News Breaking Now

August 18, 2003

Time (August 4) had a cover article about meditation.  What it is, why it works, why it’s not just for religious practitioners.  As you know, NBN distributes a myriad of exceptional books on meditation from several publishers including Snow Lion, Wisdom, YMAA, Quest and others.  This particular article even mentioned one of our authors and his book. Josh Baran is the author of 365 Nirvana Here and Now: Everyday and Every Moment as Living Enlightenment (Thorsons).  He also happens to be the public relations organizer for the Dalai Lama’s upcoming New York City trip.  “Whether you are on a spiritual path or are simply looking for inspiration this wonderful treasury offers 365 days of wisdom that will last for a lifetime.” – Lama Surya Das, author of Awakening the Buddha Within.

Related to this article in Time, Tricycle Magazine (Fall), features an excerpt from Music in the Sky: Life, Art & Teachings of the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje (Snow Lion).  The excerpt is titled: “Calm Abiding-Travel the River of the Mind to the Vast Ocean of Primordial Wisdom.”  This chapter from our book emphasizes the importance of meditation in our lives.

Then the following week, in Time (August 11), there was an article entitled “The Four-Bite Feast: A Graze Craze Catches On, Serving Up Mini-Meals that are Full of Flavor and Easy on the Wallet.” And wouldn’t you know it…one of our big lead titles for fall is Little Foods of the Mediterranean: 500 Fabulous Recipes for Antipasti, Tapas, Hors d’Oeuvres, Meze and More (Harvard Common Press). The important thing to know about food trends is this, when restaurants start them, home cooking follows closely behind.  This fall is the perfect time for this wonderful book!  During BEA, I and all of my NBN colleagues, tasted recipes from this book. They were fabulous!

In the heat of the summer, please let me remind you of very important titles to feature right now.  Icebox Pies: 100 Scrumptious Recipes for No-Bake No-Fail Pies (Harvard Common was just on QVS and sold a TON of books. Of course, for those of you in New York, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto, etc, your refrigerators would not have been useful last week. But now that your power is back, these recipes are perfect….no baking is necessary! Then there is Lemonade: 50 Cool Recipes for Classic, Flavored, and Hard Lemonades and Sparklers (Harvard Common) and Iced Tea: 50 Recipes for Refreshing Tisanes, Infusions, Coolers, and Spiked Teas( Harvard Common) – two more perfect summer books!  Doesn’t your mouth water just thinking about them? I’m about to take a lemonade break!!!!!

Playboy (August) featured Biker Billy’s Hog Wild on a Harley Cookbook (Harvard Common). Did you know that Harley riders/owners are known for their expertise in the kitchen? No joke. These recipes are for real and are delicious.

Empty Vessel (Fall) will feature a large excerpt and ad for Big Book of Tai Chi: Build Health Fast in Slow Motion (Thorsons).

I may be the last person in the book business to have figured out why our bookLost Secrets of the Sacred Ark: Amazing Revelations of the Incredible Power of Gold (Thorsons) is selling so well. I just read The Da Vinci Code (which I absolutely loved) and now it all makes perfect sense to me.  I’ve joined the many on a quest to learn more about Knights Templar and the Holy Grail. As you also know well before me, Brown’s next book is on Freemasonry and will we have books for you!!!!!

Yet another good seller for us, thanks to The Da Vinci Code, The Templars and the Grail: Knights of the Quest (Quest). “[Author] Dr. Karen Ralls is attempting something with this book which is long overdue: to take an open minded look at history, influence and mysteries of the Knights Templar in conjunction with a review of subsequent legends, many of which are still being generated today.” – Freemasonry Today magazine (Summer issue)

Neil Douglas-Klotz, author of Genesis Meditations: Shared Practice of Peace for Christians, Jews and Muslims (Quest) was just interviewed in San Francisco on Matthew Fox’s popular Spirit in Action radio show. In Oct/Nov the author embarks on a tour to Seattle, Madison WI, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Atlanta.  If there was ever a perfect time for this book, folks, this is it!

You will soon be hearing a great deal about our forthcoming book and author.  Brandon Steiner, author of Business Playbook: Leadership Lessons from the World of Sports (Entrepreneur) is embarking on an ambitious tour throughout Oct and Nov. He will be going to New York and the greater tri-state area, Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, St Louis, Waco/Ft Worth/Dallas/Longview, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Syracuse, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Wilmington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Miami/Coral Gables, Amherst and Toronto.  Steiner is chairman of Steiner Sports Memorabilia and Steiner Sports Marketing, companies he founded with a $4000 investment, which he turned into a $35million empire. He teaches readers how the lessons he and others have learned from sports can help them succeed in business. It’s a great read and stays with you through many important and life changing decisions.  For those of you who are members of BookSense, you will be notified about a great contest that Brandon is holding, where the winning store gets sports tickets and a chance to meet a Hall of Famer. And Brandon knows them…here is just a partial list of his clients: Gary Carter, Yogi Berra, Deacon Jones, Earl Monroe, Mark Messier, Cal Ripkin Jr, Sandy Koufax, Muhammad Ali, Rick Barry, Carlton Fisk, Mia Hamm, Bobby Knight, Nolan Ryan, Dusty Baker, Bill Walton, Gale Sayers….and I could go on and on. This book is going to do great. Can you tell I’m excited?

Dr. Rallie McAllister has written an extraordinary book and will be promoting it just in time for Back-To-School. Healthy Lunchbox: Working Mom’s Guide to Keeping You and Your Kids Trim (Lifeline) was reviewed in PW – “….recipes for breakfast, snacks and lunch are generally simple and appealing, and they employ some wholesome packaged products for convenience.  Nutritional information is included for each recipe, and advice on what’s best to get at the grocery store or the fast-food chains mean even the busiest moms could benefit from the information….”  Dr. McAllister is touring Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, Jackson, Dallas, Cincinnati, Birmingham, Atlanta, Blytheville, Durham, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Lexington.  Please be prepared.  Rallie is very effective with the media.

Russell Crowe’s forthcoming epic movie, Master and Commander, along with the incredible summer hit, Pirates of the Caribbean, are setting the stage for a major resurgence in the popularity of swashbuckling nautical fiction, the genre dominated by McBooks, our successful independent publisher from New York State.  We expect to see an upswing in all of McBooks titles including Man of War by Alexander Kent, which is just now shipping to everyone.

Big Change at Best Buy: Working Through Hypergrowth to Sustained Excellence (Davies-Black) is featured in American Airlines’ American Way Magazine this month (August) and the book is soon to be featured in Wall Street Journal.  Given the encouraging sales and stock prices of Best Buy, interest in this title remains very high.

Another PW starred review for Justin, Charles, running Aug 25!   Minos: A Romilia Chacón Mystery, by Marcos M. Villatoro – “Bilingual Nashville cop Romilia Chacón’s hunt for the elusive Minos (after the mythical monster in Dante's Inferno), is interrupted when she finds herself in the hospital with a horrible gash on her neck, a near-fatal wound from another killer she was pursuing. Her struggle to come to terms with the large, unsightly scar she will always bear quietly wins her the reader's sympathy. During her convalescence, she discovers the Internet and an entirely new way to investigate Minos. An unexpected source, however, provides the most help: drug lord Rafael Murillo, a creepy yet alluring figure also known by the Mayan name Tekún Umán. Romilia inadvertently saved his life when she was wounded, and in return Tekún steals FBI files on Minos and sends them to her. There's something appealing, in spite of his nature, in Tekún's devotion to Romilia. The ending resolves beautifully, but that is really secondary considering how well the story works as a whole.”  Forecast: Blurbs from C.J. Box and T. Jefferson Parker and an author tour will boost the book's profile. As the host of "Shelf Life," a weekly interview program on Pacifica radio, Marcos, a graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop, is well positioned to cover his local market of LA.

Become an Energy Addict: Simple Powerful Ways to Energize Your Life (Longstreet) is getting tons of publicity.  Self Magazine, First For Women, Energy Times, Balance Magazine and Natural Awakenings all feature the book in Sept. From now thru Dec, author Jon Gordon, is touring to Tampa, Orlando, Denver, Boulder, Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Ann Arbor, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Washington DC, Baltimore, Jacksonville, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, San Diego, Boston, New York, Houston, Austin, Dallas, New Orleans, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Miami and Fort Lauderdale.  Jon is nothing BUT ENERGY, as you can tell from this schedule!

John Assaraf, author of Street Kid’s Guide to Having It All: Practical and Spiritual Approach for Designing & Living the Life of Your Dreams (Longstreet) is also all over the media for the next several weeks. He did drive time radio last week in Austin, Youngstown, Cincinnati, Augusta, Decatur, Fargo, Evansville, Greensboro, Florence, Montgomery, Erie, Palm

Springs, Santa Barbara, Charlotte and will be doing both radio and TV this week in Philadelphia, Houston, Seattle, Minneapolis, Portland, Cincinnati and Memphis.  Much more still to come.

The delayed publicity tour for Wayne: An Abused Child’s Story of Courage, Survival and Hope (Harbor Press) has Author Wayne Theodore will be doing publicity in Sept/Oct in St Louis, Omaha, Chicago, Memphis, Knoxville and Tampa.  We also have lots of national TV in the works, including Montel and possibly Larry King (on which Sally Jesse Raphael will appear with Wayne). Lots of print is also in the works. I’ll keep you posted.

Again, Enigma is making history with the forthcoming Hitler’s Second Book: Unpublished Sequel to Mein Kampf (Enigma). From PW – “In 1958, while directing the microfilming and organization of a trove of archives that the U.S. forces had taken from the Nazis at the end of WWII, historian Gerhard Weinberg discovered the manuscript of a second book that Hitler had written but never published. The text bears all of Hitler's hallmarks: rambling thoughts, half-baked ideas, pedantic writing---along with a terrifying, sustained belief in war and violence as the means to ensure that Germans would flourish. Compared to Mein Kampf, there are fewer pages devoted to Jews. Nonetheless, what comes across most strongly is Hitler's abiding commitment to the principle of race and his identification of Jews as the enemy. Hitler dwells at length on foreign policy, and outlines a strategy of alliance with Fascist Italy and Great Britain. (He actually believed that Britain would accept a German-dominated European continent so long as Germany did not challenge the overseas British Empire.) He also foresees an inevitable clash with the United States. This provides solid historical background on Hitler's thinking in the late 1920s, when his party was nothing more than a tiny, radical sect.” BOMC and Military Book Clubs

You’ll be hearing a lot from our author, Fran Harris, Crashing Hollywood: How to Keep Your Integrity Up, Your Clothes On, and Still Make it in Hollywood (Michael Wiese).  If you’re going to the Mid-South Regional in Austin, you’ll get to meet Fran in person.  For the rest of us, Fran will be going on a university tour throughout the US (details to follow). She will be on Tavis Smiley and other hip radio shows. And she’s currently pitching her book as a show for the E! Channel.  Stay tuned!

Phil Kent, author of Dark Side of Liberalism: Unchaining the Truth (Harbor House), continues with major publicity last week: Fox & Friends (Aug 15), Bob Grant Show (Aug 16), Barry Farber Show (Aug 15) and Paula Zahn is finalizing a show with Phil for this week.

Scole Experiment: Scientific Evidence for Life After Death (Piatkus) is generating lots of interest. Discovery Channel is currently discussing a documentary.  Many experimental sessions have been held in the US and around the world. This book chronicles the results of a 5-year investigation into life after death.  The incontrovertible evidence found included:

• Handwriting, symbols and messages which appeared on factory-sealed, unopened film
• Objects, lights and solid beings which materialized before observers
• Spirits who communicated instructions for the building of complex instruments and devises
• Personal information about those present which was revealed to the group by discarnate intelligences

Scole Experiment will convince you that there really is life after death.

Authors Amanda Lumry and Laura Hurwitz, Adventures of Riley: Safari in South America (Eaglemont) recently taped a segment for Animal Planet Radio, to air on 68 affiliate stations.  If you haven’t had a chance to look at the Adventure of Riley books, Safari in South Africa is the second in this new series, please have a look.  The first, Adventures of Riley: Tigers of Terai, is available and I highly recommend ordering it. These children’s books are well written, beautifully illustrated and teach the important lessons of conservation to small children.

Jacquieline Davis, author of The Circuit (Lucky Press), is getting lots of media attention.  For 15 years, Davis has survived as one of the top operators in the secretive world of covert operations. She rescues kidnapped people, has protected JK Rowling, foreign royalty and high-profile celebrities. Her book was recently featured in Self Defense for Women and in a major full-page article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. This is a fascinating story of a woman who has succeeded in a man’s world. And she offers lots of self-defense tips for all women in her video, also available from us, Stay Safe – Be Aware: Learn How to Protect Yourself (Lucky).

I just received my copy of Home Fix It 101: The Anyone-Can-Do-It Guide to Home Repair (Taylor). Since I never, ever do one tiny bit of home repair, I figured this book would not be for me. But there are lots of good tips throughout even for someone who doesn’t often screw in a light bulb. For instance: “To clean a coffee maker, put Kool Aid into the filter and let that brew. That does a good job of cleaning.” Or this, “Asphalt shingles are much more flexible and less likely to crack when they are warm, so pick a summer day for this repair. If the job has to be done in cooler times, warm the shingles with a heating pad before installing them.”  Or this, “If you’ve been stung by a wasp, pour vinegar over the sting for immediate relief.”  Virtually every area of the home is covered in easy-to-understand language and diagrams. I’m giving a copy to my handyman immediately!

As you know, all books coming from Rand are newsworthy and up-to-the-minute. Their newest title like that is America’s Role in Nation-Building: From Germany to Iraq (Rand) by lead author James Dobbins, Director of Intl Security and Defense Policy Center at Rand. Dobbins has held senior White House and State Department positions under four presidents.  Among his many jobs, he served as United States special envoy for Kosovo, Bosnia, Haiti and Somalia, and most recently as the Bush administration’s special envoy for Afghanistan.  Dobbins and his co-authors argue forcefully that the US cannot afford to contemplate an early exit from Iraq and leave the job of nation-building there half completed. “The real question for the US should not be how soon it can leave, but rather how fast and how much to share power with Iraqis and the international community while retaining enough power to oversee an enduring transition to democracy and stability.”  For all stores with a serious political and historical bent, this book is a must. This title has never appeared in any NBN catalog.  Please order from you rep or from our customer service dept (800) 462-6420.

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