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  Featured Books: Humor
 
A BABY BOOMER'S GUIDE TO THEIR SECOND SIXTIES
By Ryan Custer Amacher

Order from Sunstone: (505) 988-4418

While this book was written for male Baby Boomers and their significant others, it also includes Boomer history and what lies ahead as we experience the decade of our own sixties. This story reviews our Boomer luck, recounts the great history of being a kid in the 1950s, and the great opportunities provided by improved education in the 1960s, not to ignore a seemingly mind expanding culture.

Turning sixty is not for the faint hearted. There are issues ahead. The first thing we all face is taking care of aging parents or what the author refers to as helping your parents check out. Then there are our own Boomer health issues including cataracts and prostate cancer. You likely think there is nothing funny about these topics but the quirky economist author finds humor in all of our aging experiences. This book covers Boomer issues, all in the context of our Boomer culture. We Boomers thought we would be young forever.

Maybe that is why it is so amusing.

Ryan Custer Amacher was born 52 days too early to be an “official” Baby Boomer, but he in no way ever considered himself a member of Tom Brokaw’s “Greatest Generation.” In this book, the author chronicles the good luck of the first sixty years of the Boomer experience and guides Boomers into the humorous, but sobering experience of their personal sixties. Amacher, an economist, has a BA degree from Ripon College and a PhD from the University of Virginia. He has been a professor at the University of Oklahoma, Economics Department Chair at Arizona State, Business Dean at Clemson University, and President of the University of Texas at Arlington where he is now a Professor of Economics. He has worked at the Pentagon, writing a market plan for the All-Volunteer Army, the Federal Trade Commission as a consultant, and the US Treasury, on the Law of The Sea negotiations.

Secure Movie & TV Rights
Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=6t-qUqTAsu4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=9780865348554&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2Qt

Softcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-855-4
198 pp.,$19.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-070-4
198 pp.,$3.99


CITY BOY
Urban Planning, Municipal Politics, and Guerrilla Warfare
By Mike Tedesco

“This is a story that too many practicing planners will recognize, and many who seek to become planners should come to understand before entering the profession.” —Kirk McClure, Professor Graduate Program in Urban Planning, University of Kansas

“Mike Tedesco might well be the ghost of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson returned to tell us what the life of a planner is really like, painting pictures embedded in a real-world reality that is too often ignored, or sanitized in academic planning textbooks. This book should be required reading in all planning schools. Don’t wait for the movie. Read it now!” —Gundars Rudzitis, Professor of Geography, Environmental Science, and American Studies; Adjunct Professor of Philosophy Department of Geography, University of Idaho

In the world of municipal politics, truth is stranger than fiction and there is no truth stranger than La Blanca Gente, Colorado. In this striking first book, the author weaves between the anecdotal and the academic to sew a grand comic farce as he unveils the curtain over the tactics employed by government employees to achieve their own ends. Tragic? Absurd? Harrowing? Indeed, and City Boy serves as a lesson on what not to do when confronted by those who are just dumb enough to take you down. Throw your Urban Planning and Public Administration text books out the window because in the world of municipal politics you better be ready for a street fight.

Mike Tedesco currently serves as the Executive Director for the Urban Renewal Authority of Pueblo. He has helped to establish and implement nearly $330 million in public/private economic development partnerships. He serves on the Board of Directors of Downtown Colorado, Inc., and several local organizations. Mike graduated from the University of Kansas with a Masters of Urban Planning degree in 2005. He lives in Pueblo, Colorado, with his wife and two children.

Sample Chapter
Secure Movie & TV Rights
Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=PMa3wC1LdmgC&dq=9780865347267&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Email: mike.t.tedesco@gmail.com

Hardcover:
6 X 9
ISBN: 978-1-63293-495-6
176 pp.,$32.95

Softcover:
6 X 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-726-7
176 pp.,$19.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-659-1
176 pp.,$5.99


COPING WITH TEXAS AND OTHER STAGGERING FEETS
Fun with the Lone Star State
By Lowell Christensen

Order from Sunstone: (505) 988-4418

This humorous guide to Texas offers a description of the many splendors of Texas: ambling along uncrowded beaches, azaleas and dogwoods in the spring, distinctive epicurean cuisine (grits), songs to help ya’ll get chronically depressed, sprinting along those uncrowded beaches chased by seven trillion mosquitoes, and other delights such as boiled okra. Here you’ll find out about things that will try to kill you like weather and gar. You’ll also be warned about places where you might get trampled to death like rodeos and dances. And then there are odious insects like love bugs and roaches. You’ll be fully informed about the music, culture, and feedlots that make Texas one of the most interesting places south of Oklahoma. It’s all here in this definitive work on Texas—a great place to bury Cadillacs.

Lowell Christensen lived in Texas for years but his heart and ski boots were always in Colorado. In spite of his background, he has tried to relate some of his experiences, observations and other highly accurate distortions from his adventures in Texas.

Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=NxfKPAAACAAJ&dq=9780865341692&hl=en&ei=ISHUTszgNufjiAKM8-3BDg&sa=X&

Softcover:
6 X 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-169-2
94 pp.,$16.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-888-5
94 pp.,$4.99


THE CURMUDGEON
A Guide for Men Over Sixty
By Bob Eggers

A humorous look, along with tips, for men over sixty with illustrations by the author.

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

There is a common thread among most men over sixty: gain weight, lose memory, and pee a lot. Challenges consist of bending over, stairs, new technology and what to do after retirement. If you are just approaching the Golden Years, this handbook will prepare you for what’s ahead. For those already over the hill and fast becoming a “Curmudgeon,” it will assure you that you are not alone.

Bob Eggers’ former life was spent creating television commercials with Young & Rubicam Advertising Agency in New York, then as a director with his commercial production company, Eggers Films, in Los Angeles. He now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.


Softcover:
8 1/2 x 8 1/2
ISBN: 978-0-86534-065-7
136 pp.,$24.95


DID I REALLY CHANGE MY UNDERWEAR EVERY DAY?
One Geezer's Handbook for (Temporary) Survival
By Larry McCoy

A humorous look at aging with many helpful hints about how to do it.

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

Recent retirees have a lot of adjustments to make, and we’re not talking only pant size here. This entertaining book on aging offers hilarious suggestions for handling some of life’s more daunting challenges—from prostate cancer to keeping fit, from overly complicated TV remotes to night driving. (McCoy wonders if other drivers in their 70s always see trees in the middle of the road after dark.) The author finds an amusing side to the problems of aging in this perceptive, on-the-mark collection of witty essays. There ARE ways of coping with growing older. As he points out, you don’t have much choice in the matter, so you might as well enjoy it.

Humor pieces by McCoy have appeared in numerous newspapers, including at least two that are no longer in business. He would like to think there was no connection between their demise and his writing. Did I Really Change My Underwear Every Day? is his first published book. He worked for more than 45 years as a news writer, editor, producer and manager in Chicago, Munich and New York. Many younger journalists have told him how much they learned watching him handle big stories. Even if they didn’t mean it, he enjoyed hearing it. A native of Frankfort, Indiana, McCoy is a graduate of Indiana University as is his wife, Irene, a retired copywriter and publicist. They live on Long Island in New York.

Sample Chapter
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Website: http://www.larrymccoyonline.com/
Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=8KceckaaM_QC&printsec=frontcover&dq=9780865347786&hl=en&ei=mh_QTpXq

Softcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-778-6
126 pp.,$14.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-107-7
126 pp.,$4.99


EVERYONE NEEDS AN EDITOR
A Memoir
By Larry McCoy

Rude, raucous and often funny in a newsroom, Larry McCoy has stuck to that winning combination in this memoir covering his life from an inexperienced writer at UPI to news director at CBS Radio to a retired journalist who is as appalled as non-journalists by what many news organizations consider news these days. Too old to be hired again now, he pokes fun at former employers and many of their products and practices. He denounces performance reviews, the U.S. media’s obsession with the British royal family, broadcasters who talk down to their audience, journalists who make up stories, know-nothing bosses, and a universe where virtually everyone feels the need to tweet. Never comfortable swimming with the tide, McCoy says the best journalist he ever met didn’t even finish high school and that newswomen may ask better questions than newsmen. As a public service to workers in all professions, he provides guidelines on how to write a smart, snappy note to your boss and, if that doesn’t do the trick, to your boss’s boss. But he has kind words for writers, producers, overseas stringers, desk assistants, technicians and, yes, even a few anchors.

Larry McCoy was a writer, editor, and producer at UPI, ABC, CBS and Radio Free Europe. While a manager at CBS, the radio newsroom won two treasured Peabody Awards. He wrote or edited copy for some of the biggest names in broadcasting, including Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Ed Bradley, Charles Osgood, Dallas Townsend, Douglas Edwards, Christopher Glenn and Ted Koppel and has a story or two about each of them. McCoy grew up in Indiana and lives on Long Island, New York with his wife, Irene, also a writer. More than half a century ago, a radio station owner told him, “Sarcasm doesn’t go in a small market.” He’s still trying to prove her wrong.

Website: http://www.larrymccoyonline.com/

Softcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-1-63293-041-5
226 pp.,$22.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-345-3
226 pp.,$3.99


THE FAMILY JOKE BOOK
Stories and Jokes for All Ages
By Brad Taylor with illustrations by Hank Blaustein

"GREAT GOOD FUN" says the WISCONSIN BOOKWATCH

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

This thoughtful collection of humorous and wholesome stories and jokes comes from the author’s family experiences, including stories told by and to grandparents and grandchildren. Loosely divided into four broad age groups, the book is one way to get the family talking and provides a vehicle for easy conversation and respectful interchange between children and other children; parents and children; and grandparents and their grandchildren. The stories also provide instructive challenges to the maturity of any young person’s understanding of humor. Much of this humor is based on stories told and heard from young people visiting the home of the author’s own children.

Brad Taylor, a retired banker and storyteller, was born in Wisconsin and has lived in New York, Latin America, San Francisco and Asia. With his wife, he divides his time between homes in Connecticut and New Mexico. Illustrator Hank Blaustein, a retired New York City school teacher, has been a freelance artist much of his life. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Baron’s, The National Review, The Village Voice and many others.

Sample Chapter
Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=gOcCAAAACAAJ&dq=0865342946&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xgPIT8iwM8rO2AXPvdzpDQ&ved

Softcover:
5 1/2 x 8 1/2
ISBN: 978-0-86534-294-1
64 pp.,$14.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-928-8
64 pp.,$4.99


THE FINE ART OF POLITICS
A Humorous Look at One Era’s Unforgettable Politicians
By Michele Weston Relkin

A book of humor with famous paintings re-imaged with political figures from an era in American politics.

Michele Weston Relkin says in her preface to this book: “Many times as an artist and educator the drumbeat of chaos and excitement can develop into a great piece of art. So it is with this highly enjoyable mix of classical paintings and the political faces that make our American history. With these two elements brewing this compilation of imagery was born. Structuring and repainting the portraits so they live well with the famous paintings was a challenge. But the outcome is highly amusing and a great piece of the American political story. I do not side politically with my artwork but try to bring a smile that is nonpartisan.”

Michele Weston Relkin is one of Santa Fe, New Mexico’s best known living and working artists. She became famous for her social realistic paintings that have occupied the White House for many years. Her work explores many depths outside this venue including mythological, figurative and visual landscapes. She is the creator of “Inside-Out,” a rich celebration of her students’ work. Michele teaches and encourages all her students to greater levels of accomplishments through her private and group workshops. Her paintings are enjoyed throughout the United States and Europe.


Softcover:
8 1/2 x 8 1/2 Illustrated, Color
ISBN: 978-1-63293-254-9
52 pp.,$18.95


LIFE BEGINS AT SEVENTY
By Gerald G. Hotchkiss

Order from Sunstone: (505) 988-4418

As time goes by, there are too many clocks in my house. If the power goes off, besides the time pieces themselves, there are those embedded in our refrigerator, stove, telephones, car, you name it. All awaiting a resetting. Our lives do, too. Of course life doesn't begin at seventy, nor did it end at thirty. It is said the three demands of youngsters are: see me, hear me, pay attention to me. Well it's clear to those of us in our second childhood, few see us or hear us, much less pay attention to us. The world is interested in younger generations. My essays pay attention to us with a twist, or at least a chuckle.

Gerald G. Hotchkiss is a retired magazine publisher who has written several children's and young adult books including: Emily and the Lost City of Ergup, the first Emily story; Emily In Khara Koto, Zoe and the Pirate Ship Revenge and Claire at the Crocker Farm, all from Sunstone Press; Music Makers, A Guide to Singing in a Chorus also from Sunstone Press; and has illustrated One Hundred Million Wombats. He worked at Life, Look and Newsweek and was publisher of Psychology Today and Science Digest. His last magazine, as publisher, was 50 Plus, a Whitney publication for seniors.


Softcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-1-63293-035-4
80 pp.,$18.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-336-1
80 pp.,$3.99


LOST FRAGMENTS OF PLAUSIBLE UNIMPORTANCE
Pointless Guidelines for the Hopeless
By Michael Richard Lucas

In this anecdotal memoir an unknown narrator combines philosophical musings with dark humor to alleviate his reoccurring existential crises and mundane day-to-day missteps. To retain his sanity the narrator reflects on parables and absurd punch lines. Our narrator is consumed by doomed relationships, painful nostalgia, a vicious cycle of poverty, incompetent superiors, and ridiculous decrees from a Dictator-President with a violent police force. These situations are so hopeless they can turn humorous, and therefore, undermine the power that crippling depression, anxiety, and obsession can wreak on an individual living in “modernity.” In the end, the reader is left with more questions than answers: “Are these intellectually rigorous musings the signs of mental illness, or an elaborate trick at our expense?” and “Who has a skewed perception of reality: the narrator, his society, or our own selves?”

Michael Lucas has taught college writing and literature and publishes academic scholarship on rhetoric, parody, creativity, and continental philosophy. Academic writing aside, this book is informed by the author’s narrative explorations in short film, video art, stand-up comedy, music, and various 2-D art works. Through these different mediums the author hopes to expand his audience’s (and his own) understanding of ourselves and the world around us through narratives that demand playful pondering. The author’s works reside at www.MichaelArtsGood.com.


Softcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-1-63293-240-2
184 pp.,$18.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-564-8
184 pp.,$4.99


LYON HUNTS & HUMOR
True Life Hunting and Adventure Stories
By Tolbert James Lyon

See "PRAISE FOR THIS BOOK" below.

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

This collection of true life hunting and wilderness stories gives a telling insight into a period of the American West that had a philosophy and humor all its own. A time that has faded and will soon be lost forever.This collection of true life hunting and wilderness stories gives a telling insight into a period of the American West that had a philosophy and humor all its own. A time that has faded and will soon be lost forever. “Shorty” Lyon, a widely-published writer, is best known as a hunter/trapper/philosopher but he was also a pioneer, homesteader, miner, mill hand, woodcutter, forester, conservationist, rancher, hunting guide, farmer and an honored member of The New Mexico Trapper’s Hall of Fame.

Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=jftOPQAACAAJ&dq=0865341486&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HAXIT6aCDKeQ2QWitdzCDQ&ved

Softcover:
5 1/2 x 8 1/2
ISBN: 978-0-86534-148-7
120 pp.,$19.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-923-3
120 pp.,$9.99


MA FRUMP'S CULTURAL GUIDE TO PLASTIC GARDENING
A Humorous Approach to All-Season Gardening
By Marcia Muth

Colorful, All-Season Gardening With Plastic Plants And Flowers

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

• Do you want to spend less time gardening?
• Are you looking for ways to save water?
• Have you been disappointed in the way your garden turned out?
• Do you dread the dull winter months?
• Do you understand the true meaning of “garden loveliness”?
• Do you want people to stop by your garden and exclaim in surprise and wonder at what they see?

Ma Frump has colorful answers to these questions and many helpful suggestions that will make you a happy gardener wherever you live and in all seasons of the year.

Marcia Muth is an American folk artist. She was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1919 and grew up in Indiana and western New York State. She received degrees from the University of Michigan and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work is in private and public collections including The Jewish Museum (New York), The Albuquerque Museum, Museum of Fine Arts (Santa Fe) and the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (Beaumont). She is the author of thirteen books including A World Set Apart, Memory Paintings, also from Sunstone Press.

Sample Chapter
Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=Qjb78wMNVlwC&dq=isbn:0865346119

Softcover:
6 X 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-611-6
64 pp.,$16.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-054-4
64 pp.,$3.99


MA FRUMP’S CULTURAL GUIDE TO INSTANT INTELLECTUALISM
How to Become a True Intellectual in a Few Hours
By Marcia Muth

Order from Sunstone Press: (800) 243-5644

Why intellectualism, you may well ask. And, my answer would have to be—why not? Isn’t it the “in” thing? The pressure is on to be an intellectual or at least to present a façade of intellectualism to a curious and waiting world. Unfortunately, there are many interesting things to do today that are vastly more relaxing and entertaining than the serious pursuit of knowledge. However, you can, by following the tips in my book, “bake your cake and eat it too.” You can become an instant intellectual in a matter of a few hours (two hours?). Your family and friends will be astonished. You will be pleased and not at all exhausted by tiresome mental effort. Instant intellectualism is for the modern individual who would rather be happy than to think deep thoughts. A humor book for everyone.

Marcia Muth is also the author of A World Set Apart, Memory Paintings; Writing and Selling Poetry, Fiction, Articles, Plays & Local History; How to Paint and Sell Your Art; Indian Pottery of the Southwest; Kachinas, A Selected Bibliography; Ma Frump’s Cultural Guide to Plastic Gardening which won a first place award in the 2008 New Mexico Book Awards; Post Card Views and Other Souvenirs, Poems; Fake Ivory, New and Selected Poems; Sticks and Stones and Other Poems, Thin Ice and Other Poems; and Words and Images, Poems, all from Sunstone Press. Her biography, Left Early, Arrived Late, by Teddy Jones, also from Sunstone Press, was published in 2008. In 2006, she was named a Santa Fe Living Treasure in recognition of her many accomplishments.

“A fun book, using acupuncture on pretentiousness with humor and no pain. Can be read in one sitting with one beer.” —The Santa Fe New Mexican


Softcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-913270-17-2
28 pp.,$14.95


THE MISADVENTURES OF A SINGLE WOMAN
Cautionary Tales Celebrating the Joys of Being Single
By Sara Jane Coffman

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

Sara Jane “Sally” Coffman, SWF, has suffered through blind dates, computer dates, disaster dates, and no dates. She has single-handedly organized a family reunion, planted grass in a drought, and had some of the worst hairdos in the history of Beauty-Related Lawsuits. Blessed with a quirky sense of humor, she has survived and lived to tell her tales. Sally finds humor in her mishaps, embarrassments, and misadventures. She says, “You can’t wait for laughter to come to you. You have to go out and find it.”

And find it she does.

Here is a collection of her humorous, and sometimes cautionary, tales celebrating the joys of being single. You don’t have to be single or female to enjoy Sally’s stories. Everyone will see themselves in her embarrassing, unusual, and awkward situations. Sally is a master storyteller. Come laugh at her misadventures and see which ones remind you of your own.

Born in Bedford, Ohio, Sara Jane Coffman grew up in the neighboring town of Maple Heights (both suburbs of Cleveland). She earned her two degrees—a Bachelor of Arts in Radio/TV and a Masters in Speech Communication—from Purdue University. She is an instructional developer, study skills instructor, actress, and author. Her specialty is helping students learn.

Sample Chapter
Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=ZRqNaReJdewC&printsec=frontcover&dq=9780865348288&hl=en&ei=LCPQTu_N

Softcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-828-8
176 pp.,$18.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-024-7
176 pp.,$4.99


MY WISDOM THAT NO ONE WANTS
By Nancy Hopkins Reily

A collection of short words of wisdom both practical and funny by a well-known Texas writer and photographer.

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

On any given day, “Wisdom Collectors,” which can include scholars, poets and general enthusiasts, are lined up awaiting the next nuggets of wisdom. Each word of wisdom builds on previous words of wisdom whether spoken or written by such individuals as Abigail Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Andy Rooney, Angela Lansbury, Ann Richards, Aristotle or Audrey Hepburn. These are just a few of the A’s. The B’s through Z’s are just as impressive.

Nancy Hopkins Reily has now dealt with these words of wisdom, sometimes in rhyme, metered, and narrative verse, and presented them in a musical beat that not everyone will recognize—all done with an uncanny imagination that cuts through to the core of every issue and includes the youth and adults. Wisdom Collectors also delve into the living of life such as traveling, cooking, photographing, retiring and preparing for emergencies. “These selective nuggets,” Nancy says, “are welcome to all members and non-members of the Wisdom Collectors whose current membership, by the way, is one person—me.”

Nancy’s wisdom began when she was a young native Dallas, Texan and learned that it was okay to say, “I don’t know.” Graduated from Southern Methodist University, she claimed that she wasn’t very sexy if her high heel shoes hurt her feet. As a beginning homemaker, there was nothing like the sound of scraping burnt toast. In raising two children, Nancy realized that each age came in the right sequence. And just as she finished her work as a mother, she became a grandmother. One grandson taught her that Louisiana doesn’t drain very well. When she began her writing career, she declared that fifty percent of writing is just showing up to write and to surround yourself with talented people. Nancy says that the best advice she has been given is, “Drink very little liquid, if any, after six pm.” And, upon reflection she wonders, “Do I want to be a pioneer woman and be among the first women to stop cooking?”

Nancy Reily is also the author of Classic Outdoor Color Portraits, A Guide for Photographers; Georgia O’Keeffe, A Private Friendship, Part I, Walking the Sun Prairie Land; Georgia O’Keeffe, A Private Friendship, Part II, Walking the Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch Land; and Joseph Imhof, Artist of the Pueblos with Lucille Enix, all from Sunstone Press.

Sample Chapter
Website: http://www.nancyhopkinsreily.com
Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=-6MYfA5ZwpIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=9780865347762&hl=en&ei=qiPQTvP1

Hardcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-776-2
272 pp.,$29.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-009-4
272 pp.,$4.99


ONLY IN SANTA FE
By Denise Kusel

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

“When I first moved to Santa Fe about 26 years ago, I cried,” the author says. “I didn’t know anyone. Didn’t have a job. All the houses were the same color. The streets didn’t make sense, often turning into one-way roads at whim. Then something happened. I began to enjoy the idea that nothing made sense. Nothing worked. Nothing was expected to work, including the telephones when it rained. But no one really cared. Life went on. When I wrote my first check for $2.56 for breakfast in a place where most people spoke Spanglish and the chile was hot enough to spring tears into my eyes, I knew I had arrived in someplace that mattered.

“It was a place where people wore western hats, dusty boots and blue jeans. In the true tradition of the American West, people left you alone, unless you didn’t want to be alone, and then they embraced you. I discovered that I had to leave my native California to go East in order get West. I won’t say that living is easy here; it’s not. But it’s good. The people are truly wonderful and for years, I’ve been able to tell their stories, sometimes helping them find their own voices, sometimes using my own. I learned a long time ago a good journalist writes the truth with love. Just as I’ve learned that I’ve never met a person who didn’t have a story to tell. Here are some of those stories.”

DENISE KUSEL has been a journalist for so long you’d think by now she would have changed careers to something that actually makes money and earns respect. She currently is a columnist at The Santa Fe New Mexican, where her columns “Only in Santa Fe” appear three times a week.

Sample Chapter
Secure Movie & TV Rights
Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=bZQSp5X4zfsC

Softcover:
6 X 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-446-4
172 pp.,$18.95


THE OTHER STATE, NEW MEXICO USA
By Richard McCord

"For anyone who's had the privilege and pleasure of residing or visiting New Mexico, this is a must read. The price and eay readabiity make it a fulfilling treat." NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE

“Author and journalist Richard McCord is a natural storyteller. These sketches of his, lovingly stitched together, portray quirky, unpredictable New Mexicans, and especially their unconventional capital of Santa Fe. The characters who briefly walk through these pages each cast a ray of light on the human condition, and occasionally even evoke a chuckle. McCord’s book is as absorbing as it is genuine.” (MARC SIMMONS, historian)

“Richard McCord is Santa Fe’s answer to Mark Twain. His intelligence, wit and insight have added to our cultural life for three decades. Read this book—it will lift your spirits.” (NANCY WOOD, author, poet, photographer)

“Some of these essays on New Mexico read like fiction although we know them to be history. If you live in New Mexico, at times it is hard to differentiate between these two worlds or realities. McCord captures these nuances with style and grace.” (ORLANDO ROMERO, writer/historian)

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

The party in the cemetery. The amputation of the bronze foot. The reincarnation of Billy the Kid. The only book ever to make The New York Times best-seller list in both fiction AND non-fiction. The female gentlemen. The cave that waited 40 years. The murderous “squaw man.” Where will you find these strange stories, and more? Only in “The Other State: New Mexico, USA.” Anyone who lives in or travels to New Mexico understands that it is a place unlike anywhere else. Extremely unlike anywhere else. These true tales, brief and fast-moving, paint a unique portrait of a unique land. They are told by a multiple-award-winning writer, who found his home in New Mexico decades ago and has been telling its story ever since. If you too feel New Mexico’s spell, then welcome to . . . “The Other State.”

Raised in Georgia, trained in New York, Richard McCord found home in New Mexico in 1971. Three years later he founded the weekly Santa Fe Reporter, which soon won a national reputation for excellence. Now a freelance, he celebrates the place he loves.

Secure Movie & TV Rights
Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=-mvQCL5YL_0C

Softcover:
6 X 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-403-7
120 pp.,$14.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-884-7
120 pp.,$9.99


PALETTE IN THE KITCHEN
The Celebration Edition of this Famous Cookbook
By Constance Counter and Karl Tani, Compilers

"...recommended to cookbook connoisseurs as a unique collection for spicing up their standard meal menus." --LIBRARY BOOKWATCH

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

Santa Fe, New Mexico--a wonderful art center--was much smaller in 1974 when the original edition of PALETTE IN THE KITCHEN was published, and most of the artists knew each other. This led to a lot of parties: parties after gallery openings, parties to plan exhibitions, and parties to plan parties. Looking back on all this--and the photographs from that time--conjures up cartoon mental images of cars careening around Santa Fe, and up and down the road to Taos; artist-filled cars, a bottle or two of wine, and huge casseroles of main dishes, and plates of desserts. Of course, there were the times when everyone showed up with a pasta dish, or everyone brought a dessert. But most of the time there was a wonderful array of creative cooking from their special recipes. And here they are again, to remind us of that wonderful time.

Now, sadly, too many of the artists who contributed to the original edition are gone; some at young ages and some at the end of long productive lives. The late Constance Counter who, along with Karl Tani, put together the first edition of PALETTE IN THE KITCHEN, loved a party, loved to cook, loved a good time, and a good story. Constance asked artists for their favorite recipes, and asked others for dishes they had invented. Some artists gave recipes discovered on their travels, and others contributed recipes from their heritage; and all the artists added their own inventiveness. This Celebration Edition is in memory of Constance Counter and the other artists in this book who are no longer with us. And it is in memory of a smaller, more village-like Santa Fe that is no more. Although times have changed, artists are still taking their creative skills to the kitchen--usually with wonderful, if not surprising, results.

Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=99JRsYSkfooC

Softcover:
8 1/2 X 11
ISBN: 978-0-86534-283-5
64 pp.,$12.95


THE PTOMAINE KID
A Hamburger Western
By Conger Beasley, Jr.

Order from Sunstone: (505) 988-4418

Hoby Tibbs, a forty-one-year-old hamburger cook, has a secret—he has the power to cure bad hamburger meat.

His gift is timely—an epidemic of ptomaine poisoning has infected the hamburger parlors of the American Southwest that threatens to alter the eating habits of the entire population. With the grit and determination of a latter-day knight, Hoby rides forth to do battle with the pernicious microbes. In pursuit of this quest, he discovers the ptomaine outbreak is not the product of natural causes, but rather part of a devious plot by fast-food moguls to corner the franchise industry.

This discovery turns into an exciting chase that brings this fast-paced, action-filled, comic-fantasy adventure to a shocking and surprising conclusion.

Conger Beasley, Jr. was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and educated in Connecticut and New York City. From 1970 to 1982 he worked as an editor at Universal Press Syndicate and Andrews and McMeel Publishing Company in Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to The Ptomaine Kid, Hidalgo’s Beard, and Messiah: The Life and Times of Francis Schlatter, all from Sunstone Press, he has published three books of poetry, and three volumes of short fiction. A collection of essays, Sun Dancers and River Demons, was given the Thorpe Menn Award for the best book published by a Kansas City author in 1991. We Are a People in This World: The Lakota Sioux and the Massacre at Wounded Knee won the Western Writers of America Spur Award for the best contemporary nonfiction book published in 1995.

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Softcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-905-6
188 pp.,$19.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-122-0
188 pp.,$4.99


PULLING NO PONCHOS
An Irreverent History of Santa Fe
By James Raciti

Order from Sunstone: (505) 988-4418

Santa Fe, New Mexico's long and glorious history has enlightened, delighted and often frightened New Mexicans and visitors alike. But our fearless author embarks on a playful recounting of the events, the people and their leaders. He pokes innocent fun at everything that moves: the government, the church and the institutions of higher learning. For example, few people know of the manual dexterity of Kit Carson, the underground excursion of Don Juan de Onate and the husbandry skills of Bishop Lamy, to say nothing of the real truth behind the taking of Santa Fe by the Army of the West. But you will after you read PULLING NO PONCHOS. And you'll be glad you did.

JAMES RACITI has lived in Santa Fe for several years and has enjoyed tweaking the sensitivities of its inhabitants. A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Raciti has spent more than twenty-five years in Europe as an educator. He has written two books of poetry, "Charles" and "Dabs of Myself" and has written and produced two plays, "The Song of Roland" and "Invitation at Dawn: Ernest Hemingway." His first novel, published in 1999, is entitled "Au Revoir a la France." His most recent novel is "Giacomo," published in 2000.

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Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=ydbgEK6QQxAC

Softcover:
5 1/2 x 8 1/2
ISBN: 978-0-86534-325-2
128 pp.,$12.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-865-6
128 pp.,$4.99


SANTA FE AFTER DARK
An Illustrated Guide
By Bob Eggers

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Where’s the theater located? Where can I find a decent meal after the theater? Where can I dance the salsa, play a game of pool, order a great martini, find a sports bar, a singles bar, a flamenco dancer, a ballet, a symphony, a rock band, a stripper? And so it goes when the sun sets in the city different. There’s plenty to do but where and when do you do it?

This illustrated guide to Santa Fe After Dark attempts to answer these questions by covering over 40 bars, clubs and lounges with additional chapters on after hours dining, theater, dance, music, cinema and a few other odds and ends.

For Bob Eggers, drawing has been his first love, but a great deal of his life has been spent in the world of film and advertising. After ten years as a TV commercial art director with Young and Rubicam ad agency in New York, Bob established Eggers Films, a TV production company in Los Angeles where he directed commercial spots for close to 20 years. He, his wife Patricia and two daughters now life in Santa Fe. Bob is getting old and shouldn’t be out after dark!

Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=i5TFI-KzeQMC

Softcover:
8 X 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-429-7
160 pp.,$19.95


SPEAK YOUR TRUTH
See No... Hear No... Speak No UFOs
By Samone Michaels

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

Want to know more about UFOs? Ever wonder if government cover-ups are true? Well, hold on to your seat and let the wool be pulled off UFOs, Extraterrestrials, and conspiracy theories! You are in for the ride of your life.

That’s right. Topics we all want to hear about, but rarely do in mainstream news come streaming (and screaming) off the pages. This out-of-the-ordinary collection of humorous, yet revealing cartoons come from the author’s perspective on "hush, hush" topics. Originally designed as greeting cards, these "pictures that are worth a thousand words" are now available in this book to delight and raise an eyebrow or two.

SAMONE MICHAELS grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, but lived most of her life in Los Angeles. Her career in aerospace on highly classified programs combined with her personal metaphysical beliefs adds to the uniqueness of the humor and information. Samone has also traveled the world visiting sacred sites, including Egypt, South America, Central America and Europe. She currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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Website: http://www.sldprints.com
Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=rrVK0Ij9kcQC&q=9780865343610&dq=9780865343610
Email: samone@sldprints.com

Softcover:
5 1/2 X 8 1/2
ISBN: 978-0-86534-361-0
96 pp.,$15.95


THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A COMFORTABLE BRA
By Sara Jane Coffman

If you are reading this, you are either:
A) a woman,
B) trying to understand a woman, or,
C) thinking of becoming a woman.

No matter where you find yourself in life, this book will help you. Sara Jane Coffman asks the Big Questions, like, “If we can put a man on the moon, why can’t I find a comfortable bra?” and “Is my new boyfriend’s ex-wife really going to kill me, or is she just bluffing?”

Sara Jane Coffman can dish the dirt or fry it up on a pan, she can turn the simple purchase of a new writing chair into an entire room renovation, and she can tolerate almost any flaw in a man if he has tenure and benefits. Mostly, though, Sara Jane Coffman can make you laugh.

Sara Jane is a gifted observer and master storyteller. If you liked The Misadventures of a Single Woman, you’ll love There’s No Such Thing as a Comfortable Bra. Sara Jane’s misadventures will feel like your own...or make you feel better about your own.

Sara Jane (Sally) Coffman is a freelance writer, a newspaper humor columnist, and the author of The Misadventures of a Single Woman, also from Sunstone Press. She lives in West Lafayette, Indiana.

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Softcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-930-8
158 pp.,$19.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-591-4
158 pp.,$3.99


WISE HOMBRE QUIZZES
Questions and Answers on American Western History
By Lannon Mintz

Questions and answers on American Western history, cowboys, outlaws, pioneer and frontier life. Illustrated with drawings by William Moyers.

Order from Sunstone: (800) 243-5644

Are you a historian, a wise hombre or a tenderfoot when it comes to American Western history? Lannon Mintz has prepared some challenging questions to test your knowledge. All facets of American Western history, its legends, folklore, facts and fictions are included in this book. How do you stack up against the experts?

Here’s a painless way to get a little “book larnin’.”

Every day—before you saddle ol’ Paint and trot off over the horizon—take one of these quizzes Rate yourself in the following manner:

9 to 10 correct answers, you’re a historian
6 to 8 correct answers, you’re a wise hombre
3 to 5 correct answers, you’re lackin’ in book larnin’ friend
0 to 2 correct answers, you’re a tenderfoot, Buddy, but keep on tryin’.

Website: http://books.google.com/books?id=cZseAAAACAAJ&dq=9780865341289

Softcover:
6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-86534-128-9
48 pp.,$16.95

eBook:
ISBN: 978-1-61139-934-9
48 pp.,$3.99


 
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