TOP TEN LIST

1. Food Porn Daily by Amanda Simpson
2. The Fourth Gift by J. Tucker David
3. The Christmas Stone by Liz Carlston
4. The Great Plan of Happiness by David Bowman
5. 101 Gourmet Cookies for Everyone by Wendy Paul
6. It's in the Bag by Michelle Snow
7. The Carpenter's Miracle by Judd Parkin
8. Luck of the Draw by Rachael Renee Anderson
   
9. 101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes by Wendy Paul
10. The Zucchini Houdini by Brenda Stanley

Remember, these numbers represent the demand for your book from retailers last week, not necessarily those that sold through to an end consumer.

Jack Rushton Is Coming to Utah

Cedar Fort is excited to announce that author Jack Rushton will be visiting from California this week to do a book tour in Utah. Jack is the author of, "It's Good to Be Alive: Observations from a Wheelchair."

On August 1, 1989, while enjoying an afternoon with his family in Laguna Beach, California, Rushton bodysurfed a small, seemingly harmless wave toward shore. Unexpectedly, the wave drove him into the sand head first. Since that day, he has been paralyzed from the neck down and ventilator dependent. Rushton's cheerful attitude amidst such a trial has helped others reach beyond themselves and become better people. He inspires others to adjust their attitude about their present situation, whatever it might be.

You can come meet Jack at an event listed below:
Tuesday, September 28th:
6 pm - Signing at Ft. Union Deseret Book (1110 Fort Union Blvd. Midvale, UT 84047)

Wednesday, September 29th:
1-3 pm - University of Utah Rehabilitation Center Visit to spinal cord injury inpatients (50 North Medical Drive, SLC, UT)

Thursday, September 30th:
5 pm - Signing at Murray Barnes & Noble - book talk from 5-5:30 pm, signing 5:30-6:30 pm - (5249 South State Street Murray, UT 84107)

Friday, October 1st:
2-3:30 pm - Signing at the BYU bookstore. (Inside the Wilkinson Student Center)

Awards a plenty

Cedar Fort won a bronze award from the Publishers Association of the West. "The Legend of the Star" by Stacy Gooch-Anderson, won in the Children's/Young Adult Book Illustrated category.

Congratulations to the following:
Editor - Melissa Caldwell
Designer - Angela Olsen
Production Manager - Jennifer Fielding
Artist/Illustrator - Glenn Harmon
Printer/Bindery - Wa Fai Printing

Sheralyn Pratt recently won First Place at the League of Utah Writers' Annual Roundup. Sheralyn is the author of the popular Rhea Jensen series. The third book in the series, "City Limits," will be released in October.

Cindy Beck and Nichole Giles won the League of Utah Writers' Silver Quill Award for their book, "Mormon Mishaps and Mischief." Cindy has also published stories in "My Dad is My Hero" and "Cup of Comfort Book of Christmas Prayer." Nichole also wrote, "The Sharp Edge of the Knife."

CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE!!

If you're an author and have won an award recently, let me know so we can give you the recognition you deserve!

Bloggers love Cedar Fort authors!

Here are a couple reviews that have been featured on blogs recently.

Mariah Featured in New Children's Book
Mariah Carey fan Debbie informs us of the new children's novel entitled Dizzy Fantastic and Her Flying Bicycle that her husband, author Andy Hueller, had recently written and published.

The main character of the story, Debbie Fine, "Chubbie Debbie" to kids at school, discovers she can fly atop her white Thunderstrike bicycle that Debbie knows deep down inside she's "Dizzy Fantastic-Fourth-Grade Superhero." It is a story for anyone who's ever felt alone or misunderstood—or has ever dreamed of unlocking the superhero within. Mariah is mentioned several times and her music plays a key part in the story. Below are some excerpts from the book.

Page 38 ...She reminded Debbie of singers like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, whom she liked to listen to on the radio in the kitchen... Page 75 ...Debbie turned the knob to her favorite station and pushed the On button. Mariah Carey's "Dreamlover" flitted into the room... Page 129 ... He waved a Mariah Carey CD case near his face so she could see what he had in mind... They didn't talk. They sat together and listened to "I'll Be There," "Hero," and "Make It Happen." The music made Debbie think of Tabby, who looked like a famous singer... Page 130 ... Mariah Carey sang the chorus, and her backup singers echoed it back. Finally, her brother said, "Maybe girl music isn't so bad."

Dizzy Fantastic and Her Flying Bicycle, for children ages 7 to 12, is available at Amazon.com for $8.99.

Book Review – “It’s in the bag” by Michelle and Trent Snow

"It's In The Bag" by Michelle and Trent Snow is a great book that presents very well another concept of food storage. The premise of this book is that you gather everything you need for either a dinner meal or a breakfast meal and put it in a bag. When she says everything is in the bag she means it; even the cooking water. Some recipes require “pantry items” which she always has on hand such as peanut butter, vinegar or vegetable oil. The bag she uses is a square bottomed plastic gift bag with ¾” handles for carrying. On the outside of the bag, the recipe is slipped inside a plastic CD sleeve or one with a clear window. Next to the sleeve is a ¾” removable color-coded label which is written the expiration date or the date to use the meal in the bag before. She says the reusable bags cost about 18¢ each, and the CD sleeves range from 1¢ to 18¢ each. She also uses snack size and regular size baggies for the ingredients in the bag meals.

She makes several claims in her book, including:
1) You’ll always have meals at your fingertips and each bag meal serves 6-8 people
2) The bag meals save time and money
3) There is shorter prep time for meals – all meals 20 minutes or less and all ingredients are pre-measured
4) Bag meals save space
5) You have security because you know you have meals on hand
6) In times of disaster if you must leave your home, each family member can grab several bags or meals, and you have more substantial food than just a granola bar or crackers.

One of the statements that she makes in her book is this, “Let’s say I have 365 dinner and 365 breakfast bag meals. In hard economic times or during a disaster, I know my family will have at least 2 complete meals a day”. What an awesome thing.

She prefers this way of food storage to just buying lots of food in bulk; this way she already has meals prepared that she knows her family likes. She has storage shelves that measure 16’x4’ and store 422 bag meals.

The only downside I can see with this method is that because you use many canned vegetables and beans as well as fruit in your bags, it might preclude you from using your beans and other food storage items instead of convenience foods but maybe after using the system awhile you can learn to incorporate both. I think it is awesome to know that your meals are ready and all the ingredients for a particular meal are already assembled. No more wondering if you have everything you need to make a specific meal.

Her book contains many of her recipes for both dinner and breakfast. The back section of the book is dedicated to basic canning recipes and instructions, including vegetables, pickles and relishes, fruits, meat, poultry and fish as well as a section on dressings. It also has a sprouting section. It even has instructions on building a chicken coop and raising your own chickens and eggs.

If you think making some dinners in the bag might be something you’d like to try, check out this book either online or at Deseret Book.

I bet that you would find you have some favorite recipes of your own that you could use to make your own dinners.
Here is a recipe from her book:

Coconut Pancakes
Michelle Snow

1 c. water
Resealable bag:
2 c. flour
½ c. granulated sugar
½ t. salt
4 t. baking powder

Resealable bag:
1 c. sweetened coconut flakes

Pantry Items:
1 t. vanilla
1 (13.5 oz.) can coconut milk

In a large bowl stir all ingredients, especially coconut flakes, until batter is smooth. Add coconut. Ladle pancake batter onto a hot oiled griddle. Turn pancakes when bubbles appear and edges are golden.

Top Ten List - Woohoo!!

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this up but here's the top ten list for the month of August (and remember, these numbers represent the demand for your book from retailers last week, not necessarily those that sold through to an end consumer.) I'll start updating the list weekly/bi-weekly.

1. The Christmas Stone by Liz Carlston
   
2. The Carpenter's Miracle by Judd Parkin
   
3. 101 Gourmet Cookies for Everyone by Wendy Paul
   
4. The Fourth Gift by J. Tucker Davis
   
5. The Great Plan of Happiness by David Bowman
   
6. 65 Signs Talk on CD by David Ridges
   
7. 101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes by Wendy Paul
   
8. It's Good to Be Alive by Jack Rushton
   
9. The Zucchini Houdini by Brenda Stanley
   
10. Luck of the Draw by Rachael Renee Anderson

The Future of Reading?

Amazon Kindle, Sony Digital Reader, Barnes and Noble Nook, and Apple iPad are changing the world of reading. Are these E-Readers getting people to read more? Are paperbacks and hardcovers a thing of the past?

My mom bought my dad a Kindle for Christmas last year. He spent all of 10 minutes trying to figure it out and decided that he'd rather pick-up the hard copy of his novel instead.
Like my dad, I like to read before I go to sleep. However, if I look at a computer screen or my Blackberry before I go to bed, I'm wired after just a few minutes. Then it takes me longer to fall asleep and makes me groggy for work the next morning.
My brother on the other hand, loves his Kindle and just got an iPad. He travels a lot for work and takes them on the plane.

So, what are your thoughts on the "Future of Reading?" Here are a couple of articles from the Wall Street Journal and Wired Science to help you make up your mind.