Confessions of a Serial Songwriter


Book Description

(Book). Confessions of a Serial Songwriter is an amusing and poignant memoir about songwriter Shelly Peiken's journey from young girl falling under the spell of magical songs to working professional songwriter writing hits of her own. It's about growing up, the creative process the highs and the lows, the conflicts that arise between motherhood and career success, the divas and schemers, but also the talented and remarkable people she's found along the way. It's filled with stories and step-by-step advice about the songwriting process, especially collaboration. And it's about the challenge of staying relevant in a rapidly changing and youth-driven world. As Shelly so eloquently states in Confessions of a Serial Songwriter : "If I had to come up with one X factor that I could cite as a characteristic most hit songs have in common (and this excludes hit songs that are put forth by an already well-oiled machine...that is, a recording artist who has so much notoriety and momentum that just about anything he or she releases, as long as it's 'pretty good,' will have a decent shot at succeeding), I would say it would be: A universal sentiment in a unique frame ." Peiken has tapped the universal sentiment again and again; her songs have been recorded by such artists as Christina Aguilera, Natalie Cole, Selena Gomez, Celine Dion, the Pretenders, and others. In Confessions of a Serial Songwriter , she pulls the curtain back on the music business from the perspective of a behind-the-scenes hit creator and shares invaluable insight into the craft of songwriting.







Gods Go Begging


Book Description

“Luminous... a beautiful book.” – Carolyn See For Vietnam veteran Jesse Pasadoble, now a defense attorney living in San Francisco, the battle still rages: in his memories, in the gang wars erupting on Potrero Hill, and in the recent slaying of two women: one black, one Vietnamese. While seeking justice for the young man accused of this brutal double murder, Jesse must walk with the ghosts of men who died on another hill... men who were his comrades and friends in a war that crossed racial divides. Gods Go Begging is a new classic of Latino literature, a literary detective novel that moves seamlessly between the jungles of Vietnam and the streets of modern day San Francisco. Described as “John Steinbeck crossed with Gabriel García Márquez”, Véa weaves a powerful and cathartic story of war and peace, guilt and innocence, suffering and love - and of one man’s climb toward salvation.




Understanding Sexual Serial Killing


Book Description

This book provides an integrative and jargon-free understanding of the phenomenon of sexual serial killing to a wide readership.




Confessions of a Serial Masturbator


Book Description

Masturbation is the catalyst for a much needed life change, in this oft quirky, humorous and inspirational story of a woman's journey of self-discovery.& ; & ;This is the tale of how mild mannered, utterly lonely, socially inept, thoroughly bored, bookkeeper, Breezy Deigh, transforms her stiff and stifled, lackluster existence, to become a bona fide masturbation cult hero. & ; & ;Breezy Deigh, has the same frustrations many share; an unfulfilling job, a humdrum social life, and a non-existent love life, all tepidly spinning in a maddening cycle of work, sleep, bouts of TV dependency and strawberry cheesecake.& ; & ;She also has another frustration that many women share - she's never truly had an orgasm.& ; & ;But Breezy's life is headed full speed for change. A budding friendship with co-workers Cinderella and Gia, leads to a chance encounter with "Pumpkin Eater Peter," the man who would bring her to her first heart stopping, breath taking, and completely addictive orgasm. & ; & ;An evening of frustration, a trip to a toy store, and a dildo fairy, initiates Breezy's obsession with masturbation. Her crave to climax sends her on journey of self-exploration, that will change her life, and the lives of many others. Along the way, she has a falling out with a family member, an affairof sortswith a neighbor, opens up to the possibilities of love, is caught in the act, and falls victim to a scandalous masturbation misunderstanding, that will forever alter her life, and catapult her from a super average nine to fiver, to the most infamous masturbator the world has ever seen.& ;




Routledge International Handbook of Sexual Homicide Studies


Book Description

This book provides the first systematic overview of the theoretical, empirical, clinical, and police issues related to sexual murderers and murder. Bringing together leading researchers, theoreticians, and practitioners from across eight different countries, this is a truly international collaboration and an essential reference text for students, researchers, and professionals interested in sexual homicide, as well as an exhaustive source of guidelines for the assessment and treatment of sexual murderers. This book is divided into five parts: Part I, Theories and research, presents a detailed review of theoretical models and empirical studies of sexual homicide. Part II, Sexual sadism, discusses theoretical, empirical, and clinical considerations and reviews the literature on the characteristics of sadistic sexual aggressors. Part III, Clinical issues, discusses the assessment and management of sexual murderers at each phase of the judicial process: at trial, during incarceration, and during follow-up in the community. Part IV, Policing issues, discusses research and practical issues related to police activities surrounding a sexual murder. Topics include investigation, offender and geographical profiling, behavioural linkage, and police interrogation of the murderers. Part V, New directions, presents new directions for the study of sexual homicide and discusses the limits of current knowledge related to sexual murderers and their crimes. Offering a broad and comprehensive approach, this Handbook is an indispensable source of information on theory, research, clinical assessment, treatment, and police issues related to sexual murderers and murder.




Confession of a Serial Killer


Book Description

Explore the mind and motivations of a serial killer




Dysphoric Modernism


Book Description

During the interwar years in France, modernist literature challenged norms around sex and sexuality through daring portrayals of homosexuality and queerness. The same moment, however, witnessed the crystallization of the Western gender binary and its stark lines of division between male and female. Bringing together trans theory with French literary studies, Mat Fournier offers a new understanding of how the gender binary emerged in the modernist era. Dysphoric Modernism considers gender deviance in works by a broad range of French authors, both writers who are canonical for queer theory, such as Marcel Proust, André Gide, Jean Genet, and Colette, and lesser-known figures, including René Crevel, Raymond Radiguet, Maurice Sachs, and Maurice Rostand. Its trans readings track the dysphoria inherent to modern gender and the many ways these texts both disrupt and reinforce it. Examining the complex entanglements of gender and sexuality with the colonial project, Fournier argues that modernist writers’ representations of sexual dissidence came at the cost of their enforcement of racial and gendered discrimination. A groundbreaking transgender analysis of French modernist literature, this book also demonstrates the significance of the concept of dysphoria for a number of fields.




Dating Amy


Book Description

Dating today can seem like Alice's tumble down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Whether starting out or starting again, women face the difficult task of sorting through the good (guy), the bad (boy) and the ugly (morning after) in their search for Mr. Right. Here,giving hope to smart single women everywhere is Amy DeZellar, who bravely dedicated two years of her life to debunking common dating myths and documenting 50 of her dates. She's gone wine-tasting with Indentured Cats, a blind date who also happened to be blind; been accosted in a cornfield by Glitter Ball, a lounge musician who grew up with the Beatles; and found her artistic sentiments at odds with her desire for financial security when she simultaneously got involved with a painter named Harry Potter and a NASA super-computer designer named Teflon, all in her quest to chronicle the dating life of a regular girl and maybe even find true love. Each of the 50 chapters is dedicated to a different date, and includes the kinds of tips and sharp observations that only someone on the front lines can offer. Get ready to laugh, cry, and commiserate with Amy--and learn, as she did, a few things about finding the perfect man.




Heaven on Earth


Book Description

Heaven on Earth is a vivid, revealing, and essential narrative history of shari'a law--the widely contested and misunderstood code of Islamic justice--and how the application of its concepts has changed over time and, with it, the face of Islam. Some fourteen hundred years after the Prophet Muhammad first articulated God's law--the shari'a--its earthly interpreters are still arguing about what it means. Hard-liners reduce it to amputations, veiling, holy war, and stonings. Others say that it is humanity's only guarantee of a just society. And as colossal acts of terrorism made the word "shari'a" more controversial than ever in the early twentieth century, the legal historian and human rights lawyer Sadakat Kadri realized that many people in the West harbored ideas about Islamic law that were hazy or simply wrong. Heaven on Earth describes his journey, through ancient texts and across modern borders, in search of the facts behind the myths. Kadri brings lucid analysis and enlivening wit to the turbulent story of Islam's foundation and expansion, showing how the Prophet Muhammad's teachings evolved gradually into concepts of justice. Traveling the Muslim world to see the shari'a's principles in action, he encounters a cacophony of legal claims. At the ancient Indian grave of his Sufi ancestor, unruly jinns are exorcised in the name of the shari'a. In Pakistan's madrasas, stern scholars ridicule his talk of human rights and demand explanations for NATO drone attacks in Afghanistan. In Iran, he hears that God is forgiving enough to subsidize sex-change operations--but requires the execution of Muslims who change religion. Yet the stories of compulsion and violence are only part of a picture that also emphasizes compassion and equity. Many of Islam's first judges refused even to rule on cases for fear that a mistake would damn them, and scholars from Delhi to Cairo maintain that governments have no business enforcing faith. The shari'a continues to shape explosive political events and the daily lives of more than a billion Muslims. Heaven on Earth is a brilliantly iconoclastic tour through one of humanity's great collective intellectual achievements--and an essential guide to one of the most disputed but least understood controversies of modern times.