Book Review: The Prince and the Dressmaker

If you’re in need of something cozy and indulgent of your childhood sense of wonder, I cannot recommend reading The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang (First Second, $14.50) enough. This feel-good story is a perfect way to kick off Pride Month with some positive representation. 

The Plot:

The Prince and The Dressmaker is a heartwarming coming-of-age story. It follows the relationship between Frances, a young woman who works as a seamstress, and Prince Sebastian, the heir to the royal throne of Belgium. Frances is a creative dressmaker with an eye for avant-garde fashion. This earns her little respect from her traditional boss but catches the eye of the prince immediately. Sebastian hires Frances as the royal seamstress and together they secretly run the underground fashion scene in their city- Frances as the anonymous seamstress and Sebastian as his alter ego, Lady Crystallia.

Despite their success in the fashion world, everything must remain secret. Sebastian fears his dual identity puts his family’s reputation and his place on the throne in jeopardy. Pretending to be someone you’re not isn’t easy, though. It’s a simple story with fairytale like tones and drama that simultaneously never feels too dark but keeps the stakes high for our main characters. 

The Art: The Prince and the Dressmaker

I cannot stress how much I am continuously charmed by Wang’s art. It’s got fluidity to it in the way the panels tend to flow and float at will. The smooth, rounded strokes of the linework give the characters bounce. Wang’s style is cartoonish and pliable, which makes the characters easily relatable because their expressions are always so clear and exaggerated. Wang doesn’t shy away from color, and the gowns designed for Lady Crystallia take full advantage of this. Her dresses often fill up entire page spreads in place of plot development, and I have no qualms with this sacrifice. Lady Crystallia’s outfits are stunning and purposefully contrast Sebastian’s plain, regal uniforms. The life Wang breathes into the narrative with her art perfectly elevates the storybook quality of the plot.

Final Thoughts:

I could read this book over and over, a hundred times. It’s comforting. Quick and simple on the surface, it tells an important story about coming to terms with your identity. It’s a story that a lot of LGBTQ+ folks can relate to, either as something they’re actively going through or something they’ve already passed. When Sebastian sees himself in the mirror, it’s not always himself that he sees, and this book gently takes the reader’s hand and says, “that’s okay.” It doesn’t promise that the journey will be easy, but it does promise that things will work out in the end. That’s a message a lot of LGBTQ+ people need more of.

Leonardo’s Science Workshop by Heidi Olinger

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

LEONARDO’S SCIENCE WORKSHOP
Invent, Create, and Make STEAM Projects Like a Genius 

Leonardo da Vinci was a jack of all trades. He loved to learn, and, as a result, left behind a legacy of contributions to both the arts and sciences. Inspired by his versatility, LEONARDO’S SCIENCE WORKSHOP (Quarto Publishing, January 2019, Original Trade Paperback, 978-1-63159-524-0, $29.99) by Heidi Olinger offers a fun-filled assortment of exciting science experiments that stimulate the minds of students, parents and teachers alike.

This book proudly champions all things STEAM—science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics—while simultaneously incorporating elements of design.

As the founder of Pretty Brainy, a nonprofit organization focused on STEAM service learning, Olinger boldly proves that there is no boundary between practicality and creativity.

What’s important is that Leonardo did not think of art as separate from science or science as separate from engineering. His investigations as scientist and engineer strengthened his art because he understood anatomy, physics, nature, and geometry.”

Covering topics like physics, molecules, gravity, graphic design, and even recycling, LEONARDO’S SCIENCE WORKSHOP provides approachable explanations coupled with step-by-step experiment instructions anyone can perform at home or in the classroom. Whether you’re learning the logistics behind a bird in flight or designing wearable plastic fabrics, readers are guaranteed to glean a lesson in science and originality.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Heidi Olinger is a writer and founder of Pretty Brainy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that creates STEAM service learning to inspire and prepare girls to innovate, problem-solve, and lead in the 21st century. Heidi has taught at the University of Colorado at Boulder where she focused on experimental pedagogy and practices that prioritized students and their learning. She currently lives in Colorado with her rescue dog, Patches. Visit her at www.prettybrainy.com or www.heidiolinger.com.

Asshole Attorney by Douglas J. Wood

Asshole Attorney Cover
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

ASSHOLE ATTORNEY
Musings, Memories, and Missteps in a 40 Year Career
By Douglas J. Wood

“Doug, I been practicin’ law for fifty years. And I learned a long time ago, there ain’t no such word as ‘attorney’ or ‘lawyer’. It’s ‘asshole attorney’ or ‘fuckin’ lawyer.’”

Author and entertainment attorney Douglas J. Wood heard this statement from a southern lawyer nearly forty years ago—and it was these words that provided him with the inspiration to write ASSHOLE ATTORNEY: Musings, Memories, and Missteps in a 40 Year Career (June 26th, 2018; Plum Bay Publishing House; ISBN 9780998861722).

ASSHOLE ATTORNEY takes readers on a journey from Wood’s younger years when he was a self-proclaimed “Army Brat,” having moved to eight different homes throughout his childhood. One particularly devastating move for young Doug was when his family relocated from the beautiful beaches of Hawaii to Rutherford, NJ, where he developed his hatred for snow and faced the reality that the “green water in the Passaic River was no comparison to the gin clear waters of Oahu.”

Later, after a college career which included a car accident, a fake ID, and a sympathetic cop, Wood admits he is lucky to be alive and glad that he was able to pursue his legal career with “twenty-four law school rejections under my belt.” Despite that string of rejections and an average GPA in college, Wood tested extremely high on the LSATs.
As luck would have it a brand-new law school opened – the twenty-fifth he applied to – and accepted him on the spot during a phone interview.

“I was a college student who really screwed up, but God and an angel were on my shoulder…I was given a second chance. Most people are not.”

Doug’s madcap journey includes his many insane stories working with out-of-control rock stars; dealing with international crises in the dark alleys of Eastern Europe; life-threatening adventures with businessmen; evading Paris authorities; surviving helicopter crashes; leaping on business opportunities that were unheard of at the time; and a partnership in one of the world’s leading law firms. Throughout the memoir, Wood balances his “asshole attorney” adventures with fond stories about his parents, siblings, wife, children, friends and colleagues.

Readers will be charmed by Wood’s candor and humor and will laugh aloud at his sharp, witty commentary in ASSHOLE ATTORNEY as he navigates the pathways of his life and the jungles of his 40-year profession.

About Plum Bay Publishing House
Plum Bay Publishing is an independent publishing house and hybrid self-publisher. Their goal is to publish titles that will have a positive impact in the world, and provide information and knowledge for all audiences, large and small.

About the Author
Douglas J. Wood is the author of the award-winning Samantha Harrison political trilogy – Presidential Intentions, Presidential Declarations, and Presidential Conclusions. His non-fiction books include the popular text Please Be Ad-Vised: A Legal Reference Guide for the Advertising Executive, now in its seventh edition, and 101 Things I Want to Say…the Collection, a book of fatherly advice to his children. A partner at Reed Smith LLP, he has over 40 years of experience practicing entertainment and media law. He works in New York, lives in New Jersey with his wife of 44 plus years, and is currently working on a new novel about cyberwar and financial terrorism scheduled to be published in 2019. For more information, visit his website www.douglasjwood.com.

ASSHOLE ATTORNEY | Musings, Memories, and Missteps in a 40-Year Career
By Douglas J. Wood | Plum Bay Publishing House | Publication Date June 26th, 2018
ISBN 9780998861722 | Hardcover, Paperback and E-Book | Price $22.99, $14.99, $9.99 | 240 Pages

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We are currently giving away a copy of Neal Rabin’s adventurous novel (perfect for summer reading) 23 DEGREES SOUTH: A Tropical Tale of Changing Whether… ending on May 16th, 2018 at 12:00AM EST. The winner will be contacted by email, so make sure to check your inbox in case it was you!

“Enjoy with your favorite cocktail!…23 DEGREES SOUTH will capture all readers with its story of two young friends on different paths who intersect within an action packed story.”
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Publishing 101: Creating Your Author Bio

Author Bio Claire McKinneyPRWhen I was young and naïve, I thought the bios you read in theater programs and on the backs of books were written by someone who had a lot of nice things to say about the person. I didn’t know that individual people wrote their own author bio.

From that perspective, I started to categorize them by how much ego the subject had in order to write such glowing praise about himself!  I was amazed at how much people touted their own accomplishments.  I don’t know about you, but I find it difficult to write about myself. I feel much more comfortable singing the praises of other people.  However, in order to sell our books, we all need to try to channel that egomaniac and compose a good author bio.

There are two forms to consider when crafting your author bio. One is a brief, three-to-four sentence paragraph that can go on the back jacket of your book.  The other is a lengthier explanation that could be found on a separate page in your book under “About the Author,” or as a separate page in your press kit with your author photo.

To help you get started on your author bio, try answering some questions:

  • Where did you go to college and what degrees do you have?  If you attended an MFA program or writer’s retreat, where was it?
  • Where do you live? How many children/pets do you have?
  • What do you do during the day? (i.e. what’s your day job? Are you a full-time care giver, doctor, consultant, etc?)
  • Do you have any previously published articles or books?  What are they?
  • Are you a member of any organizations, or do you serve on the boards of any non-profits? What are they?
  • What are your special interests?
  • Have you been interviewed by, reviewed in, or wrote for any media outlets?  What were they?
  • What is your website address? What is your Twitter or Instagram handle, Facebook or LinkedIn page, or Snapchat name?

Now take a look at everything you have noted above ,and highlight all of the information you would want to read about someone with a book like yours.  What gives you credibility?  What makes you interesting as a writer?  People these days are accustomed to looking in private bedrooms on the internet, and they feel entitled to know about their authors.  This holds true even more if you have written a work of non-fiction.  Then your education and other items that relate to your credibility become super important.  Once you have pulled out all of the material that could go into your bio you are ready to write.

If you haven’t already looked at author bios in the books you have on your shelves, do so.  You can model yours after theirs to fit the style and length that you need.  The short bio should list your credentials and education, especially for non-fiction; your affiliations; and perhaps the state and/or city in which you live.  You are not required to print your address for all-the world to see, but telling people the region where you reside is a nice way to give readers some perspective on what your lifestyle might be.   You can mention your kids and pets as well, but it isn’t a requirement.  Again, these are just additional personal details that bring potential book buyers closer to you as a person/writer. On this page is an example of a short bio from Laurie B. Levine, a family therapist with a young adult novel.

For the longer bio you should write about three paragraphs that fit on approximately three-quarters of a page.  In this version you will have more freedom to talk a bit more about why you wrote the book and what your interests are.  Just take a look at the questions you answered earlier to find the material with which you have to work. Here is an example of a long bio from Merle Bombardieri, a psychotherapist with a self-help guide.

Any bio is an opportunity for an author to come out of the book to say hello to a reader.  Make it your own.  In the longer author bio, it is easier to be you. If you have a sense of humor, let it come through.  If you are more straight-laced and like to stick with the facts, then do that.  Most of all do not be afraid to talk about the good things you have done.

After you have written your long and short forms, have a friend, family member, neighbor take a look and provide some feedback.  I like to have several sets of eyeballs check out anything I write and I always accept feedback (even if I grit my teeth during the delivery of it). Get it done and check it off your list.