Martin Brilliant Color, by, Cheyne Yeager

Martin and his friends go on an oceanic adventure. What they initially find are buckets of colored paint. Eventually, Martin and his friends put on a play and share what they've learned along the journey. Beautifully illustrated by Cheyne Yeager. Copyright 2012 Serendipity Publishing. 


Inside each book that Serendipity publishes, there is a message. First time author Cheyne Yeager has made a statement in his first book, a statement that speaks volumes and is meant to teach us all a lesson. Question to ponder: Are we really so different after all? Let's start a conversation.... Let's share a message.... Be true to who you are like Martin because you never know who might be taking notice, listening, or simply wanting to "fit" in. Lesson: We are all different, unique, slightly odd, quirky in our own sort of cute way, but that doesn't make us less love able, it actually makes us more love able. If as human beings we can become capable of embracing our differences, we can see that we truly have a lot in common. A rainbow of possibilities! 

Marketing 411: Your formula for success

Marketing 411: Your formula for success

Marketing is a strategic exchange of products and services. Marketing creates a plan that causes a predetermined desired goal or result by focusing on externally related needs of a potential consumer who will find value in your product or service. Marketing is the creative execution of a plan to sell to an intended consumer a product or service. Niche marketing is honing in on a specific market also known as a specialized group of consumers. Marketing is an exchange between a marketer who has goals and objectives and a market also known as a consumer who has wants and needs. The exchange can be an exchange of ideas, money, products, services, but the exchange must have value. A consumer must perceive that the marketer’s product or service has value. A marketer has to take into consideration a number of components such as competition, price, and information in determining if their product is the most valuable to the consumer. The consumer or market must want to buy the product or service because they feel a need for the service or product.

Value is derived by three components: 1) physical, 2) functional, and 3) psychological. 

Gina Meyers has been a television consultant for Popstar! Magazine , Columbia Pictures Television, as well as Nickelodeon Magazine. She is a featured regular on national radio and television programs as a cooking expert and is the San Jose Cooking Examiner. Gina has also worked for Xerox and Google Corporation. Gina has a Business Degree in Marketing and an emergency teaching credential. She has penned over ten successful cookbooks and books of inspiration. 

New Hope Cookbook, Louisiana Inspired by, Gina Meyers & Liz Longo

New Hope Cookbook, Louisiana Inspired is more than a cookbook. It is a collection of colorful and environmentally conscious illustrations by Brooklyn artist, Liz Longo. It is collaboration between Gina Meyers, her concept of a children’s book about how children cope with disaster as well as French inspired recipes and basic French words and phrases. New Hope Cookbook, Louisiana Inspired, takes the reader on a culinary and historical journey as the story starts in Stacy’s mothers’ Louisiana restaurant, Mama’s Feel Good Kitchen. The story unfolds with children writing pen pal letters to their friends in other states trying to explain the oil spill in a lighthearted way and at the same time sharing the musical, cultural and historical story of Louisiana. Gina’s daughter Lauren Meyers, shares her thoughts on Louisiana when Gina and her family traveled there in December of 2010 for book signing events and meeting the children of Louisiana. Liz illustrates pictures of her daughter Izzy and her friend when they heard that the “oil spill had been capped.” Lucas Meyers, Gina’s son is featured as “Luke” in the story.

A New Year, A New You!

A New Year, a new you!

I am not much for resolutions. Studies have shown that most people do not stick with their resolutions anyways. Gyms are full to the brim the first three weeks in January, and after that people have a tendency to fall back into their usual patterns of behavior. I am not a psychologist, nor do I play one on TV, rather I am a human being that has mastered the art of living without a resolution to change what already works for me. The key to making any New Years resolution stick is truly in the “defining”. My children are very lucky, they don’t have “chores”, rather the word we use in defining “chores” is “responsibilities”. The same goes for “resolutions” I use the word “dream board”. Before I met my husband in 1995, I created a simple dream board with magazine clippings of what I desired for my future. These are the things that were on the first dream board, or some of the things in no particular order. 1) A new house, 2) a wedding, 3) a committed relationship, 4) to be a published author, specifically, to publish my Magic of Bewitched Book.

How do you organize your “dreams” or “resolutions”? The easiest way for me is to cut pictures and words out of magazines and newspapers and tape or glue them onto a large poster board. Because poster boards take up a lot of room, I usually take a digital photo of the “dream board”, store it on my computer and use it as a visualization technique of “exciting things to come”. So far in the past sixteen years, I can say with all honesty and no hesitation, I have and continue to make all of my resolutions come true.

Pat Priest: Memories Of Mockingbird Lane, "The Munsters" excerpt from Living Room Legends, by, Eddie Lucas

PAT PRIEST:
MEMORIES OF MOCKINGBIRD LANE
“The Munsters”

1313 Mockingbird Lane is an address I remember with great fondness. At first glance, one might grow suspect of this decrepit landmark-replete with wrought-iron gates, stone walls, howling winds, and blowing tumbleweed. But this wasn’t just any average, neighborhood haunted house.
This archaic Mockingbird Heights mansion was the gothic homestead of The Munsters; Grandpa, Herman, Lily, Eddie, and Marilyn, one of the most atypical families ever encountered on the small screen.
The intriguing interior of this unusual abode had it all--a staircase that opened to reveal Spot, the family fire-breathing pet; a casket in the hall that housed the family telephone; and a downstairs dungeon full of electricity-spitting machines and bubbling test-tubes full of Grandpa’s secret potions.
Watching The Munsters was always great fun--an escape from the “normal” TV families of the day. And in the days before computers and video games, a kid like me had to be imaginative and create some fun of his own. There were a few times when I’d pin an old beach towel over my shoulders and stomp down the steps to our family carport, pretending I was Grandpa Munster descending his dark dungeon to create new potions and spells.
One day, I grabbed a box of something from the laundry room to add to my latest concoction. After carefully administering a few drops of water, it began to fizz, bubble, and foam! Excitedly, I ran up the hill to my uncle’s house to show them my incredible new creation! But Jeannie, my wise-acre older cousin, was quick to inform me that it was just “New Tide with X-K Enzymes” that my mom had recently purchased at the local Thriftway, and “it was supposed to do that.” That startling revelation quickly knocked the air out of my bubble, but it was still entertaining, and The Munsters bring back many enjoyable memories.
Unfortunately, Grandpa, (Al Lewis), Herman (Fred Gwynne), and Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo) are no longer with us; leaving only widow-peaked, wolf-boy, Eddie (Butch Patrick) and in the words of The Munsters’ themselves, “poor, unfortunate Marilyn” (who was actually the only normal looking one of the bunch).
Beverley Owen, who played Marilyn for the first thirteen episodes, asked to be released from her contract (to move closer to her fiancé in New York) and was abruptly replaced. The mid-season switch was so sudden, and the “Marilyns” looked so much alike, that upon first glance, some viewers barely noticed the new beauty gracing the catchy Munsters melody, until a closer inspection revealed an entirely new name on the opening credits; that of lovely Pat Priest.

To read more about Pat Priest and her experiences in Hollywood, turn to Living Room Legends: Chats With TV's Famous Faces, by, Eddie Lucas

Facts About Lilian Finch: Captain At Sea

Lilian Finch was born under an umbrella of sadness. When Lilian was born, her mother died and left her and her father, Henry “Dead Eye” Finch alone.
Henry, a pirate, knew it was unlucky to have a female aboard a pirate ship, and so decided to disguise Lilian as a boy from birth.
In this sequel to “Lilian Finch: Her Maiden Voyage,” Lilian finally reveals her secret to her friend Storm who is surprisingly understanding and supportive of helping Lilian be her true self.
The two girls obtain a ship, The Sea Maiden, and set out to find a crew before heading out on their first mission – to find the survivors of The Blue Mist and Panama Pete who attacked the ship and killed its leader, Captain Wellington.
On their search, Lilian and her crew explore an enchanted island, find some friends she thought she had lost forever and partner with fellow pirate Captain George Moore to get revenge on Panama Pete.
After several exciting rescues and a sneak attack, Lilian finally gets her revenge on Panama Pete and also finds her true love.

Meet Author Eddie Lucas

What projects are you currently working on or have in the near future?
My second book, Living Room Legends: Chat’s with TV’s Famous Faces, has just been released and I’m very pleased with the end result and excited about its potential. I’ve also recently completed a special Leave It To Beaver edition of Legends with exclusive interviews featuring Barbara Billingsley and Tony Dow, and I’ve just began work on a third edition, so I’m in the process of contacting and setting up interviews with new celebrities.

Tell us about your new book.
Legends is a collection of exclusive conversations I’ve had with some of classic TV’s most popular and best-loved personalities. I’m very pleased with the caliber of celebrities in this edition--Phyllis Diller, Jim Nabors, Lucie Arnaz, Donna Douglas, etc. Especially since some of those featured, for various reasons, no longer grant in-depth interviews.

What made you want to produce this book?
First and foremost, I’m a television fan and historian, so I wanted to find out more about some of our favorite TV shows and the stars that generations of us have grown up watching. I wanted to ask the types of questions that sometimes run around in the back of your mind when you’re watching a particular show or celebrity—the kind that die-hard, as well as casual fans would ask if given the opportunity. It was also important for me to hear what they had to say in their own words, in order to keep what they had to say intact, and not filtered through a press agent or whittled down to fit into a newspaper or magazine article, because many times in those situations, the essence of what they have to say is lost. So I chose an oral history/commentary as a way to preserve the historical significance of their time on some of the most beloved shows on TV. I feel the preservation of television history is important, and many of these iconic performers won’t be with us forever, so it was important for me to do that.

You have had a very varied and exciting career. Tell us more about
what you’ve done, what you’d like to do, and your passions.
I was pleased that my first book, Close-Ups: Conversations with Our TV Favorites, received a 5-star rating from Sitcoms Online, and was named “Best TV Book of 2008” by Classic Images Magazine. That helped open many new doors so I could continue in that genre.
I enjoy writing and anything to do with entertainment, especially television, so I would love to move into writing as a full-time career. I would eventually like to work with celebrities on their own books or various other projects, even as a ghostwriter. One of my goals is to someday host a “Merv Griffin” style TV talk show; a relaxed atmosphere where I could interview some of these celebrities who are no longer invited on other talk shows anymore because they currently are not on a “top-ten” show, or have nothing to “promote”. I would like to give them a voice; to share their experiences, memories, and life lessons, much like I am doing now with the Legends books, but in the television venue.

Which foods and drinks most excite your taste buds?
I can enjoy a good seafood dinner, anytime, and nothing beats my mother’s fried chicken. I enjoy a good glass of iced tea or cup of coffee, some white wine, and though I’m not a big beer drinker, I enjoy a dark lager from time to time.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Traveling and dining out.

What is your life lesson?
To believe in yourself, and to know that if there is something that you want to accomplish or change in your life, it can be done, if you just believe it, see it happening in your mind, and feel as if it’s already accomplished! It works every time!

Describe what the word serendipity means to you.
Something good and unexpected that comes your way, adding to the good that’s already in your life.

How do you maintain a balance between home and work life?
Keep it in perspective. Home life comes first.

Which celebrity would you like to trade places with and why?
I can’t think of anyone in particular, but overall, I’d like to see what it’s like to be the star or co-star of a sitcom, to see all the inner-workings and behind the scenes things that happen in order to get it in the can and on the air.

What one thing in your life you are most proud of?
I’ve been a teacher for over 25 years, and it’s nice when you see a student years later and they tell you how much they loved being in your class and that they learned a lot. It’s a nice feeling to know that you’re making a difference in someone’s life. As far as my writing career, I’m pleased when someone who has read my book tells me, “You asked all the things I would have asked!” That’s a great compliment and gives me validation that I am on the right track and accomplishing what I set out to do.

What is one thing in your life you would like to forget?
When I was recently invited to see a special program at a church and I pulled out my cell phone to make sure it was turned down, and accidentally hit some TV-theme song ringers I had downloaded and the “SpongeBob SquarePants” song echoed throughout the sanctuary. (ARE YOU READY KIDS?! Aye, Aye, Captain! I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!...)

If you were in a position where millions of people admired you, what
would be the one thing you would want to be a role model of?
Being true to yourself and believing and accepting who you are, and realizing that your life has purpose.