Madame Tussaud

Listen closely…can you hear it?

Can you hear the voices? Thoughts, insights, confessions from the creative community sharing ideas, trading secrets, venting frustrations; asking and answering questions such as, "What color rarely shows up in your work?" or "How do you express vulnerability in you art?" Or "What is one current trend that you wish would go away?" As artists, we are curious by nature and there is a longing to see inside the hearts and minds of artistic souls of our own kind. That is the beat of our lives-the Pulse of Mixed Media!

In this book-a complex survey of artists around the globe-there is much for you to discover:

• Visual insights: Many questions are answered not only in words, but often through visual art, and include self-portraits from 31 spotlight artists such as Pam Carriker, Danny Gregory and Judy Wise.
• A diverse sampling of provocative questions: Over 100 artists share their thoughts on everything from color, media and tools, to emotions, secrets and self-revelations
• Insightful sidebar statistics: Data from thousands of participants collected through polls on the author's blog reveal a remarkable analysis of the creative community at large

It′s Time to Take Back Your Life

Fear takes many forms -- dread, panic, anxiety, self-consciousness, superstition, and negativity -- and manifests itself in many ways -- avoidance, procrastination, judgment, control, and agitation, to name just a few. Whether we are afraid of the dark or being alone, of failure or commitment, of public speaking or flying, fear dominates our lives, affecting nearly every decision we make.

Combining compelling stories from the author′s twenty-five-year practice, examples from his own struggles with addiction and depression, and practical exercises and tools, Embracing Fear does not pretend to teach the impossible and eliminate fear, but rather shows us that once we understand it we can live beyond its tyrannical control. Instead of repressing or ignoring the voices of panic and dread, we learn that it is only through facing, exploring, accepting, and responding to fear that we free ourselves from its paralyzing grip.

It is the statue of Jesus on the cross Mary-Margaret is especially drawn to, and one day she decides to give Him a thorough and loving cleansing. But then something strange happens, and moments later she lies unconscious, a great gash in her head, blood on the floor. Word gets out that this strange happening is the opening of the statue's eyes and the flowing of blood from its head. Soon a full-scale religious mania descends on the quiet church, and everyone, from Father Diamond to his small but loyal band of parishioners, is affected by it. When she has recovered, Mary-Margaret returns to the church, and to her duties caring for her housebound and even fatter mother Fidelma. Among the parishioners, Stella Morrison meanwhile impatiently awaits the return of her son Felix from boarding school, and Alice Armitage the return of her much older son from Afghanistan.

Mary-Margaret goes back obsessively to the statue of Jesus. He has told her things, things she must act on, and urgently. But He has become remote and uncommunicative once again, and she is in despair. The act she decides on is a shocking one, and it will bring together the lives of the O'Reillys and the Morrisons in a way that will change their lives forever.

In his lifetime Roald Dahl pushed children’s literature into uncharted territory, and today his popularity around the globe continues to grow, with millions of his books sold every year. But the man behind the mesmerizing stories has remained largely an enigma. A single-minded adventurer and an eternal child who gave us the iconic Willy Wonka and Matilda Wormwood, Dahl was better known during his lifetime for his blunt opinions on taboo subjects—he was called an anti-Semite, a racist and a misogynist—than for his creative genius. His wild imagination, dark humor and linguistic elegance were less than fully appreciated by critics and readers alike until after his death.

Granted unprecedented access to the Dahl estate’s extraordinary archives—personal correspondence, journals and interviews with family members and famous friends—Donald Sturrock draws on a wealth of previously unpublished materials that informed Dahl’s writing and his life. It was a life filled with incident, drama and adventure: from his harrowing experiences as an RAF fighter pilot and his work in wartime intelligence, to his many romances and turbulent marriage to the actress Patricia Neal, to the mental anguish caused by the death of his young daughter Olivia. Tracing a brilliant yet tempestuous ascent toward notoriety, Sturrock sheds new light on Dahl’s need for controversy, his abrasive manner and his fascination for the gruesome and the macabre.

Third edition

OLD CATHOLIC CATECHISM. Many books that introduce a religious sect either get you so pumped up that you are in danger of exploding. Others are so “dry” that you seriously consider imploding before you get to the third chapter. This isn’t like that. Expect the story of a man from California who took a journey toward God. He tells you about his journey, warns you about some of the pitfalls he found, and invites you to join him on a spiritual quest. In a nutshell, Old Catholics are something like Roman Catholics, but without the Inquisition. They have all the sacraments. Yes: there are women priests and bishops. Yes: there are openly gay priests and bishops. Some members are pro-life, while others are pro choice. Don’t let anybody pull the pallium over your eyes because that is the way ancient Christianity used to be everywhere. You are in store for a wonder-filled spiritual journey.

"Bishop Elijah (Jim Rankin) was the person who first got me interested in the Old Catholic Church. It isn’t a Protestant Church, and it certainly isn’t Roman Catholic. In fact, Old Catholics have a long history of protecting believers from the weird behavior of some Roman Catholics. The bishop was the Old Catholic bishop of San Francisco, CA. His introduction will show you that it is possible to be part of a legitimate and traditional Catholic Church that refuses to act like a modern-day Pharisee with gobs and gobs of rules. DIVINE & HEALING PATH is a treat. I am so glad that the bishop’s book is back in print!"

-- Archbishop Wynn Wagner