Saturday, May 21, 2011

And God said, "Let there be evolution!"

NEW RELEASE!



Reconciling the Book of Genesis, the Qur'an, and the Theory of Evolution

Authored by Charles M. Wynn, Sr., Arthur W. Wiggins

This book answers "YES!" to the question, "Is it possible to reconcile the Theory of Evolution
with the Scriptures?" Accepting evolution does not require abandoning
one's faith. Created in response to 9/11, this book addresses the continuing conflict between science teaching
and religious beliefs, the dangerous effects of scriptural literalism, and heightened interest in
interfaith initiatives. A JEWISH scientist (David Kay, Conservative Rabbi in Florida), CHRISTIAN scientist (Howard Van Till, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and Physics at Calvin College in Michigan), and MUSLIM scientist (T.O. Shanavas, M.D., pediatrician in Michigan) present scientific evidence for the Theory of Evolution and then explain how they reconcile that theory with the scriptural sources and beliefs of
their religions.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

"Lucifer is not your enemy, and angels are not your friends. "

The Second Coming of Humanity
December 21, 2012. Doomsday? Armageddon? The end of the world? Or ... the Dawn of Humanity’s Enlightenment?



The last book in an epic trilogy, with a heavenly-high bar already established by books one and two, The Second Coming of Humanity does not disappoint—in fact, it yanks the bar off its stanchions and hurls it into the stratosphere. Eternal arch-enemies, Mantrella (aka ‘Lucifer,’ ‘The Morning Star,’ and ‘Christ,’—yes, you read that last one correctly) and Michael come angelically and mightily head-to-head and wing-to-wing in the battle for the future of earth and the fate of the human beings that inhabit it. In this gripping and status-quo-challenging trilogy, Lucifer is not your enemy, and angels are not your friends.
“Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are gods?”
That quote of Jesus, taken from the New Testament, is repeated thematically throughout The Second Coming. Because, and this is where ‘traditional’ ‘Christians’ and the organized church will shout, “Heresy!” and, “Burn the authors at the stake!”—Adam, who was ‘put into a deep sleep,’ is about to awaken. The ‘dream,’ all that we know—the Buddhists call it “Samsara”—the illusion of our reality, created by us all with our thoughts as part of Adam’s dream, is about to come to an end. If Adam awakes, humanity is reunited with the godhead and, returns to its birthright—as gods, higher than the angels.
Michael doesn’t like that idea. One bit. He uses all his power, magic, and influence to stop it. Mantrella is using all his power, magic and influence, to thwart Michael and facilitate the rise to godhood that is humanity’s birthright. He knows the complete DNA—including the ‘god’ seed—can be ‘reborn’ in a divine child if he can successfully have main characters, Andrew and Mara, mate ... they both carrying each other’s latent half of the necessary seed that activates upon conception. If that happens, “The Fall” of mankind is reversed, man is returned to the Garden, and Adam awakens as the whole god-being you and I and He, were originally created to be by the I Am That I Am.
A supernatural, spiritual/inspirational suspense thriller, The Second Coming of Humanity is loaded with twists and turns, highly developed and multi-faceted, fantastic characters from all levels being and non-being, and has an ending that ... no, I can’t spoil it for you. You must find out, understand, and manifest the ending, for yourself.
Authors Phil Harris and Brian Doe spin this tale with crisp, compelling, no frills and gutsy prose, along with poetic and deep passages that transport you to other-worldly realms—then smacks you right back dab in the middle of ‘reality’—or is it? In the end, it is up to you, to us, to awaken and create our own reality. The book gets to you. It pervades and inundates you. And it makes you, as you compulsively turn each of the final pages, wonder ... just who you—and we—really are, for god’s sake?
- Review by Marvin D Wilson, author of Beware the Devil’s Hug, Owen Fiddler, and I Romanced the Stone (Memoirs of a Recovering Hippie)

Friday, May 13, 2011

DIGITAL DIET?

About The Digital Diet: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life



Have you ever felt that something hasn’t really happened until you post it on Facebook or Twitter? Does a flashing red light on your BlackBerry make your heart flutter? Do you know you shouldn’t be texting and driving—but still do it? If you said “yes” to any of these questions then you’re not alone; you’re among the millions of people who can relate to being overwhelmed by technology. Fear not—from leading technology reporter Daniel Sieberg comes the first self-help book to address America’s newest addiction: THE DIGITAL DIET: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life (Three Rivers Press; On Sale: May 3, 2011; Trade Paperback Original; $13.00), a four-step, dietary-style approach to help you slim down on everything from gadgets to social networks to video games.


A Question and Answer Session with Daniel Sieberg, author of The Digital Diet The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life

Why did you decide to write this book?
It started as part of a personal journey to streamline my own technology intake. During a series of events in late 2009 I realized that despite my myriad gadgets and devices and websites, I had actually lost touch with my family and friends. My over-indulgence in technology was largely to blame, and I needed a plan going forward. I still love technology but now I make it work for me rather than the other way around.

How is your book different from others about “de-teching”?
In my opinion, too many books about “de-teching” or “offlining” start and stop with the idea of abandoning technology—forever, for a short time. My book is about instilling a greater cultural awareness (both at home and in the workplace) while encouraging people to use technology to their advantage. It’s about having a long-term strategy that works for all aspects of life. There are anecdotes and tips and ways to maximize your time spent in the digital world, and clear guidelines on how to trim the stuff that isn’t enhancing your relations and work. It’s about consciousness and control, which I think we’ve lost over time as technology has infiltrated so many aspects of our lives.

Can you explain the concept of “Facebook envy” and how it can have a negative impact on your mood?
Social networks make it easy to be a voyeur and peek over our digital fences. If we indulge in that behavior too much it can result in feelings of inadequacy, jealousy and frustration. Most people portray an idyllic life on social networks and don’t reveal the very real struggles they may be going through. Therefore the way we “see” our friends and family can be distorted and inaccurate. My hope is that this book gives people perspective on their real life versus their online avatar or alter ego. Real life is real, social networks are not. End of story.

What is the link between technology and childhood obesity?
There have been countless studies linking the over-use of technology with childhood obesity. Whether it’s spending too much time playing video games or avoiding physical activities or simply exercising the fingers and thumbs and nothing else. Parents constantly struggle with monitoring their child’s use of technology, and the book is meant as an educational resource that inspires them to stay involved. It’s also about suggesting plenty of technologies that assist children with losing weight or staying in shape. There are real ways to incorporate gadgets and software and do it the right way.

Some may initially think this is a book about the evils of technology. Can you explain why its not?
It’s absolutely not a book about the evils of technology or how everyone should be anti-technology. Just like a diet book isn’t anti-food but rather about consuming meals that make you healthy and energetic. In the same vein, my book encourages people to embrace technology but for the right reasons and for the right occasion. It’s all about seeking balance. Technology that liberates not inundates.

For much more information about Daniel Sieberg and The Digital Diet: The 4-Step Plan to Break Your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in Your Life visit http://www.danielsieberg.com/. For your own copy, visit http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Diet-4-step-addiction-balance/dp/0307887383 (print) and http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Diet-addiction-balance-ebook/dp/B004J4WM3G (Kindle)


About the author


Daniel Sieberg is an Emmy-nominated reporter who hosts Tech This Out! for ABC News NOW. He has also covered science, environment, space and technology stories for CBS News, CNN, PBS, NPR, BBC News, Planet Green, MSNBC, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Oprah.com, Details, Time, The Vancouver Sun, CTV News, CleanSkies.TV, Fuse.TV, The Nate Berkus Show and The Dr. Oz Show.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Show and Tell by Marvin Wilson

An important element in effective writing in fiction is knowing when you are telling the readers your story and when you are showing it to them. There is a place in any good book for both methods, but the shown passages are always more illustrative, while the told passages are more narrative. They create two entirely different effects. Instead of telling you the difference, I will show you. Here is a short paragraph, an example of a story being told to the reader.

***
Bob walked over to the door. He turned the knob, opened the door and started to walk outside. It was an icy cold winter day so he hurried back inside and put on his coat.
***
Now, if I’m the reader I haven’t missed anything, I know what’s happening, but the passage doesn’t draw me into Bob’s world. It doesn’t let me feel or sense much of anything. Now I’ll rewrite the same passage showing you the story.
***
Floor boards creaked underfoot. Step by step, across the room. The chill of cold brass felt smooth in his palm as the knob turned. A ‘thunk’ sound nudged against the quiet as bolt released from its locked position. Squeaky old hinges cried “please oil me” to Bob as they pivoted. A final push, swing and a step. Whistling arctic wind whipped his face as shivers crept all over him.

Wow. Cold
. Bob thought better of his choice of clothing.

Slam!

Nippy fingers worked their way through the dark foyer closet, feeling for heavy suede.

***
In the second example, we see, hear and feel Bob’s world. It’s a much sexier read. In fairness, I did not try very hard to write a powerful narrative in the first passage, because I was trying to emphasize a point. There are cases, lots of them, when narrative prose is just the right thing. A fist, knife or gunfight, for instance, often demands a fast, even hectic pace and needs to be told in a hurry. Short sentences. Slam bang. Hit me again and hard. It depends on the speed (pace) with which you want your story to move … but that will be the subject of another post.

Marvin D Wilson, multi-published author and editor with All Things That Matter Press, using the pen name “Professor Old Silly,” posts writing tutorials on his blog each Tuesday. The above tutorial is a re-post from the archives of his blog at: http://theoldsilly.com.

Friday, May 6, 2011

BLED OUT


Authored by Glenn Oliver Parkhurst

Eighteen-year-old Kenny Arthur wishes he was just a typical small-town kid, but a near death experience and a message from the other side has made that impossible. Kenny knows there's a plague coming, and it's not natural. He knows it can crush the life out of this world.
And he knows he's the only one who can stop it.
What he doesn't know is how.
Kenny sets out to do what he must, but the world outside Friendship, NY is more than he bargained for. Before long, he's exhausted, dirty, broke, and not one step closer to accomplishing his goal. Then a pint of blood he sells for cash
causes a miraculous healing, and suddenly Kenny knows how he'll cure the plague. But if he wants to find the devil, he'll have to hide while he does it. The government, the sick, the desperate, the greedy all want a piece of what the press is calling "the Miracle Boy."
Kenny is on the hunt and on the run. His only friend is a thieving street kid named Rooster, who might help him get to where he's going, or sell him for a million dollars first.
Kenny can't trust, he can't stop, he can't rest - until those who hunt him drain him dry, or the devil is dead, whichever comes first.
About the author:
Glenn Oliver Parkhurst, an avid hiker and outdoorsman, never intended to write. When his sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he began writing her poems. This sparked a desire he
never imagined. Glenn has moved his whole life and continues to do so as a way to feed his wanderlust. Glenn not only writes horror, but has published humor and has written
romance and Christmas stories.

Monday, May 2, 2011

“And Twice the Marrow”

At ATTMPress we like to help authors who are on blog tours even if the title is not published by us. This is particularly true when the topic is relevant to today's world and if the book is written from the heart. Here is one such book! Susan also provided us with some insights on the book which we hope you will enjoy.


Information About Susan Avitzour
Susan Avitzour was born in 1955. She earned degrees in French literature and law before moving to Jerusalem, where she and her husband raised seven children. She worked as a lawyer, mediator, grant-writer, and translator before returning to school in 2005 for a Masters degree in clinical social work. She now works as a cognitive-behavioral therapist, helping people who suffer from depression, anxiety, and trauma. Her fourth daughter, Timora, was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 12. The family spent the next six years struggling to maintain a normal life while she underwent extensive treatment, including two bone marrow transplants. She died in 2001, at the age of eighteen. In addition to her memoir, And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones, Susan has written short fiction, which has been published on line and in Israel Short Stories, a collection of stories by English-speaking writers living in Israel.

About “And Twice the Marrow”
In her memoir, And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones, Susan Avitzour uses narrative, poetry, and a journal to grapple with the profound personal, philosophical, and spiritual questions raised by her eighteen-year-old daughter’s illness and death from leukemia. Ultimately, she faces the challenge many of us must confront in the course of our own lives: How to affirm faith and love in an unpredictable, often cruel, universe.

My daughter, Timora, was diagnosed with leukemia just after her twelfth birthday, and left this world shortly after her eighteenth. Those years took her on a remarkable spiritual journey, which I’d like to share with you today.
Timora’s spirituality combined a relationship with the God she’d been brought up to believe in with a more universal connection to the divine cosmic energy that sustains all life. The memoir I’ve written, And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones, tells how she came to me one day with a thoughtful look:
“‘You know, Eema,’ she said, ‘I used to be really angry with God. I couldn’t understand why He seemed to be ignoring my prayers.’
I put down the book I’d been reading, and moved a little closer.
‘Last year, on [the Jewish holiday of] Shavuot, I got so mad that I started screaming at Him. I said that He was stingy and mean, that He wasn’t helping me even though He could.’
I remembered that time well. She’d been weak and depressed, hurting all over. Sores burned her mouth every time she tried to eat, and made every bite taste revolting. She was sleeping even worse than usual, and was haunted by bizarre, obsessive dreams.
I put my hand on hers. What could I say?
‘... You know what happened then?’
I shook my head, still mute.
‘I lay down, and suddenly I started to feel a wave of new strength filling me, flowing into my blood. I told God I’d make a deal with Him. He’d go easier on me, and I’d stop being so angry at Him. That night I was able to get out of bed and say to myself, I won’t sink into this cesspool. I can be strong, I do have someone to give me the strength to live like a person. And I will, and that’s that.’”
Timora later discovered Reiki, a Japanese healing art that teaches its practitioners to become vessels through which spiritual energy flows into people who are suffering. It helped her so much that she eventually became a practitioner herself, laying hands both on herself and on other people, whose discomfort she delighted in alleviating.
Timora departed this world much as she had dwelled in it, in deep connection with the spiritual forces that animate it. As I relate in my memoir, her Reiki teacher visited her in the hospital a few days before she died.
“As Edna touched Timora and the energy flowed between them, Edna felt, through her fingertips and deep inside herself, that part of Timora’s soul was already on the way to the next world. Another part of her spirit was lingering behind – hesitating to leave us because she was worried about us, not wanting to cause us pain – but at the same time longing to be released.
As the energy between them intensified, Edna experienced herself as being together with Timora, in a corridor suffused with light unlike any she’d ever seen or sensed. The corridor led toward an even stronger, more beautiful light, which could not then – and cannot now – be depicted in words, but seemed to be the source, expression and richness of everything that is Good.
When Edna removed her hands and said her last farewell to Timora’s earthly form, she was left with a feeling she can only describe as a kind of completeness, a fullness. This feeling, she says, has not entirely left her to this day. Timora gave her an incomparable gift: Having experienced those few minutes of light together with Timora’s spirit, Edna now knows in the deepest sense possible that she has nothing to fear from the other side.
After her release (Edna tells me) Timora’s spirit did not stay away for long, and soon returned to become a kind of spiritual guide and teacher. Every so often, she comes to Edna during Reiki sessions, and Edna sometimes asks her for help and guidance. When she comes, she adds her own spiritual energy to the currents of Reiki moving through Edna’s hands, making them that much more powerful as agents of healing.”
I believe that God provides us with a well of strength that we can draw upon to go on, even to help others, despite life’s – and death’s – trials and tragedies. We may draw from this well through prayer, or receive it in the form of the energy that Reiki teaches us to harness or, doubtless, in other ways I haven’t discovered. This strength, this continually replenished energy, is none other than God’s healing presence in our hearts.

To learn more about Susan Avitzour, author of And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones, we invite you to visit her site - http://www.fiveyearslater.blogspot.com. For the full virtual tour schedule, visit http://bookpromotionservices.com/2011/01/06/twice-the-marrow-virtual-tour/

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Review...WALTER MOTT

"Kal Wagenheim has been writing books since before I met him many, many years ago. We were both born in Newark, NJ and have both pursued the writer’s trade in one fashion or another. From a biography of Babe Ruth to teaching creative writing at Columbia University and The State Prison in Trenton, Kal’s own creative juices keep percolating and that is evident in a very “grown up” novel, The Secret Life of Walter Mott ($16.99, http://allthingsthatmatterpress.com ). And, yes, it’s a bit of a play on the famed “Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber. The year is 1959 and Kal’s Walter has a dreary job in an insurance company. A bachelor, he secretly lives in his office to save money, retire early, and travel the world. Then he falls in love with a co-worker and all his plans go to hell. It is a ribald tale of misadventures spinning out of control."--Alan Caruba, in May 2011 issue of Bookviews, his online blog

BLED OUT