“These pages were largely inspired by a passage in Lincoln’s second State of the Union address, in which he said, “We can succeed only by concert. It is not ‘Can any of us imagine better?’ but ‘Can we all do better?’” That is a question for us as a nation and for each of us individually.” —Senator Bill Bradley

 ”Every American should read this courageous book. It’s full of history and heart and solutions that can give us all hope. It reminds us of our better selves and represents citizen leadership at its best.”
— Howard Schultz, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Starbucks Coffee Company 

As citizens, we must have the confidence that our democracy gives us the tools to improve our circumstances. As human beings, we must see our interconnectedness and recognize that we are capable of great things when we cooperate with one another.

Bill Bradley in conversation with Charlie Rose  

Barnes & Noble –

Discussion / Book Signing

Monday, May 21st ,7pm at

33 East 17^th Street

Union Square (213)253-0810

Bill Bradley will be talking about his new book “We Can All Do Better“ 

I’ll be there- hope to see….

Elenita

This is a terrific collection of essays by well-known mystery writers paying tribute to Robert B. Parker and his best-known character, Spenser.  Edited by Otto Penzler, renowned mystery editor and owner of  The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, In Pursuit of Spenser includes original pieces by Dennis Lehane, Lawrence Block, Max Allan Collins, and many others on how Parker influenced their writing and the genre.

Here’s a great write-up of the book from the May 1 issue of Kirkus: http://www.kirkusreviews.com/blog/mysteries-and-thrillers/you-just-cant-keep-good-sleuth-down/

In Pursuit of Spenser:  Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero

978-1-935618-57-7

I enjoy sharing books and talking about the books I like a well as hearing about books that others recommend- especially books that Cindy recommends-I LOVED I Will Not Leave You Comfortless by Jeremy Jackson, from Milkweed.

 This is a wonderful graceful elegiac memoir. Utterly atmospheric, it literally slows your pulse down in the first chapters. Jackson writes beautifully of his childhood on a farm in Missouri, long summer days and frigid winters, his experiences with budding romance, family, farm life, school and you are pulled along until the summer he is ten, when his world changes with the death of his grandmother and the absence of his older sister as she goes off to college.

It’s as if he is yanked out of childhood too early and we mourn the loss with him.

I cannot say enough about his beautiful writing. So I won’t. Just read it. It is SO worth it.

 Cindy Heidemann

 Field Sales 

PGW and Perseus

I loved this book and highly recommend it, I could not put it down. If you are wondering what to read next read Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson.

A stunning and propulsive debut novel that blends the irresistible pull of the best cyberpunk and slipstream with the enchantment of Middle Eastern mythology, an irresistible Arab spring cyber-fantasy novel.

With shades of William Gibson, Neil Gaiman, Neal Stephenson, Philip Pullman, and The Thousand and One Nights, Alif is a tour de force debut—a sophisticated melting pot of philosophy, religion, technology, and spirituality smuggled inside an irresistible page-turner.

Book description-

The eponymous hero of Alif the Unseen, Alif is a hacker, half-Indian and half-Arab, who is known only by his internet handle, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. He supports himself protecting his clients—watched groups vulnerable to government surveillance, from democracy activists to radical Islamists to pornographers.
As the book opens, three things happen. Intisar–the beautiful aristocrat whom Alif has fallen in love with online–informs him that her family has forced her into an arranged marriage, and they cannot see each other anymore. She informs him she never wants to see or hear his name again.

Soon, Alif realizes the Hand has hacked his system. The Hand is an aristocrat, Alif learns, realizing he must be Intisar’s fiancé. As a parting gift, Intisar sends a package containing a copy of the Alf Yeom, the Thousand and One Days—it’s a message from Intisar, but Alif doesn’t know what it means. As he and Dina—a childhood friend and neighbor, and a devout Muslim—approach the duplex their families share, Alif spots a detective from State Security in front of his door, waiting for him. He sends Dina in to get his computer, and they run away to Alif’s friend Abdullah’s place, where Alif destroys his computer system remotely. From this point on, Alif and Dina are on the run in a dangerous city, with both literal and digital pursuers.

In order to evade State Security, they decide to seek out Vikram the Vampire, an underworld figure whose story has become urban legend, who they think they can pay to protect them. …..

Life is good when you’re a Dolce & Gabbana underwear model

December 31, 2008 personal trainer Paul “PJ” James set out to add nearly 100 pounds of flab to his ripped 176-lb physique Bingeing would become his full-time job and he wouldn’t put down the Ben & Jerry’s until his formerly eight-pack abs threatened to bust the buckle of a size 48 belt. Then, PJ launched a full-scale workout assault on his plus-sized physique, torching his freshly acquired fat reserves and rebuilding the same lean, cut musculature that landed him, bare-chested, on the runways of industry giants like Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier and Calvin Klein.

In a sort of anti-New Year’s Resolution, the 33-year-old pledged to pack on 50% of his body weight, maintain it and then shed it, all within 2009. In the process, he traded lat pull-downs for ham-and-cheese roll-ups and watched his deltoids vanish beneath a duvet of fat.

But the road from 6% to 32% body fat was paved with confidence-sapping potholes and clinically depressed roadblocks. PJ struggled with crippling body image and found himself physically and mentally addicted to junk food. He shed the weight, inspiring his clients and securing the May 2010 cover of Men’s Fitness magazine.

By really putting himself in his clients shoes, he learned about additions to refined carbs, joint pain and extreme physical distress, as well as the emotional impact of being unhealthy and overweight. His concerted diet and fitness plan helped him to find the healthiest way to lose weight, and to keep it off—no tricks, no gimmicks. James has gone where few trainers have gone before, and his clients are grateful. Now the book offers his fitness plan, peppered with inspiration from someone who’s truly been there and fought back every step of the way.

Initial National TV  line up

ABC 20/20 (author interviewed for a segment on diets) – May 11

Anderson (Anderson Cooper’s syndicated daytime talk show) – May 25

ABC Good Morning America – May 28

on sale June

Mother, wife, private investigator … and vampire. Six years ago, federal agent Samantha Moon was the perfect wife and soccer mom with the minivan and suburban home. Then the unthinkable happened, an attack that changed her life forever. And forever is a very long time for a vampire.

Samantha’s adventures as a night-roaming vampire and private investigator in Samantha Moon include …
• (Vampire for Hire #1) Moon Dance: Samantha is hired by Kingsley Fulcrum to investigate the attempt on his life, a horrific scene watched on TV around the country. But Kingsley isn’t exactly what he appears to be; after all, there is a reason why he survived five shots to the head.

• (Vampire for Hire #2) Vampire Moon: Samantha Moon hunts down a powerful crime lord and protects an innocent woman from her ruthless ex-husband—all while two very different men vie for her heart. As the stakes grow higher and her cases turn personal, Samantha Moon will do whatever it takes to protect the innocent and bring two cold-blooded killers to justice—her own brand of justice.

• (Vampire for Hire #3) American Vampire: Samantha receives a heartbreaking call from a very unlikely source: a five-year-old girl who’s been missing for three months. Using her considerable resources— including her growing supernatural abilities—to locate the missing
girl before it’s too late, Samantha also receives devastating news on the home front, forcing her to make the ultimate choice of life and death.

• (Vampire for Hire #4) Moon Child: Samantha Moon is faced with an impossible decision that will change her life and those of the ones she loves forever—a decision that no mother should ever have to make. And through it all, Samantha finds herself in a lethal game of vampire
versus vampire as a powerful and desperate enemy will stop at nothing
to claim what he most desires.

• Christmas Moon: With Christmas just around the corner, Samantha takes on a very strange case: A priceless family treasure has been stolen, something passed down through the generations and buried in secrets. And Samantha gets half of whatever it is … if she can find it first.

… and an all-new Samantha Moon short story by J.R. Rain.