HAPPY HOLIDAYS/NEW YEAR!

Happy Holidays/New Year from all of us here at "Literary Barbie!"

We thank you for your support throughout the year! 

Expect more from us in the coming year!

Thanks and be safe.



Literary Barbie

"Housewives" star Taylor Armstrong writing memoir

(TheWrap.com) - Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Taylor Armstrong, whose estranged husband Russell killed himself in August, is penning a memoir about her life experiences, TheWrap has confirmed.

The book, to be published by Simon & Schuster imprint Gallery Books, will be published in February 2012. It bears the tentative title "Hiding From Reality: My Story of Love, Loss, and Finding the Courage Within" and will weigh in at 272 pages.

Armstrong's husband Russell was found dead in the Los Angeles home where he was staying in August, in what the coroner's office would ultimately determine to be a suicide. Taylor had filed for divorce from Russell, a venture capitalist, the month before. He was 47.

In September, during an interview with "Entertainment Tonight"'s Nancy O'Dell, Armstrong revealed a long history of physical abuse in her marriage to Russell, noting that her estranged husband told her he was worried he might kill her at some point.

"He had mentioned he was afraid he might kill me, and I think he meant it in almost an accidental way, that he would get so angry at me at some time that he would hit me, and I would hit something, or he would grab me by the neck and something would go wrong," Armstrong said.

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Steve Martin turns tweets into book

(Reuters) - Veteran actor and comedian Steve Martin is writing a book based on his Twitter posts, with all profits going to charity, the book's publishers said on Friday.

Martin announced the book via Twitter in a tweet that said "Due to absolutely no demand, soon I'm publishing a book of my tweets. Many of your replies included! All my profits to charity."

The book will be called "The Ten, Make That Nine Habits, of Very Organized People. Make That Ten," and will be a collection of Martin's tweets as well as responses from followers, publishers Grand Central Publishing said in a statement.

The book will be called "The Ten, Make That Nine Habits, of Very Organized People. Make That Ten," and will be a collection of Martin's tweets as well as responses from followers, publishers Grand Central Publishing said in a statement.

The book is due for release in summer 2012, and all profits will go to charity.

The 66-year-old "Pink Panther" actor has embraced the social networking site, building a fan base of more than 1.7 million followers.

Martin's tweets made news in December 2010 when the actor claimed to be tweeting updates from legal proceedings at jury duty, which are usually subjected to confidentiality. He later confirmed that the tweets were false and posted as a parody.

The actor's last book, a novel called "The Object of Beauty" was published in 2010 and made the New York Times bestseller list.

Martin is currently appearing alongside Owen Wilson and Jack Black in the comedy, "The Big Year," which was released in U.S. theaters earlier this month.

Book award's mistaken nominee, 'Shine,' withdraws

(AP) — This year's National Book Awards have become a story of embarrassment a month before the winners are to be announced.

Within just a few days, children's author Lauren Myracle has been a nominee, a non-nominee, a nominee again and, finally, a non-nominee, asked to withdraw over mistakes not her own.

Myracle's "Shine" was on the original list of five finalists announced last Wednesday for the young people's literature category. But the National Book Foundation, which sponsors the prizes, cited a "miscommunication" with the judges and quickly said that her book had been confused with Franny Billingsley's "Chime." (To avoid advanced word leaking on the Internet, judges inform the foundation by telephone of their choices).

So Myracle was out.

But within a couple of hours, the foundation changed its mind again and welcomed "Shine" back to make six nominees. Meanwhile, fans were posting congratulatory notes on Myracle's Facebook page.

By Friday, the foundation had decided five nominees were best.

Myracle said Monday in a statement issued through her publisher, Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, that she was "over the moon last week after receiving the call telling me that 'Shine' was a finalist for the award."

"I was later informed that 'Shine' had been included in error but would remain on the list based on its merits," she said. "However, on Friday I was asked to withdraw by the National Book Foundation to preserve the integrity of the award and the judges' work, and I have agreed to do so."

The National Book Awards, among the country's most prestigious literary honors, also include categories for fiction, nonfiction and poetry, judged by separate panels of fellow authors. Winners will be announced Nov. 16.

In a statement released early Monday afternoon, the foundation said that it "regrets that an error was made in the original announcement of the finalists for the 2011 National Book Award in Young People's
Literature and apologizes for any confusion and hurt it may have caused Lauren Myracle."

Speaking to The Associated Press earlier on Monday, foundation executive director Harold Augenbraum would not comment directly on whether Myracle had been asked to pull out but said, "We agree with her that the integrity of the judging process means the five selections by the judges need to be the National Book Award finalists."

Myracle, known for her candid and explicit takes on teen and tween life, tells of a hate crime against a teenage boy in "Shine." In her statement Monday, she noted that the book foundation would be donating $5,000 to the Matthew Shepard Foundation, named for the Wyoming youth, who was murdered in 1998.

Myracle, 42, is a highly praised and controversial author. She is the winner of several awards and often is on lists of books most frequently challenged by parents and educators. Her other books include "TTYL," based on transcripts of instant messages among high school girls, and "Thirteen," about the life of a 13-year-old girl.

By Monday afternoon, a (hash)isupportshine hash tag had been set up on Twitter. Messages of sympathy were filling Myracle's Facebook page, and sales for "Shine" picked up enough that its ranking on Amazon.com jumped from No. 1,976 early Monday to No. 263.

Myracle's publisher, Susan Van Metre, said this week was one of "of extraordinary highs and lows."

"Throughout, all of us at Amulet and Abrams have remained in complete support of our amazing author, who has published great, groundbreaking books with our house for almost a decade," Van Metre said in a statement. "We are so proud of 'Shine,' a beautiful and important book, and of Lauren, not least for her grace in such a difficult week."

Van Metre encouraged the National Book Foundation to review its procedures for transmitting award information between the judges and the staff and to authors and the public so "a painful error like this doesn't happen again."


*Can you say what a crock of %$%$%!!*

Penny Marshall has book deal with Amazon.com

(AP) — Filmmaker-actress Penny Marshall has a book deal with a fresh twist: The publisher is Amazon.com.

Marshall's agent, Dan Strone, announced Tuesday that the online retailer would release Marshall's memoir "My Mother Was Nuts" in Fall 2012. Marshall is still remembered fondly for co-starring in the 1970s sitcom "Laverne and Shirley" and she is among the few women directors to have major commercial success in Hollywood, her big screen hits including "Big" and "A League of Their Own."
According to Strone, Marshall will also write about ex-husband Rob Reiner, her friendship with John Belushi and her fight against lung and brain cancer in 2009.

"I can't say I'm excited about the Yankees losing, or there not being a basketball season yet, but I am excited about writing this book," Marshall said in a statement. "People have always asked me how I got from the Bronx to Hollywood, so I thought it was time to tell how it all happened. I have had many lives —not in the Shirley MacLaine sense — and you will hear about them all. Just don't expect any recipes. I don't cook."

Marshall's memoir will be available as a hardcover and an e-book. Strone told The Associated Press that several publishers bid, but that Amazon "won the auction." He declined to offer financial details, but said that Amazon's offer was "a lot" and that it also agreed — as it usually does — to a much higher royalty on e-books than the 25 percent traditionally given by publishers.

"It was a decision whether to go with old school or new school," said Strone, CEO of Trident Media Group. He added that he had a history of working with the head of Amazon Publishing, Laurence J. Kirshbaum, who as CEO of Warner Books published another Strone client, Jon Stewart.

Amazon, which has been steadily expanding its publishing operations, recently signed a deal with best-selling self-help author Timothy Ferris and on Tuesday announced that it had started an imprint for science fiction, fantasy and horror. Publishers and booksellers have been worried about Amazon's dual roles as client and competitor and rival stores have expressed strong reservations about selling books released by Amazon.

Amazon Publishing editorial director Julia Cheiffetz said she regarded Marshall as a "trailblazer" in show business and that she hoped to find "new and innovative" ways for Marshall to reach readers.
Amazon has angered stores by signing deals with authors that make the online retailer the exclusive seller, but Cheiffetz said that Amazon intended "to make this book available to any retailer that would like to carry it in physical or digital format."

Rocker and romancer Rod Stewart to publish memoir

(Reuters) - Rod Stewart, the raspy-voiced rocker, will publish his memoirs next year, promising to "hold nothing back" in detailing a career in which he sold more than a 100 million records, survived cancer and romanced a string of blond bombshells.

Stewart's book, which is yet to be titled but will be published worldwide by Random House, comes as he has toned down his rock and roll act, concentrating on remaking standards by everyone from Cole Porter to George Gershwin.

Due out in October 2012, the book follows renewed interest in rock autobiographies thanks to bestsellers by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards and an upcoming release by Neil Young.

Stewart, 66, rose to superstar fame with a string of hits, including "Maggie May," "Tonight's The Night," "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," and "Some Guys Have All The Luck." Over his 50-year music career, he has had 31 top-10 singles in Britain and 16 top-10 singles in the United States.

"It is a funny old thing telling my life story but I truly intend to hold nothing back," Stewart said in a statement. "Forget skeletons in the closet; this one's going to be socks and knickers under the bed."

Born in North London, Stewart left school at 15 and had his start with The Ray Davies Quartet, which later become The Kinks, before his first big break in 1967 when he teamed up with the Jeff Beck Group, where he joined Jeff Beck of the Yardbirds and Ronnie Wood, who went on to join The Rolling Stones.

Stewart subsequently took his spiky, rooster-style hair and working class songs to a new London supergroup, Faces, joined by Wood. He struck it big with his 1971 with his mega-hit "Maggie May" on his solo "Every Picture Tells A Story" album.

From there, his career caught fire as he alternated solo work with tours and albums with the Faces, even as his personal life began making tabloid headlines.

Moving to the United States in the mid-seventies and concentrating on his solo career, Stewart began wearing new wave suits and cemented his reputation as a playboy, dating Swedish actress Britt Ekland, model Bebe Buell and Alana Hamilton, another model whom he eventually married.

Stewart and Hamilton had two children before divorcing in 1984. He had another child with Kelly Emberg, and then married supermodel Rachel Hunter in 1990. The couple, who had two children, divorced in 2006.

He finally married Penny Lancaster, yet another blond model, and fathered two more children.

Stewart once said Brigitte Bardot was the only woman he'd ever had a sexual fantasy about. "With me, looks come first, and she's everything a woman should be. She's blond and beautiful, she's got the most incredible legs, etc. etc. And she's French as well."

An inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and recipient of the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Stewart was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, threatening his life and his career. He underwent throat surgery in 2000, and since then has been an active fundraiser for cancer charities.

Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet sign on for audio books

(TheWrap.com) - Starting early next year, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet, Kim Basinger and a host of other stars will be available to read you a bedtime story.






Audio-book company Audible.com announced Friday that it's launching a new line of audio books read by some of Hollywood's biggest talents, including the above names.

Also participating in the line: Jennifer Connolly (who'll read Paul Bowles' "The Sheltering Sky"), Dustin Hoffman (who's tacking Jerzy Kosinski's "Being There") and Samuel L. Jackson (who shall recite Chester Himes' "A Rage in Harlem" -- to which he'll hopefully bring the same panache as his reading of "Go the F--- to Sleep.")

Audible.com will announce further participants in the series later this year, while the company will begin to roll out titles from the line in early 2012.

Other celebrities confirmed include Annette Bening, Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Meg Ryan, Susan Sarandon and Naomi Watts.

'The Color Purple' finally released as an e-book

(AP) — Alice Walker's "The Color Purple," a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1983 and still a widely taught and talked about novel, is finally coming out as an e-book.

But not through a traditional publisher.

Open Road Integrated Media, the digital company co-founded two years ago by former HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman, has reached an agreement with Walker to release the electronic version of "The Color Purple" and most of her other work.

New editions of "The Color Purple" and the novels "The Temple of My Familiar" and "Possessing the Secret of Joy" were released Tuesday. On Nov. 22, eight more books will be published. The e-books will include author interviews, photographs and personal documents.

Walker is best known for "The Color Purple," set in rural Georgia in the 1930s. It was adapted into a 1985 Steven Spielberg film of the same name and more recently into a Broadway musical.

"I love reading a good book while flying through the air," Walker said in a statement. "I've traveled all my life and have visited many of the faraway places I dreamed of as a child: India, Australia, Bali, South Africa, Iceland, etc. On each journey I've carried books. Books that taught me a lot, while engaging my sense of wonder, but that got heavier and heavier! Open Road promises to be a way for my books to accompany travelers on their own journeys of exploration and learning."

Open Road has previously acquired e-rights to such best-sellers as Pat Conroy's "The Prince of Tides" and William Styron's "Darkness Visible" by offering royalty rates of 50 percent, double what traditional publishers usually offer, and by promising aggressive promotion.

"Open Road has the best technical know-how and best forward-moving energy. I love the way all the people I've worked with express and carry themselves: with confidence and enthusiasm but also with a sense of experience. They have a track record," Walker said.

"If this were not enough, there is a sense, lacking often in publishing, of connectedness with the author, of all of us being in this adventure together, wanting it to be the best."

Walker's agent, Wendy Weil, wrote in an email that "with e-book publishing bursting into popularity during the last two years, this seemed to be the perfect time and e-publisher to market her backlist successfully."

As the digital market rapidly grows, agents and publishers have disagreed over older books, with agents saying that the contracts did not cover e-books because the format didn't yet exist and publishers saying such rights were implicit.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which originally published "The Color Purple" and the other works being issued electronically by Open Road, did not immediately return phone and email requests for comment Monday.



Literary Barbie
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Sarah Palin threatens to sue author of "Rogue" book

(Reuters) - Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin threatened on Monday to sue the author and publisher of an unflattering biography she said was filled with "lies and rumors presented as fact."

The book by veteran political writer Joe McGinniss, "The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin," was published last week as speculation mounted about whether the Republican conservative firebrand would launch a late bid for her party's presidential nomination in 2012.

A letter from Palin's lawyer said McGinniss and Crown Publishing faced possible legal action for defaming the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee.

The letter advises the author and Crown to refrain from destroying any e-mail correspondence that might serve as evidence in such a lawsuit. Crown is owned by German-based media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG.

"This book contains a series of lies and rumors presented as fact and combined with 'anonymous' sources," said the letter, sent by Palin attorney John Tiemessen.

As evidence of the malice a successful defamation suit would likely have to show, the letter cited an e-mail from McGinniss to an Alaska political blogger in which he expressed skepticism about unsubstantiated reports pertaining to Palin's personal life that Tiemessen said were included in the book.

"The final work that was published contains most of the stories that Mr. McGinniss complains were nothing more than 'tawdry gossip' that amounted to the wishful fantasies of disturbed individuals," Tiemessen's letter said.

Tiemessen, reached at his Fairbanks, Alaska, office, declined to discuss the subject further. McGinniss could not immediately be reached for comment.

Palin's husband, Todd, issued a statement about McGinniss and his book before it was released, saying the author had a "creepy obsession with my wife."

Among the more sensational allegations contained in the book is an account of a one-night stand Palin is purported to have had as a 23-year-old unmarried sports reporter with a future professional basketball player.

But most of the book is devoted to Palin's actions as mayor of Wasilla and governor of Alaska, up to her abrupt resignation from that post in July 2009.

The book portrays Palin as fascinated with celebrity and self-advancement but disinterested in governing.



Literary Barbie
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Brad Paisley to release first book Nov. 1

(AP) — Country superstar Brad Paisley is set to release his first book on Nov. 1.

It's called "Diary of a Player" and shows how the guitar gods of country, blues and rock 'n' roll have shaped his life.

Paisley tells The Associated Press he can't imagine his life if he never learned to play the guitar. His grandfather gave him his first six-string at age 8.

Paisley is the reigning Country Music Association entertainer of the year. He has sold over 11 million albums and charted 20 No. 1 singles, including his most recent duet with Carrie Underwood, "Remind
Me."

The book is co-written with Rolling Stone contributing editor David Wild and published by Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

Scientology book author reveals church's inner workings

(TheWrap.com) - Scientology operates more as a business than as a church, relying on techniques perfected by car salesmen to attract new members and celebrities to its rolls.

That's just one of the takeaways from Janet Reitman's controversial book about the world's most controversial and secretive religion. "Inside Scientology" chronicles L. Ron Hubbard's creation of Scientology six decades ago and traces its development into the faith of choice for movie stars such as John Travolta and Tom Cruise.

In an interview with TheWrap, Reitman, a Rolling Stone contributing editor, addressed blackmail rumors and talked about why Kabbalah may represent a bigger threat to it than any "South Park" parody.

Q: Is Scientology still a big religion in celebrity circles?

Reitman: I totally think that celebrity Scientologists are hesitant to be public about it these days, but I don't think they've ever had as many celebrities as people think. There are really very few. Cruise is a big celebrity. Travolta is a long-time celebrity. Jenna Elfman had a TV show, but most of these people aren't huge celebrities. Kabbalah has gotten the superstars. Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Madonna -- those are big stars.

Q: How effective has Cruise been as the public face of Scientology?
A: I don't believe he's been an effective face in terms of getting new members, but he's been very effective in terms of getting the existing members excited. There was a specific strategy in place to make Cruise into the model Scientologist. It was a promotional strategy and it's been good and bad.

Existing members are not necessarily aware of how the church is perceived. They are told they should not read newspapers, they would not have watched the "South Park" episode that makes fun of them, and they would not have read the magazine article that became the basis for my book. So from their viewpoint, Cruise's behavior would be perceived completely differently than what we see. It would have made them really excited to see him jumping on Oprah's couch.

Q: There are all these rumors that celebrities like Cruise remain Scientologists because the church knows all their secrets and they fear blackmail. Any truth to that?
A: I didn't go into that too much in my book, but it seems obvious. They have the goods on everybody. A great part of the Scientology experience is the confession that happens in the auditing experience. You are constantly being asked to write up your transgressions, maybe even your unspoken transgressions. They know everything about you. They would know everything about Cruise in the same way that they would know everything about me if I were a member.

Q: How is the celebrity experience different than that of average Scientologists?
A: Basically to ensure that they have a happy experience, are shielded from anything negative. They have church appointed minders who guide them through the process. They have no idea the level of control they're under. If Scientology is a parallel universe than this is really a parallel universe.

There's been a celebrity strategy since the mid-'80s. They are seen as cash cows, as these amazing emotional tools. It's very savvy what's going on, so it's not surprising that celebrities are treated in a wonderful way, a way that's very different than an average member. They are often looked at as more important than the clergy. You have these people who have been serving the church for 35 years who have to salute Tom Cruise and call him sir.

Q: Why do you think Scientology remains so controversial?
A: I think it has to do with its history of secrecy and also its history of litigiousness. I do think that's changed slightly. In so many ways it tries to not be so secretive anymore. It tries to be less aggressive than it was in the past. You don't see them filing those giant lawsuits any longer. I think it's a residual effect. They pled guilt to conspiracy once. They conducted a domestic espionage operation. And you have all these people who left the church coming out about their experience.

Q: What shocked you the most about Scientology?

A: I didn't expect to find out how much of a business they were. They are almost like a multi-level marketing firm. They have a very shrewd marketing sense. They are drilled on how to sell. They use a book written by a car salesman that talks about sure-fire sales techniques and it shows you how to close the deal. It's an essential part of their training.

*This ladies and gentlemen is very interesting, as scientology is huge with celebrities. However, when it comes to "true" religion, I think we all know where "we" stand.*

Book Talk: Baldacci turns to family drama in new book

(Reuters) - Best-selling author David Baldacci is known for penning page-turners such as "The Simple Truth," "Split Second" and "The Sixth Man," in which he guides readers through mysteries at the highest levels of power.

His latest novel, "One Summer," is a family drama, a genre Baldacci explored in short stories before his debut novel "Absolute Power" made him a star in 1996.

"One Summer" follows Jack Armstrong, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, as he tries to keep his family together following the sudden death of his wife and his own life-threatening battle with a mysterious illness.

Baldacci spoke with Reuters about the stylistic departure.

Q: How did you get the idea for this book?

A: "I was at church for my son's confirmation, and I'd gotten there early because my wife had asked me to save some seats for friends and family, so I had some time to think. I had a lot of things going on with my family at the time. My dad had passed away a year earlier. My mom was ill. My daughter was getting ready to head off to college. And I was thinking about my mortality, and this story hit me and unspooled before me -- the premise, the plot, the theme. I had to write it, and spent the next three months doing just that."

Q: "One Summer" is much different than the thrillers for which you're known. What types of challenges did you face in writing the book?

A: "In some ways it was liberating. I didn't have to lay out a lot of red herrings and clues. I could delve more deeply into the characters. Obviously, it's a different sort of genre. But those sorts of stories were what I started with. I wrote short stories for 10 years before I became a thriller writer, and their themes were more like the themes explored in 'One Summer.'"

Q: When do you know you have an idea worthy of a book?

A: "Usually, I rattle it around my head for a month. Earlier in my career I'd get an idea and say 'Great!' But when I'd start the next book I'd realize I didn't have enough material to justify a novel. As I'm thinking about the book, I need to layer the story to have plot and sub-plot, and then I have to think about the characters that could inhabit the story. And if all of that passes my litmus test, which is a feeling, an instinct in which I know I have enough material, I sit down and write it."

Q: What is it you hope readers feel when finished reading your books?
A: "Well, first of all, I hope they find it was an entertaining story that kept them engrossed as they went through the story with the characters. And I hope, with my thrillers especially, that they feel a little bit smarter than they were before they read the book. So if they feel smarter and feel like they've lived the story with the characters then I feel I've met all my goals as a writer."

Q: You're prolific. How often do you write?
A: "While I love to write, I don't write every day, because for me it's a waste of time. Some writers stare at the page or screen until it comes. For me, that means I haven't thought the story through enough. I don't have an official word count that I work with. Some days I'll write 100 words, and some days I'll write 5,000 words."

Q: Will novels survive?

A: "Oh, absolutely. The world is a story and people have been engaged by stories forever. That's how families swapped tales of each other. I think if books go away then humanity goes away, and I don't think anyone wants that."

C.J CALETT IS BACK WITH MORE BITCHITUDE!

Bestselling author C.J. Calett just released another book in the bitchitude series for the fat girls.  (fatitude)

However, we hear another version  for the "fat girls" is only dedicated to the fat girls. So watch out BBW C.J. is dedicating one solely to you. (fattitude)

Look out for "BEWARE OF MY "Fat Ass" BITCHITUDE: It's All About The Fatitude." and "BEWARE OF MY "Fat Ass" BITCHITUDE: It's All About The Fattitude."


Get them today at amazon.

xoxo$^$
Literary Barbie

HAPPY "LITERARY 4TH" OF JULY!

We hope everyone has a fabulous 4th of July with love and fun!

It's about celebrating family, people, and honor.

Be safe.

xoxo$^$
Literary Barbie

Kate Middleton related to author Jane Austen

(Reuters) - Prince William's bride Kate Middleton is a distant relation of British novelist Jane Austen, genealogy website Ancestry.com said on Tuesday.





Ancestry.com said that the new Duchess of Cambridge and the author of "Pride and Prejudice" are 11th cousins, six times removed due to their 15th century common ancestor Henry Percy, who was the 2nd Earl of Northumberland.

The family history research group said the connection was fitting given Austen's many female characters who fall in love with, or aspire to marry, men of higher rank.

Middleton, 29, a commoner with no aristocratic background, married Prince William -- second in line to the
British throne -- in April after a nine-year romance. She is now formally known as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

"Finding this connection between the Duchess of Cambridge and Jane Austen is very exciting since, in many ways, Catherine is the modern Jane Austen heroine: a middle class girl marrying the future King of England," said Anastasia Harman, lead family historian for Ancestry.com.

"Jane Austen may have written about happily-ever-after but it seems Catherine has found a nonfiction hero to spend her life with -- far past the epilogue," Harman added.

Born in England in 1775, Jane Austen is one of the best-known novelists and social satirists in the world with works like "Sense and Sensibility", "Emma" and "Persuasion." She never married.

*I think we are related to someone.*

Self-help author convicted of negligent homicide

(AP) A self-help guru was found guilty of three counts of negligent homicide Wednesday in a case that shined a spotlight on a deadly Arizona sweat lodge ceremony that ended in chaos, with participants vomiting, shaking and being dragged outside.



Jurors reached their verdict with remarkable swiftness: They took less than 10 hours to convict James Arthur Ray following a four-month trial that included hundreds of exhibits and countless hours of testimony.

The eight men and four women were given the option of convicting Ray of manslaughter but decided on the lesser charge instead. He faces a sentence ranging from probation to nearly 12 years in prison.

Ray fought back emotion as the verdict was read. His parents and brother sat behind him, while victims' friends and family members held hands and looked on from across the courtroom.

Prosecutors asked that Ray be taken into custody immediately, but the judge denied their request.

More than 50 people participated in the October 2009 sweat lodge that was meant to be the highlight of Ray's five-day "Spiritual Warrior" seminar near Sedona.

Three people died following the sauna-like ceremony aimed at providing spiritual cleansing. Eighteen people were hospitalized, while several others were given water to cool down at the scene.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys disagreed over whether the deaths and illnesses were caused by heat or unknown toxins. Ray's attorneys have maintained they were a tragic accident. Prosecutors argued Ray recklessly caused the fatalities.

Ray used the sweat lodge as a way for participants to break through whatever was holding them back in life.
He warned participants in a recording of the event played during the trial that the sweat lodge would be "hellacious" and that participants were guaranteed to feel like they were dying but would do so only metaphorically.

"The true spiritual warrior has conquered death and therefore has no fear or enemies in this lifetime or the next, because the greatest fear you'll ever experience is the fear of what? Death," Ray said in the recording.
"You will have to get a point to where you surrender and it's OK to die."

Witnesses have described the scene following the two-hour sweat lodge ceremony as alarming and chaotic, with people vomiting and shaking violently, while others dragged "lifeless" and "barely breathing" participants outside. Volunteers performed CPR.

More than 20 people were transported to hospitals. Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., and James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee died upon arrival. Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn., slipped into a coma and died more than a week later.

In court Wednesday, members of Neuman's family and a friend of Brown held hands and smiled when the verdict was read.

"Justice was served in there," Neuman's ex-husband, Randy Neuman, said later.

Mika Cutler, who Brown visited in Moab, Utah, the week before the ceremony, said: "There was not a moment in my mind that I didn't think he (Ray) was responsible for this tragedy."

Ray quickly left the courtroom with his family after the hearing, saying "No, not at this time" when asked if he had any comment.

Ray's attorneys maintained the deaths were nothing but a tragic accident, and said Ray took all the necessary precautions to ensure participants' safety. They contend authorities botched the investigation and failed to consider that toxins or poisons contributed to the deaths and called two witnesses to support that argument.

Prosecutors relied heavily on Ray's own words to try to convince the jury that he was responsible for the deaths. They said a reasonable person would have stopped the "abomination of a sweat lodge" when participants began exhibiting signs of distress about halfway through the ceremony.

Sweat lodges typically are used by American Indians to rid the body of toxins by pouring water over heated rocks in the structure.

Prosecutors have lined up nine witnesses to testify at a hearing next week that will determine whether any aggravating circumstances factor into Ray's sentencing. The circumstances include Ray's position of trust with the defendants, and any emotional or financial suffering by the victims' families, according to documents filed by prosecutors.

Ray became a self-help superstar by using his charismatic personality and convincing people his words would lead them to spiritual and financial wealth. He used free talks to recruit people to expensive seminars like the Sedona retreat that led to the sweat lodge tragedy. Participants paid up to $10,000 for the five-day program intended to push people beyond their physical and emotional limits.

Ray's popularity soared after appearing in the 2006 Rhonda Byrne documentary "The Secret," and Ray promoted it on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Larry King Live."

But his multimillion-dollar self-help empire was thrown into turmoil with the sweat lodge deaths. Ray ended his seminars shortly after but has continued to offer advice throughout his trial via the Internet and social networking sites.

*Look where to much ego will get you!*

Tina Fey's 'Bossypants' among Amazon.com favorites

Amazon.com's favorite books for this year so far run the gamut from Fey (FAY') to Z.

Editors for the online retailer cite Tina Fey's best-selling essay collection, "Bossypants," as one of the top 10 books for the first half of 2011.

Fey is named first — because the list is alphabetical by author. Last is "Lost in Shangri-La," Mitchell Zuckoff's account of plane crash survivors in New Guinea.

Other favorites announced Monday include Joshua Foer's memory experiment, "Moonwalking With Einstein"; Tea Obreht's debut novel, "The Tiger's Wife"; and Erik Larson's account of the first American ambassador to Nazi Germany, "In the Garden of Beasts."

Harry Potter wizard series to be sold as e-books

(AP) Harry Potter battled the forces of evil and now is set to conquer the web — coming to e-books in a groundbreaking deal that has delighted fans but alarmed the book industry that helped make creator J.K. Rowling a billionaire.



Rowling announced Thursday that her seven novels about the boy wizard will be sold for the first time as e-books, beginning in October, exclusively through a new online portal to her wizarding world called "Pottermore."

The deal brings longtime e-book refusnik Rowling into the digital fold, but comes as a bitter potion to established booksellers, who will be shut out of the latest chapter of a vastly profitable saga.

"You can't hold back progress," Rowling told reporters in London. "E-books are here and they are here to stay."

The Potter novels will be available as audiobooks and e-books in multiple languages, initially including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese. Prices have yet to be set. The "Pottermore" website, meanwhile, is an immersive online environment that combines elements of a role-playing game and a digital encyclopedia with social networking and an online store.

By selling directly to fans, Rowling is bypassing established online retailers like Amazon, although the creators of "Pottermore" say the books will be compatible with popular e-readers including Amazon's Kindle, Sony's Reader and Apple's iPad.

Tom Turcan, chief operating officer of the new venture, Pottermore Ltd., said Rowling wanted "to make the books available to everybody, not to make them available only to people who own a particular set of devices, or tethered to a particular set of platforms."

Phil Jones, deputy editor of The Bookseller, a London-based trade magazine, said cutting out retailers was a gamble — but if anyone can pull that off, it would be Rowling. The 45-year-old British author has retained the electronic publishing rights to her books, which have sold 450 million copies around the world in paper form.

"Only Rowling could do this," he said. "I don't think any other author could launch their own site and get fans to buy e-books through it. And I think she will succeed. I think she will get hordes of fans on the site and sell hundreds of thousands of e-books."

Booksellers hope the e-books will further boost sales of the printed Potter books, but have otherwise been cut out of the electronic future of the mega-successful series.

Jon Howells, spokesman for Britain's Waterstone's chain, said the Harry Potter book launches, which for years drew throngs of fans in wizard garb to midnight store openings, "have become the stuff of legend at Waterstone's and other booksellers."

"We're therefore disappointed that, having been a key factor in the growth of the Harry Potter phenomenon since the first book was published, the book trade is effectively banned from selling the long-awaited e-book editions," he said.

"Pottermore" had been the subject of intense speculation among fans since it appeared on the Internet with the words "coming soon." Rowling revealed Thursday it is a website designed to immerse users in her intricately crafted world of wizards and magic.

The site lets fans delve into Harry Potter's beloved Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They can shop for wands in Diagon Alley, travel to Hogwarts from the imaginary Platform 9 3/4 at London's King's Cross train station and be sorted into Hogwarts school houses by the perceptive Sorting Hat.

Along the way are wand fights, games and new information about characters beloved around the world, including Harry's boorish relatives, the Dursleys.

The website also features 18,000 words of new Potter material from Rowling, who said it will have "information I have been hoarding for years" about the books' characters and settings. The level of detail is sure to please fans of Potter minutiae, who have been sharing their enthusiasm online for years.

"I go into ridiculous detail about wand woods," Rowling said.
 
"Pottermore" was trademarked in 2009 by Warner Bros., which distributes the Potter movies. But the site is a partnership with Sony Corp. and its online shop is described as "a potential outlet for Sony products."
 
Rowling spokesman Mark Hutchinson said Sony was selected as "the most appropriate partner."
 
The site goes live on July 31 — which as true fans know is Harry Potter's birthday — when 1 million registered users will be chosen through an online competition to help flesh out the Pottermore world. Visitors can register now to enter that competition.
 
The site will be open to all users from October, in languages including English, French, German and Spanish.
Initially it will follow the plotline of the first book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," with the six other adventures added later.
 
"(It's) a way I can be creative in a medium that didn't exist when I started the books back in 1990," Rowling told reporters. She said it was a way to incorporate the thousands of "stories, drawings, ideas, suggestions" she still receives from fans four years after the last Potter book was published.
 
Potter fans should be delighted by the new digital world, but Rowling said she wanted to keep the emphasis of the site firmly on the written word.
 
"We've had a lot of requests for online games," she said. "I wanted to pull it back to reading."
 
The seven Harry Potter novels have made Rowling one of the world's richest women, with a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine at $1 billion.
 
The last book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was published in 2007, and Rowling said she still has no plans to write an eighth. But she said Pottermore was a way to reconnect with a character and a universe she loved.
 
"It is exactly like an ex-boyfriend," Rowling said. "Finishing writing Harry — I have only ever cried in that way and that much when my mother died. I have never cried for a man the way I cried for Harry Potter."
 
There may yet be another Potter book — a long-anticipated encyclopedia. Rowling said she was still considering compiling one, with the proceeds going to charity.
 
"Will there ever be an encyclopedia?" Rowling said. "Possibly."
 
The final Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2," has its world premiere in London on July 7. Hutchinson said timing of the website announcement had nothing to do with the Warner Bros. movie.

*The Diva has done it again!*

Rowling set to unveil new Harry Potter venture

(Reuters) – Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling will unveil her latest venture involving the boy wizard Thursday, ending fevered speculation among fans about what comes next.



Having announced a new website (www.pottermore.com), the British author has kept its contents a closely guarded secret, giving previews to just a handful of the biggest fan sites who have been sworn to silence.

All will be revealed Thursday, with a countdown clock linked to the website indicating that it will go live at noon London time (7 a.m. ET).

"The owls are gathering ... Find out why soon" is all the link says.

What many Potter fans would like most would be an eighth novel to follow on from the seventh and "final" installment "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" published in 2007.

But Rowling's publicist has already made clear that it would not involve a new book.

The seven-novel series has sold more than 400 million copies worldwide, and, along with the blockbuster movie franchise, turned Rowling into the world's wealthiest writer.

Other options on the website include a social networking fan site, an online game or the launch of the novels as ebooks.

The announcement comes just a few weeks ahead of the theatrical release on July 15 of the eighth and final Harry Potter film which will be shown in 3D. The seven movies released so far have grossed $6.4 billion in ticket sales..


*She's at it again!*

New comic book to tell Martha Stewart's life story!

Martha Stewart's media aspirations just got bigger: Meet Martha Stewart, comic-book heroine.

The woman who created her own media empire — television, magazines and more — is getting a biographical treatment in her own comic book next month.



"Female Force: Martha Stewart," a one-shot issue from Bluewater Productions Inc. to be sold in comic book shops, bookstores and online, will focus on how Stewart rose to become of the nation's best-known purveyors of home decor, cooking and confident but practical living.

It's the latest in a line of titles from the Vancouver, Wash.-based publisher, with previous subjects in the
"Female Force" family of titles focusing on Hillary Rodham Clinton, Michelle Obama, Barbara Walters, Sarah Palin and Margaret Thatcher, among others.

Publisher Darren G. Davis said the comic, written by C.W. Cooke, will look at all sides of Stewart, including her rapport with fans as well as her conviction on insider trading.

"Our goal is to show the behind-the scenes machinations — many of them ignored by the mainstream media — that resulted in Martha Stewart becoming the phenomenon she is," he said.

A comic book, he said, was the perfect way to do that.

"A visual medium provides perspective that is not only accessible but more relatable to the average person without losing any of the information involved," Davis said.

Cooke said he wrote the issue because Stewart embodies the "American Dream" and "sounds like a superhero," too.

"I am writing Martha Stewart as both icon and from a perspective of someone who might see her as callous, calculating and scheming," he said.

Cooke notes that in addition to being a businesswoman, entrepreneur and famous brand name, Stewart has been a model and a small business owner.

"She's been to jail and she's come out unscathed," he said. "She sounds like a superhero, but really, Martha is an amazing human being and I hope readers love learning about her as much as I did."

DEJUNA BARNES: Avante Garde Diva!

 American write who played an important part in the development of 20th century english language modernist writing and was one of the key figures in 1920s and 30s bohemian Pars after filling a similar role in the Greenwich Villge of the teens. Her novel Nightwood became a cult work of modern fiction, helped by an introduction by T.S. Elliot It stands out today for its portrayal of lesbian themes and its distinctive writing style. Since Barnes's death, interest in her work has grown and many of her books are back in print.

SEEN FROM THE "L"

SO SHE stands—nude—stretching dully
Two amber combs loll through her hair
A vague molested carpet pitches
Down the dusty length of stair.
She does not see, she does not care
It’s always there.

The frail mosaic on her window
Facing starkly toward the street
Is scribbled there by tipsy sparrows—
Etched there with their rocking feet.
Is fashioned too, by every beat
  Of shirt and sheet.

Sill her clothing is less risky
Than her body in its prime,
They are chain-stitched and so is she
Chain-stitched to her soul for time.
Ravelling grandly into vice
Dropping crooked into rhyme.
Slipping through the stitch of virtue,
       Into crime.

Though her lips are vague as fancy
In her youth—
They bloom vivid and repulsive
As the truth.
Even vases in the making
    Are uncouth.

*We love this literary diva! She was different and very much did her literary thing. Give props to the avante-garde diva her self; "Djuna Barnes!*

xoxo$^$
Literary Barbie

William Faulkner And Mina Loy's Love Child!

If William Faulkner And Mina Loy gave birth to a poem what would it be like? Do you think it would be poetic or poetically dysfunctional?



















We believe it would be both as both poets were very eclectic in nature and bithed amazing poetry by themselves.

Here's what we think their love child would be read like: Here's two poems interwined by two amazing poets with two differient styles.

Get your read on with "Sappics And Gertrude Stein"; now known as "Sappics of Gertrude Stein."

So it is: sleep comes not on my eyelids.

Nor in my eyes, with shaken hair and white

Aloof pale hands, and lips and breasts of iron,

So she beholds me.

*Curie
of the laboratory
of vocabulary
she crushed
the tonnage
of consciousness
congealed to phrases
to extract
a radium of the word*

And yet though sleep comes not to me, there comes

A vision from the full smooth brow of sleep,

The white Aphrodite moving unbounded

   By her own hair.

*Curie
of the laboratory
of vocabulary
she crushed
the tonnage
of consciousness
congealed to phrases
to extract
a radium of the word*

In the purple beaks of the doves that draw her,

Beaks straight without desire, necks bent backward

Toward Lesbos and the flying feet of Loves

   Weeping behind her.

*Curie
of the laboratory
of vocabulary
she crushed
the tonnage
of consciousness
congealed to phrases
to extract
a radium of the word*
She looks not back, she looks not back to where

The nine crowned muses about Apollo

Stand like nine Corinthian columns singing

   In clear evening.

*Curie
of the laboratory
of vocabulary
she crushed
the tonnage
of consciousness
congealed to phrases
to extract
a radium of the word*

She sees not the Lesbians kissing mouth

To mouth across lute strings, drunken with singing,

Nor the white feet of the Oceanides

   Shining and unsandalled.

*Curie
of the laboratory
of vocabulary
she crushed
the tonnage
of consciousness
congealed to phrases
to extract
a radium of the word*
Before her go cryings and lamentations

Of barren women, a thunder of wings,

While ghosts of outcast Lethean women, lamenting,

   Stiffen the twilight.

*Curie
of the laboratory
of vocabulary
she crushed
the tonnage
of consciousness
congealed to phrases
to extract
a radium of the word*

  











xoxo$^$
Literary Barbie

Jennifer Hudson writing book about weight loss

(Hollywood Reporter) – Add author to Jennifer Hudson's resume.

The Academy Award-winning actress and singer has inked a deal with Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Group, to pen a memoir detailing her struggles with weight. The still-untitled book, due in January 2012, will also expand on how she shed 80 lbs (36 kg)



Hudson has had her share of weight issues. Dubbed "the big girl" as a contestant on season 3 of "American Idol," she transformed her body for her Oscar-winning turn as Effie in "Dreamgirls" by gaining more than 20 lbs (9 kg). She signed on as a Weight Watchers spokeswoman last year and has since gone from a size 16 to a svelte size 6.

"I'm in the best shape of my life!" she recently gushed to People. Still, she admitted, "In my head, I am still the same weight I was before, It takes a while to get used to it." But one thing is certain. Said Hudson, "This is the way I want to be and the way I want to stay!"

Hudson released her second album, "I Remember Me," in March. The set has sold 338,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

*I am so proud of Jennifer Hudson for taking care of herself. She has really stepped up to the plate and did what many Americans are sometimes afraid to do.  Now a book! How fabulous! I can't wait to read it and experience what she went through in order to find her happiness.*

xoxo$^$
Literary Barbie

SOME OF WHAT WE'RE INTO!

My team and I love to read! 

Our list of faves extends from here to China.  What we love to read is a variety of books by many different authors.

One of our classic faves is by author/poet "Mina Loy."  She wrote a book of poetry titled "Lunar Baedeker." It's and awesome read! Highly recommended.

We love our classics as well as some of today's hottest writers, like; "Relentless Aaron-which he writes in the street lit grenre; "Jodi Picoult" and of course the diva her self "Daniell Steel" as well as many others.


*As a "Literary Barbie" aka "Literary Diva of Blogtalk Radio; you have to be diverse in your literature. Being well read on numerous diverse books by different authors goes along way. Never forget that!*

 

xoxo$^$

Literary Barbie

LITERARY BARBIE! I couldn't resist!

Thanks to the article by beware of my bitchitude, it has given me a whole new name (Literary Barbie)! 

How cool is that!!

Keep with what your "literary barbie" is doing in the literary world!

xoxo$^$
Literary Barbie