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New Projects

Fall-Winter 2017

The Rudy Agency

Non-Fiction

Culture/Society

o The billionaire battle in the collapse of Caesar’s Palace

o What really happened on Deepwater Horizon

o The huge rewards of growing small

o 12 Stories from China’s Modern Cultural Revolution

o The cheapo snob’s Guide to Paris

Current Events/History

o Diving into what’s happened between US Presidents

and Israeli leaders—and what it means

o The first insider look at the West Bank justice system

o How to fix the Israeli-Palestinian peace process

o Movie stuntman and humanitarian gives insider view

Science

o The neuroscience behind why we need wilderness

Self-Help/Performance Improvement

o Keep your crap, but get rid of your clutter

o Laughter: the medicine for cancer survival

Business/Finance/Economics

o A thriving libertarian millennial on “free market

capitalism”

o Building profitable relationships through golf

o What’s the opposite of “competitive?”

o Basic economics presented in 31 prehistoric tales

o Get something done the USMC way

Narrative Non-Fiction: Series

o The gripping stories of five high-profile crimes by a

leading FBI agent (ret.) and a bestselling author

Memoir/Biography

o Lost his dominant arm to a shark; just the beginning

o Going beyond teenage homelessness to explore

cultural identity

o Bio of the first Black woman to train racehorses

o Denied life-saving treatment, a mother fought back

o “You tell great stories for a retarded, deaf guy”

o A famous year on the road as Sting’s guitarist

o Genius, crazy, an orange jump suit, and miracles

o A Marine Corps hero who runs every day, everywhere

Strike Four A crisis in Major League Baseball begins a home-run

adventure for a pack of minor leaguers.

This is a debut novel by an experienced sportswriter.

Qwyrk Led by the shadow being, Qwyrk, a motley group of

humans and otherworldly creatures tries to solve a murder

and save the world from a supernatural threat.

This is the first in a series of adventures involving

Qwyrk and her cohort. The author has already produced a

series of three commercially-published books featuring

macabre tales from music, theater, and dance.

Doll A manhunt for a doll maker is the context for a story of

personal conflict, political intrigue, and individual survival.

The book is the first in a series and provides a glimpse

of the last days of the 250-year old Tokugawa Shogunate.

The Christ Box

After the discovery of a wooden box made by Jesus

Christ when he had been an apprentice carpenter, multiple

factions try to wrest possession of it from its owner, a

woman in Jerusalem.

A mystery thriller: Dan Brown-meets-Lee Child.

Wall Street Diva

A hard-living, hard-working Wall Street trader loses her

team when 9-11 strikes. With a pause in her powerful rise,

she must face her own demons as well as the collective

demons of Wall Street.

This is the debut novel by an experienced non-fiction

author and ghostwriter.

Bankhaus

A Swiss banker who hates the wealthy and makes her

living from them decides to skim—a decision that leads to

deadly subterfuge.

The author built his reputation as a CEO and non-

fiction author and is venturing into fiction for the first time.

Inside Back: Agent Profiles

Maryann Karinch, Founder

mak@RudyAgency.com

Hilary Claggett

claggett@RudyAgency.com

Fiction

Culture/Society

Raiding Caesars Palace The Billionaire Battle in Caesars Entertainment’s Mega-Bankruptcy

Max Frumes

It’s supposed to be the case that the more risk you’re willing to

tolerate, the more money you can make. But somehow, at the

periphery, where things fall apart, say where a car is repossessed, or a

house foreclosed upon, when a company fails, when the economy

collapses - there appears to be an exponential uptick in the money

that’s made by financial professionals that swoop in to exploit the

mess, while all the real pain and suffering is taken on by the unwitting

average citizen who’s suddenly out of car or home or without a

pension or job. No industry exemplifies the exploitation of that

inflection point more than distressed-debt investing. Distressed-debt

investing - dubbed “vulture investing” in its infancy – is the buying of

debt of struggling corporations, institutions and even cities (Detroit)

or countries, and making a profit on a turnaround.

Of the hundreds of billions of dollars in leveraged buyouts that

closed one or two years before the height of the financial crisis in

2008, a shockingly high percentage have undergone bankruptcy or

some form of restructuring: Among the worst timed and most

indebted was the 2008 $31 billion buyout of Caesars Entertainment

by Apollo and the Texas Pacific Group that precipitated the

precedent-setting 2015 bankruptcy of Caesars Entertainment

Operating Company, a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment, and how

it led to the crushing defeat of the previously untouchable private

equity billionaire Leon Black by, among his many enemies, hedge fund billionaire David Tepper. And in

covering the case, the book will paint a picture of the modern corporate restructuring world that

pervades our country’s economic ecosystem.

Caesars’ case further stands out in how it pit the billionaire titans of distressed debt against both each

other and those of private equity – with Apollo as a hybrid. The scope of this one case spans the whole

country, in and out of court, across multiple levels of government, throughout academia, and ultimately

involves the whole financial system undergirding pensions and investments. Author Max Frumes

illuminates the major players in this industry and the businesspeople who are at the tipping points of

almost every major corporate and governmental turnaround in recent history. It’s a story of cut-throat,

multilevel competition between powerful investors used to getting their own way. And it’s a story of

individuals who’ve developed such skill and expertise in a field interwoven with major upheaval and

transition - but who remain distant from the true impacts of those changes.

Max Frumes is the founding editor at Reorg Research, the industry leader in the technical coverage of

distressed-debt investing and corporate bankruptcies. He founded Reorg Research in 2013 to inform an

audience of hedge funds, restructuring, and capital market professionals, combining top flight

journalism with expert legal and financial analysis. Frumes has a master’s degree from the Medill

School of Journalism.

The Deepwater Villains

The True Story of Who and What Caused the Deepwater Horizon Blowout

Robert Kaluza one of two men on the rig indicted for the deaths of 11 crewmembers

On April 20, 2010, eleven crewmembers lost their lives when BP’s offshore drilling rig,

Deepwater Horizon, had a blowout. Who and what were to blame for their deaths as well as the

incalculable devastation to marine life in the Gulf of Mexico?

Robert Kaluza, a BP engineer who had been on the rig 4½ days when the disaster occurred, was

indicted on 11 counts of Seaman’s Manslaughter, 11 counts of involuntary manslaughter, and one

violation of the Clean Water Act. It took a jury less than two hours to declare him innocent of all charges.

He had been scapegoated by the people responsible for the mistakes that caused the worst oil

spill in US history and a fiery nightmare for the 126 people aboard the Deepwater Horizon.

His dramatic story—documented by court documents, emails, and eye witness accounts—

delivers the truth about the blowout and those who caused it.

Why did it take him seven years? His trial did not even occur until spring of 2016, and up to that

time, he was completely silenced because of the constraints of his indictment.

The book includes facts about the rig that have not been revealed before. These explain what it

would have really cost for BP to make the Deepwater Horizon a safe rig.

Regarding the film, consider this:

In creating a film based on true events, filmmakers may hear from real people in the story who have

different memories of what happened. And because it’s not intended to be a documentary, the movie

also weaves in the imagination, beliefs, and experiences of writers, actors, and the director. Lots of

different versions of “the truth” come into play. There is nothing to criticize in that. But people who

watch The Wizard of Oz know it can’t possibly be true, whereas people who see a film like Deepwater

Horizon are naturally going to be inclined to accept it as a true, or mostly true, representation of what

happened.

Growing Small

Rick Kazebee

The author, an architect, sets out to build a house with his wife, Kris. The process was at times arduous

and infuriating, even desperate. The nervous banker wanted to foreclose, unpaid workers threatened

violence, and Rick became mysteriously ill. Every task was epic, every skill new. Together, they finally

finished their home only to find the story did not end.

He continued to work for a large architecture firm, but design awards lost meaning. Years of corporate

climbing faded while memories of laying concrete blocks in the sun endured. They say building a house

is a recipe for divorce, yet the young couple’s struggle brought them closer together. Once the house

was finished, however, he lost himself in a corporate abyss and they faded. In despair he began to build

again to escape alcoholism and save their marriage. Kris, it turns out, respects a happy craftsman more

than a miserable executive. It didn’t take him long to realize that the defiant days of building their own

home were the best of their lives.

From tiny house builders to craft brewers to local farmers, there is a broad interest in quality rather than

quantity, of living smaller and better. That yearning provides an audience for this work. The subject

matter is design and construction narrated by a neurotic architect, but the story is universal. This book is

for those who, like Kris and Rick, want to improve the quality of their lives.

Rick Kazebee is an award-winning architect, builder, furniture maker, author, university professor and

founder of Kazebee Design, PLLC. He holds bachelor and master of architecture degrees from Virginia

Tech, consistently a top-five architecture school. He worked at Perkins+Will, a top-five architecture firm

for eighteen years, ultimately becoming a design director. Rick is also a maker, a fixer, and a builder.

Knowing the world of architecture and the world of makers puts him in a unique position to bridge the

gap and write for both. At the core of all Rick’s work is an effort to reconnect to the physical world and

reintegrate the hand and the mind.

John’s Little Green Book

Twelve Stories from China’s Modern Cultural Revolution

John Pabon

China is undergoing a revolution.

Like Mao’s Cultural Revolution fifty years ago, today’s Revolution is shifting and shaping

China’s future. News’ cycles, talking heads, and politicians painting China as an apocalyptic horseman

overlook its impact. Perhaps it’s because citizens aren’t picking up guns and ammunition. In this

untelevised Revolution, those on the frontlines are building a more sustainable future for their country.

John’s Little Green Book: Twelve Stories from China’s Modern Cultural Revolution is the first

work to tell the stories of those in the vanguard of this Revolution. It follows a day in the life of

Shanghai’s scavengers, whose work collecting thousands of tons of waste keeps the city from drowning

in trash. It transports readers to places where, in the world’s most populous country, people are finding

ways to live off the grid. Conversations at malls and at temples reveal how today’s young Chinese can

marry a consumerist culture with a sustainable lifestyle.

As the world pivots east, the Revolution’s opening salvos will determine the future of the new

Asian century. Yet, these critical stories are missing from the nightly news. Such stories will intrigue

and challenge readers. They will also clear the fog on a misunderstood place, like Barbara Demick’s

Nothing to Envy did for North Korea and Katherine Boo’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers did for

Mumbai’s slums.

John Pabon has spent the last decade promoting sustainable development, including work with the

United Nations, A.C. Nielsen, and as a consultant with BSR, the world’s largest sustainability-focused

business network. Over the past 6 years, he has also chronicled the societal impacts of China’s economic

rise in his blog, John’s Little Green Book. He is a regular contributor to China-based business magazines

and speaks to an array of global audiences on issues of sustainability and societal change.

His home, in the heart of Shanghai’s former French Concession, allows him the perfect venue to

continue observing, learning, and writing on China as it goes through this dynamic era.

Pilgrimage to Paris

The Cheapo Snob’s Guide to the City and the Americans Who Lived There

Jayne R. Boisvert

Francophile Jayne R. Boisvert is neither cheap nor a snob. Rather, she’s like many of us in that she

doesn’t want to overpay and she has good taste. Given Jayne’s propensity for frugality as well as her

love of Paris, the idea grew to write a Cheapo Snob’s guide to the city. But this is not an ordinary travel

guide. More than merely providing an inexpensive way for “discerning individuals” to get to know the

French capital, this unique guidebook features short portraits of the Parisian experiences of famous

Americans from fields as diverse as writing, politics, music, and art, along with their addresses and how

to find each location. Many readers will be aware that authors Hemingway and Fitzgerald spent time in

Paris. That former residents include Thomas Jefferson, Art Buchwald, Isadora Duncan, Alexander

Calder, and Aaron Copland, among scores of others, might surprise some readers.

Jayne R. Boisvert is professor emerita from Russell Sage College, Troy, New York. She holds a

doctorate in French from the State University at Albany, New York. The author blogs about her

adventures, big and small, foreign and domestic, at www.cheaposnobs.com, which has received more

than 100,000 hits over the past six years. Her enthusiasm for all things French—vocabulary, literature,

history, culture, and, yes, even grammar—is evident in each passage of this cultural travel guide.

Current Events/History

PRESIDENTS AND THE PROMISED LAND

From Carter to Trump, Begin to Bibi:

The Special Relationships that Saved the US-Israel Alliance

Lahav Harkov and Seth Mandel

Two extraordinary reporters vividly deliver the stories of six presidents and their key personal relationships

with Israeli prime ministers. For all the people involved in negotiations over the years, what’s overlooked is

how the personal relationship between the president and prime minister have made or broken peace efforts.

The book shows how presidents have avoided, solved, or exacerbated crises in the US-Israel relationship to

demonstrate what works and what doesn’t.

Jimmy Carter and Menachem Begin. The most far-reaching and consequential agreement in the history of

Arab-Israeli peace talks was accomplished by a president and prime minister who got along terribly. The

authors show how Carter and Begin bridged those gaps by finding common ground in their deep religiosity

and commitment to principle, as well as key moments during the talks—bonding at a trip to the Civil War

battlefield at Gettysburg and through personal gestures the two men made to each other when the Camp

David conference seemed to be headed for failure.

Ronald Reagan and Menachem Begin. Reagan and Begin faced immense challenges that could have

strained the US-Israel relationship even more at a time when it was already on shaky ground, yet the

relationship came out stronger than it ever was. That’s largely due to the personal conversations between

Reagan and Begin during Israel’s war in Lebanon. Reagan’s cabinet was deeply hostile to the Israeli

administration, but Reagan always heard Begin’s side and often ended up an advocate for Israel’s position to

his skeptical cabinet.

Bill Clinton and Yitzhak Rabin. Clinton’s ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, echoed many other Clinton

insiders when he said that Rabin “became something of a father figure to” Clinton. The friendship between

the two men was extraordinary and helped sustain a peace process roiled by violence and tragedy. It also

colored the rest of Clinton’s involvement in Israeli affairs after Rabin was cut down by an assassin’s bullets.

The Oslo process produced by Clinton and Rabin has, for better and for worse, remained the guiding

structure for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations a quarter-century later.

Bill Clinton and Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s tumultuous first term as prime minister was marked

by his fraught relationship with Clinton—and how the two men rose above the tension to keep US-Israel

relations and the peace process humming along. The two leaders were immediately hamstrung by the fallout

from the Clinton administration’s unsuccessful attempt to keep Bibi from winning the 1996 election, and the

assassination of Rabin by a right-winger. Yet while many in Clinton’s administration saw Bibi as a right-

wing ideologue, Clinton himself knew better, telling historian Taylor Branch that Bibi wanted to “maneuver”

against the “crazies” in his coalition. Understanding—and relating to—Netanyahu’s centrism, Clinton was

able to keep Bibi at the table, culminating in the Wye River accords. “Wye created the perception in the

president’s mind that a deal was possible between Israelis and Palestinians,” Clinton’s Middle East point

man, Bruce Reidel, said later. We’ll show how Bill and Bibi created a template for presidents and prime ministers to follow in times of trouble.

Bill Clinton and Ehud Barak. Despite its success with Netanyahu, the Clinton team worked hard to ensure

Bibi would lose the next election to Ehud Barak, a man of the left the White House assumed would be easier

to “get to yes” on a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. But as they would find out, Barak

was a man obsessed with the power of his own “logic.” The interpersonal skills that enabled Clinton to get a

deal out of Netanyahu would be of no use, and the administration’s decision to go all-in on Barak ended up

producing a haphazard process that ended in failure. “Barak dealt only with the president,” explains Aaron

David Miller, who was part of Clinton’s Mideast team. And “despite his ‘can-do’ image, Ehud Barak did not

have a clear sense of how to accomplish his goals.” The books explains why Barak failed where Netanyahu succeeded, and how future presidents can get it right.

George W. Bush and Ariel Sharon. Both Bush and Sharon were men of the right, so veteran peace

processors were more than skeptical about the prospects for peace, especially coming on the heels of the

deadly Second Intifada. Yet Sharon, once the champion of Israel’s settlement movement, reversed course

and pulled all Israelis out of the Gaza Strip for good, turning the entire strip over to the Palestinians. The

disengagement plan also included parts of the West Bank. The authors explore how Bush’s understanding of

Israel’s security needs and his ability to win Sharon’s personal trust gave Sharon the space he needed to make such a profound and lasting concession.

Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu. Despite the presence of former Clinton administration officials

around Obama—including Hillary Clinton serving as secretary of state—the president failed to learn the

lessons of Bill Clinton’s success. The personal relationship between Obama and Bibi was icy from the start.

Obama, unlike Clinton, believed in the caricature of Netanyahu as a fierce right-wing true believer—the

facade through which Clinton saw. Netanyahu was viewed as an ideological foe. Bibi contributed his fair

share to this, most infamously by accepting and delivering an address to a joint session of Congress to rail

against Obama’s signature foreign-policy legacy, the Iran nuclear deal. Both both men picked the wrong

battles against each other—but there is a way to avoid that pitfall.

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu waited his whole career for a Republican president

to work with, but is learning the age-old adage: “Be careful what you wish for.” Trump’s mercurial

temperament and the corruption scandals weighing down Netanyahu have put the peace process on the back

burner. Nonetheless, Bibi has found a creative way to appeal to the president: mimic him. He has cast

himself as Trump’s ally in the battle against “fake news,” a biased media and a revanchist left-wing

establishment. We’ll detail the promise and the peril in this approach, and what it means for the future of the

US-Israel relationship.

***

Lahav Harkov is the Senior Knesset Reporter and Analyst for The Jerusalem Post, and a sought-after speaker

on Israeli politics and foreign relations. She’s written on those topics for Commentary, The New York Post,

The National Interest, Tablet and other publications, and co-authors the “Kafe Knesset” segment of Jewish

Insider’s daily newsletter. International news outlets often seek Lahav’s insights and analysis on breaking

news, and she is a regular on i24 News’ debate show “Spin Room.” Lahav also has a popular twitter account,

and has been recognized for her social media reporting by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, which named her

the fifth-most influential person on “Jewish twitter.”

Seth Mandel is the op-ed editor of the New York Post, where he is also a regular columnist. Previously, he

was assistant editor at Commentary, and he continues to write for the magazine. He served as a national-

security fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and was an award-winning newspaper

reporter and editor before that. A popular political Twitter personality and highly respected voice in current

affairs, Mandel’s work has been cited numerous times on Fox News and on talk radio, and has analyzed

Israeli politics on The Blaze TV and BBC radio.

Occupying the Gray Zone

Jeremy “Yonah” Bob

Terrorism & Legal Analyst and Reporter for the Jerusalem Post Intelligence

Asher Palmer, Na’ama Henkin, Naftali Fraenkel and others are American-Israelis or children of

American-Israelis who were murdered by Palestinians in the West Bank. Where their murderers

survived, they were brought to trial in the Israeli military West Bank Courts. Islam Ayoub, Jamal Haj,

Salim Rajoub are Palestinians who the Israeli military West Bank Courts ruled were mistreated by the

Israeli military prosecution, police or security agencies.

Is the central issue hanging over these twilight zone courts their addressing Palestinian terrorism against

Israelis and American-Israelis? Or is it their role in ruling over another people, as emphasized by a

recent hunger-strike by Palestinians in administrative detention?

Occupying the Gray Zone is a book and documentary project and the first-ever insider look at the West

Bank justice system. It is also a balanced, human story, which follows the key legal personalities of the

West Bank courts and their interactions in the high-profile cases that have come to define the Israeli-

Palestinian conflict. Top IDF officials signed off on special never-before-given access to the chief West

Bank prosecutor Maurice Hirsch, a South African-born, England-raised Jew whose parents were arrested

and forced to flee for fighting against the apartheid regime in the late 1980s. Also weighing in, is the

former chief justice Aharon Mishnayot who ushered in major reforms to expand Palestinian rights as

well as several of the leading Jewish, Christian and Muslim attorneys who vigorously defend the

Palestinians.

Through this multi-lens perspective, we see up close and personal how Israel’s national security needs

are weighed against her responsibilities as a democracy in the most complicated and notorious recent

cases.

THE MIDDLE EAST RIDDLE

THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE PROCESS

What went wrong and How to fix it

LUIS FLEISCHMAN, Ph.D.

The Middle East Riddle provides answers from a Middle East expert and scholar as to why the Israeli-

Palestinian crisis persists with innovative solutions to the ongoing crisis.

Contrary to conventional wisdom and most available literature, the book argues that the

Palestinian leadership acted against the creation of a Palestinian state and its independence because the

Palestinian Authority (PA) had no chance of sustaining a Palestinian state. The reason is that the PA

suffered from the threat of alternative organized military forces such as the Hamas, which also opposes

peace with Israel. Likewise, the PA suffered an internal legitimacy crisis as its corruption was becoming

more and more obvious to the Palestinian population.

The Palestinian leadership was aware of this. Thus, when Israel offered far-reaching concessions

on a number of occasions since 2000—including dismantlement of Jewish settlements, territorial

compromises, the creation of a Palestinian state, and the division of Jerusalem—the Palestinians rejected

them all. By contrast, Palestinians sought unreasonable demands that were unequivocally unacceptable

to Israelis. Dr. Fleischman views this as a Palestinian act of sabotage aimed at aborting rather than

promoting the creation of a Palestinian state. The victory of radical Islamic group Hamas in the 2006

parliamentary elections seemed to confirm that the PA was suffering from a serious crisis of legitimacy

as Palestinians viewed it as a corrupt entity. By the same token, Hamas’ successful coup d’état in 2007

against the PA in Gaza substantiates the point that a Palestinian state led by the PA would have

collapsed quickly.

The Middle East Riddle

Examines how the PA’s legitimacy crisis not only affected its motivation to solve the conflict

with Israel and make a Palestinian state a tangible, but also how this Palestinian weakness and

fragility raised the need to divert responsibility and appease dissident forces.

Analyzes how this systematic incitement has affected the normalcy of Palestinian life as

Palestinians become increasingly mobilized.

Explores a solution that incorporates the larger Arab world in the peace process.

Karma’s Rebels

Kevin Ball Hollywood Stuntman and Humanitarian

Foreword by Cindy McCain

Wife of Senator John McCain

This chronicle of humanitarian efforts by a busy Hollywood stuntman took on fresh meaning and new

stories with the back-to-back disasters of the past few months. Author Kevin Ball is reworking his tales

of adventure, commitment, and chaos with those events in mind. The narrative arc is strengthened with

each round of challenges and the varying degrees to which we address them—and try to avert them.

Two professional stuntmen, who have dealt with the callous machine of the movie industry, take

a leap of faith to open up and help some of the world’s top NGOs in their humanitarian efforts. Through

this, they travel to locations they never thought they would see, meet Presidents, trudge through jungles,

wander through ancient temples, tour landmine fields, and help raise awareness to those dedicating their

lives to humanity.

Their skills as stuntmen were put to use in the real world, in real hair-raising situations.

Karma’s Rebels has a strong narrative arc about the increasing commitment of Kevin Ball and

John Evanko to humanitarian efforts in the United States and overseas. It is thrilling stories of their

globe trekking explorations, all with the purpose of helping people in dire need. Starting with a single

idea and a plane ticket to Cambodia to document the removal of abandoned landmines, these two

embarked upon an adventure that neither could have predicted. When the two of them, freshly on their

first trip, were introduced to Cindy McCain, wife of Senator John McCain, their idea went from being a

modest dream to becoming a globe sweeping opportunity to make a positive difference in the world.

Witnessing their passion to do good in the world, Ms. McCain took the two stuntmen-cum-cameramen

on board as her personal film crew to document her global humanitarian travels. And travel they did.

Whether it was filming children’s surgeries in Vietnam, Africa and India with “Operation Smile,”

touring international locations with “The World Food Program,” or documenting the removal of

unexploded ordinance in the war torn mountains of Kosovo, Kevin and John learned to look upon the

world through the lens of life.

***

Through all his humanitarian efforts, Kevin has made a living as a Hollywood stuntman.

As a result, his excellent ties to celebrities who are similarly tied to humanitarian efforts around

the world are strong. Endorsements from them—and a second Foreword from an A-list celebrity—

are expected.

Science

The Bear, the Bushman and the Brain

Nature, Health and Neurobiology

Steve Berwick, Ph.D.

A compelling and ground-breaking study that uses research from the neurobiology of visual perception to show how the brain responds to our natural environment.

Marilee Jantzer-White, Ph. D. Art Historian, Author, Beyond Modernism

Recent advances in brain imaging allow us to confirm empirically what is intuitively true: The human

mind needs nature, spiritually and biologically. Without it, we are quite literally not ourselves.

Steve Berwick offers reasons behind a common attraction for people around the world of a

lovely landscape, night sky, wildlife viewing and other attributes of the natural world. He posits the

broader effects of the loss of wildlands on human health.

Dr. Berwick provides the science underpinning compelling narratives of cases he personally

observed. He conveys

How a lawyer and bushmen attended to their emotional and cognitive health, and what was

going on in their brains according to the latest imaging

How western literature interprets these encounters

The relationship between the loss of wildlands and health, such as cognitive dysfunction

By connecting the distinct disciplines of wildland ecology, land use, and neurobiology, the book is unique.

Dr. Berwick’s teaching, research, and private sector consulting in 49 countries produced the

perspective to see the implications of complex problems of landscape and wildlife conservation as well

as the spectrum of attitudes people bring to nature-related problems around the world. He has taught at

Yale, Texas A&M, and other universities as well as The Wildlife Institute of India. As a consultant for

over 20 years to the World Bank, US Fish and Wildlife Service, EU, and USAID, he has led numerous

study tours, given over 400 public lectures, and served as an expert witness at hearings.

Self-Help/Performance Improvement

Beyond Tidying Up

The Path to Perpetual Organization for Those Who Love Their Stuff

Marla Stone

Do you frequently tear up and tidy your home only to find it messy by the end of the week? Are you

often forgetting where you put important things? Do you have difficulties deciding what to keep, what

to discard, or even where to put things? Or is your home simply a catastrophe with piles of stuff

accumulating all over? These symptoms of chronic disorganization are plaguing households and

businesses around the world—but your things are not the cause of your perpetual disorganization.

In Beyond Tidying Up, you will finally understand why over-collecting, over-accumulation, and clutter

occurs regularly without a permanent fix. You will learn how to correct your behavior once and for all.

Marla Stone, a retired therapist and psychoanalyst turned professional organizer, has identified the

connection between one’s overall health—physical, emotional, and mental—with the state of one’s

surroundings.

Beyond Tidying Up explains how to eliminate cyclical behaviors of organizing and reorganizing with

long-term success. The book is a comprehensive guide to organizing common clutter zones including

kitchens, offices, bedrooms, garages, basements, and kids’ areas. It also maneuvers through the

organizational challenges presented by seasonal changes and explains how to keep organized throughout

the year. You will learn how to organize every aspect of yourself, your space, and your life with

innovative and experiential exercises and activities.

Marla Stone, MSW, worked as a therapist and social worker for 17 years before finding a new passion

for organizing people’s spaces and lives. Combining her experiences in psychiatric care with her

hobbies of decor and feng shui, she developed decluttering techniques that focus on fixing the

underlying causes of disorganization. Her unique approaches are used in her own space design

company, I-Deal-Lifestyle. She has helped clients including Hollywood personalities, professors, and

high-powered professionals throughout the world to not only get organized, but remain organized.

Why Buy a Wig…When You Can Buy Diamonds!

”Cancer books” are a tough sell, we’re told, unless the author has

a strong platform and the book has practical and inspirational value. With that in

mind, here’s Why Buy A Wig…When You Can Buy Diamonds! by author, activist,

and humorist Randi Rentz. Loosely structured as a memoir, it is really a how-to

guide along a path—a guide by someone who values her sex appeal, loses it during

the “nuking” of chemotherapy and radiation, and then discovers how to physically

and psychically reinvent herself.

Randi makes a bold assertion: “The story will swallow readers up and give

confidence to women to uncover their own magnificence and bravery. For a little

while, I will become the reader’s best friend.”

Randi inspires with laughter and candor. She helps women see themselves on the stage, starring

in a drama in which they shift the odds in their favor—and triumphing. Women facing cancer need this

to get things into perspective. We are not victims. We are warriors.

In A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens said, “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as

laughter.” How true that is. Why Buy a Wig…When You Can Buy Diamonds! offers you access to Randi’s

approach through an understanding of the process which led up to Randi’s warrior mentality and humorous

outlook, and you will laugh. Her good humor will hopefully spread good vibes to you and yours.

Andrew S, Kirschner, D.O.

Founder & Medical Director, Back Together, LLC

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Author, Back Together-Hands-On Healing for Couples

Medical Contributor for Martha Stewart Living Radio

Randi appeared on the award winning On Call with Dr. Rob show, which was featured in

WebMD’s special breast cancer segment. She is a prominent volunteer for organizations that include

BreastCancer.org, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, Susan G. Komen, and the American Cancer Society’s

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, where she assembled a team called, The Pink Chicks. She writes

monthly for Living beyond Breast Cancer with comments from readers all over the world. Her articles

have appeared in More magazine during Breast Cancer Awareness month, Healthline.com, and

Everyday Health, among others. Fran Drescher’s website, cancerschmancer.org, has featured her work.

Randi is a contributing writer for the Bee Well for Life, Bumble Bee Tuna Health and Wellness Program.

Randi graduated with honors from The Johns Hopkins University with a Masters in Special

Education. She was an editorial assistant for a publishing company in Washington, DC before becoming

a special education teacher in a school district outside Philadelphia, PA. Randi is an Asperger’s Support

Teacher for grades kindergarten through fifth and also has her own consulting company for children on

the autistic spectrum. She writes for the Autism File, speaks nationally on autism, and has been featured

on PBS NewsHour for her work with children on the autistic spectrum. She has also been nominated for

awards including A Woman of Note for the Wall Street Journal. She has appeared on ABC News, NBC

News for her work in autism.

Business/Finance/Economics

STOP BLAMING FREE MARKETS!

Andrew Nicholas Smith

Every time there is a major economic crisis in the United States, politicians and pundits blame free-

market capitalism. The problem? The US economy is not, and never has been, a free market. Free-

market capitalism does not exist in the United States. The view that the United States operates as a

free market is a widespread, deeply engrained myth used by both conservative and liberal politicians

to increase government control. And this myth blinds us to real solutions for our economic and

social ills.

In Stop Blaming Free Markets!, OWLshares founder and popular libertarian millennial Andrew Smith

illuminates how the United States has one of the most highly regulated economies in the world.

Federal, state, and local governments exert dominion over nearly every aspect of our lives. And as his

book reveals, it is government regulation, not a free market, that causes many serious illnesses in the

US economy.

The primary purpose of this book is three-fold:

to provide a research-based demonstration of the vast US regulatory structure,

to debunk the myth of a free-market economy in the US, and

to offer solid arguments for pursuing a true free-market approach.

This topic is hotly debated, especially since the 2008 financial crisis. Politicians on both sides of the

aisle blamed free markets and lax financial regulations for that economic collapse. The government’s

populist response to the 2008 crisis was to “save us” by passing a twenty-thousand-page tome of

regulations known as Dodd-Frank. What lawmakers didn’t say is that our financial markets were

already heavily regulated by laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Gramm-Leach-Biley, Glass-Stegall, and a

plethora of other major regulations that were supposed to save us from economic disasters. The

extensive regulatory structure prior to the financial crisis proves that there was no free market to

blame, and that those regulations didn’t prevent the crisis!

All Americans, regardless of their political leanings, will benefit from reading this book. Andrew’s

arguments are broader than Republican-Democrat bickering. Readers will be able to see just how

much the government controls and manipulates the job market, health care, education, business

innovation, pension funds, and nearly every aspect of our lives. And it is written in a way that is

compelling, provocative, and accessible for average citizens—not just policy wonks.

***

Andrew Smith’s background gives him an insider’s credibility to write about economics and government regulation. He co-founded and built a successful financial data firm (OWLshares) and is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of BlockPrime (a nascent startup), a member-owned and operated peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding platform built using blockchain technology. His sizeable social media following and name recognition in large associations will serve as a natural marketing platform for the book. His Twitter followers now exceed 30,000, and his company Twitter account has 56,000 followers. He has 1,000+ subscribers to a podcast and 3,000+ YouTube followers.

The Hidden Green

Boosting Profits and Potential through Golf

Ji Kim

Founder, Impact Golf

One of the top golf pros in the world

Author of Eight Minutes to Better Golf

Ji Kim has a personal email list that celebrity hunters would crave,

particularly people who see CEOs of major companies as celebrities. What do

these famous, wealthy people have in common? They take golf lessons from

him and/or they ask Ji to coordinate golf events for them that are designed for

customer retention, networking, and incentive programs.

60,000 executives have gone through his programs and he has

contact information for each one. Interviews for the book are with some of his

most high-profile contacts, including Jim Yong Kim, current president of the

World Bank; Herbert Kohler Jr. and David Kohler with the Kohler Company;

Henry Kravis, KKR; Joe Lewis, Tavistock Group; Ralph C. Stayer,

Johnsonville Foods and many more, along with many of recognized top

CEOs on the former and current lists of Fortune 500 Companies.

Business has been done on the golf course ever since the game was invented at the Old Course in

St. Andrews, Scotland, in the early 1400s. In The Hidden Green, Ji features interviews with 25 Top

CEOs and executives who have used golf to succeed in business. They share the dollar-and-cents

specifics of brand extension, profitable networking, and other career success stories that happened

through golf.

Hidden Green shows how to build relationships for life through golf. Golf is a sales tool that has

helped to create immeasurable success for men and women in business. It has helped them to become

world-class executives. Golf has helped to secure the top positions for executives at companies such as

GE, IBM, and Goldman Sachs. It has helped them to make millions—even billions—of dollars.

With Impact Golf, founder Ji Kim envisioned and brought to reality a unique concept of interacting and

rewarding companies’ best customers while providing a memorable sporting experience. Impact Golf

customers have experienced an immediate return on their investment.

Ji Kim has been honored with Nomination as Top 100 Best Instructor on the planet by Golf Magazine

and Top 50 Best Instructor by Golf Digest, expert speaker with over 60 speaking engagements for

Fortune 500 Companies such as Waste Management, Kohler Company, Ferguson Enterprise, and many

more for the past 13 years as the CEO of Impact Golf.

What’s the of Competitive?

Gulliver’s Travels among the Fortune 500

Benjamin Gilad, Ph.D. and Mark Chussil The opposite of “competitive” isn’t “uncompetitive” or “cooperative.” No: the opposite of

competitive is ineffective. It is an organization behaving like a sitting duck while imagining it’s the sharp-

eyed, entrepreneurial hawk it once was.

Ineffectiveness can corrode any organization but none more than big, successful Corporate-with-a-

capital-C. If Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver got an MBA and awoke in a conference room at an industry titan, he

would think its inhabitants stranger than the Lilliputians.

So join Gulliver, MBA, in an expedition among the cubicles. See real-life Corporate absurdities

through new eyes. Find out what defangs the entrepreneurial hawk and how to prevent the sitting duck from

becoming a great meal. Learn the skill of competing, the most-crucial of the manager’s skills.

What’s the Opposite of Competitive? teaches how to identify, expose, and reform Corporate

ineffectiveness to make your organization, your department, and you genuinely competitive. Identify:

Incentive systems that kill the rationale for even good mergers

Platitudes about “our people are our number one asset” than end up in layoff

Neurotic culture that spends more efforts blocking information from reaching the top than acting on

information

Customer service than makes mockery of “we are customer-focused” mantra

Big Data that make market research wrong on a Big Scale

Benchmarking that is the equivalent of searching for the lost keys under the light not where they

were lost

Pathological obsession with growth leading to rotten ROI

Using past data to predict future performance in all the wrong places

Solutions include:

Using simulation: “how is our plan going to work if . . .”

Focusing on direction, not 101 different initiatives

Speaking truth to the troops (if you can’t speak truth to the powers)

Using parallel channels to increase flow of intelligence to leadership

Create a superb strategy first, recruit to fit strategy, not the other way around.

Slow to act and fast to judge is the opposite of competitive. Reverse the pace.

Reverse the questions. The way to test strategy is to ask: what can derail our wonderful plan?

Benjamin Gilad and Mark Chussil are considered the world’s leading experts on business war games, a

strategy-testing tool they’ve run for the largest and most-successful companies in the world. Both have honed and

taught the skill of competing for over 30 years. Gilad was a strategy professor at Rutgers School of Management

and is the President of the Academy of Competitive Intelligence. Chussil is a Harvard MBA, founder of

Advanced Competitive Strategies, Inc., and a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review online.

Opposite

Caveman

Econ Basic Economics

in 31 Prehistoric Tales

Foreword by

Lawrence W. Reed, President of the Foundation for Economic Education

Richard W. Fulmer brings an engineer’s practical mindset to explaining the fundamentals of

economics. In a series of often humorous, sometimes sad, always compelling short stories, Caveman

Econ equips readers with the basic tools economists use to understand societies around the world.

Each chapter builds on the ones before, giving readers a comprehensive, big picture understanding of

economics.

Every chapter starts with a story based in an imaginary stone-age society—starring the very clever

caveman Rok—which illustrates one or more key economic principles. When it’s helpful, the story

is followed by an “Analysis” section to explain the principles and a “Back to the Future” section

that applies the principles to today’s world. Each chapter also includes questions for discussion, and

suggested answers are provided in the Appendix.

Though the book covers a lot of ground, it’s a quick, easy read. This book is as appropriate for

students in high school as it is for adults who are clueless about economics. It is as entertaining as

P.J. O’Rourke’s Eat the Rich, but without political bite.

The author brings decades of experience, both as a popular and a technical writer, to the book along

with a passionate belief that the purpose of writing is to inform and clarify rather than to impress.

His experience enables him to make even complex subjects understandable.

A Foreword by Lawrence W. Reed, the President of the Foundation for Economic Education, sets

the tone.

On Time, On Target Marine Corps Planning Tactics to Succeed in Business and Life

On Time, On Target synthesizes retired Captain Chris Bolender’s military planning and

execution expertise with Gerald J. Sherman’s business strategies and insights as a vice president of

sales and marketing for several major companies. (Jerry passed away shortly after the book took shape.)

Leaders succeed or fail by their unit’s ability to understand and execute a plan. What do

successful leaders on all levels and different sectors have in common? What are the invaluable core

principles shown to be the most effective in all units and organizations? On Time On Target covers a

spectrum leaders such as military officers, first responders, CEOs, sports coaches, and store managers in

order to provide a comprehensive guide to planning a road to success.

These include

Frederick Smith, founder, chairman, president and CEO of FedEx. He rose to the rank of

Captain I the US Marine Corps and was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and two Purple

Hearts. While in the military, his dream of an overnight delivery service took shape as he

observed the procurement and delivery procedures during his tours of duty in Vietnam.

Robert J. Darling, Lieutenant Colonel, US Marine Corps (Ret.), is president of Quantitative

Analytics, an aviation operations and logistics consulting company and the author of 24

Hours inside the Presidents Bunker 9-11-01.

Ilya Pozin, founder of Pluto.TV, Open Me, and Ciplex and a columnist for Forbes, Inc.,

LinkedIn and TheNextWeb. In 2013 LinkedIn selected him as one of 100 Influencers, along

with Richard Branson, Barack Obama, Tony Robbins and Mark Cuban, among others.

Military planners utilize simple concepts to generate effective plans necessary to seize their

objective right on time, and right on target. It’s time that these methods are brought into the personal and

professional world.

Chris Bolender retired from the US Marine Corps as a Captain after 16 years of service. He specialized in

cryptology, missile/air defense, and armed tactical aircraft control. He was a qualified Weapons and Tactics

Instructor, Air Battle Manager—one of the most prestigious qualifications in the Marines.

Gerald J. Sherman, M.B.A.,D.B.A., (now deceased) served as sergeant in the US Army Air Corps. He was a

marketing and PR consultant, author, former adjunct professor for prestigious colleges and universities and

business columnist. He conducted workshops and seminars in the USA, Japan, Israel, for the Fashion Institute of

Technology, (FIT), N.Y., and organized and conducted workshops and seminars for the Miami International

Mart, Miami Florida.

Narrative Non-Fiction: Series

Crude Oil Outlaws

A Wild-West Adventure of the Koch Brothers and their Exploitation of Native Americans

As told by the FBI Agent who exposed the scheme

R. James Elroy and

M. Rutledge McCall

In his investigation of the theft of tens of millions of dollars worth of crude oil from Native

Americans, FBI agent R. James “Jim” Elroy’s discovered that the perpetrator was a major oil firm,

owned by two of the wealthiest men on Earth. The case, conducted under the auspices of a special US

Senate committee, revealed that employees of the firm had been directed to steal oil from the Indians.

This story is a riveting, true narrative featuring a former FBI agent as he investigates the

nefarious activities of two billionaire crooks.

With the exciting overtones and pacing of a Joseph Wambaugh non-fiction bestseller, this

gripping story is driven by the experiences and single-minded passion of one man, Jim Elroy, as written

by Elroy and critically-acclaimed author M. Rutledge McCall.

R. James Elroy While serving as an FBI Agent, he was a successful hostage negotiator, a team leader for

FBI SWAT, participated in countless tactical ops against heavily-armed criminal and paramilitary subjects,

received 17 incentive awards and numerous citations by the Director of the FBI for exceptional service, worked

the largest public corruption case in FBI history (resulting in over 200 convictions of elected public officials), and

worked the Miami connection of the John Gotti caseamong other things. And that was only the halfway point.

Elroy came out of retirement to haunt criminals as a contractor for the State Department, among others.

M. Rutledge McCall McCall has been featured on NBC Today, Larry King Live, and numerous other TV

shows. His critically-acclaimed book, Slipping into Darkness, was optioned for film by producer David O. Sacks,

co-founder of PayPal. McCall is also a film and TV script doctor, and has worked as a Senior Managing Editor in

book publishing. Endorsements of his writing prowess go on for pages and include Publishers Weekly noting that

his writing is “…as riveting as it is raw…”

This is the first in a proposed series of five true-crime books by Elroy and McCall. The other

books in the series are as follows:

Welcome to Cocaine Central

Miami in the 1990s is the hub for shipments of illicit drugs and the drug trade is booming. The

Colombian cartel manufactures the product and the Italian Mob contracts for it to be delivered from Colombia to

America, where it will be housed by the Mob. The transporters are independent contractors. If a transporter

delivers a shipment to the states successfully, that contractor will receive additional contracts.

Elroy is assigned to an organized crime drug case squad. Having a US Coast Guard Captain’s license and

being an experienced SWAT commander and hostage negotiator, he is selected to go undercover, sail to

Colombia, and do a controlled pick-up of a shipment of coke.

In a mission dubbed Operation Seawolf, Elroy helms a high-end Swan sailboat crewed with FBI agents

working undercover out of the Miami Division to Colombia to pick up $500,000 worth of cocaine.

The Mob Hits the Indians and the Chief Goes Down

The Chief Counsel for the US Senate Select Committee approaches Elroy and tells him the committee is

concerned that organized crime has gotten their fingers into the pie of Indian Gaming operations.

Elroy discovers that the FBI has intel—scant but there—regarding the Chicago Mob talking about

skimming in Indian Gaming. He locates a member of La Cosa Nostra under FBI investigation and indictment for

racketeering and develops audio recordings of payoffs the Mobster gives to the Chairman of the Navajo Nation.

Wearing a hood and with his voice altered, the Mobster testifies before the US Senate that he carried money from

Indian Gaming to the Mob and is aware of Mob hits made on Indians who don’t cooperate.

The case eventually leads not only to the indictment of the Chairman of the Navajo Tribe, but to Elroy

meeting a future President of the United States and accompanying him by personal request to Washington D.C. to

testify before a US Senate Committee: Donald Trump, who goes off-script once again.

To Catch a (Wine) Thief

Jim Elroy emerges from retirement as Bill Koch’s investigator in an international case involving six-

figure wine fraud.

Bill Koch—”the poor Koch brother”—had purchased four rare bottles of wine for $400,000 that were

sold to him by two different sellers who asserted they belonged to President Thomas Jefferson. Koch comes to

suspect the bottles may be counterfeit and wants Elroy to discover the truth.

With the help of an engraving expert, a pal at Scotland Yard who later turns up dead, a carbon dating

expert, and others, Elroy drives the case to a conclusive end in US courts, with the perpetrator is sentenced to 10

years and ordered to pay $28.4 million dollars in restitution in 2012.

Back in the Day

Book #5 covers Elroy’s seven year stint as a cop in Southern California, a sort of Adam 12-meets-

Dragnet type of book, where readers can see the early days of the foundation of a career that will eventually lead

Elroy to a 20-year stint with the FBI, and a burgeoning career afterward as a private investigator on some of the

nation’s biggest movers-and-shakers cases. This book will use some of Elroy’s future FBI cases interwoven as

“lessons I would one day learn in my future”-type of stories. It is a Joseph Wambaugh-style memoir of gritty

police work and a narrative arc that drives us toward the question: What next?

Memoir/Biography

ALL RIGHT Hunter Treschl

Foreword offered by Izzy Ezagui

The world’s only one-armed Special Forces sharpshooter and author of Disarmed

I was sixteen when I lost my dominant arm to a shark, and writing as an eighteen-year-old now I offer readers a new perspective on the classic shark attack story. It’s not common for people my age to write memoirs…

Hunter Treschl

All Right is a book about a shark bite, but even more so it’s a coming-of-age story about a

sixteen-year-old boy who finds his whole life transformed in a moment.

In the summer of 2017, Shark Week attracted 15 million viewers in one day, suggesting viewers’

unwavering interest in this unique and sometimes terrorizing species. All Right uses a shark attack as a

lens through which to view the way people react to tragedy without blaming the shark or encouraging

readers to misunderstand this ecologically important animal. Even more so, All Right focuses on the

tension within families as they cope with stress and the potential loss of a child. The book provides an

honest picture of a teenager dealing with his struggles with body imagenot all of which come from

missing an arm. The narrator finds himself after one surgery, for example, consuming an entire pizza

alone in his bedroom without really understanding why.

Out of the multitude of shark attack stories, All Right is one of the few that focuses on the human

experience from the eyes of a teenager. Yes, there are medical struggles inherent in the recovery

phantom pain, for instance but most of the struggle is internal. All Right explores themes such as what

it means to call a place home through the eyes of a young adult with divorced parents who live on

opposite sides of the United States. The book also investigates living up to one’s own expectations.

More importantly, All Right is a book about learning to accept oneselfnot in the cliché “love

yourself” way, but through time and hard work. Hunter accepts he must remain diligent if he wants to

accomplish all he dreamed of before losing his arm. He is gritty, tough, and ultimately perseveres.

Agent’s Note: This proposal and the manuscript were written solely by Hunter Treschl, who is now 18 and a freshman in college. I added a few commas

and a couple of photos, but that’s about it. Hunter is articulate, confident, and capable and won the hearts of millions who watched his TV interviews with

people like Anderson Cooper.

Out of the Cold House

Zayda Sorrell Medina

Out of the Cold House is an American memoir about overcoming teenage homelessness, becoming

educated, finding cultural identity, and reuniting a shattered family. Zayda Medina is one of eight

mixed-ethnic children born to a single black Latina mother in a west St. Louis ghetto right down the

road from Ferguson. Dilapidated houses sat alongside empty, garbage-strewn lots, and there were few

jobs. To survive, young boys left high school to sell drugs, young women exchanged food stamps for

cash, older women sold candy from their homes, and old men sold jewelry, shoes, and clothes on empty

lots. She called their house the Cold House because they bathed in cold water, ate cold canned

vegetables, shivered in winter, and were often hungry.

Her absentee mother’s addiction to crack led to the family being split up in the 1980s. Some of the

children were adopted, some were placed in foster care, and Zayda was sent to the suburbs to live with

her aunt, who locked her in the basement from the ages of 8 to 14. (She was allowed to go to school,

where she thrived, but once home, she was relegated to the basement.) Ultimately her aunt kicked her

out of the house for spending too much time in school. Then an emancipated minor, she bounced around

between homes, living primarily with a teacher, but often being ejected temporarily during holidays or

vacations with no notice.

Despite the constant uncertainties, Zayda was determined to succeed in school and to create a life of

stability for herself. Facing unimaginable adversities, she managed to graduate in the top 2 percent of

her class, won half a million dollars in scholarships, became a social worker, and reunited her family

after eighteen years.

Zayda Sorrell Medina is a youth educator, community organizer,

and social change artist. Formerly the Program Manager at the Urban

League of Greater Pittsburgh, she designed and implemented two

youth programs: the Black Female Leadership Development Institute

and the African American Achievement Trust Collective Focus

Mentor Program. In 2014 she was the first to be awarded the Rising

Star Alumni Award from the University of Pittsburgh School of

Social Work In 2015 she was awarded the prestigious Whitney M.

Young Project Ready Mentor III Award presented by National Urban

League. Having earned her BA from the University of Missouri and

her MSW from the University of Pittsburgh, Zayda is currently

pursuing a doctorate in Planning, Policy, and Design at the

University of California, Irvine.

Sylvia Rideoutt Bishop Had A Way with Horses

Vicky Moon

Sylvia Rideoutt Bishop: Had A Way with Horses is

a lyrical and engaging biography of the first black

woman licensed to train racehorses in the United

States. The author is the distinguished Vicky Moon,

whose ten books include The Private Passion of

Jackie Kennedy Onassis: Portrait of A Rider (Regan

Books/Harper Collins, 2005).

Vicky describes it as Seabiscuit meets The

Help and Hidden Figures.

This book has been taking shape for more

than a decade, with Vicky conducting numerous

interviews with Sylvia Bishop (now deceased) and

her contemporaries. It also involved massive research into her career, the history of Charles Town and

the racing records and breeding statistics of her horses. This book examines some of the most personal,

private moments of Sylvia Bishop’s life while putting it in the context of the times, including the

difficult struggles she faced along the way.

Sylvia Bishop (Oct. 5, 1920-Dec. 27, 2004) was one of 17 children born to a West Virginia family

descended from slaves. Sent to live with a nearby childless couple as a toddler, she was indulged with

fancy dresses and one pony ride that changed her life. Her love of horses took her to the Charles Town

racetrack at age 14 to work as a groom, hot walker and then trainer, all the time fighting sexism and

bigotry against a violent Civil Rights backdrop. She prevailed to celebrate in the winner’s circle with

many wealthy clients, and her career peaked with prestigious victories at lesser-known tracks that, for

Sylvia, were just as transforming as winning the Kentucky Derby. As a single mother after two disastrous

marriages, financial reality forced her to take on extra work in the shipping department at a Doubleday

publishing factory. Never wavering in her passion, she returned to the track to train horses at age 80. And

finally, with little fanfare, she was honored for her pioneering accomplishments as the first black woman

licensed to train racehorses in the United States.

Vicky Moon is a freelance writer, editor and photographer and author of ten commercially published

books. She has chronicled the lives of the famous, and the not-so-famous and covered major murders

and prominent lives in Middleburg, Virginia for People Magazine and The Washington Post.

Profit, Loss, and Miracles

Zelphoe Gabrielle Maloney and

Robert Maloney

After a ten-year struggle with lupus, Zelphoe Gabrielle (Gabby) Maloney was near death. Treatments for

the autoimmune disease, as well as the disease itself, were destroying her internal organs. But she never

entered that final stage of grief that Elizabeth Kübler-Ross assigned to terminally ill patients—

acceptance. Gabby never accepted that she would die. She had five children and a devoted husband who

gave her an indomitable will to live.

Only one option was open to her. Only one procedure would save her life: a stem cell transplant.

Her insurance company would not authorize it. After multiple appeals, she was denied the right to live.

Profit, Loss, and Miracles is a dramatic and touching story of a woman who fought—and won—

against a corrupt insurance company in collusion with officials of a state government. On her deathbed,

she waged a righteous legal war against the multi-billion dollar machine that tried to silence her and her

husband.

People in government and industry who stood in her corner had their reputations destroyed.

People who defended the actions of the insurance company were rewarded handsomely.

A few heroes helped save Gabby’s life: two doctors, a journalist, lawyers who headed toward

bankruptcy because of the case, and an astronaut who commanded the first mission to fly around the

Moon. Gabby and her husband had never met Frank Borman, II, the astronaut who served as

Commander of Apollo 8, when he made it possible for her to have the life-saving cell transplant.

In the spirit of A Civil Action and Erin Brockovich, this is a powerful story of right triumphing

over greed.

A Magical Crayon

The Life and Times of Kenny Lee Tedford, Jr.

Kenny is a charming combination of Helen Keller and Forrest Gump. Oxygen deprivation in utero

resulted in Kenny being born with deafness, partial blindness, partial paralysis on his left side, and an

inability to speak clearly until the age of 10similar in many respects to Helen Keller. He also has

Keller’s heroic tenacity to overcome those disabilities, which makes them both such inspiring

characters. But Kenny also suffers cognitive impairment, similar to the fictional character Forrest Gump.

That gives him the same child-like innocence and leads to the same sort of hilarious misunderstandings

and malaprops that made Gump both lovable and entertaining.

Also a survivor of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, a broken neck, obesity, occasional depression,

and even attempted suicides, his life could easily have been nothing but a depressingly sullen tale of

victimhood. Instead, it turned out to be one filled with a unique combination of joy, humor, friendship,

heartbreak, accomplishment, faith, and peace.

This book will appeal to audiences who love the humor, innocence, and inspiration of first-

person stories about people with mental challenges and resolute spirit, like Forrest Gump and The

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. It will also appeal to audiences attracted to narrative non-

fictionbestsellers like The Reason I Jump or Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism.

Kenny Tedford is a masterful storyteller. In fact, he is one of only two deaf people in the world with a

master’s degree in storytelling, which he earned at the age of 55, almost half a century after being told

by teachers and psychologists that he would never complete the third grade.

Coauthor Paul Smith is the author of three books, two of which have been Amazon category #1 top

sellers including the best-selling Lead with a Story which is in its 8th

printing, and available in 7

languages.

DO STAND SO CLOSE

My improbable adventure as Sting’s guitarist

Jeffrey Lee Campbell

A small-town musician from North Carolina decides to try his luck on the biggest stage of all: New

York City. And he hits the jackpot. Mere months into his NYC gambit, Jeffrey Lee Campbell is

catapulted (literally overnight) from selling candy in Broadway theaters to playing guitar with rock

legend Sting. Ever wonder what really happens on a big-time rock ‘n’ roll tour? Buckle up; Do Stand So

Close takes you along on a whirlwind ride. What is Sting really like? Does public perception match

reality? Go behind the scenes as a provincial rookie fakes his way around the globe, shoulder-to-

shoulder with his longtime musical hero. Watch what happens when Jeffrey’s wildest dreams come true

. . . and then slowly unravel.

Do Stand So Close is a layered, coming-of-age memoir based on Jeffrey Lee Campbell’s

yearlong stint as Sting’s guitarist on the “Nothing Like The Sun” World Tour. Written in a breezy,

journal format, this seductive page-turner recounts Jeffrey’s twenty-five country, six-continent trial by

fire—and it’s humbling aftermath. Jeffrey’s insider’s perspective provides the reader with an exclusive

(and sometimes harrowing) point-of-view.

Filled with humorous anecdotes and poignant revelations, the book follows Jeffrey’s amazing

odyssey—from relocating to NYC and miraculously landing the high-profile gig, to life on the road with

one of the world’s biggest rock stars, to his alcohol-fueled crash-and-burn after the tour. Do Stand So

Close isn’t a scandalous “tell-all,” but rather a loving “tell-some” about Jeffrey’s seismic, life-altering

year with Sting.

People who will help:

Sting

Seth Rudetsky

Branford Marsalis

Jon Herington

Mark Rivera

South Side Johnny and the Asbury Jukes

About 2:30 in the afternoon 15 years ago, I was in my office and got a call. At

the other end of the phone was the chairman of the department of obstetrics and

gynecology. He said he was very concerned about a baby who wasn’t born

yet…I concluded that the baby had a very serious infection that had spread all

over the body, including the brain. The prognosis was not good…

The Infant Whisperer From Babies to Rebirth

Saroj Parida, M.D. practiced medicine for almost three decades in some of the most prestigious

medical institutions around the globe. He has numerous publications to his credit including articles in

peer reviewed journals as well as chapters in textbooks. He made presentations in numerous national and

international seminars and received many awards.

And then the renowned neonatologist known as “the infant whisperer” went to prison.

He wasn’t alone, though. When Saroj entered the minimum security prison camp in Otisville,

New York to do time for insurance fraud, his 13 other personalities came with him. At the time, Saroj

suffered from dissociative identity disorder (DID), which used be known as multiple personality

disorder.

Saroj is now well, has developed fascinating perspectives on his experiences, and walked out of

prison and into a medical practice at the Quittie Glen Center for Mental Health earlier this year. He is

pioneering the Glen’s programs in integrative medicine.

He credits three people, in addition to his wife and children, for helping him integrate—that is, come

together in a single, core personality—and experience prison as a profoundly liberating experience that

helped him discover the gifts that were at the core of “the infant whisperer’s” ability to heal.

The three people are his psychiatrist, John Biever (The Wandering Mind); his writing partner,

Maryann Karinch; and a friend who strode into his life because he understood the devastation of mental

illness—Mark Whitacre, whose whistle blowing and felonies were chronicled in the movie, The

Informant, starring Matt Damon as Mark.

Mark is helping Saroj launch his ancillary career as an inspirational keynoter, a role that

dovetails with that of doctor and author.

A Marine’s Path from Mania to Peace

Captain Christopher J. Bolender has gone for little runs at each place they have taken him since he

was a teenager out of high school. Today, he’s run more than 1,000 consecutive days to treat his mental

disorder, so severe that the Marine Corps medically retired him after 16 years of service. Little Runs Big

World: A Marine’s Path from Mania to Peace is a memoir told through brief eclectic runs in unique

places around the world that most people only read about or see on the Internet. His little runs combine

to form one incredible story about worldly adventures with the emotional journey of a nomadic service

member.

Soon after he made the rank of Captain, he was blindsided by a manic episode so overwhelming

that the doctors told his wife that he may “never return to reality.” After recovering from the hospital,

his disorder not only threatened his sanity, but also loomed over his career and family. After extensive

therapy and experimenting with medication, doctors determined that Chris’ love of running wasn’t just

healthy for his body: Running was the most effective part of the treatment plan for his mental illness.

Chris takes readers from the deck of an aircraft carrier to a turquoise beach in Okinawa; we run

with him inside a sea cave and on a top of a mountain made of trash.

* *

“Chris Bolender writes honestly and with candor. Little Runs Big

World reveals the realities of military service and how running

became his ultimate salvation. An engaging read, spirited and

stirring.”

Dean Karnazes, ultramarathoner and New York Times

bestselling author

Fiction

Strike Four

Gary Frisch

Major League Baseball has been crippled by yet another players’ strike, and the fans have had enough,

tired of paying to see ballplayers with seven-figure egos but ten-cent work ethics.

When baseball’s commissioner floats the idea of enlisting the minor leaguers to keep revenues flowing,

Lew Pearson, the aging player-manager of the Triple-A Indianapolis Outlaws, sees his chance to fulfill a

lifelong dream. Having never had more than a “cup of coffee” in the big league, Lew leaves his wife

and two young kids behind to play in the bigs, even though he knows he and his teammates will just be

the pawns of the owners. Baseball runs deep in his blood – his father’s own professional dreams were

trampled on many years before – and despite the big asterisk that will accompany every game, it’s an

opportunity that beckons him.

But no one, including Lew, the owners and the striking Major Leaguers, could predict how fans would

embrace these farmhands, who take the field every day not for their big paychecks but purely for the

love of the game. At first the crowds are small, but as the fan frenzy takes root in ballparks across the

country, both sides of the strike confront a new normal, and an audacious plan takes shape in board

rooms to determine once and for all whether the Major Leaguers or the minor leaguers will get the

privilege of remaining in “the show.”

In the great tradition of Bull Durham, Field of Dreams and Major League, Strike Four

delivers rousing on-field excitement as well as the off-field exploits of young and not-so-

young ballplayers suddenly thrust into strange new circumstances. It is a tale of pride,

determination, loss, growth and second chances, set against the groomed outfield grass

and dusty base paths of America’s baseball shrines.

Gary Frisch is a passionate sports fan, lifelong writer and former journalist. A frequent freelance contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer and other newspapers and magazines, he was named a Linkedin “Top Voice of 2015” for his various contributions to the business networking website’s Pulse blog.

This is the first in a series of humorous adventures—with some serious, tense moments happening along the way . . .

Qwyrk

Tim Rayborn

Readers step into a real world in northern England where other-worldly creatures, quite naturally, co-exist with humans. For

years to come, fans of Qwyrk will quote its droll lines the way Monty Python lovers toss “It’s just a flesh wound” into ordinary

conversation. A fantastic plot and mix of witty human and ethereal characters make Qwyrk a page-turner for “children” aged

fifteen to old-as-the-hills. Just as he did with his series that began with Beethoven’s Skull, was followed by Shakespeare’s Ear,

and continues with Mata Hari’s Head, Tim Rayborn leaves his readers wanting more stories…and they will get them!

Qwyrk is having a bad day, several of them, in fact. One of the shadow people, tasked with

looking after the vulnerable in the world of humanity, she’s been enjoying a break in the north of England,

away from the overcrowding of her usual haunts in London. Except that problems seem to follow her.

There are reports of a rose bush in the suburbs of the city of Leeds doing strange and unnatural things, and

a visit to the idyllic Yorkshire town of Nettles brings eleven-year-old Jilly Pleeth crashing into her life.

It turns out that while walking home, Jilly saw a shadowy creature kill someone, not your everyday

occurrence in a small town (even an odd one like Nettles), but this is just the beginning. Qwyrk soon

suspects that the murder and the supernatural events happening around her are connected. She’ll need

expert help to unravel the mystery, but what she gets instead are Star Tao, a devotee of all things New

Age, who offers his insights by (apparently) channeling galactic entities, and Blip, a long-time foil who

strongly resembles a two-foot tall bipedal frog with a handlebar moustache, a proper BBC accent, an

opera-singing walking stick, and ambitions to join the House of Lords.

The four of them are soon thrust into a world of ancient evil, sinister conspiracies, an esoteric order

of medieval knights, a mysterious prophetess, the likely end of the world, and an enchanted toilet

plunger… not exactly the holiday Qwyrk was hoping for!

Qwyrk is the first in an ongoing series of novels about the comic misadventures of a group of

misfits at the edge of normal reality in modern northern England, a world of shadows, night-time nasties,

magic, fairies, intergalactic councils, tacky nightclub attire, a hungry bulldog, an abundance of sarcasm,

and even elves… though they are a bit silly.

Doll

Bill C. Berger

The location is Japan; the time is the end of the Samurai era. Doll is a gripping tale of personal conflict,

political intrigue and individual survival. Doll is a glimpse of the last days of the 250-year old Tokugawa

Shogunate.

To tell the story of these times, Doll requires the voice of outsiders. Since only Chinese immigrants

were allowed to live within Japan’s borders at the time, the central character is Xu Shu, a disgraced Chinese

military operative who immigrated to Japan. Side by side with his experiences, the novel tells the story of

Kinjuro Ninko, a dollmaker’s daughter.

The novel begins with a violent death. A merchant, Komatsu Akira, is stalked by an assassin, for

reasons unknown to the reader. He sits alone, ruminating on a doll he holds. His words about it could just as

easily describe the era of the samurai: Migoto, he thought, splendid. She was a moment frozen in time. From

an age that no longer existed, that had never existed.

Akira foils his would-be assassin’s attempt to interrogate and murder him by killing himself first. In

the wake of Akira’s suicide, the doll itself leads the assassin to a dollmaker in Kyoto.

The perspective shifts to Xu Shu, who is in Kyoto waiting out a snowstorm, where he notices

samurai thugs (ronin, masterless samurai) treating an old man oddly. Xu Shu realizes the old man is in

danger and rescues him by cleverly creating a non-violent situation in which the ronin are unable to execute

their plan. The old man introduces himself. Readers realize he is the same dollmaker who made Akira’s doll.

Xu Shu is invited to the dollmaker’s house where he meets Ninko. This pairing will fuel the story.

As the story progresses, the plot tightens around Ninko. Xu Shu realizes she is not actually the

dollmaker’s daughter, but sent to live with him by her actual father, to be hidden from his adversaries, who

have hired the assassin to kidnap her. Notable samurai clans of the time are introduced who play pivotal roles

during the bakumatsu. The assassin kidnaps Ninko and the dollmaker. Xu Shu meets the two characters who

will continue through the story: Young samurai Tenji and elderly monk Hakuin. Together they follow in

pursuit. The story shifts out of Kyoto along one of Japan’s five major highways. Along the way, readers

experience sights and sounds still available to visitors of modern day Japan.

It becomes apparent that neither Xu Shu nor Tenji is capable of defeating the assassin. Together,

using deceptionnot unlike the deception inherent in dollmakingXu Shu, Tenji and Hakuin engage the

assassin on the shoulder of Mt. Mikami (colloquially called “Little Fuji”) at the Mikami Shrine. Xu Shu

learns the patron of the shrine is the patron of smiths and weapon-makers. Xu Shu and Tenji defeat the

assassin, and too late, find Ninko has killed the dollmaker. The novel ends with Hakuin asking Xu Shu a

question that will fuel the remainder of the series, three books of which have been completed:

“Xu Shu,” the monk’s voice almost a whisper, “You and (Tenji) are both wrong. See this with open eyes. This

violence, this justice, whatever you call it, what will it do if not stopped? It will infect everyone.”

The Christ Box

an epic mystery thriller

M. Rutledge McCall

This debut novel by an acclaimed non-fiction author is the story of the discovery of an ancient artifact that was made by Jesus Christ when he had been an apprentice carpenter, and the uproar caused around the world by powers trying to wrest possession of the box from its owner, Marie Rose, a woman living in Jerusalem. The story takes place in America, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

Rumor has spread about a mysterious box that is said to contain miraculous healing properties.

The box is said to have been passed down through several generations of a woman in Jerusalem who

recently used it to heal a friend on her deathbed. That something made by the very hands of Christ still

exists in the world and may have miraculous properties fuels rumors to frenzy.

The story takes place just after a threat is made on Marie Rose’s life concerning the box. Her

American son, Case Parker, a former police officer and now attorney in the United States, travels to

Israel to protect his mother from the powers amassing against her and get her and the old wooden box to

safety.

The increasing furor surrounding the box tests Case Parker’s determination not to allow incidents

in his past to crash him headlong back to the man he was: an NYPD cop willing to break the law to

protect the innocentand wreak havoc on the guilty.

And all the while, a romance between him and his co-counsel, a smart young lawyer named

Kristy Saunders, growsand then shatters when Parker discovers that Kristy is working on behalf of a

shadowy group of violent men trying to steal the box.

The A-story is the world’s discovery of the Christ box: Who made it, what it does, and what it contains;

the struggle of several different powerful factions to gain possession of it; and Case Parker’s efforts to

protect both the box and his mother from the intensifying furor created by the box.

The B-story is the personal relationship between Case Parker and his fiancée, his discovery of her

unintended forced treachery, their subsequent estrangement, and the question hovering over their

growing love for each other: will they get back together again after all that has transpired between

them and the all that lies ahead? Their lives will never be the same.

The C-story is the turmoil the world is thrown into as events involving the mysterious box seem to be

leading to an ultimate worldwide conflict between the most powerful nations on Earth.

Wall Street Diva

Jacalyn S. Burke

It began as a conversation between two people in a New York City bar. The patrons couldn’t have been more different. One was a seasoned Wall Street trader and the other, a British writer. An hour later, the writer decided that the trader’s experiences were the basis of a compelling book and 12-months later Wall Street Diva was born.

Katie Delaney, the protagonist, is a third generation sales trader. Her immigrant grandfather, Patrick

Delaney, was a shoeshine boy who worked on the steps of the New York Stock Exchange during the 1920’s.

Based on the trading tips he received while shining shoes, Patrick eventually joined a small firm and survived the

crash of ’29 to become successful. Katie’s father was a trading legend on the floor. In an industry where

reputation is everything, Michael Joseph Delaney was the King.

Wall Street Diva opens in 1991 amidst the chaos of the trading floor. Katie, a recent graduate of

Georgetown with a degree in Economics, finds herself facing off with a notorious bully called, Joey B.

After a David and Goliath style confrontation, Katie quits. That’s day 3 on the job. Despite Joey B’s

senior position and through a peculiar twist of fate, Katie is quickly able to return to her post and sets in

motion a robust career as a trader. But that initial altercation casts a shadow over her future that comes

full circle in the closing pages of the book. Karma can be a bitch.

Trading takes Katie all over the world, from the New York Stock Exchange floor, to London and

on to the Far East. As her expertise and sense of adventure grow, so do the risks. Katie’s rapid ascent

eventually takes its toll on both her professional and private lives. Top trader and bad boy, Jimmy

Doyle plays Katie’s married foil as they engage in a dysfunctional dance that spans the length of the

book. Katie enjoys other love interests with both men and women. These range from playful romps to

sincere love affairs as she pushes the boundaries between work and play.

Katie is a hard-living, hard-working gal who lives and breathes the Wall Street ethos in all its

excesses. Only when 9-11 strikes, wiping out her entire sales team, is Katie’s powerful rise finally

paused. In the aftermath of this national tragedy, the protagonist is forced to face her own demons as

well as the collective demons of Wall Street.

In a desperate attempt to make sense of her loss, Katie is drawn to a place that is the antithesis of

Wall Street. Amongst the natural beauty of Sedona, Arizona’s red-rock scenery, Katie surrenders to new

possibilities. An esoteric experience in the desert and an encounter with a genuine love interest send her

back to the place of her heart, Wall Street. This time she embraces it on her own terms and with a

renewed sense of purpose.

Wall Street Diva is a unique snap-shot of an unparalleled period of trading history by a fierce trader who

happens to be a woman.

Neil Giarratana

Anulka Lorenzini projects the image of an enlightened female bank executive, the head of Wealth

Management at Bankhaus Suter in Zurich. But her secret contempt for the banking business and her

privileged clients trumps her attempts to keep her dark side under control.

Anulka wants financial independence and the ability to tell the world to go to hell. She falls for

Giovanni Poggio, an egocentric Italian, who convinces her to facilitate the embezzlement of 8 million

Euros. His plan: A false client, using legitimate credentials provided by Anulka and matching the

appearance of an existing client, will periodically withdraw cash from the real client’s account. Half of

the money taken will be hers.

A small amount, really. No one will notice.

Months later, she sees the inherent brittleness of her greed. She fears discovery and stops. While

funds totaling 6.8 million Euros have already been withdrawn, her decision does not sit well with her

Italian partners. They want the rest of their share, murdering her new lover to increase the pressure.

Struggling to end her nightmare, she decides she must initiate a second, and much riskier, round

of embezzlement. Its success is contingent upon her seducing and involving Felix Hofmaier, a Frankfurt

management consultant facing possible criminal charges—and financial ruinfor defrauding the bank

of one of his clients.

He has inherited money from his mother, a client of Bankhaus Suter and secretary/mistress to

Peter Hunziker, owner of a financial management firm in Zurich. Hunziker poisoned her because she

had discovered he was stealing the assets of his deceased A-list clients. When Felix finds a letter from

his mother hinting at Hunziker’s role in her death, he becomes determined to exact revenge.

Anulka proposes a payment plan to her Italian partners. They increase their demands, threatening

to kill her if she doesn’t perform. Incensed by their callousness and greed, she gives her dark side full

rein, plunging herself and her new accomplices into a deadly dance of betrayal, deceit, and retribution.

The Rudy Agency Team Maryann Karinch, Founder

mak@RudyAgency.com

Hilary Claggett claggett@RudyAgency.com

Maryann Karinch founded The Rudy Agency in 2004 and has placed titles in the

categories of business, performance improvement/self-help, relationships, sports/fitness,

reference, military history, current events, medicine, mental health, memoir/biography,

and true crime. She is also the author of 28 books, most of which focus on human health

and behavior. She is a member of The Authors Guild and The Explorers Club. She

holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Speech and Drama from The Catholic

University of America in Washington, DC. A former competitive athlete in gymnastics,

body building, and adventure racing, she is also a Certified Personal Trainer through the

American Council on Exercise. Maryann handles both non-fiction and fiction.

Hilary Claggett has worked in an editorial capacity in publishing for 25 years,

specializing in politics, international affairs, current events, history, military studies,

journalism, environmentalism, business, economics, and finance. She has a master’s

degree in international affairs from Columbia University, where she specialized in

Russian studies and national security, and a bachelor’s degree in politics and Russian

studies from the University of California. She serves on the boards of PAWS Chicago,

a humane society for homeless pets, and Back on My Feet, which uses running to help

homeless people transition to permanent housing and jobs. An avid runner, she has

completed 100+ races in the past five years. Hilary handles non-fiction, with a focus on

whatever she likes.

TTHHEE RRUUDDYY AAGGEENNCCYY

New Projects

Fall-Winter 2017