August 2006
News, updates, & pronouncements from Pat Ballard,
the Queen of Rubenesque Romances

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. 
Eleanor Roosevelt

Editor's Note: We apologize for the delay in issuing this month's edition of
The Queen's Proclamation. Our website host has instituted new limits on emailing―intended to prevent spamming―that unfortunately have prevented us
from sending our newsletters and announcements to subscribers. We are seeking to resolve the problem, and in the interim are trying a new mailing service to send out
The QP.

The Queen has been informed of this development, and wishes to remind you that
you can always read current and past issues of her Proclamation online in the
Pearlsong Press newsletter archives at www.pearlsong.com/newsletteracrhives.htm.

Something to think about....

Love never dies a natural death.
It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source.
 It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals.
It dies of illness and wounds;
 it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.

Anais Nin

 A Word From Pat

I hope everyone has had a wonderful July.

It has remained fairly busy for me. My brother Steve came and spent a few days with me and we had a wonderful visit.

My son, Eric, and his family went to Michigan to visit with his wife's family. They spent a week camping beside a lake. This is a tradition for Tiffany's family. Eric said the most anxious part of the trip was trying to hold the tent down during a fierce thunderstorm one night. But they had fun and all came back with suntans, but no sunburns.

My husband, Joe, and I went to Cincinnati last weekend, to a new museum that's being built. It was a nice trip, even though it rained on us all the way back to Nashville. But that was okay, since we needed the rain so much.

I'm busily trying to complete my next novel, The Best Man, and my first nonfiction book,  10 Steps to Loving Your Body. I'm running behind the schedule I'd set for myself on 10 Steps, but I'm getting there.

Everyone have a wonderful August. Try to stay cool.

                                               Love,

                                                                    Pat

Visit Pat's Place at www.patballard.com | Write me at patballard@bellsouth.net
 

Links About The Queen & Her Books

Pat's Place website | The Queen's Blog | About Pat Ballard | Dangerous Curves Ahead | Abigail's Revenge | Wanted: One Groom | Nobody's Perfect | His Brother's Child | A Worthy Heir | Pearlsong Press blog posts about Pat

Weighty Matters

I plan to feature a series of articles by Sandy Szwarc in this section for the next few issues. Sandy is one of the most wonderful, commonsensical writers on the subject of weight that I know of. I enjoy everything she writes and have become very good "cyber" friends with her via email.

I encourage everyone to read these articles carefully, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

You Can Relax About Food and Eat What You Want
Sandy Szwarc

Just as the recent Flegal study by the Centers for Disease Control put the nail into the coffin of the obesity crisis myth, one published this week in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association buries the dieting myth. While it's popularly believed that dieting and weight loss improve health, this study found the greatest improvements are among women who don't diet.

"You can make significant improvements in both metabolic and psychological health without ever stepping on the scales or counting calories," said lead researcher Linda Bacon of the University of California, Davis. "You can relax about food and eat what you want."

Read the rest of the article:
http://www.techcentralstation.com/bioszwarcsandy.html
 

His Brother's Child

If this man exists...

As long as Pat Ballard keeps writing, I’ll keep looking forward to reading her books. Even though she writes outside of my normal genre of reading (thriller), I put all other books down when there is one of hers to read. I recommend you do the same.

This book arrived in my P.O.box the day I was leaving on vacation. Between the flights to and from Baltimore, I devoured this book. In this book, she brought to life “Edward, a man who could bring Faith from tears to laughter within seconds…she also found, to her surprise, that she loved to hear him talk.” How many women would not enjoy finding a man like this?

If that weren’t enough to make you want to keep reading...”His lips left hers and nibbled at her ear lobe, then started working their way down her neck, then lower. Faith moaned with pleasure...” I could feel the tension mounting as I read the words while on the airplane. As you read this book, you will discover a beautiful man (Edward) and woman, in love even though Faith is carrying the child of his dead brother. To complicate matters further, Edward’s brother had only had sex with her because of a bet.

As in all of Pat Ballard’s books, Faith is not a size 6―she never has been. She’s a voluptuous woman with beautiful curves who has many of the same issues to overcome as the rest of us…distrust of men and feeling frightened, scared and vulnerable. I wish for all of you beautiful, strong women out there to find a man as beautiful as the men of which Pat Ballard writes. Maybe she will have a contest to appear in her next book with the man of your choice.

Let's hope that Pat Ballard doesn't tire of writing, because any of us who have taken the time to read her books will continue to look for the next one in print…at least I am!
 

Communicate with Pat via her "Amazon Connect" blog on Amazon.com!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/id/AC8LT66HFJQ1Y/ref=cm_blog_blog/102-0429066-5275365

Pat's newest book, Abigail's Revenge, is featured on the Beautiful Portal website: http://www.beautifulportal.com/news.php?item.900034.8
and has been reviewed by AmaZe eMag: http://www.venusimaging.com/Magazine/2005/decjanrealistic/jennifer.htm

 An article on Pat has been posted at:
http://eastmanpublishing.com/epextra/articles/eparticle1007.htm.
And an EP Extra review of Abigail's Revenge is posted at
http://eastmanpublishing.com/epextra/articles/eparticle1011.htm 

Look for an interview with Pat on Lonnie Cruse's blog at
http://www.lonniecruse.blogspot.com.

Calendar of Events

Pat will be a guest on the Health At Every Size show with Dr. Peggy Elam on WRFN Radio Free Nashville the fourth Monday of every month. The show is streamed live over the Internet 10-11 a.m. CST Mondays and now can also be listened to live over your phone via the Mobile Broadcast Network.

Listen to the live broadcast over the Internet at http://www.radiofreenashville.org/.

To listen through your cell phone or any other phone (home, office, etc.), go to www. mymbn.com (the Mobile Broadcast Network website) and register the phone numbers of your choice. Registering is required to use this service, but there's no charge for it. (Your usual long distance and/or cell phone charges will apply.) After registering, call the Mobile Broadcast Network at 615-727-9201 from a registered phone number. Select "1" from the menu options. Enter the Radio Free Nashville code―9989―with your keypad. Listen and enjoy!

For more on the show, check out the show blog at http://www.healthateverysize.info. You can also listen to or download edited recordings of some of the shows at www.pearlsong.com/audio.htm.

Pat will spend the next few months promoting Abigail's Revenge. She's in the process of setting up booksignings with local Borders bookstores, and others.

You can still hear the taped radio shows from Size Matters with Veronica, WCRS Radio, on Pat's website.

Show #1 discusses Pat's romance novels
http://www.wcrsradio.org/RadioStage/size/SIZE051.mp3

Show #2 discusses women of size and their sexuality
http://www.wcrsradio.org/RadioStage/size/SIZE052.mp3

And check out the photos from the Nov. 6, 2004 Mississippi Authors Festival that are online at The Queen's Proclamation blog and The Pearlsong Letter blog. (Click on the Mississippi Authors Festival link under the "Photo Albums" heading in the lefthand column of either blog to view the photos.) While you're visiting, post a comment on the blog!
 

Books — Existing and Upcoming

Abigail's Revenge, my fifth novel, is published! My publisher, Peggy Elam, pulled a few rabbits out of the hat and the book debuted at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville last October. In fact, it was delivered to the booth on Friday after the festival had started. That is where I saw my first copy...hot off the press!

It's a Romantic Suspense, and is different than any other novel I've written. It's also a good bit longer.

Abigail Avery was falsely convicted of the murder of her father and sent to prison when she was only eighteen years old. The supposedly good citizens of Leaky Springs, Mississippi were silent as an innocent young woman was orphaned, accused, swiftly tried and locked away. Her only clue in the travesty of justice is that a bunch of crooked "good ole boys"—headed by the judge who presided at her trial—keep pestering her to sell the family farm.

Now, a decade later, Abigail's out of prison and heading back to Leaky Springs. It won't be a pleasant homecoming. She's out for revenge on the people who stole ten years of her life. Especially the judge.

Karen Sparks, owner of Top100womensites.com (and an avid reader), says of Abigail's Revenge, "Injustice, romance and suspense with page-turning flair! This is Ballard's greatest work. Her fragile, yet beautifully big heroine is pushed to the edge with family tragedy, but she's determined to fight back and avenge the injustice that cost her ten years of her life. Ballard has created a rich romantic-suspense that you cannot put down until it's finished."

Click here to go to the Pearlsong Press website page for Abigail's Revenge. They're offering an advance sales special of free shipping within the U.S. for copies sold through their online store.

I'm continuing to work on my first nonfiction book, The 10 Commandments of Self-Love, a motivational book on accepting ourselves as we are instead of obsessing over trying to look like some unrealistic actress or image we see in a magazine.

Meanwhile, my short story collection Dangerous Curves Ahead is available through Pearlsong Press (www.pearlsong.com). After its May 2004 publication, Dangerous Curves Ahead received a glowing review from Cindi Appel on the Fearless Books review website. Appel wrote:

Ballard doesn’t pull punches. She shows her heroines exhibiting ample will and tenacity to tell off those who would shame them into becoming something they aren’t just to blend in with society's narrow-minded notions of beauty.

To read the entire review, go to www.pearlsong.com/dangerouscurvesahead.htm. You can also read an excerpt from Dangerous Curves Ahead's title story, Dangerous Curves, by clicking on the title link in this sentence.

Pearlsong Press has also re-released my existing books, Wanted: One Groom, Nobody’s Perfect, His Brother’s Child and A Worthy Heir.

The Pearlsong Press edition of Nobody's Perfect was called "a charming, witty love story with a twist" in the July 2004 Small Press Bookwatch section of Midwest Book Review. Read the whole review at www.pearlsong.com/nobodysperfect.htm, or an excerpt at
www.pearlsong.com/nobodys_excerpt.htm.

I’m extremely happy that my books are now available in both print and eBook format. (The eBook edition of Abigail's Revenge  has not yet been published, however.) Please visit Pearlsong Press and check out all the options that are available.
 

Give someone a good read as well as support in loving themselves.
Pat's books make great gifts!
 

Book Contest

Register to win a free copy of the Pat Ballard book of your choice at Top 100 Women Sites: http://www.top100womensites.com/contest.htm.
 

Read previous issues of The Queen's Proclamation at http://www.pearlsong.com/newsletterarchives.htm.
 

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