Colorful ‘Lizzy’ Romp Teaches Kids to Live in the Now
(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
“A lively, innovative story of friendship that encourages readers to think creatively.”
Kirkus Reviews
Young readers have watched and learned as the impressionable young Lizzy, of the It’s Just So… children’s book series, adapted to a new school, became a big sister and danced with animals in a talent show. Now What? is the latest adventure featuring the precocious redhead, as she and her amusing animal sidekick discover ways to entertain themselves through an otherwise very gray day!
The book title begs the question, and the answers come through in the form of silly mishaps that the contagiously enthusiastic Lizzy turns into new opportunities in this comical romp. Readers are taken on a little journey through a day that brings personal growth and the meeting of Luna, a new neighbor, who just moved from the Caribbean. Together, Lizzy and Luna color their way through inventive play and discovery as they embrace the concept of “living in the now” while being creative with what life presents.
Curiosity, frustration, imagination and a unique perspective are at the heart of Now What?, from author Brenda Faatz and co-author/illustrator Peter Trimarco, who bring Lizzy and the story to life with lyrical rhyme and colorful, whimsical illustrations.
An engaging picture walk for little ones, Now What? is also a fun read-aloud for older kiddos and features subtle yet effective messaging that gives readers of all ages a little something to smile and think about.
Brenda Faatz has an undeniable connection with children. Some say it’s because they instinctively know “one of their own.” A graduate of the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in Musical Theatre, Brenda is a professional singer, dancer, actor, writer and director. Having established herself as a critically-acclaimed actor while performing on stages from Minneapolis to Aspen, Boulder and Denver, Brenda has turned her talents to creating fresh content for youngsters. She has penned music, lyrics and scripts for original musical theatre works for children, and is the founder and director of the Notable Kids Arts Center in Denver. While collaborating with her husband and illustrator Peter Trimarco, Brenda has authored the award-winning It’s Just So … children’s book series because, as she likes to say, “no one ever told me I couldn’t.”
Peter Trimarco started his professional doodling career as an editorial cartoonist before turning to commercial art and designing packaging for both the film and music industries. Along the way, he also established himself on the business side of music as an executive producer and creative director on over 40 productions, with two going on to win Grammy nominations. While staying in the entertainment field, he published a trade magazine for the film industry and ultimately brought his creative juices and publishing expertise to the printed page for youngsters. Peter is a graduate of Lake Forest College, where he studied Literature and Fine Arts. In addition to designing album covers and book covers, he is the illustrator of Ella McBella In The Dark by Laura Pells, and the It’s Just So … book series, which he co-created with his wife, Brenda Faatz.
Now What? Release Date: October 12, 2021 Publisher: Notable Kids Publishing ISBN-10: 1733354824 ISBN-13: 978-1733354820 Available from Amazon.com, BN.com, Indiebond.org and anywhere books are sold
Trish Stevens Stacy Butler Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Harrowing Experiences in Alaska Transform Young Bride Into Woman of Strength
(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
At the age of 23, new bride Deanne Burch accompanied her husband, Ernest “Tiger” Burch, to the Inuit village of Kivalina, Alaska, a barrier island 83 miles above the Arctic Circle. Tiger was conducting a study of the natives, but Deanne, a naïve city girl, was completely unprepared for what she was about to experience. Tiger would say that what happened to them was bad luck. Deanne calls it destiny.
In Journey Through Fire and Ice: Shattered Dreams Above the Arctic Circle, Deanne recounts in vivid detail her unforgettable story of the months spent in a remote Eskimo village.
“I think when something happens — the tragedy that happened to us in Alaska — you always live on the edge of it. You never forget what really happened,” Deanne said in a recent interview.
In Kivalina, Deanne lived on the edge of two worlds — the one she left behind and the one where she reluctantly participated in all aspects of the women’s lives. Skinning seals, cleaning and drying fish, and cutting beluga and caribou to store became her way of life. Plumbing, running water and electricity were not available. Loneliness was a constant companion until a few women befriended her.
During a span of six days, Deanne and Tiger narrowly escaped death during a camping trip, and Tiger suffered severe burns from a fire in their house. He spent three months in the hospital receiving treatment for seared lungs and horrific burns on his face and hands. His lungs never recovered from this ordeal.
When he was finally released from the hospital, he returned to the village with Deanne to complete the study. The life-threatening and harrowing experiences in Alaska transformed Deanne into a woman of strength who learned how to embrace challenge.
Over 50 years later, she remembers that young girl who left on an unknown journey that will live in her heart forever.
Author Deanne Burch was born and raised in Canada and attended the University of Toronto, obtaining B.A. degrees in liberal arts and social work. After the Alaska journey, she and her husband eventually settled in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, where they lived until his death.
Deanne spent 30 years as a professional international photographer who taught and lectured in the U.S. and Canada. She published several articles in photography magazines and journals. Since retiring in 2014, she devoted herself to writing short stories and children’s stories. Journey Through Fire and Ice: Shattered Dreams Above the Arctic Circle was published in March 2021.
Journey Through Fire and Ice: Shattered Dreams Above the Arctic Circle Publisher: Authority Publishing ISBN-10: 1949642593 ISBN-13: 978-1949642599 Available from Amazon.com
Meet the Four Cornerstones of Success —Then Start Building Yours
(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
Why do some people dive, some survive, and others thrive? The answer, reveals Randall Bell, Ph.D., is surprisingly simple: choices. Dr. Bell, a socio-economist and the CEO of Landmark Research Group, has developed an easy-to-follow formula for authentic growth and success based upon more than 25 years of behavioral research. In his book, Me We Do Be: The Four Cornerstones of Success, Dr. Bell masterfully interweaves stories from his consulting work on high-profile cases—including Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, and O.J. Simpson—with findings from behavioral studies and his own survey of 5,000 people to reveal the daily habits that can make or break both personal and professional growth and success. In Me We Do Be, he explains that all behaviors can be organized into four cornerstones:
• Me is quality thinking that builds wisdom. • We habits form quality relationships. • Do actions build productivity. • Be designs the future.
There is no one-size-fits-all definition of success. For some, it’s making money. For others it’s having a loving family, winning a competition, completing a degree or beating cancer. The power of Me We Do Be is that it connects all the dots and creates a fresh perspective for moving forward, allowing readers to define what success means to them as individuals, while sharing the foundational elements that apply to everyone.
As a socio-economist, Dr. Bell has consulted on more disasters on earth than anyone in history, including the Flight 93 Crash Site, the BP Oil Spill, Hurricane Katrina and the nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll.
Often called the “Master of Disaster,” Dr. Bell is a frequent guest of the media and has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal, People magazine, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer, 20/20, Entertainment Tonight and by newscasters on every major television network. Dr. Bell also stars in the TV miniseries Distressed Real Estate, available on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Me We Do Be: The Four Cornerstones of Success Leadership Institute Press ISBN-10: 0996793119 ISBN-13: 978-0996793117 Available online and at fine bookstores everywhere
Trish Stevens Kim Weiss Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 954.263.6827 Direct 800.854.1134 Office [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
Faith Journey Includes the Good, the Bad and the Proof that God Hears Our Prayers
(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
Christine Schat sat down and wrote the truth about her life even though some of it was messy. As a teenager, she lived by her own rules, became pregnant, married young, divorced and married again. She made choices that led to the tragic death of her husband and the heartbreak of a prodigal son. She had welcomed Jesus into her life at an early age, but had repeatedly veered off course. Every time she repented, she found God’s forgiveness and mercy to be always available, always complete. This is her compelling story.
The Tree of Faith, God Wants to Answer YOUR Prayer is Schat’s deeply personal memoir recounting true stories that range from dealing with regret to letting go of guilt and letting go of shame. There were many life events that prompted Schat to seek God’s will and to ask for His help. Did God always show up in exactly the way she expected Him to? No. Were her prayers answered as quickly as she’d hoped? No. But ultimately, she recognized the constant thread of God’s love that was woven throughout her life despite her sins.
Schat’s style is easy and conversational, and laced with touches of humor. She shares the moments, thoughts and experiences that led her to a most astonishing realization in the face of adversity.
She discovered that the seed of faith planted in her at birth by the Creator could grow easily in the healthy soil of a humble heart. By spiritually cultivating that seed with life-giving prayer and sonshine, her small seedling grew into a magnificently strong, fruit-bearing tree of faith, deeply rooted and stable. She then knew, that living with Christ, everything is possible.
In The Tree of Faith, readers will discover the age-old secret to obliterating fear, guilt and shame; the personal way God answers questions; strength through adversity and the power of letting go; the unique key to turning life around; and the growing faith that looks past the impossible. Along the way, readers are invited to get involved through chapter questions.
Schat shares the good and the bad of her faith journey, with personal stories and a wealth of wisdom gleaned over decades that can give readers hope that God hears their prayers.
“Now is the time to look to the Light, renew your faith and expect God to answer your prayers!” Schat said.
Author Christine Schat is a UCLA graduate and the former owner of Fort Bragg Bakery. She loves to smile, laugh and share her stories. She currently lives in Southern California but loves to travel the country visiting family and friends. She is especially fond of her grandchildren and has been nicknamed Gram-cracker. But her greatest joy is experiencing God’s answered prayers.
The Tree of Faith, God Wants to Answer YOUR Prayer Publisher: Made for More Enterprises, LLC ISBN-13: 979-8735214540 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Emily Tucker Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Gripping Exposé Draws Alarming Parallels Between Cult Dynamics and Today’s Political Landscape
(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
How does an intelligent, well-educated person find herself under the control of a narcissistic sociopath? It’s a question that Radhia Gleis didn’t begin to ponder until after she’d spent 25 years in the Buddha-field cult. Why had she made the choices she did at the time? And why do so many others become followers of authoritarian leaders?
“What makes people give up their will, their sense of right and wrong — give up their moral compass and family ties for a person or an ideal?” Gleis asks.
A nutritionist, biochemical analyst and educator, Gleis says her post-traumatic stress, forever entombed in her psyche, is repeatedly triggered by the characteristics of current political and cultural leaders, prompting her to explore her past decisions through a much broader lens that sheds light on the blind spots — and dangers — of groupthink.
Her powerful new book, The Followers: “Holy Hell” and the Disciples of Narcissistic Leaders: How My Years in a Notorious Cult Parallel Today’s Cultural Mania, draws strong parallels between her devotion to a cult leader — and authority — whose damaging behavior and influence she willfully ignored, and the followers of other narcissistic authorities. The Holy Hell reference in the book’s title is a nod to the 2016 Buddha-field cult documentary of that same name, in which Gleis appears.
The Followers lays the groundwork by skimming Gleis’ upbringing in Hollywood and tracing the steps of her adult life when, at the age of 30, she fell under the influence of the charismatic leader of the Buddha-field, known by many names, including Michel, Andreas, The Teacher or Reyji.
Gleis weaves together her personal experiences with reflections on a number of thought-provoking topics, including the search for a higher truth, cults, groupthink and mind control, authoritarian leaders, malignant narcissistic personality disorder and sociopathy, the American schism, and how an intelligent, well-educated person may find herself under the control of a narcissistic sociopath.
Author Radhia Gleis has been a Certified Clinical Nutritionist, CCN, MEd. biochemical analyst and educator for over 33 years. She has appeared as a featured guest on numerous radio and television shows including Fox News, Austin. She hosted The Health Revolution and Let’s Get Healthy on Talk 1370 AM, KLBJ, and The Wellness Connection podcast on Voice America. She was the host and executive producer of three YouTube series: Wake up America; How the Body Works; and The Natural Way. She was featured in the internationally viewed movie, Holy Hell, which was broadcast on CNN and named one of Sundance Film Festival’s and Netflix’s top 10 documentaries. It can now be viewed on Amazon Prime.
For more information, please visit www.radhiagleis.com, or follow the author on Twitter (@radhia_gleis).
The Followers: “Holy Hell” and the Disciples of Narcissistic Leaders: How My Years in a Notorious Cult Parallel Today’s Cultural Mania Publisher: Sage Card Publishing ISBN-10: 1737125803 ISBN-13: 978-1737125808 Available from Amazon.com, BN.com and Audible.com
Trish Stevens Carmen Jeffreys Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
The Message that Families Impacted by Addiction Need to Hear: You Are Not Alone
(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
When Christine Naman says that her daughter is “doing well,” the caution in her voice is palpable. Addiction recovery is a work in progress — not a quick fix — and Christine has learned to celebrate each day for the tiny victory that it is.
Her daughter, Natalie, was just 15 years old when she became addicted to heroin. They were everyday people, living everyday lives, and then the floor dropped out.
“It’s exactly where you don’t want to end up,” Christine said in a recent interview. “I was caught flat-footed, and I’m embarrassed to say that.”
Christine traces her daughter’s years-long battle with addiction — and her own struggles with denial — in About Natalie, a gripping, cautionary tale of how a child can suddenly end up on the wrong path, meet the wrong people and get lost in the unthinkable.
About Natalie takes readers deep inside Christine’s emotional and mental turmoil as she grows into her new, unfortunate role as the parent of an addict. She steps on syringes left on the floor and wrestles one from the family dog’s mouth. She lives the nightmare of finding an unresponsive child on the floor and uses Narcan to revive her. She chases away a drug dealer and stays up all night waiting for her missing child to come home. She rejoices during periods of recovery and hope and is devastated during relapses. When her daughter suffers, Christine suffers right along with her.
Interwoven with Christine’s reflections are Natalie’s brilliant poems that share her personal pain and the unvarnished truth of her struggle.
Full of compassion, understanding and hope for addicts, About Natalie is a story of fighting for — and right alongside — the ones we love, no matter how difficult the circumstances. It is a story of keeping the faith, battling hard and never giving up.
Bestselling author Christine Pisera Naman is a wife to a beautiful man named Peter and a mother to three fantastic kids named Jason, Natalie and Trevor. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, which she does poorly; painting, again poorly; and volunteering at her local hospital, which she hopes she does well. She is the author of the Faces of Hope series of books that are now housed in the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City. Her other works include Caterpillar Kisses, Christmas Lights, The Novena and The Believers. About Natalie is her heart poured onto paper.
She hopes that by sharing her family’s difficult story she can bring understanding and knowledge to those who do not know the problem firsthand as well as provide comfort to those who know the nightmare of addiction all too well.
Bee Scared Plants the Seed of Environmentalism in Young Minds
(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
“Your Majesty,” said the Scout Bee to the Queen of the Bees, “The Honeybees are in trouble. They are disappearing in great numbers!”
What will the queen do? Who will she turn to? How will she keep her hive safe from harm? Without bees there will be no fruit, no vegetables and no flowers.
Bee Scared, an Old Doc Turtle adventure from author Richard Faith, follows the Queen and her community of family and friends as they try to find a solution to this scary problem. They use music. They call on Auntie Bee. Even Old Doc Turtle becomes concerned! Can your young reader think of any ways to help Auntie Bee save the honeybees?
This delightful children’s tale delivers a simple lesson about the challenges of climate change and global warming — and the impact on nature’s tiniest but mightiest of creatures — in a way that young audiences can understand. Bee Scared can help you open a dialogue with the curious young people in your life about the importance of conservationism and protecting the future of our planet.
Author Richard Faith is passionate about raising awareness regarding the impacts of global warming and climate change. He is also the author of the science fiction series, Megamerse, which features a superhero who fights for Mother Earth. Megamerse has been turned into a screenplay and talks are ongoing with a movie studio. Faith’s other book titles include “I Can Barely See” Said Mandy Manatee, Barkley & Silvia, Crocodilly Lilly: Not so Toothy A Grin and The Owl that Said What.
Faith is also the executive director of Mother Nature Festival Live Incorporated (http://mothernaturefestival.live), a 501(c)3 nonprofit that works to educate, inform and inspire everyone to get involved in helping Mother Nature.
Bee Scared Publisher: Jongleur Publishing ISBN-13: 979-8652428013 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Alex Winters Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
