Hampton Roads Publishing Company Blog

This is my first post for the Insights blog and I am really excited to be joining Frank in contributing publishing news and other fun tidbits about Hampton Roads Publishing. It has been a busy couple of months around here, from finalizing the Fall 2008 list to printing the catalog and sales kits to preparing for the Book Expo in Los Angeles at the end of the month. But in the end, we have some great new books coming up and our sales materials are out the door. It will be an adventure to present these new books at BEA and see what kind of response we get.

Hampton Roads will have book signings in the autographing area with Marla Martenson, author of Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate Is Waiting, Dr. Lisa Love, author of Beyond the Secret, Lee Jampolsky, author of Smile for No Good Reason, and Russell Targ, author of Do You See What I See?. In addition, we will have authors dropping by our booth (#747–come see us!) and plenty of give-aways.  Our books are on the way to L.A. as I type and soon enough, our staff will be flying across the country to bring the latest Hampton Roads titles to the rest of the publishing world. I can’t wait!

We’re going to be at Book Expo America (BEA) this Friday through Sunday, in booth 3057. Stop in and see us if you’re interested in substance abuse, pirates, finding the work you want, and the values that all truly great people have in common. Our authors Martha Woodroof, George Beahm, John St.Augustine, and Laura George will all be there to discuss their books.

Book signings will also be held at the following times and locations:

Discuss Pirates, Harry Potter, or any one of our pop culture guidebooks with George Beahm at our booth (3057) on Friday, June 1 from 2:00-3:00

Learn How to Stop Screwing Up with Martha Woodroof at table 9 in the signing area on Saturday, June 2 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Find out about Living an Uncommon Life from John St. Augustine at table 29 in the signing area on Saturday, June 2 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

And Excuse Me, Your Job is Waiting! Attract the work you want with Laura George at table 27 in the signing area on Saturday, June 2 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

It has been over 10 years since mysterious lights were sighted over Phoenix, and people still dispute their origins.

When moving lights were originally sighted in the sky over Phoenix (visible from Nevada to the edge of Tucson), Arizona Governor Fife Symington III ridiculed claims of extraterrestrial activity, going so far as to hold a press conference where one of his staff members dressed as an alien and claimed to be the culprit. Ten years later, he’s not so sure that the matter should be taken lightly.

Dr. Lynne Kitei wrote a book about the Phoenix Lights, which is a skeptic’s account of her discovery that we are not alone. She’ll be discussing her book on Tuesday, April 17, on the News for the Soul radio program.

George Beahm’s latest book, Caribbean Pirates: A Treasure Chest of Fact, Fiction, and Folklore is now available! From the flap copy:

Is a pirate’s life for you? Here’s how to live the life of a Caribbean pirate!

Think you know everything there is to know about pirates, do you? Well me bucko, you’ve got a lot to learn, and here’s where you can drink your fill!

I’m “Scurvy Dog” George Beahm and, along with “Long John” Tim Kirk (a former Disney artist), we’re here to take you on a pirate cruise to the Caribbean, where you can shoot, scoot, and loot to your plundering heart’s content. We’ll show you how to find your sea legs and get you ship-shape so you can sail the high seas and pillage the New World with the most ferocious cutthroats that ever hoisted the Jolly Roger! Well, “arrr” you ready?

With artwork commissioned especially for this book from artist Tim Kirk, and illustrated with 145 full-color photos, this book tells you everything you’d want to know about Caribbean pirates! How to talk, dress, and live like a pirate on cruises and at pirate festivals. Where to find the best pirate museums in the world. A quiz to test your pirate knowledge. And, best of all, a no-holds-barred look at pirate history through the lens of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean. Were pirates really hung? Who was Davy Jones? Were there cannibals in the Caribbean? Find out in this fun and fact-filled book!

George Beahm is the author of more than 20 pop culture books including The Whimsic Alley Book of Spells, Muggles and Magic, and Fact, Fiction, and Folklore in Harry Potter’s World. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Tim Kirk is a five-time Hugo Award winning illustrator who has worked for Disney’s famed Imagineering division. He lives in Long Beach, California.

Britton McDaniel is a freelance artist. Her recent credits include interior art for Fact, Fiction, and Folklore in Harry Potter’s World and a cover design for The Truth about Medium. She lives in Mechanicsville, Virginia.

In addition to making Maureen Caudill’s book, Suddenly Psychic: A Skeptic’s Journey a ForeWord Spotlight Review for their March/April issue, they’ve also featured an interview with her in their ForeWord This Week Newsletter.

Your local library can be a great source of information, and libraries these days are more focused than ever on presenting helpful resources in new and accessible formats.

For example, Washington state’s King County Library System is presenting a Critical Choices series that arranges for authors to help you learn what you need to know on subjects that can otherwise be pretty daunting.

One such scheduled author is our own Jim Comer, who will be speaking at the Fairwood Library in Renton, WA at 7 P.M. on April 10. He’ll be talking about how to care for your aging parents, which is a problem that more and more of us will be facing in the coming years.

If you can’t make it to his talk, try checking out Jim’s book, When Roles Reverse: A Guide to Parenting Your Parents. And see what your own library has planned.

Or, if you want to see what’s going on behind the scenes, try checking out some library weblogs.

Working towards their goal of providing all-positive radio programs to expand your mind, help your health, and lift your spirit, HealthyLife.net radio spans the spectrum of positive programs on natural health, conscious business, science, sports, inspiration, motivation, and organic gardening, to name a few topics. Their hosts include world-renowned physician Dr. Bernie Siegel, licensed psychotherapist and Hampton Roads author Margaret McCraw, recovering attorney and life coach Colleen Miller, and oscar-nominated actress Sally Kirkland. That’s why we’re always excited when Hampton Roads authors will be making appearances on their network.

Martha Woodroof will be appearing on Colleen Miller’s Lighten Up! radio show this Tuesday, April 3rd, from 1:00 to 2:00 PM EDT to discuss her book, How to Stop Screwing Up. Join Colleen and her guests for lively and fun discussions about their books and projects centered on the idea that you can do the very serious work of your life, much more effectively from a lighter place. Archives of Colleen’s show can be found here, and are worth looking through to hear other interviews with HRPC authors like John St. Augustine, Patricia Aburdene, and Susan Heim.

And Laura George will be appearing on Margaret McCraw’s Tune Into Love radio show on Wednesday, April 4th from 12:00 to 1:00 PM EDT to discuss her book, Excuse Me, Your Job is Waiting. Dr. Margaret McCraw’s show will teach you how to embrace and raise your love vibrations to enhance relationships in all aspects of your life, and is a natural fit for Laura’s advice on how to use positive vibrations to attract the work you want. If you miss it, archives of Dr. McGraw’s show are available here.

Do you have internet radio stations that you listen to for inspiration, enlightenment, or entertainment? What are they?

Starting next week, and for the whole month of April, Hampton Roads author George Beahm will be the special Guest Author on the “Waiting for Harry” discussion boards at Barnes&Noble.com. More information will appear in our “In the Spotlight” space shortly!

John St. Augustine author of Living An Uncommon Life and producer for Oprah & Friends XM Radio has been named a spokesman for the National Kidney Foundation. John gave his daughter Amanda one of his kidneys in July 2002; father and teenaged daughter are doing well. Look for TV spots and listen for radio spots throughout April Organ Donor Month.