Tag Archives: St. Martin’s Press

Books, TV

Donna VanLiere’s “The Christmas Star” is a warm, wonderful gift

Prolific New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Christmas Shoes, Donna VanLiere has another incredible story to wrench and warm reader’s hearts. Published to coincide with the Hallmark Channel production of VanLiere’s previous title, The Christmas Town, The Christmas Star (St. Martin’s Press, $17.99) is a moving and uplifting story about repairing the fragile pieces of a broken heart with the help of a child and a little Christmas magic.

Thirty-two-year-old Amy Denison volunteers at Glory’s Place, an after school program where she meets seven-year-old Maddie, a precocious young girl who has spent her childhood in foster care. Unbeknownst to Amy, Maddie is a mini-matchmaker, with her eye on just the right man for Amy at Grandon Elementary School where she is a student. Amy is hesitant–she’s been hurt before, and isn’t sure she’s ready to lose her heart again–but an unexpected surprise makes her reconsider her lonely lifestyle.

As Christmas nears and the town is blanketed in snow and beautiful decorations, Maddie and the charming staff at Glory’s Place help Amy to see that romance can be more than heartache and broken promises.

A wonderfully warm gift.

Books, Movies, Music, TV

A sampling of St. Martin’s Press new releases . . actors, rock ‘n roll, cake and the biggest liar since Nixon

Fear not.
There’s another great book  about Adolph Frump: Mr. Trump’s Wild Ride: The Thrills, Chills, Screams, and Occasional Blackout of an Extraordinary Presidency($28.99). CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett  shares his unique insider’s perspective in this authoritative and entertaining account of the most important and wide-reaching events of the asshole’s first year in office. Mr. Trump's Wild Ride: The Thrills, Chills, Screams, and Occasional Blackouts of an Extraordinary PresidencyAs Entertainment Weekly wrote in a preview of the book, “CBS News’ Major Garrett is a more careful journalist than Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff, but the conceit of his book—the first year in the Trump White House—is similar enough to have us plenty intrigued.”

Just because we can’t stand him doesn’t mean William Shatner shouldn’t have even more attention paid to him. After a brief health scare in 2016, the veteran actor offers one piece of advice to live a long and good life: Don’t die.
Live Long And . . .: What I Learned Along the WayIn Live Long And…: What I Learned Along the Way, he uses a combination of pithy humor and thoughtful vulnerability to reflect on his unique and fascinating life. Booklist says, ” . . . fans will enjoy Shatner’s musings on his passions and adventures.”

Just how much does Jeff Bridges like his friend, Gary Busey’s, new book? “Get to know Gary Busey, who once told me he was an angel in an earth suit. Indeed he is, giving us messages he’s received from on high, messages that inspire and support us in living a beautiful fulfilled life. Get to know my dear friend Gary Busey, read Buseyisms.”
Professional actor and semi-professional wildman Busey has done more things in his life, ranging from the impressive to the insane, than most people have done in ten lifetimes, and he’s still going.

Through it all, Busey has kept a positive outlook, even as he’s endured more extreme highs and lows then one would think possible. He’s rubbed elbows with cinema legends, partied with the rich and famous, and even toured with a hit band. It’s all in Buseyisms: Gary Busey’s Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth ($24.99), along with some sage words from a real character.

Regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time, Kenney Jones has seen it all, played with everyone, and partied with all of them. He’s enjoyed the highs, battled the lows, and emerged in one piece.
Let the Good Times Roll: My Life in Small Faces, Faces, and The WhoLet the Good times Roll ($29.99) is the long-awaited memoir of the legendary drummer’s life and times in the bands Small Faces, Faces and The Who. Jones has penned a breathtaking immersion into music past that leaves readers feeling as if they lived it too.SS moving memoir from one of ESPN’s top football reporters, Kirkus Rviews says that Adam Schefter’s The Man I Never Met “is affecting not only for the story it tells of how the author learned to honor his wife’s husband as ‘the fifth member of [his] family,’ but also for how it shows a man growing into a mature understanding of the true meaning of love and sacrifice.” The Man I Never Met: A Memoir|
Super Bowl-winning coach and author Tony Dungy calls  “a story every American should read” and New York Times bestselling author Mitch Albom hails this memoir as, “A fresh and triumphant take on the aftermath of 9/11.”

The duo behind Delicious Poke Cakes and Delicious Dump Cakes is back with another book of quick and easy desserts. Delicious Bundt Cakes: More Than 100 New Recipes for Timeless Favorites
In Delicious Bundt Cakes, ($19.99), Roxanne Wyss and Kathy Moore unlock the secret of the Bundt cake. The book features more than 100 recipe—made completely from scratch, as well as recipes based on boxed cake mixes—and color photos throughout, along with all the hints and tips you’ll need to make a spectacular Bundt cake every time.  Chocolate Peanut Butter Tunnel Bundt Cake anyone?

Books, DVDs, Movies

Don Graham takes a “Giant” and riveting look into the film that takes a wide-angle look of America

As I was doing research for my new book, Judy Garland Slept Here (to be published in September 2019 by Running Press), I read a most fascinating book which I dug into earlier: Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making of a Legendary American Film (St. Martin’s Press; $27.99). Don Graham takes a larger-than-life narrative of the making of the classic film based on Edna Ferber’s controversial novel. Taking a wide-angle view of America—and Texas—in the Eisenhower era, Graham reveals how the film and its production mark the rise of America as a superpower, the ascent of Hollywood celebrity, and the flowering of Texas culture as mythology.

Featuring James Dean, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor, Giant dramatizes a family saga against the background of the oil industry and its impact upon ranching culture—think Spindletop Hill in Beaumont, Texas and the fabled King Ranch in South Texas.

Isolating his star cast in the wilds of West Texas in the summer of 1955, director George Stevens brought together a volatile mix of egos, anxieties, sexual tensions and talent. Stevens certainly had his hands full with Hudson’s latent insecurities, Taylor’s high diva-dom, and Dean’s rebellious antics. Yet he coaxed performances out of them that made cinematic history, winning Stevens the Academy Award for Best Director and garnering nine other nominations, including a nomination for Best Actor for James Dean, who died before the film was finished.

In this compelling and impeccably researched narrative history of the making of the film, Graham chronicles the stories of Stevens, whose trauma from witnessing the horrors of World War II intensified his ambition to make films that would tell the story of America; of Edna Ferber, a considerable literary celebrity who meets her match in the imposing Robert Kleberg, proprietor of the vast King Ranch; and of Glenn McCarthy, the Errol Flynn lookalike who became the most famous wildcatter in Texas history and the builder of Houston’s grand Shamrock Hotel.

Drawing on archival sources, Graham’s book is a comprehensive depiction of the film’s production, showing readers how reality became fiction and fiction became cinema.

Uncategorized

A Pittsburgh literary force: Zoje Stage, the creator of the frightful “Baby teeth”

Meet Hanna. Hanna is a mute seven-year-old who adores her father.
He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to
live happily ever after with him. But her mother, Suzette, stands in
her way. Since she was almost three, Hanna’s felt the need to test
Suzette, to find out what she was made of. So Hanna would act, and
give Suzette a chance to act in reply. And then she’d know. If Suzette passed or failed. But though Suzette tried, she couldn’t figure out Hanna’s game. So Hanna’s moved on from testing Suzette, to plotting to kill her.

Meet Suzette. She loved Hanna so effortlessly when she was a baby. Baby Hanna had simple, intuitive needs. Girl Hanna is a box within a box, manipulating, antagonizing, and now harming Suzette. Girl Hanna intentionally cut Suzette’s hair, fed a schoolmate paint, set a trashcan on fire, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Suzette is out of options. She needs to put Hanna away to save her marriage, and keep her sanity.

Image result for baby teeth cover

Baby Teeth (St. Martin’s Press; $26.99), by screenwriter-turned-novelist Zoje Stage, is more than a story about a bad seed. It is an
“unnerving and unputdownable” look at a mentally ill girl with a murky future, and a physically and emotionally vulnerable woman ambiguous about being a mother, “an unflinching portrait of
childhood psychopathy and maternal regret.”

In her book debut, Stage writes from both points of view beautifully, imagining the creative and precocious Hanna, bursting with imagery and emotions she can’t figure out how to express, and imposing her own anxieties and dealings with chronic disease on the emotionally and physically vulnerable Suzette.

Books

TAKE A FEW LESSONS FROM ADDIE GUNDRY AND LIFE WILL BE AWFULLY TASTY!

You can dress it up or dress it down—on the grill, in a sandwich, soup or salad, glazed, baked, pan-seared, fried, kid-friendly, decked out on the holiday table or as an appetizer on game day. Is there any food so versatile as chicken?

In her newest cookbook Easy Chicken Recipes: 103 Inventive Soups, Salads, Casseroles, and Dinners Everyone Will Love (St. Martin’s Griffin,  $19.99), Food Network Star finalist Addie Gundry approaches a chicken like a blank canvas, bursting with possibilities. For any occasion, for any cuisine, from French to Indian, Chinese, Mexican and everything in between, chicken will always prevail. Gundry skillfully shows home cooks how to master and reinvent it.

From a perfectly golden roaster chicken surrounded with herbed potatoes to soups, salads, and casseroles that make myriad uses of the resulting leftovers, Easy Chicken Recipes is perfectly poised to answer home cooks’ boredom with and reliance upon the old standby: a chicken dinner. Each recipe is paired with a gorgeous, full-color, finished-dish photo.

Here, she shares one of her favorite dishes. We tried it and have two words: “easy” and “yummy”!

Chicken Rotini Bubble Up
Yield: Serves 6 | Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour
This dish has a beautifully golden crust. The biscuits on top look like a lattice on a pie or a wicker basket. Not only the perfect comfort food, this recipe is also a showstopper for any potluck.

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces rotini
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 carrots, chopped
1 (12-ounce) bag frozen mixed vegetables
Kosher salt
¾ cup all-purpose flour
4½ cups chicken broth, low sodium preferred
1 cup half-and-half
½ teaspoon dried thyme
3 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped (about 3 cups)
1 (16.3-ounce) can refrigerated biscuits

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the rotini and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the mixed vegetables and 1 teaspoon salt and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5–7 minutes.
Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of the chicken broth and cook until thickened. Slowly whisk in the remaining broth, the half and-half and thyme.

Add the chicken, vegetable mixture, and pasta and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. While the chicken mixture is simmering, open the can of biscuits and cut each one into four pieces.
Pour the chicken mixture into the prepared baking dish. Place the biscuit pieces all over the top of the dish, completely covering the pasta.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until the edges are bubbling and the biscuits are golden brown. Serve.
Note: To cook the chicken, place the breasts on a baking sheet and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes.

[Copyright © 2018 by Addie Gundry in Easy Chicken Recipes and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Griffin.]

Books, Music, TV

Keegan Allen shows the mythical magic and dark dreams of “Hollywood”

Marilyn Monroe said it best: “Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty cents.”

Keegan Allen shows it best with his lavish tome Hollywood: Photos and Stories from Foreverland (St. Martin’s Press, $29.99). Allen, an actor; photographer; bestselling author and musician best-known from the No. 1 hit show on Freeform, Pretty Little Liars; reveals the Hollywood we see—and the one we don’t—with a photography narrative featuring more than 250 emotionally charged color and black and white photos. No wonder his first book, life.love.beauty, was a national bestseller.Image result for keegan allen

The Hollywood native grew up in a world that millions
visit and many more imagine. In his new book he turns his eye and camera to the place he knows best. Hollywood captures the beauty
and glamour of the place itself—with unusual angles of the famous sign, the Chateau Marmont at twilight, secret local hideaways, red carpets and more—but also the darker side of dreams unrealized in the faces, hands, eyes and footsteps of those who live on the fringe of celebrity. His photos are enhanced by revealing, intimate captions, lyrics, and other writing, as well as exciting parodies, and iconic emulations.

A book that will engage and surprise Keegan’s legions of fans and followers, Hollywood is an essential gift for anyone who has visited or imagined this storied place

Books, Celebrity Chatter

“Diving for Starfish” is a 14-karat mystery, wrapped among the rich and famous and 71 cabochon rubies and 241 amethysts

It’s a fascinating read, a sparkling mystery wrapped in the world of the super-rich and priceless jewels. Literally. In Diving for Starfish: The Jeweler, the Actress, the Heiress, and One of the World’s Most Alluring Pieces of Jewelry (St. Martin’s Press, 26.99), Cherie Burns takes readers on a search for a dazzling, elusive starfish pin—one of the most coveted pieces of jewelry in the world. 

Created in the early 1930’s by a young designer in the workroom of the famous Parisian jeweler Boivin, the starfish pin was distinctive because its five rays were articulated, meaning that they could curl and conform to the bustline or shoulder of the women who wore it. The House of Boivin crafted only three of these gold starfish, each one encrusted with 71 cabochon rubies and 241 small amethysts. The women who were able to capture the rare starfish were as fabulous as the pin itself.

Millicent Rogers, socialite and fashion icon, and Claudette Colbert, Hollywood leading lady, were two of the women adorned by one of the three pins that exist today. Obsessed with the pin after she saw it in the private showroom of a Manhattan jewelry merchant, Burns set off on a journey to find out all she could about the elusive pins and the women who owned them. Her search took her around the world to Paris, London, New York and Hollywood.

Image result for starfish pin colbert
Millicent Rogers wearing her starfish brooch.

Both a history of fine jewelry coming out of Paris in the Golden Age and a tour through the secretive world of high-end, privately-sold jewelry, Diving for Starfish is a stylish detective story with a glittering piece of jewelry and the equally dazzling women who loved them.

Books

The main reason we love Ruth Bader Ginsburg: She hates Adolph Frump as much as we do. Smart lady. And what quotes!

The main reason we love Ruth Bader Ginsburg:  She hates Adolph Frump as much as we do. Smart lady.

While she’s been a Supreme Court Justice for the past 25 years, Ginsburg is in the forefront of American politics and culture now more than ever before.

She is continually in the news for her opposition to the Frump administration. She is an icon to the modern feminist movement. On May 4 the documentary RBG, focusing on Justice Ginsburg’s life and career, will be released in selected theaters, and it has already been selected for the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

Need more Justice Ginsburg? Have her handy . . . and in your pocket. With nearly 150 quotes from RBG herself, You Can’t Spell Truth Without Ruth (St. Martin’s Press, $16.99) is the perfect handy-sized dose of motivation and inspiration for change-makers in the world today. Let RBG’s words on law and life from her past 25 years on the bench of the Supreme Court  give you courage to stand up and say, “I dissent.”

You Can't Spell Truth Without Ruth: An Unauthorized Collection of Witty & Wise Quotes from the Queen of Supreme, Ruth Bader GinsburgHer quotes are witty and wise. Think:

  • “If you’re going to change things, you have to be with the people who hold the levers.”

  • “As long as I can do the job full steam, I will do it.”

  • “Yes, there are miles in front, but what a distance we have travelled.”

Books, TV

Take a few lessons from Addie Gundry and life will be slow . . . and awfully tasty!

Nothing says comfort food more than the aroma of a warm, slow cooked meal wafting through your home. In her newest cookbook Essential Slow Cooker Recipes: 103 Fuss-Free Slow Cooker Meals Everyone Will Love (St. Martin’s Griffin, $19.99), Food Network Star finalist Addie Gundry revolutionizes recipes for the perfect hearty slow cooked meal.From classics like pierogi casserole with sausage to Asian specialties like soba noodles with vegetables and orange chicken, Gundry has it covered. Simply put everything in a slow cooker, then sit back, relax and sniff.

A slow cooker is the ideal partner in crime when it comes to tackling dishes that can be too time and work-intensive for every day, like French onion soup or chicken cordon bleu. In her cookbook, Gundry goes way beyond the expected soups and stews offering up recipes for appetizers like BBQ meatballs, breads and make-ahead breakfasts like banana pecan French toast . . . not to mention slow cooker twists on beloved recipes like lasagna, meatloaf and stuffed peppers.

Recipes include:
Appetizers: Bacon Cheeseburger Dip, Honey Buffalo Chicken Sliders
Breakfast: Potato Puff Breakfast Casserole, Easy Artisan Bread
Classic Recipes: Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pot Roast, Pork Chops in Mushroom Sauce
Dinner Recipes: Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, Lemon Pepper Salmon
Side Dishes: Au Gratin Potatoes, Pizza Pull-Apart Bread
Soup and Stew Recipes: Hungarian Goulash, French Onion Soup
Dessert: Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread, Peach Cobbler

So delicious is the book that noted chef Rick Tramonto gushes: ““Perfect, easy-to-make recipes when you’re looking for something a little different to share with friends and family. Watching Addie’s star shine has been truly inspiring. She is definitely going to be an impactful leader in the next generation of chefs.”

Books, TV

Bread? Pasta? Potatoes? Bob Harper proves the “c” word is something easy to swallow

As a diabetic, I have to watch the “c” word. No, not that word (though I use it all the time), but “carbs”. Think pasta. Potatoes. Bread. Now, Bob Harper, host of The Biggest Loser and No. 1 bestselling author, has good news for us: We can all eat carbs again.  Sort of. As he writes in The Super Carb Diet: Shed Pounds, Build Strength, Eat Real Food  (St. Martin’s Press, $25.99), “Carbs don’t make you fat!”

After surviving a serious heart attack, Harper realized that he needed balance, both in his life and on his plate.  To balance his diet without gaining weight, he developed a program high in nutrients that would help maintain his weight and provide the energy he needed to recover.  That program grew into The Super Carb Diet.  

This is a balanced, scalable diet that will work for everyone, whether they’re trying to lose or maintain weight, and even for those super-athletes who want to build lean muscle. With effective workout routines that can be done at home, in the gym or while traveling, Harper has designed a program with enough variety to satisfy your hunger and motivate your body.

The Super Carb Diet: Shed Pounds, Build Strength, Eat Real Food by [Harper, Bob, Pellegrino, Danny]

With motivation and empathy balanced with tough love, he provides:

  • 2 weeks of sample menus featuring large and varied meals
  • Easy recipes for three full, everything-on-the-plate meals and a floater meal
  • A clear understanding of carbs (vegetables, whole grains, fruits) vs. “carbage” (potato chips, pretzels, white bread)
  • Tips for handling the urge to cheat—on vacations, during holidays, high stress times
  • Bob’s Signature Workouts
  • Sample food journals

In three months The Super Carb Diet will help anyone get lean, build strength, and enjoy foods that keep them happy and full.  Bob has combined his vast knowledge with hard-earned life experience to offer a road map to make us healthy and strong enough to handle anything that comes our way.