IN THE NEWS BROUGHT TO YOU BY ALLBOOKS REVIEW INTERNATIONAL

One Million Moms Urges Toys ‘R’ Us to Remove Archie Comic on Gay Marriage

By Jason Boog on February 28, 2012 10:01 PM

The conservative group One Million Moms is urging Toys ‘R’ Us to stop stocking an Archie Comics issue that features a gay wedding.

In issue 16 of the Life with Archie series, Kevin Keller, Archie Comics’ first openly gay character, gets married to his boyfriend. One Million Moms has created a form letter for parents to email to the toy store.

The letter concludes with this threat: “Please remove all the same-sex ‘Just Married – Archie’ comic books immediately from your shelves. My decision to shop in your stores depends on it.”

Interview with Stella Vance, author of Dancing with Duality

Please state your name and location. (city and State or Province, Country)

Stella Vance, Ecuador

Tell us the title and publisher of your book:

Dancing with Duality: Confessions of a Free Spirit

Tell us about yourself:

Stella Vance is the author of Dancing with Duality: Confessions of a Free Spirit, a memoir dealing with a woman who faced eating disorders, divorce, betrayal, physical abuse, abortion, date rape, and more--but found that life is just a game and was able to move on, forgive, and celebrate life with its ups and downs.

When was the book released?:

Sept, 2011

Give us an overview of your book.

Dancing with Duality: Confessions of a Free Spirit

Betrayed at the age of 21 by the first love of her life, Stella Vance embarks on a life of fearless adventure. She travels the world, adding notches to her lipstick case with lovers from all over the world, and surviving harrowing experiences, including abuse, addiction, abortion, date rape, and cult involvement. Along the way, Stella undergoes a spiritual transformation. Once awakened to the reality of nonduality, she gradually realizes that life is just a game, that death is just another dimension, and that nothing “out there” can really hurt her.

This inspiring page-turning memoir begins in the 1970s, with Stella as a Christian zealot. Subsequently questioning all religious dogma, Stella’s mystical quests leads her to delve deeply into the realms of dreams, psychic readings, astrology, tantric yoga, reincarnation and her own past lives, the entheogen ketamine, Indian holy men and women, revolving-door relationships, the seeker culture of southern California, and finally, the ultimate path of Advaita Vedanta. At the same time, she deals with anorexia and bulimia, addictions to cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol, unwanted pregnancies, teaching in public schools, the death of several loved ones, foreclosure, and emigrating to South America.

The life of Stella Vance embodies all the adventure, drama, romance, humor, and philosophy of a free spirit set loose in the ’70s and finding its way into the new millennium. Reading Dancing with Duality provides evidence that life is meant to provide entertainment, as well as to teach us how to be grateful, forgive, and heal from all its vagaries.

In the end, Stella’s free spirit journey takes her on the path to the ultimate freedom: freedom from the mind with all its fears, judgments, limiting beliefs, and worries.

What inspired you to write this book?

My mother always said I had an interesting life and should write my memoirs. When I read Eat, Pray, Love, I got inspired to do this. I like how she weaved in nonfiction and reflective essays, and I did the same to educate (not just entertain) the reader.

How is your book different from other books in this genre?

It’s my unique story which involves the confusion and excitement of being in the first generation of “sexually liberated” women, and the pain involved in making tough decisions. It also entails my spiritual quest and how I had to leave the traditional Christian dogma to go deeper spiritually. It entails world travels to Latin America, Europe and Asia, and dating men from all over the globe. It includes my experience with many women’s issues, such as abortion, date rape, sexual harassment, being in a physically abusive relationship, eating disorders, and more. Yet the tone is upbeat because I survive and thrive at the end, realizing that life is just a game, and I am able to forgive everyone—including the hardest to forgive, which is myself.

Where can people buy your book?

It can be purchased on amazon or ordered at stores, requesting

ISBN-10: 1466326654 or ISBN-13: 978-1466326651

Check it out on amazon.com here, with its Look Inside feature:

http://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Duality-Confessions-Free-Spirit/dp/1466326654/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318264347&sr=1-1

Are you working on another book? If so when do you expect it to be published?

At this point I am focused only on marketing.

If you self published, what advice can you give to fellow writers?

There has never in history been a better time to self publish! Sure, it is more prestigious to get a big name publisher backing your book. But that’s like winning the lottery, especially in today’s economy. The stigma of self-publishing is beginning to fade! Self-publishing is inexpensive with print-on-demand. And either way, you will have to do the marketing—so why not earn 30 to 70% of the profits instead of just a dollar a book? You will need to spend a few thousand dollars on getting the book edited, formatted, uploaded, as well as having a professional cover. But you will keep the copyright and the lion’s share of the profits. It is CRUCIAL, however, to get rid of the amateur look and have the book edited by a pro, and get a professionally done cover. People DO judge a book by its cover.

Can you share one of your marketing successes with us?

The first step is to get reviews, since most people will not buy a book that doesn’t have good reviews. Also no one wants to review an old book, so this needs to be done first. In two months I got 33 5-star reviews by spending three hours a day emailing sites and top amazon reviewers, offering a complimentary book in exchange for an honest review.

How did you find Allbooks Reviews and what are you hoping for in your relationship with us?

I plugged into google “book reviewers” and also used various other search engines. I am always thrilled to get a positive response. I find I may get only one or two per day after spending hours. It’s a numbers game.

Was the low cost a surprise? What other things would you like Allbooks Reviews to offer writers?The low price was a very big surprise and it is excellent value.

Thank you for this interview and best of luck with your book.

Review of Curb Check by Zach Fortier

This is a book for those who love True Crime, Cop on the Beat stories. It gives you a bird’s eye view (or should I say a hidden camera view?) as a Cop makes his rounds.

Exciting, scary, sad and sometimes darn right funny, Fortier recounts some of the calls he was on when a Constable On Patrol (Cop).

Dare I say without having been a cop, that this book could be used by anyone who wants to be a real cop, one who is ready to serve the people and be more than someone carrying a gun with a badge.

This is not a novel, more like a series of short stories, which provide a view of life on the street, in the alleys and behind close doors.

To give but one example of Fortier’s Mickey Spillane style of writing, I quote, “Allen could have ripped me apart if he wanted but I sensed something in him - like a dog that barks too much. The real killers are quiet and might growl before they strike. They don’t bark to warn you. He did.”

Zach Fortier has been a police officer for over 28 years. CurbCheck is based on calls that Fortier was assigned during his career; specializing in K-9, SWAT, Gang detective, Sex crimes investigator, domestic violence crimes investigator. Names and some minor details have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved, without compromising the integrity of the story and the message of the book.

Highly Recommended, especially for those who love True Crime. Reviewer: Peter Klein Allbooks Reviews. www.allbooksreviewint.com

Available at: Amazon.

Title: CurbChecK

Author: Zach Fortier

Publisher: CreateSpace

ISBN: 10: 1466231971

ISBN-13: 978-1466231979

Pages:244

Price: $10.99 paperback

Price:$7.99 Kindle

Oct. 2011

Review of Cherries by John Podlaski

Whether you've had the experience of going to war, which far too many American citizens have, or have stayed cleared of that ugly business, Cherries is a book that will ring true in many ways. It is a story of the Vietnam War, told by a “grunt” on the front lines. It successfully captures the way it must have been when groups of young males were thrown together, largely against their will, and put into an incredibly hostile environment.

Cherries makes a pretty clear statement that high-ranking officers were entirely focused on generating good PR and tracking performance metrics like body counts and weapons caches seized. The characters watch majors posing for pictures with war booty after they risked their lives to obtain the plunder; march through gently-drifting clouds of Agent Orange, the defoliant, which is now known to take a brutal toll on humans; and get sent on missions to rout out enemies regardless of the cost.

Author John Podlaski, through the eyes of his eponymous protagonist, tells of a conflict in which it was impossible to tell friend from foe, making it feel far more dangerous to walk through a purportedly friendly village than it was to track known enemy units through the jungles. In addition to the obvious dangers of war, he and his unit risk malaria, bites from jungle animals like spiders and snakes, and bad commands from officers who are often less experienced than they are; all to fight a war that much of the local populace and citizens back home do not support.

Although the mood is captured well, Cherries is somewhat rough around the edges, much like the new recruits whose nickname gives the novel its title. The deaths and serious maiming of key characters is often telegraphed, so it's easy to predict which soldier is going to be the next casualty of war. In an attempt to explain military acronyms and Vietnamese vocabularly, Podlaski has a habit of parenthetically defining the term directly inside the dialogue, giving the impression that the character is explaining the meaning, when it's clear that this is not the case. There are also frequent errors in the use of apostrophes.

Those details, which should have been caught by the editor, should not be allowed to distract from the power of this tale. Tune out the quirks and instead focus on the story of Cherries; you will have a much more profound understanding of both this war, and what we ask of our soldiers in any conflict.

Terence P Ward, Allbooks Review. www.allbooksreviewint.com

Title: Cherries

Author: John Podlaski

Publisher:

ISBN: 978-1-4528-7981-9

For more info: http://cherrieswriter.wordpress.com.

Oct. 2011

IN THE NEWS BROUGHT TO YOU BY ALLBOOKS REVIEW INTERNATIONAL

Pearson Sees Digital Income Beating Print Publishing In 2012

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By Robert Andrews

Pearson’s digital revenue grew 18 percent to £2 ($3.17) billion (a third of the total) through 2011, as its book publisher Penguin’s e-book sales rose 106 percent and the group reached 43 million students through digital learning services.Now Pearson (NYSE: PSO) forecasts: “Revenues from digital and services businesses (are) expected to exceed revenues from traditional publishing businesses in 2012.”

Pearson-owned Penguin on Monday reported it has sold 50 million apps and e-book since 2008. E-books now make up 12 percent of its global (£125.4 ($198.3) million) and a fifth of its U.S. sales. “We expect this percentage to increase significantly again in 2012,” the publisher said.