Thirty years ago, Thienna Ho and her family were Vietnamese boat people who survived a brutal attack by Thai pirates during a treacherous voyage on their way to their new home in San Francisco. Now Thienna is a super-athlete who has broken Guinness World Records (GWR) for feats of strength and endurance.

Thienna said when she applied to challenge this world record with GWR, the world record was just 69,445 pounds in one hour held by Eamonn Keane (Ireland) in 2007. Since she posted her personal record of 90,000 pounds in an hour on YouTube, two men had tried and one man has beaten her personal record, taking over the new world title. The current world record is 90,058 lb by Stuart Barr of the UK as of April 2010.

Thienna is not only a super-athlete but also a nutritional scientist. Thienna credits her endurance and strength to her sulfur rich diet which she developed during years of research and testing on how foods affect skin health, complexion, and fitness. She is eager to show the world that you do not need drugs or steroids to be strong and harness tremendous endurance. You just need to eat the right foods.

Thienna’s cookbook has been widely anticipated. Everything you want to know about how she eats, prepares food, and all other secrets are packed in her ground-breaking book, “Cooking on the Light Side: Smart Recipes for Bright Skin and Vitality” (ISBN: 978-0-9792103-7-2).

You can participate in Thienna’s attempt to make history at the official Guinness World Records event. Admission is free and open to the public. A Guinness World Records adjudicator, Amanda Mochan, will be on hand to witness Thienna. Thienna’s new cookbook will be given out free to attendees and a book signing will be held right after the event.

Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2010. Location: St. Emydius Gym San Francisco, 255 Jules Street, San Francisco, CA 94112. Event Time: 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time (PDT/PST) USA. Live Broadcast: www.livestream.com/thiennainc .

Note: Attendees are advised to arrive at approximately 12:00 p.m. to allow for parking time. Private parking will be available for media only.

To learn more about Thienna Ho, please visit:
www.CookingOnTheLightSide.com, www.thienna.com, or www.youtube.com/thiennainc .

During her presentation, Judith Haney will give away autographed copies of her latest book, “Only God Knows The Real Value of Anything” (ISBN: 978-1450538299) which supplies insightful property valuation information to buyers and sellers

Judith Haney’s latest book is available for purchase at Amazon.com. Haney has pledged all proceeds from the sale of her latest book to the American Red Cross International Response Fund.

Judith Haney Certified Appraiser, owner of ALAVALUE Certified Appraisers, is a 30-year veteran real estate appraiser who serves the public and the financial services industry with offices in Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, and Auburn, Alabama.

For more information, contact: The office of Judith Haney Certified Appraiser, ALAVALUE Certified Appraisers, 1900 Corporate Drive #380911, Birmingham, AL 35238, Telephone 205-871-1181, or visit www.judithhaney.com .

John Stossel, former co-anchor of the long-running ABC News show 20/20 and now on Fox TV, will interview attorney and author Heiser as part of an hour-long show looking at the future of entitlements such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in the U.S., in light of their increasing costs as the Baby Boomer generation ages.

“It was exciting being on the Stossel show, and more importantly, it gave me a chance to explain the role of Medicaid planning,” said Heiser. “John asked me some tough questions, and I had to explain how Medicaid planning is no different from tax planning: in each case, you are simply making use of the laws that Congress has passed, to your best advantage. There is nothing illegal, sneaky, or even unpatriotic about that!”

Heiser has been an attorney specializing in elder care and estate planning for 25 years, helping people pay for nursing home care without having to deplete their assets. His book, available at www.MedicaidSecrets.com, discusses the importance of advance planning to protect assets in the event of an upcoming nursing home stay; what to do if there is not enough time to plan; how to protect your home; what the penalties are for making gifts and when they can be ignored; and how to utilize “Medicaid-friendly” annuities as an asset protection device.

The show will air this Thursday (March 25) (on the Fox Business Network) at 8 p.m. ET. It re-runs that night at 11 p.m. ET, Friday at 10pm ET, Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, and Sunday at 10 p.m. ET. To find your local Fox Business network channel, go here and enter your zip code: www.foxbusiness.com/channel_finder.html/ . If you miss the live broadcast, it will be available via the online archive: www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/stossel/ .

About Phylius Press:

Established in 2004, Phylius Press is an outgrowth of the elder law practice of attorney K. Gabriel Heiser. For more information on “How to Protect Your Family’s Assets from Devastating Nursing Home Costs: Medicaid Secrets” see www.MedicaidSecrets.com or call 888-224-5988.

CHAPTERS also features a line-up of special guest authors, curated by Maud Newton:
- Friday, February 26: Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Wench.
- Friday, March 26: Nami Mun, author of Miles From Nowhere.
- Friday, April 23: Lizzie Skurnick, author of Shelf Discovery.
- Friday, May 21: Ru Freeman, author of A Disobedient Girl.
- Friday, June 18: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of The Thing Around Your Neck.

CHAPTERS is co-sponsored by: The Center for Fiction, Eileen Fisher, American Eagle Outfitters, glassybaby and M + E/Michael Fusco Design. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from: The National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts, and The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

About The Guest Authors:
Dolen Perkins-Valdez’s (www.dolenperkinsvaldez.com) fiction and essays have appeared in StoryQuarterly, Robert Olen Butler Prize Stories 2009, The Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. She splits her time between Washington, D.C. and Seattle. Wench (Amistad, 2010) is her first novel.

Nami Mun (www.namimun.com) is the author of the debut novel, Miles from Nowhere (Riverhead), which was shortlisted for the Orange Award. Named Best New Novelist of 2009 by Chicago magazine, she is a recipient of a Pushcart Prize and a Whiting Award.

Lizzie Skurnick’s (www.lizzieskurnick.com) new book is Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading (Avon, 2009). She is columnist for Jezebel.com‘s Fine Lines and has written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, The Washington Post and more.

Ru Freeman’s (www.rufreeman.com) debut novel, A Disobedient Girl (Atria Books, 2009), will also be published in Dutch, Italian, Chinese, Portuguese and Hebrew. She calls both Sri Lanka and America home and writes about the people and countries underneath her skin.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (www.halfofayellowsun.com) is the author of Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, and The Thing Around Your Neck. She has received numerous awards, including the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

About Girls Write Now:
Girls Write Now (GWN), the first and only East Coast nonprofit to combine mentoring and writing instruction within the context of all-girl programming, has, since 1998, helped nearly 3,000 underserved or at-risk girls from NYC’s public high schools develop into the next generation of writers and readers. In recent years, GWN has been profiled in The New York Times and featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. In November, the organization received a 2009 Coming Up Taller Award from First Lady Michelle Obama and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, distinguishing Girls Write Now as one of the top 15 after-school arts and humanities programs in the nation.

More information: www.girlswritenow.org .

AMERICA LIBRE (ISBN 978-0446507752) is a cautionary tale of a near-future where once-peaceful immigration rallies explode into riots against the violence of self-appointed border patrols and urban vigilante shootings. As the violence escalates, the U.S. Southwest becomes embroiled in a war of liberation led by Latino insurgents. Amid the chaos in his L.A. barrio, decorated Afghan vet Manolo Suarez finds himself romantically drawn to a Latina radical activist, threatening his marriage, his family – and his loyalty to his country.

Along with its timely premise, the novel has also garnered literary praise. A 2008 International Latino Book Award winner, AMERICA LIBRE has been called “thrilling and vibrant” by New York Times best-selling author James Rollins and a “sweeping, intense novel of extremism, fear and consequences” by Publishers Weekly. The novel has also built a considerable grassroots following on the Internet in scores of blog reviews and interviews and is a popular subject on Twitter.

Interest in the novel has spread to academic circles. Ramos will be presented at several area colleges by the AMERICA LIBRE Committee headed by Dr. Jess Nieto, Professor of Chicano & Latino Studies at California State University Long Beach. Ramos will also lead two workshops for authors at the Southern California Writers Conference September 25-27.

About Grand Central Publishing

Grand Central Publishing, formerly Warner Books, came into existence in 1970 when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library, subsequently publishing paperback reprints editions of such bestsellers as Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird,” and Umberto Eco’s “The Name Of The Rose.” Today Grand Central Publishing reaches a diverse audience through hardcover, trade paperback and mass market imprints that cater to every kind of reader. For more information, visit www.hachettebookgroup.com.

About Raul Ramos y Sanchez

A long-time resident of the U.S. Midwest, Cuban-born Raul Ramos y Sanchez began writing AMERICA LIBRE in 2004 with the input of scholars from Latin America, Spain, and the United States. Besides developing a documentary for public television, Two Americas: The Legacy of our Hemisphere, he is host of MyIimmigrationStory.com – an online forum for the U.S. immigrant community. For more information, visit www.RaulRamos.com.

Book signings for AMERICA LIBRE in Southern California will be held at:
Vroman’s Bookstore – Pasadena, CA – September 21, 2009, 7 p.m.
Libreria Martinez – Santa Ana, CA – September 23, 2009, 7:30 p.m.
Mysterious Galaxy Books – San Diego, CA – September 24, 2009, 7 p.m.

With President Obama’s recent vow of a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s immigration system by early next year, the significance of the novel increases. “When I began writing America Libre in 2004, some thought the book’s premise was unrealistic,” the author explained. “An uprising by Hispanics? The idea seemed far-fetched, they said. Today, with the rhetoric over immigration growing more heated each day and hate crimes against Latinos on the rise, the skeptics are no longer so certain.” Ramos believes the novel is a wake-up call to the dangers of extremism – on both sides of this explosive issue.

The author will be in Southern California and available for interviews September 15 through 25. To arrange an appearance with the author, please contact:
Linda A. Duggins
Director, Multicultural Publicity
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
Room 16-179
New York, NY 10017
212-364-1424
212-364-0941, fax
linda.duggins@hbgusa.com

Book Summary:
Title: AMERICA LIBRE
Grand Central Publishing
Reprint July 29, 2009
ISBN 978-0446507752.

“We are excited about the caliber of authors that have chosen to participate in this year’s Author Pavilion,” says Mocha Ochoa, Literary Talk Show Host and Oracle Group CEO. “We have watched the NAACP Author Pavilion grow in a few short years from an idea to one of the premier African American venues to showcase literature of the brightest and best in our community, for this we are especially proud.”

The 2009 Centennial Author Pavilion will feature about 100 award-winning authors and poets in meet and greet sessions featuring author subjects ranging from history, biography, mysteries and thrillers, and books for families and young people.

Sponsored by Barnes and Noble the Centennial Author Pavilion is free and open to the public. The hours of operation are Monday July 13th from 2 p.m. through 6 p.m., Tuesday July 14th 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Wednesday July 15th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The final event is a conversation with Julian Bond and Dr. Cornel West taking place at Barnes and Noble Union Square on Wednesday July 15th from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. This discussion, moderated by Ms. Ochoa will discuss the “NAACP Past, Present and Future.”

For additional information on the NAACP Author Pavilion, please visit www.naacpauthorpavilion.com .

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members in the U.S. around the world advocate for civil and human rights, conducting voter mobilization campaigns, and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

The Oracle Group is an internationally recognized agency that specializes in producing literary events in a variety of non-traditional venues and seeks out exciting new locales for readers and authors to connect. Their initiatives and partnerships include the National Book Festival, NAACP Annual Author Pavilion (www.naacpauthorpavilion.com), Reading Across Continents Student Literary Exchange Project and the In the Cafe with Mocha literary talk show.

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans cite several studies indicating that light-to-moderate alcohol consumption is linked to lower mortality from coronary heart disease, especially among men ages 45 or older and women ages 55 or older. But because of this bureaucratic suppression of such information, Skilnik has also recently written “Does My BUTT Look BIG In This BEER? Nutritional Values Of 2,000 Worldwide Beers” (ISBN-13: 978-0982218204, $10), now available in book stores and Internet book sites. Tired of waiting for the federal alcohol regulatory agency, the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to implement new changes in proposed alcohol nutrition labeling requirements that would tell consumers the nutritional benefits of beer, author and brewer Skilnik has instead compiled an impressive array of brews with their nutritional values. The paperback book can be used by dieters counting calories or carbohydrates or by moderate beer drinkers who simply want to know the nutritional values of what he or she is drinking. Currently, this kind of information is only available on light or low-carbohydrate beers, another Washingtonian mistake.

“Look, I understand that one more Czar in Washington would only add to the notion that there would be more Czars in D.C. than you might have found at a turn-of-a-century Romanoff wedding. I’d therefore be willing instead to be a ‘Roving Beer Nutrition Czar,’ visiting bar after bar – something my wife would attest that I’m quite adroit at – to get the word out on the positive attributes of America’s favorite adult beverage. I’m tired of reading nonsense websites of half-truths or picking up popular diet books that meekly admit that a little beer is good for your heart but then can’t tell you how many calories, carbohydrates or even Weight Watchers POINTS(R) are in beer or read the further mindless dribble of web-based ‘experts’ who claim that beer contains nothing more than ‘empty’ calories. In reality, you can find fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, K and water soluble vitamins like C B1, B2, B6, B12, folic acid, biotin and niacin in beer. In addition, beer also contains 21 minerals, no fat, no cholesterol and less sodium per serving than all the honest politicians in all the bars in D.C. on a Friday night.”

“This Friday, June 19, 2009, I will be sending my resume to the White House in consideration for this much-needed political appointment. At the rate that President Obama is appointing Czars, I figure if I get my hat into the ring early enough, I might have a strong chance of securing this spot. My son’s high school jeweled Prom King crown fits me so that should help keep the federal budget somewhat in line with ceremonial accouterments, and if we concentrate on American beers only, we’ll be able to keep jobs from going overseas and make America stronger.”

“Bob Skilnik is a certified brewer and freelance writer. He has been a contributor to the Good Eating Section of the Chicago Tribune and a former columnist for the LowCarb Energy magazine. The Chicago writer has appeared on ABC’s “The View,” ESPN2′s “Cold Pizza,” and Fox News Channel’s “Fox News Live,” preaching the moderate consumption and nutritional aspects of adult beverages. Skilnik is currently working on a similar nutritional research project with wine for fall publication.

“Does My BUTT Look BIG In This BEER? Nutritional Values Of 2,000 Worldwide Beers” is distributed by Ingram Book Group, the world’s largest wholesale distributor of book products. With four distribution centers strategically located throughout the country and the largest inventory in the industry, Ingram provides the fastest delivery available. More info on Skilnik’s efforts to de-fang nutritional misnomers about adult beverages can be found at www.MyBeerButt.com .

The event will take place from 4-6 p.m., and admission is free and open to the public. This program is co-sponsored by The New School’s Department of Media Studies and Film.

Girls Write Now mentees, who range in age from 14 to 21, will read from their new anthology, tackling themes of family, personal identity, independence, sexuality and hundreds of high school days. This year’s anthology features an introduction by Judy Blundell, winner of the 2008 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for her novel, What I Saw and How I Lied.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to see the Girls Write Now community in action,” said Maya Nussbaum, Executive Director of Girls Write Now.

Amy Robach serves as the Saturday TODAY anchor and as a national correspondent for Nightly News and TODAY. Robach joined MSNBC in September of 2003 as a daytime anchor. Since then, she has anchored coverage of major news events including the War in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2004 Presidential Election. Robach traveled to Washington, D.C. to cover both President Bush’s second Inauguration and the Funeral of President Ronald Reagan. Robach began her career in broadcast journalism in Athens, Georgia, starting as an anchor at WUOG-FM, and later interning at WNGM-TV. Robach graduated from the University of Georgia with honors, and received a bachelor of arts in journalism. She lives in New York with her husband Tim and their two daughters.

Hailed as “one of our most astute diagnosticians of contemporary experience,” (Boston Globe) who “rivals [Alice] Munro at her greatest” (Kirkus, starred review), Jean Thompson has emerged as “one of our most lucid and insightful writers” (San Francisco Chronicle). The unanimous critical acclaim for each of Thompson’s works of fiction has been accompanied by a profusion of honors and awards: Who Do You Love was a National Book Award finalist, Throw Like a Girl made the New York Times’ “100 Notable Books” list and topped the “Best of 2007 lists” in the San Francisco Chronicle and Chicago Tribune. With each succeeding collection, this gifted writer has garnered increasing attention from an ever-widening circle of admirers.

In “DO NOT DENY ME: Stories,” her latest collection of short fiction (Simon & Schuster; June 9, 2009; paperback original; $14.00), Thompson excels at defining the unexamined lives that most of her characters have fashioned for themselves and the connections and compromises they make in attempting to assuage their dissatisfactions. Of her work, David Sedaris has said, “If there are ‘Jean Thompson characters,’ they’re us, and never have we been so articulate and worthy of compassion.” She lives in Illinois. More: www.jeanthompsononline.com/.

Girls Write Now Inc. (GWN) is New York’s premier creative writing and mentoring non-profit organization, matching bright, creative teenage girls from the city’s public high schools with professional women writers in the community since 1998. Through weekly one-to-one mentoring, monthly group genre-based workshops, and quarterly public readings, their mission is to provide a safe and supportive environment where low-income, at-risk girls can expand their natural writing talents, develop independent voices, and build confidence in making healthy choices in school, career and life. 100 percent of all seniors completing the program go on to college and GWN students have earned a total of 33 Scholastic Gold and Silver Writing Awards over the last three years. The organization was recently featured in both The New York Times and as part of the NBC Nightly News “Making a Difference Series.”

In 2009, GWN was honored by The Union Square Awards for creating educational opportunities, building community, and promoting progressive social change; GWN was also chosen as a Coming Up Taller Semifinalist by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, distinguishing it as one of the top arts- and humanities-based programs in the country serving youth beyond the school hours. More: www.girlswritenow.org/.

“Through education, women are better prepared to respond to work and life challenges. The news about Wall Street and Main Street shows that the time is now to equip and position self for success and the growing needs of working women demands energetic ways of helping them get ready,” says Dr. Trevicia Williams.

* Health education and information to help women live balanced lives
* Organizations: Improve the retention rate of best talent
* Enhance productivity: Become a more valuable employee

Work-life benefits research (www.wlb.com) show continued trends that professionals are declining promotions and even compensation in pursuit of work-life balance. As women pursue balance, having access to education and training that teaches them ways to improve their performance, and manage time and stress helps them create clearer boundaries across the multiple roles they have,” says Dr. Trevicia Williams.

The empowering one day get away is for this millennium’s conscientious woman and includes educational sessions with expert speakers presenting on topics spanning from effectiveness to careers, beauty, wellness, business and wealth management. There will also be a free expo with interactive seminars and exhibits designed to ignite women and give them what they need to move through today’s economy. Women can enjoy a business casual atmosphere while learning about products and services that make them look or perform better.

The 360 Degree Women Conference and Expo starts at 8:00 a.m. – Saturday March 21, 2009 at the Embassy Suite Hotel in Orlando Florida. For details, please contact Vanessa Taylor at 407-271-3755 or visit www.tmwoman.com.

About Dr. Trevicia Williams

Dr. Trevicia Williams is an author, speaker and psychologist with over a decade of academic studies in human behavior. She earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston-Downtown, Master’s degree from the University of Houston-Clear Lake and Doctorate degree from Walden University. Visit www.treviciawilliams.com for details.

President Johnson Sirleaf appears on Friday April 17, 2009 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. The event time is 6:30 p.m. Each ticket comes with a signed book and a portion of the proceeds will help to support literacy initiatives in Liberia.

Event partners include, the U.S. Department of State Office Bureau of African Affairs, Library of Congress, the Mayors’ Office on African Affairs and Afrocaribe TV

“In the Cafe with Mocha,” produced by The Oracle Group (www.theoraclegroup.net) is a weekly, 30-minute talk show highlighting the works of nationally and internationally acclaimed authors. It is an exciting new twist on the literary talk show that encourages the participation and interaction of readers by offering outlets at home, online and in the community.

Authors will appear at selected venues across the nation where readers are invited to participate in the television taping. Following each filming readers are offered the opportunity to meet and greet the authors and take part in a book signing. The show takes the reader out of the traditional setting into an arena where books and authors are able to come alive through the power of television and the internet.

The Oracle Group is an internationally recognized agency that specializes in producing events that promote literacy. The primary focus is to connect authors with events that engage and uplift the local, national and global community. Their initiatives and partnerships include, the National Book Festival, NAACP Annual Author Pavilion, Reading Across Continents Student Literary Exchange Project and the first ever National Children’s Book Festival in September 2010.

Website: www.theoraclegroup.net