Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Short Stories and a Writing Workshop in Italy

Meet Peter Selgin

A couple of weeks ago we had the pleasure of cocktails with critically acclaimed author, artist, and creative writing professor, Peter Selgin. He's smart, charming, good looking, and single too we might add. (And he actually likes women his age and even older.) But we digress. Let's us tell you about his books and his workshop in Italy.

Drowning Lessons
Winner of the Flannery O'Conmnor Award
In this collecton of short stories (perfect for bedtime reading), Peter introduces us to characters navigating the choppy waters of human relationships. In one of the stories, "Swimming" a husband who is a bit bored in the sameness of his marriage, tries to get his out-of-shape wife to learn to swim with almost diastrous results. Peter writes with empathy and wit. His writing style is beautifully simple, and his characters real. The stories in Drowning Lessons, remind us that of all bodies of water, none is deeper or more dangerous than our own. His latest novel, Life Goes to the Movies will be published this spring.

Join Peter at his writing workshop in Vitorchiano, Italy
June 14-21, 2009

So you want to write that book you've always talked about, or finish the one you've started, or just became better at the art and craft of writing, then what could be better than spending a week in Italy, learning, writing, meeting other writers, drinking wine and eating pasta? Not much that we can think of.

Then join Peter and his group. In addition to teaching writing at Gotham Writers Workshop, Manhattan, Montclair State University, and at the MFA Writing Program at Western Connecticut State University, Peter holds his own annual writing workshop in Vitorchiano, Italy.

This one-week workshop offers a great opportunity to focus on your creative work in a stunning setting--a walled medieval village in the rugged, hazelnut-tree lined hills north of Rome. In addition to the workshop, seminars and one-on-one tutorials, you'll visit lovely Italian gardens, castles, and picturesque towns. A week of beauty, inspiration, free-flowing wine, food, and conversation. Whether your focus is fiction or nonfiction, memoir or novel, take advantage of this opportunity to enjoy the beauty and culture of Italy while working on your writing.

Cost: $1,850.00 (includes workshop, hotel, meals and all excursions). Enrollment limited to 12 participants. APPLY BY MARCH 1st WITH A DEPOSIT OF $200 AND PAY THE DISCOUNTED RATE OF $1,650. For more information, visit Peter's website.





Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Dr. Ruth Has Done It Again...



With candor and humor, America's favorite sex doctor distills a lifetime of experience, clinical research, and teaching to reveal the secrets that will enhance your life with the most pleasurable and loving sexual experiences ever.
Although the emphasis in the book is on finding sexual pleasure in your relationship, Dr. Ruth is also a realist. She explains that every couple changes over time and offers expert advice for dealing with approaching speed bumps so they won't turn into barriers. Dr. Ruth also shows how to embrace change—change that can help push boredom aside and keep the romance alive!
In this wise and often funny book, the nation's best-loved sex therapist boils down her life's teaching to ten basic secrets and offers suggestions for:

· Making Sex a Priority
· Getting to Know Yourself
· Understanding Your Partner
· Exploring the Kama Ruthra
· Kicking Boredom out of the Bedroom
· Remembering the Romance
· Indulging in Afterplay—It's as Important as Foreplay
· Improving Communication
· Preparing for the Changes That Lie Ahead
· Improvising to Sustain a Terrific Sex Life


Dr. Ruth Has People Talking . . .
"Dr. Ruth writes the way she talks — enthusiastically, nonjudgmentally, and informatively."—Booklist


"Her name and the distinctive thrill of her voice have become inextricably linked with the subject of sex."—New York Times


"Her energy level is higher than that of a charged particle."—People Magazine