When She Was Wicked… Book Review!
When She Was Wicked
I recently had the pleasure of reading When She Was Wicked !
This is a GREAT Debut Novel by Anne Barton.
It has everything… twists and turns, intrigue, money and most of all, LOVE.
And the pacing is terrific – it never stops !
I loved this book, and got to finish it on the beach,
so keep it in mind this summer-
pick it up now for a great beach read!
You can click here to see more about it on Amazon !
The Tommy Joe’s – Jon Lowe Foundation Diabetes Ping Pong Tournament !
The Tommy Joe’s – Jon Lowe Foundation is taking on Diabetes!
Last night it held its first Celebrity Ping Pong Tournament and it was a blast!
It was held at Tommy Joe’s and hosted by Jon Lowe….
This organization raises thousands of dollars for Diabetes research because nearly 8% of the population HAS DIABETES.
EVERY 30 seconds a new case of Diabetes is diagnosed.
And the cost of Diabetes is huge….
The winner of last night’s event is coming-
in the meantime- PLEASE put this organization on your RADAR. They are headquartered in Montgomery County, Maryland-
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS GREAT ORGANIZATION AND HOW TO DONATE PLEASE VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT
TOMMY JOE’S – JON LOWE FOUNDATION INC.
WITH YOUR HELP- WE CAN BEAT THIS DISEASE !!
Blueprint Your Bestseller – Book Review!
Blueprint Your Bestseller
This week, another great book…
on a totally different topic-
It’s Stuart Horwitz’s –
Blueprint Your Bestseller !
This book is a great guide to writing a novel.
It’s in-depth yet simple to understand,
and helps a writer organize a novel well.
I bought it after I heard him speak at a Writer’s Digest Conference,
and I think it is a great investment for a writer.
I believe it is a fantastic tool for a new and/or
unpublished writer, especially.
It deals with organizing scenes and series,
and never uses the word plot!
And I love that it also reminds you
that your book can only
be
about
one thing!
Click Here to Check it Out on Amazon!
Happy Writing!
The Eye of the Whale- A Rescue Story, Book Review
Jennifer O'Connell Art
This week I’m look- ing at another book, this time it’s a non-fiction picture book!
This is a story about the true rescue of a whale and the unusual and beautiful display of animal behavior it delivered.
This book is written and illustrated by the best-selling children’s book author, Jennifer O’Connell, who is believe it or not, my neighbor!
This story really gave me goosebumps and the pictures show Jennifer’s amazing talent.
Please check out Jennifer’s Website to see a trailer for her book and check out her artwork and books!
Only As Good as Your Word – Book Review!
Susan Shapiro's Great Book
Only as Good as Your Word
by Susan Shapiro has the sub-heading,
‘Writing Lessons From My Favorite Literary Gurus’
but it’s more like LIFE LESSONS.
Everyone can learn from Shapiro’s experiences and mentors and she shares these tales and thoughts and feelings with a generosity of spirit and an authentic voice.
In fact, you feel like you are sitting around sharing coffee with Shapiro while you read these pages.
Her stories are very New York, and very fun.
A couple of my favorite lines are,
“Remember, a plumber never gets plumber’s block.” and
“But surrounding yourself with ass-kissers could turn you into Michael Jackson.”
Words to write by, and words to live by.
This is a great read, and Shapiro has a such a style and voice,
this book would be fun to read on the couch or on the beach this summer….
It’s for writers, but it’s really for everybody.
It’s definitely worth your time!
Down to the Georgetown Waterfront….
The bottom of Georgetown
Here’s a shot of us driving toward the
bottom of Georgetown
and the Georgetown Waterfront!
We decided to take the Cadillac XTS
out to brunch
and enjoyed wonderful food at Sequoia,
that has the best views in Washington!
A view from our table; See the Kennedy Center on the left ?!
The weather was perfect!
You can’t beat Washington
on Memorial Day Weekend
when the weather is like this,
and with an easy way to get around-
you can’t ask for anything more.
So, after our family thoroughly enjoyed
a wonderful meal,
we went back to the Caddie,
and look how easy it fit
into garage parking!
Easy Parking!
This was a tight garage,
in the middle of Georgetown,
and the Cadillac XTS
took it in stride;
Its maneuverability is great!
After brunch we visited
The US Marine Corps War Memorial
US Marine Corps War Memorial
in honor of Memorial Day Weekend
and ended our afternoon with
trips to Farmers Markets
in Palisades
as well as
Bethesda.
Touring around the city is delightful
in the Cadillac XTS. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday with the family!
Palisades Farm Market
Bethesda Farm Market
Happy Memorial Day Weekend !!!
Visiting Farm Markets!
Pike Central Farm Market
We continued our Green Weekend with the Cadillac XTS by going to the Pike Central Farm Market!
We were greeted right away by one of the Founders, Mitch Berliner,
Mitch Berliner
then continued to all the fantastic booths!
We found salami,
cheeses,
and fruits
to take home!
Yum!
The Cadillac was wonderful, it was so easy to use, even my son could load our bag into the trunk by himself!
We had a wonderful day and ended it by having dinner at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants- Cafe Deluxe in downtown Bethesda. This family dinner place gets its poultry and dairy from nearby farmers!
Our Green Weekend Begins with a Farmers Market!
The Montgomery Farm Women's Cooperative Market !
This weekend, this Memorial Day Weekend, our Family is celebrating living in the DC Metro Area, the Nation’s Capital, by visiting local merchants and growers and going GREEN, thanks to help from the GM East Team at General Motors, who gave us a gorgeous Cadillac XTS (which drives like a dream) for a week!!
The first stop on our Green Weekend was a Farmers Market, but not just any farmers market- my son, who was off school, and I went to the Montgomery Farm Women’s Cooperative Market in Bethesda, Maryland.
THIS MARKET WAS STARTED, BY WOMEN, IN 1932 !!
And it was heralded as the only farm woman’s cooperative of its kind in the world!! And it’s still around!
This is what I love about living in the DC area- it’s not just about the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, although those are pieces of history that are very important.
DC is about finding little gems and pieces of magic that are right under your nose. Almost everything in this region has some kind of historical significance, and I love that!
We saw beautiful flowers
Flowers sold at the Market by 'Plant Masters'
And some delicious cheeses from Stonyman Gourmet Farmer, in fact we bought a Gouda from them that was delicious!
The cheeses are from Washington, Virginia… which was laid out by none other than George Washington himself, when he was a surveyor- how’s that for historical!!
Everything was fresh and beautiful!
My son, a car fanatic, and I had a wonderful day driving around the Washington Area in the Cadillac XTS, like I said before, it drives like a dream.
Thanks again GM East Team!
Stay tuned for tomorrow !!
Fesh produce at the Market
New ‘Eden’ Movie is Fantastic !
I just saw the new film Eden about the harrowing tale of Chong Kim, who was kidnapped and sold into a domestic human trafficking ring in the mid 1990’s.
WOW.
This movie is RIVETING. I was LITERALLY on the edge of my seat during this movie. There were scenes that I was so scared for this girl that I honestly, was leaning toward the screen.
And the acting is EXCELLENT. Jamie Chung, who plays the lead character is incredible. She is so believable…. There were other times in this movie when I was so sad for this young woman and for all these women that I thought about even if they do escape, ‘How do they recover from this?’. She was that good. Matt O’Leary and Beau Bridges are great as well.
This is a fine piece of movie making. Full Disclosure: The story was written by a high school buddy of mine, Rick Phillips and he co-wrote the screenplay too. Regardless of the fact that I know someone attached to this movie, this is such an important story to tell and it has been done so well.
The film just won The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival, as well as many other awards.
It is out in limited release right now and you can also rent it On Demand on Verizon Fios right now too.
This movie is well worth the price of admission, and more.
Kudos to everyone who worked on this film for bringing the terrifying truth of human trafficking to the screen.
It’s A Small World After All …
photographer unknown, Indonesia
These little boys in Indonesia, are about the age of my son. He wears a dapper little uniform to school, just like these boys….
He laughs and smiles like these boys too.
The only difference- he uses an umbrella,
they use a banana leaf….
It’s a Small, Small World.
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I Was In The 2012 Show !
Check Out …
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Nicole’s Book
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