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Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts

Friday 13 April 2012

Wenlock Olympian Games Book Launch

Graphics and Print, the award winning Shropshire based commercial printers, are proud to have recently been chosen by Ellingham Press, the Much Wenlock based publishers, to print three books. Two of the three books are extremely timely as they have a direct link with the Olympian Games - the inspiration behind the modern Olympic movement. The third is a book of poetry featuring the current Poet Laureate.

Managing Director Martin Kells explains: “We have a strong commitment to the communities in which we operate, so to be chosen by Ellingham Press, a local firm of publishers to print these books was a real honour.

Graphics and Print started in 1980 as a small family-run business in Telford, just down the road from Much Wenlock, and we know how important it is to have local support in order to succeed. To therefore support a local firm of publishers has been fantastic and the three books come highly recommended.”

“The Olympian Games in Wenlock” provides a pictorial history of the games from their creation in 1850 by Dr William Penny Brooks to the present day. Pictures range from sepia tone images of penny-farthings to full colour pictures of recent events, including a visit to the town by the Wenlock mascot last year. At £12.99, this is a must for anyone interested in the history of the Olympian Games.

“How Peggy the Much Wenlock Piglet Took Part in the Olympian Games” is the second of the books recently published, providing a simple little story which aims to fire the imagination and spur the interest of children in the events in Victorian Shropshire which were a forerunner to what has been dubbed the greatest show on earth. This is Shropshire author Jocelyne Adams first book and she has teamed up with the talented illustrator Isobel Bushell and publisher Ina Taylor, to create a winning local team. For £4.99 children not only get to learn a little about the history of the games but will have fun doing it at the same time.

The third book to have been printed is the “Wenlock Poetry Festival Anthology for 2012”. This features the work of 60 poets appearing at this year's festival, the anthology includes poems by Carol Ann Duffy, patron of the Wenlock Poetry Festival and current Poet Laureate, Gillian Clarke, Jackie Kay and Daljit Nagra. Again priced at £4.99, this is a must for poetry enthusiasts.

All three books are available online and post free from www.ellinghampress.co.uk.

Graphics and Print are dedicated towards establishing relationships with organisations in the local area to help strengthen the community infrastructure. They aim to use local suppliers where possible to help support neighbouring businesses, and encourage employees to actively get involved with charitable events in their region. They also regularly offer work experience opportunities to nearby schools and colleges as well as the mentoring of university students who wish to pursue a career in print.

Friday 9 March 2012

An Unbearable Truth By Trudy Dean Cosh

A horrific inner-city attack on a young woman, a tragic shooting accident in the Gloucestershire countryside. These two unrelated events, divided by geography, time and class, set two men on a deadly collision course that will see them both degraded, imprisoned and driven to commit horrific crimes.

Colin Millard grows up on the poverty line, unloved and unwanted and not his father's son. Driven to despair, he leaves home at fifteen, only to have his trust abused once more and end up eking out an existence in London's underworld. He has become violent, unpredictable and cruel, especially to women. When he meets Jane, she believes he can be redeemed through a life of normality and love, but men like Colin do not know the meaning of redemption, as Jane will soon find out.

Oliver Johnson is deeply affected by the sudden death of his brother, an event that tears his well-to-do family apart. But Oliver is strong, he flourishes academically, builds a successful career and dotes on his wife Elise and young daughter Amelia. That Amelia would ever come into contact with the likes of Colin Millard is naturally unthinkable.

Then the unthinkable happens.

Author: Trudy Dean Cosh gained a BA Honours degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Bedfordshire. She has worked variously as an airline stewardess, a graphic designer and currently with special needs pupils at a Bedford school. She lives in Moggerhanger, Bedfordshire.


Book details:

Out: 26th April 2012

£15.99 Hardback

ISBN: 978-1-84624-689-0
216 x 135 mm

136 pages

FA: Modern and Contemporary Fiction

078: Fiction

This will appeal to fans of hard-hitting female thriller writers such Tess Gerritsen and Val McDermid.

Off Beam, Off Side, Off Menu An Appeal From The Catholic Pews By Kevin Clarke

Off Beam, Off Side, Off Menu An Appeal from the Catholic Pews by Kevin Clarke

A personal, impassioned analysis of the failings of the Catholic Church

Kevin Clarke was born into a Catholic household and brought up within a staunchly Catholic community in England. As a youngster, he accepted the teachings and routines of the Church without question. Decades later, he is still an enthusiastic Catholic, but is now prepared to ask questions and demand answers from those responsible for leading the Church.

In an effort to understand just how the Church reached its present condition, he goes right back to basics and the foundations of the faith. He looks first at God's gifts to us, including creation, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and then moves on to examine our own response to God: what makes up the Church, how does it all work, and what effect have the various Church Councils had over the centuries? In the light of Vatican II and its aftermath, he raises some very pertinent questions about change and the Church's current direction. Finally he asks, 'Where do we go from here?' in the positive hope that the future will bring forth a Church more closely 'attuned to the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the peoples of our time'.

Author:
Kevin Clarke is a Chartered Surveyor and has worked in the private sector for 40 years in the UK, US, Middle East and Far East. He gained an MA in Comptemporary Theology and Canon Law both at Heythrop College in the University of London. He lives in London W8.

Book details:

Out: 26th April 2012

£9.99 Paperback

ISBN: 978-1-84624-685-2
216 x 135 mm

234 pages

HRCC7: Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church

079: Non-Fiction

Passionately argued personal appeal to the Catholic Church to rethink its attitudes in today's world. An intelligent and thoughtful approach by an ordinary 'man in the pew'. An inspirational challenge to leaders and laity alike.

Saturday 11 February 2012

InteractBooks Releases Bill the Fish it's Latest Interactive Book for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch

In the interactive children’s e-book, Bill the Fish, graphic artist Brett Curzon invites young readers to join him in a delightful journey under the sea, where Bill rides his bike and interacts (virtually!) with a wide range of quirky sea friends. Against a backdrop of beautiful acrylic paintings, the book contains a series of interactive elements and hidden treasures on each page, but with one simple message: Being different is okay.

“Bill the Fish celebrates individuality,” explains Curzon. “It teaches children through a series of wildly differing aquatic characters that we are all meant to be different. It’s okay to be yourself. Quirks and all.”

Curzon had developed a hard copy of the story in 2007 as part of a homework assignment for a graphic design class. He was to create something that could be sold, so he published Bill and brought 100 copies to a local artisan market. The books sold out within a few hours, and Curzon realised that he would need a larger platform for his creativity.

“I began searching for companies that could create an app for me,” said Curzon. “It quickly came to my attention that most companies were going to charge me a large sum of money and heavy residuals in order to send my project off to be coded by programmers in a far-away country.”

With more research, Curzon came across InteractBooks, which features the InteractBuilder tool: “I immediately recognized that there were two distinct advantages to working with InteractBooks. For one, the tool was easy to use and allowed me to retain control over the output; I was able to focus on the creative side without worrying about the technical aspect. And two, the team at InteractBooks made a concerted effort to help me however they could. It’s really more than a company; it’s a community.”

The Background
“My original intent was to write something for my kids,” explains Curzon, whose three children range in age from 10 to 14. “I wanted to help them become more confident and help them deal with challenges in school. When I developed Bill and his relationship to the other characters, I wanted to make the point that they’re all different. Feeling out of place is part of everyday life.”

Curzon is no stranger to the “fish out of water” feeling. A native Australian, he was deeply impressed by the blatant discrimination aimed at his grandmother, who was an aboriginal at a time when that wasn’t accepted: “She was treated quite terribly because of her colour.”

After moving away from home at age 16, Curzon went through an important period of discovery during his early adulthood, exploring a number of countries on several continents. Over the course of six years, Curzon found himself in Indonesia, Peru, Bolivia, Fiji, Samoa, Malayisa, Mexico, Canada, and the United States (California). He learned an important lesson along the way.

“I made friends with people who were living in abject poverty, including a close friend who lived with his mother in a cardboard box,” Curzon recalls. “They are the happiest people you meet. They aren’t concerned with accumulating wealth; they are family-orientated.”

He married his soul mate, Tracy, and moved back to Australia, settling into his role as a construction worker, despite what he describes as “miserable” circumstances. Curzon was forever changed when he was injured on a construction site where he had been a day labourer for eight years. Once a sponsored surfer, he was devastated that he could no longer surf, and he was forced to make a career change that didn’t involve manual labour.

Curzon was accepted into a graphic design program at The Hunter Institute of Technology with the help of a little white lie: “Ironically, I was applying to a school of technology, but I had never actually turned on a computer prior to joining the programme,” he recalled. Nevertheless, he completed the two-year programme successfully, ranking second in a class of 60 students.

A lifelong painter and visual artist, Curzon found graphic design a manageable trade, more in line with his creative instincts than the construction field. Yet, designing CD covers and returning commissioned art remained a profitable trade and not a source of enjoyment.

With the unflappable support of his family, Curzon discovered that writing children’s books was the best antidote for dealing with the fast-paced nature of the world. “Kids don’t complicate things. Writing these books reminds me that there’s a beautiful simplicity to life, and it’s just beneath the surface.”

The importance of individuality is equally simple, but not always obvious. “If a diver were to judge an oyster by its shell on the outside, he might never discover the beautiful pearl inside,” Curzon relates. “I like to remind my young readers of the importance of this idea, so I sign their books with this message. I say: ‘Always look a little deeper.’”

About InteractBooks, LLC.
InteractBooks provides tools for non-programmers to create high-quality e-books, and other media in an interactive format that make effective use of touch-screen tablets and smartphone devices. Currently available for the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone devices, the app will soon be running on Android devices including the Amazon Kindle Fire, Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet. The app is also being ported to run on Windows Phone devices later this year.

The InteractBooks App is available as a free downloadfrom the Apple iTunes App Store. Browsing the InteractBooks Store directly from the App, users can download from a growing library of interactive children's e-books (also known as InteractBooks), there are a couple of free books available for download too.

The InteractBuilder is also a free software download which runs on Macs and Windows PC's that works in conjunction with the InteractBooks App allowing users to create their own interactive books. With the help of a comprehensive library of video tutorials and a network of technical support, the tool has become the most effective resource for children’s book authors, illustrators and presenters wishing to enter into the wonderful world of interactive media. In addition to featuring books in it's own interactive book store, InteractBooks also offers the ability to publish interactive books as stand alone apps. www.interactbooks.com

'The Austerity Olympics' - When The Games Came To London In 1948

Janie Hampton's acclaimed The Austerity Olympics vividly depicts the last time the Games came to London. Her tales of teams ferried to events on double-decker buses, billeted in army camps and sewing their own kits are a world away from the lavish 2012 arenas and massive regeneration of Stratford East.

The 1948 London Olympics demonstrated what a fantastic Games could be organised on just £760,000 - and still make a profit. The main stadium was cleared of greyhound racing to allow great athletes such as Emil Zatopek and Fanny Blankers-Koen to thrill the indomitable Londoners who cheerfully overcame every obstacle, from food rationing to terrible weather.

Entertaining, revealing and highly-readable, this meticulously researched book is full of first-hand interviews, hilarious anecdotes, and spirited athletic feats. The Austerity Olympics is a fascinating book about an extraordinary event.

Published to coincide with BBC film based on the book - Bert & Dickie airing in May
Contains over 200 original interviews with entertaining anecdotes that make great material for review, extract and radio coverage.

Shortlisted for William Hill Sports Book of the Year

Janie Hampton has written over 15 books, from biography to fiction. She is the author of the critically acclaimed biography of Joyce Grenfell; and appears regularly on radio, in print and at literary festivals.

She is the leading authority on the social history of the Olympic Games in London and is Olympics Correspondent of The Oldie Magazine. She lives in Oxford.

The Austerity Olympics by Janie Hampton is published by Aurum Press on

20th February 2012 priced £8.99.

Sunday 15 January 2012

A Very Peculiar Talent

When Tessie runs away from home she doesn’t want her mother to find her, but disappearing is easier than she had thought possible. Just what is her peculiar talent? An intriguing mystery which will keep you guessing.

Seventeen-year old Tessie runs away to London, away from home and an abusive step-father. She wants to go missing because she has taken all the money she could find.

On the train, she meets what turns out to be her saviour, a young man whose sister is in need of domestic help.

As she and his family become intertwined, the unlikely Tessie finds herself with two suitors. She marries, but a series of tragedies ensure that she once again disappears. Inspector Wilson and DC Sloane investigate, until a dead body turns up. Can this be Tessie’s final disappearance?

Action, intrigue and character drive the plot to a surprising conclusion.

An extract from A Very Peculiar Talent by Charlotte A Hutt is available to read at www.authorsonline.co.uk

Imprint: Bright Pen

Published: 5 December 2011

ISBN: 0755213939

RRP: £9.99 paperback, £3.95 ebook

Available from the That's Books Amazon book shop on this site.

Thursday 5 January 2012

Children's Author Julia Suzuki Creates National Dance Competition

Julia Suzuki, the children's author who has been described as 'the next JK Rowling' (Daily Mail) has created a national dance competition based on her books about the mythical Land of Dragor.

The competition, currently at regional heat stage, is open to dancers of all ages (male and female) and contestants are judged on their interpretation of a piece of music and the themes of Julia's book 'Yoshiko and the Gift of Charms'.

At each of the ten regional heats, ten dancers will qualify for the Grand Final (held in May 2012) and a winner in each age category at regional stage will take home a sash, trophy and goodie bag.

The overall winner will receive a holiday for four people at one of SPICE resorts' five star European destinations, a Dragor outfit (custom made by Dancehouse) and be crowned Dragor Dream Dancer 2012.

In addition, every dancer competing will receive a gemstone from Julia herself.

For more information, details of heats and rules visit www.facebook.com/DragorDreamDancer

Friday 23 December 2011

Special Book Offer Can Save You £6

Author Heather Flood's latest book for youngsters, Giant Sticker Monster and Other Children's Stories, has been acclaimed by actress Judy Buxton as perfect for stirring young children's imagination, while another reviewer compares it favourably to Aesop's Fables and Hans Christian Andersen.

Our readers can buy these wonderful short stories for children, aged four to 12, at special reduced prices, and save £6 in all, if they also wish to purchase Heather's previous book Mousey Mousey and the Witches' Spells and her husband Tony's fantasy adventure novel The Secret Potion, recommended by actress June Whitfield as an ideal present for Harry Potter fans.

And Mr Flood, the former Controller of Information at Sky Television and now New Authors Co-ordinator with My Voice Publishing, Eastbourne, is also revealing the secret of how would-be authors can get published.

Heather, who is a prize-winning member of Anderida Writers group, of which Tony is chairman, has been published by My Voice Publishing. Her books and Tony's The Secret Potion are available on Amazon as e-versions and paperbacks or from www.mvpub.co.uk/ as discounted paperbacks.

Actor and director Alan Baker declares: "Heather's outrageous Giant Sticker Monster and lovely collection of short stories provide characters and plots that will have children eager to read more. They are a combination of Aesop's Fables and Hans Christian Anderson. As an actor, I am pleased that they are easy to read aloud. I heartily recommend them to every parent of young children."

Jacq Molloy, journalist, author and writing tutor, says: "Giant Sticker Monster and other Children's Stories is a delightful read for younger children. They will get caught up in the antics of characters like the mischievous Giant Sticker Monster, Pixie, the naughty kitten, and Amber, the Christmas Tree Fairy. It's an enchanting collection!"

Actress Judy Buxton adds: "Heather Flood's wonderfully entertaining stories are perfect for stirring a young child's imagination. The characters are all enchanting and there is something for both girls and boys."

By taking advantage of our reader offer for the three books, you can buy The Giant Sticker Monster for £2 below the retail price, Mousey Mousey and the Witches' Spells at a discount of £1 and The Secret Potion for a saving of £2.

Simply send a cheque made payable to 'Sportsworld Communications' with your order to: Discounted books, 24 Brisbane Quay, Eastbourne, BN23 5PD. You will need to allow 96p each for postage and packing so send £4.95 for Giant Sticker Monster and Other Children's Stories, £4.95 for Mousey Mousey and the Witches' Spells and £5.95 for The Secret Potion.

Or you can save even more - over £6 - by buying all three books for £13.99, which includes P&P.

Tony Flood says: "I have been asked by My Voice to recommend authors whose manuscripts I feel would be of a sufficiently high standard. This means they can be fast-tracked instead of waiting months for a publisher to give them an answer."

Mr. Flood will also be happy to give advice if readers contact him on tflood04@yahoo.co.uk

Anyone wishing to join Anderida Writers, which has four other published authors in Liz Wright, Brigitte Sumner, Jill Rutherford and Harry Pope, can look on their website at www.anderidawriterseastbourne.co.uk/

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Calling for your books! That's Books wants to feature your book!

It can be very hard to get a book reviewed. Especially if your name is not Dan Brown, or if you do not have the spending power of a massive marketing campaign behind you!

But there's some good news for you! There now exists an opportunity for you to have your books featured in an online magazine that is read by book lovers the world over. That's Books. And the other good news? It needn't cost you a penny!

That's Books deals with all genres (fact, fiction, history, biography, autobiography, etc) with the exception that we will not be able to feature books of an 'adult' nature. We cover print, e-books and Kindle books.

If you have a book that you would like That's Books to feature, please send an email to afj_uk@yahoo.com with the header Book Review and we will do the rest for you. It really is that simple!

Tuesday 20 December 2011

There's No Such Thing as a Dumb Dog!

There is no such thing as a dumb dog. They know exactly what they are doing. You may get a ‘what me?’ look from them. But every farm dog knows exactly what they are doing.

In a new graphic novel ‘Orchard Down Till the Cows Come In' by R C Bayliss, this point is illustrated to the extreme. When faced with the prospect of not getting any milk for breakfast the dogs take charge. But all this is actually based on real life. Two of the chief characters, Sam and Jack, grew up together as pups and the idea for the book came when the author noticed just how much the dogs would work out for themselves.

Jack would always finish his food before Sam. Being a labrador, Jack's stomach was a bottomless pit that could never be filled. Knowing of Sam’s fondness for chasing things, especially cats, Jack herded a group of cats to run past Sam. Sam could never resist and always gave chase. Then Jack would dive in from cover, wolf down several large mouthfuls and hide before Sam returned.

It was situations like this that inspired the author to put it down into a book. And since a lot of dogs communicate in body language, it seemed better to do it as a graphic novel, letting the pictures tell most of the story.

The author has had many dogs in his lifetime, mostly border collies and labradors and one thing he is sure of 'there is no such thing as a dumb animal and certainly not a dumb dog'.

- An extract from 'Orchard Down Till the Cows Come In' is available to read at www.authorsonline.co.uk
- Imprint: Bright Pen
- Published: 23 November 2011
- Available in paperback and ebook at www.authorsonline.co.uk, and via the That's Books Amazon shop link
- RRP: £8.99 paperback, £3.95 ebook

Special Book Offer Can Save You £6!

Local author Heather Flood's latest book for youngsters, Giant Sticker Monster and Other Children's Stories, has been acclaimed by actress Judy Buxton as perfect for stirring young children's imagination, while another reviewer compares it favourably to Aesop's Fables and Hans Christian Andersen.

Our readers can buy these wonderful short stories for children, aged four to 12, at special reduced prices, and save £6 in all, if they also wish to purchase Heather's previous book Mousey Mousey and the Witches' Spells and her husband Tony's fantasy adventure novel The Secret Potion, recommended by actress June Whitfield as an ideal present for Harry Potter fans.

And Mr Flood, the former Controller of Information at Sky Television and now New Authors Co-ordinator with My Voice Publishing, Eastbourne, is also revealing the secret of how would-be authors can get published.

Heather, who is a prize-winning member of Anderida Writers group, of which Tony is chairman, has been published by My Voice Publishing. Her books and Tony's The Secret Potion are available on Amazon as e-versions and paperbacks or from www.mvpub.co.uk/ as discounted paperbacks.

Actor and director Alan Baker declares: "Heather's outrageous Giant Sticker Monster and lovely collection of short stories provide characters and plots that will have children eager to read more. They are a combination of Aesop's Fables and Hans Christian Anderson. As an actor, I am pleased that they are easy to read aloud. I heartily recommend them to every parent of young children."

Jacq Molloy, journalist, author and writing tutor, says: "Giant Sticker Monster and other Children's Stories is a delightful read for younger children. They will get caught up in the antics of characters like the mischievous Giant Sticker Monster, Pixie, the naughty kitten, and Amber, the Christmas Tree Fairy. It's an enchanting collection!"

Actress Judy Buxton adds: "Heather Flood's wonderfully entertaining stories are perfect for stirring a young child's imagination. The characters are all enchanting and there is something for both girls and boys."

By taking advantage of our reader offer for the three books, you can buy The Giant Sticker Monster for £2 below the retail price, Mousey Mousey and the Witches' Spells at a discount of £1 and The Secret Potion for a saving of £2.

Simply send a cheque made payable to 'Sportsworld Communications' with your order to: Discounted books, 24 Brisbane Quay, Eastbourne, BN23 5PD. You will need to allow 96p each for postage and packing so send £4.95 for Giant Sticker Monster and Other Children's Stories, £4.95 for Mousey Mousey and the Witches' Spells and £5.95 for The Secret Potion.

Or you can save even more - over £6 - by buying all three books for £13.99, which includes P&P.

Tony Flood says: "I have been asked by My Voice to recommend authors whose manuscripts I feel would be of a sufficiently high standard. This means they can be fast-tracked instead of waiting months for a publisher to give them an answer."

Mr. Flood will also be happy to give advice if readers contact him on tflood04@yahoo.co.uk

Anyone wishing to join Anderida Writers, which has four other published authors in Liz Wright, Brigitte Sumner, Jill Rutherford and Harry Pope, can look on their website at www.anderidawriterseastbourne.co.uk/

Sunday 18 December 2011

Julia Suzuki Became The First Author To Be Featured On Living Social

Children's author Julia Suzuki's book 'Yoshiko and the Gift of Charms' was featured on group discount shopping site Living Social on 15th December. This was the first time the site has included an author.

Julia - whose books about the mythical Land of Dragor have seen her described as 'the next JK Rowling' (Daily Mail) are the perfect Yuletide gift to pique the imagination of 7-14 year olds, but have attracted an adult audience, too.

An ex PA to health club CEO David Lloyd, Julia discovered writing after the birth of her son.

She says "I studied creative writing at University as an addition module to my business studies degree. But it was ten years later until I considered writing a book. If I say 'it was a vision ' it sounds rather cliché. But one day I saw an image of a picture just of a dragon... Dragons to me are unique, with fire and drive and are spirited and I love them for this reason. But then this character and land just formed from it in my mind.

"It came to life so vividly, and grew all about 'health, happiness and beauty' inside and out. It seemed so natural to write the story and as it developed with him facing challenges that we all deal with, I reflected on life and wrote of a world I felt we all would love to live in. I then wanted to share the excitement of a magical world where all things were possible and many people I spoke to about it loved it so it just went from there."

A sample chapter of 'Yoshiko and the Gift of Charms' is available here: http://soundcloud.com/julia-suzuki/julia-suzuki-yoshiko-and-the.

The Land of Dragor books are also available on Amazon.

Living Social is at www.livingsocial.com.

Friday 16 December 2011

First the Absolute Sanctuary, now the cook book!

The Love Kitchen, the in-house restaurant, at ABSOLUTE SANCTUARY is proud to announce the launch of its much awaited cook book Food Made with Love from the Love Kitchen.

The thrice-nominated restaurant for Best Spa Cuisine of the Year by Asia Spa is well known for its signature dishes like Cheong Mon Burrito, Nori Handrolls and Sanctuary Spring Rolls. It has grown from strength to strength since its humble beginning and the recipe book epitomizes its success. Absolute Sanctuary, known for its wellness holiday programs, has carefully selected 60 of the restaurant's most popular dishes and delightful thirst quenchers to be featured in the hard cover cook book.

"Over the years we have been inundated with constant requests from guests for recipes to take home with them to continue eating healthily at home. Recognising this need and with a mission to spread the love for cooking healthy and tasty meals, the idea of the cook book was born," explains Executive Director Claire Bostock-Huang.

"The menu at The Love Kitchen is a collection of recipes from inspiring chefs who have helped shape the restaurant namely Lucas Rockwood, Lisa Esposito and Dara Duchanee, and the recipe book showcases their passion and love for cooking healthily which is the essence of the Love Kitchen and the cook book." Ms Bostock-Huang enlightens.

The Love Kitchen at Absolute Sanctuary was opened in 2008 with the fundamental concept of serving tasty but healthy food. Starting with a pure vegetarian menu, the restaurant moved towards a spa cuisine based menu in 2009 featuring both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes and added refreshing raw food items in 2011.

Known for making healthy food tasty and using fresh natural ingredients, the Love Kitchen's mission through the cook book is twofold: to demonstrate that healthy food need not necessarily be bland and to bring healthy cooking to the home kitchen.

Available from 18th December 2011, the hard cover recipe book will feature enticing appetizers, vegetarian and non-vegetarian main courses, tempting guiltless desserts, as well as refreshing detox dishes in keeping with the spirit of the resort's detox focus.

A special feature of the book is the heart facts introduction to each recipe giving the nutritional benefits of the ingredients that go into the making of each dish. Written by Singaporean writer Wee Kiat, a fan of the resort and restaurant, the book will be retailed not only in the resort but at selected book stores and wellness centers throughout the world.

To promote the cook book, the Love Kitchen under the directorship of Executive Chef Eddy Choungsomboon will feature a special menu highlighting its recipes from 19th December 2011- 31st March 2012.

Chef Eddy will also be conducting cooking classes on an ongoing basis in 2012 for guests wanting hands-on guidance in cooking healthily. Of German and Thai descent and trained in Dietetics & Nutrition sciences, Chef Eddy intends to bring The Love Kitchen up a notch in 2012 with new recipes. A sequel cook book is in the pipeline.

For more information on the cook book or The Love Kitchen please visit www.absolutesanctuary.com


FACTFILE:

ABSOLUTE SANCTUARY, Thailand's Premier Detox & Yoga resort is a Moroccan inspired boutique wellness resort situated on Koh Samui, Thailand, and specializing in detox, spa and yoga holiday programs. ABSOLUTE SANCTUARY is part of the ABSOLUTE GROUP that owns and operates ABSOLUTE YOGA, Asia's premier yoga centre.

Established since 2002, ABSOLUTE YOGA is now the largest yoga studio in Thailand, with 8 yoga centers nationwide. In 2010, the group opened Absolute Pilates, launching the first large group Pilates reformer studios in Thailand and further expanded it to private Pilates classes with the opening of Absolute Pilates Plus in 2011.

Opened on 1st April 2008, the resort is not only growing in popularity as a destination for detox and yoga holidays in Thailand but also as a yoga teacher training and retreat center. In December 2008, the resort was awarded the Best Themed Resort award by SKAL International (Koh Samui).

The resort has also been nominated for three years in a row for Best Spa Cuisine of the year by Asia Spa awards since 2009 and was nominated for Spa Retreat of the Year & Destination Spa of the year by Asia Spa awards. The resort underwent expansion in 2010 with the construction of a new wing housing 2 new yoga studios and a larger Love Kitchen restaurant. In 2011, the resort added a Fitness Studio to its facilities.

For more information, please visit www.absolutesanctuary.com

Saturday 10 December 2011

Who Said That First?

Subtitled 'the curious origins of common words and phrases', this book by Max Cryer is a must buy present for just about anyone, this Christmas!

The person who just likes to know lots of random stuff, the person who sets the village pub quizzes, a writer, someone who loves the history of the English language, etc.

Buy them this book (or just buy it for yourself as your Christmas indulgence for yourself, this year!) and they'll learn who wrote "absence makes the heart grow fonder?" who originated "accidentally on purpose" who came up with the ultimate putdown, "a legend in his own lunchtime" who came up with "sex, drugs and rock and roll" and who first got really cross because somebody really DID steal his thunder?"

There are also some other modern coinings as well as the old classics, such as "Gridlock", "One-upmanship" and the like.

You'll also be surprised about the relevantly ancient origins of some phrases. You will also find out who did not say what, too!

This book is in hardback and costs a very reasonable £9.99. It is published by Summersdale the ISBN is 978 1 84953 191 7. Although please do check out the That's Books Amazon powered book shop, where it may well be considerably less.

www.summersdale.com.

Sunday 4 December 2011

Political Wit Quips and Quotes from the Back Benches and Beyond

Political Wit Quips and Quotes from the Back Benches and Beyond is a new collection of witty remarks, devastating come-backs and quick retorts from politicians and others from the distant past to last year's news.

Steven Gauge has brought together a wide and eclectic selection of witty remarks from all sides of the political divide and some from no side of the political divide at all.

The quotations are helpfully divided into 25 different chapters that cover everything from the art of politics to civil servants, the USA, the economy, spin, conference classics, the media and much more besides.

From those you might expect (Churchill, Livingstone, Thatcher, Disraeli ) to some you might be pleasantly surprised to see quoted within this interesting and stimulating book (Leo Amey, Arnold Toynbee, Eleanor Roosevelt, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Adlai Steventon, J. K. Galbraith, Eric Idle, Ernest Benn, G. K. Chesteron, Robert Louis Stevenson, W. C. Fields, Konrad Adenauer, Boy George and Aristophanes.

Some of the remarks made really tell us more about the person uttering them, rather than their intended target. And some of the remarks show that even the great and the good amongst us can say some remarkably daft things, from time-to-time!

The book is published by Summersdale (www.summersdale.com) in hardback at £9.99 and it will make the perfect stocking filler for this Christmas.

The ISBN is 978-1-84953-188-7.

This book is available through the That's Books Amazon book store on this site.

Historical Tweets

What if Tweets had been available to our ancestors? What if famous people of long ago had been able to send messages of no more than 140 characters?

Alan Beard and Alec McNayr took this wild and somewhat wacky proposition and have turned it into a hilarious and sometimes eye-opening book which will make a fantastic Chirstmas stocking filler!  

What would Plato have had to say in 140 characters or less? Merlin? Henry VIII? Gandhi? Shakespeare? Billy the Kid? Oscar Wilde? Albert Einstein? Marie Curie? Marilyn Monroe?

Sometimes funny, sometimes insightful, sometimes both, this will keep the recipient chuckling or LOLing for many happy hours!

It is published by Summersdale at £9.99 in hardback and the ISBN is 978 1 84953 232 7.

Available from the That's Books Amazon Store at a discounted price.

Sunday 27 November 2011

Mercadzil And The November Bird by Anne S. Boryer

The fat old witch Mercadzil is fed up. Nothing interesting has happened for ages, no one has asked her for a spell, and the custard in her spell-pot has developed a horrible thick skin. Perhaps her old wizard friend Keekalee can cheer her up?

But when she drags out her broomstick and takes her fat cat Jones to visit Keekalee, they are in for an awful surprise. Keekalee is at the mercy of the terrifying Spikley, a witch who will stop at nothing to get power for herself. How can Mercadzil save her old friend? Without a thought for her own safety, she rushes into action ... and finds herself plunged into an astonishing magical adventure.

Mercadizil and the November Bird has 14 enchanting and bewitching black and white drawings that children will adore!

Anne Boryer, a member of MENSA, worked for many years as Head Library Manager at Plumpton College in East Sussex. She lives near Lewes and this is her first children's book. Yes, she does have a cat...and a cauldron!

£7.99 Hardback

978-1-84624-636-4 216 x 135 mm

Magical adventure for 7 - 9 year olds

The Forest of Kings

The Forest of Kings is a large and well-illustrated tale. Appropriately it is published by Far Far Away Books, as it is a story set in a time of long, long ago.

It is set in France in 1468. It is a story of love and of loss, of valiant knights of the old Royal Court of France.

It is also a story of friendships and of duties, of honour of kings and the love of a little boy and his friend, the fox.

It is a story for reading to your little ones and will make a wonderful Christmas present. Visit www.farfarawaybooks.com for details.

Findus at Chirstmas by Sven Nordqvist

It's Chirstmas Eve Eve, you know, the day before Christmas Eve?

It's a very busy time for Pettson and Findus his talking cat.

But when Pettson has an accident and sprains his ankle, what will Findus and Pettson do now?

How would they be able to celebrate a traditional Christmas? Because without a tree, without any ham and without any meatballs and without any gingerbread, they could have no Christmas!

The normally resourceful pair are close to giving up the idea of any Christmas celebrations of any kind at all, when something truly remarkable begins to happen.

Because suddenly, there is a knock at the door. And with that simple knock at the door starts a really heart-warming story of how Christmas can really bring out the best in cats and people!

Sven Nordqvist is one of the most popular children's authors and illustrators in Sweden, with over 6 million copies of his books sold, having been translated into 44 languages.

Having read Findus at Christmas, it is easy to see why. It is a magical and enchanting book and at £10.99 it should grace the stockings of many young children this Christmas.

It is part of the Findus and Pettson Series of books and is published by the  Hawthorn Press.

This book is guaranteed to put a smile on your face and perhaps a tear to your eyes, as it is such a beautiful story.

Saturday 26 November 2011

Love Music, Love Food - The Rock Star Cookbook

There are two things that could make the world a better place - food and music - and this exclusive project combines them with a unique collection of portraits of musicians with their favourite food or drink.

The original, dramatic portraits command attention and the complex creativity of each is absorbing. Marrying musical talent with passion for food, each portrait is accompanied by an interview with the artist, and for each major artist a personalised recipe has been created.

Over 60 musicians are featured, each driven by their support for Teenage Cancer Trust and their wish to collaborate on this fascinating book. From rock legends to emerging artists, an incredible spectrum of musicians reveal their passionate engagement with a favourite - and often unexpected - food. Who would have predicted Sophie Ellis Bextor's obsession with fish and chips? Or Siouxsie Sioux' with beans on toast? For Brandon Flowers it is Pastor Tacos and Elotes, while Alex Kapranos has a passion for beetroot and Noel Gallagher for Yorkshire tea!

As Heston Blumenthal says in his Foreword, other people's food memories are fascinating, not least the food nostalgia expressed here by icons of the contemporary music world. Glamorous, insightful and addictive, this book makes connections between the worlds of music, food and photography and provides a true feast for the eye.

The Photographer

Patrice de Villiers has developed a unique style and approach to food photography which is now in demand world wide. Her first commission as a photographer, having trodden the assisting boards full time for two years, was for The Sunday Times food page shooting a year long series of food. Concentrating on editorial & advertising projects for a diverse range of clients from Selfridges to images for state of the art hotels in Las Vegas to illustrating racing driver's breakfast's for Formula One Magazine, her iconic imagery is also available to buy through Saatchi Gallery Online. Awards include the prestigious Glenfiddich trophy for the weekly series illustrating the recipes of Heston Blumenthal in The Sunday Times World's Best Food Photographer and medals from the Association of Photographers for various editorial pieces.

Love Music, Love Food - The Rock Star Cookbook. Available now at £30.00.

Photography and Concept - Patrice de Villiers

Interviews by Andrew Harrison

Recipes by Sarah Muir

For more details of Love Music, Love Food go to: www.lovemusiclovefood.org

For more details of Teenage Cancer Trust, please go to:

www.teenagecancertrust.org.