My One-Step Diet

My One-Step Diet

I've found it, I've found it, the Wonderful Foolproof Diet you can start in an instant. Don't have to buy a superfood like Dr. Oz's Green Coffee Extract. Don't have to worry about calculating of your BMI (Body Mass Index) or your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). No drug/supplement regimen to follow.

Just one simple rule: "Don't Eat So Much."  (My diet is unrelated to Dr. Ted Shminky's The Just Don't Eat So Much Goddamn Food Diet Plan. I offer you no profanity or cute cartoons.)

Think of all the things you won't have to do:

• weigh in at Weight Watchers
• eat a raw food diet, or the cabbage diet, or the lemonade diet
• worry about the 5 foods NEVER to eat
• juggle a Balance Percentage Diet
• ingest Fat Burning Hormones
• consider 50 easy ways to lose weight
• decide among 80 delicious menu options
• sign up for adjustable gastric band surgery.

Of course, on my magical "Don't Eat So Much" Diet you have no guarantee that you'll lose 15 lbs in 4 weeks. Or even 1. 

I've been on it for a month now, and have lost and gained a pound, lost and gained a half pound, and in this way I've lost a total of 40 pounds (and only gained back 39. That's progress, isn't it?)

So just eat less. 

And let me know how you do.

Bizarre Bedfellows

What do Orphan Trains and Marilyn Monroe have in common?

Writer Clark Kidder.

On the one hand, Kidder gives standing room only Power Point talks on the Orphan Trains and reads from his book, Emily's Story: The Brave Story of an Orphan Train Rider. Emily is his maternal grandmother. 

On the other hand, Kidder appraises Marilyn Monroe collectibles and has written Marilyn Monroe: Cover to Cover and Marilyn Memorabilia. 

An extensive collector of Monroe items, Kidder attended Monroe's 1999 estate sale at Christie's in New York, a two-day sale that brought in $13.4 million. "They literally had everything," Kinder says, "from pots and pans to her brassieres."

Clark Kidder the man lives in southern Wisconsin. He comes from a long line of Kidders going back to 1320 in England.

Read his illustrated article, "West by Orphan Train," in the Wisconsin Magazine of History at

http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wmh/pdf/winter_03_kidder.pdf

Or Google him & Marilyn Monroe to see a batch of that performer's photos.

THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP

There are the books everyone had heard about: Twilight, Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Gray. But what about all those books written by people you've never heard of? Some are treasures, waiting to be found, and that's what this blog hop is about: the books you might not have heard of, but that you might end up loving.

This blog hop is like a game of tag. One author posts and tags other authors who link back to their website the next week and tag new authors. If you follow the blog hop long enough, you're bound to find some books you'll love! Maybe you'll even discover a book that ends up being the next big thing.

I was tagged by Connie Spittler. Her blog is http://conniespittlr.blogspot.com/ or Google Connie Spittler Words Fly By

Here's a little info about my current work-in-progress: 

1: What is the working title of your book?

Thieves, Rascals & Sore Losers: A Kit & Caboodle of Dirty Deals

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

The dirtiest deal my home town ever pulled off.

3: What genre does your book fall under?

Humorous history

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I would leave that to the director, except I'd make one man blonde, long-legged and languid, the other small, dark and feisty.

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

It features a wide variety of dirty deals, some in Congress, many in Nebraska, and a big one in my home county.

6: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Self published.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It took me about five or six years to read old handwritten county notes and to find out everything the Nebraska State Historical Society had on the matter. 

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

The book Mike Donovan is marketing. "It's a general history of the United States for general readers with a touch of humor," he says, "and I try to take out all the boring things that are in history books and liven it up, spice it up a little, a fake story now and then based on a true story."

Here's some other similar books with their book jackets.

The Humorous History of White County, Arkansas by Claude E. Johnson.

A Humorous History of the United States by Edgar Wilson (Bill) Nye

An Utterly Impartial History of Britain or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots in Charge by John O'Farrell

Stupid Wars: A Citizen's Guide to Botched Putsches, Failed Coups, Inane Invasions, and Ridiculous Revolutions by Ed Strosser & Michael Prince

The Resilient Human Spirit

Have you ever wondered what happened to Orphan Train children who were physically abused? Nothing, in some cases, I suppose. But not in Traverse City, Michigan.

Take a look at this:

"When legendary pediatrician Mark Osterlin arrived in Traverse City in 1935, the former University of Michigan associate professor quickly set to work making his mark on the region – helping Munson Hospital get off the ground, heading up its newly formed Children's Clinic, and building friendly rapport with local residents.

"But early in his tenure, Osterlin noticed a disturbing trend: Many of the TC children coming through his practice were showing visible signs of abuse and neglect, but there were no processes in place to remove the kids from their dangerous situations.

"Osterlin set out to find a solution." 

From "TC's Child & Family Services: Born of an Orphan Train" by Craig Manning. If you wish, read the rest of the story in The Ticker News, at http://www.theticker.tc/story/tc-s-child-family-services-born-of-an-orphan-train

The abuse that rider Teresa Martin experienced, detailed in her biography, MAIL-ORDER KID, was as devastating in its way as that of the unidentified child pictured in Manning's story. Teresa never had to live on the streets, but her years of sexual abuse had its cost. 

The child Manning describes was rescued from her filth and vermin and placed in a good home. Certainly Teresa's situation would have been improved had her orphanage, The Foundling, freed her.

Yet, both the ragged child in Manning's story and Teresa grew up to be "well-educated, self-supporting" young women. Their stories are testimonies to the resilience of the human spirit.

So many Orphan Train stories are.

from:  a JoLt of CoFFeY 

 An Intermittent Newsletter

by Marilyn June Coffey, Author, 

best-selling

MAIL-ORDER KID

WINNER: "Special President's Award"

www.mail-orderkid.com

Breaking News

A few days ago, Krystal Sidzyik, Entertainment Editor for UNO's Gateway, published a feature article, "Author of 'Marcella' reads story 23 years after the book was first banned."

If you want to read it, here's the link:

http://www.unogateway.com/news/author-of-marcella-reads-story-23-years-after-the-book-was-first-banned-1.2933457#.UIYb1jlVpUQ

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When I was browsing Amazon today, I noticed that it was offering a copy of my book-length poem, A Cretan Cycle: Fragments Unearthed from Knossos. That startled me.

This beautiful tiny hardcover book, illustrated with woodcuts created by Kostas Lekakis, is a gem--and rarely for sale.

A Cretan Cycle retells the ancient story of the Minotaur from a feminist perspective. WARNING: My language is sometimes racy.

The seller on Amazon is offering a single copy, "Used - Very Good" for $17.77. If this interests you, here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Cretan-Cycle-Fragments-Unearthed-Knossos/dp/0942208145

Triplets

MARCELLA

The Marcella Marathon, version 2012, took place October 6 in Omaha's Benson Library as though reading aloud about "sex, sin and guilt" were normal. Lindsey Peterson, a reporter for KVNO News, videotaped the reading for UNO TV. If you're curious to see how I look at 75, here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/9gwolwf

THE "M" WORD

You can read or listen to Lindsey's unexpurgated radio interview of me, "Banned author talks censorship for Banned Books Week," on this link: http://www.kvnonews.com/2012/10/banned-author-talks-censorship-for-banned-books-week/

This version contains the horrible "M" word--twice!--a word no one heard in the live broadcasts.

LIT FEST

Planning to be in the Omaha area Friday, October 19 and Saturday, October 20? Do drop into the W. Dale Clark Library, 215 S. 15th St, for the Omaha Lit Fest 2012. It's free and open to the public.

This year, the festival focuses on women writers. Its tongue-in-cheek title is "The Lit Fest Guide to Etiquette for Women Writers." Saturday at 5 p.m., three other women writers and I are on a panel called: Your Guide to Unladylike Demeanor: women writers making people nervous.

We writers will discuss the challenge of writing honestly about touchy subjects. What happens when women writers explore controversial topics (either willingly or inadvertently)? Are the rules of propriety different for women writers than they are for men?

On the panel with me will be Elizabeth Crane, Katie F-S, and Stacey Waite.

For details on the panelists or on Lit Fest, go to http://omahalitfest.com/

 

 

from:  a JoLt of CoFFeY 

 An Intermittent Newsletter

by Marilyn June Coffey

"BitterSweet Rebel"

http://thenewrevolutionists.org/revolutionists/marilyn-coffey/

"That Word"

If you'd like to hear, or read, the unexpurgated version of "Banned author talks censorship for Banned Books Week" by Lindsey Peterson, KVNO News -- that's her interview of me -- go to:

http://www.kvnonews.com/2012/10/banned-author-talks-censorship-for-banned-books-week/

I noticed that "That Word" had been expurgated in the edited version that hit the airwaves October 1, 2012.

I think it was expurgated because, when Ms. Peterson questioned me and I mentioned "That Word," she said:

"...even as we're talking and in a radio station it is kind of hard to talk about that. Because some of our listeners might be kind of taken aback by that."

Indeed. "That Word."

I used to say autoeroticism instead. It has such a nice academic ring, and almost no one knows what it means. Mark Twain preferred onanism, but since women don't spill seed, I stuck with autoeroticism. 

But lately I've been in a "call a spade a spade" mood when discussing my banned novel, MARCELLA. It's in such good company:

Song of Solomon. Huckleberry Finn. Alice in Wonderland. Diary of Anne Frank. Harry Potter. Little Red Riding Hood. Green Eggs & Ham. 

Plus dozens more, including many classics. Just take a look at the American Library Association list:

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics

 

from:  a JoLt of CoFFeY 

 An Intermittent Newsletter

by Marilyn June Coffey

"BitterSweet Rebel"

http://thenewrevolutionists.org/revolutionists/marilyn-coffey/