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Check out this fantastic article in the Wall Street Journal profiling Robert L. Forbes, author of our wonderfully whimsical children's book LET'S HAVE A BITE! A BANQUET OF BEASTLY FEASTS. It's always fun for us to read author profiles instead of traditional reviews--especially when they lead lives as interesting as this. Go here to read the full article, but here's an excerpt you might enjoy! You can also keep up-to-date on the life and times of Robert Forbes and events surrounding the publication of Let's Have a Bite! on Facebook and by following @robertlforbes on Twitter.

As happy and well adjusted an adult as Mr. Forbes seems on the surface, I can't help but believe his latest book, published this week, "Let's Have A Bite! A Banquet of Beastly Rhymes," with drawings by the New Yorker cartoonist Ronald Searle, isn't the result of night terrors.

"The Giant Panda at the zoo just sits and chomps on fresh bamboo," goes one poem. "His belly is like a cooking pot, Which happens when you eat a lot. He's content to do not much but chew. Which is all he seems to do (That and poo!)"

People often take a stab at children's books after reading "Goodnight Moon" to their own kids and becoming convinced they can do better. But Mr. Forbes hasn't read to his son Miguel in decades. Miguel is in his thirties. Miguel is Forbes's president of television and licensing.

It seems Mr. Forbes simply has crazy rhymes going through his head. He'll wake up in the middle of the night, don his special Edward Beiner reading glasses with built-in reading lights, write for a couple of hours, roll over and go back to sleep.

"I write to amuse me," he said. "I write stuff I'd like to read." Such as, apparently, "A chicken-stewing cat named Shauna slipped on her sweat in the sauna. She moaned on the floor, 'I must reach the door, Or I'll be a fricasseed goner.' "

Mr. Forbes said he contacted Mr. Searle, who lives in the south of France, and whose work he collects, out of the blue, fully prepared to be rejected, but figuring it couldn't hurt to ask. But Mr. Searle said yes. "I'll write a couple of lines about the poem," Mr. Forbes said of their collaborative process, "and a month or two later back this package comes with all these illustrations. It's like a little boy opening a Christmas present."

This is actually Mr. Forbes' second book of poems and critters. The first, "Beastly Feasts," also illustrated by Mr. Searle, was published in 2007. And Mr. Forbes shot the photography for "A Year of Dancing Dangerously," about his wife Lydia Raurell's successful quest to be crowned newcomer of the year on the pro-am ballroom dance circuit, though partnered with Brian Nelson, her professional dance partner.

Mr. Forbes divides h

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The new season of "Dancing With the Stars" is upon us. On Monday, the popular ABC show will spotlight the ups and down of amateur dancers from all walks of life. For a more realistic look at what it takes to learn how to dance and win, check out The Year of Dancing of Dancing Dangerously by Lydia Raurell.

Boomer Cafe has an excerpt from The Year of Dancing Dangerously, Lydia Raurell's inspiring story of her journey in to the world of competitive ballroom dancing.

A profile of Lydia Raurell, author of A Year of Dancing Dangerously, has splashed across the pages of the Palm Beach Daily News. Lydia's inspiring journey to become a ballroom dancer is documented in this new book, which also includes full-color photography, dance tips, and a complete listing of amateur dance competitions. A Year of Dancing Dangerously was also reviewed this week in Story Circle: "This inspirational and educational book, beautifully written by a dancer who is also a writer, will motivate anyone who reads it. . . Anyone who has a dream will be encouraged by Lydia's effort, determination, and courage."

In her new book, A Year of Dancing Dangerously, Lydia Raurell takes us on a whirlwind adventure through the world of pro-am ballroom dancing. At 51, Lydia decided to answer a small dance studio's ad in her local paper. Within one year, she reigned atop the national leader board—a first for a newcomer. Click the video below to watch Lydia tell her inspiring story and see clips of her ballroom dancing.



Full-color photographs document Lydia's journey through the glitz and glam, the sequins, sweat and tears, making this intimate and up-close memoir a perfect gift this Holiday season.

Lydia Raurell, pictured here with Overlook publisher Peter Mayer, has written an amazing story of her journey through the world of pro-am ballroom dancing in A Year of Dancing Dangerously, a new book coming out in November. Beautifully illustrated with full-color photography, this inspiring volume chronicles Raurell's improbable rise from a beginnner to winner, culminating in her first place finishes in the DanceSport Series in 2005 andf 2o07. A Year of Dancing Dangerously is the perfect gift for all those who dare to dream and live to dance.