Author Sandi Lorraine weaves a tale of temptation and deception that will give readers "A Winter To Remember!"

GUTHRIE CENTER, Iowa - (Release Date TBD) - In A Winter To Remember!, author Sandi Lorraine tells the story of a policeman who is framed of a heinous crime. As he tries to clear his name, he discovers a sinister conspiracy responsible for his predicament, and falls for the woman charged with defending him in court.

Deputy Tyler Patterson was a faithful enforcer of the law, before a one night fling leads to false accusations of rape that destroy his reputation and place him behind bars. He struggles to prove his innocence in the courtroom, and is aided by the beautiful Noreen Carpenter, the lawyer he was referred to. As the legal battle plays out, she proves to be as skilled in the courtroom as she is attractive and enticing, and he cannot help but find himself intensely drawn to her. Meanwhile, the case becomes even more complicated when they realize that a crooked senator was the one behind Tyler's setup, and that the politician has ties with the mafia.

To exonerate himself, Tyler must pursue the senator and his criminal allies, but this is no easy feat for the discredited lawman and his legal counsel and lover. As the stakes grow higher, he becomes caught in a tangled web of sex, corruption and deceit, and must find a way out of this maze of lies before he ends up in prison.

A Winter To Remember! is at once a thrilling legal drama and a story of an insatiable romance between a stern man of action and a brilliant yet beautiful lawyer who must contend with a powerful cabal of mobsters and politicians. Lorraine's work will greatly appeal to fans of both genres and casual readers alike with its exciting tale of sex, crime and passion.

Byron B. Oberst's new book offers a look at the life of a pediatrician's family

OMAHA, Neb. - The new book "A Tale of a Mother, Her Three Boys, and Their Dog: The Love Story of a Father for His Family" (published by AuthorHouse), by Byron B. Oberst M.D., FAAP, is the humorous and heart-warming story of one pediatrician and how he and his family embraced every aspect of life together.

"A Tale of a Mother, Her Three Boys, and Their Dog" describes the adventures, travels, activities and various interests of an active and involved family. It tells the story of what the author calls "the romance of the century," as well sports, humor, sadness, family interrelationships, games teenagers play, parenting episodes and many other aspects in an ever-evolving family.

Oberst knows that readers, when finished with his book, will have experienced a glimpse into the "...refreshing life of an all-American family with its many ups and downs and ins and outs over a considerable span of time, and their ability to cope with whatever they were faced with."

"A Tale of a Mother, Her Three Boys, and Their Dog"

By Byron B. Oberst M.D., FAAP

Hardcover | 6 x 9 in | 178 pages | ISBN 9781477279120

Softcover | 6 x 9 in | 178 pages | ISBN 9781477279137

E-Book | 178 pages | ISBN 9781477279113

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Byron B. Oberst M.D., FAAP is the noted author of several medical books. His latest one was "Reflections on Pediatric Medicine from 1943 to 2010. A Dual Love Story". He was in private pediatric practice for 37 years. In addition to his burgeoning general pediatric practice, he had a large consultative practice. Oberst was a pioneer in the use of the exchange transfusion for the compromised Rh negative mother with an Rh positive infant, adolescent medicine, and in the attention deficit disorder with and without hyperactivity. He was an expert on practice management in private pediatric medicine and taught the same at the national level. He was an active participant in many medical societies, including the Society for Computer Medicine. He was very active in the American Academy of Pediatrics at the national level for about 15 years. He retired from practice in 1988.

(Politico) - Bo, come out, come out wherever you are! America needs to see more of you.

That's the opinion of Kathleen Kinsolving, the author of the new book, "Dogs of War," which looks at the pooches of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gen. George Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

"I don't think he gets as much attention as Barney and Miss Beazley," said Kinsolving, referring to the previous administration's dogs. "I think they need to think of something for Bo to do, like the way the Bushes had the 'Barney Cam.' Barney was featured on magazine covers with Laura Bush. I think the Obamas could include Bo more."

Besides providing first families with magazine covers and cute photo-ops, dogs can also serve presidents within the walls of the White House.

Discussing the dogs of Roosevelt, Patton and Eisenhower, Kinsolving said, "I really think that these three dogs played an instrumental role in helping defeat Hitler."

Huh?

"These animals are incredibly beneficial to humans as a stress reliever," said Kinsolving. "Can you imagine the stress and pressure those leaders were under? It's great to read about powerful leaders having a soft place in their hearts for their dogs and how that helped them run the country even better."

Problem is, presidential dogs today just ain't what they used to be.

"We're living in a very divisive time in our country, politically, and I just thought that, with World War II, the country was more unified," she said. "It was the greatest generation, and i just thought this would be a nice respite for people, that they could go back and enjoy some nostalgia."

Even though the selection of presidential animals, nowadays, seems to be preceded by their own political focus groups, Kinsolving says that modern pets just can't hold a candle to Roosevelt's.

"Fala is considered the most famous of all the presidential pets," said Kinsolving. "He has a statue erected at the FDR Memorial!"

Chicago, Illinois - As gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals became more visible in the 1950s and 1960s, the mainstream media perpetuated the attitude that they were mentally ill and morally depraved queers, freaks, degenerates, perverts, misfits, and even threats to national security. In many cities, the police raided gay bars, harassing and arresting patrons.

Community-based gay newsletters and newspapers emerged to counteract the distorted view of non-heterosexuals and to support the rising gay-rights movement. They addressed gay issues, formed a sense of unity, announced demonstrations, and tracked the progress of legal and political action.

Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Community Newspapers in America, edited and co-written by Tracy Baim, publisher of Chicago's gay publication Windy City Times, is a comprehensive overview of the past, present, and future of gay print media. Baim uses essays, interviews, and hundreds of news clips and images from both mainstream and early gay publications to describe the critical role of the gay press. Award-winning historian John D'Emilio provided the book's foreword.

Part One covers the history of discrimination against non-heterosexuals throughout the 20th century and the birth of gay and lesbian publications, including Friendship & Freedom, Vice Versa, ONE, Mattachine Review, and The Ladder. Most of the publications during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s were produced on smallbudgets by gay societies or activists and volunteers. Many were short-lived, but others were catalysts for tolerance and acceptance. Gradually, the mainstream media became more supportive of gay rights.

Part Two is a series of essays by and about journalists who documented the gay movement, recounting their experiences and providing observations and insights.

Part Three features the history of 10 gay publications in 10 major cities as told by their publishers, editors or reporters. Each one represents the challenges, risks, and struggles to survive that were common among almost all gay periodicals.

Part Four focuses on the business of gay publications. Initially, funding came from subscribers and classified ads since advertisers were reluctant to buy display ads-until they realized the growing gay population was a potentially profitable untapped market. Many major brands, retail stores, restaurant chains and service providers began targeting the gay community through its publications and even in some mainstream magazines.

Part Five reflects on the contribution of the gay press, yet debates its value as a source of news and advocacy in the era of the Internet, social media, and the economics of print media.

Gay Press, Gay Power:

The Growth of LGBT Community Newspapers in America

Prairie Avenue Productions and Windy City Media Group

468 pages, 485 illustrations

Black & White, ISBN 1480080527, $25

https://www.createspace.com/4022184 or http://www.amazon.com/Gay-Press-Power-Community-Newspapers/dp/1480080527

Color, ISBN: 1481047213, $89

https://www.createspace.com/4064472or http://www.amazon.com/Gay-Press-Power-Community-Newspapers/dp/1481047213

In Chicago it is also available at Women & Children First Bookstore.

About the Editor/Co-Author:

Tracy Baim is publisher and executive editor at Windy City Media Group, which produces Windy City Times, Nightspots, and other gay media in Chicago. She co-founded Windy City Times in 1985 and Outlines newspaper in 1987. She has won numerous gay community and journalism honors, including the Community Media Workshop's Studs Terkel Award.  www.windycitymediagroup.com

Baim is the author of Obama and the Gays: A Political Marriage (2010, Prairie Avenue Productions). She is also the co-author and editor of Out and Proud in Chicago: An Overview of the City's Gay Community (2008, Agate), the first comprehensive book on Chicago's gay history (see www.ChicagoGayHistory.org); and author of Where the World Meets, a book about Gay Games VII in Chicago (2007, www.Lulu.com).

Her most recent books include a novel, The Half Life of Sgt. Jen Hunter (2010, Prairie Avenue Productions), and the biographies Leatherman: The Legend of Chuck Renslow and Jim Flint: The Boy From Peoria (both 2011, written with Owen Keehnen, and published by Prairie Avenue Productions).

What People Are Saying:

"Comprehensive, well written, and well researched, this media journey from homosexual to gay to queer is eye-opening and inspiring. The bravery of individuals, groups, collectives, and organizations here is breathtaking and vital. This book is endlessly entertaining and extremely important."

- Michael Bronski, author of "A Queer History of the United States"

Professor of the Practice in Activism and Media, Harvard University.

"The political successes of the gay liberation movement, and the defeats, were reported in the pages of the lesbian and gay press while the mainstream press ignored or denigrated our efforts. Tracy Baim has long represented the best of the GLBT press, and this book will be a valuable resource in the struggle not to forget our history as we continue to fight for our future."

- Larry Gross, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism

Author of "Up From Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men and the Media in America"

"Gay Press, Gay Power is a meticulous and prodigious work, long overdue. It will be a reference source-but, more importantly, a source of inspiration."

- Barbara Ettorre, former reporter for The New York Times, New York Daily News and Chicago Today. Founder and editor, LetterBalm.com.

"This meticulously researched book captures the flavor and nuance of a myriad of specific events and times through compelling interviews with the people involved, gay and straight, backed up with insightful analysis. Hundreds of images of magazine covers, news clips, photos and ads from the 1800s to today present a comprehensive, stunning visual history of the evolving relationship between the media and the LGBT community. Belongs on everyone's bookshelf."

- Jean Latz Griffin, former Chicago Tribune reporter

Author of "In the Same Breath and One Spirit: A Creation Story for the 21st Century"

"Gay Press, Gay Power tells the story of the women and men who focused a revolutionary lens on our activism and still grind it every day, brightening the light on the paths of the LGBT generations that succeed us."

- John Teets, former editor for the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune.

You Will Find Joy, written by Nancy Newton, has been published by Inspiring Voices.  The Greatest Book every written! It has something for everyone; humor, pathos, romance, treachery, history, tragedy, feats of daring do. The Bible is undeniably the widest read and published book in the world. But really, something for everyone?

Many years ago I began reading "The Upper Room" as a daily devotional. I soon found numerous Bible passages spoke to me, like a primer or a guide. For example, in Psalms 24:12-14 David asks 'Do you want long life and happiness? Then keep from speaking evil and do good; strive for peace with all your heart'. I began categorizing passages like this, so when someone said 'I just don't see how the Bible applies to my life' the gauntlet was unknowingly thrown down and I picked it up resolutely. Thus You Will Find Joy came to life. And a unique life it is. Not a dogmatic tome, more a self-help manual, a way anyone can open up their lives.

Joy is unique because of its categorized biblical treatment. It is organized so whatever your situation you can easily find a Bible verse to help you.

As one reader observed: Nancy Newton's book is a delightful way to spend time with many special passages of the Bible. It can be used as a devotional guide or a topical guide. Using her knowledge of the Bible, Nancy has spent many hours in reflective  thought and created a way to help people gain insight for their journey. - Reverend Anne Lippincott, Senior Pastor, St. John's United Methodist Church, Davenport, IA

My aim in putting together Joy is to spread the word our lives can be filled with joy, no matter what life brings.

You Will Find Joy is available in soft cover for $12.00 and as an ebook for $3.99.

About the Author - Nancy Newton is a retired Government employee who lives in Davenport, IA with her greyhounds. She is passionate about her faith, and protecting animals and the environment.

Events: Book Signing at Davenport Book Rack, 15 Dec, 11-2

Contact Nancy Newton for further information. Email: sam_newton@q.com, phone 563-322-7456

Part of the proceeds from sale of the book will benefit disaster relief in the US.

Available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BAM the Book Rack and other fine bookstores. Published through Inspiring Voices, a division of "Guideposts" magazine.

Happy Joe Whitty will be at the Book Rack on Elmore Avenue in Davenport December 1st from noon to 2pm doing a book signing for his new book, Not Your Average Joe.

Here is some info on the book:

Joe Whitty has written a book, Not Your Average Joe. The initial run will be in our office sometime Wednesday November 14th.  Joe writes about his life and lessons learned that can apply to all of us.  It is a fun, quick read where Joe tells the story of a small town farm boy who was always a dreamer, not so good in school, but  loved people and had a somewhat naive belief that anything is possible.

The book has been published in honor of Happy Joe's 40th anniversary.    Not Your Average Joe is appropriate for ages 10 to adult and will retail for $16.99 plus tax, with a percentage of the proceeds going to the new Happy Joe's Kids Foundation, benefitting children with special needs.

The book can be ordered on the company's web site at www.happyjoes.com.  It will also be available in major book stores across the country, as well as on Amazon and other book- related sites.

For questions about the book or to set up an interview with Happy Joe Whitty, please contact Kristel Whitty-Ersan, Happy Joe's co owner and Marketing Director, 563-650-4680. For more information on the Happy Joe's Kids foundation, please visit www.happyjoeskids.org.

Not Your Average Joe now available just in time for the holidays!

This is the letter Luis Argueta, director and exec producer of "abUSed: The Postville Raid," has sent to his supporters

Would you please take a minute to call IPTV at (515) 242-3100 or email programming@iptv.org about their decision to block the program in our state and preempt its national broadcast premiere?
Dear Iowan Amig@s,

At a time when I should be very happy, I am really upset.

I am writing to seek for your support in addressing what I consider a serious act of censorship on the part of Iowa Public Television (IPTV). On December 2, 2012, abUSed: The Postville Raid will finally get its national broadcast premiere as part of a new PBS series,America ReFramed but Iowa Public Television (IPTV) is censoring its presentation. While PBS stations nationwide, will show the film at least three times on that day, IPTV will only show it once, at 5 a.m, a time slot which ensures that very few of you will see it. However, as you can see from IPTV's schedule, they will air all the other documentaries in the series three times:

http://www.iptv.org/series.cfm/22761/america_reframed/ep:110

Because this feels like censorship to me, I contacted IPTV Program and Operations Manager, Rebecca Ketcherside, to inquire about this discrepancy. She told me that they had requested a preview copy from the series producers (WGBH in Boston) to "determine if the film had been fixed" because they had found abUSed: The Postville Raid "unbalanced" when I approached the station in 2010 and offered them the national broadcast premiere. She said that IPTV's annual fundraising campaign on Dec. 2 would cause America ReFramed showings of abUSed: The Postville Raid to be preempted for other programs.

America ReFramed is a series that "takes an unfiltered look at relevant domestic topics (healthcare, immigration, the workplace, and politics)" and "tells the many stories of a transforming American culture and its broad diversity" through "independent, personal and opinionated films," like abUSed: The Postville Raid. abUSed has been an official selection of 16 international film festivals and has received three awards, the most recent being "Best Documentary" at the Cinemaissí Film Festival in Finland.?? We are seeking equal treatment by IPTV: to air abUSed: The Postville Raid the same number of -and at comparable- times as the other films in the America ReFramed series and to give you the same opportunity as the rest of the country: to see a local story that has captured the national imagination. I welcome a healthy conversation on this important topic and encourage IPTV to include a panel discussion following my interview after the film is broadcast.

Let's send a clear message to to Iowa Public television that it is not okay to edit the programming of "America Reframed" to suit its own personal views.   If you are upset like I am, I urge you to contact IPTV and register your complaint. Here's how you can make your voice be heard:

Suggested letter:

I just learned that IPTV will only be showing abUSed: The Postville Raid as a part of America Reframed show once (at 5 am!), but you will be showing all of the other 26 films in the series three times. As a person who lives in Iowa and would like to see a film about Iowa, I am calling to register my complaint about this poor decision.  I urge you to reconsider and show abUSed: The Postville Raid two additional times that are comparable to the times you are showing the other films in the series. I see on your website that the other films are being shown at 7:00pm on Sunday evenings, which would be an ideal time for me to watch it with my family. I am very disappointed in this decision by IPTV and will be calling my friends and asking them to contact you as well. Fair is fair.

Amig@s, please forward this to anyone in Iowa that you think believes that this is wrong and a very bad precedent to set. Thank you for your friendship and continued support.

Luis Argueta

During the spring and into the hot summer months of 2012, a film crew was in the Quad-Cities making a documentary about children who live in poverty. The duo followed and filmed three local children: One in Davenport, one in East Moline, and one who ends up in Moline.

The renowned PBS series FRONTLINE presents the one-hour documentary "Poor Kids" at 9 p.m. Central Standard Time Tuesday, Nov. 20, on PBS's IPTV. The program can also be viewed on-line after its air date at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/.

"As Americans prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, one in five of the nation's children is living below the poverty level," said Major Gary Felton, Quad-Cities Coordinator. "One in 45 children in the United States is homeless."

"Poor Kids" travels to the Quad-Cities, an area described by PBS as "a great American crossroads along the border of Iowa and Illinois," to explore the lives of children living in the suburbs of the nation's heartland and growing up poor. Told from the point of view of the children themselves, the show offers a unique perspective on the nation's flagging economy and the impact of unemployment, foreclosure and financial distress as seen through the eyes of the children affected. The Salvation Army and other social-service agencies helped the filmmakers become acquainted with the families shown.

"This is an opportunity not only for viewers across the nation, but also the Quad-Cities especially, to see the homelessness through the eyes of a child," Major Felton said. "When viewers watch children face such difficult situations as those depicted here, people will better understand the work of The Salvation Army and how we meet the needs of both children and families."

To see a 30-second clip from the documentary or for more information, visit www.pbs.org/FRONTLINE/poor-kids, visit www.facebook.com/FRONTLINE or Twitter @FRONTLINEpbs #FRONTLINE.
 
"Especially at this time of year, with our annual bell-ringing fund-raising effort under way, we hope that Quad-Citians will open their hearts and remember the children who literally are their neighbors in need."


MOLINE, ILLINOIS -  WQPT's local public affairs program "The Cities with Jim Mertens" will air a 3-½ hour special on Sunday, November 4th at 2:30 pm that takes a look at the local political contests being voted on this coming Tuesday.

"Since early September we have been talking with the political candidates on both sides of the river," said Mertens.  The special features commentary by former Rock Island Mayor Mark Schwiebert and Steve Grubbs, former Iowa state representative and former Chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa.

The candidates interviewed in the first hour include Neil Anderson (R) and Pat Verschoore (D) running for the Illinois 72nd House District and John Archer (R) challenger for Iowa's 2nd Congressional District.  In the second hour incumbent Dave Loebsack (D) from Iowa's 2nd Congressional District along with Rich Morthland (R) and Mike Smiddy (D) competing for the Illinois 71st House District and Shawn Hammerlinck (R) and Chris Brase (D) for Iowa's 42nd Senate District.  The third hour and a half features Bill Albracht (R), the candidate for the Illinois 36th State Senate District opposite Mike Jacobs (D) (not interviewed) and Cheri Bustos (D) and Bobby Schilling (R) who are vying for the 17th Illinois Congressional District will finish the program.  Each candidate's full interview is also available by logging on to www.wqpt.org/thecities/.

"The Cities with Jim Mertens" begins its third year on Thanksgiving.  It is the only local public affairs television program airing in the greater Quad Cities area.   WQPT is a media service of Western Illinois University located in Moline, Illinois.

# # #

Publishers, Weakly: What The
Penguin/Random House Merger Really
Means
By: Michael Levin

When I saw the word "synergies" applied to the proposed merger of publishing giants Penguin and Random House, I laughed out loud.  "Synergies" is Wall Street-speak for "Let's merge two failing companies, fire half the employees, run the resulting business more cheaply, suck out all the money we can as quickly as we can, and then leave the wounded, gasping beast that is the resulting company to die a miserable, public death."

Which is exactly why "synergies" best describes the merger of two of the biggest names in the publishing industry, which is wringing its hands over the immediate consequences of this deal, which really represents one more death rattle of the once thriving book publishing trade.

Here's what happens now:  lots of editorial, marketing, and other jobs will vanish.  Agents will have fewer places to sell books.  Fewer books will be published.  Authors will get even less money (if that's even possible, since some publishers are paying zero advances whenever they can get away with it).  And the pontificators will pontificate on what it all means to society (not much, since most of society has already given up on reading books).

Here's what happens next:  the remaining major publishers will find it harder to compete, because the resulting publisher (Penguin House?) will be able to produce books more cheaply.  So they'll fire people, merge, fire more people, and eventually roll over and die.

All because publishers never figured out how to deal with the Internet and how to sell books in a wired world.

All because publishers considered themselves "special" and thought they could get away with selling products they didn't market.

All because publishers are English majors wearing Daddy's work clothes and pretending to be business people, running their businesses on whim and gut feeling instead of figuring out what people want and giving it to them, the way smart businesses work.

I have no pity for the fallen publishers.  In Wall Street terms, there isn't enough lipstick in the world to make these pigs kissable.  They had the responsibility to shape society by providing it with books worth reading, to create a cultural legacy for our generation and generations to come.  And instead, what did they give us?

Ann Coulter, Navy SEALs, and Fifty Shades of Gray.

The publishers will blame everyone in sight for their predicament, but this is a self-inflicted wound; what the Brits would call an "own goal."

You can't run a successful business passively waiting for people (in this case, literary agents) to tell you what you should produce.

You can't run a successful business by throwing 10,000 strands of spaghetti (or 10,000 books a year, in Random House's case) against the wall of public opinion and seeing what sticks.

You can't run a successful business selling information in the form of printed books by putting them on trucks to distant cities, hoping that booksellers (anyone who can fog a mirror, run a cash register and repeat the phrase, "We don't have it but we could order it for you") will actively work to sell your stuff to people.

Bottom line:  you can't run a successful business when you are essentially competing with yourself.  If Barnes & Noble doesn't sell a Simon & Schuster book within three weeks, it sends the book back to Simon & Schuster, at Simon & Schuster's expense, only to have that same space on the shelf filled with...wait for it...a different Simon & Schuster book.

That's not marketing.

That's masochism.

A New York editor who worked at Penguin once told me that his boss called all the employees into a meeting and said, "If there's any merger talk, you'll hear about it from me and not from the New York Times."

A few days later, he was reading The New York Times on the subway on the way to work, and read that Penguin was merging with another publisher.

Here we go again.

If it weren't for Fifty Shades of Gray, Random House (and Barnes & Noble, for that matter) would have been on life support.  There would have been nothing left to merge.

Penguin's owner, Pearson LLC, is the smartest guy in the room, dumping off Penguin's trade publishing on Bertlesmann, a German conglomerate which somehow still thinks it can make money selling books.

And now a few thousand more publishing employees are going to leave the world of books and hit the bricks.

So let the handwringing begin.  The collapse of a once proud industry has taken a giant step forward.  And there ain't no synergies in that.

New York Times best selling author and Shark Tank survivor Michael Levin runs www.BusinessGhost.com, and is a nationally acknowledged thought leader on the future of book publishing.

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