The inside scoop from the Cupid of Beverly Hills, who has brought together countless couples who have gone on to live happily ever after. But for every success story there are ridiculously funny dating disasters with high-maintenance, out-of-touch, impossible to please, dim-witted clients! In Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker, Marla takes her readers for a hilarious romp through her days as an L.A. matchmaker and her daily struggles to keep her self-esteem from imploding in a town where looks are everything and money talks. From juggling the demands her out-of-touch clients to trying her best to meet the capricious demands of an insensitive boss to the ups and downs of her own marriage to a Latin husband who doesn't think that she is 'domestic' enough, Marla writes with charm and self-effacement about the universal struggles that all women face in their lives. Readers will laugh, cringe, and cry as they journey with her through outrageous stories about the indignities of dating in Los Angeles, dealing with overblown egos, vicariously hobnobbing with celebrities, and navigating the wannabe-land of Beverly Hills. In a city where perfection is almost a prerequisite, even Marla can't help but run for the Botox every once in a while.

Horse racing has a way of wrapping itself around some people's souls. For George Rowand, that moment came watching Secretariat win the 1973 Preakness. From then on Rowand knew he wanted to be in horse racing. Diary of a Dream chronicles his failures and successes in the sport he loves.

"I'd grown up in the land of TRANSYLVANIA, homeland to Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, and, worse, the Communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu--who turned Romania into a land of gray-clad zombies who never dared to show their individuality, and where neighbors became informants, and the Securitate made people disappear," writes the author. "Daylight empowered the regime to encircle us like starved wolves, and so night had always been the time to steal a bit of freedom. As if bred into our Transylvanian blood, we were like vampires who came to life after sundown. I buried the family jewels and left my outpost to join the action . . . tonight Ceausescu would die!"Known for using stand-ins to pose for him, Aura doubts if it was even Ceausescu himself who was killed that night. Nevertheless, when her countrymen topple one of the most draconian regimes in the Soviet bloc, Aura Imbarus tells herself that life post-revolution will be different. But little in the country changes. With two pieces of luggage and a powerful dream, Aura and her new husband flee to America. Through sacrifice and hard work, the couple acquire the "American Dream"--but discover that straddling two cultures is much more complicated than they expect.

In 1915, when a kitchen stove fire singed his sister Mabel's lashes and brows, Tom Lyle Williams watched in fascination as she performed a 'secret of the harem'-mixing petroleum jelly with coal dust and ash from a burnt cork and apply it to her lashes and brows. Mabel's simple beauty trick ignited Tom Lyle's imagination and he started what would become a billion-dollar business, one that remains a viable American icon after nearly a century. He named it Maybelline in her honor.Throughout the 20th century, the Maybelline Company inflated, collapsed, endured, and thrived in tandem with the nation's upheavals-as did the family that nurtured it. Setting up shop first in Chicago, Williams later, to avoid unwanted scrutiny of his private life, cloistered himself behind the gates of his Rudolph Valentino Villa and ran his empire from a distance.Now after nearly a century of silence, this true story celebrates the life of an American entrepreneur, a man whose vision rocketed him to success along with the woman held in his orbit, Evelyn Boecher-who became his lifelong fascination and muse. Captivated by her 'roaring charisma,' he affectionately called her the 'real Miss Maybelline' and based many of his advertising campaigns on the woman she represented: commandingly beautiful, hard-boiled and daring. Evelyn masterminded a life of vanity, but would fall prey to fortune hunters and a mysterious murder that even today remains unsolved.A fascinating and inspiring story of ambition, luck, secrecy-and surprisingly, above all, love and forgiveness, a tale both epic and intimate, alive with the clash, the hustle, the music, and dance of American enterprise.

Arriving, book one of Corinne Jeffery’s Understanding Ursula trilogy, vividly recreates the pioneer world of the Canadian prairies with a multitude of memorable characters. You’ll lose yourself between the pages as you watch them struggle to survive and flourish, always at the mercy of Mother Nature and the ever-changing seasons on the unfettered plains. On July 1, 1909, the day after his eighteenth birthday, Gustav Werner takes the inaugural ride on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway between Melville and Regina, to apply for a homestead grant at the Dominion Lands Office. He is eager to become the most thriving homesteader in the townships of Neudorf and Lemberg, Saskatchewan, set aside for Gustav’s people, the German Lutherans, by Sir Clifford Sifton in Canada’s “Last Best West” land deal. What he doesn’t realize is that beyond becoming a man and a landowner, life as he knows it is about to crumble from his grasp. Family drama and conflict plague Gustav as he learns English—the language that sparks hatred in his staunchly traditional father, Christian—and discovers that his parents have arranged his marriage to sixteen-year-old Amelia Schweitzer.

Choosing, book three of Corinne Jeffery’s Understanding Ursula series, concludes the heart-wrenching story of five generations of the controversial and secretive Warner family. Become reunited with Amelia and Gustav, meet their many descendants, and follow them across the Canadian prairies from Saskatchewan to Manitoba and finally to Alberta. In spite of relentless ambition and increasing prosperity, at every turn Gustav Warner is cursed by strife, upheaval, and tragedy. His own children seem determined to disobey him. He is still grappling with his eldest son's defiance that strikes at the very foundation of his beliefs, when his daughter Ursula dumbfounds him. Must he forever endure hardships that might break the spirit of ordinary men? Gustav's inexorable decision and unyielding influence over Ursula ultimately prove so powerful that she becomes her own worst enemy in order to take her secret to her grave. Still, it is not until his children's demands steadily compromise Amelia's peace of mind, and eventually her health, that Gustav is forced to make a choice that astounds them all, and no one more than his beloved wife.

Thriving, book two of Corinne Jeffery’s Understanding Ursula series, continues the story of the challenges of the intriguing and contentious Werners, a family of German Lutheran homesteaders on the Saskatchewan prairie. Become reacquainted with their dynamic lives as they try to keep pace with the flourishing new decade and later discover innovative ways to endure the hardships of the Great Depression. With the return of prosperity to the Canadian prairies, Gustav Werner resumes his insatiable quest to acquire more prime farmland. Still, no one is more surprised than he when his hand is forced and his future reshaped by increasing drama and secrets. He wonders why he is persistently entangled in compromising family relationships, and then tragedy, until he begins to doubt his faith. When Mother Nature, in which he has always found peace and solace, too becomes his enemy—sending drought, grasshoppers, hail, and fierce winds that lift the rich topsoil off his land—he starts to despair. Steadily, though, his sorrow and despondency give way to a deepening awareness of his inner strengths and a heightening of his resolve to push onward for all those who count on him.

A children's version of award-winning bestseller Taming the Tiger, suitable for children aged 9 - 11. Tony's extraordinary upbringing is only the beginning. He goes on to experience adventure and danger as a bodyguard to some of the world's most powerful men. Life is exciting - until everything seems to go wrong. Stuck inside a rat-infested prison, Tony wonders if life's still worth living. Until a stranger comes to visit him.

"A professional matchmaker teaches people how to find their soul mates using the Law of Attraction"--Provided by publisher.

After a lawsuit landed her in the defendant's chair of a jury trial, and another client charged back twelve- grand on his credit card, Marla, a professional matchmaker for affluent men seeking smokin' hot women was beyond frazzled. She was disheartened, and quite simply, fed up! Yearning for a less stressful and shallow situation and more appreciation for her dedication and expertise, she petitioned her guardian angel, Thomas to get on the job of finding her a way to make a living that appealed to her more esoteric side. Marla yearned for some sparkle?some magic. Over lunch one day at a vegan café, Marla received an invitation from her friend Ana. "Every Tuesday evening at his home in Malibu, a shaman named Riz Mirza channels the spirit of an American Indian called Chief Red Eagle at an event he calls 'The Circle of Light.' Spiritual seekers from all over Los Angeles flock there to receive messages from Red Eagle. It's forty dollars. A friend took me a few months ago, and it was really cool. Do you want to go?"Marla finished the last bite of her vegan mac 'n' cheese and gave her a serious look. "You mean to tell me that I can ask a spirit whatever I want for only forty bucks? Heck, I'll even drive." Los Angeles is one of the main hubs of cool, even outlandish spiritual things to do, and over the years, Marla has participated in everything from séances, yoga retreats, vegan festivals, full moon Goddess rituals, and New Age expos, but little did she know, the simple act of attending a channeling circle, she was about to embark on the most life changing and magical experience of her life thus far.