Book Review: Love You More by Jennifer Grant

Katie August 31, 2011 4 Comments

Love You More is the story about how Jen Grant and her husband David adopted their fourth child, Mia.  It tells a bit about their early married life in Brooklyn, NY and how Jen had always longed for her children, even before she had them. Jen and David had 3 children that were biologically theirs, all 2 years apart, before they considered adoption.

Their life story continues with the waiting they had to do before they added another piece to their family puzzle with Mia – who was adopted from Guatemala and was added to the Grant house just after her 1st birthday.

While some families choose to keep their adoption secret – the Grant’s let their 3 children – Theo, Ian and Isabel – know all about the adoption process and told Mia from when she joined the family that she was adopted and explained how she had a different “tummy mommy” than her brothers and sisters.  Since Mia was from Guatemala, her skin was dark like chocolate and her hair black like licorice so it was rather obvious when she was out with her brothers and sisters that she was adopted and often had to put up with comments about how she “didn’t match”

I have thought a lot about adoption as an option for having children, so I enjoyed reading this book and following this families story on how everything works out with not only getting to adopt the child, but how to try and help them adjust to the new family once the adoption has been finalized.

About the Book

Following the invisible thread of connection between people who are seemingly intended to become family, journalist Jennifer Grant shares the deeply personal, often humorous story of adopting a fifteen-month-old girl from Guatemala when she was already the mother of three very young children.

Her family’s journey is captured in stories that will encourage not only adoptive families but those who are curious about adoption or whose lives have been indirectly touched by it. Love You More explores universal themes such as parenthood, marriage, miscarriage, infertility, connection, destiny, true self, failure and stumbling, and redemption.

Sections include:

A Whisper

The Waiting

Learning to Know

In Love You More, Jennifer describes the way she feels God has brought her family together and completed it with the adoption of her daughter.

About the Author

Jennifer Grant is a journalist whose columns, feature stories, and blog posts have been published in Sun-Times Medianewspapers, Christiantiy Today, her.meneutics (Christianity Today’s blog for women), and adoption.com. Jennifer writes a column for the Chicago Tribune. She is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and is a founding member of Redbud Writers Guild. Jennifer lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and four children and has expertise in throwing parties, traveling light, and daydreaming.

More at jennifergrant.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: The Shopaholic Series

Katie August 27, 2011 0 Comments

I’ve taken a break from my “required reading” and decided to go through the books I have on my Nook.  Back in May, I started the Confessions of a Shopaholic Series (by Sophie Kinsella) and I decided to continue through with the rest of them for good measure.

Confessions of a Shopaholic – This book has been turned in to a movie, which I can’t remember if I have seen it, or just seen commercials for it.  But I’ll have to watch it (again?) soon.  In this book we are introduced to Becky Bloomwood a financial journalist with a bit of a spending problem.  She tries to hide this problem and makes up all sorts of ridiculous stories so no one catches on to just how much debt she is in.

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan – Becky and her boyfriend Luke head to Manhattan – where of course she can not control her spending!  It all comes out that she is giving financial advice but can’t take it herself and she ruins not only her career, but puts her boyfriend’s career in jeopardy as well!

Shopaholic Ties The Knot – Personally – I was annoyed the title of this story gives it away.  In the beginning, Becky talks about how she didn’t want to get married for 10 years.  By the end – well, you guessed it – she ties the knot.  Although the hijinks that come along with our friend the shopaholic getting married are crazy and this book is definitely a must read even if you think you know what the outcome will be!

Shopaholic & Sister – One of the more far-fetched of the series, Becky finds out that she has a long lost sister (half sister) that is 2 years older than her.  She thinks they will have tons in common and be fast friends, but it turns out that her half-sister Jess – DOESN’T LIKE TO SHOP! The horror!  Jess thinks that perhaps they do not share a father after all, but Becky realized that they so have some things in common – Jess loves rocks just like Becky loves shoes. (and they even have the same display cabinet) When Becky goes to tell Jess this there ends up being quite an accident that somehow only Becky Bloomwood (now Brandon) could manage to get into.

Shopaholic & Baby – In this book Becky is pregnant.  She decides that she doesn’t want to use the OBGYN that her husband Luke recommends (the guy that delivered him!) but instead wants to use the OBGYN to the stars – Venetia Carter.  It turns out that Becky’s husband Luke and Venetia dates back in college.  Of course, this leads to all sorts of insecurities on the part of Becky. Luke assures Becky that she has nothing to worry about, but her hatred towards Venetia ends up being the inspiration for a new clothing line by Becky’s designer friend Danny!

Mini-Shopaholic – Becky and Luke’s baby is now 2 years old and a bit of a terror.  Becky can’t seem to keep her under control and she has been banned from several shops. Luke hires a Nanny specialist to check out the situation and see what they need to do.  Meanwhile, Becky is trying to throw a surprise party for Luke and just when it seems that everything is falling apart at the seams, Becky somehow figures out a way to pull it all off.  This is the last book in the series (so far) but the end really leaves things open for another book. I don’t want to give too much away though 😉

Book Review: Reversible Skirt by Laura McHale Holland

Katie August 23, 2011 2 Comments

When the mother of three little girls commits suicide, their father wants more than anything to keep his family together. He remarries in haste and tells his daughters his new wife is their mother. The youngest, Laura, believes her mother must have gone through a kind of magical transformation.
Reversible Skirt is written from Laura’s perspective as a child sifting through remnants of her mother’s existence and struggling to fit into a community where her family’s strict rules are not the norm. When Laura’s father dies, her stepmother grows increasingly abusive, which propels Laura and her sisters into a lasting alliance. Their father’s wish that they stay together comes true, although not in the way he’d imagined.

Laura McHale Holland is a writer, editor and occasional storyteller living in southern Sonoma County. Her award-winning memoir, Reversible Skirt, was recently released by Wordforest, and her short fiction has appeared in The Best of Every Day Fiction Three, as well as the 2009 and 2010 Vintage Voices anthologies. She has also been a feature writer for such local publications as NorthBay biz, the Noe Valley Voice, and the original San Francisco Examiner. She is posting new flash fiction weekly in 2011 athttp://lauramchaleholland.com.

My Thoughts:

I was captivated by this story.  A young girl who doesn’t realize that her mother had committed suicide and assumes that the woman that she has been told by her father is her mommy, is in fact her real Mommy. However, it turns out that she is just an evil stepmother who does not particularly enjoy the company of children (and she now has 3 step-daughters).  She ends up piecing together that her mother had committed suicide when she was 2 years old and a lot of what happened that she thought had just been dreams about her mother were actually reality of when her and her sisters discovered that her mother had hung herself after coming home from a Halloween party.  At eleven her father passes away and now her and her sisters are forced to be only in the care of this stepmother who is absolutely horrid to them.  I had thought that they might try to run away from home – but instead they put up with this woman until they were old enough to head out on their own.  Even then, they would still return for visits.

As horrible as a childhood Laura had, it seems that she has now grown up to be a well adjusted adult – and even a step mother to two sons.

I would definitely recommend this memoir to anyone – you don’t have to have dealt with a stepmother or father to relate and feel bad for this girl and her sisters – and you don’t even have to have sisters.  I have neither, and felt a range of emotion for Laura and her sisters Kathy and Mary Ruth.

I received a free e-book copy of this book in order to post this review from author blog tours. All opinions are mine and I was not otherwise compensated for a favorable review.

Book Review: Cherished by Kim Cash Tate

Katie August 22, 2011 0 Comments

I was drawn to the book Cherished by Kim Cash Tate because it is about someone who dreamed of being a songwriter.  I figured with the musical aspect of it, it would be able to keep my attention.

I’ll be honest, it took me a bit to actually get in to the book. There were a lot of characters and in the beginning it was rather overwhelming for me.  A couple of times I read 1 chapter and then put it down – unsure if I’d be able to get through it.  However, once I picked it up and “forced” myself the continue reading it was easier to figure out who was who and follow along a bit better. In the end, I quite enjoyed the book.

The main character is Kelli who made a few difficult decisions in her life and wasn’t sure what God wanted her to do with her life.  It is once she is reunited with an old boyfriend that these things start to come in place for her.  Brian, her ex, is now a Christian Rapper who is pretty successful under the name of “Alien”.  Brian and Kelli work together on his new album after working through some of the issues they had previously with their relationship.

There are also other stories included with some of the other characters – the next most important one being Heather.  She was also looking for God to help her out and guide her on where she should be going with her life after a few not so great decisions.

I am now intrigued by the fact that there might be Christian Rappers out there. Christian is not usually a music genre I listen to, but I might have to check out some Christian rappers to see how that all works out – since usually rap is associated with things that are, well, not Christian.

Also interesting – at the end of the book there is an ad for Da’ T.R.U.T.H’s song “Cherished” which features CeCe Winans that was inspired by this book! Looks like I have something else to look in to as well after reading 🙂

About the Book

How can she believe God cherishes her when she can’t forgive herself?

Kelli London once dreamed of being a songwriter. As crazy as it seemed, she hoped that God would use the lyrics that came to her while she slept. She dreamed about Brian too, that the love they shared would be a forever kind of love. But choices she’ll forever regret upended her hope . . . and turned her dreams to dust. When those dreams come knocking once more, she’s forced to deal with the pain of the past.

Heather Anderson’s life has spun out of control—first, an affair with a married man, then a one-night stand with the drummer of a popular Christian band that left her devastated. Broken and alone, she cried out to the only One who can save her. And He did. But that’s just the beginning, because now she must leave behind the only life she’s ever known.

Two women with shame-filled pasts form an unlikely friendship. What does God’s forgiveness look like for them? Will they ever believe that He loves them . . . and can still offer them a life where they are cherished?

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review: Neiko’s Five Land Adventure by Amanda Taylor

Katie August 16, 2011 0 Comments

Neiko’s Five Land Adventure is full of, you guessed it, adventure.  I can see anyone who does RPG or the like really getting in to this book.  The book starts out with a couple of maps.  For some reason, maps in books always lead me to panic that this means following along with the story will be too difficult without referring back to the map (which is not all that easy to do on a Nook, but a bit easier with a physical copy of the book) However, it really was not that big of an issue with this book.

Neiko leads a double life – Captain by night, school girl by day – so in that aspect I could relate to her. Although I am an engineer by day and blogger and concert-goer by night so it is not exactly the same – but the problems she had balancing time with her family and doing everything else that needed to be done definitely hit home – although there is no one who are ganging up on me if I can’t make it to a concert or two. (And that’s a good thing!)

It was a lot of fun and very interesting to escape to this different world for a couple of nights while I was reading the book.  It also has photos inserted in between chapters and pages so it is easier to picture a bit of what this world should look like.

About the Book

The Indians and the Crackedskulls are locked in the turmoil of war.
Neiko a warrior with the glistening title of ”the Chosen One” finds herself facing a collection of enemies. Her archenemies, Raven and Bloodhawk, have come up with a scheme to destroy her reputation with the help of a phony Indian chieftain.
However, during the unfolding of their plan, Neiko finds out that a land she thought she had only imagined is actually real – and more terrifying – than she ever imagined. It turns out that Ramses – the arch-villain of her collection – has sinister plans of his own for Neiko, whom he eventually traps in Qari.

Neiko must find her way back home and turn the tables on her enemies, but what she finds out during her travels in Qari will change her entire existence for all eternity.

About the Author

A.K. Taylor grew up in the backwoods of Georgia where she learned about nature. She enjoys hunting and fishing, beekeeping, gardening, archery, shooting, hiking, and has various collections. She also has interest in music, Native American history and heritage, Egyptian history, and the natural sciences. A.K. Taylor has been writing and drawing since the age of 17. A.K. Taylor has graduated from the University of Georgia with a biology degree, and she shares an interest in herpetology with her husband.

Author Q&A

Give a brief description of your book.

Neiko’s Five Land Adventure is about an 18 year old warrior who is the Chosen One from the hidden Indian land called Hawote which unknowingly coexists with the US Canada and Mexico. The Indians are constantly at war with their enemies the Crackedskulls. They try to come up with a plan to remove her from command and abduct her, but things go wrong when a place she thought she imagined is real and had the worst villain ever known. She gets trapped in Qari, one of the Five Lands. She must get home and turn the tables on her enemies. What she find out in Qari can change her life forever…

What is your professional background?

Since I am such a young person, my professional career has been mostly college and starting jobs. I got my bachelor’s degree in biology in May of 2007. I went to work at an analytical lab shortly after where we did elemental testing on organic compounds. I lost this job due to the recession and I have not been able to return to the scientific field, so now I have become a writer and used my scientific knowledge in other areas and in my writing. I have also begun a cooperative project with Mark Levine, the author of The Fine Print of Self Publishing, where I have written a small ebook called Self Promoting and Survival Tips for Newbie Authors that will be available later this year, and I will write articles for websites that his company owns in addition to continuing my saga.

What do you think readers will take from Neiko’s Five Land Adventure?

This depends on the reader. Adults can be transported back to their childhoods, and kids and younger readers can have inspired imaginations. I learned this power that it has on adults by adults themselves by some of the feedback and reviews I have gotten so far. I want all readers to enjoy a great adventure and to know that many more are coming!

Website: www.neikos5landadventure.net all formats are there on the order page

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Neikos-Five-Land-Adventure-Taylor/dp/1936198851/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1308940688&sr=1-1

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Neikos-Five-Land-Adventure-ebook/dp/B0051WJP0S/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1308940688&sr=1-1

www.bookbuzzr.com People can win and buy my book from this site. I participate in their giveaway program.  I have written 4 hangman games for readers to enjoy

www.published.com my books are listed on this site and they can directly access them there.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/A_K_Taylor

Facebook fanpage: www.facebook.com/AKTaylorsBooks I also have Goodreads and Bookbuzzr widgets for fans to access on my profile page

Blog: www.backwoodsauthor.wordpress.com I have Goodreads and Bookbuzzr widgets on the homepage and links to my books on Amazon on my “My Books” page. The blog features my life and experiences in the backwoods as well as any notable experiences as an author

I received a free ebook of Neiko’s Five Land Adventures from Author Blog Tours in order to do this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

Book Review: Neiko's Five Land Adventure by Amanda Taylor

Katie August 16, 2011 0 Comments

Neiko’s Five Land Adventure is full of, you guessed it, adventure.  I can see anyone who does RPG or the like really getting in to this book.  The book starts out with a couple of maps.  For some reason, maps in books always lead me to panic that this means following along with the story will be too difficult without referring back to the map (which is not all that easy to do on a Nook, but a bit easier with a physical copy of the book) However, it really was not that big of an issue with this book.

Neiko leads a double life – Captain by night, school girl by day – so in that aspect I could relate to her. Although I am an engineer by day and blogger and concert-goer by night so it is not exactly the same – but the problems she had balancing time with her family and doing everything else that needed to be done definitely hit home – although there is no one who are ganging up on me if I can’t make it to a concert or two. (And that’s a good thing!)

It was a lot of fun and very interesting to escape to this different world for a couple of nights while I was reading the book.  It also has photos inserted in between chapters and pages so it is easier to picture a bit of what this world should look like.

About the Book

The Indians and the Crackedskulls are locked in the turmoil of war.
Neiko a warrior with the glistening title of ”the Chosen One” finds herself facing a collection of enemies. Her archenemies, Raven and Bloodhawk, have come up with a scheme to destroy her reputation with the help of a phony Indian chieftain.
However, during the unfolding of their plan, Neiko finds out that a land she thought she had only imagined is actually real – and more terrifying – than she ever imagined. It turns out that Ramses – the arch-villain of her collection – has sinister plans of his own for Neiko, whom he eventually traps in Qari.

Neiko must find her way back home and turn the tables on her enemies, but what she finds out during her travels in Qari will change her entire existence for all eternity.

About the Author

A.K. Taylor grew up in the backwoods of Georgia where she learned about nature. She enjoys hunting and fishing, beekeeping, gardening, archery, shooting, hiking, and has various collections. She also has interest in music, Native American history and heritage, Egyptian history, and the natural sciences. A.K. Taylor has been writing and drawing since the age of 17. A.K. Taylor has graduated from the University of Georgia with a biology degree, and she shares an interest in herpetology with her husband.

Author Q&A

Give a brief description of your book.

Neiko’s Five Land Adventure is about an 18 year old warrior who is the Chosen One from the hidden Indian land called Hawote which unknowingly coexists with the US Canada and Mexico. The Indians are constantly at war with their enemies the Crackedskulls. They try to come up with a plan to remove her from command and abduct her, but things go wrong when a place she thought she imagined is real and had the worst villain ever known. She gets trapped in Qari, one of the Five Lands. She must get home and turn the tables on her enemies. What she find out in Qari can change her life forever…

What is your professional background?

Since I am such a young person, my professional career has been mostly college and starting jobs. I got my bachelor’s degree in biology in May of 2007. I went to work at an analytical lab shortly after where we did elemental testing on organic compounds. I lost this job due to the recession and I have not been able to return to the scientific field, so now I have become a writer and used my scientific knowledge in other areas and in my writing. I have also begun a cooperative project with Mark Levine, the author of The Fine Print of Self Publishing, where I have written a small ebook called Self Promoting and Survival Tips for Newbie Authors that will be available later this year, and I will write articles for websites that his company owns in addition to continuing my saga.

What do you think readers will take from Neiko’s Five Land Adventure?

This depends on the reader. Adults can be transported back to their childhoods, and kids and younger readers can have inspired imaginations. I learned this power that it has on adults by adults themselves by some of the feedback and reviews I have gotten so far. I want all readers to enjoy a great adventure and to know that many more are coming!

Website: www.neikos5landadventure.net all formats are there on the order page

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Neikos-Five-Land-Adventure-Taylor/dp/1936198851/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1308940688&sr=1-1

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Neikos-Five-Land-Adventure-ebook/dp/B0051WJP0S/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1308940688&sr=1-1

www.bookbuzzr.com People can win and buy my book from this site. I participate in their giveaway program.  I have written 4 hangman games for readers to enjoy

www.published.com my books are listed on this site and they can directly access them there.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/A_K_Taylor

Facebook fanpage: www.facebook.com/AKTaylorsBooks I also have Goodreads and Bookbuzzr widgets for fans to access on my profile page

Blog: www.backwoodsauthor.wordpress.com I have Goodreads and Bookbuzzr widgets on the homepage and links to my books on Amazon on my “My Books” page. The blog features my life and experiences in the backwoods as well as any notable experiences as an author

I received a free ebook of Neiko’s Five Land Adventures from Author Blog Tours in order to do this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

Book Review: The Truth About Sex

Katie August 12, 2011 0 Comments

The Truth About Sex is the first of a planned three-volume set of books by renowned bestselling author Dr. Gloria G. Brame that gives adults the basic tools to have a happy and satisfying sex life. The Truth About Sex, Volume 1 – Sex and the Self answers questions like:

• How can you tell if you’re a sex addict?
• How often is healthy to masturbate?
• What are the physical benefits of frequent orgasm?
• What really causes erectile dysfunction?

A complete primer on masturbation, orgasm and new models for talking about, thinking about and understanding your inner sexual identity, The Truth About Sex includes Dr. Brame’s best clinical techniques for improving sexual performance and increasing every adult’s potential for complete sexual satisfaction.

The Truth About Sex offers reality-based models, hard facts and original theories, as well as over a decade of highly successful, results-oriented sex therapy. Using cutting-edge sex and medical studies, historical research and composite case studies from her private practice, Dr. Brame teaches adults how to make sexual ecstasy a reality.

My Thoughts

This book has a lot of facts in it, backed up by research done at many different establishments about sex.  It also includes some situations that Dr. Gloria saw with her work as a sex therapist and how sometimes changing the way you look at things can help change your sex life and your relationships (with yourself and others) for the better.  For instance, one woman couldn’t figure out why her husband no longer wanted to have sex with her and that it was always done when she initiated it – one or two times a week down from seven to ten times.  The first therapist she went to suggested that she was a sex addict and had worn her husband out.  Visiting Dr. Gloria helped her realize that her husband was feeling down because he had lost his job and that is what led to the decrease in sex drive.  The wife was able to help the husband feel better about himself. (And so it turned out that the problem was not that she was a sex addict after all!)

As volume 1 is titled “sex and the self” it is no surprise that the majority of this book is about masturbation and orgasms.  The one thing that is mentioned the most in this book is that no one is “normal” when it comes to these things and it is up to you to find the right way for you.

The book ends with a few exercises to help familiarize yourself with well, yourself by loving yourself in the tub, loving yourself in bed and tips to give yourself an orgasm. (If you know what works it is easier to get your partner to figure it out too!)

About the Author

Gloria G. Brame, Ph.D., is the bestselling author of Different Loving (An Exploration of Sexual Dominance & Submission, a Groundbreaking Study on BDSM/Fetish Subcultures) and Come Hither (A Commonsense Guide to Kinky Sex, for Novices and Experienced Alike). With a Masters degree in English Literature from Columbia and experience as a journalist, her straightforward communication style allows her to share her expertise as a sex therapist and professor of sexology. Her goal is to share radical types of sexuality in a way mainstream audiences can understand and incorporate into their sex lives. More information about Dr. Gloria Brame is available at www.gloriabrame.com. Her full credentials are listed atwww.gloriabrame.com/credentials.

The Truth About Sex is available for purchase at Amazon.com

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.  All opinions are mind.

Book Review: Havansu Means Blue Water by Ivory Simone

Katie August 9, 2011 0 Comments

At first, I wasn’t sure I was going to get in to this book, but in the end I absolutely loved it and had a hard time putting it down, even as I grew increasingly tired.

The story is about Lyla, a graduate student who is working on her thesis paper.  She chooses a tough subject that brings her to Willburn, Arizona in order to research why a woman was lynched – Mary Alice, or “Black Mary”, many years ago. She meets all kinds of people in Willburn as she goes about her research.  All of the characters were interesting with their own quirks and kept me interested in the story.

This book can be purchased at Amazon.com

Q&A with the author

What inspired you to write Havasu Means Blue Water

My family history. I grew up listening to my grandfather who told me stories about his grandfather–a black Indian who came out of slavery as a boy.  I found a 1780s census record with my great-great-grandfather’s name and background information. The record confirms my grandfather’s oral history was correct. This family history took on new meaning when I worked for a Native American Tribe years later. Both of these invents laid the foundation for Havasu Means Blue Water.

Does “havasu” mean blue water?

Yes, it does. In the Mojave language it means “blue water”. One of the characters in the story is a descendant of a Mojave tribe decimated by disease and other anti-Indian government policies.

About the Book

Wilburn, Arizona is a dying town full of broken people. A town with a violent past and a festering grudge held against all those responsible for its plight. When feisty graduate student, Lyla Amir, comes to the town to research the 1918 lynching of a black farmer and his wife by the people of Wilburn, she becomes the catalyst for a series of transformative events that will rewrite the town’s history and give it a chance for redemption.

Author Bio
Ivory Simone is an author and poet currently living in Bangkok, Thailand. Ms. Simone is the author of two books, “Havasu Means Blue Water”, a literary fiction about a dying southwestern town’s rocky road to redemption, and, “The Rainy Season, The Poems, Prose and Writings of Ivory Simone”, a collection of poems, prose and essays written. Both books are available at www.lulu.com. Ms. Simone is the creator and host of two online programs: “Bangkok Poetry Streams”, podcasts devoted to the reading and enjoyment of poetry and prose (http://web.me.com/ivorysimone), and, “Take A Bite Out The Big Mango”, a popular blogtalkradio show about ex-pat lifestyles and happenings in-and-around Bangkok (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ivorysimone ). Ms. Simone is the founder of the OneWoman/OneHouse Organization. A grassroots group committed to helping rebuild Haiti by using art as a tool for social justice. She is currently raising funds to build a safe house for rape victims in Haiti. For more information about this effort go to the:OneWoman/OneHouse website.  Ms. Simone also launched a facebook action group to raise public awareness about the pervasive racial discrimination people of African descent face in countries all around the world called, “The Lift Every Voice Campaign: A Million Voices Raised Against Global Racism”.   Follow this link to find out more about the campaign: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_130975403632717