Don’t Stop Dancing Shares Untold Stories From The Life Of Michael Jackson
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Everyone knows that Michael Jackson was discovered by Motown Records, the label that launched Michael and his brothers into the recording industry’s stratosphere, right? Not quite, says music producer and history buff Gary Revel, who interviewed former music producers Ben Brown and Gordon Keith for his latest investigative effort, Don’t Stop Dancing: Stranger Than Fiction.
Brown and Keith were two of the founders of Steeltown Records, a short-lived label in Gary, Indiana, and the first label to record a Jackson 5 single featuring the iconic voice of Michael Jackson. The long-held narrative that Motown Records initially discovered the Jackson 5’s immense talent was perpetuated by Berry Gordy (Motown’s founder) and the Jackson Empire, according to Revel’s account in the book.
“Ben [Brown] and Gordon [Keith] had produced the Jackson 5 in Gary, Indiana, before they started making music recordings for Motown,” Revel writes. “The first single record ‘Big Boy’ was produced by them and released on their label, Steeltown Records. It is the first music release on which Michael Jackson sang.”
Even though Michael has been gone for more than a decade, “he continues to sell more albums than many music icons of our time and his fan club still has over 3 billion card-carrying, dues-paying, faithful members worldwide! It’s no wonder that Rolling Stone Magazine deemed him the 12th most important figure in rock music history.” The King of Pop lives on today through his music and videos and “we believe Michael’s billions of fans around the world will want to know the many never-before-told facts that are in this updated edition of the book,” says Revel.
In the early 1990s, Revel, who had investigated the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., was asked to help expose the truth of the secretive life, music and career of Michael Jackson. But his efforts were put on hold when child sex charges against Michael Jackson took center stage. Later, Revel resumed his research, and he “not only found the truth but he also found those who wanted to keep the truth secret.” Revel says that Don’t Stop Dancing: Stranger Than Fiction “answers all the questions the world has about the life, music and career of Michael Jackson.”
Author Gary Revel was born in Florala, Alabama. After his parents divorced when he was just 5, music became a trusted companion, and he formed his first band when he was 15. After high school, he enlisted in the United States Navy. His Honorable Discharge came, and Hollywood called, then New York, Memphis, Nashville and back to Hollywood. Along the way, Revel investigated the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in association with the US Government’s House Select Committee on Assassinations. Revel is currently writing, publishing and developing music, as well as literary and motion picture projects. For more information, please visit http://garyrevel.com.
Don’t Stop Dancing: Stranger Than Fiction Publisher: Jongleur Books ISBN-13: 979-8635490112 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Patricia McCune Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
To Live or Maybe Not Takes Readers On Adventurous Ride With Musician Gary Revel
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Musician and historian Gary Revel fully expects readers to say, “No way this could be true,” as they peruse the pages of his colorful memoir, To Live or Maybe Not.
“Don’t worry, I feel the same way when I remember some things I have done in my life,” he quips in the book’s prologue.
Part coming-of-age and part adventurous road trip, To Live or Maybe Not begins in Florala, Alabama, near the Florida state line in 1949. Readers who experienced the nomadic, hippie culture of the ’60s and ’70s will be overcome with nostalgia, as Revel takes a long, winding stroll down a memory lane paved with colorful characters and unforgettable situations. We follow Revel through his unusual upbringing, his high school days and his US Navy service during Vietnam.
Most people associate Revel with his accomplishments in the music industry, and it was after his honorable discharge from the Navy that he found himself in Hollywood, California, where his music career blossomed. He eventually traveled back across the country to New York City, Memphis and Nashville. Revel includes entertaining anecdotes from his music career and his pivot toward family life before his life took yet another turn and he began his investigation into the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
To Live or Maybe Not leaves off with Revel and his family back in Hollywood. It’s the end of the book but the beginning of more adventures and books to come.
Author Gary Revel was born in Florala, Alabama. After his parents divorced when he was just 5, music became a trusted companion, and he formed his first band when he was 15. After a long career in music, Revel found himself investigating the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in association with the US Government’s House Select Committee on Assassinations. Revel continues to release and distribute music via his Jongleur Music company as well as develop motion pictures via his Jongleur Pictures company. He is also the author of My Angel from Heaven, Milestones, Grempk and Don’t Stop Dancing: Stranger Than Fiction, his investigation into the life of Michael Jackson.
Musical Savant Inspires Heartbroken Pianist In Return Of The Song
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Caroline Carlyle, a gifted pianist, has abandoned her unfinished compositions and traded her old ambitions for the comfort and familiarity of being the town’s favorite piano teacher. The music that once filled her heart died along with her fiancé in the floodwaters of Guate-mala six years ago. Struggling with aching loss and a splintered faith, she has long since given up on rediscovering the inspiration that once came so easily.
Until, that is, a prodigious, musical savant enters Caroline’s life, shattering her glass cocoon, capturing the attention of many of the townsfolk, and awakening Caroline’s courage and sense of purpose. Inspired by her new acquaintance, Caroline embarks on a quest to track down the beloved rare piano she played as a child. Her search leads her to Rockwater, the Kentucky estate of a wealthy gentleman who will forever alter the trajectory of Caroline’s life.
Return of the Song is the compelling first book in the Rockwater Suite series from Phyllis Clark Nichols. Readers will find themselves immersed in the fictional town of Moss Point, Georgia, where quiet glimmers of romance and undercurrents of mystery complement the town’s Southern beauty and charm. They will discover the hope of life after loss and the rekindling of love and purpose.
With change in the air at Moss Point, secrets will be revealed, events will converge and characters will collide — all of it building to an unexpected crescendo. Who will ultimately help Caroline find the real music of her heart again?
Author Phyllis Clark Nichols weaves her faith and her Southern culture into character-driven stories that bring hope and light as they explore profound human questions. A classically-trained musician and retired cable executive, she enjoys art, books, nature, cooking, travel and stories about ordinary people who live extraordinary lives. In addition to the Rockwater Suite series, Phyllis is the author of the Family Portrait series and the inspirational Christmas novels, Christmas at Grey Sage and Silent Days, Holy Night. She and her husband live in the Texas Hill Country. Please visit her at www.phyllisclarknichols.com.
Return of the Song Publisher: Gilead Publishing ISBN-10: 1683701453 ISBN-13: 978-1683701453 Available from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com
Trish Stevens Claire Downing Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
Trish Stevens Claire Downing Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)
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Code-At-Home Tech Toys Keep Girls Engaged, Away From Computer Screens, During COVID-19 School Closures
Are you looking for constructive ways to keep your children stimulated and engaged during the COVID-19 school shutdown? SmartGurlz founder Sharmi Albrechtsen beat out 40,000 other entrepreneurs on ABC’s Shark Tank and negotiated with guest “shark” Richard Branson, before closing a deal with Daymond John on her line of groundbreaking toys that use an award-winning robotics platform to teach basic coding skills to girls as young as 6.
“Many girls’ toys lag behind in the development of spatial skills, hands-on problem solving skills, and confidence with coding and computer science,” explains SmartGurlz founder Sharmi Albrechtsen. “These are exactly the skills that SmartGurlz aims to develop.”
The SmartGurlz line of unique, interactive, self-balancing robots and dolls are controlled with the SugarCoded™ App than can be downloaded onto an IOS or android phone or tablet that once downloaded requires no Wi-Fi, just Bluetooth.
A full, step-by-step tutorial teaches basic coding strategies so young girls can maneuver the toys around obstacle courses of their own design. With several levels of learning and chal-lenges, the toy keeps kids occupied several hours a week for 4-6 months.
The company is also offering a free weekly webinar for parents and kids affected by COVID- 19 that includes getting started, tips and tricks, and weekly home assignments.
Girls playing with SmartGurlz products learn three key concepts:
Spatial Reasoning. Girls learn how to direct/orient their robots in new environments and in-terpret maps.
Computer Programming. Girls learn to program their robots using our kid-friendly coding App called SugarCodedTM.
Storytelling & Problem Solving. Girls learn to tell stories and solve missions via coding.
The SmartGurlz product line also includes an e-book series available through the App that focuses on the everyday adventures of four talented young women studying at the fictional New York Institute of Technology — N.I.T.
We’re all adjusting to a new normal. You can use this extra time at home to inspire the female tech leaders of tomorrow with toys that integrate the power of play with the power of technology.
SmartGurlz CEO Sharmi Albrechtsen is a robotics aficionado, educator, author and mom with a passion for closing the diversity gap in technology.
In 2015, Sharmi started SmartGurlz after becoming frustrated with the lack of STEM toys available for her daughter. The SmartGurlz flagship product, Siggy, was the first robotics product designed specifically for girls. More than 30,000 girls have been educated with SmartGurlz. SmartGurlz partners include BlackGirlsCode, Girl Scouts of America and Morrison Mentors.
SmartGurlz recently expanded its product line to include Smart Buddies (a joint-venture with Pitsco Education), which features a diverse set of characters suitable for both girls and boys, targeted towards schools.
Sharmi was recently given AdWeek’s Disruptor Award in Championing Gender Diversity in Advertising and Tech. She has also been named Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 by the Asian Chamber of Commerce as well as named a Morgan Stanley Multi-Cultural Innovation Lab fellow. Sharmi has been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, Financial Times, Fox Business News, Fox and Friends and CNN. She is also a featured TEDx speaker.
Trish Stevens Claire Downing Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Code-At-Home Tech Toys Keep Girls Engaged, Away From Computer Screens, During COVID-19 School Closures
Are you looking for constructive ways to keep your children stimulated and engaged during the COVID-19 school shutdown? The line of groundbreaking toys from SmartGurlz Inc. uses an award-winning robotics platform to teach basic coding skills to girls as young as 6.
“Many girls’ toys lag behind in the development of spatial skills, hands-on problem solving skills, and confidence with coding and computer science,” explains SmartGurlz founder Sharmi Albrechtsen. “These are exactly the skills that SmartGurlz aims to develop.”
The SmartGurlz line of unique, interactive, self-balancing robots and dolls are controlled with the SugarCoded™ App than can be downloaded onto an IOS or android phone or tablet that once downloaded requires no Wi-Fi, just Bluetooth.
A full, step-by-step tutorial teaches basic coding strategies so young girls can maneuver the toys around obstacle courses of their own design. With several levels of learning and chal-lenges, the toy keeps kids occupied several hours a week for 4-6 months.
The company is also offering a free weekly webinar for parents and kids affected by COVID- 19 that includes getting started, tips and tricks, and weekly home assignments.
Girls playing with SmartGurlz products learn three key concepts:
Spatial Reasoning. Girls learn how to direct/orient their robots in new environments and in-terpret maps.
Computer Programming. Girls learn to program their robots using our kid-friendly coding App called SugarCodedTM.
Storytelling & Problem Solving. Girls learn to tell stories and solve missions via coding.
The SmartGurlz product line also includes an e-book series available through the App that focuses on the everyday adventures of four talented young women studying at the fictional New York Institute of Technology — N.I.T.
We’re all adjusting to a new normal. You can use this extra time at home to inspire the female tech leaders of tomorrow with toys that integrate the power of play with the power of technology.
SmartGurlz CEO Sharmi Albrechtsen is a robotics aficionado, educator, author and mom with a passion for closing the diversity gap in technology.
In 2015, Sharmi started SmartGurlz after becoming frustrated with the lack of STEM toys available for her daughter. The SmartGurlz flagship product, Siggy, was the first robotics product designed specifically for girls. More than 30,000 girls have been educated with SmartGurlz. SmartGurlz partners include BlackGirlsCode, Girl Scouts of America and Morrison Mentors.
SmartGurlz recently expanded its product line to include Smart Buddies (a joint-venture with Pitsco Education), which features a diverse set of characters suitable for both girls and boys, targeted towards schools.
Sharmi was recently given AdWeek’s Disruptor Award in Championing Gender Diversity in Advertising and Tech. She has also been named Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 by the Asian Chamber of Commerce as well as named a Morgan Stanley Multi-Cultural Innovation Lab fellow. Sharmi has been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, Financial Times, Fox Business News, Fox and Friends and CNN. She is also a featured TEDx speaker.
Trish Stevens Teresa Hinojosa Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 832.569.5773 Direct 281.333.3507 Phone 832.569.5539 Fax [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)
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Climb Aboard The Western Star And Witness The Adventures Of A Lifetime
The year is 1979, and 12-year-old Annie’s life has been upended. Her parents have announced that their home for the next nine months will be a 53-foot sailboat in the Atlantic Ocean. The thought of leaving behind her pets, friends and a life she loves—plus coexisting in close quarters with her older brother—has left Annie spiraling through a kaleidoscope of emotions. Heartbroken at first, Annie turns to writing, and through her detailed journal of daily life aboard the Western Star, she reveals a remarkable transformation.
Girl Sailing Aboard the Western Star is the engaging, poignant result of Annie’s chronicle of her family’s adventures in the Atlantic. Readers get to experience through Annie’s eyes the raw, unfiltered angst of a girl on the cusp of being a teenager, as she grapples with feelings of isolation, resentment and uncertainty. Page after page, hints of new awakenings rise to the surface, as Annie learns how to trim the sheet, raise the main sail and navigate using a sextant. She also learns about the stars and constellations and about the amazing creatures living under the boat. The journal takes readers along as she snorkels, scuba dives and jet skis her way through The Bahamas, the Caribbean and the Virgin Islands.
Drawn directly from Anderson’s real-life story of living on a sailboat with her family, this charming coming-of-age tale shares Annie’s day-by-day emotional evolution, as she discovers new worlds above and below the deep blue sea and lives the adventures of a lifetime.
Author RA Anderson is a wanderer who has lived all over, from California to Belize, and currently, home is a town called Rome, in Georgia that is! She grew up on horseback and sailboats—“the most amazing way to grow up!”
A lifelong passion for creative writing and photography became her life. Her award-winning photographs have been featured in table books, magazines and front-page news, and her writing has been published in magazines, poetry books and children’s books. Her children’s series include If Pets Could Talk and Iceland: The Puffin Explorers.
Three boys—her heart and soul—call her Mom. She and her husband—whom she calls her “strength and passion”—are recent empty-nesters, leaving them more time to travel.
Girl Sailing Aboard the Western Star Publisher: My Favorite Books Publishing Company, LLC Release Date: January 1, 2020 ISBN-10: 1950590038 ISBN-13: 978-1950590032 Available from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com
Trish Stevens
Teresa Hinojosa
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
832.569.5773 Direct
281.333.3507 Phone
832.569.5539 Fax [email protected]
www.ascotmedia.com
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)
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Join The Adventure As Playful Puffins Encounter Fire And Ice
Summertime in Iceland means nearly 24 hours of glistening sunlight each day—perfect for lighting the way for adventurous little puffins. But when two puffin friends, Árni and Birta, embark upon a journey of exploration, an Icelandic Faery plays clever tricks on them, making their grand adventure take longer than expected. The extended darkness of September’s nightfall looms large on the horizon, and the pufflings must find their way home in a hurry.
Puffins Encounter Fire & Ice is the third installment in RA Anderson’s delightful Iceland: The Puffin Explorers Series, and this time around, Iceland’s natural wonders take center stage. Árni and Birta discover glaciers, volcanoes, natural energy, lava fields, waterfalls and some of the legendary folk of Iceland. But as nightfall draws closer, Árni’s parents must step up their frantic search for these two curious puffins to help guide them back to their burrows before dark. Will they succeed? Join the adventure to find out!
Although intended for children who have a love for all animals, birds and nature, adults will find that these books hold a unique type of travelogue, complete with fun facts and breath-taking photography shot by the author as she explored the beautiful country of Iceland.
Puffins Encounter Fire & Ice follows in the webbed footsteps of Puffins Take Flight and Puffins off the Beaten Path, the first two books in Anderson’s entertaining and educational Puffin Explorers Series.
Author RA Anderson is a wanderer who has lived all over, from California to Belize, and currently, home is a town called Rome, in Georgia that is!
A lifelong passion for creative writing and photography became her life. Her award-winning photographs have been featured in table books, magazines and front-page news, and her writing has been published in magazines, poetry books and children’s books. Her If Pets Could Talk series includes Cats, Dogs, Farm Animals and A Service Dog. Iceland: The Puffin Explorers Series is her newest children’s series. She also recently released a YA book, Girl Sailing Aboard the Western Star.
Three boys—her heart and soul—call her Mom. She and her husband are recent empty-nesters, leaving them more time to travel.
For more information, please visit ra-anderson.com, or connect with her on social media at https://www.facebook.com/raAndersonAuthor/; @aruthanne Instagram; @ra_anderson_author Instagram; or @aruthanne Twitter.
Puffins Encounter Fire & Ice
Publisher: My Favorite Books Publishing Company, LLC
Release Date: January 8, 2020
ISBN-10: 1950590097
ISBN-13: 978-1950590094
Available from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com
