West Palm Beach, FL, – As a teenager, NY Times best-selling author Steve Alten read JAWS – little did he know then how it would change his life forever. While devouring everything he could find on great white sharks and the true accounts of their attacks on man, he discovered their prehistoric cousin – the Megalodon – a 70 foot, 50 ton version of the great white shark. Even though Megs were easily the most formidable creatures ever to have existed, Alten was surprised to find very little written about these real-life monsters.
That would change in the summer of 1995 when Steve Alten happened to pick up a copy of Time magazine and on the front cover was the Mariana Trench. The article revealed the mysteries of the abyss and hydrothermal vents and the wondrous life forms that existed in this unexplored realm. It was at this moment that an idea was born and Steve found himself asking ‘Now what was the name of that huge prehistoric shark I read about as a teen?’
MEG: Origins (Gere/Donovan) by Steve Alten is like the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle. The prequel to MEG, his first bestselling novel, it will give readers answers to what really happened to Jonas Taylor, the sole survivor of a mission seven years earlier who is haunted by what he knows he saw but can’t prove exists. Sold in all e-book formats, MEG: Origins proves to be another nail-biting, terrifying journey into the Mariana Trench to a time when sea monsters ruled the oceans.
The story takes place on the last of a series of top-secret naval dives into the Mariana Trench, a 7-mile deep, 1500 mile long gorge located at the bottom of the Western Pacific. Jonas Taylor is the Navy’s golden boy – a deep sea submersible pilot exuding no fear. But after three consecutive dives, Jonas is burned out, his mind in a fog. Little does he know that what awaits him in the abyss is the most frightening creature ever to have existed.
Steve Alten is a prolific writer whose compelling story-telling and rich detail makes for pulse-pounding adventure novels that take readers on underwater journeys they will never forget! The original MEG was optioned to publishers in twenty-five countries; its sequels have sold three million copies worldwide, and it has been optioned as a major motion picture to be released in the summer of 2013. A major announcement regarding a director for this $150 million feature is forthcoming.
Steve’s novels are used by thousands of middle and high school teachers as part of their curriculum to encourage teens to read and, in fact, MEG was rated #1 Book for Reluctant Readers. This resulted in Steve launching his nationwide, non-profit program Adopt-An-Author that has over 10,000 teachers registered to date and has an unprecedented success rate in getting teens to read. See: www.AdoptAnAuthor.com.
As a special bonus to readers, this international best-selling author commissioned renowned “MEG artist” Erik Hollander to create nine original color images to introduce each chapter. Combining a white-knuckle story with dazzling images has set the bar for an e-book, with readers raving about the high-tech entertainment experience. Finally, as a way of honoring his loyal readers, Steve Alten is practically giving MEG: Origins away, pricing the e-book for only .99 cents! For more information, visit www.SteveAlten.com. And for anyone who has not yet read any of the MEG books, MEG: Origins will surely whet their appetite for things to come. Pleasant dreams…for now.
New Haven, MI, – Army, Navy, Marines: it’s tough enough to make it in one branch of the military — but Ron Zuccaro succeeded in all three, wrestled professionally, overcame a devastating injury to come back and win a wrestling championship, and is one of the most engaging patriots you’ll ever meet. This veteran has enough strange and interesting tales to fill more than one lifetime, and an amazing awareness of God’s grace, all packed in his new book Heaven, Iron and I: The Ron Martinelli Story (Tribute House Publishing).
Ron Martinelli was his name as a professional wrestler in the 1970s; his story recounts the early days of professional wrestling with surprising humor and insight. At the peak of his career, his legs were crushed in a freak accident and he was told he’d never walk again. His faith, his family and his love for his country spurred Zuccaro to literally stand up and fight: he did walk again, and won the 1980 heavyweight world title in wrestling. These accomplishments in civilian life were bracketed by extraordinary service in not one, but three, branches of the U.S. Military. He saw action in Vietnam that would prove to have a lasting, and surprisingly positive, influence on the rest of his life. Honorable service during a difficult time for our country brought Zuccaro a unique and moving sense of what it is to be a veteran of the United States Armed Forces.
Learning to walk again after his accident, Zuccaro was troubled by vivid flashbacks to the chaos and danger of his time in Vietnam. It was these recollections, plus his remarkable determination to recover, that helped him uncover God’s grace at work in his own life; his dramatic re-telling of this time in his life makes Heaven, Iron and I: The Ron Martinelli Story a must-read for Christians, veterans and patriots. Zuccaro says his book is “a tribute to my buddies who made the ultimate sacrifice, and shows what war is really like. If you yourself have problems, you can overcome them, you can achieve your goals through the grace of God.” In honor of his fallen friends, Zuccaro now works tirelessly to promote and encourage veterans and veterans’ organizations, in particular the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), American Legion, Marine Corps League and Disabled American Veterans.
Zuccaro’s story is more than inspiring. It’s filled with powerful anecdotes about his time in Vietnam and seasoned with humorous tales of his antics in the early days of professional wrestling, making it a book that critics find impossible to put down. All together, Heaven, Iron and I: The Ron Martinelli Story is a truly great story about a patriot of the first order, a patriot who shows the way for others to achieve, as he did, against all odds.
Nicole Maren: “This book is a “must read” for all Americans who want to learn what true patriotism is.”
Ron Sugar: “I am so inspired by his drive and zest for life…thank you for your military service, and for sharing your life by writing this book.”
Michael J. Miller: “For the first time, I read a book and laughed, cried, smiled, wept, and was motivated all at the same time.”
Wally Allport: “We were in the same unit in Vietnam and I was totally captivated by the story of his life….It’s a powerful example of the human spirit!”
Havertown, PA, – Mildred Gillars was an Ohio-bred woman who simply went to Germany in 1934 to study music and then fell in love. However, after war broke out in 1939 she elected to stay in Germany hoping for marriage, but her fiancée was killed during the war. That is when she became the mistress of Max Otto Koischwicz – a charming former college professor, now Nazi Officer, who enlisted her in the German overseas radio where she went from a simple announcer to master propagandist and became the voice feared by American GI’s. Richard Lucas does a superb job of illustrating the life of this notorious woman in Axis Sally: The American Voice of Nazi Germany (Casemate Publishers ISBN: 978-1-935149-43-9).
A failed Broadway actress, Gillars used her sexy voice to taunt troops into suspecting their wives and girlfriends back home were being unfaithful, and to describe the horrible deaths they were going to meet on the battlefield. With information obtained from German military intelligence, she caused fear and anxiety among the men by conveying personal greetings to individual US units that made GI’s believe the Germans knew their whereabouts and who they were.
She was captured by Americans at the end of the war in spite of an attempt to escape as a refugee, and was returned to the U.S. to stand trial for treason. With a nation still recovering from the horrors of war, her trial in 1949 as an American who betrayed her country was huge! It took just three months for the jury to find her guilty and she was sentenced to 10-30 years in prison. However, she was paroled after just twelve years, and until her death in 1988 she quietly lived out the remainder of her life as a music instructor in a Catholic girl’s school in Ohio.
This is a compelling, often poignant story, brilliantly told by Richard Lucas, of one of the most notorious Americans of the 20th century – a woman who betrayed her country for love, paid the price, and is buried in an unmarked grave in her native Ohio since her death in 1988.
John Batchelor, of the The John Batchelor Radio Show: “An exciting story of things you didn’t know about radio….it would make a wonderful movie.”
Brian Albrecht, The Cleveland Plain-Dealer: “To the author, “Axis Sally” became the final victim of her own propaganda, who “paid a heavy price for that delusion.” She is buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, south of Columbus, in an unmarked grave. And perhaps in some ways, the author intended his book to serve as that missing marker, explaining the popular perception, if not the person, with the epitaph . . . Those who heard her, hated her. Those who didn’t, now know why.”
Chuck Scarborough, NY Nightly News/NBC Now: “A must read…”
The Washington Times: “What created the monster named Axis Sally? Mr. Lucas makes much of the deprivation suffered by a failed actress and her frantic quest for fame. But even after her arrest, she insisted to CIC interrogators that for her ‘the war was against England and the International Jewry.’ She said, “I just couldn’t get the Jews out of my mind…” Mr. Lucas concludes, “She accepted the Nazi worldview, believed her own propaganda, and paid a heavy price for that delusion.”
The Jerusalem Post: “At the very time Gillars was sent to prison for 10 to 13 years and fined $10,000, Lucas reminds us the US Government was welcoming “dyed-in-the-wool Nazis – some with blood on their hands” into the country as valuable assets in the Cold War struggle against communism. Reluctant as we are to admit it, and who wouldn’t be reluctant, Axis Sally might not have received equal justice under the law.”
Laramie, WY, – People seem to have very definite opinions and care deeply when it comes to the issues in evolution versus religion. Ron Frost takes on this debate in his book, Religion Versus Science: Where Both Sides go Wrong in The Great Evolution Debate (O-Books). An editor for two major scientific journals and a professor of Geology for many years, he brings a new perspective to this ongoing argument.
The great debate between scientists and Christians has been going on in this country since the Scopes trial in 1927 and has yet to lose its fury. It is a subject that has been the root of many cultural wars that separate secular, technical people, whose interest is in science, from Christians and followers of other religions. It seems the debate has continued because the supporters of both sides see only a partial view of reality. By shedding new light on this often troubled relationship, Frost presents a new viewpoint of evolution that is compatible with all the world’s wisdom traditions.
The author believes that misconceptions exist on both sides of the debate, and in his book readers get the benefit of his extensive research that helps clear up some of these ideas. There are two things that have to be accepted if we expect to find a common ground between science and religion. First, the scientific evidence upon which the theory of evolution is based is hard to refute: the Earth is immensely old; all life can be traced to one ancient progenitor, and the species that have populated Earth have changed over time. Second, the common nature of the mystical experiences that form the roots of all religions indicate that we are immersed within a spiritual dimension.
What has been an irritant to Christians is that scientists use the facts of evolution to present a totally materialistic view of life, one that leaves no room for a spiritual dimension. Evolution is often depicted as a random, pointless process where the only value to human life is to act as a transporter of our all-important genes. It is understandable why Creationists are appalled by this view; in trying to answer it they make the mistake of attacking the actual facts of evolution rather than the manner in which those facts are presented. In Religion versus Science, Frost, using a premise that evolution has occurred within the bounds of a spiritual dimension, presents a view that is compatible with both the scientific evidence for evolution and with the core teachings of the world’s religions.
Ron Frost has been an editor for two major scientific journals and a professor of Geology at the University of Wyoming for many years. Combining his background with twenty-five years as a practicing Buddhist makes the perfect blend for finding a common ground between science and religion. For more information, please visit the author’s website at: www.ronfrost.com or see the author in a live interview at: http://geology.uwyo.edu/?q=node/281.
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TIP SHEET:
Karl Giberson, Ph.D., author of Saving Darwin: How to be a Christian and Believe in Evolution, and Oracles of Science: Celebrity Scientists Versus God and Religion with Mariano Artigas: “Frost’s remarkably wide-ranging volume offers the reader a helpful survey of the troubled road that led to the current controversy over scientific theories of origins. More than just another book on creation versus evolution, Science vs. Spirituality locates the controversy in the inability of science to deal effectively with the realm of consciousness and mind, where our deepest needs and most profound experiences reside. Writing from an eastern, Buddhist perspective, Frost offers a fresh perspective on one of the deepest questions of our time.”
Shreveport, LA, – Rodney L. Demery has seen it all in his 22 years of police work and even longer in his life as a serial dater. Whatever you have heard, he probably invented it. He knows all the wiles men use to get what they want from women and what better way for women to find out what’s going on in a man’s head than getting it first-hand from one. He understands what women go through and he wants them to learn how to see their lives in a different way and hopefully get a better outcome in their dating choices.
Demery combined his years of investigative police work and his many personal experiences with the opposite sex and put them into his powerful memoir, Things My Daughters Need To Know: A Cop and Father’s View of Sex, Relationships and Happiness (The Demery Group Publishing). Recently hitting Amazon’s Kindle Bestselling List for Memoirs, this is a virtual handbook of the do’s and don’ts of relationships.
For any woman who has been cheated on, wonders why the guy never calls when he promised he would, or can’t seem to get past the bedroom when they start dating a guy, Demery’s candid book will give answers from his own ‘bad boy’ dating habits. From valuable lessons he learned in over twenty years investigative work on homicides, sex crimes, armed robbery and narcotics, Demery believes he has a lot to share with women to help them get a better understanding of men and what makes them tick.
Graphic at times and told from a father and cop’s point of view, his book paints an honest picture of his sexual exploits, unsettling relationships, and the journey to maturity. In Things My Daughters Need To Know, women will learn that abstinence definitely helps get the man; what men really think when you show up in a skimpy outfit; why career women usually end up single, and the biggest one of all – whether the married man you are dating will really leave his wife for you!
Demery lost his mother to murder at the hands of her husband and he believes having his life framed by infidelity may be one reason he had trouble settling down in a monogamous relationship. The first to admit he was the quintessential bad boy when it came to women, he now prides himself on having learned from his mistakes and now looks to the future filled with optimism that he will find the love of a good woman and the happy ending we all want.
Demery hopes that by writing his book, his daughters will be armed with the information they need to better prepare them in their choices of the men they date.
This talented bestselling author has been a guest on Tom Joyner with Jacque Reid, The Russ Parr Morning Show, and radio broadcasts both here and in Canada. He has been featured in many newspaper articles, has appeared on television news broadcasts, and is an excellent public speaker. For more information on Rodney Demery and his fascinating, often poignant memoir, please visit his website at: www.rldemery.com.
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Rave reviews from Amazon Readers:
“This book was Amazing!!!! It took me only one day to read this book. I couldn’t put it down. This is definitely a must read…”
“…I think many people will be transformed as they read along with Demery as he shares his journey of transformation…A remarkable book.”
“This book is a must read for all, but especially young women. Thanks to the author for sharing his memoir, lessons learned, and journey to a place of healing. This started as a love letter to his children and became a love letter to us all.”
“This book was awesome!!! I only wish I could have read it 10 years ago, it would’ve saved me a ton of heartache…”
“…It also has me reviewing my current relationship, but maybe a little too closely. However, the book and author have opened my eyes a little wider about men, relationships, morals, and work values. Thank you!! I will definitely read this book again when I’m in need of a relationship reminder!”
Houston, TX, – Do you believe in miracles? What if a miracle was the only thing that could save your younger brother’s life? Such was the dilemma for Noah, a 12 year-old boy whose faith is put to the test. And because he believed he was the cause of his brother’s illness, he embarks on a mission determined to find the cure. Peter Sacco’s latest book, The Lost Fountain (Inkwater Press) is a beautiful tale of adventure, mystery and hope that is a must read for young adults.
Noah’s brother is inflicted with Progeria; an extremely rare, fatal genetic condition whose symptoms cause early aging and premature death. There was no way that Noah caused it, but he is bound and determined to be the one to find the cure. Together with his two friends the three set out to find the fabled Fountain of Youth – believing that if they find it, they will be able to turn back time and save Noah’s brother.
A beautiful story that is both inspirational and uplifting, The Lost Fountain is divided into four parts; beginning with why Noah believes he caused his brother’s disease and the not-so-clear direction he takes to identify his sense of guilt and remorse for believing he is the cause. Readers then get to share in the thrills and adventures that Noah and his friends encounter on their physical and emotional journey to find the Fountain of Youth and, finally, the perfect resolution he makes with his family, friends – and himself.
When the boys set out on their adventure, they have the ghost of Ponce de Leon on their side; the Spanish explorer who was originally associated with the legend of the Fountain of Youth. What they don’t know is that they are in a race to find the fountain with a greedy and unscrupulous archeologist who is hot on their trail.
The Lost Fountain is a beautifully uplifting story of hope and faith with inspiring messages of goodness for today’s children and youth.
Peter Sacco’s qualifications blend real-life lessons with fantasy in this children’s story. As well as a talented author, he is a psychology professor who lectures at universities in both the U.S. and Canada. He knows first-hand the affect this debilitating disease can have on a family. While the book does a superb job of teaching children empathy for childhood diseases, it also brings much-needed awareness to the disease itself. In fact, the author is generously donating one-half of the royalties from his book to the Progeria Research Foundation of America. Of note is that Sacco’s story is based on an actual young boy who suffers with Progeria and who happens to be the nephew of Audrey Gordon, Esq., the president and executive director of this outstanding foundation.
Peter Sacco is a regular resident expert on several television programs and was the host of Mental Health Matters for two years. He is the author of many international, popular-selling books. He was the former Editor-in-Chief of Vices: The Magazine for Addictions, Habits and Well-Being, and author of over 500 magazine articles. Peter is a recipient of the Award of Excellence in Teaching and is an in-demand lecturer who specializes in relationships, criminal psychology, addictions and mental health.
Peter is currently working with a co-author on a series of books involving Noah and his friends and their discoveries of historical, ancient and lost sites that educators have praised as “Indiana Jones for Kids meets a Spiritual Harry Potter!” Please visit this talented writer at his website: www.petersacco.com.
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Joe Mayer, the late Supervising Editor of the box office smash hit Pretty Woman: “…this book is excellent! That is how I would describe this book. Definitely movie potential and needs to be reviewed in Hollywood.”
Aunt of a child with Progeria: “What a wonderful book! Rich with fantasy situations as well as real-life lessons, Noah’s adventures are entertaining and heartening. Progeria is a subject very near and dear to my heart, and this story portrays it in a very inspirational way.”
Idaho Springs, CO, — Marshall Ulrich went 3,063 miles on foot, running about 60 miles a day for 52 days straight, from San Francisco to New York City. He was 57 years old when he ran the equivalent of 117 back-to-back marathons in an attempt to break a world record set by a man half his age. Ultimately, he set two new records and completed the third fastest trans-American crossing in history.
At the end, he ran right into Times Square on election night, November 4, 2008. As he watched people shouting and dancing in the streets as the election returns blared on the CNN jumbo screen, Ulrich remembers, “I pretended all the hoopla was for me.”
He returns to New York this year on the anniversary of his finish. As part of the celebration, he will attend the ING New York City Marathon (Nov. 3–5) as one of the elder statesmen of running, on hand all weekend to meet and encourage this year’s racers. At the Expo held in the Javits Convention Center, he’ll be signing his book, Running on Empty: An Ultramarathoner’s Story of Love, Loss, and a Record-Setting Run Across America (Avery, $26).
While the book centers on the transcontinental run, this legendary athlete has been competing in extreme endurance sports for nearly three decades:
• He began running ultra distances in his thirties, and in his forties he set records on some of the world’s most difficult courses. Known primarily for his exploits in Death Valley, Ulrich won the infamous Badwater Ultramarathon a record four times — a race dubbed by National Geographic as the toughest in the world. He still holds the record for the original 146-mile course, which starts at below sea level and concludes at almost 14,500 feet, on the peak of Mt. Whitney.
• Then he began adventure racing; competing in multi-day events with a team of hard-core athletes. He’s one of only three people to complete all nine Eco-Challenges; contests that make the TV show Survivor look like a resort vacation. At the same time, he became an innovator in the sport of ultrarunning; finishing feats of endurance no one had accomplished before. To mark his 50th birthday in 2001, he ran across Death Valley four times in a row for a total of nearly 600 miles, crossing the scorching desert and going up and down Mt. Whitney to raise money for orphans who live in some of the poorest countries in the world.
• In his 50’s, he ascended all Seven Summits on first attempts, including reaching the top of Mt. Everest in 2004. Outside magazine crowned him an “endurance king;” Trail Runner named him one of the legends of the trail, and Adventure Sports highlighted him as an athlete “Over 50 and Kicking Your Butt.”
• Four years later he completed the run across the United States, breaking the Masters and Grand Masters records and outpacing all but two of his peers – both of whom were 20 years younger than Ulrich when they ran it.
• Since then, Ulrich has continued to take on new challenges. This summer, to celebrate his 60th birthday, he ran the Badwater Ultramarathon again, and then headed directly to the Alps. There he summitted five peaks over 13,000 feet, including an ascent of Mt. Moench in near white-out conditions.
Revered by those who have heard of his exploits, but relatively unknown until publication of his book, Ulrich is frequently asked why he waited so long to write about his accomplishments. He says this book is richer and more reflective than one he might have written as a younger man. “Before, I didn’t feel qualified to speak with authority,” he admits, though many would argue the point. “Finally, I felt comfortable to write about something more than sport, to communicate some valuable lessons I’ve learned about living.”
One important element in the book is a recounting of how Ulrich met his wife, Heather, late in life and how she taught him to love again after great personal tragedy. He credits her not only with helping him to become a better man, but also with being essential to his completing this epic, record-setting transcontinental run.
So Running On Empty is both a gripping love story and an inspirational look into the life of someone who has accomplished more than most people can comprehend – and who insists that everyone is capable of much more than they may think. He continues to take on new challenges to reveal that the human body and the will to endure are miraculous indeed. Ulrich shows all of us that there are no such things as “too old,” “too far,” or “too difficult.”
Please visit www.MarshallUlrich.com for a closer look at the life of this extraordinary man.
“Searing, obsessive honesty …” – The Sydney Morning Herald
“Not really about running at all …” – The Denver Post
“Loaded with drama …” – The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Dean Karnazes, acclaimed endurance athlete and bestselling author of Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner: “Marshall is The Man. Definitively. His run across America at the age of 57 sealed that distinction forever. He’s living proof that endurance never sleeps, never gets old, never tires. Nothing can stop him, and that gives us all hope, gives us resolve to keep trying.” — Aron Ralston, author of Between a Rock and a Hard Place and subject of 127 Hours: “Usually, graceful would be applied to a runner’s form. With Marshall Ulrich, it’s even more apt a descriptor of his spirit, his soul, which he generously shares with us in Running on Empty. Tempting as it might also be to describe him as superhuman, Marshall has fallen and struggled and risen and struggled some more. His story, therefore, is ours, and whatever one might admire in him is also, therefore, in each of us.”
Mark Burnett, Emmy-award winning producer of Survivor, Eco-Challenge, The Apprentice, and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? “Marshall and I go way back to the first Eco-Challenge in 1995. An athlete of astonishing grit both then and now, he never fails to push the limits of his sport, no matter what extreme endurance event he’s chosen. Running on Empty tells the story of Marshall’s greatest test: reading it, you get a sense of how tough this man is, but there’s also a bit of Everyman in Marsh. He’s an inspiration to all of us.” —
