveals the dimensions of a mature woman’s erotic life. Nancy Shiffrin plays, dances, grapples with harsh realities and shares her dream life. 

About her work poet/critic Robert Peters says, “Nancy Shiffrin’s poems are gut-land responses to a personal life of risks, frustrations, celebrations. Her writing is lean, sensitive and erotic. She celebrates the female body with a rare vigor.” 

Nancy Shiffrin is the author,  Game With Variations, My Jewish Name and The Vast Unknowing. Her work has appeared in numerous periodicals, including the Los Angeles Times and The Journal of Anais Nin Studies. She earned her MA studying with Anais Nin. Her PhD in English is from The Union Institute. She has earned recognition from The Academy of American Poets, The Dora Teitelbaum Foundation and other literary organizations. Through Creative Writing Services, Nancy helps aspiring writers achieve publication and personal satisfaction.

Contact her at: 310.302.1107, or
nshiffrin@earthlink.nethttp://home.earthlink.net/~nshiffrin/

Click on the link to read more and order http://www.unibook.com/en/Nancy-Shiffrin/GAME-WITH-VARIATIONS

Amber Silverstar

Amber Silverstar is a life style designer, spiritual intuitive, and personal growth consultant, acclaimed poet and author.
She is known for her insightful mastery of obtaining energizing and and life changing information. This information, she says,
"clears the mind, body, heart and spirit." She calls the process
DESTINY BRIGHT LIFESTYLES.

Amber started her communications career as co-founder of the Alliance For Correctional Justice. It began with two members and grew into 500 professional, lay and religious volunteers.

Through her Alliance leadership, she directed an historical law suit which established new educational and medical programs and promoted major changes for both men's and women's incarcerations. For her pioneer leadership, she became an appointed member by the Governor of Arizona to the State Board for Corrections Planning and Justice.

Following this period of intense activist work, Amber studied for two degrees in English and Political Science at Arizona State University. She then became a governmental liaison, followed by starting AMBER PRODUCTIONS. She wrote, hosted and produced television and radio shows dealing with social and personal issues such as the dynamics of change and choice during the transitional times of community and individual life.

Belonging to the Coalition For World Peace, and nominated to the public relations board for the regional division of the United Nations, Amber lectured at universities, colleges, civic groups and religious organizations. She covered topics of personal commitment in helping others achieve clarity and balance on a local and even global level. This included designing and editing a journal called GENTLE STRENGTH TIMES.

From this high public profile, people began seeking out Amber's solutions to personal, business and community problems. Because she had her own private story of successfully overcoming poverty, health and relationship challenges, those who sought her ideas were inspired to change their own lives. She then began to share with others insightful ways to connect spiritually, live intuitively, and plan their own life's purpose.

For her community and academic achievements, Amber Silverstar received Outstanding Student of the Year Award in Philosophy and Logic. She was a member of the Dean's list, receiver of the Seven Step Foundation Award, a Governor's appointee, Who's Who in American Colleges, and Who's Who in American Theater.
Amber Silverstar currently lives on California's Southern Coast with her husband, photographer Steven Olson and a wealth of books on art, astronomy, interior design, philosophy and the paranormal - all of which Amber calls her, "alternate sources of reality."

As an acclaimed author, Amber is the writer, poet and designer of a Self-help book series called DESTINY BRIGHT LIFESTYLES including a coffee table book BRIGHT NATURE OF BEAUTY, a poetry book. BRIGHT MYSTIC MOMENTS, and two pocket-size gift books called BRIGHT AFFIRMATIONS AND LOVE AFFIRMATIONS.

The photography in the book is the creative work of Steven Olson. The photographic images, inspiring words and unique poetry are all meant to bring joy and beauty to the mind, spirit, body, heart, and soul.

You can buy books, see Amber Silverstar's author spotlight, and visit on the web by logging onto the following sites.
http://www.lulu.com/ambersilverstar.com
http://www.brightnatureofbeauty.com
http://www.ambersilverstarbooks.com
http://www.ambersilverstar.com

Leonard Szymczak

The Roadmap Home: Your GPS to Inner Peace is an inspirational Amazon bestseller that helps you plug into your inner GPS, Guiding Power of Spirit. Drawing upon his personal challenges and professional experience, Leonard Szymczak maps out a route of conscious living and steers you through the stages of spiritual awakening.

With your trustworthy GPS and this powerful guide, be prepared for a transformational adventure where problems and pain become opportunities for personal growth, forgiveness and love. Life is a journey, but inner peace is the real destination. Welcome Home!

“The Roadmap Home is an intelligent and highly accessible book that blends practical psychology with heart-opening spirituality. If you are ready to heal on all levels, read this book.” – Arielle Ford, author of The Soulmate Secret

Cuckoo Forevermore is a zany novel that introduces psychotherapy in a hilarious way! The setting is Sydney, Australia with a cast of lunatics who put the “fun” back into dysfunctional.

Dr. Peter Pinowski, approaching the big 30, still lives with his neurotic Polish parents. He lands his first job at a children’s psychiatric department where he finds paranoids, perverts and pandemonium, not from the patients but from the staff! The characters are rivetingly strange and the dialogue is lovingly eccentric. Appealing and appalling, surprising and sexy, and always outrageously funny, Cuckoo Forevermore presents a shocking perspective on therapy. And with the sequel already written, the zaniness will continue forevermore.

“It's about time an insider blew the whistle on an industry that has its own special scams, frauds, and rogues.” - Asa Baber, Men columnist, Playboy Magazine

Leonard Szymczak is no stranger to mental health, the Land Down Under, or writing. He has been psychotherapist and educator for more than 35 years, both in Australia and America, and has been writing articles and books for the past 25 years. An inspirational speaker, he has appeared on television and radio. He currently writes, conducts seminars on personal growth and writing, and maintains a therapy practice in Southern California. He is the proud father of two adult children.

Leonard’s websites:
www.theroadmaphome.com
www.leonardszymczak.com
Email: leonard@leonardszymczak.com

Suzanne Toro

Suzanne Toro is a dynamic mother of two who studied with Deepak Chopra, and has worked extensively in the areas of meditation, yoga and wellness (she is a certified Primordial Meditation Instructor). She was a successful entertainment executive, serving as the Creative Visionary & Strategist for media production for Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas, one of the most successful bands in the music industry today.

Toro has suffered many hardships -- sexual abuse, losing a child and family, dealing with a loved one's serious illness -- however she's used each experience as an opportunity to learn more about herself and earn a real life PhD in personal growth. With a young family, Toro needed to find a practical, realistic way to begin her own healing and liberation process. By employing simple tools in her everyday life, she was able to connect with her inner self and release the pain that led her back to her true self. She is committed to embodying authenticity and practicing what she preaches by reaching out to local, national and global communities to share her vision.

Bare Naked Bliss provides simple tools anyone can use to cope with stress and pain, break down mental barriers, find deeper connections and discover their inner joyful, authentic self. The teachings of the book are extended through inspiring poetry, guided meditations and music created by Toro with Apl.de.Ap, singer/songwriter Anne Heaton, and other professional musicians.

Toro has also developed "Bare Naked Dinners:" interactive dining experiences allowing participants to explore their inner truths through open communication and laughter shared while enjoying gourmet natural cuisine. In addition, she is currently serving as a liaison ("spirit bridge") between the mind-body natural approach to healing and traditional medicine. Working with doctors like Deepak Chopra, David Simon, the Simonton Cancer Center and others, she's become an authentic voice of their work, communicating their messages with grace and providing practical ways to integrate them into everyday life, together with her own meditation and wellness work. What if there was a way to let goof stress and suffering that was available to all and easily incorporated into daily life? Instead of spending thousands on therapy and psychotropic drugs, having to compromise one's religious beliefs or traveling around the world to find the secret to enlightenment, we just need to discover our own Bare Naked Bliss.

Since 2005, Suzanne has embraced and engaged with her shamanic work with indigenous tribes from different parts of the world. Which has lead her to a mystical journey with elders from Hopi, Tibet, Philippines, Peru, Guatemala, 1st Nations, Hawaii, Nepal and Star Nations. Her purpose during this journey has been to listen, learn, share, ask questions, record and study. While, bringing love and compassion to many parts of the world and ultimately acting as a bridge between nations, worlds and dimensions. In 2012, she is committed to sharing her stories to assist in reminding all of 'us' how we are connected to the fabric of our world system, each other and the possibilities that exist in the heart of the universe.*

http://suzannetoro.com/

Marva Washington

Black history has been shaped by such names as Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth and Zora Neale Hurston but the real social changes of the 1960s would not have been possible without the support of the college students and grassroots activists taking up the charge. My new book, Bid Whist at Midnight delivers the coming-of-age story of four young women caught up in the enormity of the Civil Rights Movement.

Bid Whist at Midnight is a romance novel grounded in the 1960s social change. In the turbulent 1960s, Sardis, Grace, Dorcus and Taletha became fast friends attending college at South Carolina State. But the solace they feel in their supportive and fun-loving group is rocked when a tragedy strikes and the life of one of the young women is cut short.

The novel takes readers on a trip through time, back to the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s and forward in time 20 years when Sardis, Grace and Dorcus reunite and revisit one of the worse nights of their lives-the night of the Orangeburg Massacre. What they find is that they are still haunted by guilt, but their reunion reminds them of the power of their friendship, allowing them to come to a place of forgiveness, love and a long-awaited farewell to a friend.

Bid Whist at Midnight is a strong romance novel in its own right, but it gains its legs in its social commentary looking back at the 60s and the cultural concerns facing black people at the time. It is a historical and sociological study of a volatile period in American history that provides a view and a voice not previously written.

Ms. Washington is a native of Charleston, South Carolina which is featured prominently in my novel, Bid Whist at Midnight. Since the 1970's however; she has resided in the Los Angeles area. As a student at Los Angeles Southwest College, she won a writing contest with the short story "Miss Jessie's Tale." Her other writing experiences include four years as a staff writer for the Los Angeles Herald-Dispatch and Watts Star Review Newspapers. Her latest work was in the January/February 2010 edition of Good Old Days Magazine titled "Secrets."

She is also a Viet Nam Era Army Veteran and a child of the untamed 1960's generation. Besides writing, I love reading the classics, traveling and making music with Glendale Community and Crown City Orchestras.

The book is available at the following: Amazon.com; Barnes and Noble.com;and iuniverse.com. The author is on facebook and has further information at http://bidwhistatmidnight.com/