Think Your Dog Is Smarter Than Most Of Your Relatives?

YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT!

Can a book written by man’s best friend reveal the truth about man?

Note: Ruby and her human translator are available as guests.

Ruby speaks with the sharp tongue of a seasoned comic, taking aim at humans and their foibles with deadly precision. What makes Ruby’s book unique? Ruby is a dog, and with the help of her caretaker-rescuer wrote the book on humans, Ruby’s Humans.

Ruby is tart, sassy, and opinionated in her assessment of the human world she inhabits, tackling everything from politics and puppy mills to diet and exercise. 
• Ruby challenges the notion that humans are smarter than canines: "Two words: National Enquirer."
• Ruby on self-help and The Secret : "You want to know the real secret; there is no one secret." 
• Ruby on politics: "A canine has never voted for a Bush. We have better uses for them."

Ruby on Politics and Global Warming
Ruby doesn’t pull paw swipes in the area of politics: "Republicans are steadfastly against government intrusion into the private lives of citizens, unless it concerns a woman's uterus or a man's anus." Or even global warming: "Did you ever notice how the same people who don't believe that global warming is a real threat also don't believe in evolution?"

Ruby Rescued from Abuse
Ruby is a real dog and she was in fact rescued from a shelter after being abused by a previous owner. She brings a unique new voice to the "man and his dog" literature.

A Dog’s Point of View
Books about dogs are almost always written by people. They are usually sentimental, feel-good efforts that tell how the dog (often a stray, or rescued from a pound) changed the owner's life (or saved the kids from a fire, or alerted her that she had cancer, or taught him how to love again). The autobiographical Ruby's Humans warmly celebrates the unique bond between  dog and man, while allowing the reader to laugh at both.

About the Author
Tom Adrahtas, who is credited as co-author with Ruby, has written an unauthorized biography of Diana Ross and an authorized biography of NHL goaltender Glenn Hall. He lists Al Franken, George Carlin, Jonathan Winters and Gary Larsen as comedic influences.

EXCERPT From Ruby's Humans
Okay, so let's talk about marking territory. I mean, that's communication. Through the scent we leave behind us, we can tell the next canine coming along all the basics they need to know. "Gggriff was here, female, not interested in sex but wouldn‘t mind being friends (and as with humans, that basically tells a male to smell elsewhere), I share this block with a male Rotty and a female Lab."

And when we bark at one another? We're having a discussion, sometimes heated and territorial, sometimes protective of our humans, sometimes friendly . . . Let's just say that a lot of times, how you interpret us is not particularly accurate. Let me give you an example.

You know how you think it's cute to get us to bark on cue? "Speak! Speak!" you command, and very compliantly we sit, look up at you, and you hear "Bark! Bark!"

Wanna know what we're really saying? Okay, it goes something like this.

Human: "Speak, Ruby! Speak!"

Ruby: "Asshole say 'Good girl.' "

Human: "Good girl, Ruby."

Then you give us a cookie.
 
INFORMATION
• Ruby’s Humans
• Tom Adrahtas
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Kunati Inc. (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601641885
• ISBN-13: 978-1601641885

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Lead exposure linked to later violent crime and autism

Damage caused by lead "epidemic" claim Lead Babies authors

Babies who are exposed to lead are more likely to be arrested for violent and anti-social behavior in later life. They are also more likely to have lower IQs and experience learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and are at risk for autism.

After decades of studies and research, there is no doubt that lead causes these problems and others. Yet in spite of this knowledge, scarcely a day goes by without massive recalls of consumer products because they contain unsafe levels of lead, many of them designed specifically for babies and children. Many of these products, including plastic bibs, shoes, cribs, and feeding bottles, are manufactured by or for top-brand companies.

Children continue to be exposed to toxic lead by the simple actions of putting on their clothes, playing with their toys and drinking water from their taps.
Babies"

More shockingly, it has been known for more than one hundred years that the damage to the brain begins at conception. Lead in the mother's body crosses the placenta to the fetus and interferes with the normal development of the brain. Lead Babies, the new book by educators Joanna Cerazy and Sandra Cottingham, seeks to break the cycle of lead-related brain damage and behavioral problems by showing parents how to prevent this in utero poisoning of their children. "In pregnancy, the fetus gathers materials it needs to build bone structure from the mother's bones," they write. "Lead from the maternal skeleton is transferred across the placenta to the fetus. A critical factor in how much lead reaches the unborn baby is the amount of lead that has accumulated in the mother's bones over her lifetime."

Given the gravity of the problem and the amount of media attention it has been given, why does the public seem indifferent, or unaware? The authors explain that because the effects of lead exposure do not become evident immediately, parents simply do not make the connection between lead exposure in their child’s early life and the problems that later develop.

"Many of us assumed lead went away when leaded gas and paint were banned. Not so," they argue. "We have an epidemic of learning disabilities and behavior problems among children as a result of its pervasive presence
in our environment. The strain this puts on our education system is enormous, and many of these children are doomed to a life of diminished potential or crime."

One of the most common sources of lead exposure is the ingestion of dust containing deteriorating lead-based paint. Home renovations are among the leading causes of lead poisoning in children. Lead-contaminated soil in backyards and playgrounds is another major cause, as is water that passes through pipes and many modern faucets.

But the sources of lead in the home and the workplace are virtually limitless, from gift-wrapping paper to the blinds on the windows. Lead Babies gives detailed accounts of where the lead is and how to get rid of it.

(Joanna Cerazy, MEd (Author), Sandra Cottingham, PhD (Author) AVAILABLE AS EXPERTS/ GUESTS)

Excerpt From Lead Babies by Joanna Cerazy and Sandra Cottingham

A generation of children struggles to sit still, concentrate, read and understand social cues. Their school programs are modified as they fall behind in school. The impulsiveness that makes them difficult to manage in the classroom becomes a liability in the workplace. These
are lead babies, statistics in an epidemic of learning and behaviorally challenged children and young people. Their brains, at key stages of development, primarily in the days, weeks and months following their conception, were permanently damaged by exposure to the dangerous neurotoxin, lead.

There are few toxic substances that have been more studied and more warned about than lead, yet it seems that the information has bypassed most of us.

In utero lead exposure in seemingly insignificant proportions inhibits the ability to read, learn, concentrate and behave later on.

Accumulated exposure well into adulthood has implications for diminishing IQ and disease that is equally devastating to individuals, families and society. The ripple effect that lead exposure sets into motion has profound and far-reaching implications.

While we cannot change the brain damage that lead exposure has already rendered permanent, we can make choices and take steps toward breaking the cycle of another generation with learning disabilities, declining intelligence, ADHD, behavior problems, and perhaps even autism. With a
new understanding and an appreciation for lead exposure risk, the cycle of brain-damaged children can be broken. It is ours to break.

Book Information

Lead Babies
Breaking the Cycle of Learning Disabilities, Declining IQ, ADHD, Behavior Problems, and Autism

Joanna Cerazy, MEd (Author), Sandra Cottingham, PhD (Author)

Childrens: Parenting & Family Care, Health

256 pages, Cloth, 5.5 x 8.5
Kunati Books
$24.95 (CAN $25.95)
9781601641922 (1601641923)

Pub Date: May 2009

Joanna Cerazy, MEd (Author), Sandra Cottingham, PhD (Author)

This groundbreaking study reveals the continuing danger that lead contamination presents to health—particularly in the earliest stages of life. Disclosure about the lead content in house paint, gasoline, canned food, and tap water revolutionized the manufacturing of those products a generation ago, but lead-based products are still produced and pose a health hazard as lead remains in the environment years after its initial use. The deleterious effects of lead on early cognitive development are well documented, but the data in this reference regarding in utero lead transfer contains critical new information that shows the effects on infants and families. Week-by-week brain development in unborn and newborn children is demonstrated, explaining lead’s damage potential at each stage and how that household sources and surroundings—including soil, plumbing, imported canned goods, and house dust—are outlined and simple precautions that can reduce or minimize exposure are discussed. With an awareness that has allowed a generation of injured children to be born, and empowers the reader to break this destructive cycle.

Joanna Cerazy, MEd, is a special education consultant and has taught both regular and special education classes in primary, elementary, and secondary schools. Sandra Cottingham, PhD, is a special education consultant with 20 years of classroom experience. She is an instructor in the department of counseling psychology and special education at the University of British Columbia and an associate of the Taos Institute. They both live in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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A "Year's Best Crime" and More Starred Reviews

We are pleased and proud to announce Joshua Corin's wonderful Nuclear Winter Wonderland was awarded as one of the TEN TOP CRIME debuts from American Library Association's Booklist

From Booklist: Nuclear Winter Wonderland. By Joshua Corin. 2008. Kunati, paper, $15.95 (9781601641601).

After his twin sister is kidnapped by a strange man with plans involving a nuclear device, Adam Weiss joins forces with a former Mob enforcer and a Croatian female clown (who only speaks Spanish) to track down the maniac. This richly comic thriller is surreal without being silly and wonderfully playful in its use of language.

Nuclear Winter Wonderland also scored a rare STARRED REVIEW from the same venerable trade magazine.large"

It was only a matter of time before someone took that next step in the digital world: murder, broadcast over the Internet for all the world to see. First a drug lord goes down, then a pedophile, then a mobster. The public is at once incensed and intrigued; the vigilante aspect-the victims are bad guys, after all-somehow makes the spectacle less appalling and adds to the sicko entertainment factor. When the killer announces that he will accept bids for the right to pull the cybertrigger for the next execution, the online world ponies up. The only ones who can stop the madness, apparently, are disgruntled FBI investigator Karen, freelance journalist Seth, and gifted but overlooked scientist Dr. Sicals. The unlikely trio joins forces to prevent further killings, and the pursuit keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The central question of whether killing one for the greater good of many should be tolerated is treated with a bit of a heavy hand, but the author's message doesn't distract overmuch from what is a satisfying debut thriller.

— Mary Frances Wilkens BOOKLIST

Distraught, she reluctantly returns to St John for a reunion with three close women friends who pledged undying love and support for each other in childhood as the Tuatha-de-Danaans (the faeries of Ireland). However her return and the interaction with her friends revive the emotional trauma she had hoped to leave behind. Brannagh's current sense of abandonment by her lover makes her even more vulnerable to the unresolved mysteries surrounding the deaths of her parents and the nature of the family madness.

The novel is more about the past than the present as it navigates back and forth through time. Brannagh is tempted to run away again as the reunion with her friends proves more challenging than comforting. She stays and answers concerning the past eventually emerge as she deals with the complex interrelationships between her friends and surviving family members

Leveille's descriptive writing evokes the beauty of nature and she creates an interesting cast of characters. For example, Brannagh who is really quite a feisty woman is also an artist whose bird sketches are an important contribution to the naturalist survey. Annie, perhaps her closest friend, had been one of her grandfather's patients and herself becomes a doctor. On the other hand, the "shadows" really take over in this book. There are almost too many aspects of the story to follow, particularly when dealing with the past. And the last minute resolution of the present mystery seems almost too good to be true. It is the quality of the writing that makes the read worthwhile.

SHADOWS is Leveille's first novel. As a well written but convoluted Gothic tale involving a complex list of characters, it is a very promising debut.

Reviewed by Ann Pearson, April 2009

http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com

This is a thoroughly people-focused deck - its apt catchphrase is ‘78 friends you hold in your hand’. Drawn from historical portraits and Baroque and Renaissance paintings and melded into tarot scenes, the people are individual, immediate, and subtly expressive, displaying a range of emotion and instantly recognisable feeling.

The Devil is, well, devilishly seductive, inviting you to give in to temptation. The pain and dissatisfaction in the face of the Five of Cups is palpable. The Queen of Swords is perfect, a richly dressed, regal and intelligent woman, but she looks tough and unforgiving, even a little cold. I particularly like the High Priestess, who has an otherworldly look (pale skin, large light eyes, Mona Lisa smile), as though she is the physical bridge between the real and spiritual worlds. There is a such a mix of faces across the deck, all with their individual and appropriate characters - some even look just like people I know in real life.

Some cards give an interesting spin on the typical symbolism. The Emperor looks competent, but a bit grim, as though responsibility lies heavily on his shoulders. The Ten of Wands is the opposite: she looks accepting of her burden and is apparently carrying it without difficulty. The woman in the Three of Swords (not a card that normally shows a person) looks shocked and dazed, like she’s just received terrible news but is it yet to sink in. The Page of Swords especially is unusual; he looks bored and uninspired rather than sharp and snappy (perhaps he’s just bored of being inside).

Opening the shrink-wrap on the Touchstone Tarot set, there is a solid matte box that opens from the front like a book. Inside lies the companion book, and underneath are the gilt-edged cards. There are 80 cards included in the set: the 78 standard cards, the Happy Squirrel card, and the Touchstone Tarot artist card (not for reading).

The gilt-edged cards are big, not quite 9cm by 13cm, much bigger than the cards in Kat’s original limited edition run of the Touchstone. These cards are also lighter and the colour slightly less saturated, which means it is easier to make out details in the shadows.
More here...

Sleepers Awake.
McNulty, Patrick (Author)
May 2009. 272 p. Kunati, hardcover, $22.95. (9781601641663).

"Adapted from his unfilmed screenplay, McNulty’s first novel takes on the familiar horror conventions of ghosts and demons and spins them into a grippingly original thriller. In the remote Alaskan village Danaid, an epic battle between the undead and an evil creature known as the Zijin is about to reach a climax. Bishop Kane is an undead bounty hunter, rescued from the grave decades ago by departed spirits called Wraiths. When the Ministry of Wraiths learns that the Zijin’s parasitic leader, the exotically beautiful Petra, is holed up in Danaid, Bishop hurries to the town fully armed. Yet Petra is not only Bishop’s longvanished daughter but the wife of Danaid’s sheriff, Sean Berlin. After Sean witnesses Bishop’s foiled attack on Petra, it will take many dead townspeople before Bishop can convince Sean to join forces with him. McNulty’s debut hits more than a few rough spots in keeping the story line afloat above nonstop flashing knives and claws, but readers who enjoy gore-laden horror will relish it."

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TV Host Says Rehab for Celebrities Rarely Works in Tell All Boo

Chronic drug user shows how to get your life back in book Cooked in LA

Media Note: PAUL COOK AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- St. Louis TV and radio personality Paul Cook knows the terror of being out of control. For Paul Cook personally, a lifetime of anxiety brought him to a single moment of stark terror: he could die, leaving his eight-months-pregnant wife alone, never seeing the baby daughter she was carrying. His subsequent journey to recover convinced him that some rehab programs are scams.

Hooked on Drugs
Since becoming hooked at a young age on painkillers because of kidney stones, he plunged from respectable, middle-class life into a nightmare of perpetual drunkenness and a relentless quest for drugs. Lying to his wife, stealing from friends and family, flying into uncontrollable rage over the smallest perceived slight, throwing up on himself in public and even doing cocaine while on the air became "normal" behavior.

Rehab a Waste of Time?
Half-hearted attempts to get help by going into rehab went nowhere when he was informed that he would have to leave his job for a month. Now Cook has little regard for the rehab route. "It’s not the most effective way to recover," he claims. Yet almost daily the media are filled with stories of yet another celebrity acting irresponsibly and then heading for rehab.

Celebrity Rehab
Britney Spears endangers her children: rehab. Lindsay Lohan carjacks an Escalade and goes on a drunken car chase. Does she go to jail? No, rehab. Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic rant lands him in rehab. Even Dr Phil "tries to bus people off to rehab" says Cook. And now we have Dennis Rodman getting fired from Celebrity Apprentice for his "drinking problem." Will he jump on the rehab bandwagon?

"Cooked in LA proves there's a better way," says Cook, one of the region's most active spokespersons on recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. He is uniquely positioned to speak to the prevalence of abuse among celebrities. He notes that Dennis Rodman's case only highlights the seriousness and pervasiveness of alcoholism.

Launch Signing at Book Soup in LA
In an ironic twist, Paul Cook will be signing Cooked in LA at LA's famous Book Soup just days after James Frey appears there. It was Frey's falsified memoir of drug abuse that prompted Cook to write his own, true memoir in the first place, so that readers would get the real story.

From Cooked in LA by Paul Cook
When the bar closes at about two am, Sean (Penn) gathers his cigarettes and glass to leave. Greg is in the bathroom; it’s just us two now.
"Hey, Sean, do you have a bump (cocaine)?" I ask.
In that one instant, his face changes completely. That huge expressivesmile quickly turns to disappointment. Watchinghis expressionturn is one of the saddest things I've ever seen.
"No, man, I have to get up early tomorrow," he says looking past me.
He walks over to the area where the middleweight champ of Prussia is and then he disappears. At first, I thought that maybe he thoughtI was a cop trying to trap him with drugs, but after a while, I realized he wasn't into drugs anymore, if he ever was, and it was sad for him to see that a guy he had bonded with was. Somehow, the movies Hurlyburly and Fast Times took over and I could see Sean Penn no other way. Or maybe it had nothing to do with those excuses and I just needed drugs.



CONTACT INFORMATION: Author Paul Cook available for interviews.
Author Paul Cook
Paul Cook
News 4 This Morning,
"Afternoons on Y98"
www.COOKEDinLA.com

Book Information:
http://www.kunati.com/cooked/Autobiography, Health
304 pages, Cloth, 5.5 x 8.5
16 B/W Photos
Distribution Rights: WOR
$24.95 (CAN $27.95)
9781601641939 (1601641931)
Pub Date: April 2009

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Victims of Abuse, Saving Whales and Helping Veterans...

Abuse survivor's memoir spotlights cover-up of unspeakable horror

Lawyer for Victims of Orphanage May Take Deposition from Pope
A "historic" decision by a US District Judge could allow lawyer William McMurry and others to take depositions from senior Vatican officials, including the Pope. The deposition involves high profile advocate, who also represents author Kim Michele Richardson, author of a tell all memoir, The Unbreakable Child, revealing abuse in a Catholic orphanage. Richardson is a plaintiff in the suit represented by William McMurry.

Judge Refuses to Dismiss Allegations
Judge Heyburn refused to dismiss allegations that the Vatican failed to report incidents of child abuse and did not warn parishioners that their children would be exposed to pedophiles. McMurry, who won the first ever financial settlement from an order of Roman Catholic nuns for decades of child abuse in the state of Kentucky, believes he will be successful again. The case is covered in Kim Michele Richardson’s book, The Unbreakable Child, a book given a rare starred review by the American Library Association’s Booklist.

Unspeakable Horror Described
Kim Michele Richardson, one of the plaintiffs in the suit against the nuns, wrote a harrowing memoir of her life in the care of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in rural Kentucky. With thousands of children in the care of the Catholic Church today, Richardson says "I hope The Unbreakable Child will serve as a strong warning so the abuse I endured will never happen to another child."

"I gagged at the smell and the feces I'd swallowed"
An excerpt from The Unbreakable Child shows graphically reveals a terrifying ordeal:
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Sizzling Hot Trailers from the Inventor of the Book Video
originally posted: July 14, 2007

In the early eighties, the principals of Kunati Books invented the book trailer. Kunati's spring and summer book trailers of 07 generated over 2 million hits to the videos on the web page.

Now, here's a sneak peak at hot new novel trailers for Kunati's Sizzling Hot Fall Releases!

Women of Magdalene
Post Civil War Historical by Rosemary Poole-Carter
The women of Magdalene are dying and no one seems to care, least of all the haughty Dr. Kingston, the director of the genteel Ladies’ Lunatic Asylum. ISBN 978-1-60164-014-7.

To View More of Kunati's famous trailers, please visit our trailer page by clicking here.

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Fan Comments on The Last Troubadour, by Derek Armstrong, from Kunati Books: "I'm a big fan!" C. Gerus

"This is the best book I've read. I mean the best ever." Jenine

“I really enjoy how you used the tarot as a form of story telling and synchronistic insight. Visceral and exciting.” M Cathcart

“I absolutely can’t wait to read book two. You grabbed me. I couldn’t put it down.” J. Friday

“Very exciting. Thank you.” J. Eckrich

"I sat down to savor. I gobbled it up in one weekend. Amazing." D. Carus

"Magnificent. Wise. Bawdy. Funny. Exciting. Tarot. What more could anyone ask?" Wise Tarot Magazine

"Don't miss this book! Derek Armstrong, get writing!! I'm ready for the sequels to this book. Very well written, engrossing, and just enough humor to balance the rather graphic description of people burning at the stake. I heartily concur with the jacket: "An author to watch"... and worth waiting for, although I want them NOW!! Great history, wonderful characterizations. So, Derek, are you ready to publish the next two books yet? This avid fan is very eagerly, but not so patiently, waiting." S Otis

"Wow!" S Fastow

"My only regret, next fall is a long time to wait for the sequel! I'm telling everyone to read!" E. McGee

"My only complaint is the ending. I didn't want it to end." B Cunningham

"I can't wait for the second book." M. Ross

"The Last Troubadour was amazing!" Ana

"Life is myth and archetypes and Armstrong depicts both with brilliance." K Harrington

"I love The Last Troubadour. It's thrilling!" S. Francis

"The Inquisition, a crusade, tarot, Cathars? I'm in! As soon as I found there was a quest for a holy relic, I was hooked, and stayed hooked until the conclusion." D. Diotalevi

"I really enjoyed it! More, please." Leslie

"if you're smart you'll get it. And love it." T Sentell

"Is it historical fiction, thriller, epic, romance, adventure, biting satire? All of the above." R Carter

"All the colors of humanity into his characters, among them duty, compassion, and humor." K Harrington

"This novel is like a house on fire. This story moves!" R. Metcalf

"Intriguing!" C Hawkes

“Itching to read the rest. Loved it.” C. Bly

“Beyond fascinating. Loved it.” E. Martin

"I have just had the enormous luck of having "The Last Troubadour - Song of Montsegur", by Derek Armstrong, cross my path. The key to this book ... at least in the eyes of most Tarotists, is that Armstrong has chosen to model his major characters after Tarot archetypes. His writing is superb, and his characters full blooded people, not two dimensional works of art on paper.

The setting for the novel is 13th century Europe, in the city of Carcassonne. The plot is one of cunning and intrigue. Part humor, history, part mystery, this rowdy, bawdy book is a marvelous read! "Bonnie

Comments from one of the biggest Tarot Forums online:
"Put this on your wish list for Christmas!"
"I loved your book!"
"My favorite character is Death. It helped me visualize the card. The whole novel is like a journey through the Tarot. Thank you."
"My only criticism is your Devil character. I have to wait for book two for the Devil? I loved it."
"Reading your book helped me overcome a block in designing my own deck. Your archetypes are perfect!"

Kunati Books was awarded Publisher of the Year 2007 at Book Expo 2008 by ForeWord Magazine. Known for controversial and edgy titles, Kunati has 80 authors published or releasing in 2008. The author list includes a Pulitzer-prize winning author, authors with movie deals and controversial titles such as Drew Peterson Exposed. Fiction titles are equally bold, focusing on issues as varied as elder care, incest, child molestation, religious intolerance, the battle for mind share between religion and science, and any topic generally considered taboo by less provocative publishers.

Woo Hoo! Fall 2008 ... ... Drew Peterson Exposed ... 24 Days to Embargo Release ... ... And a Pulitzer Prize-winning bestselling author ... ... Not to mention breakout non-fiction ...