Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Environment at Risk Series - Children's Books


Series: Environment at Risk


by Christine Petersen

In Environment at Risk, readers will be led on a journey to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them. School Library Journal praised Environment at Risk as “comprehensive” and “valuable,”
recommending the books as part of a “rewarding series [that] provides extensive coverage of compelling environmental issues.”

Controlling Earth’s Pollutants explores the history of pollution, strategies to control it, and the current laws and policies put in place to protect our planet from the effects of pollution.

Earth’s Changing Climate reveals the factors—both natural and human-caused—that influence local and global climate. Delve into the science behind and the history of the phenomenon of climate change, and learn how our actions today can affect future outcomes.


Protecting Earth’s Food Supply

highlights the variety of hazards in our complex modern food chain. Discover how farmers, food companies, and governments address these risks and the measures used to protect the public from them. Renewing Earth’s Waters examines the roles of water in nature and our many uses—and abuses—of it in everyday life. Investigate the policies created to protect water, and begin to consider some of the ways in which we can all contribute to protect this most valuable natural resource.




BIOGRAPHY
I grew up clambering around the tidepools in a small town along the California coast. During after-dinner beach walks, I told my parents rambling stories about creatures I had found in the rocky pools and adventures that had almost become mishaps. Along the way, both nature and narrative became integral to my awareness of the world. This early imprinting led me to explore diverse careers as a bat biologist and middle school teacher before deciding to write full-time. My primary genre is educational non-fiction. I specialize in science and nature, but have also written on a wide variety of social studies and health topics. This year I particularly look forward to visiting schools, libraries, and nature centers, to help students and educators investigate the issues, choices, and solutions presented in the Environment at Risk series.

WEBSITE
www.christinepetersen.com

PUBLISHER
Marshall Cavendish Benchmark

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Silent Kill - David Fingerman

Silent Kill

by David Fingerman

Police must follow a labyrinth, leading into the darkest tunnel of a twisted mind. A mind that carries no value for human life... Minneapolis police officer Louise Miller has attitude. Not only does she have to deal with the good old boy mentality of the department, but she's also a gay police officer who has to deal with harassment on a higher level. When one of her few friends on the force goes missing Miller investigates, despite her captain's order to leave it to the detectives. As Miller scours the precinct for any sign of the missing officer, Elias Boughton is on a psychopathic rampage. Kidnapping and murder are games he plays, blindly obeying a voice from his past. As the body count rises, Miller is convinced the detectives are heading in the wrong direction. Trying to fit the puzzle together, each clue revolves around a particular Rottweiler. As the mystery unravels so does her life, and the case becomes more personal than she ever dared imagine.

BIOGRAPHY
I was born in St. Paul, but once out of the hospital I've lived my entire life in Minneapolis. During the summer months when the sun is shining and birds singing, I'm perfectly content to sit in my office, with blinds drawn, typing away at my computer. My favorite day of the year is the first day I pull a flannel shirt out of the closet. After 24 years of working in the court system, I walked away to write full time. "Edging Past Reality" is my first book of short stories. "Silent Kill" is my first novel.

PUBLISHER
L & L Dreamspell

WEBSITE
www.davidfingerman.com


Sunday, October 17, 2010

An Altar by the River - Christine Husom

An Altar by the River

by Christine Husom

A man phones the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department frantically reporting his brother is armed with a large dagger and on his way to the county, intent to sacrifice himself. Sergeant Corinne Aleckson takes the call, learning the alarming reasons behind the young man’s death wish. When the department investigates they plunge into the alleged criminal activities of a hidden cult and the disturbing cover-up of an old closed-case shooting death. The cult members have everything to lose and will do whatever it takes to prevent the truth coming to light. But will they find An Altar by the River in time to save the young man?

BIOGRAPHY
Christine Husom lives in Minnesota with her family. She is a small business owner and author of Murder in Winnebago County, Buried in Wolf Lake, and An Altar by the River, the first three books in the Winnebago County mystery thriller series. She has an undergraduate degree in business from Concordia University in St. Paul and a law enforcement certificate from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul. Husom is a former corrections officer, mental health practitioner, and deputy sheriff. Experience has taught her fact really is stranger than fiction. She enjoys reading, writing, family time, volunteer work, entertaining, gardening, traveling, and exercising, not necessarily in that order. She greatly appreciates all the wonderful people she has met since getting published and feels very blessed.

WEBSITE
www.christinehusom.webs.com

BLOG
http://secondwindpub.wordpress.com/

BOOK SIGNINGS
Author presentation and Book signing at Rosalie E Wahl Library
Thursday November 4, 2010 3:30-5:00 PM 3479 Lake Elmo Ave. N. Lake Elmo, MN
Presentation and book signing at Book Warehouse
Saturday, November 6, 2010, 2:00-4:00 PM
410 County Road 12 SW, Medford, MN

Presentation and book signing at Lake City Library
Saturday, November 13, 2010, 4:00-5:30
201 South High Street, Lake City, MN

BACKLIST
Murder in Winnebago County, 2008
Buried in Wolf Lake, 2009

PUBLISHER
Second Wind Publishing

Books are available, both in print and in e-form on
publisher’s website and on http://www.amazon.com/

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

TWIN CITIES BOOK FESTIVAL

Saturday, October 16, 2010
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.


Minneapolis Community Technical College
1501 Hennepin Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55403

I'll see you at the Book Festival...join me along with a host of other authors as we celebrate with book signings, panel discussions, a used book sale, readings, childrens' pavilion, etc.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

BIOGRAPHY - The Dutifiul Son

The Dutiful Son: Louis W. Hill
Life in the Shadow of the Empire Builder, James J. Hill

Biloine (Billie) Whiting Young
Eileen R. McCormack

The Ramsey County Historical Society

When James Norman, eldest son of James J. Hill, departed St. Paul for the brighter lights of New York City, it was second son Louis Warren who took his father’s place managing the portfolio of railroads that became today’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe. When James J. died without signing his will, it was Louis who executed his father’s vast estate, oversaw the welfare of his mother, and distributed their inheritance to his eight surviving siblings. When their mother, Mary Theresa Hill, died in 1921, their long-simmering family disputes broke out into the open and multiple lawsuits fractured the unity of the family.

Louis was a worthy successor to his empire-building father. He looked beyond railroads to the nation’s natural resources and identified the value of the iron ore deposits in northeastern Minnesota and the wealth inherent in the vast tracks of timber in Oregon. Louis’ efforts led to the establishment of Glacier National Park and the Great Northern Railway, under his leadership, became its developer. Louis oversaw the design of the historic hotels, and the location of many of the roads and trails. He was an artist who stole time from a hectic schedule to paint.

Louis rejuvenated St. Paul’s Winter Carnival and led his community in relieving the suffering brought on by the Great Depression. His example of leaving a major portion of his fortune to a foundation, today’s Northwest Area Foundation, inspired two of his sons’ philanthropic efforts—the Jerome and Grotto Foundations.

Author Biloine (Billie) W. Young and researcher Eileen R. McCormack, depended almost entirely on archival sources to produce this first full-length biography of Louis W. Hill. They reveal the complex personal and business influences on Louis as he succeeded his celebrated father in the management of a vast transportation empire and dealt with the dynamics surrounding his parents’ estates and his siblings’ disputes. In The Dutiful Son, Young and McCormack provide an insightful portrait of a conscientious, generous business leader who left a legacy of continued service to communities from the Mississippi to the Pacific along the route of the Great Northern Railway founded by his father.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
The author, Biloine (Billie) Whiting Young, holds a B.A. degree in English and Journalism from the University of Kansas and an M.A. in Communications and Latin American History from the University of Illinois, Urbana. A resident of St. Paul, she is the author of numerous journal articles and more than a dozen books. Her books include A Dream for Gilberto: Mexican Odyssey; Minnesota Women in Politics with Nancy Ankeny; Grand Ave—The Renaissance of an Urban Street with Prof. David Lanegran; Cahokia: The Great Native American Metropolis with Prof. Melvin Fowler; Obsure Believers:The Mormon Schism of Alpheus Cutler; River of Conflict—River of Dreams: Three Hundred Years on the Upper Mississippi; My Heart, It Is Delicious: The Story of the Center for International Health; and A Noble Task: The Saint Paul Public Library Celebrates 125.
She is the recipient of the 2010 More Award given by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons for excellence in orthopedic reporting. Young agreed to write the Louis W. Hill biography when Eileen R. McCormack signed on to conduct the research in the vast archive of Hill family and Great Northern Railway papers. For fourteen years McCormack was the associate curator of the Hill Manuscript Collections in St. Paul. Her research in the papers, now housed at the Minnesota Historical Society, provided the documentary foundation for their account of Louis W. Hill’s life in the shadow of his celebrated father.

McCormack holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in American History, Museum Studies, Women’s Studies, and Historic Preservation from the University of Minnesota. She has published articles and presented public programs dealing with James J. Hill, Louis W. Hill, and Hill family history. McCormack lives in St. Paul where she operates a business that preserves history through archival services, research, and writing for a variety of national clients.

BOOK LAUNCH PUBLICATION
The Ramsey County Historical Society invites you to celebrate the publication of the book The Dutiful Son: Louis W. Hill, Life in the Shadow of the Empire Builder, James J. Hill on Saturday, November 13, 2010, at 2:00pm at Landmark Center.

Author Biloine (Billie) W. Young and researcher Eileen R. McCormack will present an illustrated talk exploring the extraordinary life and contributions of Louis W. Hill Sr. The new biography of Louis W. Hill will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

The event is free and open to public, but reservations are required call 651-222-0701 or email
info@rchs.com.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Fiber & Brimstone - Laura Childs


Fiber & Brimstone

by Laura Childs
Berkley Prime Crime

Building a Halloween tale around the #1 craft in America today, author Laura Childs sets the stage with scrapbooking maven Carmela Bertrand and her friend Ava creating giant puppets for the French Quarter’s Monsters and Mayhem parade. But as blood-curdling screams pierce the night, they soon discover that the captain of the float den has been stabbed by the razor-sharp horns of a giant Minotaur head!

Police quickly cast blame on Carmela’s float-building friend, Jekyl, even though she’s convinced of his innocence and vows to find the real killer. But this is Halloween in New Orleans, an ethereal bewitched city where ghostly intruders are at work. Carmela soon finds herself pursued by a swamp monster, encounters a second gruesome murder at the Ballet Dracula, rubs shoulders with the mysterious Mr. Bones, and ends up an unwitting prisoner in a parade of hearses!

Fiber & Brimstone blends crafting, the vibrancy of New Orleans, spooky cemeteries, vampire crawls, scrapbook tips, and delicious Southern recipes into this 8th book in the bestselling Scrapbooking Mystery series.

With the book set in New Orleans, Childs is keenly aware of the BP oil spill and its destructive effect on wildlife. So she is donating a portion of the proceeds from each book sold at Twin Cities area bookstores during October to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to help in the rescue and rehabilitation of loggerhead, hawksbill and leatherback turtles.

BIOGRAPHY
Laura Childs is the author of the Scrapbook Mysteries, Tea Shop Mysteries and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. Her books have been named to the USA Today and New York Times Bestseller Lists, and have been featured selections in the Literary Guild’s Mystery Book Club. She is a former Cleo Award-winning ad writer and CEO of Mission Critical Marketing.

OTHER BOOKS PUBLISHED
Tea Shop Mysteries
Death by Darjeeling
Gunpowder Green
Shades of Earl Grey
English Breakfast Club Murder
Jasmine Moon Murder
Chamomile Mourning
Blood Orange Brewing
Dragonwell Dead
The Silver Needle Murder
Oolong Dead
The Teaberry Strangler
Scones & Bones
Agony of the Leaves


Scrapbook Mysteries
Keepsake Crimes
Photo Finished
Bound for Murder
Motif for Murder
Frill Kill
Death Swatch
Tragic Magic
Fiber & Brimstone
Skeleton Letters
Postcards from the Dead

Cackleberry Club Mysteries
Eggs in Purgatory
Eggs Benedict Arnold
Bedeviled Eggs
Stake & Eggs
(December 2012)

WEBSITEwww.laurachilds.com

BOOK LAUNCH
Saturday, October 9, 2010
A Fiber & Brimstone publication party and tea party
Noon to 2:00 pm
Once Upon a Crime Mystery Bookstore604 West 26th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55405
612-870-3785