The Chic Mom's Guide To Feeling Fabulous

With the recent celebrity baby boom, it seems that everywhere one looks there are images of gorgeous actresses rebounding quickly and easily from their pregnancies. Nina Sutton, author of the new book, The Chic Mom's Guide To Feeling Fabulous: Easy tips for an Amazing Life After the Stork has Arrived and Beyond, stresses that rebounding from a pregnancy and adapting to becoming a new mom is much more difficult for average women who don't have an entourage to help them make such a major life transition appear effortless.

Nina, the mother of two young boys, wrote The Chic Mom's Guide in order to provide real women with helpful advice and time saving tips to adjust to new motherhood while still looking and feeling stylish and beautiful.

With 15 years of experience in the fashion and beauty industries, Nina Sutton has worked with companies such as Sebastian International and the Christal Corporation to create and launch beauty products and marketing campaigns. She also has experience in online marketing - working with companies such as Nestlé and ConAgra on their online promotions and coupons. Additionally, she is somewhat of an expert in the world of samples sales, after launching a series of designer sample sales in the Los Angeles area.

After giving birth to her first child, this busy career woman suddenly found herself with new challenges, and less time to devote to personal style. In an effort to create a community of new mothers like herself, Nina started a "Mommy and me" class with women from the Hermosa Beach, CA area. In the class, she found that some of the mothers were not only more stylish, but also seemed happier than others. Curious to know their secrets, Nina engaged these mothers in a series of discussions that helped inspire her book.

In The Chic Mom's Guide, Nina stresses the importance of assembling a team of experts, much in the same way that celebrity moms do. Therefore, every chapter in her book features an interview with an expert in a different field. These chapters reflect different aspects of a woman's life such as beauty, fashion, fitness, cooking, relationships (with one's child and one's spouse), and finances.

In addition to writing The Chic Mom's Guide, Nina is also the founder of the website www.dealsfordivas.com. She launched the site in September 2006 after giving birth to her first child, in order to provide deals and discounts to women on beauty, fashion and lifestyle products. The site also features Nina's weekly blog, which includes information about sample sales around the country as well as online.

Nina asserts that the time saving tips in her book can be useful for almost anyone, including moms with older children or busy professional women without children. According to Nina, her goal in writing The Chic Mom's Guide was to empower women from all walks of life "to feel fabulous."

The Chic Mom's Guide is available on www.Amazon.com and www.iuniverse.com/bookstore .

- Sarah Kelly

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BOOK REVIEWS
By Amy Steele
The Heroin Diaries: A year in the life of a shattered rock star
By Nikki Sixx

Review by Amy Steele

"I've been thinking about last Christmas Eve, when I picked up that girl in a strip club, brought her back her on my bike, took her home the next day, then had Christmas dinner by myself in McDonald's . I haven't made much progress I see."

I do not know very much about Motley Crue's music but of course I've seen entertainment news about Tommy Lee, Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx. When the band was really popular and Sixx had his hellish year of deep depression and dangerous addictive behavior, I was a senior in high school.

At 29, Sixx was at the nadir of his career and at the same time suffered intense stress dealing with fame and good fortune and his own insecurities, depression and loneliness despite being in the midst of the circusy atmosphere of the Crue. In his journal entries, Sixx writes candidly about the way heroin makes him feel-sometimes he feels good as it is an escape, a blanket to hide beneath and a way to cover his insecurity and other times he questions his behavior and why he feels so bad. He kept his habit as hidden as possible-- even keeping a special closet for all his paraphernalia and to which he could go to do drugs.

How could such a junkie write [and read good books like On the Road, Animal Farm] while so drugged out? Rock and roll really is all about excess. How many girls did he have sex with over the years (some nights there were three or four!)? He couldn't find a vein to shoot up and would shoot up in his penis. Also, to get as low as he did was pretty easy when surrounded by other users and abusers [at lesser degrees]. In the end, Sixx has similar problems to many people (depression) and the heroin was a way to isolate and numb him. He did not have the proper tools or support to get himself out of these depths of despair and destruction.

To provide a more revealing aspect to The Heroin Diaries, 2006's sober Sixx recalls his experiences and also brought in band mates, managers, publicists, other record industry people, friends, family and former girlfriends to comment on his behavior during this year. That provides unique insight because even Sixx did not realize some of the inane things he did while on heroin. The Heroin Diaries has rough spots, unbelievable moments but the desire for Sixx to share his struggles in the hopes of helping others is admirable. It also makes for an intriguing read for those who envy the rock and roll lifestyle.

"When I'm losing my mind, the only thing that can save me is heroin."

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Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself
By Alan Alda

In his second memoir, actor/writer Alda takes a look back at the words of advice he's shared with others over the years. The purpose of the book seems to be to question whether he has actually followed his own advice. Is he happy? Is he living a complete life? Is he doing what he wants? Most importantly, does his life have meaning? Through off-the-cuff remarks, self-deprecation and dry humor, Alda succeeds on all accounts in this easy-to-read gem of a book. With humor and pathos, Alda takes the reader through his journey to find out the meaning of his life. Was it as good as it appeared?

Weaving through the good and the bad, He uses various speeches or talks as starting points and a way to free flow about various experiences in his own life. His political activism, his interest in nature and fascination with science, his strong friendships and his adoration for his family are all evident throughout. He finds humor in even the most serious moments and he also shows great depth and the ability to analyze and reflect on event whether momentous or commonplace. He realizes that some of the time he may have been just too cool for even himself at times. Through celebrity friendships and many graduation ceremonies, you see what really makes Alda the seemingly likeable, affable gentleman. Alda is charming and someone I would like to meet. His conversational style makes the book easy to read. The author befriends the reader with ease. Alda is able to look at himself realistically and with a laugh.

Life's a Beach
By Claire Cook

I wasn't sure if it was fear of success or fear of failure, or if I was just one of those people who knew how to start things but not what to do next.

Life's a Beach is definitely a summer read: there's not much to it. The story revolves around a 41-year-oldwoman who lives in an apartment above the garage at her parents. Her married sister has a job that keeps her busy and three children. So she finds herself stagnating with an unreliable artist boyfriend and no real career of her own [she's had many jobs and experiences]. Life's a Beach, written by the author of Must Love Dogs, reads straightforward and there are no surprises. For me, I found the Massachusetts/New England references and descriptions endearing. The give and take between the two sisters is enjoyable. They argue about everything. I imagine that's what is must be like to have a sister: the support and the competition and the bickering. But I have two brothers I've been estranged from for years. If you have nothing else to read, this book will do. It is not total trash, it cannot be considered chick lit really and it is not going to win any prizes. Overall it is just okay. It took me longer to plough through than I had hoped.

Grade: B-

The Late Bloomer's Revolution
By Amy Cohen

It was the kind of loneliness that could drive a person mad, the kind that made the world seem tiny and desolate. I knew this kind of loneliness myself, although I tried never to think about it, for fear that it would bring me back to feeling so desperate and lost.

Cohen, a former television writer, finds herself single and unemployed at 35. This book allows her to delve into past relationships and jobs and to wonder why she is still single. As someone the same age, who is also single, I could relate to this book. It's an apt time to read this book for me as I approach my birthday and also my 20-year high school reunion. I will be 38 in a week and I feel the same way Cohen often does. However, she has done more writing than I have and has been on more dates. Is something really wrong? Cohen's mother died when she was in her 20s. She has dated plenty of guys in Manhattan but has never found "the one" as many are apt to seek. Her mother always told her that if she really wanted to be married, she'd be married. I believe this to be true. It's a page-turner memoir without any trite happy ending [i.e." I dated every guy who asked me out for a year and now I'm married."] It gives me inspiration and hope on writing my own memoir. Cohen writes deftly with sarcasm, wit, emotion and honesty. The Late Bloomer's Revolution is a wonderful memoir.

Grade: A-

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INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR JANE GREEN
By Amy Steele

Recently I read Jane Green's latest novel Second Chance in which she follows a group of friends after a tragedy. These are friends who have not seen each other in a decade, in most cases, but fall back into the easy rapport of past times when they reconnect. The death of Tom bonds them and keeps them moving forward with his memory strong in their heads and hearts. Green examines grief, loss and transition with wit and genuine characters. She always creates the type of characters to which one can relate on at least one level. There's the couple who cannot conceive and desperately desire a child, the alcoholic film star, the single woman who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant and the woman who embarks on an affair to free herself from a marriage that has been over for years. Second Chance is a satisfying, easy summer read.

I conducted this interview via email which is unusual, rare and needless to say, not my favorite way mode of interviewing [in person, then phone, then feeding questions through a publicist]. I've done it a few times. I find it strange that Ms. Green would not comment on the fact that I lived in her current hometown of Westport, Conn., that I too am a journalist and that my brother lives in Westport and has twins and four children, just like her.

Amy Steele [AS]: Jane, We have a few things in common: though you are successful and I am not quite yet. We are the same age. I lived in Westport, Conn. until my parents' divorce when I was 8 years-old. I live in Boston now and grew up in a suburb outside Boston -my mom re-married about four years after her divorce. My brother lives in the Westport area [Easton] and has four children, including a set of twins. I have a master's in journalism and am trying to write a book-I just do not know whether to go the fiction or non-fiction route.

AS: How did you make the transition from journalist to fiction writer?
Jane Green: With a whole lot of nerve. The part of journalism I enjoyed the most was always the writing, and the discipline of journalism served, and continues to serve me, incredibly well, but I left my job with just enough money to get by for a few months, and sat down to write Straight Talking. Within three months there was a bidding war and I signed a two book deal.

AS: When did you realize that is would be possible to have a career as an author?
JG: As soon as the first bid came in, which was about twice my annual salary!

AS: Why do you tell stories?
JG: Because I can, because I enjoy it, because I love making a difference in people's lives. The earlier novels were pure entertainment, but as I've grown and changed, I think the books carry a message that I hope resonates with my readers.

AS: What do you want readers to take from Second Chance?
JG: That we only get one shot, and that if ever we are stuck, far better to take a deep breath and a step in a different direction, and that it is never too late to redefine our lives and ourselves, to go out and find true happiness. [AS: We only get ONE shot but we can take a different direction? Isn't that contradictory?]

AS: What is the most difficult aspect of writing?
JG: Discipline. As a single mother of four running the lives of small children, operating a household, having a career, there are always a million other things to be done, and it's always so hard to focus solely on the writing. [AS: I'm sure my sister-in-law would love to have play dates!]

AS: What is the most rewarding aspect of writing books?
JG: Going out on the road and meeting the readers, hearing their stories, and receiving their emails, all of which I read, even though I'm not able to respond personally anymore.

AS: When is your favorite time/best time to write?
JG: Mornings only, from my local library, and then it's back home to be Mom.

AS: How do you get your ideas? Do characters or story ideas come first?
JG: A general theme or idea is always the first thing for me, and then the characters. I never outline in detail because too often the characters dictate the story, and they take it in all sorts of unexpected directions.

AS: With Second Chance, I imagine there's a bit of you in each character, based on your experiences. How much of yourself do you put inyour characters?
JG: A huge amount, but almost always unconsciously. I am always stunned afterwards when friends tell me how much of me they see, but when I go back and re-read, I usually see what they are talking about. It's very difficult to write what I'm writing, and the sorts of emotions I'm writing about without having lived it. Having said that, none of the books are about me, and none of them are my story - I am just able to draw on my life experience.

AS: Why did you decide to focus on grief and loss?
JG: I lost a friend in the Tsunami and was utterly blindsided by the grief I felt, and as a writer the best way I know to process anything is by sitting down and writing about it. [AS: writing can be rather cathartic]

AS: What influence did your own divorce have on this book and on your writing?
JG: A huge amount. Holly and Marcus came in after my husband and I had separated, and I was able to use the writing experience as a way to fully understand what I was going through and how I was feeling. My editor didn't want me to write about my divorce, she felt it would be too raw and too angry, but in fact, although Holly's story isn't mine, I was able to write about an unhappy marriage and a separation with, I hope, understanding and empathy.

AS: What does it mean for you to be part of the "chick lit" phenomenon/ genre?
JG: On one hand I am proud to be one of the founders of chick lit, although I think there is a terrible misconception of what the genre is - too many people think that it is always a frothy light tale of a twenty something single girl looking for Mr. Right, when in fact I would argue it's simply commercial women's fiction that is an accurate reflection of the lives real women are living today, whether they are in their twenties, thirties, forties or older. What is difficult is the younger women who loved Jemima J and Mr Maybe now pick up the more recent books and feel betrayed that, in their eyes, I'm no longer writing chick lit. My writing reflects my life and the lives of those around me, and will continue to grow, change and evolve the older I get.

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THE PRIEST AND THE NAZI
By John LeConte

Interview by Kelly Boler
Photo courtesy of David Roberson

The relationship between the Catholic Church and the Nazi Party during World War II and its aftermath is a complex and sometimes disturbing one. In the new book The Priest and the Nazi, author John LeConte uses fiction to investigate one of the murkier aspects of this relationship, as well as the unlikely nature of redemption, in the story of a Bavarian priest and a Nazi officer who make a deal for the Nazi's passage to South America, and his soul. In an interview, LeConte talks about his challenging subject.

In your story, the priest collaborates, but not all priests in the Catholic church did so, in fact, were cruelly persecuted for their opposition to the Nazis, and many also aided Jews in hiding.
Yes, individual Catholics saved many and should indeed be praised for that. But many didn't, and many of the powerful bishops and cardinals of the church in the thirties and forties did not protest. And yes the pope did do some good things behind the scenes, but the pope set the tone: he did not want the church to be destroyed as it surely would have been if they did speak out. The Church did not speak out publicly in a campaign of protest, the institution was not out front acting as a counter moral force against Hitler. They knew, as did all in Europe that Hitler was not bluffing, he would destroy the Church. They were afraid, like all men would be. But that is what courage is about, acting in the face of danger.

You have created an allegory about good and evil, yet your priest is hardly wholly good, and the Nazi soldier hungers for redemption. Why the ambiguity?
No one is entirely good or evil. The priest is human. The Nazi is human. One of the things we have done with both Hitler and with Christ is that, based on their deeds, we have assigned them an inhuman status. Hitler was a human being and that's the thing that is the most scary about him. He was a human being who did unbelievable things that can never be adequately explained, much less justified in any way. Christ was a human being who did good things that we all should emulate, so we are all capable of doing those good things as well. What I was trying to do with the priest was not to make him a pristine good guy but to show his fallibility even though he was connected with the church. The Nazi was not to be the all encompassing bad guy. He was human and did evil, but he had human qualities as well. In the end they each reverted to their essential souls.

Who are your favorite philosophers and why?
One I like is Eric Hoffer, the working man's philosopher of the 1950s. He theorizes on the heart and soul of the working man and woman and the challenges they encounter when faced with powerful forces that they can't control. Shakespeare is a philosopher to me. His insight into the human condition is astounding and he told it in most beautiful and dramatic ways.

- Kelly Boler

www.johnleconte.com

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ALISON JAMES

CHIC LIT'S RELATIONSHOP GURU
By Emily Jebson

Who hasn't had a tough breakup? We all have. We also all know they're not so easy to get over. So how do you recover? According to author and relationship expert Alison James, with humor. Alison's breakup survival guide "I Used to Miss Him...But My Aim is Improving," helps women laugh through this often-devastating experience. Her book does everything from outlining early warning signs that the relationship may be in trouble to advising ways to channel anger into positive outlets.

Alison guides women through their painful post breakup up days by embracing the joys of shopping and makeup and helps women reenter single life with the confidence of lessons learned. Her humor and honesty show the bright side of the breakup experience by helping women laugh in even their most desperate moments. Most importantly, "I Used to Miss Him...But My Aim is Improving" helps women gain and retain their post-breakup self-respect.

Alison has been featured in Maxim, Complete Woman, Woman's Own, Daily Mirror (UK), Ladies Home Journal Online, as well as on 120 radio shows. She is a graduate from Princeton and The London School of Economics. She uses her unique and practical outlook to mentor young women on life and love.

Her next book, The 10 Women You'll Be Before You're Thirty, which is due out in late Spring, explores the different phases a woman goes through in young adulthood. The book addresses all the persona's women take on in order to please family, friends, and society. It encourages women to laugh at their various personalities, while helping them rejoice in and embrace their true unique selves. For more information: visit www.10women.com

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Spin to Win: The Essential P.R. Guide For Business & Career Success
by Anthony Mora

Spin to Win puts the power of the information age in your hands. Using the techniques outlined in the book, you'll no longer simply watch the news - you'll be the news!

Spin to Win gives you insider media tips to successfully utilize the most powerful form of marketing available. How can you place your story in the local and national media? What do editors and producers look for? How do you effectively pitch stories to the media? Spin to Win answers those questions and more.

Featuring interviews with top journalists from such media as USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, The BBC, Entrepreneur, The View, Readers Digest, and Self, Spin to Win teaches you the insider secrets of how to place yourself, your business, or your product in top national and regional media. Whether you're a business owner, physician, attorney, artist, entertainer, entrepreneur, or author, only media relations can reach your target market and offer you and your business credibility, authenticity, prominence, influence, and results.

Spin to Win is a step-by-step guide on how to define goals and utilize the power of the media to achieve success in any field. Practical and user-friendly, Spin to Win can be utilized by heads of major corporations, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and artists.

A former journalist and magazine editor, Anthony Mora is the President and CEO of Anthony Mora Communications, Inc. As a media and public relations expert, Anthony has been featured in USA Today, The New York Times, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, as well as on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, and other media. Spin to Win is his third book.

Hawk Publishing ($15.95)

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THE PERFECT PITCH
How to Sell Yourself and Your Movie Idea to Hollywood
by Ken Boccop
as told to James K. Shea

This is an important book for anyone who has a script or business project you want to sell to the people with money. It will teach you:

• How to pitch your story in two minutes or less
• How to connect to Hollywood's top mover and shakers
• How to think and react "on your feet" during a sales pitch
• How to communicate through a memorable and passionate pitch that will make you and your story a winner

Michael Weise Productions $16.95

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THE BEST OF YOUR LIFE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
By Devra Z. Hill, Ph.D.

This is a different kind of health book! It's about new supplements but also about the physical and emotional aspects of good health.

Devra's motto is: "Lighten Up, Cut the Drama, and Enjoy the Visit."

• Read how to survive the 21st Century's insanities
• Learn the latest health info and...
• How to look younger and feel great!

This is a must read for everyone...no matter how old you are!
(LULUZ Publications, 168 pages, $18.95)

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inmag.com P.O. Box 709 Hollywood 90078 323-874-5726 info@inmag.com

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