Seal Press Author Events in the Bay Area This Month!

Seal Press is thrilled to be hosting a few of our authors in the Bay Area this month for readings from their new titles. Come check them out if you get a chance!

HE SAID WHAT?

Funny, provocative, touching, and thrilling, He Said What? illustrates the powerful impact the right (or wrong) words can have on a person—and brilliantly captures the pivotal moments in which they spur a series of life-changing actions. Editor Victoria Zackheim and contributors will be visiting the Bay Area next week.

Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 PM
Kepler's, Menlo Park
1010 El Camino Real
Menlo Park, CA 94025
http://www.keplers.com/event/victoria-zackheim-0

Thursday, May 19, 7:00 PM
Books Inc., Opera Plaza
601 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
http://www.booksinc.net/event/victoria-zackheim-opera-plaza

Friday, May 20, 7:00 PM
Great Good Place for Books, Oakland/Montclair Village
6120 La Salle Avenue
Oakland, CA

Saturday, May 21, 1:00 PM
Book Passage, Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Boulevard
Corte Madera, CA 94925-1145
http://www.bookpassage.com/event/victoria-zackheim-he-said-what-women-write-about-moments-when-everything-changed

UNDECIDED

Undecided: How to Ditch the Endless Quest for Perfect and Find the Career—and Life—That’s Right for You is an invaluable guide to understanding the career conundrums plaguing women today. Authors Barbara and Shannon Kelley present an eye-opening account of how women’s career choices have evolved and why it’s so overwhelming—and tell women what they can do about it.

Thursday, May 26, 2011 7:00 PM
Books Inc. in Mountain View
301 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA 94041

LET’S GET THIS STRAIGHT

The San Francisco group COLAGE is bringing Tina Fakhrid-Deen, author of Let’s Get This Straight: The Ultimate Handbook for Youth with LGBTQ Parents, to the bay area as part of their Voices Raised Leadership Summit! Come out and support this important event and important book. Comprehensive and compassionate, Let’s Get This Straight is a much-needed roadmap for children and parents looking to learn from, and embrace, their alternative family structure.

Friday, May 27th, 6pm
Laurel Bookstore
4100 MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland

Sunday, May 29th, 3pm
Modern Times
New San Francisco Location TBA

Win a copy of He Said What? on Twitter!

I love you. The meeting ran late. I want a divorce. One little word, one casual lie, one devastating announcement—and our lives are turned upside down forever.

In He Said What?: Women Write About Moments When Everything Changed, Victoria Zackheim gathers together twenty-five gifted women writers who share profoundly personal moments in which a man in their life said something—good or bad—that changed them irrevocably.

We've all experienced the powerful impact that the right (or wrong) words can have on our lives. From May 2 through May 6, Seal Press is giving away a copy a day of He Said What? to Twitter followers who use the hashtag #hesaidwhat to share their He Said What? moment.

Every morning during this 5-day giveaway, @SealPress will post a question on Twitter at 9am PST for followers to answer. We'll ask you to respond using #hesaidwhat, and as each day draws to a close we'll randomly pick a winner to receive a copy of the book.

Log on to Twitter, follow @SealPress, and share your moment--and win a book!

Women's History Month and Seal Events

March is Women's History Month and the theme this year is Strength. To celebrate, we're excited to let you know about the events that our authors have scheduled this month. Each of these women exudes strength throughout their stories.

In Found, Jennifer Lauck displays great strength as she goes on a 10-year journey to find her birth mother.

Susie Bright displays strength throughout Big Sex Little Death, as she recounts the adventure, sacrifice, danger, and controversy of her often surprising and extraordinary life.

Spring Warren, author of The Quarter-Acre Farm, exhibits strength while taking charge of her family's food choices, by growing 75% of the food that they consumed for one year.

Join them in the Bay Area, Portland, Detroit/Ann Arbor, and NYC, as they celebrate the launch of their books this month:

Sunday, March 13th, 7pm
Jennifer Lauck reads from her memoir Found
Book Passage, Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Blvd
Corte Madera, CA 94925

Monday, March 14th, 7pm
Books Inc, Berkeley
Jennifer Lauck reads from her memoir Found
1760 Fourth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710

Saturday, March 20th, 6-9pm
Party and Reading with Leopold's Books for Susie Bright as she celebrates the release of Big Sex Little Death. Bring a bottle and a dish to pass!
RSVP: (313) 822-4056
748 Seminole Street
Detroit, MI 48214

Monday, March 21st, 7pm
Lecture, Signing & Discussion with Susie Bright
Books provided by Common Language
University of Michigan
3187 Angell Hall
Ann Arbor, MI

Thursday, March 24th, 6-9:30pm
Susie Bright's Birthday Party and Launch Event with Modern Times
Smuggler's Cove Tiki Bar
Master Rum-o-Logist Martin Cate is making me an original cocktail for the occasion: "The Sexpert", of course!
650 Gough, at McAllister
San Francisco, CA 94102

Thursday, March 24th 6:30pm
Jennifer Lauck, author of Found, at Portland Back Fence PDX
Mission Theatre
1624 N.W. Glisan
Portland, OR 97209

Friday, March 25th, 7pm
Spring Warren, author of The Quarter-Acre Farm, reading
Books Inc, Berkeley
1760 Fourth St.,
Berkeley, CA 94710

Saturday, March 26th, 1pm
Spring Warren, author of The Quarter-Acre Farm, reading
Book Passage, San Francisco Ferry Building
1 Ferry Building
San Francisco, California 94111

Wednesday, March 30th, 7 pm
Reading, signing, memoir discussion with Susie Bright, author of Big Sex Little Death
Bluestockings Bookstore
172 Allen St.
New York, NY

Thursday, March 31rst, 7pm
A live, taped Audible episode as Doug Henwood interviews Susie Bright
Strand Bookstore
828 Broadway
New York, NY 10003

Celebrating International Women's Day

Today is the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, a celebration of the achievements of women across the world that first began on March 8, 1911. As we celebrate today, though, let's remember that we still have much to do before we achieve economic parity, equal representation in government, and health and safety that is parallel to that of our male counterparts.

Last year Seal Press attended one of Women for Women International's "Join Me On the Bridge" events, where women across the world gathered on bridges simultaneously to demonstrate solidarity. We had worked closely with Women for Women International through our author, Lisa Shannon. Her book, A Thousand Sisters, describes the work she did sponsoring women in the Congo through Women for Women International. It is a compelling and uplifting story of international sisterhood.

Today, International Women's Day is being co-sponsored by Google, which has put together an excellent page of resources for attending bridge events--in person or virtually--or donating to a variety of agencies that work for women's equality and empowerment.

What are you doing today to celebrate International Women's Day? What do you hope women can accomplish in the future?

Share your thoughts, hopes, and wishes with us today and help us to celebrate how far we have come, and how far we will go in the future.

It's Time to Talk About It

by Nicole Johns

Nicole Johns is the author of the powerful memoir Purge: Rehab Diaries, in which she reveals her experience during treatment for EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified). For National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, we asked Nicole to write a guest post about how to seek help for an eating disorder if you may be struggling silently:

It’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (February 20-26) and this year’s theme is “It’s Time to Talk About It.” Eating disorders breed secrecy and shame, and this can be a huge barrier to asking for help, so I’m going to talk about some ways to ask for help. You might feel like you don’t deserve help or that you aren’t sick enough to need help. The truth is that everyone deserves help and recovery from an eating disorder, no matter how sick they are, what they weigh, or what clothing size they wear.

So, how do you ask for help? Start by talking to a friend, family member or anyone else who you trust. It will probably seem scary, but you will find that people will want to help you in any way they can. You can start the conversation by saying, “I would like to talk to you about something that I am struggling with,” or “I’m having a hard time with…” The person you confide in might ask how they can best help you, so you should think about what you need at this point. Do you need someone to talk to? Do you need help finding out if your insurance has mental health coverage? Take advantage of any offers of help and support that you receive; a good support system is always important, but it’s especially important during the recovery process.

Talking to friends, family and other supportive people in your life is a good way to start asking for help, but you should also think about looking for a therapist to help you work on overcoming your eating disorder. If you have health insurance with mental health coverage, you can call the benefits number on the back of your card and get the names of some therapists covered by your health insurance. If you’re a college student, you might have a counseling center where you can see a therapist for little or no cost. Depending on where you live, there might be community resources such as therapists that offer a sliding-scale fee, or organizations that offer free or reduced-rate counseling.

There are other options besides seeing a traditional therapist. Some people find it helpful to meet with a nutritionist, to do art therapy, bodywork, equine therapy or group therapy. Recovering from an eating disorder is different for everyone, and there are many different options for seeking help and working toward recovery. The most important thing is to find what is most helpful in your recovery. For me, individual therapy and writing about my eating disorder helped me the most, but a 12-step program and art therapy were key factors in helping one of my friends recover. Recovery is an individual process.

It’s Time to Talk About It. You can ask for help, and you deserve a life without an eating disorder. Asking for help is the first step in recovery, and by asking for help you are breaking through the secrecy and shame surrounding your eating disorder.

Nicole has been in recovery from Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) since 2005. Visit her at http://www.nicolejjohns.com/

When it Comes to Love this Valentine's Day, Start with Yourself!

Valentine's Day is a celebration of love and affection, and what is more true than the love you have for yourself?

Today, remember to give yourself some true love. Here are our suggestions for great books to get you started:

From sweet to kinky, rough to ladies-only, Nice Girls, Naughty Sex: 20 Erotic Tales, edited by Jordan LaRousse and Samantha Sade, creators of Oysters & Chocolate, tantalizes readers with erotica for every mood.

Fun and informative, Getting Off: A Woman's Guide to Masturbation, by Jamye Waxman, provides women with a wealth of masturbation knowledge plus clear, concise tips to connect with and find pleasure in their bodies.

In Dirty Girls: Erotica for Women, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, the country's best erotic writers explore their sexual psyches. With contributions from Carol Queen, Alison Tyler, Sofia Quintero, Shanna Germain, Lillian Ann Slugocki, Tsaurah Litzky, and many others, this collection will set your heart racing as you savor these intimate, shocking, and passionate female fantasies.

With candid and friendly sex tips; fitness, exercise, and lifestyle information; and women's erotic vignettes, Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex after Sixty, by Joan Price, is a warm, witty, and honest book that contends with the challenges and celebrates the delights of older-life sexuality. Stayed tuned for Joan's next book, Naked at our Age: Talking Out Loud About Senior Sex, which will be available this June.

"Dear John, I Love Jane" coming to a website near you!

Come visit a vibrant, fun-loving group of bloggers as they review, discuss, and host interviews with the editors of Dear John, I Love Jane: Women Write about Leaving Men for Women.

Dear John, I Love Jane is a timely, fiercely candid exploration of female sexuality and personal choice. From January 24th through the beginning of February, Dear John, I Love Jane will be traveling the internet on a blog tour. Visit any of the following websites on the specific day to read interviews with the editors, guest blog posts, and reviews of the book. Share your thoughts and comments and feel free to visit Dear John, I Love Jane on Facebook to learn about upcoming readings.

Start the tour today, Monday, January 24 at Slummy Single Mommy.

Joan Price offers a woman-over-50 perspective Tuesday, January 25 at Better Than I Ever Expected.

Visit the Sustaining Mothering on Wednesday, January 26.

Thursday, January 27 the editors will be contributing a guest post to Writing is my Drink.

Enjoy the review at Sugarbutch Chronicles on Friday, January 28.

Monday, January 31 visit Jennifer Margulis.

Tuesday, February 1 you can check out a post by Sierra Black.

There will be an interview at Kim Writes on Wednesday, February 2.

André and Walsh will be talking about co-parenting at the YourTango LoveMom blog February 3.

More dates to be added.