Joomla! site syndication http://www.authorviews.com 2012-02-11T12:23:40+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png text/html 2008-05-15T21:30:38+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-scott-gold-and-the-shameless-carnivore.php WARNING: The following post contains images and content related to crispy-on-the-outside-pink-and-juicy-on-the-inside, delicious and tender meat of all varieties, and may not be suitable for vegetarians. If you find such material offensive, please read no further. * * * * Click for Video AuthorViews is thrilled to introduce Scott Gold, author of the juicy and succulent meat guide book, The Shameless Carnivore: A Manifesto for Meat Lovers. We met up with Gold at the 2008 Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival (http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/) to talk about his gourmet debut, as well as the research, interviews and shocking taste-tests that make the book so informative, comprehensive and fun. The Shameless Carnivore is NOT an anti-vegetarian outcry for people to kill and consume animals recklessly. Rather, it's a thoughtful, humorous and research-driven exploration of the "integrity of meat," complete with personal accounts of Gold's experiences with different types of meat, the history of hunting and meat-eating, meat recipes and more. Was Scott Gold involved in an outrageous Vegan Conspiracy? If The Shameless Carnivore were a cut of meat, what kind of cut would it be? Find out now in this mouth-watering two-minute video. After the clip, if you're still hungry for a second helping, feel free to check out an excerpt (http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780767926515&view=excerpt) from the book at the Random House website. Bon Appetit! photo courtesy of Creative Commons license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en) photo courtesy of Creative Commons license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en) photo courtesy of Creative Commons license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en) text/html 2008-06-09T19:42:30+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/bete.php Related Links: PIrate Parenting.com (http://www.pirateparenting.com/) Buy This Book on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583851275/ref=ase_patronsaintpr-20/) text/html 2008-06-11T20:04:52+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/r.-scott-taylor-and-stingy-jack.php Click for Video AuthorViews is pleased to introduce R. Scott Taylor, author of the supernatural crime thriller Stingy Jack. We had the pleasure of meeting with Mr. Taylor in New Orleans at the 2008 Alternative Media Expo to talk about his book and the Irish Ghost, Jack O'Keefe (no relation to Steve) that is one of its main characters. Because of O'Keefe's actions during his life, heaven did not want him. Having tricked the Devil twice during his life made hell equally inaccessible. Now Jack O'Keefe, a modern spin on the classic Jack O'Lantern myth, must roam the Earth in penance. It is through his eyes that 17th century Ireland is brought to the readers in the context of stories told to professional thief Adam Beesler. text/html 2008-06-16T21:08:25+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/pma.php On Saturday, May 31, 2008, the Publisher's Marketing Association (PMA) celebrated its 25th birthday. Everyone on the AuthorViews team would like to extend the heartiest of congratulations to them on this special occasion! To usher in their next quarter century, the PMA took the occasion of their birthday party at Book Expo America to announce a new name and a new logo to better reflect their mission. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the newly inaugurated Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)! Looking back over the 25 years, Florrie Binford Kichler, President, IBPA, says, "Growing from a few visionary publishers in 1983 to more than 4,000 members today, our association has a strong legacy on which to build as we continue expanding to better serve the independent publishing community. Our new name truly reflects our mission, and The Independent Book Publishers Association is looking forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with independent publishers, offering support, education, and advocacy for the next 25 years…and beyond." Along with the new name and logo, the IBPA has launched a spiffy new website (http://www.ibpa-online.org/) for your surfing pleasure. Go stop by and wish them happy birthday! text/html 2008-06-17T19:26:27+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/vicki-lane-and-the-elizabeth-goodweather-appalachian-mysteries.php Click for Video AuthorViews is proud to present two minutes with Vicki Lane, author of The Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries. We had the pleasure of catching up to Mrs. Lane at the 2007 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org/) where she speaks about Old Wounds, her most recent book in the series, as well as her own personal background. Originally from Florida, Mrs. Lane has lived in Appalachia for more than thirty years now. Describing her past as that of a "back to the earth hippie," she keeps her books rooted in the realities of daily life in the mountains outside of Asheville, NC. She takes particular pride in the fact that she is often told that she got the dialect of the area right. Step into the mountains with Vicki Lane and you will never look at them the same way again! text/html 2008-06-18T14:05:28+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/pamela-davis-noland-and-coffee-colored-dreams.php Click for Video Ladies and Gentlemen, AuthorViews is proud to announce two minutes with Pamela Davis-Noland. It's an intimate video chat that we performed at the 2008 Alternative Media Expo in New Orleans, in which she spoke about her debut novel, Coffee Colored Dreams. Ms. Davis-Noland deserves points for persistence. If she had crumbled when her first promised book deal fell through, then theater goers would have been deprived of a powerful stage presentation. That's right, after pursuing the tricky route of self publication Ms. Davis-Noland has brought her story to the stage where it is garnering rave reviews. Take two minutes and get to know this rising star! text/html 2008-06-20T15:11:02+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/gio-and-louisiana-in-words.php Click for Video AuthorViews is proud to present two minutes with the legendary GiO! We had the honor of catching up to this New Orleans icon during the 2007 Tennessee Williams Festival right here in the Crescent City. In this brief 120 seconds, GiO talks about her time on Bourbon Street as well as her contribution to Louisiana in Words. GiO came to perform in New Orleans during the 1988 Republican Convention and got hooked on the architecture and feeling of decay exuded by the city. With ten years of dancing behind her and degree from New York's Pratt Institute, she moved to New Orleans possessed of a vision. A vision of re-igniting the fires of classical burlesque and bringing it acknowledgement as a legitimate art form. Dubbed "The Burlesque Queen of New Orleans" by The Times-Picayune, she reigned on Bourbon Street for seventeen years. This highly educated woman has also been a radio host, poet, performance artist, and much, much more since the day she came to New Orleans and discovered that it was her home. Eloquent, playful, and lovely to behold, even with only two minutes, GiO is not one to miss! text/html 2008-06-23T14:02:16+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/online-video-news.php Here at AuthorViews, we have a long standing interest in online video and its deployment. After all, we've been at this for years now -- our first videos were filmed on January 24, 2004, at a studio in New Orleans. As a result, we tend to keep an eye on the constant evolution of video and how it is used in the online world. With that in mind, there are two news items that mark a long-awaited evolution in the way people use web-based video that I would like to share. Join me as we take a quick look at some of the developments that have occurred now that the hurdle of long download times is basically a thing of the past. On June 24, LawInfo.com issued a press release (http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/36115/) about their plans for the future. Those plans heavily feature online video as an integral component: Video is rapidly emerging as the new online medium of choice -- in fact, it is estimated that one billion consumers will watch video on the Internet by 2012. In an effort to expend the potential of video within the legal industry, LawInfo has gathered together a team of innovative and accredited professionals in web marketing and media production to build out a new, strategically-designed website featuring online video. When faced with a legal issue, especially a serious and time-sensitive issue such as being arrested, having to file for bankruptcy, or fighting for child custody, the last thing a person needs is to be hit with complicated legal jargon and confusing procedures on what steps to take. LawInfo has produced online videos that take the mystery out of the legal process by breaking down complex legal problems into clear, easy-to-understand solutions. These "how-to" videos feature answers to legal questions in all major areas of law, including family law, estate planning, criminal law, business, bankruptcy and labor and employment. Online video is also a critical marketing tool for attorneys. To provide its clients with maximum exposure and to help the public find the right attorney, LawInfo is offering law firms and other legal professionals an opportunity to sponsor a pre-existing online video, or to customize a video tailored to their specific practice, in the area of law of their choice. Further, LawInfo is encouraging clients to submit their own video package which will be accessible to all LawInfo site visitors and marketed by a team of specialists to ensure it reaches the widest possible audience. It would seem that the legal community has caught wind of the effectiveness of video. While the videos are hosted on the site, there is no mention that I can locate of syndicating them across the web. Still, even with absence of the viral component, this is still an evolutionary leap for the website. We wish them well in their experiment and will be watching to see how things develop. The obsession with video is far from confined to our own shores here in the U.S. The Chinese seem to have quite a taste for it as well. Loretta Chao of The Wall Street Journal's China Journal Blog (http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2008/06/23/its-official-online-video-report/?mod=googlenews_wsj) brings us some interesting numbers gleaned from a recent CNNIC Report (http://www.cnnic.net.cn/html/Dir/2008/06/20/5198.htm): The report said that as of the end of 2007, one out of every 1.3 Internet users in China used online video. The survey also found that video users’ incomes were higher than the average income of Chinese Internet users, with 30% making over 2,000 yuan a month. China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is still doling out licenses for online video sites at this point, although according to Chao, most of the recipients are government-owned concerns. It will be interesting to see how the proliferation of online video and China's climate of intensive regulation interact. Will China embrace the possibilities of online video or will it try to stuff the Djinn back into the bottle as best they can? text/html 2008-06-25T14:09:53+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/betsy-carter-and-swim-to-me.php Click for Video AuthorViews is excited to bring you the latest in our ongoing series of two-minute interviews with authors around the world. In this installment, we get the privilege of hearing from Betsy Carter, the founder of the award-winning magazine New York Woman. A former writer for publications such as Esquire and Newsweek, she continues to write for a variety of national magazines. This is far from Ms. Carter's first foray into the land of book-length writing. Her memoir Nothing to Fall Back On was a best seller and her fiction debut, The Orange Blossom Special, was part of NPR's Summer Reading 2005 program. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4720144) The conversation we had with her at Tess Fest 2008 was about her newest novel Swim To Me, a book praised by numerous reviewers. Joanne Wilkinson of BookList says, "In her warm, appealing second novel, Carter displays a sure feel for her 1970s Florida setting, right down to the aqua color schemes." Publisher's Weekly says of her work, "The results are sensationalist, predictable and satisfying." Get your feet wet with us as we join Betsy Carter on a romp that takes us from the Bronx to Weeki Wachee Springs in Tampa, Florida! text/html 2008-06-27T14:46:34+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/youtomb.php Everybody knows about YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/). Newscasters make reference to it in stories, cable shows countdown the most ridiculous videos, and parents worry incessantly about the content their children might run across. It has joined the ranks of Internet sites like Google, Yahoo, and Facebook as a top-tier service. Copyright holders, especially the corporate ones, also try to keep tabs on YouTube content. In their case they do so not for entertainment value, but in order to be able to make a takedown request if something they own gets posted to the site. Now copyright and intellectual property are major bugaboos of the digital age, much contested topics argued across a multitude of platforms. This post does not intend to address that argument. What this post does do is direct you towards one of the more interesting websites to grow out of the ongoing controversy: YouTomb (http://youtomb.mit.edu). YouTomb is a site contructed by MIT Free Culture (http://freeculture.mit.edu/), geared towards keeping tabs on top-tier takedowns on the YouTube platform. In their own words: MIT Free Culture became especially interested in the issue after YouTube announced that it would begin using filtering technology to scan users' video and audio for near-matches with copyrighted material. While automating the takedown process may make enforcement easier, it also means that content falling under fair-use exceptions and even totally innocuous videos may receive some of the collateral damage. As YouTube is not very transparent with the details surrounding this process and the software used, YouTomb was conceived to shed light on YouTube's practices, to educate the general public on the relevant copyright issues, and to provide helpful resources to users who have had their videos wrongfully taken down. The front page shows a column of videos along with the name and link to the group who requested the takedown and a note on how many days the video has been online. No matter what your position on the copyright debate may be, this still makes for great surfing. You can even filter the results so that you can view the collected takedown requests of a single group or company. For instance, as I write this, the top three videos Warner Brothers Communications has requested be taken down are a new Batman: The Dark Knight movie trailer and two videos ripped from an old Seinfeld episode. Below it are clips from old episodes of The Gilmore Girls and a lot of classic Scooby Doo. text/html 2008-07-09T14:48:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/gary-thomas-and-louisiana-in-words.php Click for Video AuthorViews is proud to bring you two minutes with Gary Thomas in which we talk about his contribution to the Pelican Press book Louisiana In Words. We had the privilege of catching up with Mr. Thomas at the 2008 Tennessee Williams Literary Festival in New Orleans where he shared with us some truly explosive fishing stories and more. Take a quick foray into the wilds of Louisiana with Mr. Thomas at the helm. text/html 2009-01-19T23:25:06+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/deacon-melvin-jones-and-martin-luther-king-jr..php Click for Video Deacon Melvin Jones is the proprietor of A Tisket A Tasket (http://www.atisketatasketneworleans.com/) booksellers in New Orleans' French Market. In this interview, he talks briefly about his memories of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. -- a friend of Deacon Jones' who stayed in his home when he visited New Orleans and broke bread with his family. I first met Deacon Jones through his book stall in the open-air French Market. He's since moved to a nearby storefront on Decatur near the statue of Joan d'Arc. It is unusual to find new books in an outdoor market. Even more unusual was the selection he offered: books about the Creole and Black American experience that I had never seen in chain bookstores. Being a Yankee, I was unschooled in the complex racial makeup and history of New Orleans, where Native Americans mixed with mostly French Europeans and Congolese Africans creating a society of mixed-race ( Creole ) free people of color. This melting pot was further augmented by an influx of free Haitians after the slave revolt there. Before the U.S. Civil War, you had a situation in New Orleans where free Blacks owned mixed-race slaves. This was somewhat confusing to the Americans who bought Louisiana, and were used to British-based dividing lines between the races rather than the more generous French attitude that provided a place at the table for all offspring. The Americans instituted the Code Noir here, stripping free blacks and Creoles of their rights to vote, hold property, educate their children in French, and imposing other indignities that no free person should be subjected to. This code has existed more or less ever since. In New Orleans, the Creoles were forced to take their culture and their businesses underground. They sold their assets in the Vieux Carre to the Italians, who the Americans despised, and the Italians kept the Creoles as silent partners. At the dawn of the 20th century, the population of the French Quarter was 95 percent Sicilian. The roots of corruption in New Orleans are in the Code Noir, which forced people to operate outside the official channels where they were prohibited from trading as free people. As late as 1959, City Park in New Orleans -- the fourth largest urban park in America -- did not allow people of color to use park facilities. This is a park whose maintenance was paid for with tax dollars collected from those same people of color. This is a park where prison inmates -- predominantly African-American males -- were and still are used to groom the four golf courses and dozens of tennis courts. As far as I know, there is still no basketball court in City Park, nor is there a single swimming pool in the park, though we live in a city where the average summer temperature is over 85 degrees. Doesn't that strike you as odd? Anyway, back to our story. After many years of many New Orleanians -- white, black, Creole, you name it -- struggling to get these stupid laws off the books, something that approaches equal standing before the law, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, was passed. The city officially integrated, and thus began the white flight. If the government was going to have to build as many basketball courts as tennis courts, well, they'd just starve the public coffers, put the money into private schools, private churches, private clubs, and/or move to a more racially homogenous taxing district. New Orleans was left bankrupt to deal with its problems without its former leaders or their assets. So who did New Orleanians pick to lead them? The Creoles. The former aristocracy of the colored class, many of whom had gone underground to survive, and who brought their underground ways of getting things done to City Hall. Deacon Melvin Jones walked through much of the history of this struggle in a personal way few can appreciate. He was stripped of his ministry by the Catholic Church because of his political activities on behalf of civil rights in New Orleans. Only recently were those credentials restored. Deacon Melvin Jones is a humble man. Getting his story out of him was quite difficult. We recorded this interview in 2007 at the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival in the lobby of the Bourbon Orleans Hotel -- the kind of grand locale where people of color were at one time not welcome. We also interviewed the pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Father Tony Ricard, the same day. Deacon Jones' church in the St. Roch neighborhood was devastated by Katrina but is still packed every Sunday with hundreds of the most beautiful people of all color and a full gospel choir that will shake you to your timbers! We released Father Tony Ricard's interviews some time ago. This incredible clip of Deacon Melvin Jones was never released because I was too busy to write a proper introduction. My apologies to the Deacon and his family. So today, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2009, on the eve of the inauguration of the first African-American U.S. President, AuthorViews is proud to present a true hero in the fight for human dignity, Deacon Melvin Jones! Please visit his web site (http://www.atisketatasketneworleans.com/), visit his store, and ask for his blessing. It works wonders! STEVE O'KEEFEPresident, AuthorViews, Inc. text/html 2008-07-11T15:44:18+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/antonio-crawford-seminar.php One of the joys of working with AuthorViews is being able to keep up with the ongoing activities of those we have had the pleasure of filming. Today, I would like to share with you a very interesting online seminar presented by Antonio Crawford. Mr. Crawford is the CEO of Top Book Sales Inc. (http://www.topbooksales.com/), as well as the Owner and Publisher of Kaizen Publication LLC. He is the author of The Quest for Wealth, a book that talks about managing your finances and faith; co-author of the ebook 101 Ways to Generate Top Book Sales and contributing author in Chicken Soup for the African American Woman’s Soul. He is also the author of a children's book, Henrietta the Hyena, about which we recorded a video interview (http://www.authorviews.com/authors/crawford.php) with him while our team was in Charlottesville back in 2007. Maintaining his reputation for incredible productivity, Mr. Crawford is giving an online seminar: Transform Your Book, Brand and Business into Multiple Informational Products! (http://topbooksales-emailinvite.eventbrite.com/?invite=NjUzMDMvaW5mb0BhdXRob3J2aWV3cy5jb20vMQ%3D%3D%0A) Here is a little info on what you can expect: The traditional publishing model was designed to publish books not create entrepreneurs or build businesses. The newer model, self-publishing and print-on-demand is perfect for writers and info-preneurs that want a solution to make money fast, increase exposure or grow a business. Writing a book and turning that book into multiple informational products to sell to your clients can be both profitable and exciting. Fact, successful info-preneurs create eBooks, CDs, MP3 files and other info-products to increase their residual income. So could you! To learn more about how you can create info-products to grow your business, or increase your brand awareness attend the upcoming Teleseminar: Transform Your Book, Brand Name and Business into Multiple Info-Products. The 60 minute Teleseminar will be held on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 8pm EST. Join Mr. Crawford on the call and receive a free eBook and MP3 file. Check back soon for more exciting news about AuthorViews authors and their current projects, as well as more new videos coming soon! Stay Tuned! text/html 2008-05-13T19:23:54+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-alice-wilson-fried-and-outside-child.php Click for Video AuthorViews is proud to present two minutes with New Orleans-born author Alice Wilson-Fried, cut from her interview at the 2008 Alternative Media Expo in New Orleans. We met up with Wilson-Fried to discuss her fiction debut, Outside Child, a wonderfully written and believable mystery set in New Orleans. The main characters, Ladonis Washington and her brother HeartTrouble, grow up in the notorious Magnolia Housing Projects (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_Projects) of Uptown New Orleans -- where Wilson-Fried lived for most of her childhood. Built in 1941, at its height, the Magnolia Projects housed more than 2000 people in over 1400 apartments. But by the time Hurricane Katrina flooded the area in August 2005, the Magnolia Projects were almost completely vacant. Now, almost 3 years after the storm, the city has begun to demolish the abandoned ruins. For the past couple of decades, the Magnolia Projects were known throughout the entire country for their insanely high violent-crime and drug-use rates. According to Wilson-Fried, however, the projects weren't always like that. In this video, Wilson-Fried talks about what the Magnolia Housing Projects were like when she was a child, before gangs, drugs and violence plagued the community. In Outside Child, Wilson-Fried takes the reader through a seemingly neglected period of New Orleans history. If you like the video, feel free to check out an excerpt (http://www.alicewilsonfried.com/books_Outside_Child_excerpt.html) from the book at Wilson-Fried's website. text/html 2008-04-28T19:01:17+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-caesar-meadows-and-mumbeaux-gumbo.php Click for Video AuthorViews would like to introduce cartoonist Caesar Meadows, creator of the comic strip Mumbeaux Gumbo, which appears monthly in the New Orleans magazine Where Y'at. Growing up in New Orleans, Meadows would buy his comic books at local K&B Drug Stores, which were bought out by Rite Aid in the late 1990s. He spent a great deal of his childhood enjoying comics and ultimately taught himself how to illustrate and write his own cartoons. In addition to Mumbeaux Gumbo, Meadows has another strip called Qomix published by Antigravity Magazine. Meadows self-publishes both strips as micro-comics -- miniature versions small enough to fit in your pocket -- and sells them in hand-made cardboard packages shaped like pyramids, robots, TV sets and microbuses. Meadows does most of his work out of Jigsaw Junction, a quaint house in Reserve, LA, that serves as both his own personal art studio and one of Louisiana's only public libraries for comics. In this video, Meadows discusses the role comics played in his childhood and why he chose to name his strip Mumbeaux Gumbo. text/html 2008-04-23T21:41:27+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-tj-fisher-and-orleans-embrace.php AuthorViews would like to introduce TJ Fisher, co-author of Orléans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré. We have been trying to meet up with Fisher for a few months now, but we just can't seem to synchronize a convenient date for an interview. So unfortunately, we don't have a new video to release today. Well, video or not, Orléans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré is an extremely worthwhile book that deserves mention. Click Here for More Orléans Embrace is the perfect coffee table centerpiece, with nearly 400 beautiful photographs of the majestic gardens of the French Quarter (taken by ward-winning photographer Louis Sahuc) complimenting a passionate and galvanizing narrative about the Crescent City's struggles and triumphs since the storm. Although Fisher was born in Florida, she is considered by those who know her as a native New Orleanian. Not only does Fisher love New Orleans -- its people, its culture and its charm -- but she has been actively involved in the post-Katrina movement to restore and rebuild this great city. In Orléans Embrace, Fisher and co-author Roy Guste do a remarkable job conveying to readers the significance of the historic French Quarter and why it must be preserved. Also, I would like to thank Morgana Press (http://www.morganapress.com), the New Orleans-based publisher that released Orléans Embrace, because all their proceeds from the book go directly to the preservation of the French Quarter. text/html 2008-04-10T17:23:46+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-edward-j.-branley-and-new-orleans-the-canal-streetcar-line.php Click for Video AuthorViews is pleased to present two minutes with author Edward J. Branley, cut from his interview at the 2007 New Orleans Book Fair. Computer consultant and avid blogger, Branley is all over the New Orleans online community -- and has been for over a decade. Whether it's food, news, politics, music or computers in the Crescent City, you'll have no trouble finding Branley's thoughts on the subject. He runs numerous NOLA websites and blogs, including the extremely popular YatPundit (http://www.yatpundit.com/), a general interest blog about New Orleans. From YatPundit (http://www.yatpundit.com/), you can find links to Branley's other work. In addition, Branley has been researching the New Orleans streetcar for years. He is the President of the New Orleans Street Railway Association (NOSRA) (http://www.nosra.org/) and runs the website and blog CanalStreetcar.com (http://www.canalstreetcar.com) as well. In this video, Branley talks about his book, New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line, and explains why this line of public transportation in particular is so important to New Orleans. photo courtesy of Creative Commons license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en) text/html 2008-04-08T20:57:38+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-dr.-milo-pinkerton-iii-and-the-consortium-of-genius.php Click for Video AuthorViews would like to introduce mad scientist Dr. Milo Pinkerton III, a.k.a Lewis D'Aubin, founder and lead vocalist of The Consortium of Genius (COG). The COG is half rock band, half sketch comedy routine with an array of funny and sinister characters. They perform all over New Orleans and have even made several TV appearances. You can check out some of the COG's sketches, music videos and the television series, COG TV, on their YouTube Channel (http://youtube.com/user/DoctorPinkerton). We met up with Dr. Pinkerton at the 2008 Alternative Media Expo in New Orleans -- not so much to talk about the band, its accomplishments or its upcoming shows; but rather to discuss Dr. Pinkerton's ambitious goal of TAKING OVER THE WORLD. This is without a doubt the least educational video AuthorViews has ever released. It has no value whatsoever and will not enlighten you in the least about the COG or Dr. Pinkerton's musical talents. But that's okay because it's fun to watch and you can find out anything you want to know about the band, including upcoming "lectures," bios, lyrics, pictures, videos and reviews, at the COG's EVIL website, www.consortiumofgenius.com (http://www.consortiumofgenius.com). text/html 2008-04-04T19:27:48+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-michael-c.-bevis-and-and-god-looked-away.php Click for Video AuthorViews is proud to present two minutes with writer, musician, artists and Katrina survivor Michael C. Bevis, cut from his poignant interview at the 2008 Alternative Media Expo in New Orleans. Bevis' debut book, And God Looked Away: A Katrina Journal, is a graphic and vivid personal account of the traumatic experiences that Bevis and his girlfriend endured and witnessed while riding out the most destructive natural disaster in American history. But as Bevis discusses in the video, it wasn't the storm itself that did most of the damage. Levee failure, subsequent flooding and the pitifully slow governmental response were what really did New Orleans in. text/html 2008-04-03T21:01:08+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-louise-shaffer-and-the-ladies-of-garrison-gardens.php Click for Video AuthorViews is pleased to introduce Emmy-winning actress and author Louise Shaffer. AuthorViews interviewed Shaffer at the 2007 Tennessee Williams Festival (http://www.tennesseewilliams.net) in New Orleans about her most recent novel, The Ladies of Garrison Gardens, the sequel to her debut novel, The Three Miss Margarets. The Ladies of Garrison Gardens is a page-turning mystery about friendships, secrets and fortune in a small southern town. In this video, Shaffer talks about how her training as an actress influenced her ability to create realistic characters that readers can't help but believe. text/html 2008-04-02T20:56:36+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-paula-chase-hyman-and-so-not-the-drama.php Click for Video AuthorViews is pleased to present two minutes with young adult fiction author Paula Chase-Hyman, cut from her interview at the 2007 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org/). Chase-Hyman met up with AuthorViews to discuss So Not the Drama, the first novel in her Del Rio Bay Clique series. So Not the Drama is a funny and meaningful story about friendships, name-calling and the pursuit of popularity in high school. What makes this novel different than your typical high school story, however, is its incorporation of ethnic and cultural diversity. Finally, a teen book in which not all the characters are white! There are now two more Del Rio Bay Clique novels available, as well: Don't Get It twisted and That's What's Up. In this video, Chase-Hyman talks about So Not the Drama, and her inspiration to write stories for teens that embrace -- rather than ignore -- diversity. text/html 2008-04-01T19:32:18+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-shelley-jackson-and-the-chainbreaker-bike-book.php Click for Video AuthorViews would like to introduce the lovely Shelley Lynn Jackson, New Orleans bike mechanic and co-author of The Chainbreaker Bike Book: A Rough Guide to Bicycle Maintenance. We interviewed Jackson at the 2007 New Orleans Book Fair, right after we interviewed her co-author Ethan Clark. The Chainbreaker Bike Book is part repair guide and part zine -- an interesting read for bike enthusiasts and would-be mechanics. In this video, Jackson talks about The Chainbreaker Bike Book and her experiences as a female bike mechanic. text/html 2008-03-31T19:36:07+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-tedd-m.-walley-and-mathilda.php Click for Video AuthorViews is pleased to present two minutes with writer, graphic artist and publisher, Tedd M. Walley, cut from his interview at the 2008 Alternative Media Expo in New Orleans. Walley is the creator of Voodoo Maverick Publishing (http://www.voodoomaverick.com) and its explicit, violent and unique comic book series, MATHILDA: The Forces of Evil VS. The 3rd Grade. At first glance, I didn't know what to expect. Walley approached the AuthorViews booth dressed completely in black -- black boots, black leather pants, black shirt and black hat -- with tattoos, piercings, aviator sunglasses, and even a few skulls here and there. You don't have to be a detective to figure out why Walley is often referred to as the "man-in-black" of the comic book world. Once the interview began, it was obvious that beneath the dark exterior was an extremely talented, creative and well-spoken individual. Walley is an entrepreneur, comprising his own one-man company called Voodoo Maverick Publishing (http://www.voodoomaverick.com). Walley founded the company so that he could launch, develop and market MATHILDA effectively. It's amazing how much effort Walley puts into Voodoo Maverick (http://www.voodoomaverick.com) and MATHILDA. He does everything -- writing, penciling, inking, lettering, advertising, marketing, promotions and web design. All this on the side of his full-time job as the Professor of Visual Communication at Delgado Community College (http://www.dcc.edu) in New Orleans. In this video, Walley discusses MATHILDA and why he thinks readers enjoy it so much. text/html 2008-03-27T22:33:14+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-savo-heleta-and-not-my-turn-to-die.php Click for Excerpt AuthorViews is privileged to introduce Savo Heleta, author of NOT MY TURN TO DIE: Memoirs of a Broken Childhood in Bosnia, a personal account of his family's tragic experiences in the war-torn city of Gorazde, Bosnia, during the civil war in the 1990s. When I was a little kid, I remember hearing about Bosnia on the news and in school almost every day. I heard what was said, but that's really all it was to me -- words -- part of a story I couldn't even begin to understand. While I was enjoying my childhood naivety, 5,000 miles across the world, Heleta and his little sister, Sanja, only a few years older than I was, were living in complete fear every day -- threatened, shot at, terrorized, detained, and starved -- simply because they were Serbs living in a Muslim city. Now the Bosnian conflict from the '90s is back in the news again (http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/03/26/bosnia-scandal-ignites-a-trust-debate-between-clinton-and-obama.html), as Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton recently made MIS-statements about dodging sniper fire when she visited Bosnia during the war. Here's what Heleta has to say (http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/03/24/1346222.php) about the recent Hillary-Bosnia controversy. Over the past few weeks, Heleta has been gaining recognition throughout the media not just as the author of an anticipated bestselling book, but as a survivor of a horrific event who has adopted a philosophy of forgiveness, reconciliation and teaching rather than hatred and revenge. Now working towards his Masters Degree in Conflict Transformation and Management at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) (http://www.nmmu.ac.za), Heleta devotes a great deal of his time trying to convey that what happened to him and his family could happen to anyone in the presence of power-hungry, corrupt leadership. Heleta has provided us with an excerpt from NOT MY TURN TO DIE called, "Muslims or Serbs: Who Is To Blame?" It's a poignant overview of some of the horrifying experiences Heleta and his family endured in their home city of Gorazde. text/html 2008-03-27T21:26:21+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/free-internet-pr-chat-series-released-on-authorviews.php AuthorViews President Steve O'Keefe runs a FREE Internet PR Chat series every week for his sister company Patron Saint Productions (http://www.patronsaintpr.com), a publishing consultancy specializing in online marketing strategy, campaigns, and training. Steve's lessons are informative, interesting and interactive, so we thought it would be a good idea to introduce the AuthorViews audience to the series. It's a completely FREE program, and we invite anyone interested to participate. The chat series takes place every Friday from 12noon ET to 1PM ET, using FreeConferenceCall.com (htp://www.freeconferencecall.com). Each week Steve teaches a different topic in online PR, such as social networking, online video syndication, blog PR, discussion group PR, and more. To join the action, there is a FreeConferenceCall.com (htp://www.freeconferencecall.com) dial-in number and access code. When the lesson is about to start, simply dial 712-451-6100 and when asked for the code, input 596632#, and you'll be connected to the lesson instantly. It's really easy and toll charges or minutes are based on your own phone plan. During each lesson, messages, files and links are passed through a chat program called Skype (skype.com). Although you don't need to have Skype to participate on the call, it makes the lessons easier to follow, so we encourage you to download it if you don't already have it. Skype is a new technology with an already massive user base, so it's a great program to familiarize yourself with anyway. You can download Skype here (skype.com/download). If you have any questions about the FREE Internet PR Class, please feel free to contact us. In addition, we will be posting transcripts and podcasts of each lesson after it takes place, so you can get all the info even if you're unavailable while the class is going on live. You can start looking for the transcripts and podcasts on AuthorViews every Friday afternoon after the class. Hope to catch some of you tomorrow! text/html 2008-03-25T20:44:39+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-antonio-crawford-and-henrietta-the-hyena.php Click for Video AuthorViews is pleased to present two minutes with writer, publisher, and now children's book author, Antonio Crawford, cut from his interview at the 2007 Virginia Festival of the Book. Crawford has been in the publishing business for years, but this is the first kids' book he has been involved with. What a debut! Henrietta the Hyena, written and published by Crawford, is a fun, captivating and educational children's story, filled with bright, colorful illustrations and a writing style that evokes learning. In this video, Crawford talks about Henrietta the Hyena and the joy he gets from working with and teaching children. text/html 2008-03-25T14:17:08+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-louie-crowder-and-calme-au-blanc.php Click for Video and Excerpt Louie Crowder's Calme Au Blanc is a play about living and loving in downtown New Orleans, around the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. AuthorViews met up with Louie Crowder at the 2008 Alternative Media Expo in New Orleans to talk about Calme Au Blanc. In this two-minute video cut from his interview, Crowder discusses how living in a city as culturally rich as New Orleans can have a profound impact on what people do and how they do it. For Crowder, New Orleans culture permeates what he writes about and even his writing style. We are releasing this video just in time for Calme Au Blanc's final week of performances. After a successful run at the Big Top Gallery (http://www.3rcp.com) in New Orleans, this is your last chance to catch the play. The final three performances are Thursday through Saturday, March 27 - 29, at 8:00PM at the Big Top Gallery. Also, to give you a preview of Calme Au Blanc, Crowder was nice enough to provide an excerpt from the play, which you can read below the video. text/html 2008-03-20T18:54:40+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-ethan-clark-and-leaning-with-intent-to-fall.php Click for Video AuthorViews is proud to present two entertaining minutes with New Orleans biker, punk, and author Ethan Clark, cut from his interview at the 2007 New Orleans Book Fair. Leaning with Intent to Fall is a series of Clark's personal stories about public drunkenness, getting chased by stray dogs, hitchhiking across the country, and other wacky and amusing adventures that celebrate the biker-punk subculture. Clark's stories take place in pre-Katrina and post-Katrina New Orleans, as well as in Asheville, NC, where Clark relocated after the hurricane. In this video, Clark talks about some of the wild things that happened to him in his first month-and-a-half back to New Orleans after Katrina, while he was trying to finish up his book. text/html 2008-03-19T20:44:53+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-michael-dingler-and-nola-rising.php Click for Video From the Crescent City, AuthorViews is excited to introduce Michael "Rex" Dingler, New Orleans artist, activist and creator of the NOLA Rising Project. We met up with Dingler at the 2008 Alternative Media Expo in New Orleans for an interview you don't want to miss. If you've had the chance to wander around New Orleans within the last year or so, anywhere from the bustling streets of the French Quarter to the emptiness of the lower Ninth Ward, you've no doubt seen the uplifting work of Dingler and his NOLA Rising Project. "Fighting the Aerosol Nation," (http://www.bestofneworleans.com/archives/2001/0220/news-feat.html) for the past five years, Fred Radtke has been in charge of a Louisiana nonprofit organization called Operation: Clean Sweep, essentially an anti-graffiti task force. With the support of local government and law enforcement, Radtke is responsible for removing graffiti. But since he can't just erase the graffiti, Radtke covers it with gray paint, and consequently has come to be known as the The Gray Ghost. Over the past few months, Radtke and Operation: Clean Sweep have begun to target NOLA Rising, specifically Rex Dingler. This is not only unfair, but insane, since Dingler clearly has positive intentions, not to mention the fact that this project has nothing to do with graffiti -- it's installation artwork that can be removed easily. What's the point of painting the "gray ghost" over a stapled-up poster that you can simply pull down? Radtke has gone so far as to have a police officer cite Dingler for 1,100 counts of illegally posting on telephone polls, an absurd charge that Dingler is fighting wholeheartedly, despite the immense cost of his legal defense. As the trial date nears, here's what Dingler has to say about Radtke (http://NoLarising.blogspot.com/2008/03/allegedly-work-of-fred-radtke-in-part.html). Taking the advice of his legal representation, Buddy Spell of the law firm Spell & Spell, Dingler has set up a defense fund to help him raise enough money to cover his legal costs. Donations to the fund can be made to: SPELL & SPELL C/O Michael Dingler Defense Fund 924 Ellis Street Franklinton, LA 70438 Check out Dingler's AuthorViews video and the Defend New Orleans video (http://www.vimeo.com/454301/), for more information on NOLA Rising and the trumped-up charges against the artist. There's also a good article in New Orleans CityBusiness, called "'Gray Ghost' Feuds with Nola Rising Creator," (http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/viewStory.cfm?recID=25644) which offers statements from both Dingler and Radtke. Photos courtesy of Humid City (http://www.humidcity.com) text/html 2008-03-18T17:29:57+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-chris-matherne-and-the-shaping-of-a-destiny.php Click for Video AuthorViews is excited to present two minutes with fantasy novelist Chris Matherne, cut from his interview at the 2007 New Orleans Book Fair. Matherne is a life-long fan of fantasy and adventure novels. In fact, he decided to write The Shaping of a Destiny because he was tired of reading "slow paced fantasy adventure books that seemed to crawl along at a snail's pace." Matherne's debut novel is anything but slow. In this video, Matherne discusses why he thinks readers enjoy The Shaping of a Destiny, and offers two humorous anecdotes about his writing experiences. text/html 2008-03-17T18:47:59+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-valentine-pierce-and-geometry-of-the-heart.php Click for Video AuthorViews is proud to introduce Valentine Pierce, a native New Orleanian and staple of the New Orleans poetry scene. Pierce has been reading and performing her poems all over the country for years, from clubs and coffee houses in the French Quarter to art galleries and festivals on the West Coast. AuthorViews met up with Pierce at the 2007 New Orleans Book Fair to talk about her first poetry anthology, Geometry of the Heart. Although Pierce has had nearly 60 poems published in various books and anthologies, this is the first time she has published an entire book with her work exclusively. In this two-minute video cut from her interview, Pierce recites a poem she wrote about living in New Orleans -- a taste of the soul and passion we can expect from the rest of her poetry. text/html 2008-03-14T21:45:47+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-renee-bobb-and-the-self-publishing-process.php Click for Video Renee Bobb is an expert in the fields of self-publishing and small business development. She has published four guidebooks on theses topics, and has founded a book publishing and small business consulting company called R.B.I. Enterprise. Through her firm and various workshops, Bobb has trained nearly 1,500 authors on how to self-publish. AuthorViews had the privilege of interviewing Bobb at the 2007 Virginia Festival of the Book (http:www.vaboook.org) about her new book, The Self-Publishing Process: The Beginners Guide to Book Publishing Success. In the two-minute video we cut from her interview, Renee talks about why authors and entrepreneurs find her books extremely valuable. Anyone interested in developing a business or publishing a book should check out Bobb's clip and related links. text/html 2008-03-13T20:31:17+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-dedra-johnson-and-sandrines-letter-to-tomorrow.php Click for Video AuthorViews would like to introduce Dedra Johnson, an accomplished writer, blogger and novelist, who has been doing fantastic blogging work with our sister company, Patron Saint Productions (http://www.patronsaintpr.com). Dedra sat down with AuthorViews at the 2007 New Orleans Book Fair to talk about her debut novel, Sandrine's Letter to Tomorrow, an inspiring story about a light-skinned black girl who grows up in 1970s New Orleans in an environment of poverty, racial prejudice and emotional abuse. A resident of the Crescent City, Dedra has received tremendous praise for her book locally, as well as nationally. Sandrine's Letter to Tomorrow is well-written, with rich, realistic characters that seem to touch readers who grew up not only in New Orleans, but in any city where race and class were often divisive issues. In this two-minute video, Dedra describes how 9-year-old Sandrine evolves over the course of the story, ultimately learning to stand up to some of the negative forces in her life. text/html 2008-03-13T16:05:18+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-ann-conti-morcos-and-the-tale-of-nada-nutria.php Click for Video AuthorViews is proud to present two minutes with Ann Conti Morcos, cut from her interview at the 2007 New Orleans Book Fair. With nearly two decades of writing and editing experience, Morcos published her first children's book in 2002. The Tale of Nada Nutria is a story about a community of nutria that gets separated when a hurricane destroys their home. Nutria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutria) are large rat-like rodents, ranging from 10-20 pounds in adulthood. Native to South America, nutria were brought to Louisiana by fur traders in the early 1900s. The Tale of Nada Nutria is truly one-of-a-kind, the first and only children's book ever written about nutria. What's remarkable is that Morcos is able to express themes as powerful and human as friendship, family and courage with nutria as her main characters. In this video, Morcos describes the two historical Louisiana events that her story is based on, and explains why she actually decided to write a children's book about nutria. text/html 2008-03-11T21:50:09+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-drs.-carol-s.-pearson-and-hugh-k.-marr-and-what-story-are-you-living.php Click for Excerpt AuthorViews is pleased to bring you an excerpt from What Story Are You Living?: A Workbook and Guide to Interpreting Results from the Pearson-Marr Archetype Indicator, written by the creators of the PMAI themselves, Dr. Carol S. Pearson and Dr. Hugh K. Marr. Archetypes are the unconscious patterns of behavior that influence people's lives. Based on decades of research and analysis in this area, Pearson and Marr have developed What Story Are You Living? to be a guidebook that will help readers identify and learn from their specific archetypal profiles. By discovering the archetypes affecting your life, you can learn to alter unproductive habits and ultimately discover personal strengths and motivations you never even knew existed. What Story Are You Living? offers practical and scientifically supported advice that can actually help improve your life right now. In this excerpt, Pearson and Marr briefly explain the purpose of the PMAI and discuss the three stages of an archetypal journey: preparation, transformation and return. text/html 2008-03-10T20:54:04+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-rev.-goat-carson-and-shallow-graves.php Click for Video AuthorViews is excited to introduce Reverend Goat Carson, a remarkably fascinating and worldly figure who truly has done it all: musician, songwriter, Native American spiritual leader, published author. He even ran for President in 1992, amassing 100,000 votes before losing to Bill Clinton. Rev. Goat spent most of the 1970s immersed in the Hollywood scene, recording songs and working as a screenwriter on various films. Shallow Graves is Goat's twisted and intense satire of the Hollywood lifestyle, complete with movie stars, satanic cults, zombies and human sacrifices. In this video, Rev. Goat talks about Shallow Graves and how his work experience in Hollywood influenced his writing style. text/html 2008-03-07T21:21:39+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-kaza-kingsley-and-the-monsters-of-otherness.php Click for Excerpt AuthorViews is proud to present an excerpt from Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness, the second novel in Kaza Kingsley's bestselling series. The first story in Kingsley's series, Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye, introduces us to a 12-year-old hero named Erec Rex and his quest through Alypium, an unforgettable world of fantasy, mystery and magic. Kingsley's series continues with the sequel, Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness, which brings us back to Alypium for a perilous adventure that could change this enchanted world forever. In this excerpt from Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness, Erec visits the Memory Mogul's shop in search of his lost childhood memories. Readers and critics alike are calling Erec Rex the next Harry Potter. Take a glimpse and see for yourself. text/html 2008-03-06T21:34:38+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/possible-link-between-autism-and-childhood-vaccines.php Click for Video Yesterday, CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com) released a story about a link between childhood vaccines and autism. According to the article, "Case Renews Debate on Vaccine-Autism Link" (http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/05/autism.vaccines.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch), government officials have acknowledged for the first time ever that certain childhood vaccines actually contributed to the development of autism-like symptoms in a 9-year-old girl from Georgia. The little girl's family is seeking compensation from a federal vaccine-injury fund; and the government has actually admitted the family deserves it. There are nearly 5,000 other families suffering from the same misfortune and filing suit against the government. Although this one case feels like a victory for all these families, each case must be determined on its own merits, so there's still a long way to go before the government is held accountable. At the 2007 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org), AuthorViews filmed a second interview with author Sarah Honenberger about her book White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception, a realistic story about a mother's struggle against the government and a powerful drug company over her daughter's vaccine-related injuries. Honenberger has conducted extensive research on the scandal behind the National Vaccine Compensation Fund and the government's failure to provide safe vaccines. Now with the government seemingly on verge of accepting responsibility for damages linked to childhood vaccines, what a perfect time to release this video! For more info, please check out the article (http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/05/autism.vaccines.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch). text/html 2008-03-05T21:48:28+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book--dr.-peter-j.-dadamo-and-the-genotype-diet.php Click for Excerpt AuthorViews is thrilled to welcome renowned physician and bestselling author Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo, whose new book The GenoType Diet presents groundbreaking research on nutrition and weight loss. Dr. D'Adamo has devoted over a quarter-century to studying the relationship between blood type, food and disease, and introduced the world to his innovative and exciting theories on nutrition in 1996 with his New York Times bestseller Eat Right 4 Your Type. Several health books later, The GenoType Diet takes the science behind Dr. D'Adamo's theories to a new level, based on the striking concept that people actually have the ability to alter their genes' behavior to help lead healthier lives. Dr. D'Adamo's theories are fascinating -- and easy to read -- and can help change not only your life, but the lives of your children and grandchildren, too. In this excerpt from The GenoType Diet, Dr. D'Adamo discusses the process of methylation -- coating your genes through diet to make them harder or easier to express -- and how it relates to dieting, nutrition and health. text/html 2008-03-04T19:53:43+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-margaret-sartor-and-miss-american-pie.php Click for VideoAuthorViews would like to introduce the charming Margaret Sartor, Duke University professor and author of Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets, and Growing up in the 1970s. This 2-minute clip was cut from Sartor's interview at the 2007 Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival (http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/). Miss American Pie is a compilation of diary and notebook entries, letters and photographs from Sartor's adolescence. She fuses them together to express not only the story of her own childhood, but the influential themes, events and issues of the 1970s as well. In this video, Sartor describes how telling a story through the use of primary documents produces an "authenticity in voice" that you simply can't create with any other form of writing. text/html 2008-03-03T20:41:42+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-will-hutchison-and-follow-me-to-glory.php Click for VideoAuthorViews is pleased to present two minutes with military history expert Will Hutchison, taken from his interview at the 2007 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org). As a former officer in the US Marines and Army, and a Federal Law Enforcement Agent, Hutchison's knows a thing or two about combat. Now a renowned writer and lecturer on military history, Hutchison has gone through great lengths to create a flawlessly realistic tale about one of the most famous regiments in British military history. Follow Me to Glory won the Independent Publisher's Bronze Award for Best Regional Fiction and was a Finalist in the 2007 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards. In this video, Hutchison describes some of the extensive research he needed to conduct in order to bring Follow Me to Glory to life. text/html 2008-02-29T20:26:17+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-sandra-ingerman-and-how-to-heal-toxic-thoughts.php Click for ExcerptAuthorViews is excited to welcome back Sandra Ingerman for her third installment on our site. Her new book is called How to Heal Toxic Thoughts, and provides helpful, practical tools for coping with stress and negative (toxic) feelings. In this excerpt from How to Heal Toxic Thoughts, Ingerman explains the deep power behind words and their meanings. She reinforces this idea with a visualization exercise for the reader to practice. Relax...take a deep breath...and try it. Ingerman has a very gentle and soothing air about her, which comes across well in her video. She truly embodies the message she's trying to convey -- to treat yourself, those around you, and the Earth with kindness and positivity. For more on Sandra Ingerman, feel free to check out her video on Medicine for the Earth or the excerpt from Shamanic Journeying. text/html 2008-02-29T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-amy-guth-and-three-fallen-women.php Click for VideoAuthorViews is proud to release 2 minutes with the lovely Amy Guth, cut from her interview at the 2007 Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival (http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/). Guth's debut novel, Three Fallen Women, is a violent and graphic, yet touching portrayal of the struggles of three women who don't know each other, but are connected thematically throughout the book. In this video, Guth discusses Three Fallen Women and how writing the novel has influenced her perspective on women and life in general. text/html 2008-02-27T16:21:08+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-dr.-gordon-l.-patzer-and-looks.php Click for Excerpt AuthorViews is proud to present an excerpt from LOOKS: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined by Dr. Gordon Patzer. Dr. Patzer incorporates 30 years of experience and research into this comprehensive investigation of lookism, the practice of judging and treating people based on how they compare to a set of physical ideals. According to Dr. Patzer, lookism is inescapable, and plays a tremendous role in all of our lives. In this excerpt, Dr. Patzer discusses the importance of physical attractiveness and image in voters' perceptions of presidential candidates. Even the race for the American Presidency is a beauty contest! text/html 2008-02-13T16:42:53+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/authorviews-george-ingmire-works-on-award-winning-katrina-documentary-trouble-the-water.php AuthorViews would like to congratulate George Ingmire, our Production Manager, for his work on the film Trouble the Water, which just won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Directed and produced by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, both of whom worked with Michael Moore on Fahrenheit 911 and Bowling for Columbine, Trouble the Water is a poignant documentary about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The film includes real video footage of the storm shot by Kimberly Rivers Roberts, a resident of the 9th ward who was unable to evacuate. Ingmire, with 10 years of video production experience, is in charge of sound and camera on AuthorViews shoots, as well as editing and cutting all footage. He was approached in early 2006 to work as the sound recorder for Trouble the Water and he accepted the job whole-heartedly. A resident of New Orleans for the past 15 years, Ingmire evacuated to Virgina during Katrina and returned to the Crescent City in October 2005. Since the storm, Ingmire has devoted a great deal of his work to telling the story of Katrina. He has worked on several Katrina films, including Spike Lee's HBO documentary, When the Levees Broke, which won 3 Primetime Emmys in 2007. When asked his thoughts on Trouble the Water, Ingmire replied, "Of all the Katrina documentaries I've worked on, this film came closest to telling the real story." For more information on Trouble the Water, check out these articles:GreenCine Daily (http://daily.greencine.com/archives/005336.html)Cinematical.com (http://www.cinematical.com/2008/01/28/sundance-review-trouble-the-water/)Soros.org (http://www.soros.org/resources/multimedia/katrina/projects/TroubleWater/) text/html 2008-02-14T16:22:37+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/online-video-is-a-whopper-burger-king-uses-online-video-to-boost-sales.php In early December 2007, Burger King began its "Whopper Freakout" (http://www.whopperfreakout.com) campaign, a series of TV commercials and online videos in which real Burger King customers are told the Whopper is no longer on the menu. The hoax took place at two Burger King locations in Nevada. Employees were substituted with actors and hidden cameras were placed around the ordering counters to capture customers' reactions to the prank. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal called "Hey, No Whopper on the Menu?!," (http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120244090812952965.html) the "Whopper Freakout" campaign is based on a market research technique called deprivation research: Burger King has been conducting deprivation studies for several years, getting small groups of people considered core customers by the fast-food chain to voluntarily forgo eating Whoppers. As part of the experiment, the people kept food diaries so Burger King could analyze what they ate instead. The purpose of deprivation research is to help measure brand or product loyalty, and to help marketers create messages that hit home with consumers. The "Whopper Freakout" campaign takes this technique to a new level. It's not just about the research used to create the message -- it is the message. The success of this campaign demonstrates the power of video, specifically online video. In addition to TV commercials, "Whopper Freakout" clips are available all over the Internet, from the campaign's companion website, WhopperFreakout.com (http://www.whopperfreakout.com), to all major video portals, like YouTube (http://www.youtube.com) and Google Video (http://video.google.com). According to the WSJ article, the original 8-minute, documentary-style clip, which spawned the series of commercials, was viewed over 3 million times on WhopperFreakout.com, and over 350,000 times on YouTube. Burger King maintains that the campaign contributed to more than a 10% increase in Whopper sales in the quarter that ended December 2007. The lesson from all this is that if you can generate captivating video content and get it online, the results can be spectacular. It wasn't the commercials alone that impacted Burger King's sales; rather the combination of TV and the Internet. While TV ads cost millions to produce and air, syndicating a video across the Web can cost next to nothing! text/html 2008-02-18T00:54:48+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-much-ado-about-almost-nothing.php Click for Excerpt AuthorViews is proud to release an excerpt from inventor Hans Camenzind's Much Ado About *Almost* Nothing: Man's Encounter with the Electron, a book about the history of electron discovery, with profiles of the people who made the most (or the worst) out of it. In Much Ado About *Almost* Nothing, Camenzind introduces the scientists, inventors, engineers and nobodies who toyed with electricity and, as a result, enriched our general understanding on the subject -- from historical figures as renowned as Ben Franklin and Alexander Graham Bell to the relatively unknown personalities who nonetheless made huge contributions. In this excerpt, Camenzind covers the undistinguished Lee de Forest, an inventor and entrepreneur who just may be the "Father of Radio." text/html 2008-02-19T12:00:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-kathryn-lively-and-phaze-publishing.php Click for Video AuthorViews is proud to present 2-minutes with author, editor and publisher Kathryn Lively, cut from an interview at the 2007 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org). Lively is currently the publisher of Phaze Publishing (http://www.phaze.com/), an erotic romance imprint with over 100 titles, most of which are e-books. In this video, Lively talks about the marketing and promotion of erotic romance, as well as the distinction between erotic romance and traditional romance. text/html 2007-11-27T21:28:10+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-jason-berry-and-last-of-the-red-hot-poppas.php Click for Video It is our distinct pleasure to bring you a new author video, filmed at the 2007 Tennessee Williams / New Orleans Literary Fest (http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/). When most people hear the phrase "Louisiana Politics," the first thing to cross their mind is usually either corruption or absurdity. New Orleans native Jason Berry takes those preconceptions and tops them with his political comedy, Last of the Red Hot Poppas. While most people know him for his hard hitting investigations into sexual abuse in the catholic priesthood, Berry has been both an historian and a cultural writer for many years. In this 2 minute video he talks about branching out into yet another genre with this knee slapping comedy of scandal and politics, a work that begins with the all too believable premise of a Louisiana governor being found deceased and naked with lipstick in some incriminating places. The story is a wild romp that is nothing short of scandalicious! text/html 2007-11-27T21:29:42+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/authors/new-video-john-pritchard-and-junior-ray.php Click for Video From the dark side of the Mississippi Delta Author Views brings you two minutes with John Pritchard, a new author video, filmed at the 2007 Tennessee Williams / New Orleans Literary Fest (http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/) A native of the Delta region, Pritchard shares a darkly humorous take on the deep south in Junior Ray. In this, his first novel, he presents a study of two characters who are polar opposites. Episodic in nature, the story is basically a character study of people separated by social class. It also addresses the theme of just how much will people accept in the name of being "protected form danger." A warm and sociable gentleman, Pritchard candidly shares the joy being published has given him, beaming like a child on Christmas morning when he speaks of his book. This brief video opens a window onto the pride of creation and the satisfaction of becoming a published author. text/html 2007-11-28T21:40:20+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-robert-fanney-and-luthiels-song.php Click for Video From the world of fantasy AuthorViews brings you two minutes with Robert Fanney, a new author video, filmed at the 2007 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org/)Luthiel's Song is geared towards young adult readers, primarily young girls (11-16 years old) with a taste for the heroic and fantastic. Fanney shares with us this world he has created, a place where dreams and nightmares often intrude upon day to day life. His foundling hero, Luthiel, breaks from the pattern of the traditional changeling in that rather than being an elf left to be raised by humans she has been left with the elves. On the advent of her fifteenth birthday things change drastically. She finds herself fighting through the dreamworld in a quest to save someone close to her from dying. Dreams are the source of magic in Robert Fanney's world, which is cause for both hope and fear. Now through the magic of the internet you can hear him share the thoughts and ideas that compose the framework of this delightful fantasy world! text/html 2007-12-12T21:47:46+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-endings.php Click for Excerpt AuthorViews is proud to present the debut novel of a new talent out of Texas: Barbara Bergin! Medicine, horses, and romance are some of the key ingredients in this fascinating crossover novel. These are topics that the multi-talented Mrs. Bergin is quite familiar with as in real life she is an orthopedic surgeon, a devoted mother, and a competitive rider. Her lavish descriptions of ranch life are counterpointed by thrilling accounts of medical procedures, all set against a back beat of mystery that shrouds her main character's past. The book follows Dr. Leslie Cohen, a locum tenens physician on assignment in Abilene, TX. (I must confess that the term locum tenens was a new one to me when I first picked up the novel. It means a doctor who moves from one temporary assignment to another.) As the story unfolds we see her relationship with a local rancher blossom. It is this closeness that brings to light the tragedy lurking in her past, the tragedy that has kept her moving from place to place, eschewing personal ties and friendships. The excerpt from Endings: A Novel, which we have permission to display, is a window into the initial stages of Dr. Cohen's relationship with Regan Wakeman, a local rancher she meets in Abiline. In this excerpt Mrs. Bergin delivers a well-rendered psychological portrait of a woman who has a knee jerk reaction against forming personal ties, a reaction rooted in tragedy... text/html 2008-01-21T22:51:24+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-jonathan-gross-and-thomas-jeffersons-scrapbooks.php Click for Video AuthorViews is proud to present two minutes with the erudite Jonathan Gross, taken from an interview conducted at the 2007 Virginia Festival of the Book.Thomas Jefferson's Scrapbooks is one of the earliest anthologies of American literature, with 243 poems that Jefferson himself collected -- beautiful prose concerning nation, death, love and family. By exploring Jefferson's taste for American poetry, Gross is able to examine Jefferson through a lens neglected by most historians and biographers. Along with the poems, the anthology contains annotations, essays and photographs that together make this one of the richest volumes ever created on America's third President. In this video, professor and Jeffersonian expert Jonathan Gross talks about Jefferson's use of poetry to teach his grandchildren how to read, as well as Jefferson's fascination with romantic poetry. text/html 2008-01-23T22:57:19+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-the-oil-and-the-glory.php Click for Excerpt AuthorViews is pleased to bring you an excerpt from renowned oil correspondent and journalist Steve LeVine's The Oil and The Glory: The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea. LeVine spent 18 years in the former Soviet Union, Pakistan and the Philippines reporting for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Newsweek. In The Oil and The Glory, LeVine brings his experiences and research together to create a riveting historical account of politics, greed, corruption and oil in a turbulent, but relatively unpublicized region. This excerpt from The Oil and The Glory portrays the final series of negotiations for the development of Caspian oil fields and the division of profits. The excerpt takes you from Istanbul to Houston to Washington, D.C., where private and state-owned oil companies and American and Azerbaijan diplomats engage in heated negotiations to finalize a quarter-billion dollar deal. text/html 2008-01-25T21:41:22+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-health-care-reform-now.php Click for Excerpt AuthorViews is proud to present an excerpt from Health Care Reform Now!: A Prescription for Change -- a comprehensive plan for universal health care in America, by Kaiser CEO, George C. Halvorson. With over three decades of experience in health care management, from HealthPartners to Blue Cross and Blue Shield to Kaiser, Halvorson is one of today's chief figures in American health care. In Health Care Reform Now!, Halvorson details his proposal to amend our health care system and create a system of universal health care that works for everyone -- doctors, nurses, patients and policymakers. In this excerpt, Halvorson discusses eight recent developments and trends indicating America is ready and in prime position to undergo significant health care reform. text/html 2008-01-28T21:08:51+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-sarah-honenberger-and-white-lies.php Click for Video AuthorViews is pleased to present two-minutes with author Sarah Honenberger, cut from an interview at the 2006 Virgnia Festival of the Book. Honenberger discusses her novel, White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception, based on a true story. Honenberger's comprehensive research into the scandal behind the National Vaccine Compensation Fund helps her create a realistic portrayal of a mother's struggle against a powerful drug company. In this video, Honenberger discusses the great lengths the government goes through to avoid paying legitimate claims to the 1986 National Vaccine Compensation Fund. She also warns all mothers to question what they're told regarding childhood vaccination and to demand as much information as possible from their doctors. text/html 2008-01-29T21:18:59+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-bonnie-rozanski-and-borderline.php Click for Excerpt Authorviews is pleased to bring you an excerpt from Bonnie Rozanski's newest novel, Borderline. Borderline is not only a warm and humorous coming of age tale; but an informative treatise on several widespread societal concerns -- fast-food diets, genetics and autism. Rozanski elucidates these issues and uses them to bring to life a fast-paced plot with dynamic, engaging characters. This excerpt from Borderline portrays the scene in which the Ritter family first realizes that little Austin's developmental problems are more severe than they had thought. text/html 2008-01-31T18:37:58+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-alive-and-kicking.php Click for Excerpt AuthorViews is proud to present an excerpt from Alive and Kicking: Legal Advice for Boomers, by elder law experts and professors Kenney F. Hegland and Robert Fleming. Alive and Kicking is a book about the legal, financial and family issues that arise as people grow old. Hegland and Fleming, both with decades of experience in law, incorporate an array of serious matters into an entertaining, uplifting and even humorous legal guidebook for the elderly. In this excerpt, the two lawyers offer advice on alcoholism and gun safety. text/html 2008-02-07T23:00:24+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-the-girls-guide-to-building-a-million-dollar-business.php Click for Excerpt AuthorViews is proud to bring you an excerpt from The Girl's Guide to Building a Million Dollar Business, a new guidebook for women by small business expert Susan Wilson Solovic. According to Solovic, women-owned businesses comprise the fastest growing segment within the US economy; but only 3% of these businesses exceed a million dollars in annual revenue. In The Girl's Guide to Building a Million Dollar Business, Solovic uses her experiences as co-founder, CEO and Chairman of SBTV.com (http://www.sbtv.com/ ) (Small Business Television) to help inspire and teach women how to build their startups from the ground up and grow them into stable and profitable companies. In this excerpt, Solovic discusses the four factors she deems instrumental to growing a business: mission, management, marketing and money. text/html 2008-02-11T22:23:25+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-the-abduction.php Click for Excerpt AuthorViews is proud to present an excerpt from Princeton scientist John F. Brinster's The Abduction, a philosophical and historical novel that challenges the very foundation of Western religion.The Abduction is a controversial tale about the early life of Jesus of Nazareth, based on an ancient Chinese legend in which a Chinese ambassador abducts Jesus as a child and raises him among Buddhists in Western China. This excerpt details the education and teachings of Jesus (known as Jem) as he grows up and matures as a member of an aristocratic Chinese family. text/html 2008-02-12T12:00:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/author-verita-thompson-deceased-at-89.php Click for Video Verita Bouvaire Thompson, author and prominent New Orleans figure, died of natural causes on February 1, 2008. She was 89 years old. AuthorViews had the privilege of interviewing and filming Thompson about her book Bogie and Me: A Love Story, a memoir about her 17-year secret love affair with Humphrey Bogart, a portion of which overlapped with Bogart's marriage to Lauren Bacall. Bogie and Me was published in 1982, creating quite a stir because it was the first time Thompson had revealed the affair publicly. AuthorViews shot Thompson's video in New Orleans, where she lived for the last 18 years of her life. She was a stunning woman, well-known throughout the French Quarter for her glamorous style, party-girl attitude, and of course her history with perhaps the most famous movie star of all time. The Associated Press via MercuryNews.com (http://www.mercurynews.com) states: All the way to her death, her friends said, Thompson adhered to a striking style and outlook reminiscent of the 1940s and Bogart's movies, dressing in Chanel suits, high heels, hat and gloves - with a whiskey smash in hand. According to Contactmusic.com (http://www.contactmusic.com), Thompson was offered the opportunity to evacuate New Orleans by private jet right before Hurricane Katrina hit, but refused, exclaiming, "Lauren Bacall failed to chase me out of Hollywood. Katrina won't force me out of New Orleans." For more information, check out the articles at:Contactmusic.com (http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/bogarts%20mistress%20stays%20put%20in%20new%20orleans%20)MercuryNews.com (http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8222874)BayouBuzz.com (http://www.bayoubuzz.com/News/Louisiana/NewOrleans/New_Orleans_Area_Events_Week_of_February_7__5774.asp) text/html 2007-08-28T18:37:16+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-gavin-s.-johnson-and-prisoners-of-katrina.php Click for VideoMany of us have wondered, What would it have been like to be stuck in New Orleans in the days after Katrina? How would we have handled ourselves at the Superdome or the Convention Center? Now imagine those first few days with no electricity, no air conditioning, no running water -- inside the psych ward at the Orleans Parish Prison! In this brief video, nurse Gavin Johnson talks about getting through Katrina with his elderly father in the psychiatric ward of a prison in downtown New Orleans where they had to shoot the windows out just to get air. Don't worry -- this video is actually sweet, not graphic; many of the rumors about the prison -- such as a mass escape -- were flat wrong. For the full inside view, get a copy of Gavin Johnson's new book, Prisoners of Katrina. text/html 2007-08-29T12:53:11+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/k2-katrina-revisited.php In the last two years I have personally gone through 7 changes of address. A nomad prior to Hurricane Katrina, I've put my head to the pillow in over 50 cities during the same 2-year span. Using mail services, Vonage and Skype, I've been able to minimize the number of Change of Address announcements for my 2 businesses to a mere 4 re-routings. Two years after Katrina came ashore, I live in the exact same apartment and work in the exact same office building as I did pre-K. Like a cyclone winding up, I've been chasing my tail all across America, ending up right where I started: in the path of devastation. And so are you. In Seattle where I lived last year, a mediocre storm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2006_Pacific_Northwest_storms) knocked power out to the entire city for days. When I lived there 20 years ago, I canceled the earthquake insurance on my house when the annual premium hit $5000. As insurers await The Big One in Seattle, very few homeowners or businesses carry earthquake insurance; it's not required by most lenders. In Richmond where I lived two summers ago, the downtown entertainment district, Shockoe Bottom, suffered a devastating flood on August 30, 2004. The levee built to protect this historic neighborhood from the James River ironically penned-in a 5-hour, 14-inch soaking from Hurricane Gaston. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Gaston_%282004%29) Restaurants, galleries and nightclubs were destroyed to the second floor. The neighborhood I evacuated to in East Nashville, Tennessee -- arriving on my daughter's doorstep at 6:10 a.m., August 29, 2005 -- was sawed off by an F3 tornado (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville_tornado_outbreak_of_1998) almost a decade ago and is still showing signs of recovery. Wherever you live, whoever you are, one thing is certain: you won't last forever. The question really isn't where you should live; it's how you should live. That's why I'm still in New Orleans. Frankly, it's a better city after the flood: more thoughtful, more cohesive, more thankful for electricity, drinking water, and what passes for mail service. If you want to live, you could do a lot worse than New Orleans; if you want to die, well, you can do that anywhere. Your Faithful Correspondent, STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews, Inc. Executive Director, Patron Saint Productions Resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, Earth text/html 2007-09-19T19:12:29+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-mike-maranhas-and-reenev.php Click for VideoWe are pleased to bring you a new author video, filmed at the 2007 Virginia Festival of the Book. Most people consider a trip to the islands to be good therapy. For some people this is more true than for others. In Re'enev Luke and Meesha are taking an island sojourn in an attempt to rejuvenate their rocky marriage. Young professionals from Boston, they had been happily married until personal tragedy created an emotional gulf between them. Now, as they vacation in the rain forest, they attempt to create a fresh start for their relationship. In this brief video Mike talks both about his book and the reactions it has garnered. His candid presentation of marital dynamics is discussed as are the parallels in real life. Divorce, avoidance and communication are addressed both in the framework of the novel and in the responses from his readership. text/html 2007-07-21T16:33:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-the-price-of-liberty.php Click for ArticleAuthorViews is pleased to be able to offer a timely OpEd article by Robert D. Hormats based on his new book, The Price of Liberty: Paying for America’s Wars. As the U.S. Congress continues to debate and vote on funding the War in Iraq, Hormats' book provides insights that can lead to a more intelligent use of taxpayer dollars. In The Price of Liberty, Hormats examines fiscal decisions made in American wars, beginning with the Revolution and working up to the current War on Terrorism. Successful wartime Treasury Secretaries -- from the War of 1812, through the Civil War, and into World War I -- all studied the techniques of their predecessors, and Hormats provides a clear evaluation of their effectiveness. Hormats is Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs (International). He also served as Ambassador and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative from 1979 to 1981, and Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs at the Department of State from 1977 to 1979. He served as a Senior Staff Member for International Economic Affairs on the National Security Council from 1969 to 1977, where he was Senior Economic Advisor to Dr. Henry Kissinger, General Brent Scowcroft, and Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski. The OpEd we are offering originally appeared in The Washington Post and discusses the present war funding debate in Congress. We're thankful to the Post for allowing us to reprint it here. text/html 2007-08-09T22:22:13+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/vidlit-well-told-tales.php To check out another company using online video to promote authors and books, visit VidLit (http://www.vidlit.com), home of the Naked Author series. You can select videos by author, title, or popularity rank lists. If you want to be surprised, check out the Random Acts of VidLit. You can also browse by genres, with such categories as Chick Lit, KidVidLit, or Mature Audience. (No, not that kind of mature audience material...) Liz Dubelman, the founder of VidLit, has worked for 10 years in film production and has won 2 Emmys for her work. As a soon-to-be-published author herself, VidLit combines two of her favorite interests. text/html 2007-08-13T21:14:48+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/high-speed-blogging-with-firefox.php If Firefox is your web browser of choice, the list of "40+ Firefox Add-ons for High Speed Blogging" over at Mashable (http://mashable.com) might be a big help.The list (http://mashable.com/2007/07/19/firefox-blogging/) includes add-ons for blog publishing and customization, uploading photos and other media, and other tools to help you become a Super Blogger. text/html 2007-08-14T13:38:44+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/facebook-source-code-leaked.php A blog named Facebook Secrets (http://facebooksecrets.blogspot.com/) has published source code from the social networking site Facebook (http://www.facebook.com). Source code published over the weekend is from Facebook's front end, and source code published last night is for Facebook's user search interface. The second round of source code was published after Facebook's lawyers sent cease and desist notices. It is feared that programmers could potentially analyze the architecture of the site and exploit any security weaknesses. In a report from Heather Havenstein of Computer World, a spokeswoman from Facebook denies vulnerability: The incident was not a security breach "and did not compromise user data in any way," the spokeswoman said. "Because the code that was released only powers the Facebook [user interface], it offers no useful insight into the inner workings of Facebook," she added. However, Pete Lindstrom, a senior security analyst at Burton Group, said that anytime source code is accidentally revealed, "there is potential for an increase in risk." He added that when a company dismisses the security implications of such an incident, there likely really are security issues.Trae McNeely (http://news.techvine.org/2007/08/14/facebook-php-leaker-revealed-2/) is claiming credit for leaking the PHP code. text/html 2007-08-21T16:44:25+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-coolhunting-by-peter-gloor-and-scott-cooper.php Click for ExcerptPatron Saint Productions, AuthorViews' sister company, recently embarked on an innovative online marketing campaign for this fascinating book. Coolhunting: Chasing Down the Next Big Thing is a pioneering work by social scientists Peter Gloor and Scott Cooper, research affiliates with the MIT Sloan School of Management. In this elaborate lesson on trendspotting, the authors cover new media concepts such as swarm creativity, as well as "coolhunting" (finding trends) and "coolfarming" (encouraging the growth of creativity). The authors go a step further to explain that coolhunting is not as simple as uncovering the source of trends. It also investigates how groups of people work together in what are called COINs, or Collaborate Innovative Networks, which are nourished by swarm creativity. Moreover, three important principles of swarm creativity are revealed as to a) gain power by giving it away, b) share with the swarm, and c) concentrate on the swarm instead of on making money. These three elements make the book a significant contribution to the open source movement. For a month beginning April 16, 2007, Patron Saint Productions produced a daily, live "coolhunt" with Cooper and Gloor. Using a FreeConferenceCall.com line, visitors could call in, log on, and follow the coolhunt as we navigated more than 100 original and imaginative websites in 20 days. Websites reviewed by the coolhunters included Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/), Digg (http://www.digg.com/), Technorati (http://www.technorati.com/), SpineConnect (http://spineconnect.syndicom.com/), ZoomInfo (http://www.zoominfo.com/), and Minggl (http://www.minggl.com/). Transcripts of our daily coolhunts are available at the Swarm Creativity Blog (http://swarmcreativity.blogspot.com), including a hotlist of all the sites we visited. Occasionally, we were fortunate enough to have special guests such as Raymond Miles, former Dean of the Haas Organizational Behavior and Industrial Relations Group at UC Berkeley, and Scott Capdevielle, CEO and Founder of Syndicom and SpineConnect. This was an educational and intriguing journey through cyberspace, and we invite you to view our results on the Swarm Creativity Blog (http://swarmcreativity.blogspot.com). text/html 2007-08-21T17:07:32+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-comes-the-darkness-comes-the-light.php Click for ExcerptComes the Darkness, Comes the Light is a revealing account of Vanessa Vega’s years of self-abuse, including "cutting" and anorexia. The book details factors in Vega's life that led to more than 30 years of self-harm, and reveals her coping methods and ultimate treatment process. Vega is a high school English teacher and motivational speaker, presenting at conferences, schools, and special events on the topics of self-injury and eating disorders. She has a degree in English/Secondary Education from Texas Tech University and a degree in Health Education and Promotion from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Vega also has been nationally recognized for excellence in teaching. In her continuing attempts to help others in need of understanding, Vega manages a blog (http://comes-the-light.livejournal.com) where she addresses her 20 years of fighting anorexia and her 30-year struggle with self-injury. On her blog, she explores her past and current battles with her disorders, and offers guidance for others who suffer the same. The excerpt from Comes the Darkness we have permission to display is a first-person account of cutting that might be shocking to some readers or act as a trigger for recovering cutters. Please use discretion. text/html 2007-03-21T11:36:13+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-diane-swanson-with-a-crash-of-rhinos-and-einsteins-brain.php Click for VideoDiane Swanson has written more than 60 books for children of all ages, from toddlers through teenagers. Most of them deal with science and nature, such as A Crash of Rhinos, A Party of Jays: The Wacky Ways We Name Animal Groups. In Nibbling on Einstein’s Brain: The Good, the Bad and the Bogus in Science, Swanson helps children evaluate the scientific claims they hear. "I can’t make up anything more amazing," the author says, than the creatures that already exist in our world. In this 2-minute video, filmed in the Vancouver offices of publisher Annick Press, Swanson describes one of those amazing creatures. She also talks about how one can rediscover the beauty in the world around us by looking through the eyes of a child. text/html 2007-03-22T11:50:20+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-michael-martchenko-childrens-books-illustrator.php Click for VideoFans of Robert Munsch books, such as The Paper Bag Princess, will appreciate this behind-the-scenes interview with illustrator extraordinaire, Michael Martchenko. Martchenko is Munsch's longtime collaborator, but it's rare for the two men share the same room. During the filming of this video at Annick Press' Toronto offices, Robert Munsch tried his best to unsettle his doodling friend, to no avail. Tomorrow we will bring you Munsch's side of the story. In this 2-minute clip, Martchenko talks about the early days with Annick, his training as an artist, and one particularly rewarding moment in his career as an illustrator. "I've got the best job in the world," he says, with a twinkle in his eye, and we believe him! text/html 2007-03-23T10:55:18+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-robert-munsch-and-munschworks-volumes-1-4.php Click for VideoOur two-week program featuring children's book authors from Annick Press comes to a conclusion today with the first online video ever of beloved author, Robert Munsch. Munsch is the creator of such classics as The Paper Bag Princess, Mud Puddle, and Thomas' Snowsuit. The manic Mr. Munsch has a unique way of writing -- his stories are created live, in the classroom, based on one of the kids, then honed over years of telling until the lines are just right. Robert Munsch has written hundreds of books. His books have sold over 30 million copies. Annick Press recently released a compendium of Munschworks -- a four-volume collection of Robert Munsch stories. In this 2-minute video, filmed at the Toronto offices of Annick Press, Munsch describes the difficulty in translating the animation of his verbal stories to paper. The video gives a wee glimpse into the magic of Munsch. We hope you'll enjoy it! text/html 2007-03-29T14:22:03+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/va-book-is-for-book-lovers-festival-review.php VABook (http://www.vabook.org/). The dynamic duo behind the festival is Nancy Damon and Kevin McFadden -- Director and Associate Director, respectively, of Virginia Festival of the Book. They arranged for sponsorship of the AuthorViews team, providing us with an ideal floor location for filming and enough promotion to trigger advance registrations. Festival producers take note: AuthorViews loves floor space other exhibitors hate: in the back, low foot traffic, bad lighting (we bring our own). We filmed in the gorgeous atrium of the Omni Hotel (http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/Charlottesville.aspx) in historic Charlottesville, just off a downtown pedestrian mall filled with shops, restaurants, and theaters. The Omni staff bent over backwards to assist us in setting up, with tables, chairs, utility cables and by turning off a noisy fountain. We filmed every half hour for a day and a half -- about 16 interviews in all -- I'll post the exact list as soon as I check the spelling on the names. VAbook volunteers sent authors to us, others registered in advance, and the remaining slots were filled almost immediately with on-site sign-ups. The results are just riveting! I can't wait to share the videos with you. VAbook's theme this year was "Crime Wave" and about half the authors we filmed were mystery writers. We also filmed many history writers -- a specialty in the Commonwealth -- and one combo: a "history mystery" set in the Appalachian Mountains. This year, we filmed a large contingent of African American authors. A publisher of a series of children's picture books was one of the most inspiring interviews I've done. He has persevered in a very expensive genre with spectacular results; just wait until you meet Henrietta the Hyena! We have few regrets at VAbook -- we can't film all of the more than 200 authors, or attend the celebrity panels while we're working -- and Nancy and Kevin escaped without making their videos again -- but the combination of weather and location simply can't be beat. The next VA Book is March 26-30, 2008 -- hope to see you there! STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews, Inc. text/html 2007-04-17T15:25:19+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/video-encore-lawrence-wright-wins-pulitzer-prize-for-the-looming-tower.php Click for VideoI'd like to congratulate AuthorViews author Lawrence Wright, who yesterday was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction for his book, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, published by Alfred A. Knopf, a Random House imprint. AuthorViews filmed an interview with Wright -- a well-known New Yorker magazine columnist -- in Austin, Texas, in the summer of 2005, when he was still putting the finishing touches on the manuscript for The Looming Tower. AuthorViews was the first to bring you an interview with the author of this Pulitzer Prize-winning book. We invite you to revisit our video with Lawrence Wright, and we remind news organizations that the full half-hour interview is available in motion-picture quality video, should you want to augment your coverage of this major achievement. text/html 2007-06-13T17:26:06+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-chuck-panozzo-and-the-grand-illusion.php Click for VideoAt Book Expo America in New York last month, I was pleased to see dozens of old rockers and new fans in a long line waiting for Chuck Panozzo to autograph his book, The Grand Illusion, an autobiography of this bass player for the band, Styx. AuthorViews got a chance to meet Chuck Panozzo and interview him privately at the Bywater Tech Center during Carnival. Styx was in town to perform after the Endymion parade at the annual krewe's ball, held in the now-infamous SuperDome. In this candid, 2-minute interview, Chuck shares what it was like growing up "different," and how he kept a secret for years in an attempt to spare his parents, band members, and fans. It's a moving clip. text/html 2007-03-15T15:30:23+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-mike-tanner--flat-out-rock.php Click for VideoKids today are rediscovering the 1960s and Mike Tanner is helping them program their iPods with the proper soundtrack.Flat-Out Rock is a visually stunning guide to rock music from the '60s and early '70s. Gorgeous graphic design and rare, exquisite photographs place the musicians in the context of hippies, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and other '60s happenings.Flat-Out Rock covers ten important bands or musicians and illustrates each artist's significance by describing a pivotal moment in their careers. Artists covered include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and Neil Young with Crosby, Stills, and Nash. In this 2-minute video, enjoy Tanner's luxurious voice and rock-star good looks as he describes how his background as a touring and recording musician contributed to Flat-Out Rock. text/html 2007-03-16T14:51:46+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-ruth-ohi--clara-and-the-bossy.php Click for VideoWe are pleased to continue our series of children's authors from Annick Press in Toronto with what may be the most perfect author video we have ever shown. Effervescent illustrator Ruth Ohi takes us inside the covers of Clara and the Bossy, her humorous look at the serious subject of bullying. Clara is a lovable Guinea Pig with a fondness for purple who tries too hard to please her glamorous friend. Ruth Ohi (pronounced "Oh-Weee") has written and illustrated several children's books, including A Trip With Grandma and The Couch Was a Castle. Ruth Ohi fans get a rare treat in this 2-minute video: watching the author create an illustration right before your eyes! It's a magic moment and you shouldn't miss it. With no further ado, let's join the author for a brief trip with Clara and the Bossy. text/html 2007-03-17T15:09:15+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-dennis-foon--the-longlight-legacy-trilogy.php Click for VideoNext in our Annick Press series of author videos comes Dennis Foon, father of the eerie Longlight Legacy trilogy of science fiction novels. The trilogy comprises three books: The Dirt Eaters, Freewalker, and The Keeper's Shadow. The action takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and features two young heroes, Roan and his sister Stowe.The Longlight Legacy continues to gain critical acclaim as one of the great science fiction trilogies of the new millennium. The cinematic scope of the work is no accident; author Dennis Foon is an accomplished playwright and filmmaker -- check out his credits in IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0285168/) (the Internet Movie Database). This 2-minute video was filmed at Annick Press' gorgeous offices overlooking the harbour in downtown Vancouver's historic Gastown district. In the video, Foon is bathed in luminous green light as he talks about the ecological underpinnings of his epic adventure. text/html 2007-03-19T17:21:39+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-emily-pohl-weary--strange-times-at-western-high.php Click for VideoAuthor Emily Pohl-Weary grew up in a famous literary family and has made that tradition her own through a series of ambitious publishing projects. As editor of the zine, Kiss Machine, Pohl Weary is herself a pioneer in do-it-yourself publishing. She's also written a critically-acclaimed biography of her grandmoter, sci-fi pioneer Judith Merril, along with a collection of poetry and an anthology on female super heroes. It's no surprise, then, that the heroine of Pohl-Weary's young adult novel, Strange Times at Western High, is a fearless, independent zinester. In this 2-minute video, filmed in the Toronto offices of publisher Annick Press, the author introduces us to her lead character, 16-year old Natalie Fuentes, and speaks about girls, confidence, and indy culture. text/html 2007-03-20T14:13:55+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-shari-graydon--made-you-look/in-your-face.php Click for VideoToday we're featuring TWO books by Shari Graydon: Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know and In Your Face: The Culture of Beauty and Youth.In Your Face is about "the pressure on teens to live up to unattainable ideals of beauty," according to Graydon. The book talks about where our ideas of beauty come from, all the way back to early childhood. It goes on to take its readers through an historical and cross-cultural look at physical ideals.Made You Look is also aimed at young readers, examining how they're targeted by marketing and advertising. Like In Your Face, this book also delves into the ideals that are pressed upon teens by various societal influences. In this 2-minute video, filmed at the Toronto offices of publisher Annick Press, Graydon explains how and why these ideals are unobtainable and describes her hopes for creating a more "media-literate" youth. text/html 2007-03-07T18:33:44+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-today-susan-larson-book-editor-new-orleans-times-picayune.php Last night, I attended a talk by Susan Larson, Book Editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune since 1988. Larson is a member of the National Books Critics Circle and was recently announced as the winner of the 2007 Award for Life Contributions from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. The platinum-blonde co-author of 10 romance novels, Larson is also the author of The Booklover's Guide to New Orleans, published on the tenth anniversary of her reign over the Times-Picayune's book department. Larson rather breathlessly narrated the history of New Orleans in books -- including authors, publishers, booksellers and even wholesalers. She mentioned Sylvia Beach as a particular inspiration. Beach was founder of Shakespeare Company bookstore in Paris and the original publisher of James Joyce's controversial novel, Ulysses. Larson has a fondness for booksellers and lamented the closing of independent bookstores she had worked at in her formative years. Earlier in the day, The Wall Street Journal ran an article covering the demise of the Los Angeles Times' Sunday book review section and other disappearing newspaper book sections. Larson's book section was folded into the Living section -- and her budget slashed -- after Hurricane Katrina displaced half the newspaper's subscribers and advertisers. Among the tidbits tossed by the Larson, who rides in the Krewe of Muses, is that she unpacks four crates of books every day that arrive for review consideration! While she considers fairness her top priority, she refuses to review self-published or print-on-demand books, which has made many authors unhappy with her. Ms. Larson says she reads every book she reviews. She feels an obligation to consider for review every Katrina book that comes down the pike. Among her Katrina favorites: Jed Horne's Breach of Faith; Path of Destruction, by John McQuaid and Mark Schleifstein; Douglas Brinkley's much-maligned book, The Great Deluge; Tom Piazza's Why New Orleans Matters; the picture book, In Katrina's Wake; and the Times-Picayune book, Katrina: The Ruin and Recovery of New Orleans. text/html 2007-03-12T17:17:19+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-rick-wilks-co-founder--director-annick-press.php Click for VideoWe are very pleased to share with you today, not an author's video, but a publisher's video. Rick Wilks is co-founder, with Anne Millyard, of Annick Press, a company whose name is synonymous with excellence and innovation in children's books. Since 1975, Annick has been publishing breakthrough books, such as Chanda's Secrets, and breakout authors, such as Robert Munsch. In this 2-minute clip, Wilks speaks passionately about what Annick Press looks for in a book and where the company's publishing mission is headed. It's refreshing to see a publisher with such a strong commitment to content and packaging -- both hallmarks of Canadian publishing. Annick is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, where this video was filmed. text/html 2007-03-13T14:59:12+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-loris-lesynski-and-i-did-it-because....php Click for VideoWe are delighted that the first author video in our Annick Press series is with the endearing Loris Lesynski. If you have read any of Loris' books (Boy Soup, Dirty Dog Boogie, Cabbagehead, Nothing Beats A Pizza and Zigzag, among others), you will appreciate this glimpse into the source of that rich humor. Loris lights up for the camera, with mischief in her eyes and poetry on her lips. In this video, Loris Lesynski talks mostly about her new book, I Did It Because.... Students always ask Loris where her stories and language come from. This is her response, an instructional book for young authors that teaches in a delightful way "how a poem happens." Watch this 2-minute video, filmed at the offices of children's book publisher Annick Press in Toronto last November, to see the lovey Loris Lesynski bring some of her works to life! text/html 2007-03-14T15:44:36+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-allan-stratton--chandas-secrets.php Click for VideoWe are pleased to bring you the author of one of the most decorated books in recent memory: Allan Stratton and his breakout novel, Chanda's Secrets.Chanda's Secrets tells the story of a teen girl in Africa whose mother is afflicted with HIV/AIDS and travels north to spare her family the shame of her illness. The book puts "a human face to the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa," says the author. The list of awards Chanda's Secrets has won is too long to recount here -- you'll find an up-to-date tally at publisher Annick Press' web site (http://206.186.83.77/catalog/catalog.aspx?Title=Chanda%E2%80%99s+Secrets). The accolades include Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year Award, the American Library Association's Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature, and "Editor's Choice" plus "Top 10 Black History Book" from Booklist. In this 2-minute video, filmed at Annick Press's Toronto offices last fall, erudite author Allan Stratton describes how he created characters so real he has to remind people the book is fiction. text/html 2007-03-05T16:13:31+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-jocelyn-elder--the-cancer-wheel.php Click for VideoJocelyn Elder's The Cancer Wheel focuses on the three dimensions of life: the physical, the psychological, and the spiritual. Elder says that the audience for her book are both medical professionals as well as cancer patients themselves. As both a cancer survivor and a Registered Nurse, she has unique perspectives to add to the book, which deals with prevention, assessment, and treatment of the disease. Elder has been in the medical industry for over 25 years, in various fields. In this 2-minute video, filmed in Santa Fe, she describes how working in health service at the Zuni Pueblo inspired part of her book. text/html 2007-03-01T18:48:31+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-richard-harris--the-new-mexico-book-association.php Click for VideoThe New Mexico Book Association is an organization that extends membership to anyone involved with the book industry in that state. Last summer, during our visit to Santa Fe, we spoke with the Association’s president, Richard Harris. In this 2-minute video, Harris explains how organizations like the NMBA are a boon to self-publishers and small publishers. He uses Sankara Saranama’s book God Without Religion as an example of a successful title that came about because of the Association’s network. Harris also compares the opportunities for contemporary self-publishers to the limited capabilities of the past. Watch the video to hear his simple rule that small publishers must follow to be as successful as big publishing houses. text/html 2007-03-02T18:53:20+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-ningay-sing--conversations-with-gaia.php Click for VideoNingay Sing believes that she was called upon to write Conversations with Gaia. In this 2-minute video, filmed in Santa Fe, she describes the moment that she heard a voice instructing her to write the book. She considers her book to be the feminine response to Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch. Sing is passionate about rediscovering the forgotten feminine wisdom of the Earth. She ponders the possibilities of partnering that "deep, old feminine wisdom" with the power of modern technology. Watch the video to hear Sing’s ideas for how we can all get away from our self-centeredness and become more global-centered instead. text/html 2007-02-12T17:32:59+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-today-elizabeth-underwood-and-art-in-action.php Click for VideoArtist Elizabeth Underwood is no stranger to AuthorViews. She has contributed three videos to the site: an unsettling interview from the 2005 New Orleans Bookfair and two videos from Austin, Texas, where Underwood lived during her evacuation and where she hosted the AuthorViews film crew on our 2006 summer tour. Underwood is back home in New Orleans now, living in a trailer and painting the town pink. Literally. Okay, not the entire town, but at least one tree:Art in Action (http://artinaction-nola.blogspot.com/) blog. text/html 2007-02-08T18:14:31+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-orleans-remembering-helen-hill.php March on City Hall (http://www.silenceisviolence.org) where all the city's neighborhoods flowed into one huge crowd of grieving, pissed-off people. I've written about D. Shavers elsewhere (http://www.authorviews.com/blog/index.php?itemid=155). I would like to take a moment to introduce you to Helen Hill. I've attended two memorial services for her, including a Tea on Super Sunday at the Zeitgeist Arts Center. At both services, Hill's films were shown. Helen Hill was an animator, a film buff, and an accomplished teacher of the film arts. She could create three minutes of video as compelling as any you will see anywhere. She worked in stop-motion animation a great deal, and preferred real film over digital videography. Her films are colorful, humorous, and just plain fun. Unfortunately, I cannot find any of Helen Hill's films online -- maybe because they are films and not files? But you can find numerous videos about Helen Hill -- and videos of the many memorial services held in her honor throughout the United States and Canada -- at the Helen Hill Memorial Site, http://www.helenhill.org (http://www.helenhill.org). A jazz funeral is being planned for Helen Hill on Saturday, February 24 -- the first Saturday after Mardi Gras -- at Helen Paul's previous residence: 3438 Cleveland Ave., New Orleans, LA 70119. I have received permission from New Orleans poet Lee Grue to reprint her memorial for Helen Hill. We filmed an interview with Lee Grue (http://www.authorviews.com/blog/index.php?itemid=104) at last year's Tennessee Williams Festival (we'll be filming there again this year -- see our Tour Schedule (http://www.authorviews.com/index/tour/tour.php) for details). The loss of Helen Hill and D. Shavers has renewed our desire to film as many authors as possible, as fast as possible, at no charge. It is an ambitious project, but as these images of Helen Hill show, videos are often all we have left of lives snuffed out too soon. STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews, Inc. Helen Hill by Lee Meitzen Grue To lose this person is like losing a vertebrae. Today's paper said, "The city falls to its bloodied knees." Some people glow from the inside with a small steady flame. They go about what they do with certainty. They choose well. Marry for life. Children learn from them. They are not charismatics who draw us into flames. Helen's fire was banked low to last. Close to us she was only one in a list of dead three days since New Year's Eve. We are losing a whole generation. Displaced young men without education, without jobs. Their only commodity crack on somebody else's corner. New Orleans is the new frontier. Territory for people who have nowhere else to go. There is promise here. We are fighting the war of the Old West. How was that won? By homesteaders who persevered and finally brought order at great cost. text/html 2007-02-09T19:21:31+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/authorviews-filmmaker-george-ingmire--think-of-me-first-as-a-person.php We are very pleased to share with readers news about AuthorViews' video production manager, George Ingmire. A documentary short that George assembled using 16mm film shot by his grandfather, Dwight Core, was one of only 25 films installed in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 2006. The film, "Think of Me First as a Person," is a loving portrait by a father of his son who has Down's Syndrome. The original footage was shot in the 1960s and 1970s. George recently discovered the footage and restored it, edited it, and improved the soundtrack. The Library of Congress was moved by the way the film captures amateur filmmaking at a time when that was unusual. In his release announcing the awards, the 13th Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, said, "The selection of a film recognizes its importance to American movie and cultural history, and to history in general. The Registry stands among the finest summations of more than a century of wondrous American cinema." The National Film Registry tries to select films that represent the many ways cinema impacts our lives. Films must be at least a decade old to be considered, and only 25 movies are added to the Registry each year. Films added to the Registry in 2006 besides George Ingmire's "Think of Me First as a Person" include Alfred Hitchcock's "Notorious," Steven Soderbergh's "sex, lies and videotape," "Groundhog Day," and "Fargo." George Ingmire is a radio and film documentary maker and is AuthorViews' video and production manager. You can find more information about George and his far-flung activities at these sites:Mi Abuelo Productions (http://miabuelo.com/index.htm)New Orleans Narratives (http://www.neworleansnarratives.com/)National Film Registry News Release (http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2006/06-234.html) Congratulations, George Ingmire, on a rare and much-deserved honor! STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews, Inc. text/html 2007-01-17T18:56:02+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-sugar-shock-by-connie-bennett-c.h.h.c..php Warren Whitlock, Marketing Results Coach (http://marketingresultscoach.com/best.htm). It's a great idea -- wish I'd thought of it: a concerted effort to get as many people as possible to buy a book at Amazon on the same day, thus propelling the book -- even for one day only -- into the top 10 bestsellers on Amazon. Today is SUGAR SHOCK!'s day; if you buy the book *today* through this site (http://www.sugarbookpromo.com/), you'll get over $1000 worth of free gifts from a variety of vendors.SUGAR SHOCK! is truly an impressive book -- one of the finest research jobs I've ever seen. Connie tells the story of how Americans have been systematically poisoned with sugar for decades through a combination of greed and ignorance. Reading her book is like watching workers piece together a crashed airliner -- the ugly truth finally revealing itself. The campaign appears to be working. Early today, the book was already in double digits on the Amazon bestseller list. I'll have more about SUGAR SHOCK! next week, when I hope to offer you an excerpt from the book. But you might want to pick up a copy TODAY -- along with a ton of free gifts. text/html 2007-01-16T15:22:41+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/todays-new-video-ken-mccarthy--the-hot-8-brass-band.php Click for VideoKen McCarthy is an Internet marketing expert, colleague, mentor, music lover, and longtime friend. We stumbled upon each other in the jazz discussion threads at The WELL -- The Whole Earth's 'Lectronic Link -- back in about 1994. He was living in San Francisco at the time and was involved in producing Ornette Coleman's web site. Ken is also a pioneer in online video. He is the blogmaster for System Video Blog (http://www.systemvideoblog.com/), which tracks the online marketing uses for video. About a month ago, Ken took the helm of IAOCblog.com (http://www.iaocblog.com/blog/OnlineVideo) to lead a discussion of the public relations uses for online video. Ken lives in New York now, but he ended his week at IAOC with a plea for awareness of the situation in New Orleans. This week, Ken is here in New Orleans. A novice camera man, he arrived with a $99 video camera that uses no film and holds up to 30 minutes of video. He used the same camera on a previous trip to New Orleans to film a funeral second-line (http://www.youtube.com/v/yVGWynGvHro) featuring the Hot 8 Brass Band. Check it out. Two weeks ago, the snare drummer for the Hot 8, Dinneral Shavers, was gunned down in front of his family. Along with the murder of filmmaker Helen Hill, who I'll blog more about soon, the Shavers murder galvanized New Orleans, culminating in the March Against Crime (http://silenceisviolence.org/) on January 12. And it led Ken McCarthy to create yet another blog to help focus attention on New Orleans:Food, Music Justice http://www.FoodMusicJustice.com Please join Ken on his blog for dispatches from New Orleans all this week. Thank you, Ken McCarthy, and welcome back to AuthorViews! STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews text/html 2007-01-12T16:08:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/what-is-new-orleans-good-enough..php I arrived in New Orleans last Friday, just as the crest of a wave of violence came crashing down on my neighborhood and friends. I attended a memorial service, a wake, a rally, a sign-painting party, and, yesterday, a march on City Hall. The march was beautiful -- rivers of people from throughout the city coming together to vent their anger and frustration and outrage and to plead for a higher standard of criminal justice. "Enough is Enough" the signs read, and the media mostly got the message right. This clip from YouTube captures the feeling pretty well:New Orleans March Against Crime, January 11, 2007 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt_cM9HWVIc) In that video, you'll see a lot of neighbors and friends. One is march organizer Ken Foster, co-star (with his dog, Shula) of one the most popular videos at AuthorViews. You'll also see Lance Vargas, who used to work here, and George Ingmire, our Video Production Manager. I'm in there somewhere, too. While I'm no fan of football, I have to say this thing with the New Orleans Saints is bringing the city together, too. It's great that we can be a party town, and enjoy our sports, and still have the courage and resolve to address such serious issues. It's good. And it's enough. text/html 2006-12-11T18:23:10+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-jennifer-adams--wedding-showers.php Click for VideoIn addition to her book on baby showers, which we recently featured on AuthorViews, Jennifer Adams has also written a guide to hosting spectacular wedding showers. Wedding Showers includes themes, games, and 50 recipes. In this 2-minute video, filmed in Salt Lake City, Adams gives some tips on how to make your shower favors stand out. By keeping both of her shower books under $10, Adams has provided wonderful guides at very low cost for future brides and mothers. text/html 2006-12-04T18:26:38+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-james-tormey--john-rolfe-of-virginia.php Click for VideoWith John Rolfe of Virginia, James Tormey is the first to publish an account of the Jamestown colonization from Rolfe's point of view. The tale is usually told from the perspective of John Smith or Pocahontas. Tormey's historical novel begins in the year 1609 and covers a 13-year period until Rolfe's death in 1622 at the age of 37. Rolfe's life was "crammed full of adventure," Tormey says, including shipwreck, mutiny, and death. It also covers Rolfe's cultivation of tobacco and his marriage to Pocahontas, which brought a blessing of peace to the colony. In this 2-minute video, appropriately filmed at the 2006 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org), Tormey describes some of the things he learned during his research for this novel. text/html 2006-10-23T16:35:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/on-tour-in-vancouver-british-columbia.php The AuthorViews team is in Canada today to film author videos at the offices of renowned children's book publisher, Annick Press (http://www.annickpress.com/). Founded in 1975, Annick is best known for Robert Munsch's bazillion seller, The Paper Bag Princess, which was released in a 25th Anniversary Edition in 2005. The AuthorViews team in Vancouver consists of Steve O'Keefe and Jesse Vohs. We are staying in an area of downtown Vancouver known as Davie Village, known as "the second largest gay community in North America." Last night we dined at Delilah's (http://www.delilahs.ca/), all red velvet, fresh flowers, and soft lighting. We were joined by publicist and former co-worker, Gwendolynn Gawlick, of PR Diva (http://prdiva.com/) fame. We spent four hours slowly moving through courses while lamenting the difficulties of the book publishing business. We came to this somewhat trite conclusion: In Canada, book publishing is all about the editorial side. In the States, it's all about marketing. Both nations could learn a thing or two from the other. We're here today to learn from the Canadian authors we will film. We'll be sharing those videos with you soon. From Vancouver, British Columbia STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews text/html 2006-10-23T16:57:45+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-daniel-hoyer--culinary-mexico.php Click for VideoCulinary Mexico is a "regional exploration of the cooking of Mexico," according to author, Chef Daniel Hoyer. With this cookbook, Hoyer excludes the Americanized version of what Mexican food is and instead gives a gastronomical survey of authentic cuisine from various geographical regions of Mexico. In addition to recipes for these dishes, Hoyer also gives adaptation instructions for modern approaches to traditional Mexican cooking methods, such as making your own tortillas. He describes one of his favorite recipes from the book, Cochinita Pibil, or Pit-Roasted Pork, in this 2-minute video filmed in Santa Fe, New Mexico. WARNING: If you watch this clip when you're hungry, it could cause panic. text/html 2006-10-25T17:20:03+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-andrew-connan--sams-thunder-mountain-solution.php Click for VideoSam is a young boy who is scared of everything, even things other people couldn't imagine. Sam's Thunder Mountain Solution tells the tale of how Sam overcomes those fears. At the beginning of the story, he adopts Randolph Coyote the Third, a canine whose special powers enable Sam to travel to worlds beyond this one. In this 2-minute video, filmed in Santa Fe during the 2006 AuthorViews Summer Tour, author Andrew Connan brings to life one of the most difficult characters that Sam and Randolph encounter on their journey: The Grumpy Old Man. text/html 2006-10-27T19:43:42+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-net-worth-workout.php Click for ExcerptIn Net Worth Workout, author Susan Feitelberg combines her knowledge of finance and athleticism to create a unique perspective on improving your personal finances. Feitelberg is a JPMorgan Chase vice president and a nationally-ranked triathlete and she uses familiar rules of physical fitness to get people into better financial shape -- a simple idea that really works. She has taught her “Net Worth Workout” seminar to investment advisors and their clients, as well as at The Learning Annex. Beginning today, Feitelberg is teaching her seminar free online through the new self-paced Barnes Noble Book Clubs (http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/bn/board?board.id=thenetworthworkout). You can get a sneak peek of this seminar by reading today’s featured excerpt, “Maximize Your Financial Metabolism.” It shows how one middle-aged couple painlessly liberated about $200 from their monthly expenses. When they reach retirement, that savings will likely have grown to almost a million dollars! Like physical health, financial health is not accomplished by a windfall, but by routine. text/html 2006-11-02T18:10:07+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-betsy-burton--the-kings-english.php Click for VideoIf you've seen the movie You've Got Mail, you're familiar with the plight of the independent bookstore in contemporary times. Betsy Burton has written The King's English about her own experiences and obstacles running a community bookstore -- called "The King's English" -- over the past 29 years. Burton shares tales about the authors and customers who have come through her doors, along with stories about the booksellers who work there and insights into the books themselves.The King's English also describes the obstacles –- financial, legal and otherwise -- independent bookstores face to stay afloat. In this 2-minute video, filmed in Salt Lake City where The King's English is located, Burton describes a life-and-death battle for her store and how it led to a renaissance for both The King's English and the community. This book demonstrates the importance of an independent bookstore to any community. "I really believe what we do is very important," says Burton. We heartily agree! text/html 2006-11-09T21:49:30+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-jennifer-adams--baby-showers.php Click for VideoJennifer Adams' book, Baby Showers, "gives you everything you need to know to throw the perfect baby shower," according to the author. The book includes ideas for invitations, decorations, activities, and favors, as well as 50 recipes for snacks. "The little things make a big difference," says Adams. She also includes a timeline for planning a shower and a list of children's books that make appropriate gifts for the expectant mother. In this 2-minute video, filmed in Salt Lake City, the charming Ms. Adams describes her idea of a perfect baby shower. text/html 2006-09-29T15:43:45+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-baby-read-aloud-basics.php Click for ExcerptA major study on baby brain development (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15051687) released yesterday from the University of Washington confirms what authors Caroline Jackson Blakemore and Barbara Weston Ramirez reported in their new book, Baby Read-Aloud Basics -- that reading to infants provides a critical boost to brain development. Blakemore and Ramirez are Reading Recovery specialists with a combined 50 years of experience helping elementary school children with reading disabilities. Their book provides an inspiring step-by-step guide to reading materials and techniques for babies in six stages of development from birth to two years old. Library Journal calls Baby Read-Aloud Basics "groundbreaking." We are pleased to be able to offer you and excerpt from the book entitled "Eight Baby Read-Aloud Basics" -- the core guidelines for reading to your baby. text/html 2006-10-04T18:01:12+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-janet-eyring--101-things-to-do-with-a-slow-cooker.php Click for VideoToday's video is the first in a series of Salt Lake City authors filmed at the offices of Gibbs Smith, Publisher, during our 2006 Summer Tour. Gibbs Smith is a leading publisher of lifestyle books. Janet Eyring is a slow cooker enthusiast. She’s the co-author of a cookbook called 101 Things To Do With A Slow Cooker that includes instructions for entrees, as well as atypical recipes such as appetizers and desserts. Eyring is the mother of a toddler, so she understands the time crunch that many families face when trying to fix a good meal. She believes that we’re in the middle of a slow cooker revival. In this 2-minute video, Eyring briefly describes one of her favorite recipes in the cookbook, something you probably wouldn’t think you could prepare in a crockpot! text/html 2006-10-05T18:13:40+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-boom---marketing-to-the-ultimate-power-consumer----the-baby-boomer-woman.php Click for Excerpt Baby Boomers are the most-watched generation ever: always in the news but seldom seen in the ads between. Many advertisers focus on the 18-34 age bracket. Boomers age 45-60 have dropped out of the desired demographic and are sidelined as a marketing specialty. With women calling the shots on 80% of consumer spending -- and Baby Boomer women spending well over one trillion dollars on goods and services annually, it should be obvious who drives the market. Mary Brown and Dr. Carol Orsborn, experts in marketing to this demographic, have written BOOM: Marketing to the Ultimate Power Consumer -- the Baby Boomer Woman. The book is a comprehensive guide to identifying, reaching and influencing Baby Boomer women and features insights and case histories from 40 top marketers, including executives from Citigroup, AARP, Time Magazine, Logitech, Liz Claiborne, Key Bank and Marriott. The excerpt we are featuring today is about the needs of empty nesters, based on proprietary research conducted by Imago Creative, a firm that specializes in building brand relationships with Baby Boomers. It’s entitled “Five Marketing Opportunities For Connecting with Empty Nest Women,â€� and explains how the smart marketer leverages the Baby Boomer's life-cycle transitions to forge strong brand connections. text/html 2006-10-10T16:35:41+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-janet-peterson--family-dinners.php Click for Video"I think families are so scattered and our lives are pretty hectic and fast-paced," says Janet Peterson, author of the new cookbook, Family Dinners: Easy Ways to Feed Your Kids and Get Them Talking at the Table. That's why she's written two cookbooks focusing on simple, tasty recipes along with techniques to promote family interaction.Family Dinners has recipes for standards such as lasagna and sloppy joes, and also includes activities and conversation starters designed to get your family eating together and enjoying that dinnertime. In this 2-minute video, Peterson extolls the virtues of family dinners for not only the emotional and mental health benefits, but for your physical health as well. text/html 2006-06-10T14:11:12+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-martha-ward--marie-laveau.php Click for VideoWe conclude our series, "The Katrina Tapes," with this extraordinary video of University of New Orleans professor and anthropologist, Martha Ward, discussing her book, Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau. Laveau was a Creole hairdresser who worked in the French Quarter and lived in nearby Faubourg Marigny. She and her daughter, also named Marie Laveau, were renowned Voodooists. Both these women were sought out as healers and advisors and held prominent places in New Orleans society. In this 2-minute clip, Ward, wearing colors as wild as her book's cover, talks about her research, including attending Voodoo ceremonies and touring St. Louis Cemetery #1. How much of Laveau is fact or fiction? Watch. text/html 2006-06-13T03:38:17+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/knowing-what-it-means.php AuthorViews Summer Tour 2006 -- "The Revacuation" -- is more than a road trip... It's a relocation. I've been evacuating New Orleans every summer since I arrived here in 1998. Last summer was too much. We've had electricity and gas and water and sewer and garbage and cable and phone and Internet for months now; we just seldom have them all at the same time. New Orleans is jumpy -- wouldn't you be? We are facing 3 or more evacuations this summer. It is too hard to grow this business under those conditions. So we're not just going on the road, we're staying on the road. AuthorViews will relocate its global headquarters to Port Townsend, Washington, on the scenic Olympic Peninsula. Tsunami warning signs were recently posted there -- I'm praying the deluge doesn't follow. We'll be back for the New Orleans Bookfair on Halloween and, if the creek don't rise, to teach again at Tulane in January. The only way to get all the video we need is to stay on the road. We've been doing it for years. We're finally getting good at it. STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews, Inc. text/html 2006-06-13T16:52:59+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-joel-agee--in-the-house-of-my-fear.php VAbook.org (http://VAbook.org)) In this 2-minute clip, author Joel Agee describes his attempts to delve into the mindset of his younger brother, who was plagued with debilitating mental illness. The resulting book, In the House of My Fear, details Agee's own breakdown, and his eventual breakthrough, fixed against the background of the sex-and-drugs era of 1960s America. In this clip, Agee's austere presence and somber recollection of the events that lead to this memoir give way to musings on the juxtaposition of art and life. text/html 2006-06-15T16:12:33+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-dorothy-allison--bastard-out-of-carolina.php Tennessee Williams Literary Festival (http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/). Despite the cheery weather, Allison shares a grim tale. In this 2-minute clip, Allison recounts a meeting with a reader who related all too well to the main character in her novel, Bastard Out of Carolina. The book, which is a fictional account of violence and incest in a Southern working class family, is a national bestseller and was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1992. text/html 2006-06-16T14:07:07+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-lee-meitzen-grue-new-orleans-poet.php Click for VideoOur newest addition to The Katrina Tapes series is the lovely New Orleans poet, Lee Meitzen Grue. In this two-minute video, Lee is embraced by the lush, tropical foliage of the courtyard at the Royal Orleans Hotel during the 2006 Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. (http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/) Lee shares her evacuation story, fighting back tears as she describes the loss of a beloved pet after the hurricane. With Katrina, "Everybody lost something," Lee says, but she is determined to remain optimistic. Watch the video to see what Lee Grue considers the positive impacts of the storm. text/html 2006-06-19T13:02:20+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-n.m.-kelby--whale-season.php Click for VideoMost of her life, N.M. Kelby has been a journalist. As a reporter, she has been shot at, spit at, and nearly drowned. "So, these days," she says, "I opt for joy." On her website (http://www.nmkelby.com/), Kelby says, "To write a novel is a joyous act. You show the reader what is possible in the world. You give hope. And humor. And understanding." In this 2-minute video clip from the Virginia Festival of the Book (http://vabook.org/), you can definitely see Kelby's joyous and cheerful side. She playfully describes the comedic tale of her latest book, Whale Season, wherein a 70-year-old Buddhist meets a serial killer and is determined to find the good within him. text/html 2006-06-21T12:30:05+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-pat-macenulty--time-to-say-goodbye.php Click for videoWe continue our series of videos from the 2006 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org) with Pat MacEnulty. In this 2-minute clip, MacEnulty, a North Carolina resident, describes her newest novel's plotline, which takes place in Charlotte. With her dark hair and dress, looking a bit mysterious herself, she describes the book as "noir mystery." Time to Say Goodbye is MacEnulty's third published novel, but her first stab at crime fiction. text/html 2006-06-22T13:14:13+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-carla-danziger--hidden-falls.php Click for VideoCarla Danziger looks like someone that would have inspired her own Hidden Falls heroine: chic fashion, an appearance that suggests Scandinavian descent, and a worldly air. Danziger joins us at the 2006 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org) to talk about Hidden Falls, a murder mystery that takes place in Norway. In this 2-minute clip, she explains how her novel is more than just your run-of-the-mill whodunit. text/html 2006-06-23T15:04:39+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-bob-oconnor--the-perfect-steel-trap-harpers-ferry-1859.php Click for VideoIn this clip, Bob O'Connor sports a patriotic tie, emblazoned with the U.S. flag design. Fittingly, the novel that he discusses with us at the 2006 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org) is about a significant event in United States history.Perfect Steel Trap: Harpers Ferry 1859 is the product of O'Connor's research into the infamous arsenal raid in 1859 and the subsequent capture, trial, and hanging of John Brown. The novel is written in the fictional voices of Brown's son, Owen, and Osborne Anderson, who both helped with the raid. Although the book is historical fiction, the content is nearly 100% factually accurate. In this 2-minute video, O'Connor shares some of the interesting factoids he uncovered during his extensive research, such as the association between John Brown and Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. text/html 2006-06-27T12:56:29+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-david-koen--predatory-lending.php Click for VideoWe continue our "Katrina Tapes" series with this clip of David Koen, an attorney who works for New Orleans Legal Assistance (http://www.nolac.org/). Koen works on the Predatory Lending Project, "which helps people get out of the burden of exorbitantly priced loans." He has concerns that his work will increase due to Hurricane Katrina. Many of his clients are from the poorer areas of the city, such as the Lower Ninth Ward. In this 2-minute video, filmed at the New Orleans Bookfair, Koen explains the ways he thinks predatory lenders will target his clients and others like them. text/html 2006-06-28T13:03:50+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-reginald-johns--love-is-lifes-lesson.php Click for VideoIt's no surprise that Reginald Johns is a school teacher, with his gentle demeanor, perpetual smile, and message about spreading love throughout the world. He joins us at the 2006 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org) to discuss his gorgeous, illustrated gift book, Love is Life's Lesson. In this 2-minute video, Johns describes the art contained in the book, created by his friend, Mike Ridgeway. The hardcover book is filled with Ridgeway's colorful illustrations, which are done using calligraphy, collage, and other media. He also explains the various inspirations for this book, including some words of wisdom from his father. text/html 2006-07-25T17:17:54+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-frank-s.-joseph--to-love-mercy-part-two.php Click for VideoA couple months ago, we debuted Frank S. Joseph's video wherein he talks about his new historical fiction novel, To Love Mercy. Set in Chicago in the late 1940s, the book is about two boys -- one Black and the other Jewish -- who search the city together for a missing talisman. The novel explores racial issues in Chicago during that era. We are very pleased to be able to offer an excerpt from To Love Mercy. Entitled "Bronzeville," it covers the history of this Black Metropolis from the Great Migration to the era of segregation. text/html 2006-07-26T17:44:25+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-william-colby--unplugged.php Click for ExcerptWilliam Colby was the family attorney in the Nancy Cruzan case, the first right-to-die case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Cruzan case is among three major ones that Colby examines in his book, Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America. He also looks at the case of Karen Ann Quinlan and, of course, Terri Schiavo. The drama surrounding Terri Schiavo was what inspired Colby to write Unplugged. The excerpt that we share with you today is called "How We Die in America" and illustrates the contrast between how we think we're going to die and how we're actually likely to check out. text/html 2006-07-27T17:52:31+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-archibald-putt--putts-law.php Click for ExcerptArchibald Putt is the pseudonym of a man whose contributions in science, engineering, and R D management are well known. His infamous book, Putt's Law and the Successful Technocrat, was first published in 1981 and achieved cult status for its scathing satire about the way technology companies behave. "Every technical hierarchy, in time, develops a competence inversion," says Putt, in his most oft-quoted corollary. Readers of Putt's Law will learn such valuable techno-Machiavellian skills as how to leverage failure and how to beat out colleagues who are always right. We can't break Putt's anonymity by sharing a video with you, but we can share an excerpt from the 25th anniversary remake of Putt's Law. In this excerpt, Archibald Putt shows he's learned a lot from bloggers and others on the Internet. Putt's third law of decision making reads, "A decision is judged by the conviction with which it is uttered." Sounds like a page from the bloggers' handbook, doesn't it? text/html 2006-07-28T18:25:51+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-jackson-s.-hunsicker--turning-heads.php Click for ExcerptWe are very pleased to bring you a visual excerpt today from an extraordinary book. Turning Heads: Portraits of Grace, Inspiration, and Possibilities features 144 oversized pages with powerful photos of beautiful bald women. These women are bald because they have cancer. They are beautiful because they have been buffed by stylists and captured by some of the best photographers in the world. And they are powerful because they no longer hide their cancer -- or hide behind it. The excerpt features an incredible photograph of cancer survivor Heike Kuenzer taken by film producer and children's book author Patricia Ruben. Also check out the author's photo, taken by Harvey Stein, and the luscious cover photo by Harry Langdon. text/html 2006-08-07T16:55:52+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-sandra-ingerman--shamanic-journeying.php Click for excerptWe are pleased to welcome Sandra Ingerman back to AuthorViews. Ingerman is the author of Medicine for the Earth, for which we shared a video back in January. For Ingerman's latest book, Shamanic Journeying: A Beginner's Guide, we don't have a video, but we do have an excerpt for our readers. It's entitled "Am I Making Up My Journeys?" and deals with a common barrier to successful other-world travels: the secret belief that your journey is just a product of your imagination. Ingerman is an ideal author for this gentle introduction to the world's oldest spiritual practice. As former director of education at the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, she has taught shamanic journeying to thousands of novices. text/html 2006-08-08T19:06:39+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-lee-meitzen-grue-on-the-writing-craft.php Click for VideoWe resume our video release program today with a wonderful clip of poet and short story writer Lee Meitzen Grue. We captured Grue in the courtyard of the Bourbon Orleans Hotel in New Orleans where she was attending the 2006 Tennessee Williams Literary Festival (http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/). Edited to a brisk two minutes, this video finds Grue discussing the art of editing and the value of brevity. We hope you'll enjoy it. text/html 2006-08-09T18:39:42+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-patricia-heller--if-you-hear-the-message-three-times-listen.php Click for VideoThis video of the flamboyant Ms. Heller was filmed over a year ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Both Heller and AuthorViews have moved around so much in the interim it was hard to get approval to release the video. Today, we can finally share this 2-minute gem with you.If You Hear the Message Three Times, LISTEN is a collection of anecdotes from Heller's life. They're "my stories, told with my sense of humor," she says. In the video, Heller relates the story of a cave dive in Hawaii where she went searching for the meaning of life. All of a sudden, the author -- who is also a singer -- belts out the song that came to her during her dive. What song did she hear? Watch and find out! text/html 2006-08-10T17:00:25+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-patricia-hale-feeney--an-indefinite-period.php Click for VideoPat Feeney points out that although the Cuban Missile Crisis has been covered extensively in books, none of those written words have ever really told the tale of the American military wives and children. Her first book, An Indefinite Period, is a nonfiction account of her experience on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base as one of those military wives. In this 2-minute video, captured at the 2006 Virginia Festival of the Book, (http://www.vabook.org) Feeney gives us a glimpse at the evacuation procedure she and her children endured during the Crisis. Watch the video to see how words from John F. Kennedy during that evacuation still move her, more than 40 years later, and inspired the title of her book. text/html 2006-08-14T17:31:49+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-ken-foster--the-dogs-who-found-me.php Click for VideoJust in case anyone's confused about Ken Foster's canine love, he sports a T-shirt that reads, "I Love My Pit Bull," and shares his camera time with his own pet pit bull, Sula. Sula's mutual affection for her owner is evident, as she eagerly licks his face. That symbiosis is one of the major tenets of Foster's most recent book, The Dogs Who Found Me. The non-fiction work is about 17 stray dogs that Foster has rescued throughout his life and, as he puts it, "how they helped me." Foster's dogs comforted him through 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and other traumatic events. In this 2-minute video, he explains how his dogs helped him realize he had a near-fatal heart condition. text/html 2006-08-15T18:49:35+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-lawrence-wright-and-the-looming-tower.php Click for VideoWe originally released this video of New Yorker columnist Lawrence Wright introducing his book, The Looming Tower, in January -- when the book was not available in stores.The Looming Tower was finally released this month, and what extraordinary timing on the part of publisher Knopf! As British and U.S. forces disrupt a massive terror plot and Israeli and Hezbollah slodiers clash in Lebanon, Wright's book reveals the origins of the Al-Qaeda movement. This 2-minute clip was recorded in Austin, Texas, in June of last year when Wright was still fact-checking the final manuscript for The Looming Tower. In light of the book's publication and current events, we feel it is approriate to again call your attention to this video. text/html 2006-08-18T19:25:28+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-edward-e.-loewe-phd--minds-in-distress.php Click for ExcerptIt is our pleasure to be able to offer you an excerpt from the new book, Minds in Distress, by psychologist Edward E. Loewe, PhD. Minds in Distress is a timely book that suggests the pace of human evolution may be too slow for our rapidly changing culture, and that our brains might be having trouble keeping up. Loewe suggests the epidemic increase in mental/emotional disorders such as anxiety is a natural reaction to an excessively competitive, consumer culture. The excerpt we are featuring is called "Love in Ruins" and focuses on the effects of cultural evolution specific to romantic relationships. What do you get when you mix Internet pornography with a reduction in impulse control and an increase in narcicism? Read the excerpt and find out. text/html 2006-08-21T17:55:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-robert-smallwood--the-five-people-you-meet-in-hell.php Click for VideoRobert Smallwood looks like any local you'd see strolling through New Orleans' French Quarter on a hot summer day, sporting a guayabera shirt and Panama hat. But the French Quarter sights that Smallwood recounts in The Five People You Meet in Hell are anything but typical. The book is a chronological account of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath and his personal experiences during that time. On the other hand, many of the books' stories are the kind that take place "only in New Orleans." In this 2-minute video clip, filmed in New Orleans in June 2006, Smallwood tell us about swapping a "disembodied" finger for a six-pack of beer. text/html 2006-08-23T16:23:09+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-joshua-clark--louisiana-in-words.php Click for VideoJoshua Clark is becoming a great collector of Louisiana lore. Editor and publisher of the seminal anthology, French Quarter Fiction, Josh returns to AuthorViews this week to preview his forthcoming collection, Louisiana in Words. On my first trip back to New Orleans after Katrina, the city was under mandatory evacuation orders and largely deserted except for National Guard troops and relief workers. Rolling down Bourbon Street on my way out of town, who should I see but Josh Clark, tape recorder in hand, gathering as much first-hand testimony as his batteries would permit.Louisiana in Words is not a transcript of those observations -- a treasure trove that chronicler Clark will no doubt publish some day. Rather, the book contains extremely short contributions from people in all walks of life -- well-known writers to unknown farmers -- from all over the Great State of Louisiana. In this 2-minute video, filmed in the Bywater District of New Orleans, the mellifluous Mr. Clark reveals the origins of Louisiana in Words, and gives a sneak preview of its contents. text/html 2006-08-24T18:37:28+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-verita-thompson-on-humphrey-bogart.php Click for VideoWe're very pleased introduce you to the delightful Verita Thompson, author of the memoir Bogie Me, who shares her recollections about life with film star Humphrey Bogart. Thompson was Bogie's hairdresser and lover for more than a decade. She is joined here by screenwriter Dean M. Shapiro, who is working on a screenplay based on the book. This video was filmed in New Orleans, where Ms. Thompson and Mr. Shapiro reside. In this 2-minute video, Ms. Thompson tells how she and Bogart destroyed an antique bed at a 4-star hotel -- along with other surprising anecdotes about one of the greatest actors in the history of moving pictures. text/html 2006-08-25T18:12:13+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-a-date-with-filmmaker-david-white.php Click for VideoAuthorViews turned around the camera on filmmaker David S. White at the 2005 New Orleans Bookfair. Like the other people in our "Katrina Tapes" collection, David had just returned to the city and has that Post-Traumatic look most of us carried that day. Imagine being a budding filmmaker, working for years and finally getting a film accepted for viewing at a major film festival, then having all that wash away in front of your eyes. It's unbelievable the amount of trauma Katrina wrought -- even for those whose possessions were not drowned under eight feet of toxic saltwater. Today, David S. White stands at the brink of a dream fulfilled. On Thursday, August 31, 2006 -- weather permitting -- his latest film, Sex Between Us, will debut at the Howlin' Wolf club in New Orleans. Again, weather permitting, his short film, The Date, will premiere at the New Orleans Film Festival in October. text/html 2006-08-28T16:26:22+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-elizabeth-underwood---remembering-katrina.php Click for VideoIn our series, "The Katrina Tapes," we brought you a gripping video of New Orleans artist Elizabeth Underwood just hours after she had returned from viewing the devastation to her home and her life's work. In today's 2-minute video, we caught up with Underwood in Austin, Texas -- her temporary home -- where she was preparing a Katrina memorial for a group show at The Dougherty Arts Center. I watched as Underwood wrote by hand all the names of those who died in Hurricane Katrina. Listen to how she used the list in her memorial installation. In a ritual at the Dougherty Arts Center tomorrow, August 29, beginning at 9:30 a.m., Underwood and volunteers will recite all 1900 names. Her memorial service is just one of the thousands of Katrina anniversary events (http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/library-110/115674491412300.xml?ZZLIBB coll=1) being held throughout the world. text/html 2006-08-29T12:30:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/what-is-new-orleans-unforgettable..php I went back to New Orleans a week after Katrina to get my video camera, among other things, but I couldn't shoot. My staff will tell you I don't know how to work the camera. Truth is, I had it locked and loaded but couldn't pull the trigger. I didn't want to remember New Orleans that way. All my computer records and insurance photos from that time were wiped out, too, during the evacuation. My computer can forget those days, not me. Katrina provided the perfect opportunity to get out of New Orleans. It's not an easy place to live and it's not a good place to do business. But I couldn't let her go. New Orleans has a soul that is very deep and very old. After the hurricane, everyone was more thoughtful, helpful, and humble. New Orleans is one of North America's oldest cities, the kind of sacred place that any European or Asian government would spend a fortune to protect. Yet the United States Government is basically ready to write this city off and replace it with housing and jobs elsewhere, as if everything were interchangeable. But New Orleans is unique. No one who has lived there, few who have visited, can ever forget her. Many of us wish we could lose the whole past year; we can't. It's part of New Orleans like yellowjack and yankees. New Orleans deserves levees of steel, not mud, so she can lay safely behind them and heal. Please don't let her go, America -- please don't let her go. text/html 2006-08-29T14:43:52+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/no-video-the-unknown-author.php Click for AuthorIt is one year today since Hurricane Katrina pushed half the Gulf of Mexico on shore. We at AuthorViews are unable to bring you Unknown Author's video. Unknown Author couldn't make the New Orleans Bookfair last October because she passed in the flood waters. She couldn't attend the Virginia Festival of the Book, or catch our film crew in Santa Fe this summer, because she got away without doing an interview -- one we can't make up. "Everyone is talented, original, and has something important to say," says Brenda Ueland, and we agree. Some people never got a chance to say it. That's a shame. Hurricane Katrina took some 1900 souls away from us, and we are smaller for it. This disaster has inspired us at AuthorViews to up the ante. We filmed for free hoping some day publishers would pay us to do it. Now we refuse to let go. We want to film all authors, everywhere, and we resent losing even one. Today, as we memorialize those who lost their lives (http://robertlindsay.blogspot.com/2006/05/katrina-death-toll-surges-to-1836.html) in Hurricane Katrina, we also commit ourselves to try to help every author have their say before something takes them away. We thank you supporting this effort. STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews, Inc. text/html 2006-08-30T16:50:01+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-james-newton-at-the-nola-bookfair.php Click for VideoToday's video is a holdover from the New Orleans Bookfair in 2005 and a new segment in our series called The Katrina Tapes. Filmed just days after a mandatory evacuation order was lifted, the series contains the poignant reactions of New Orleans' offbeat literary community to the destruction of their hometown. Today's 2-minute segment features school teacher James Newton, whose parents met and married in New Orleans. Wanting to contribute directly to the recovery, Jim sought out a teaching position in the city. In an update to this piece, Jim tells us that his efforts to become a teacher in New Orleans were rebuffed by the Louisiana Department of Education, which was still in shock and not reponding very well in those days. So Jim took a position with the heavily-damaged Jackson County, Mississippi, school district, which welcomed him with open arms. text/html 2006-08-31T16:44:28+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-rexanne-becnel--the-payback-club.php Click for VideoWe filmed Rexanne Becnel, an award-winning romance novelist, in her hometown of New Orleans at the start of our 2006 AuthorViews Summer Tour. She told us about her latest novel, The Payback Club, which is also set in the Crescent City. It's the story of two women who form a friendship after getting dumped. Together, they hatch a plan to help each other get revenge on their exes. In this 2-minute video, Becnel highlights some of her favorite scenes from the book, including the one where one of the characters discovers just how far her ex-husband will go to win the approval of his new, younger bride. Becnel also reveals the book's intended message, which is quite different from what the title hints at. text/html 2006-09-05T16:52:46+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-linda-rainwater--the-second-milagro.php Click for VideoLinda Rainwater loves mysteries, travel, and Court TV. Add these together and you've got some of the inspiration for her first novel, The Second Milagro. It's the fictional tale of Patricia Morelos and her adventurous son, who leaves Washington, D.C., and heads to Mexico. The 17-year-old runs off without his mother's permission to assist in rescue efforts at a disastrous silver mine cave-in. When Morelos' son is kidnapped, she soon realizes she will have to rescue him herself -- with no help from the authorities. In this 2-minute video from the 2006 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org), Rainwater talks about how she uses personal experience to build credibile scenes in the novel. text/html 2006-09-06T17:47:44+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-christopher-david-murphy--in-winters-time.php Click for VideoToday, we continue our series of authors from the 2006 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org) with Christopher David Murphy. Murphy's In Winter's Time is the story of Conner James, who seemingly has the perfect life. The walls of his utopia crumble, however, when his father becomes terminally ill and a family secret comes to light. James is forced to re-evaluate the relationships throughout his life, all the way back to idyllic childhood. Murphy talks about Winter's message in this 2-minute video, and explains his own philosophies of life's ups and downs and the lessons we learn about ourselves in the process. text/html 2006-09-08T16:22:44+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-linda-salisbury--the-wild-women-of-lake-anna.php Click for VideoLinda Salisbury references her own life to create The Wild Women of Lake Anna, the award-winning author's fourth book and the first in the Bailey Fish line of young adult novels. Salisbury and her husband live only a mile away from the book's main setting, Lake Anna. Salisbury bases many of her characters on family and friends. In this 2-minute video, filmed at the 2006 Virginia Festival of the Book (http://www.vabook.org), she explains a particularly unique part of her family history that inspired one of the "wild women" of the book’s title.The Wild Women of Lake Anna is a family affair in other ways, too. Salisbury's son, Christopher Grotke, did the illustrations for the book. text/html 2006-09-11T14:18:21+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-elizabeth-underwood--language-as-art.php Click for VideoToday's video is the first from our AuthorViews Summer Tour to Austin in June. That's where we caught up with New Orleans artist Elizabeth Underwood at her studio in the IDEA building -- a renovated bread factory that has become a home to many who work in the creative arts. In today's 2-minute video, Underwood talks about her use of language in art. An early and ardent blogger (see her New Orleans Gypsy (http://croweau.typepad.com/) blog), Underwood weaves words into her work, quite literally. The day we filmed, she was writing out in longhand the names of the dead from Hurricane Katrina. Today, as the names of the dead from the World Trade Center attack are read aloud in New York and other cities around the world, we acknowledge the power of the ceremony and mourn the loss of innocents. text/html 2006-09-12T16:33:45+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-jacqueline-may-artist.php Click for VideoIn today's 2-minute video, we interview artist Jacqueline May at her studio in Austin, Texas. May talks about how her current work explores "the interface between the erotic and the spiritual." The series she is working on involves the use of Japanese erotica, maps, and Braille, among other elements. May's work will be featured at the upcoming "Red Hot Red Dot" show on Thursday, September 14, from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Women Their Work Art Gallery (http://www.womenandtheirwork.org/aboutwtw.htm). text/html 2006-09-14T19:08:15+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-oz-from-earth-family-alpha.php Click for VideoOn our visit to "The People's Republic of Austin" we took an opportunity to interview activist blogger "OZ" from the Earth Family Alpha blog, one of Austin's many portals dealing with global political issues. In today's 2-minute video, filmed at The Bread Factory, OZ talks about "cybercoops" as one of the new organizational motifs made possible through social networking technology. OZ is the author of several books, but he wanted to talk about the blog, not the books, because that's the main vehicle for his writing today. At Earth Family Alpha, you'll find a lot of posts dealing with large issues such as energy, climate change, and global health. Where else but Austin -- an oasis of enlightened thinking -- can you find people determined to fuse politics and technology into a superior republic? text/html 2006-09-15T18:08:48+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-artist-viginia-fleck-and-her-mandalas.php Click for VideoWe conclude our Summer of 2006 Austin, Texas, tour today with the engaging Virginia Fleck. We interviewed Austin artist Fleck in her studio where she talked about the evolution of her mandalas -- gorgeous nine-foot circles of color built using a surprising material. Fleck's mandalas make a statement that has resonated with art collectors, museums, galleries, and civic art programs. They are meditations on materialism that challenge us to contemplate just how much we consume. One mandala is shown in the video. For other examples, please see the gallery link in the sidebar. text/html 2006-09-18T16:23:37+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-linda-salisbury--no-sisters-sisters-club.php Click for VideoWe recently featured Linda Salisbury's video about the premiere book in her Bailey Fish Adventures series, The Wild Women of Lake Anna. On that same day at the 2006 Virginia Festival of the Book, we also spoke with her about the second book in the series, No Sisters Sisters Club. Salisbury tells us about the success of the Bailey Fish Adventures series, which is aimed at children aged 8 through 12. Her books are on the required reading list in school districts around the country, and as a result, Salisbury is being invited to visit the schools as a guest speaker. In this 2-minute video, she explains the unique opportunity she gets out of meeting with over 2000 students and being exposed to their feedback. text/html 2006-09-19T16:46:47+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-ken-mccarthy-and-the-system-seminar.php Click for VideoKen McCarthy and I have shared ideas about online marketing since before the Web, when we would chat in threads on The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, also known as "The WELL." McCarthy hosted the first conference on the commercial implications of the Internet in San Francisco in 1994. His work has evolved into The System Seminar, an annual gathering for online entrepreneurs with year-round support on the web. The next seminar is scheduled for April 27-29, 2007, in Chicago. If something big is going down in Internet marketing, I usually hear about it first through McCarthy's newsletter, later through blogs or The Wall Street Journal. In today's two-minute video, McCarthy talks with us while visiting New Orleans to support the city, soak up some jazz, and tour our offices in the Bywater Tech Center. text/html 2006-09-20T20:06:28+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-ellen-schwartz-says-take-back-your-life.php Click for VideoAs you'll see in today's 2-minute video, Ellen Schwartz is passionate about helping people take control of thier lives back from multinational corporations that play you like a cash accordian, trying to squeeze every dollar out of your hide. Schwartz is co-author of Taking Back Our Lives in the Age of Corporate Dominance, published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This video was filmed at BK's offices in the heart of San Francisco during the AuthorViews tour last summer. Schwartz was too busy working on her new book about global corporate corruption to approve her video for release. Until now. Why do multinational corporations have such disproportionate power over ordinary people's lives? What can you do to take back control over your life? Schwartz has some suggestions for you. text/html 2006-09-22T16:19:01+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-tom-benjey-and-lone-star-dietz.php Click for VideoIn today's 2-minute video, author Tom Benjey introduces us to his new book, Keep A-goin': The Life of Lone Star Dietz. Football Hall of Famer William "Lone Star" Dietz is one of the most colorful characters in sports history. He coached Washington State's team to a spectacular Rose Bowl victory in 1916. An athlete, actor, and artist, Dietz created a buzz wherever he went. Part native American, Dietz played the role of "injun" as well as all the other roles he took on. When his Indian heritage was challenged in court, Dietz was personally crushed. Tom Benjey spent years researching Dietz' life, traveling all over America to gather anecdotes, news clippings and artwork. The book is a masterful piece of research highlighted with over 250 illustrations, many drawn by Dietz himself. text/html 2006-09-26T15:39:23+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-franklin-adams-and-the-yellow-river-kid.php Click for VideoToday's 2-minute video is a real treat, thanks to the robust storytelling of artist and author Franklin Adams. The video was filmed at the Bywater Tech Center in June, 2006. Franklin Adams is Professor Emeritus at Tulane University where he was dean of the school of architecture before he retired. Professor Adams' book, The Yellow River Kid, co-written with James Whitmore, is an adventure yarn built around a floatplane. The authors have been working on the story for decades. In fact, they've been at it so long that Adams has difficulty telling the difference between his characters and real people, as you'll see.The Yellow River Kid is a manuscript in production. As soon as copies are available, we'll post a purchase link next to the video. If you want to contact Professor Adams about his book, just drop us a line (mailto:info@authorviews.com) here at AuthorViews. text/html 2006-01-18T15:27:25+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-gary-michael-smith-and-movie-extra-101.php Click for VideoToday's new video features AuthorViews consultant Gary Michael Smith. Gary teaches writing and publishing classes at the University of New Orleans. He also operates Chatgris Press (http://www.chatgrispress.com/), a book publisher with a dozen titles in print. Gary is the author of Publishing for Small Press Runs, the best book I have seen on Print on Demand (P.O.D.) publishing. There's a video for that book here on AuthorViews that was shot way back in 2003 (but is now iPod ready). Movie Extra 101: Your Shortcut to Stardom resulted from the booming motion picture business here in New Orleans. Prior to Katrina, tax incentives brought big and small movie productions to town, and Gary got small parts in several films. "It's all about your dimensions," he says in this video which, like Tripp Friedler's, is another example of selling a book without hyping it. Gary spends a good part of his 2 minutes telling you what the book isn't. text/html 2006-01-19T15:40:48+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-jon-lebkowsky--extreme-democracy.php Click for VideoI know jonl@well.com (mailto:jonl@well.com) from way back before the Web, but we never met in person until I filmed this interview in Austin, Texas, last June. Jon and I recorded for an hour and a half; the video here is 2-minutes. We left out most of what we talked about, including the origins of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (http://www.eff.org/), Wired (http://www.eff.org/), HotWired (http://www.hotwired.com/), Mondo2000, bOING bOING (http://www.boingboing.net/), FringeWare, Salon (http://www.salon.com/), The WELL (http://www.well.com/), and the battle to bring free WiFi to Austin (http://www.austinwirelessalliance.org/). What remains is Extreme Democracy, a new collection of essays on how technology is changing the way politics is played. The video is long enough for a brief reflection on how the Howard Dean campaign used the net -- that's the origin of this book. The destination? The Internet has become the volunteer coordinater and cash machine fueling modern political campaigns. Will we soon have Internet voting? The Mayor of New Orleans proposed to make this city the first to hold Internet elections, but the state government shot that down. Internet voting is coming, and Extreme Democracy is a timely look at what form it will likely take. You'll also find Jon Lebkowsky hanging out at his own blog, Weblogsky (http://www.weblogsky.com/), or the consulting firm he runs, Polycot (http://www.polycot.com/). text/html 2006-01-20T11:59:20+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-sandra-ingerman--medicine-for-the-earth.php Click for VideoI'm very pleased to present the first installment from our Santa Fe excursion last summer. We begin with Sandra Ingerman, an important force in reviving shamanism in the United States. Ingerman has a degree in biology and has harbored a lifelong concern for the environment. Medicine for the Earth is based on many years of cross-cultural explorations into the science of transmutation -- in particular, religious practices involving neutralizing poisons or cleaning the energy in a house or community. Patron Saint Productions is doing a campaign for Medicine for the Earth, and so we have the benefit of an excerpt (ttp://www.authorviews.com/authors/ingerman/ingerman-obd.htm) along with Sandy's 2-minute video. We'll be doing a campaign this spring for Sandy's book, Soul Retrieval, which has achieved near cult status among spiritualists. text/html 2006-01-20T15:22:04+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/what-is-new-orleans-chocolate..php Is New Orleans chocolate? We'all free people of color down here. One of the things that makes New Orleans a jewel worth saving is that it's probably the most racially mixed up city in America -- okay, maybe behind New York City. Is New Orleans chocolate? For over 100 years before the Louisiana Purchase (1803), New Orleans had no laws prohibiting mixed marriages. We got your creoles, your cajuns, your Africans, your Haitians, your Native Americans, we got dark chocolate and light chocolate and white chocolate like me. Is New Orleans chocolate? We're not only chocolate, we're fruity. We have one of the healthiest, most respected gay, lesbian, and trans-gender communities anywhere on earth. You are talking about a city where plumbers and contractors and musicians cross dress without ridicule, often without notice. Is New Orleans chocolate? We're not only chocolate, we're nuts. You are talking about a town where the most prominent civic leaders spend weeks dressing in outlandish outfits and pretending they are dukes or debs, injuns or witch doctors. Is New Orleans chocolate? Most cities I've lived in or visited have a clear dividing line between racially distinct populations. There is no straight line anywhere in New Orleans. We miss our beautiful dark chocolate people, our caramel people, our oreos, our crackers, our queens. There is plenty of room here for anyone willing to fix a place up, and that's a good thing because the only thing that works in New Orleans right now is people banding together to take care of themselves. Is New Orleans chocolate? We'all free people of color down here. You should join us! text/html 2006-01-23T15:27:01+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-stephen-harrigan--challenger-park.php Click for VideoThis 2-minute video is a first for AuthorViews: the first time we have launched a pre-release video. Stephen Harrigan's new novel, Challenger Park, won't be released by Knopf until April 4. We have the video for the book here, today, now.Challenger Park, promises to deliver the lives of astronauts in a way no other book has. In his AuthorViews video, Harrigan talks about the dozens of trips he made to Houston, Texas, during the writing of this book to interview astronauts and NASA staff.Challenger Park, follows on the heels of Harrigan's best-selling book, The Gate of the Alamo. text/html 2006-01-24T01:48:15+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/loompanics-sticking-it-to-the-man.php I recently learned that my former employer, Loompanics Unlimited (http://www.loompanics.com), is going out of business. I worked at Loompanics from 1983-1985 as a typesetter, then again from 1989-1994 as editorial director. Some of the favorite books I worked on included:Jim Hogshire's Sell Yourself to Science: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Organs, Body Fluids, Bodily Functions and Being a Human Guinea Pig. The book is serious, funny and outrageous -- a wicked combination at the heart of many Loompanics' books, such as How to Start Your Own Country and Successful Armed Robbery.Jim DeKorne's Psychedelic Shamanism: The Cultivation, Preparation and Shamanic Use of Psychotropic Plants. In the great tradition of first-person psychedelic narratives, right up there with William Blake, Timothy Leary, William S. Burroughs and Terrence McKenna. C'mon baby, let's trance the night away!William J. Murray's Anarchic Harmony: The Spirituality of Social Disobedience. One of the finest dissertations on freedom you will ever read. A tremendously overlooked book. One famous book published by Loompanics before I arrived was Bob Black's The Abolition of Work -- one of the most important counter-culture works published in my lifetime. The Anarchist Cookbook, often associated with Loompanics, was never published by them. Principia Discordia by Malaclypse the Younger was one of Loompanics' most popular titles. I believe the company's all-time best seller was The Complete Guide to Lockpicking, by Eddie the Wire. In a news release, Loompanics' proprietor Mike Hoy said, "For thirty years I got to live my dream, and stick it to the man. I always strived to encourage people to question authority and think for themselves. My guiding principle was that freedom should be fun!" Way to go, Mike. For those who are interested, Loompanics is selling inventory at 50% off while it lasts. The rights to many valuable titles are available for purchase. For more information, contact editorial director Gia Cosindas gia@loompanics.com (mailto:gia@loompanics.com). text/html 2005-06-27T22:49:39+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/authorviews-summer-tour-2005----day-0.php AuthorViews president Steve O'Keefe and cameraman Jesse Vohs prepare to head out on the road for a 14-city tour of the western United States in search of authors willing to have their pictures made...Hi. I'm Steve O'Keefe. Welcome to the new AuthorViews Blog! Those of you familiar with my newsletter, The Beautiful Plan, know I have very mixed feelings about blogs. Done well, they are incredibly time consuming. As many bloggers have found, it's also difficult to create blogs that can earn a reasonable rate of return. Until today, I have been content to participate in other people's blogs rather than have one of my own. Why break precedent? Because today AuthorViews embarks upon a 14-city tour of the western U.S. in search of the elusive author. Myself and my cameraman, Jesse Vohs, will travel over 6000 miles shooting FREE videos of authors and author-ities. The diary structure of blogging lends itself to a travel diary, and so we're giving it a try. In fact, we'll be blogging about the AuthorViews Tour on three sites. At this blog, we'll be focusing on the video project: shoot, capture, edit, rend, store, serve. At IAOCblog.com (http://IAOCblog.com), we'll be talking about new communications technologies, such as VOIP, Skype, blogging, telecommuting, etc. And at Fast Company's blog, FCNow (http://blog.fastcompany.com), we hope to blog about business planning; we will be interviewing many business planning experts on this trip. So let's begin by talking about what we're trying to do on this tour. I have been involved in producing author videos for several years. In late 2003, I organized my first author shoot -- five authors in a television studio in Harahan, Louisiana. I took the prototypes to Book Expo America in June, 2004, and showed them to about 30 book publishers, booksellers, literary agents, and others in the book trade. Publishers -- my main clients -- wanted longer clips for use in DVD press kits. I wanted to keep the clips short -- two minutes or less -- for use on the web. I came back to New Orleans and re-tooled our approach to get the publishers what they need for the press kits (5 minutes) and what I need for the web (2 minutes). I went back to the Book Expo America (BEA) in June of 2005. At my first meeting, I told the marketing director for a giant, multi-national publisher,"I have two things to show you: author videos and blog PR." She said, "Your videos better have an awesome hook; I've heard 11 pitches in the last two weeks for author videos." I replied, "Let's talk about blog PR." I immediately stopped talking with publishers at the BEA about AuthorViews. In the last year, numerous vendors have stepped into the void of author video. I had been planning to use the BEA to line-up authors to shoot during the summer. Publishers have liberated me from the illusion that they will someday pay me to make videos of their authors. I was about to cancel the AuthorViews Tour when I realized that now I was free to shoot these videos my way. And that's what we're doing: making short author videos for the web that communicate quickly and with power. You want an awesome hook? How's this: we're shooting for free! I'm betting that sets AuthorViews apart from the other video vendors. We are traveling all across the western U.S. to shoot videos of authors at our own expense. Why? Because I've been working on this project for too long to give it up without a fight. Because I might never get a chance to do a trip like this again -- the combination of money, equipment, time and staff needed to pull off an ambitious six-week tour. Because I honestly believe that if I go around asking authors why they write -- and publishers why they publish -- and recording the answers, good things will come of it. Because any excuse to leave New Orleans in the summertime is a good excuse. So let me end my first dispatch by asking: Have you ever gone on a boneheaded adventure like this before -- one that goes against all sound judgment? How did it turn out? Easing Out on the Road, STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews text/html 2005-06-30T01:49:28+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/its-all-about-the-gear.php Here's what we're using on our summer roadtrip shooting video across the Western U.S. What gear do you love?Here's what we're using on our summer roadtrip shooting video across the Western U.S. Most of this came from B H Photo Video in New York (http://www.bhphotovideo.com (http://www.bhphotovideo.com), phone 1-800-606-6969). CAR: Ford Econoline 150E Cargo Van This 1997 van was owned by a retired couple who used it mostly for car camping. The interior is padded and carpeted, keeping down the noise levels. It has two batteries -- an extra one for utilities in back. We purchased an inverter that allows us to run a standard power strip off a cigarette-lighter plug. We installed a desk in the van and we can run our computers and edit video en route. CAMERA: Sony DCR-VX2100 3 CCD Mini DV Camcorder This was the largest investment besides the van. Our video teacher, George Ingmire, says this 3-chip camera has been used to produce big-screen motion pictures. MICROPHONES: Countryman Miniature Lavalier (2) Lavalier microphones are small mics that attach to your lapel. These microphones are so small the ads compare them to the size of a match stick -- and that's about right. In hindsight, I wish I had gotten wireless "Lav" mics for greater mobility while shooting. We also purchased a Shure Beta 58A microphone for my "Phil Donahue," man-on-the-street ambush-style interviews. I've been assured the Shure mic will withstand almost anything a drunken karaoke singer could dish out. To support the Lav mics, we also purchased a Beachtek DXA-6 Audio Adapter with Phantom Power. ACCESSORIES: Davis Sanford Pro Vista Tripod Sony MDR-7506 Headphones Sony BCV-500 Portable Dual AC Charger Power-2000 NP-F970 Lithium-Ion Battery Petrol Compact Camcorder Bag COMPUTERS: Macintosh PowerBook G4 (2) LaCie 500GB Big-Disk Triple Interface Hard Drive HP OfficeJet 4215 Color Printer Both Jesse and I are using Mac laptop computers that have been reinforced with maximum amounts of memory. But file sizes when editing digital video can be huge, so the LaCie drive gives us the storage space we need to work on the videos. And the HP printer is a favorite (I have four of them now). It does a passable job of color printing, copying, scanning, and fax. What gear do you love? STEVE O'KEEFE AuthorViews in Austin, Texas text/html 2005-07-01T01:19:43+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/profile-filmmaker-george-ingmire.php After getting our new gear, we had a digital video boot camp at the Bywater Tech Center last week. Our drill instructor was George Ingmire, who has been working with us on the AuthorViews project for about 18 months now... George Ingmire is a man of many talents. He came to me through a mutual friend, Chris Lenois, who I worked with at Tenagra. Both George and Chris are disk jockeys on New Orleans' beloved public radio station, WWOZ. New Orleans is not a high wage city. Most people live there for reasons not related to money. Music is a top-three reason for living there (food and winter weather are the other two). In a town that worships music, WWOZ disk jockeys are like rock stars. You feel special when walking the streets of New Orleans in the company of either of these men. George was no doubt attracted to the radio station because of his background in sound. He has done the sound work on several recordings and just completed a six-month stint doing sound for the Dukes of Hazard DVD due out this fall. George's interest in sound led to studies in filmmaking and ultimately teaching digital filmmaking and editing at The University of New Orleans. You can see some of his clips at the web site, MiAbuelo.com (http://MiAbuelo.com). Last year, George began teaching web design at Tulane's University College. He's a great teacher. In Day 1 of our Bywater Boot Camp, George and cameraman Jesse Vohs assembled all the lighting and camera equipment we purchased and began testing and making notes about things we would need, such as longer microphone cables and 9-volt batteries for the phantom power. On Day 2, George gave Jesse instructions on the camera while filming me, and gave me instructions while we filmed Jesse. He taught us to give the authors more room when they're being theoretical, and come in close when they get personal. George has an undergraduate degree in anthropology, which came into play as he gave me hints on interviewing technique: "Get them to pause at the end of each statement. Let it hang -- don't rush in with another question too soon." On Day 3, George supervised and assisted while Jesse and I interviewed two authors, Tripp Friedler and Josh Peter. After each author departed, George critiqued us -- less with negative criticism than positive suggestions such as "never let them think you don't know what you're doing by fumbling for a fresh battery. Quietly put the new one in and keep rolling." Later that day, Jesse and I filmed author Gary Michael Smith by ourselves. On Day 4, George taught Jesse Vohs, Lance Vargas, and me how to edit using Final Cut Pro software. All of us have a little experience with video cameras, filming, and editing; George has a lot. He led a group editing class, showing us keyboard shortcuts, how to smooth transitions, how to manipulate the microphone tracks separately from the video track. Then we each took an author and started editing, with George going from student to student and assisting. I was the worst student; I was too busy with client work to sit and edit a video. I tried to absorb as much as I could by listening and watching. And that was Bywater Boot Camp -- four days of training in filmmaking and editing by George Ingmire. Then Jesse and I hit the road in search of authors to shoot while Lance has been editing back in New Orleans at the Tech Center. George and I have discussed offering classes at the Bywater Tech Center, but so far the training has all been for staff only. If you'd be interested in taking digital video classes, send George an e-mail at MiAbuelo@bellsouth.net (mailto:MiAbuelo@bellsouth.net). If we get enough interest, maybe we could lure you to the Town That Care Forgot for classes, great music, good food, and warm winter weather? text/html 2005-07-03T19:30:41+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/editing-video-compressing-time.php It has been ten days since we started shooting video for the AuthorViews Summer Tour and still no clips appear on this site. What's the hang up? Ideally, I would like to be able to shoot video and see it online within two days, but so far we have not been able to compress time that well. Each video we make goes through the same series of processes: Shoot. Capture. Edit. Rend. Store. Serve. There are delays and problems at every stage. For example, Jesse Vohs and I can shoot a 60-minute session with an author, but we have no easy and safe way to get that tape to Lance Vargas or George Ingmire back at the home office. We could just put the tape in the mail and move on, but that's too risky. If the tape is lost, so is a substantial investment in travel, time, and technology. So we capture to our laptops at night. Capture is the process of pulling the video into editing software, and it happens in real time. That is, it takes an hour to capture an hour-long video. Once the video is captured, we have a duplicate and can safely mail the original tape back home (where, ironically, it will have to be captured again before Lance or George can edit it). The main decisions in editing are which clips to use and what order to put them in. That's a judgment call I like to make myself and have difficulty delegating. Making a time log of clips to use requires watching the video at least twice. If I can provide George or Lance with the clip selection and order, it makes their jobs much faster. They can then apply the editor's arts of smoothing transitions, inserting graphics, manipulating soundtracks separately from video tracks, adding credits, and turning a series of, say, 11 clips into one two-minute work of art. Once the editing is done, we have to render the video in different formats for delivery on the web. Right now, this is a major bottleneck. Many of the videos on the AuthorViews site are available only in MPEG4. Unfortunately, as we've discovered, many of the people who come to our site cannot get those videos to work. For videos that get the full AuthorViews treatment, we render in multiple formats (MPEG, Windows Media, Real Media, and QuickTime) optimized for different connection speeds (dialup or broadband). Still, there are problems... Today, we're trying is a new "codec" for rendering videos which gives us twice the screen size with half the file size. The only problem is, they can't be viewed by anyone who has not installed QuickTime7 (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/preview/), which is free. Hopefully, Jesse Vohs will come blog about the details of this new codec; much of it is beyond me. The desire to serve quality video over the Internet is so strong that thousands of engineers are working on the problem at the same time and major improvements appear on a weekly basis. This will settle down eventually as video helpers are integrated into web browsers. For now, the ability to make watching online video simple and easy for every browser just doesn't exist. Even making the videos work for the majority of browsers is a difficult task -- especially if you also want them to look and sound great. Improvements in quality come at the expense of access. And so we struggle to find a way to get these videos edited and online quickly, without sacrificing either quality or accessibility. Hopefully, this coming week you'll get to see the first of our Summer Tour videos. We appreciate any feedback you have about difficulties viewing the videos on our site. It is from your comments that we find ways to improve the experience. STEVE O'KEEFE text/html 2005-07-11T21:12:15+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/insight-of-authorviews.php I wanted to take a moment and comment on how clear and entertaining the messages delivered by the AuthorViews videos really are. All the passion and hardwork the writers of the books put into their creative endeavors is revealed through slight changes in vocal patterns or ear-to-ear grins as they comment on their work. It's quite fun to watch.In every video that I have had the pleasure to work on, it's been very interesting (and refreshing) to see how spiritually and emotionally vested in the book each author is. There is nothing better than watching an artist sing the praises of their own work. Saying nothing of the book's value (good or bad), just listening to authors being put on the spot to describe said book's worth is very interesting and enjoyable to watch. Even if the videos wern't being used as promotional tools, they would still make interesting films, mostly due to the performances of the authors. Of course, one can't deny that some authors are natural-born charmers. People usually have two distinct reactions in front of a camera. They either shy away from the instrument and clam up, or they are empowered by it and reveal a performance that is a fitting and accurate portrayal of their book. Most fall into the latter category. For good examples of AuthorView videos that illustrate some of my points, check: Susannah Breslin, Joshua Clark, Keith Medley and Andrei Codrescu. text/html 2005-07-16T04:10:12+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/why-does-it-take-so-long.php It has been almost a month now since we began our Summer Tour and there are still no tour videos on the site. What's taking so long? It has been almost a month now since we began our Summer Tour and there are still no tour videos on the site. What's taking so long? Good question. The main bottleneck in getting the videos up on the web site is the file sizes. The video must be "captured" -- that is, pulled off the camera and onto a computer -- before it can be edited. The capture files for John Lebkowsky's half-hour video shoot are over 10 gigabytes! That's huge. We can't put them on a DVD or a CD -- the file sizes are just too big. It would take forever to FTP the files, and don't even think about trying to e-mail them. So we have to capture the video to our 500 gig LaCie hard drive, then send the original tapes to New Orleans to edit. That way, we have a backup in case the tapes get lost in the mail. To edit the tapes, someone has to decide which cuts to use, in what sequence. I have trouble delegating that task, so I'm the bottleneck there. Making a two-minute video usually requires that I view the half-hour raw footage three times. I select my cuts, sequence them, and give the list to George or Jesse or Lance or another editor to make the cuts, smooth the transitions, add the credits, and make it look great. Then we face rendering issues. We have to decide what formats to encode the final videos in. There are dozens of possibilities (maybe hundreds or thousands, when you consider there are numerous choices for how to compress both the audio and video tracks). Each choice is critical to having the video play properly for everyone who watches. I've asked Jesse Vohs to blog on some of the rendering issues. Little ol' AuthorViews is actually working on the cutting edge of this technology. We're not just choosing a format -- we're helping to *create* formats that make these videos look good and work well. In closing, I'd just like to add that we have pretty high standards. Amazon.com is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, and part of the celebration involves serving videos of celebrities delivering Amazon packages. I've watched a few of the videos and I have to say, in all honesty, our videos look much better. Why? Because we're using state-of-the-art equipment and we're taking our time to get it right. Do a side-by-side comparison and ask yourself who's got the higher quality:AMAZON (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/14104251/) or AUTHORVIEWS (http://www.authorviews.com/authors/peter/peterhigh.mov) From Bellingham, Washington, STEVE O'KEEFE text/html 2005-07-22T20:00:17+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/authorviews-western-tour-faq.php Frequently Asked Author Questions:WHAT IT IS: We are shooting videos of authors talking about their books. The video is about the book more than the author, so we like to shoot two videos if an author has two books. We shoot for 10 minutes to 30 minutes. We edit the videos down to two minutes. We put the edited video online for the author to view and approve. If approved, it is released to the public. If not approved, it is taken down.WHO OWNS THE VIDEO? No one owns it. We are shooting the video for free. We ask that you sign a permission slip that makes the video available through Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/) -- that is, it is copyright free. We don't own it. You don't own it. Anyone may copy, store, or display the video as long as the contents are not altered. It's that simple.HOW TO PREPARE: Wear the image you want your readers to see. The videos are mostly head shots, sometimes head and shoulders, rarely down to the waist. Mostly it's your face. Bring a copy of your book to hold up. Then sign it over to the director for his collection if you like. Try to relax -- we are not professional journalists, we are publicists who are trying to make you look as good as possible. You can stop and re-take all you want.WHEN WILL YOUR VIDEO BE READY? You need to cut us some slack on this point. We are on the road and shooting for free, so it's difficult to find the time & staff to edit immediately. We make no guarantees, but we will try to have the videos finished in two weeks and hope to have all videos done and available at AuthorViews.com by September 1, 2005. text/html 2005-08-02T20:54:50+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/bellingham-loves-books.php My home away from home for the few weeks this summer between the first and second leg of the AuthorViews Western Tour was Bellingham, Washington. The 70,000 residents of Bellingham really put the lie to my theory that the reading of books is a skill that is disappearing.Just 90 minutes north of Seattle, Bellingham is a little too far to become a bedroom community to that congested metropolis. It is the last major city on the I-5 corridor before it crosses into Vancouver, British Columbia. The citizens -- Bellinghamsters, they call themselves -- have a lot in common with the Canadians to the north: a reverence for nature, a tolerance for alternative lifestyles, and a fondness for an herbal remedy which the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled could not be used for medicinal purposes. Until recently, the economy of Bellingham was tied to natural resources -- lumber and fishing, mostly. Jobs in those industries have been disappearing. The giant paper mill that stank up downtown Bellingham recently closed, inspiring a waterfront redevelopment which will change the whole feel of the town. Right now, it is a city of pockets, with a lot of heavy industry still occupying prime downtown real estate, Western Washington University on Sehome Hill overlooking the town, a restored Victorian mercantile village called Fairhaven, a massive commercial waterfront development with resorts and trendy shops that the locals avoid, an ugly big-box-store district near the Interstate, and a good-sized downtown that is slowly gentrifying and coming back from near death. My first week in Bellingham, I went to the main branch of the library to pick up a book I ordered online. It was about four in the afternoon and the joint was jumping. I had to wait in line several minutes to learn that my book wasn't in yet. When I went back in the morning two days later, I was sure the library would be less congested. Wrong! The library was packed with several hundred patrons -- mostly moms and children, including plenty of teenagers. There were three checkout lanes and a dozen people in the line feeding them. I've never seen such a busy library in such a small town. It is heartwarming. As I looked around Bellingham, I noticed peculiarities I haven't seen in other cities. I frequently saw people reading books in parked cars. I'm guessing most of them were workers on lunch or break, but it struck me as odd and delightful that they would spend their breaks locked in a car getting in another chapter or two. The city has more coffee shops than churches (you need a jacket in Bellingham even in July), and these establishments usually had more people reading books than periodicals. The strangest reading phenomenon I witnessed was locals coming outdoors to celebrate a little sunshine and warmth by reading books in public places. Reading here is considered an outdoor sport. I saw many people plopped on sidewalk benches reading books -- folks who could obviously do this in the comfort of their own homes but choose instead to soak up the street scene while devouring a new novel. Bellingham is home to Village Books (http://www.villagebooks.com), one of the great independent bookstores in America. Village Books holds readings every night of the week, and these seem to draw bigger crowds than the town's minor league baseball team, the Bellingham Bees. If you're looking for a place where the love of reading is stronger than ever, point your compass northwest and visit Bellingham, Washington -- the last city in the Lower 48 but first in consumption of good coffee and good books. text/html 2005-08-08T23:24:39+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/the-san-francisco-filmfest.php On the return trip to New Orleans, the AuthorViews tour kicked into high gear. In San Francisco, Robin Donovan, Online Marketing Manager for Berrett-Koehler Publishers (http://www.bkconnection.com/), provided a conference room to shoot in and several authors to film. Media coach Susan Harrow (http://prsecrets.com), along with Cypress House's (http://www.cypresshouse.com/) Cynthia Frank, lined-up most of the remaining authors for an incredible day of filmmaking. Here's the schedule: 09:00 - 09:30 Set Up 09:30 - 10:00 William C. Miller - Long Pig 10:00 - 10:30 Maggie Oman Shannon - The Way We Pray 10:00 - 10:30 Maggie Oman Shannon - One God, Shared Hope 10:30 - 11:00 Robin Donovan - Campfire Cuisine 11:00 - 11:30 Susan Harrow - Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul 11:00 - 11:30 Susan Harrow - Get a Six Figure Book Advance 11:30 - 12:00 Carol Adrienne - The Purpose of Your Life 11:30 - 12:00 Carol Adrienne - When Life Changes or You Wish It Would 12:00 - 12:30 Ines Villafane-Leon - Viento del Sur ("Wind from the South") 12:00 - 12:30 Ines Villafane-Leon - A Story for All Seasons 12:30 - 01:00 LUNCH 01:00 - 01:30 Ruth Hoppin - Priscilla's Letter 01:30 - 02:00 Ellen Augustine Schwartz - Taking Back Our Lives in the Age of Corporate Dominance; also Stories of Hope 02:00 - 02:30 Carmen Richardson Rutlen - Dancing Naked in Fuzzy Red Slippers 02:30 - 03:00 Laryssa Nechay, and Nick Nechay - Invisible Friend 03:00 - 03:30 David Isaacs Juanita Brown - The World Cafe 03:30 - 04:00 Jenny Willims - BK Currents 04:00 - 04:30 Johanna Vondeling - Berrett-Koehler Publishers 04:30 - 05:00 Take Down The schedule is one thing; the day is another. We arrived at B-K's offices at 8:30 to set-up and we began shooting as soon as the equipment was in place. We shot continuously -- relentlessly -- until after 5 p.m. with a 15-minute break for lunch. I never realized how draining conducting interviews could be. These authors were revealing very personal, powerful sides of themselves and cameraman Jesse Vohs and I had to be on guard at all times, looking for that magic moment of intensity to build a clip around. The authors, too, felt drained after filming. They start nervous, concerned about their appearance and prepared with the "elevator pitch" for their books. Sometimes it takes an entire interview for them to let down their shields. Sometimes we never get there. Always by the time it was over, they were relieved. This day in San Francisco was extraordinary. Someday soon we will have clips for you to look at and you will see for yourself how unique and powerful every author is. text/html 2005-09-06T10:52:58+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/blogging-katrina.php It has been one week since Hurricane Katrina roared into Louisiana as a Category 4 storm. What a week. I have decided to blog about the hurricane here as well as the other sites I am working. Here is some basic info. * We were not surprised by this hurricane. Everyone in New Orleans knew what to expect if "The Big One" ever hit and it hit. We knew if we stayed we were in for a rough time. * We had enough time to evacuate but not enough time to board up. Normally, French Quarter businesses are about 75% boarded-up when a hurricane hits. This time, it was more like 10%. When the track shifted toward New Orleans, we lost the two days normally used to prepare and instead we had to get out. * I would have stayed were it not for a family friend who arrived for a visit just as all the freeways were made one-way: out of town. We got out just ahead of the storm. * The storm hit Monday. There is simply no excuse for not having riot police and water at the Superdome and Convention Center by Wednesday. Instead, there was an extra 48 hours of sheer terror with no water because FEMA blocked the efforts of both official agencies and volunteers to aid the victims. The looters were minor criminals compared to FEMA, the agency that caused hundreds to die in agony rather than allow "unsanctioned" aid. * I am now with my family in Nashville, Tennessee, trying to work out a post-Katrina plan. However, before I get to think about me, there are thousands of my brothers and sisters in misery in New Orleans and they need things. Right now, they still need water in some parts of town, Neosporin, batteries, and pre-paid cell phones. If you know anyone that makes these products, please encourage them TODAY to make sure supplies are getting through. Last week, I begged the bottled water companies to airlift water onto the freeway overpasses of New Orleans. You can see their responses at the IAOCblog.com (http://www.IAOCblog.com) web site, where I am blogging about crisis PR. Many companies are not aware how much their products are needed until they are told. When you see a need not being filled, and you know there is a company that could fill it, I encourage you to step forward and make your voice heard. Right now, those people need batteries and Neosporin and pre-paid cell phones, so I am off to bug the senior executives of those companies to get their products in NOW. When all this settles down, I'll get back to making author videos. Thanks for your kind wishes and support getting supplies to the Gulf Coast. Sincerely, STEVE O'KEEFE New Orleans Refugee President, AuthorViews Executive Director, Patron Saint Productions, Inc. Vice President, IAOC Adjunct Faculty, Tulane University College text/html 2005-09-07T00:00:47+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/begging-for-neosporin.php (Tuesday, 1:00 p.m. CT) -- Nashville, TN -- Last night, I received e-mail from Hank McKinnell, CEO of Pfizer, letting me know that Neosporin is indeed being distributed in the Gulf Coast area. I e-mailed Mr. McKinnel after midnight and he responded from his blackberry within a half hour. Like me, he must be having sleepless nights. Today I did an interview with PR Week and asked them to tell PR people to be *specific* about the nature of their aid: how much, where, when? Press coverage is too slow. In matters of life and death, people in New Orleans need products and services, not analysis. Today I contacted the three largest cellular phone associations to plead for pre-paid phones to be dropped in the area. General Russell Honore, in charge of the ground operations in the Gulf, is begging for these. They need people to be able to communicate their location. They need phones TODAY. Tonight, I'll be going to a local church where Gulf Coast survivors will tell their stories and look for aid and comfort. I have barely had time to consider my own difficult situation. Right now, my plight pales by comparison with those who are dying without water, medicine, or shoes. When we are on even keel, I'll start to examine what I need for myself. If you want to help me, please do whatever you can TODAY to help those who are still dying in the Gulf by imploring the phone companies to drop pre-paid phones. From Nashville, STEVE O'KEEFE New Orleans Refugee text/html 2005-09-07T18:41:31+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/pre-paid-cell-phones.php (Wednesday, September 7, 2005; 7:30 a.m.) -- Nashville, TN -- Yesterday I sent e-mails to all the cell phone associations pleading for pre-paid cell phones to be dropped in New Orleans. One of the associations, the PCIA, put the word out to their 11,000-name mailing list. Today, I realized that maybe I should get a pre-paid cell phone myself, since no one has been able to call in on my New Orleans number. As soon as I have a new number, I'll post it. Storme and I are waiting for an opportunity to get back into the French Quarter so we can check on our stuff, grab items we wish we had, and secure our places more thoroughly against looting and the weather. We'll also be bringing in supplies to those still trapped, such as pet food, batteries, neosporin, maybe even pre-paid cell phones if some company would donate them to me. We're not going to run any blockades or anything like that. We'll wait for the authorities to allow us in. I'll keep you posted. From Nashville, Tennessee, STEVE O'KEEFE New Orleans Refugee text/html 2005-09-10T08:50:15+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/home-stanky-home.php Many tourists will gag along with me remembering the smells of Bourbon Street in New Orleans: a sour combination of mule urine, human excrement, and vomit. And that's on a good day. In the summer, add the scent of crawfish shells ripening in the 95-degree heat. Walking America's most notorious olfactory avenue is enough to make you choke. And today it smells worse than ever, with toxic sludge drying in the noonday sun, flavored with faint whiffs of decaying flesh. But today there is no other air I'd rather fill my lungs with. I have been a refugee for three months now. Long before Katrina laid my city to waste, I was touring the Western United States shooting author videos for free. I've crashed in 25 different rooms over the last three months: Austin, Wichita, Denver, Fort Collins, Salt Lake City, The Dalles, Seattle, Bellingham, Port Townsend, Portland, Gold Beach, San Francisco, Hollywood, the Grand Canyon, Santa Fe, and Little Rock. Since Katrina, I've added Nashville and Richmond to the list. And my conclusion after all these months of travel: the best small town in the U.S.A. is Port Townsend, Washington -- my former home on the Olympic Peninsula -- and the best big city is New Orleans, home stanky home. If we lose New Orleans, we lose something special. We don't just lose the aroma of Bourbon Street, we lose the musky smell of Magnolias on the Mississippi breeze. We lose the smoky scent of chicory curling out of Cafe Du Monde. We lose the sweet cadence of Bourbon French perfume strolling down Royal Street. We lose the rich roast of French bread fresh from Binder's bakery. We lose the brace of garlic flowing from Irene's. We lose the sticky sweet jasmine fence at Blessed Francis Seelos. We lose the bittersweet of burning butter at Aunt Sally's praline factory across from NOCCA. Right now, there's a stench hanging over New Orleans. It smells of the federal government trying to wrest control from the state government trying to wrest control from the parish government trying to take it from the city. The palette of flavors will return only when the residents and business owners of New Orleans are able to wrest control of their city from the politicians and set the city to rights again. New Orleans is dead. Long Live New Orleans! From Richmond, Virginia, STEVE O'KEEFE text/html 2005-09-15T05:01:56+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/two-days-in-new-orleans.php On Sunday, Sept. 11, I departed Richmond, Virginia, for a return trip to New Orleans. My van was loaded with stuff I bought with the $360 relief card the Red Cross gave me: sheets of plywood, cases of bottled water, Duracell batteries (packs of "D" and "AA"), booze, cartons of cigarettes, plastic gloves, and two pre-paid mobile phones. I couldn't buy the booze or smokes with my Red Cross card; those came from my own pocket. My friend, Kevin Barstow, said the smokes and booze might help me get past checkpoints. In Nashville, I picked up my friend and former spouse, Storme O'Keefe. Her car was (hopefully) still in New Orleans -- on the fifth floor of a parking garage in the French Quarter. I had a name of someone connected to FEMA to use to get past the checkpoints. Storme and I drove another 10 hours to Hammond, Louisiana, just north of New Orleans. I had been driving for almost 24 hours straight. We slept a couple hours in the van and drove into New Orleans at first light. We had no trouble with the checkpoints. Our route went near the infamous Convention Center, which we were told had been cleaned up for the news cameras. Of course, the debris had mostly been pushed into the surrounding side streets. There was very little garbage removal evident anywhere in New Orleans. For now, just pushing the garbage to one side was enough to keep clean-up crews busy. We were not adequately prepared for entering what amounts to an occupied city. National Guard troops were everywhere. Vehicles routinely went the wrong way on one-way streets. Mysterious convoys would appear out of nowhere -- some five cars long, some 25 -- and speed by with lights flashing. The media had built a small satellite city along Canal street and it looked like the troops wanted to keep them there. We were never stopped while touring the otherwise vacant streets of this apocalyptic theater, but we also didn't challenge the Guard by straying too far from the French Quarter. Everywhere we looked, passenger cars had been abandoned, siphoned, and looted. It looked like any car left behind at street level had been vandalized. Remarkably, Storme's car was untouched in the parking garage, with a full tank of gas, and we were not obstructed from leaving with it. Upon arriving at her house, two large dogs approached us -- one a pit bull. I used my shriek alarm to shoo them away. We put out food and fresh water for the dogs before we left. For two days, we were shadowed by menacing dogs -- mostly pit bulls -- everywhere we went. Our friends who rode the hurricane out told us that everything was fine until the third day. Then the heat got to people and folks just went crazy, looting and shooting and smashing things. We suspect the same is true for the dogs: a week without food or clean water has turned them into wild animals concerned only about the basics of primal survival. I distributed the loot in my van and felt like a poor imitation of Santa Claus. I could not believe that trucks were not moving through the city to bring supplies to people and animals. I knew the life-saving products people wanted were available: batteries, water, medical kits. But they weren't being distributed because there was no one with the authority to take them "the last mile." It is so sad. The Bywater Tech Center, where my offices are, was taken over by FEMA as a communications center. My offices, which they are not using yet, had roof damage and water damage, but nothing severe. Our homes were almost untouched. Storme's flower shop on the corner of Royal and Barracks was not flooded or looted. Personally, our assets came through just fine. However, there was no electricity or potable water. We got stuck at the Tech Center due to curfew and spent a sleepless night in 95-degree heat. We would have slept in the grass by the levee, where it was cooler, but we were afraid of the roaming wild dogs. At daybreak, we went to the official distribution point at the Harrah's Casino to get tetanus shots, but were told that "FEMA has taken this over and we've shut down." This talk of who is in charge -- FEMA, D.O.D., Blanco, the police, the National Guard -- continued everwhere we went. I imagine these people at the helm of the Titanic trying to decide who is authorized to turn the ship away from the iceburg. It is heartbreaking to see our beloved city in the hands of people who now resemble a shark pool of scammers, schemers, plotters, and politicians -- all trying to figure out how to turn this disaster to personal gain. For those of you waiting for your AuthorViews videos or other work from Patron Saint Productions, it will take time before I can drop the story of what is happening to New Orleans and return to publicity work. All of you have asked what you can do to help, and my answer is to be patient with me and pushy with FEMA and the others who are blocking an outpouring of private aid from reaching those who need it the most. From Nashville, Tennessee, STEVE O'KEEFE President of AuthorViews New Orleans Refugee text/html 2005-09-21T02:13:53+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/riding-the-appalachian-trail.php I had never driven Interstate 81 along the ridge of the Appalachian Mountains before the hurricane. Now I have driven the gorgeous 400 mile stretch between Knoxville, Tennessee, and Charlottesville, Virginia, three times, and here's what I saw: * Fleeing hurricane Katrina about a week after the devastation, I was driving north on 81 when I saw the New York Fire Department driving south. The motorcade of FDNY vehicles included a fire truck ("The Spirit of Louisiana"), a tanker truck, a couple EMS trucks, and several emergency S.U.V.s. I cheered and honked as they sped toward Louisiana, their lights flashing. * A week later, returning to New Orleans to assess the damage, drop supplies, and pick up some clothes and office items, I was driving south on 81 and saw roughly 40 EMS trucks headed north. No two trucks shared the same city logo. They were sent by cities all along the Eastern seaboard to help with the crisis and they were now all going home. The "rescue" part of the mission was over. * Three days later, coming back from New Orleans to Richmond, Virginia, I saw trucks carrying dozens of bulldozers headed south to New Orleans. I know where they are going: to turn the homes of my neighbors into fill for the next generation of New Orleanians. STEVE O'KEEFE New Orleans Refugee text/html 2005-09-30T16:51:34+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/gatorade-gets-me-back-in-the-game.php We have finally begun to get back to the business of promoting books and authors. Despite the fact that we lost virtually no equipment, trying to work under these conditions is like typing with mittens: it takes some getting used to and the output is smaller. The staff is scattered. Most of our files and tools are still in boxes. Then there's the whiplash of getting back to New Orleans. The city is repopulating by zipcode, and the Bywater is last on the list: 70117. Having seen the devastation first hand, I'd have to say "Baby please don't go." It's not liveable yet. So Patron Saint Productions and AuthorViews will be operating out of Richmond, Virginia, through the New Year. Film editor George Ingmire is in Virgnia Beach, VA. George and I hope to get the video editing project back on track next week. We have 50 videos we shot this summer waiting for editing. George will be heading back to New Orleans as soon as possible, ready to help rebuild America's Problem Child: New Orleans. Rachelle Matherne, my office manager, has already gone back to New Orleans. Last week, she managed to push out over 50 discussion group postings for Darren Rovell's book, First in Thirst (http://authorviews.com/authors/rovell/rovell-obd.htm), a Gatorade brand biography from Amacom Books. Rachelle was working without her computer under primitive conditions (dial-up). Amacom has put together a massive online campaign for the book, including a Blog Tour organized through The CEO Refresher (http://www.refresher.com/ceo.html), plus our New Book Launch Campaign. My nephews wondered, "Who would want to read a book about Gatorade?" I reminded them that their Dad is a branding expert; he'll want to read it. This week, sure enough, the Gatorade book is all over the net. Rovell's blog tour is this week, and includes a podcast and blogger interviews at five top branding sites: * Learned on Women (http://learned.typepad.com) * Brand Autopsy (http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/) * Marketing Playbook (http://www.marketingplaybook.com) * Slacker Manager (http://www.slackermanager.com/) * Personal MBA (http://www.personalmba.com) Yesterday, I went to the Department of Public Health in Richmond to get a tetanus shot -- recommended for all those going down to New Orleans. On the counter was a brochure rack filled will pamphlets on sports safety produced by Gatorade. It's the sports drink that's supposed to help get you back into the game. In my case, it's helping me get back to work, and I'm grateful. STEVE O'KEEFE New Orleans Refugee text/html 2005-10-04T18:14:53+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/home-stanky-home-part-two.php I am an avid early morning walker -- usually five miles a day -- and for many years that included at least one morning walk each week through the French Quarter. There is a rhythm in the Old Town of New Orleans, and it begins each morning with the hosing of the sidewalks. Starting at dawn, shopkeepers and hotel cleaning krewes break out their hoses and bleach and slowly rinse off the sidewalk in front of their establishments. Many on Bourbon Street pour the bleach on full strength, then hose it into the concrete or flagstone, careful to suspend their spraying when pedestrians approach. New Orleans, as most people now realize, is a poor city. Much of the work done by city governments elsewhere in the U.S. is done by private citizens in New Orleans. The restaurants hire their own police, as do hotels and clubs. Sometimes it seems as if the official police are there only to arrest people apprehended by an army of private security officers (many of whom are moonlighting cops). Sanitation is likewise mostly a private affair in The City That Care Forgot, and the front line of sanitation is the ritual morning cleansing of the sidewalks. I love the smell of chlorine bleach in the morning! To me, it means freshness. I started hosing my own back yard with a diluted bleach solution, partly for the smell and partly to keep the mold down in damp, dark places in the yard. Today, bleach is the best friend of New Orleans. As people go back to repopulate New Orleans, they will need things. Two weeks ago, I put together a list and started visiting Red Cross shelters and e-mailing Red Cross administrators asking that their shelters stock the items needed by returning refugees: gloves, tarps, garbage bags, hand sanitizer, deoderizers, antibacterial soaps and sprays, etc. Yesterday, the Red Cross started providing bags of cleaning products -- including most of the items on the list -- to returning refugees. Thank you Red Cross! Among the items in the Red Cross "Welcome Home" packages: chlorine bleach. The stench in New Orleans right now is so bad you can't imagine it. It's not from carcasses. It's from refrigerators. With the power out and temperatures in the 90s, refrigerators became incubators, the food slowly morphing into maggots and flies and a nasty, putrid mess. We cleaned out one fridge two weeks ago, and today it is bug-free and sweet smelling -- thanks to the bleach. Those going back should think twice about tossing out the fridge. The smell will go away shortly after it is cleaned. Shrewd slavagers are collecting refrigerators from around the city, cleaning them, and selling them. So beware: the used fridge you buy may, in fact, be the one you threw away! From Richmond, Virginia, STEVE O'KEEFE New Orleans Refugee text/html 2005-10-11T21:32:07+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/come-to-the-new-orleans-bookfair.php The New Orleans Bookfair, scheduled for October 29, had been cancelled due to Hurricane Katrina. Last week, Bookfair founder g.k. darby, publisher of Garrett County Press, sent e-mail that the Bookfair is back on! The venue for the Bookfair is the Barrister's Gallery at 1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. in downtown New Orleans. The Barrister's Gallery suffered minimal damage from Katrina and was among the first commercial establishments reopened in Katrina's wake. Patron Saint Productions and AuthorViews will be among those presenting at the Bookfair. AuthorViews will be shooting FREE author videos throughout the day. Last year, AuthorViews taped 25 interviews at the Bookfair. This archive is a treasure, providing a record of New Orleans' counterculture publishing community prior to the hurricane. No other speaker captured the feeling of the Bookfair quite as well as NPR commentator Andrei Codrescu in his AuthorViews clip. I encourage you to view it (http://www.authorviews.com/authors/04bookfair/codrescu.php) -- it only takes a minute. The New Orleans Bookfair is the kind of in-your-face idea exchange that is seldom seen in regional book fairs anymore. The expo is dominated by authors and very independent, marginal publishers. This year's Bookfair will be like no other, as the literary cockroaches of New Orleans prove that no hurricane can stop us. For more information about presenting at the New Orleans Bookfair on Saturday, October 29, please contact g.k. darby (mailto:nolabookfair@gmail.com). Come to the New Orleans Bookfair: Halloween in New Orleans! I hope to see you there. STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews.com text/html 2006-01-03T06:05:50+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/a-new-year-brings-new-faces.php Happy New Year and welcome back to the AuthorViews Blog! For the last four months, our team was pushed around the country by Hurricane Katrina, then had to struggle to rebuild our network of video editing computers. I am delighted to report that we are all safe and sound. The AuthorViews team is back in action shooting and editing video of authors talking about their books. I'd like to briefly introduce George Ingmire, our new director of video production. George has been working with AuthorViews freelance since 2004. A former instructor of filmmaking at the University of New Orleans, George also teaches web design at Tulane University. He is an accomplished documentarian, filmmaker, editor, and an extraordinary sound recording artist. It is thanks to George's hard work and guidance that our videos look and sound better than anything you can put on an iPod today. Speaking of iPods, all the videos on our site have been optimized for downloading onto iPods and other handheld devices. For those who know how to do this, you simply "right-click" or download the video to your computer, then drag it into the Videos folder in iTunes. For those who are less comfortable adding videos to your iPod, we'll be installing prompts and detailed instructions very soon. I can't let this moment pass without thanking all the generous souls who opened their homes and hearts to us this Summer as we toured the western U.S. shooting author videos, and this fall as we toured the eastern U.S. dodging hurricanes. None of you should have had to wait this long to see your films online. This week we will release 10 brand new videos from the tour. We hope to release that many every week until all the videos from the Summer Tour and the New Orleans Bookfair are up on the site. You have all been kinder and more patient than anyone could ask for, and we are deeply grateful. Happy New Year and Happy Browsing! STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews, Inc. text/html 2006-01-07T08:01:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/connie-brand-lends-a-hand..php While I'm introducing new people at AuthorViews.com, please give a warm welcome to Connie Brand. Connie is our new webmistress. She runs her own firm, CGMEDIA (http://cgmedia.com/), out of Oakland, California. I met Connie during Hurricane Katrina. I was blogging madly on NOLA.com (http://www.nola.com/forums/marigny/index.ssf?initial=true) and so was Connie. You know how in blogs -- like in high school -- most of the talk is sound and fury signifying nuthin', while other folks are dishing up something you can use? Well, here's a post from Connie Brand on NOLA.com:580. NEW! UPDATED DRY MAP #2 by cbrand, 8/31/05 23:51 EThttp://www.cgmedia.com/nola/050831dry.html (http://www.cgmedia.com/nola/050831dry.html) REFRESH YOUR PAGE TO SEE NEW (black bordered) MAP! Ok, folks, this is an update thru Post 565... I wish I could check out the streets myself, but I'm relying on y'all to bear witness... Connie Check the date on that message: Wednesday, August 31 -- two days after Katrina hit. Connie put together a "dry map" combining a graphic swiped from MapQuest and eyewitness, on-the-ground testimony she found culling over 500 blog posts, then plotted the water levels using Photoshop. It would be two more days before the first satellite images of post-K New Orleans got around. For two days, Connie's map was the best source for thousands of hurricane survivors trying to find out how bad their blocks got hit. And Connie was instrumental in distributing the links to now-legendary satellite maps. That's the kind of person Connie Brand is. I met her in person for the first time in New Orleans in December. It turns she bought a house in the Crescent City just ahead of Katrina. She's running a two-city household and business now, moving between New Orleans to do repairs and Oakland, where she and her family work and live. She's signed on to help us make AuthorViews easier to use. And she has a long background in television production which we benefit from every day. And she groks PHP. Welcome Connie! The story of how the blogs performed during Katrina is a fascinating one. I'll be playing show tell at the Annual IAOC Conference in Valley Forge, PA, March 23-24 (http://www.onlinecommunicators.org/), illustrating the many facets of using online communications during a crisis. You don't want to miss it. STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews, Inc. Vice President, IAOC text/html 2006-01-16T10:00:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-tripp-friedler--free-gulliver.php Click for VideoOur video today is one of my favorites of the 100 or so we have shot. The author is Tripp Friedler, a restless entrepreneur who gets paid to help people find an intelligent path to their dream life. His company -- and his book -- is called Free Gulliver (http://www.trostpublishing.com/). It's one of my favorite videos because he doesn't say one good thing about his book and when he's done you want to buy it. We made this video at the Bywater Tech Center in New Orleans last June. We've also got a nice excerpt from Free Gulliver about retirement -- or the lack thereof. Tripp is all about making your work something you love and would never want to retire from. Tripp's 2-minute video has been on the site for awhile, but is released today with a new edit and formatted for download into iTunes: just right-click to download, drag it into iTunes, drop it on your iPod, and share it with an impoverished dreamer you love. text/html 2006-01-17T03:01:12+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/help-wanted.php We need help. We are looking to hire a full-time administrative assistant and a full-time video editor. These positions involve working out of our offices at the Bywater Tech Center in New Orleans. If you're interested, please don't wait to contact me at Steve.OKeefe@AuthorViews.com (mailto:steve.okeefe@authorviews.com) or phone 504-947-4994. We're also looking for interns. We have internships available in digital video editing and online media relations. Internships are structured individually for each student but typically run 10 to 15 weeks. You will learn cutting edge skills here, so please drop me a line if you're interested. Thanks, STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews, Inc. text/html 2006-01-17T05:31:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/what-is-new-orleans.php With a tip of the hat to Kermit Ruffins, Samirah Evans, and The Catfish at WWOZ, I feel compelled to write about the extraordinary things happening in this city every day. What is New Orleans? It's Saint Augustine church in the Treme, filled to capacity at 10 a.m. Sunday morning to hear Father Jerome Ledoux preach and Big Chief Donald Harrison lead a jazz mass to help preserve this magnificent sanctuary, the oldest "black" Catholic church in America, its bell tower stripped of its copper by Katrina, its cross leaning south. The audience is half black half white half brown half pink, male and female and in-between; we are all free people of color in New Orleans. What is New Orleans? It's a second line parade celebrating the neighborhood social aid and pleasure clubs -- the organizations that pay for member funerals. And during the celebration shots ring out. New Orleans is its own worst enemy. It shoots itself in the foot -- or worse -- over and over again. What is New Orleans? It is Wynton Marsalis teachin' in McAlister Auditorium at Tulane University. He gave a graduation speech -- and a good one -- challenging the youth assembled to do a better job than his generation (my generation) at showing some integrity and standing up for what is right. Then Wynton and Irvin Mayfield gave a few trumpet lessons and lit up the night with Papa Ellis Marsalis, Reginald Veal on bass and Herlin Riley on drums. That is New Orleans! text/html 2006-01-17T12:57:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-osh-peter-tours-the-pbr.php Click for VideoWhen we interviewed Josh Peter in June of 2005, he was a sports writer for New Orleans' daily newspaper, The Times Picayune. But as of August 29, when Hurricane Katrina roared ashore, Josh and every other reporter at the paper got a new assignment: Katrina coverage. Josh Peter has his old beat back now, but it's different. Will New Orleans' professional football team, The Saints, come back home? Will they play in the now-infamous Louisiana Superdome? Will the professional basketball franchise, The Hornets, be sold? What will happen to all the displaced high school and college athletes? So many questions in the wake of the storm. Josh's video is for the book with the longest title in our archives: Fried Twinkies, Buckle Bunnies Bull Riders: A Year Inside the Professional Bull Riders Tour. In our 2-minute video, Josh goes behind the chutes to get the inside story on an emerging sport. It captures this award-winning sportswriter at a time of innocence, what we call "Pre-K" down here. text/html 2006-01-24T15:57:18+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/todays-video-mike-hoy--loompanics-unlimited.php 2004 New Orleans Bookfair (http://www.authorviews.com/authors/04bookfair/04bookfair.php) where we made today's AuthorViews video. In the video, he says "I've been doing this for approximately thirty years and, the good lord willing, I'll be doing it for another thirty." Apparently, the good lord has other plans; Loompanics announced this week they are going out of business. I spoke with Hoy two days ago and I'm happy to report that it's not ill health or some lawsuit that is responsible for closing Loompanics; rather, it is fatigue with slowly declining sales. Most books in Loompanics' legendary catalog -- which Hoy proudly displays during his AuthorViews video -- can not be found in even the largest bookstore; now, however, they're available online from stores such as Amazon.com that sell virtually every book. Loompanics will be greatly missed as the problem child of American publishing -- a living symbol of freedom of the press. You will find many places that sell unusual books but almost no one anymore with the courage to publish them: books that every government wants destroyed and most parents wants prohibited. In the coalmine of book publishing our canary just croaked. Book publishing will be so much more boring without Loompanics. text/html 2006-01-25T19:41:29+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-carly-newfeld--intuition.php Click for VideoCarly Newfeld is a longtime member of the Findhorn Community in Scotland. Findhorn is famous as a spiritual center and as a major force in the natural living movement. In today's video, Carly talks about The Findhorn Book of Guidance and Intuition. Intuition is something we all have, but we don't always use it or trust it. Carly talks about the role intuition plays in her life. She also provides some background about Findhorn for those -- like me -- curious about this special community I have heard so much about. text/html 2006-01-26T16:06:24+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-lawrence-wright--the-looming-tower.php Click for VideoToday's video is for a book so new, not even Amazon has it yet. Lawrence Wright is a screenwriter (The Siege) and a columnist for The New Yorker. The Looming Tower, a book about the Saudi bin Laden family and the history of the Al Qaeda movement, is sure to cause a stir this fall when it is released for the five year anniversary of September 11, 2001. This interview was recorded in Austin, Texas, on the AuthorViews 2005 summer tour. We were lucky to catch Larry Wright in town; he has made dozens of trips to the middle east over the last five years doing research for this book. When we interviewed him, he was still assembling and fact-checking the final manuscript. Of the book's title, Wright says it refers to a verse from the Koran that Bin Laden used often: "Death will find you even in the looming tower." The verse was also found on the computer of one of the members of the Al Qaeda cell in Hamburg and it appears to be a code used by the 9-11 hijackers. text/html 2006-01-27T12:50:57+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-jerry-sears--generating-trust.php Click for VideoToday's author has one of the most remarkable faces you will see in a video: round, animated, sincere, it is impossible to turn away from Jerry Sears. We filmed this interview in Boulder, Colorado, last summer. After filming for over an hour, the tape ran out. I asked my cameraman, Jesse Vohs, to put another tape in and he looked at me like I was crazy. Surely we had enough film in the can for a two-minute video. The entire two minutes you see here came from that last piece of film. Almost uncut, it is one of the loviest videos I have ever made. Jerry's book, Generating Trust, is about "rainmaking" -- the salesman kind, not the shaman kind -- though by the end of the video you might not be so sure. text/html 2006-01-27T23:37:54+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/what-is-new-orleans-pelicans.php This year, I have seen dozens of Brown Pelicans on the Mississippi River and the Industrial Canal. Not so long ago, the entire known population of Brown Pelicans in Louisiana was zero: "To this day, the brown pelican's disappearance [in Louisiana] remains one of the most astonishing events in the annals of American ornithology." (http://www.lacoast.gov/articles/bps/) At Christmas time, I saw a single flock more than two dozen large checking out the cruise ships housing relief workers docked at the Riverwalk. The Brown Pelican is one of nature's greatest comeback stories. It is a symbol of renewal. Katrina may have decimated the Gulf Coast in the eyes of humans, but the Pelicans don't seem to mind it a bit.Your Brown Pelican is an odd looking bird. About 25 or 30 pounds, maybe two feet from shoulder to tail and another three feet of neck and bill, it looks like a gargoyle when perched on a pier, the bill and neck folded, a small bulbous head with big eyes and Mohawk hair. This is not a pretty bird. The Brown Pelican is slow to take off -- clumsy, gangly, coping with an unwieldy bill and massive wings. Once airborne, they fold in the neck and take few strokes to the glide. They like to ride the levee through town, startling tourists on the Moon Walk (named for Moon Landrieu, poppa of those precocious Landrieu sibs, U.S. Senator Mary and Lt. Governor Mitch). Speaking of siblings, the flag of the sovereign state of Louisiana features a Pelican on the nest, feeding three chicks her own blood by piercing her breast. That image comes from a Native American story -- what most other states would have considered "heathen" at the time Louisiana adoped this big bird as its symbol. Supposedly the state bird of Louisiana is a Brown Pelican. But the one shown on the flag is its larger cousin, the White Pelican, and a very cartooney-looking Pel at that. Let me tell you about the White Pelican. I saw two of them this winter, bobbing at the intersection of The River and the Industrial Canal that runs through the heart of the Ninth Ward. These birds have chests as big as 55 gallon drums: big, white, barrell chests. They are three feet from shoulder to tail, five feet of neck and bill, and a wingspan over 12 feet wide: white in the center of the span and charcoal at the tips. This bird could take you in a fair fight.Twice this Winter I have seen large flocks of big White Pelicans drifting South. You see, our white birds are back, our brown birds are back, and neither strain is used to taking guff from anyone -- man nor beast. That's New Orleans, baby, that's New Orleans.Pelican PlatesAdded February 9, 2006: I forgot to mention that, while the White Pelican on the Louisiana state flag looks goofy, the new Louisiana license plates featuring an image of the Brown Pelican look fantastic! text/html 2006-01-30T17:43:28+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-johanna-vondeling--berrett-koehler-publishers.php Click for VideoToday's video is another first for AuthorViews. Johanna Vondeling is our first video of an editorial director talking about her publishing house's line. Instead of pitching a book, Vondeling is pitching Berrett-Koehler Publishers out of San Francisco, California. Notice how quickly this simple, 2-minute video communicates the publisher's mission: positive change agent. In the process, Johanna highlights two big books for the new season, from bestselling authors Ray Bourhis and David C. Korten. AuthorViews are terrific for presenting a spring or fall line to employees, sales rep, booksellers, the media, and other trade contacts. You should let us shoot your season preview video at Book Expo America 2006 or one of other AuthorViews tour stops. text/html 2006-01-31T17:31:35+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-carol-adrienne--the-purpose-of-your-life.php Click for VideoAuthorViews is very pleased to have Carol Adrienne in the house! Adrienne is co-author, with James Redfield, of The Celestine Prophecy: An Experiential Guide. The book she shows us today is The Purpose of Your Life, published by HarperCollins. You might recognize Adrienne from her appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show talking about The Purpose of Your Life. In her 2-minute AuthorViews video, Adrienne says that the purpose of your life is not something you figure out, but something you tune into. It's an interesting distinction. Won't you take a look? text/html 2006-02-01T16:05:28+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-maggie-lichtenberg--the-open-heart-companion.php Click for VideoToday is the beginning of Heart Month (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/02/20050201-15.html) here in the U.S.A. as well as in Canada and the U.K. It's appropriate, then, that today's 2-minute video is for the new book, The Open Heart Companion, by longtime publishing coach Maggie Lichtenberg. Maggie opens her heart to us in this brief clip, explaining how she learned she would need open heart surgery, then learned how badly prepared she was for the recovery process. Maggie saw a need for a companion to guide you through recovery, and she created that companion in the form of this book. If you are with the media, you should consider writing about Maggie Lichtenberg or having her as your guest this month. Those in your audience who are diagnosed with heart trouble, or are facing surgery, or are in recovery, will really appreciate hearing Maggie's tips for handling the psychological barriers to full recovery. text/html 2006-02-03T16:49:58+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-susan-harrow-offers-a-six-figure-book-advance.php Click for VideoHappy Friday! Today we are pleased to present media trainer to the stars, Susan Harrow, in a 2-minute video clip talking about her new book, Get a 6 Figure Book Advance. Let me tell you a little about Susan Harrow. She is a walking contradiction. Most of her books are about making it big -- such as today's featured title and another book we have here at AuthorViews, {ln:op:harrow/book.php">The Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah. These books cost a lot of money. And then there's Susan Harrow, the author of Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul, from HarperCollins. Susan has a deep spiritual side that's not just for show. During the AuthorViews Summer Tour 2005, it was Susan Harrow who lined up many of the top authors we filmed in San Francisco, Santa Fe, and Los Angeles. She opened her Rolodex, used her newsletter to spread the word, and sat down with us for a precious interview with awesome hair. Check it out. text/html 2006-02-06T12:49:06+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-jennie-shortridge--eating-heaven.php Click for VideoToday's feature is the only AuthorView video we shot in Seattle, Washington, on the summer 2005 tour. It features bestselling author Jennie Shortridge with a 2-minute riff on her new book, Eating Heaven, from NAL/Penguin. Jennie's first book, Riding With the Queen, was a semi-autobiographical road trip story about pursuing your dreams and the challenges of mental illness. Her new book, Eating Heaven, is a different kind of trip, through the territory of dieting, food, writing, and relationships. Caution: This video will make you hungry -- watch before lunch! text/html 2006-02-07T17:47:14+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-dr.-kathleen-hall--a-life-in-balance.php Today we are pleased to welcome back Dr. Kathleen Hall to AuthorViews. Dr. Hall is the author of Alter Your Life, a book on mindful living we presented here last year. Dr. Hall's new book, A Life In Balance, is a terrific blend of science, faith, and common sense. A student of Dr. Dean Ornish at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute and Dr. Herbert Benson at Harvard University's Mind-Body Institute, Dr. Hall teaches from the center of the mind-body-spirit triangle. This book speaks to over-achievers coping with stress and to employers concerned with creating a humane and productive workplace. Alas, we do not yet have a video of Dr. Kathleen Hall. But we do have an excerpt from her new book, on "Nourishing the Four Roots of True Happiness," that we invite you to enjoy today or print for later.Dr. Kathleen Hall -- Welcome Back to AuthorViews! text/html 2006-02-08T12:46:07+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-rebecca-skeele-says-you-can-make-it-heaven.php Click for VideoToday's video features "spiritual scientist" Rebecca Skeele and was filmed in one of the more spiritual American cities: Santa Fe, New Mexico. Skeele begins her video by waking up in terror. In two short minutes, she guides us from the land of fear to a seat at the banquet. It's really quite a transformation -- I think you'll enjoy watching it. Skeele's new book is You Can Make It Heaven, a step-by-step plan for making the journey yourself from fear to feast. It has one of the lovliest book jackets I saw on the tour. An attractive cover and a deep message -- something our featured author and book share.Rebecca Skeele -- Welcome to AuthorViews! text/html 2006-02-09T12:25:11+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-robin-donovan--campfire-cuisine.php Click for VideoToday we have another pre-publication video to show you. Campfire Cuisine is not due in stores until May, but you'll want to add it to your wish list after watching this short clip.Campfire Cuisine is published by Quirk Books, creator of such classics as the Field Guide to Stains. They know how to have fun with a book. But author Robin Donovan took her research very seriously, snooping around campgrounds and testing dozens of recipes. You might want to watch this video before lunch. Robin starts with the slivered duck and takes you all the way to desert. Don't say we didn't warn you!Robin Donovan -- Welcome to AuthorViews! text/html 2006-02-10T05:29:01+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/what-is-new-orleans-we-march-in-peace.php I was walking on Poland near the Naval Station when the ground began to rumble and shake and suddenly there were clanging bells and lights everywhere and for a moment I thought it was a parade -- but it was only the train.St. Augustine's Marching 100You can say what you want about New Orleans' high schools, but you can't say anything bad about their bands. When you feel a New Orleans parade coming, you feel the earth rumble with bass drums, not bombs. You hear sirens of merriment, not mayhem. You hear angel trumpets and demon trombones and armies of children who march in peace and riders who compete to give away the most. Your New Orleans high school band is like none other in the nation. Drilled in the morning, drilled after school, students learn discipline, harmony, teamwork and balance. They learn endurence marching five to seven miles a night, night after night and sometimes day and night. If President Bush wants our children to learn math and science he should arm them with drums and outfit them in sequins. New Orleans' soldiers march in peace. They costume and mask and dance to the rhythms of the street. Their spears are plush. They shoot beads, not bullets. People pay to join this army, and people gather from all over the world to watch this army roll. When you lose that, America, you have lost something! This Mardi Gras will be like never before and, hopefully, never again. text/html 2006-02-10T19:11:18+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-ruth-hoppin--priscillas-letter.php Click for VideoWould it change your opinion about women in the clergy if you knew that some of the most beloved passages in the Bible were written by a woman? Ruth Hoppin hopes this revelation will change the church. In Priscilla's Letter, Hoppin presents evidence from the Bible and archaeology, and a compelling line of reasoning, to show that Priscilla, a leader in the early church and a co-worker of the apostle Paul, was the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. When first published, Priscilla's Letter was removed from circulation within months. Finally back in print, it will change the way you think about the church and the role of women in it. Readers of The Da Vinci Code will enjoy this real-life detective story involving one of the darkest mysteries in the church. text/html 2006-02-13T13:15:13+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-jenny-williams--bk-currents.php Click for VideoToday's video is an illustration of how publishers and others in the book trade can use 2-minute AuthorViews videos to introduce a season, an imprint, or a publishing company to the press. Jenny Williams is marketing assistant for Berrett-Koehler Publishers in San Francisco. In her video, she talks about the BK Currents imprint and its mission to promote positive change at the intersection of Business and Society. Don't you think your web site would be improved with a 2-minute video about your company, your products, your people? Sure it would. So while you're enjoying the charming Jenny Williams, send me an e-mail (mailto:steve.okeefe@authorviews.com) about your video needs. text/html 2006-02-14T13:24:16+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-suzanne-lopez-says-get-smart-with-your-heart.php Click for VideoHappy Saint Valentine's Day! We are very pleased today to debut a 2-minute video with well-known love advice guru Dr. Suzanne Lopez, psychotherapist to the stars, filmed in Hollywood, California. Suzanne talks about her new book, Get Smart With Your Heart: The Intelligent Guide to Love, Lust and Lasting Relationships. "Nothing is more romantic that a relationship that works," says Lopez, as she guides men and women through that initial passion toward a meaningful bond. In our 2-minute video, the ravishing Dr. Lopez speaks as much with her hands as her voice. It is a spellbinding performance. If you are programming a story about love, your audience will appreciate hearing from Dr. Lopez. text/html 2006-02-15T13:00:15+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-gary-michael-smith--writing-for-magazines-and-trade-journals.php Click for VideoI have known Gary Michael Smith for many years, and one of the things I've always admired about this teacher-author-actor-writer-publisher is that he seldom writes for free. Gary Michael Smith gets paid for most articles he writes -- even when he's writing about his cats! In Writing for Magazines and Trade Journals, Smith shows you how to get paid, too. As a writing instructor at the University of New Orleans, Smith has coached hundreds of students in writing and publishing for pay. One of those students made a small fortune selling her first article -- find out just how much in this crisp 2-minute video. text/html 2006-02-16T12:40:17+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-pat-hartman--call-someplace-paradise.php Click for VideoToday's video is with renaissance woman Pat Hartman, the host of our Fort Collins, Colorado, visit on the 2005 AuthorViews Tour. Pat is an artist, journalist, entrepreneur, correspondent, and friend. She is an amazing person whom I've known for over 20 years. In this 2-minute video, Pat talks about her first book, Call Someplace Paradise, which is about that most quintessential of beach towns: Venice, California. Pat is the creator and maintainer of VirtualVenice.info (http://virtualvenice.info/), a web site that catalogs everything Venice, and she pours all that knowledge into this book. After you watch this short video, I encourage you to read a few pages of the book at Pat's site or at Amazon. That's all it will take for this talented writer's prose to pull you in. text/html 2006-02-17T17:00:05+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-susan-harrow--sell-yourself-without-selling-your-soul.php Click for VideoToday we are pleased to welcome back to our site media coach and marketing consultant, Susan Harrow. Today Susan is previewing her classic text, Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul. In this brief video, the ravishing Ms. Harrow illustrates how to use your hands and your "gypsy spirit." It's a marvelous performance! Susan becomes one of only two 3-time authors here at AuthorViews. When you're finished enjoying Susan's 2-minute video, check out The Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah and Get a 6-Figure Book Advance. text/html 2006-02-20T17:51:12+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-carol-adrienne--when-life-changes.php a video (/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=405&Itemid=26) on AuthorViews. Today, Carol introduces us to the book When Life Changes or You Wish It Would. In just two minutes, she takes us from Hero of our lives and drops us into the The Void. We follow a "cycle of change" -- whether we want to or not. Carol's video is a quick tour of that cycle; her book is a guide to managing our progress through that cycle. text/html 2006-02-21T16:57:08+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-chris-epting--elvis-slept-here.php Click for VideoWe are very pleased to welcome Chris Epting, talking about his book, Elvis Presley Passed Here, a guide to pop culture landmarks in the U.S.A. In two breathless minutes, Epting takes us on a verbal tour of fascinating places. He stops at the spot where the first plane flew, where Ben Franklin flew a kite, where the corndog was invented! Chris' previous book, James Dean Died Here, was National Public Radio's "Book of the Summer" -- you might have heard one of his stories featured on NPR. The title of Chris' book is never explained in the video -- most likely because I did something during the interview to mess up the clip. The title refers to a park where Elvis Presley used to go to relax and pass around the football. This video was filmed in Hollywood, California -- very near the park where Elvis passed. text/html 2006-02-22T13:17:24+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-elaine-pinkerton--letters-from-calcutta.php Click for VideoI am delighted to share a love story with you today. The story is about Richard Reva Beard, husband and wife, separated for 18 months during World War II, united by a deep and daily correspondence. Sixty years after Richard's service as a doctor in India, this box of letters arrived at his daughter's house. The communiques inside the box were so riveting they cost Elaine Pinkerton her job. She quit work to edit them into this volume: From Calcutta with Love. Those who served in the China-Burma-India theater, their families and loved ones, will appreciate the detail and nuance these letters contain about life in Calcutta mid-century. What they'll also find are tender expressions of love along with the unvarnished horrors of war. Please join Richard Reva's daughter, Elaine Pinkerton, as she introduces this long distance love affair in today's 2-minute clip. text/html 2006-02-23T11:56:46+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-elaine-pinkerton--the-beast-of-bengal.php Click for VideoIt is unusual for us to run two videos by the same author back-to-back here at AuthorViews. However today's book, Beast of Bengal, is so closely associated with yesterday's book, Letters from Calcutta, that I felt I shouldn't separate them.Beast of Bengal is a mystery novel based on one of those Letters from Calcutta. In that letter, author Elaine Pinkerton's father describes a corpse discovered at the hospital where he is stationed in India. Pinkerton has filled in the backstory of this mystery with her imagination. It is all set against a background of Gandhi's struggle to liberate India from foreign rule. Elaine Pinkerton lays out the details in this 2-minute video. text/html 2006-02-23T21:51:55+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/what-is-new-orleans-muses--mardi-gras.php My bedroom has a balcony onto the den of the Krewe of Muses. At this time of year, the Muses come each night to toil on their chariots. They often wake me with the clanging of bells and the siren-song wailing of train wheels on railings as they arrive and depart at the den of the Muses. When I stumble onto the balcony to catch sight of them, I am always disappointed. The Muses, you see, are invisible -- except for one night of the year. Tonight is that night. Tonight, the Krewe of Muses rolls! Last night, the ordinary working women of New Orleans went to sleep as mere mortals, exhausted, no doubt, from the burdens of Katrina. But today they awoke as Goddesses, for the Muses crept into their dreams and took over their bodies. And for one night the Goddesses will know flesh and the ordinary women of New Orleans will receive the adoration and thanks they deserve. I know these things because I am a messenger for the Muses. I transmit their communications via e-mail to earth women. I have been to their secret lair and I have loaded ordinary plastic beads onto their chariots, only to see them transformed into Pearls of the Muses. They shower their admirers with hot pink strands, make-up kits, plush spears, shoe bracelets, and even hand-decorated pumps, sandals and high heels.The word on the street is that some Muses will be passing out panties tonight. What a perfect delight. They have until Ash Wednesday to say "farewell to the flesh" and they intend to make the most of it. "Happy are those whom the Muses love." Our offices will be closed Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 27 28, for Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras. Our staff has worked day and night to bring you a continuous stream of new video. Come March 1, we will have some major announcements here at AuthorViews. Until then, we invite you to lay your burdens down, serve the Muses, and join us in celebrating the heritage of New Orleans! Laissez Le Bon Temps Roulez Encore! STEVE O'KEEFE President, AuthorViews, Inc. No longer a refugee from New Orleans. text/html 2006-02-24T12:43:47+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-tim-van-schmidt-is-king-koncert.php Click for VideoWhat better way to start the weekend than with some live, let-your-hair-down music? That's what Tim Van Schmidt serves up in this collection of over 200 reviews of rock concerts of the 1970s. It might not be Wolfgang's Vault -- the recently commercialized collection of concert promoter Bill Graham's memorabilia -- but Scmidt's archive provides a valuable, first-person account of the U.S. music scene through the eyes and ears of a local journalist. In this 2-minute video, Schmidt lets us in on a joke with John Cage and shares an orange with Carlos Santana. For those who lived through the '70s and now want to remember them -- or those fascinated with the musical history of that era -- King Koncert delivers pictures and profiles not available anywhere else. text/html 2006-03-01T17:48:53+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-debra-cox-image-consultant.php Click for VideoEvery now and then, AuthorViews will throw a curve at you, like today's video. Debra Cox is not an author and is not introducing a book in her 2-minute video. Debra is an image consultant who works with authors, among others, helping them to communicate with style. I like Debra's approach -- she's more concerned about finding a look that reflects your personality than forcing you to look like someone else in order to succeed in business. AuthorViews can be used for more than just introducing books. We have filmed interviews with performance artists, literary agents, media coaches, acquisition editors, etc. Today's 2-minute video is a good example of how people can use AuthorViews to market to authors and others in the book trade. text/html 2006-03-02T15:31:52+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-juanita-brown-david-isaacs--the-world-cafe.php Click for VideoThe World Cafe is a guidebook that teaches how to host productive conversations, whether in the salon setting of a living room or the more structured setting of a boardroom. In four years of filming author interviews, I have never met a speaker with the depth of sincerity combined with the knowledge of her subject that Juanita Brown displays. I could have filmed her for hours. But to meet our strict 2-minute rule, I not only had to slash her interview but I also had to include co-author David Isaacs, the gentler half of this amazing author team. I think the two minutes that survived editing is terrific. This book offers something I've never seen before which the world desperately needs: a structured way to talk with each other. My hat is off to Juanita Brown and David Isaacs and their seminal guide, The World Cafe. text/html 2006-03-03T11:35:36+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-maureen-walsh--the-female-power-within.php Click for VideoWe offer a very moving video today with "business therapist" Maureen Walsh, who has made a career of helping artistic people appreciate business while helping business people appreciate the arts. Maureen was our host for the Santa Fe AuthorViews shoot in 2005. Maureen Walsh is co-author with Marilyn Graman of the book, The Female Power Within. The two women founded Life Works in Manhattan which for years has been conducting workshops to help women understand and use their natural female power. This book is based on those classes. We are fortunate to have an excerpt from the book for you to enjoy as well. In her 2-minute video, Walsh talks about female power: it's noticed most when it's missing. It is an emotional interview that capped a long day. Through the video, you can see how powerful authorship is, too: we author these books and they change our lives. text/html 2006-03-06T17:57:50+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-ina-hillebrandt--pawprints.php Click for VideoPawprints is a Noah's Ark of stories about the ways animals enrich our lives. The author has a lighthearted spirit and deep affection for our animal friends. In her 2-minute video, Hillebrandt shares a story about some unusual dinner guests. Watch this brief clip to find out who's coming to dinner. Ina Hillebrandt has taken a collection of charming stories about the animals around us and leveraged it into a literacy program for adults and reading programs for children. I encourage librarians and teachers, especially, to visit the Pawprints web site to learn more about the workshops and classes Ina offers.Ina Hillebrandt -- Welcome to AuthorViews. text/html 2006-03-08T11:11:59+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-pat-hartman-and-ghost-town.php Click for VideoPat Hartman's second book set in Venice, California, Ghost Town is a nickname for the Oakwood district of Venice known for being a dangerous place. Dangerous, but the rents were cheap. Part Hartman raised her daughter in Ghost Town. This is a memoir of her time there in the early 1980s. Ghost Town is a microcosm of the Venice experience, complete with colorful characters, rampant crime, and a family scene at the very edge of the American experience. Pat helped shepherd many writers, including me, as editor of Salon: A Journal of Aesthetics. You can find back issues at her web site. Today, she continues to make the establishment uncomfortable with her thoughtful essays at EarthBlog (http://earthblog.net/eb-articles/archives.html) -- including a rant against circumcision that is painful to read! text/html 2006-03-09T15:49:40+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-jessica-nagler-and-jun-qanil.php Click for VideoTake a journey of self-discovery with us today as we interview psychotherapist Jessica Nagler, author of the new book Jun Q'anil: One Who Walks The Way. Nagler abandoned her home, her fiance, her career, even her country in search of... something. We can all relate to that itch to just split. But Nagler actually did it, traveling on her own to Central America where she met a Mayan shaman and lost herself in the jungle. What happened when she returned from this quest? Watch this brief 2-minute clip and find out. Jun Q'anil: One Who Walks The Way is recommended for anyone who needs to break out of the box of modern Western living and tap a deeper sense of meaning. text/html 2006-03-10T17:02:21+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-maggie-oman-shannon--one-god-shared-hope.php Click for VideoOur newest 2-minute author video could not have come at a better time. Maggie Oman Shannon is on a one-woman mission to help us all just get along. Maggie's new book, One God, Shared Hope, is the "Cliff's Notes" of comparative theology. Maggie researched the scriptures of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in search of overlapping beliefs. Her new book focuses on 20 shared principles, using passages from the sacred texts to help us find common ground. In her 2-minute video introducing the book, Maggie talks about our tendency to focus on religious differences rather than shared beliefs. She hopes her book will help advance the global dialogue, and we hope so, too. text/html 2006-03-13T16:32:18+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-joan-logghe-and-rice.php Click for VideoToday, New Mexico poet Joan Logghe is in the house with a 2-minute recipe for mid-life crisis from her collection of poems called RICE. In RICE, Logghe attempts to do in verse what we do in video, forcing herself to pare down the message to what can fit in the form. For Logghe, the form is the sonnet -- 14-line poems; for AuthorViews, it's two minutes -- the maximum length for our videos. In her video, Logghe talks about how she cooked RICE, then she offers up a taste. It's delicious. Take a look. text/html 2006-03-15T14:27:07+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/maggie-oman-shannon-and-the-way-we-pray.php Click for VideoAs our global village becomes increasingly more connected, so does our need for cross cultural exploration. In her second visit to AuthorViews, Maggie Oman Shannon brings an examination of prayer practices from around the world to the table, in The Way We Pray. Maggie Oman Shannon quotes the Dalai Lama, who introduced an earlier book written by her: "By studying the practices of other religions and faith traditions, we can learn about something that can nourish deeply our own." In her 2-minute video, Oman Shannon offers up a cornucopia of holy words and intentions, providing food for thought in the form of spiritual sustenance. text/html 2006-03-17T15:58:49+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-joan-sotkin-helps-build-your-money-muscles.php Click for VideoIf Suze Orman is the brains of personal finance, Joan Sotkin is its tough-love coach. Her book, Build Your Money Muscles, is a financial fitness program that will buff-up your bank account. In her 2-minute video, Sotkin talks about the fear many of us have about money -- along with other emotions that discourage us from achieving our financial goals. As a special bonus, this video introduces viewers to a shade of pink as potent as Sotkin's message! What a fabulous color for inspiring us to spring into financial shape. text/html 2006-03-20T12:28:36+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-william-c.-miller-and-long-pig.php Click for VideoI love the name of this novel: Long Pig. In today's 2-minute video, you'll learn the reason William C. Miller bestowed that unusual title on his new book.Long Pig is a comic novel about politics, centered around a mayoral election in San Francisco where anything goes. Down here in New Orleans, we are in the throes of a mayoral election that is as bizarre as any in history. Some 20-plus candidates are competing for the votes of a displaced electorate. Long Pig hits home. Author William C. Miller is quite familiar with the vagaries of California politics. A long-time trial lawyer, he is particularly proud of his rendering of the courtroom scenes in this satire of California political and media madness. text/html 2006-03-21T11:58:41+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-jacob-rosenberg-and-adobe-premiere-pro-2.0-studio-techniques.php Click for VideoImagine a couple novice filmmakers going to Hollywood and turning the cameras around on a veteran director. Cheeky? You bet. But that's exactly what the AuthorViews team did last summer. We rode into Hollywood and shot this video with filmmaker and instructor Jacob Rosenberg. The pressure is on: not only is Rosenberg an established director -- he's also an expert in film editing. Today's 2-minute video presents Rosenberg introducing his book, Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 Studio Techniques, a comprehensive guide to film editing that includes an instructional DVD. Did the AuthorViews team rise to the challenge? You be the judge. text/html 2006-03-22T15:48:08+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-rob-reider-and-road-to-oblivion.php Click for VideoIn today's video, author Rob Reider takes aim at "corporate prisoners" -- those who over the years have allowed themselves to become entrenched in jobs they dislike for companies they don't respect. If you feel stuck in your job or your life, you might want to pick up a copy of Reider's novel, Road to Oblivion, and see how other corporate prisoners found a pathway out. It's a comic novel -- a pleasant way to address very difficult issues. text/html 2006-03-24T14:20:04+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-laryssa-and-nick-nechay-and-invisible-friend.php Click for VideoWe have an extraordinary 2-minute video for you today about an extraordinary visitor to our world -- an Invisible Friend. Psychotherapist Laryssa Nechay and her son, Nick Nechay, share the true story of a family that was visited by a benevolent spirit lacking corporeal form. The family hid the news of this visitor for many years before revealing their secret to Laryssa and Nick. In the book, Invisible Friend, Laryssa and Nick condense the teachings of this loving guide from transcripts recorded by "Henry and Emma" -- the couple with whom the spirit communed. Please join us for a 2-minute video you will not soon forget. text/html 2006-04-06T17:54:56+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-george-ingmire-and-happy-birthday-mom.php Click for VideoWe're back from Spring Break today, a little later than expected but rich with video. AuthorViews filmed interviews at the IAOC Conference in Valley Forge, PA, at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, and at the Tennessee Williams Festival here in New Orleans. We'll start rolling out that new video next week. But first, we have a special treat for you today: home video of AuthorViews' own New Media Manager, George Ingmire, wishing his Mom a happy birthday! We have already profiled George Ingmire here on AuthorViews, but now he has a new project and web site -- New Orleans Narratives (http://neworleansnarratives.com) -- where you'll find radio documentaries George has produced. text/html 2006-04-10T14:29:24+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-steven-boone-and-a-heart-traced-in-sand.php Click for VideoThere is no doubt that this was the most difficult interview to film in the AuthorViews summer tour 2005. I remember how hard it was for me to retain my composure and continue to ask Steven Boone to open his wounded heart for us to see. This brief clip -- just a few seconds, really -- feels like an eternity, which is, in fact, its destination.A Heart Traced in Sand is the story of a teenage girl with an incandescent spirit and a father who is forced to watch and learn as her body is stolen by cancer. Even as her form betrays her, Naomi nurtures a "warrior spirit." We can all benefit from watching with her father as Naomi's story unfolds. At the beginning of Easter week, Steven's loss and Naomi's triumph are vivid reminders of the poignancy of the cycle of life. We are privileged to share this vision with you. text/html 2006-04-11T16:51:31+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-tvs-and-two-fingers-perform-scissors.php Click for VideoToday we have a new first for AuthorViews -- our first music video! TVS and Two Fingers is a performance troupe out of Fort Collins, Colorado, who take their zany brand of musicianship into schools to educate and entertain. We shot this video while recording interviews with two Fort Collins authors, the incomparable Pat Hartman (http://www.authorviews.com/blog/index.php?query=hartman amount=0 blogid=1) and Tim Van Schmidt (http://www.authorviews.com/blog/index.php?itemid=60) (a.k.a. TVS). This video features a poem called Scissors and it's one of the shortest cuts on our site. Yes, we'll probably never make the cut for MTV, but it's a quick clip so check it out. text/html 2006-04-12T14:30:23+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-dr.-stanley-wolf-and-microchip-manufacturing.php Click for VideoWe are delighted to present for you today a two-minute video on one of the most extraordinary books I have ever seen: Microchip Manufacturing, by Dr. Stanley Wolf.Microchip Manufacturing is a step-by-step guide to producing the computer chips that are built into everything nowadays from credit cards to smart clothing. The book is an incredible publishing achievement, with full-color illustrations on every page, most of which were created by the author of the text, Dr. Stanley Wolf. Along with the two-minute video for this book, we have permission to share an excerpt with you. The excerpt covers how to set-up and run a "Wafer Fab" -- a factory for building computer chips! It's a PDF file -- not HTML -- so you'll have to download it to view the gorgeous illustrations.Microchip Manufacturing is really a book on practical nanotechnology. It may be over the head of many readers, but the book is the sort of "labor of love" that we enjoy featuring here at AuthorViews. text/html 2006-04-13T20:19:33+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-bill-bonner-addison-wiggin-and-empire-of-debt.php Click for ExcerptToday's book is Empire of Debt, by Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin, the team behind the enormously popular contrarian financial newsletter, The Daily Reckoning (http://www.dailyreckoning.com/). The authors predict a dramatic economic crisis for the U.S. when the country's over-stimulated economy gets the hangover from so much debt-fueled consumption. We do not have a video for this book. Rather, we are offering an excerpt called "An Absurd Balance" that administers an upbraiding to both liberals and conservatives for their ridiculous overstatements of U.S. economic prowess. "Every business day puts America $2 billion further beholden to its mostly-Asian creditors," say Bonner Wiggins. The excerpt is a classic reckoning. text/html 2006-04-14T17:37:28+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-frank-s.-joseph-and-to-love-mercy.php web site (http://www.tolovemercy.com/frank_joseph_wgn_radio.html). text/html 2006-04-17T14:38:53+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-molly-bruce-jacobs-and-secret-girl.php Click for VideoWe are very pleased to release an expanded installation at AuthorViews today for Molly Bruce "Brucie" Jacobs' new book, Secret Girl, a memoir from St. Martin's Press.Secret Girl tells how Brucie Jacobs came to discover she had a "mentally retarded" sister who had been institutionalized since birth, and how Brucie came to know this sister and bond with her in the last years of her secret sister's life. In addition to Brucie's 2-minute video, shot after closing time at the Virginia Festival of the Book, St. Martin's has given us permission to run an excerpt from the book -- the scene in which Brucie first hears about the Secret Girl. text/html 2006-04-18T17:50:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-ina-hillebrandt-and-stories-from-the-heart.php Click for VideoToday we are pleased to bring you Ina Hillebrandt's latest 2-minute video. Last time, Ina told us about her book, "Pawprints." This time, Ina shares two editions of Stories from the Heart with us. These stories are excerpts from memoirs written for classes that Ina teaches through her web site or in person. You can find more information about Ina Hillebrandt's literacy programs, writing clubs, and memoir-writing clubs at her web site, InasPawprints.com (http://www.InasPawprints.com). But first, take a look at this short clip about Stories from the Heart. text/html 2006-04-19T17:03:57+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-book-billy-alfred-and-general-motors.php Click for ExcerptWe are pleased to release an excerpt today from the new book, Billy, Alfred, and General Motors, a business history about the origins of the automotive industry and the largest company in the world. General Motors -- as well as Ford -- is in big trouble today as their share of the automotive market has fallen. Should they merge? They almost did, in 1908, when GM founder Billy Durant brought Henry Ford and other auto makers to a meeting with J.P. Morgan and Co. financiers. The excerpt we have picks up the thread at that point, and chronicles what history will record as one of the most awesome collections of talent ever assembled in one room -- all of them wondering whether they're about to get rich or get scalped!Billy, Alfred, and General Motors is written by National Book Award nominee, William Pelfrey, a veteran freelance journalist and one-time GM insider. Pelfrey poured through corporate archives and private papers to recreate the events at this meeting and the fascinating race to the top of the auto industry. text/html 2006-04-21T17:15:55+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/what-is-new-orleans-politics-unusual.php In most of the U.S.A., it's politics-as-usual, with elections boiling down to a choice between a Democratic candidate or a Republican candidate, and the outcome was probably decided by the primary election for the dominant political party in your area. But New Orleans practices politics-un-usual, as most of the world surely knows by now. Our elections are European Style: an open primary that resembles freestyle mud-wrestling. We probably have a higher percentage of candidates indicted before they win the election than any city in America. As far as I know, only two of the dozens of candidates for Mayor of New Orleans have done hard time. I like New Orleans elections for the sheer spectacle. Politics down here can readily be enjoyed with food, music, and tasty alcoholic beverages. On Wednesday at the downtown after-work free rock concert (what, your city doesn't have a free Wednesday night rock concert?), all the candidates were schmoozing for votes. I scored a Kimberly Williamson Butler t-shirt -- a.k.a. "Kimba" -- one of the two candidates for Mayor bragging about having done time, and also the Clerk of Court responsible for administering Saturday's primary election. Gotta love Nawlins! Everyone here is trying to take this election very seriously. But I would like to remind people in the rest of the world -- and especially right here in New Orleans -- that we already have the leaders we're going to get, and their names are not on any ballot. We have people who saved their neighbors' lives. We have people who offered to gut any house in Chalmette for free. We have Catholics, Baptists, Episcopalians, Buddhists, Jews, Voodoos -- even Rosicrucians -- who have opened schools, cleaned-out temples, and rebuilt neighborhoods. We have business owners staying open despite expenses twice their sales while they wait in hopes of landing one of those mythical SBA loans. Everything good that has happened in New Orleans since Katrina has happened in spite of the politicians, not because of them. The election won't change that. The leaders have already been chosen. They are already leading. The figureheads are to follow. So lighten up, people, don't take it so seriously. It's only the government; better to think of these elections as cheap entertainment than anything that will have a significant impact on the day-to-day life of the citizens of this fine metropolis. text/html 2006-05-05T22:00:42+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-the-katrina-tapes-preview----saint-aug.php Click for VideoBeginning next week, AuthorViews will start releasing "The Katrina Tapes" -- a series of interviews filmed at the New Orleans Bookfair in October, 2005. The Bookfair was the first major post-K cultural event in the city, coming just 2 weeks after the mandatory evacuation was lifted and residents were invited back home (or invited back homeless, as the case often was). This is a startling collection of first-hand impressions and we look forward to bringing them to you. We're starting with this very short video of St. Augustine Church -- the oldest African-American Catholic Church in America. In the aftermath of Katrina, the Archdiocese of New Orleans decided to close "Saint Aug" -- a decision that has met with an outpouring of local, national, and international support for this landmark church. This video marks another landmark: AuthorViews intern David Kaplan will be graduating from Tulane University next week. David was our first digital video intern. In the past few months he has sampled every aspect of filmmaking for the web. He did the camera work on this piece, along with much of the editing and titling. Our video of Saint Aug is really more of a snapshot than a story. Several of us here at the New Orleans office have been involved in the campaign to save Saint Aug. We are pleased to note that the Archdiocese has given Saint Aug a reprieve to increase membership and save the church. We'll keep you posted. You can also enjoy a radio documentary on Saint Augustine produced by AuthorViews' own George Ingmire at neworleansnarratives.com (http://neworleansnarratives.com/). text/html 2006-05-08T17:08:55+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-abram-himelstein-and-the-neighborhood-story-project.php Click for VideoI can't imagine a better way to start The Katrina Tapes here at AuthorViews than with longtime New Orleans Bookfair organizer Abram Himelstein. Abram has been involved with the Bookfair since it began in 2001. More importantly, he is co-director of the Neighborhood Story Project (NSP), one of the most ingenious and successful high school writing programs I have ever encountered. Through the NSP, high school students use interviews and photography to collect the stories of their neighborhoods. Words and art are then edited, polished, and assembled into quality paperback books. The five books that have resulted from this project are extraordinary. They have become bestsellers in local bookstores. Student authors have found themselves on the receiving end of media attention (NPR) and $1000 advances against book royalties. What a fabulous way to teach writing, journalism, publishing, and business -- all while capturing the oral history of a community. Our 2-minute video with Abram was shot live at the 2005 New Orleans Bookfair and contains ambient trumpet as a stamp of authenticity. I think you'll enjoy this video and I hope you'll check out the Neighborhood Story Project (http://www.neighborhoodstoryproject.org/) web site for great inspiration. text/html 2006-05-09T16:10:27+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-chef-katrina-visits-the-bookfair.php Click for VideoHere at AuthorViews we like to say "We're All Free People of Color." Today's video proves it. Chef Katrina is one of our green people (we'll have another one later this week). She illustrates the sort of local color you'll find at the New Orleans Bookfair, the annual Halloween gathering of counterculture authors, performance artists, and ne'er-do-wells. The 2005 Bookfair took place at the Zeitgeist Theater (http://www.zeitgeistinc.net/) / Barrister's Gallery (http://www.barristersgallery.com/) on Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. in the Central City district of New Orleans. We found Chef Katrina (a.k.a. Zé daLuz) wandering the aisles, mostly spent of her powers, yet still ladeling toxic gumbo for all to remember her by. text/html 2006-05-11T15:56:58+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-elizabeth-underwood-artist.php Click for VideoPhotographer and installation artist Elizabeth Underwood lost everything to hurricane Katrina except her body. Taken were her home, her job, and her life's work. In today's 2-minute video, Underwood looks like a schoolgirl with Post Katrina Stress Disorder: A stack of subversive texts tilted on her hip, the distracted look in her eyes of someone who only hours earlier got to see the pulp that used to be her property. We were lucky to have Elizabeth Underwood in New Orleans for the last decade. We will be lucky to get her back again, soon. Her web site, which is loaded with Underwood's unsettling photography ("an exploration of the trauma survivor"), indicates Underwood will return to the Crescent City in the winter of 2006 "as part of a fine-arts fellowship to explore the psychological and aesthetic effects of the region's devastation." You can start with your own video, Ms. Underwood. So should you, dear reader. text/html 2006-05-12T16:03:09+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-b.d.-blanchard-is-the-boocoo-man.php Click for VideoIf you live hereabout, maybe you heard 'bout the Boocoo Man -- a big green fella, friendly, lives back'o'town, carries a snake? Maybe you never seen him? You gonna see him now, cher. We captured the Boocoo Man at the New Orleans Bookfair. He says he was "thoroughly blessed" by Katrina, who ran 30 feet of water through his shack out back. Musta blowed him into the big city, 'cause here he is, creatin' a scene at the Bookfair. Boocoo Man is also known as B.D. Blanchard -- children's book author, artist, illustrator, storyteller, performer, and player of some of the strangest musical instruments you never seen. We promised you two green people this week. Here's the second one. Don't miss the Boocoo Man. text/html 2006-05-15T17:04:58+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-barbara-rath-m.d..php Click for VideoDr. Barbara Rath came to the U.S. from Europe. She travelled to several cities in the states before landing in New Orleans. Like many Europeans, she felt more at home in this former French and Spanish colony than elsewhere in the states. Dr. Rath works at Covenant House (http://www.covenanthouseno.org/covenanthouse.htm), a nonprofit group that shelters, feeds, and educates runaways and at-risk teens. When Katrina came, she was caught unprepared. In the aftermath, she sees patients at a free clinic while helping New Orleans heal its wounds. We are grateful to have helpers like Dr. Rath here, and we are hopeful that New Orleans will continue to be a refuge for Europeans looking for a place that feels like home. text/html 2006-05-17T07:01:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-kyle-bravo-and-hot-iron-press.php Click for VideoKyle Bravo, proprietor of Hot Iron Press, was the man who organized the 2005 New Orleans Bookfair. Little did he know when he accepted that position that the Bookfair would arrive on the heals of the greatest natural disaster ever to hit New Orleans.Hot Iron Press (http://www.hotironpress.com/) is a quality letterpress shop -- or was, anyway -- it's hard to do quality letterpress under 5 feet of water. Kyle and partner Jennie LeBlanc just celebrated the release of their new book, "Making Stuff and Doing Things (The How 2 Book)" from Microcosm Press. It's a collection based on the popular "How 2 Zine" and it's only $10 cheap so you should buy it and help them rebuild from Katrina! Kyle Bravo and Jennie LeBlanc are still in Denton, Texas, but hopeful of returning to New Orleans in the near future. In this 2-minute video, Kyle talks a little about the Bookfair and a little more about what makes New Orleans so special. Just listen. text/html 2006-05-19T07:01:00+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-robb-roemershauser--the-above-ground-zine-library.php Click for VideoRobb Roemershauser is the proprietor of the Above Ground Zine Library -- a zine retailer and distributor in New Orleans. He is also owner of a legendary zine collection. I know Robb from his work at the Iron Rail Book Collective at 511 Marigny Street in New Orleans where Above Ground is now open most days from 1-7 p.m. Robb has been at every planning meeting for the New Orleans Bookfair I've attended. His contributions have helped make the Bookfair possible. In this 2-minute video, Robb eventually spits out what happened to his Lakeview home -- and zine collection -- when a break in the nearby 17th Street Canal sent a wall of water crashing through the neighborhood. You don't want to miss this video. text/html 2006-05-23T20:06:21+01:00 http://www.authorviews.com http://www.authorviews.com/news/new-video-abram-himelstein--tales-of-a-punk-rock-nothing.php Click for VideoAbram Himelstein is a teacher in the New Orleans Public School System -- or was -- there is not much left of the System these days. He's also an organizer for the New Orleans Bookfair and the co-author, with Jamie Schweser, of Tales of a Punk Rock Nothing. In this 2-minute video clip, Himelstein describes the traditional route of the self-published author: throw the books in the trunk of a car, get on the road, try to sell enough copies to cover gas and meals. From this modest beginning, Tales of a Punk Rock Nothing has gone to over 20,000 copies in print. About 5000 of those copies turned back into pulp when Hurricane Katrina added thousands of gallons of water to the storage facility holding the books. This is Himelstein's second video for AuthorViews. Be sure to check out his video for The Neighborhood Story Project -- an amazing program for helping students become publishers while capturing the history of their neighborhoods.