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Trident Media Group, the literary agency representing Deepak Chopra, Paris Hilton, Jon Stewart, Tori Spelling and a long list of other authors, has launched Trident E-Book Operations.

The new division will “create, manage and implement innovative e-book strategies including the distribution of a variety of e-books directly to a large number of e-tailers in North America and internationally.” In addition, they will consult with authors about everything from digital design to social media to exploring new relationships with “traditional and non-traditional publishers.” Lyuba DiFalco and Nicole Robson have been appointed co-directors of e-book operations.

In the release, Trident chairman Robert Gottlieb explained: “Trident will not become a publisher, but will instead continue in its new e-book operations to have itself aligned with its clients whose interests we serve as an agent and manager.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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TogetherVille launches School Communities (a platform for tween and parent users to connect around school-related issues. To promote the new feature, TogetherVille is partnering with DonorsChoose.org for a sweepstakes where members can "heart their... Read the rest of this post

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Book Trib recently ran a photo taken from US Weekly and People Magazine of Lindsay Lohan carrying a book called Toxic Friends by Susan Shapiro Barash. I am always fascinated to see what the celebrities are reading. I have posted about celebrities and their book choices many times before on this site and it is something I am endlessly interested in.

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Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Post comes from Brazilian teen Andre Perez on the recent controversy around a local beer ad featuring American export Paris Hilton. If you haven't heard (see AdFreak's coverage), the campaign for Devassa Bem Loura beer... Read the rest of this post

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Today we belatedly cap off our Year in Review coverage with a fun exercise in wishful thinking. I asked our Youth Advisory Board members what "pop culture phenomenon they'd leave behind in the last decade." Below are answers from Michael, Chase and... Read the rest of this post

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Lauren, Publicity Assistant

For years, the public has not been able to get enough of Paris Hilton. She’s famous as a socialite, heiress, model, and now for joining the likes of Socrates and Mark Twain on the pages of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. No, she’s not quoted for saying, “That’s hot.” Ms. Hilton is instead immortalized for her advice, “Dress cute wherever you go. Life is too short to blend in.”

But Paris’s entry is only one of more than 20,000 new quotations added to 7th edition. Other notable inclusions come from Sarah Palin, Stephen Hawking, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Philip Pullman. Here, Oxford Dictionary of Quotations editor Elizabeth Knowles reflects on the history of the almost 70-year-old treasury, and how new entries are chosen.  To learn more check out the companion site here.

A classic reference book like this has to be regularly remade, without compromising its essential identity. Can we in fact have the modern and frivolous without damaging our book? I would say most definitely yes, where usage so dictates, and adduce in support two luminaries of the Oxford University Press of over sixty years ago. In 1931, planning the book, Kenneth Sisam, who identified an “intelligent elasticity” as an essential editorial quality, wrote to a colleague, “We shall have to guard against things quotable, as apart from things commonly quoted.” And in 1949, when the second edition was being planned, Humphrey Milford (formerly Publisher to OUP) commented, “I think the levity—comparative—of ODQ is partly the reason for its success.” In other words, the diversity of the book, and its mixture of the deeply serious and the frivolous, based on what people are quoting, is part of its essential nature.

Quotations are part of the fabric of the language: we use, and meet them, every day. We quote when we find that the words of another person, in another time and place, express exactly what we want to say. Or, events bring certain quotations to prominence, as the last year has given new relevance to Thomas Jefferson’s comment that, “Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.”

A dictionary of quotations is not a roll-call of the great and the good, nor a listing of an editor’s favorite passages. Although having said that, of course we all do have items in which we take a particular pleasure. I was especially pleased that the formulation, “We must guard even our enemies against injustice” (attributed to the radical Tom Paine) was revealed as the writer Graham Greene’s paraphrase of Paine’s more formal eighteenth-century diction. The history of this misquotation—linking two significant figures across the centuries, and coming to light through its resonance today—was very satisfying to explore.

At Oxford, we track language to ensure that we have the quotations people are most likely to look up, so that the next time a half-remembered quotation is on the tip of your tongue, the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations is ready with the answer. Inclusion is based on usage: evidence that a spoken comment or written passage is being quoted by others. And while there is a common quotations stock (Shakespeare, the Bible), we all have our own quotations vocabulary, that which we remember and quote because we encountered them at a time when they were particularly significant. The antique and serious often rubs shoulders with popular culture. The same newspaper column, for example, may quote from both the Book of Common Prayer and the Rolling Stones. The result is marvelously diverse, and properly so.

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Are you unemployed? Do you struggle paying the bills, feeding the family, and keeping the electricity on?
Well my friend you have just stumbled across the best article you could have done. All I hope is your dial up suppliers supply you with just enough time to read this article, before they terminate your contract :-O

its the recession, becoming financially crippled is a fear for many during these hard times. But how do you survive when your boss goes loco and shoots him self because the multi-million pound business that once thrived has has gone bankrupt? Well this list is going to tell you with the latest HOW TO!

• Your hunger needs. Okay you have been made unemployed. Those days of a 9-5 Job are over, you dreamed of this day right? Wrong you dreamed of retirement sitting in your dream house with no more work. You didn’t dream about being broke smelly and homeless. This is not good, first things first you need a nice meal in your stomach you won’t have the energy to survive my how to guide without one. But how you ask? well first of all you must cut that dead weight! Like a plane that is losing altitude fast because of an excessive payload you need to lose a few items. In this case your family, there’s no room for them anymore say bye to the wife and kids. You will have enough trouble feeding yourself during these troublesome times let alone some growing kids and your wife unless shes Paris Hilton in that case she will not need feeding!

Okay so you have cut the dead weight, now you need to actually obtain food FOR FREE! You could beg but our how to guides are about thinking outside the box. So this is what you do first of all you get your self in your sharpest suit which was left over from your 9-5 Job then grab some of your wife’s old fancy shopping bags with the expensive brand names printed on them that shout “MONEY, MONEY, MONEY” Fill them with old news papers and other worthless items to supply a realistic weight. Then your all set, step into a local restaurant and order a fulling meal that leaves you on the verge of exploding. So now your all full up but how to leave the place without paying? Well simple you order a dessert when they bring it over say you need to take a phone call outside and ask if they will watch your bags you will be two minutes. You stroll outside and never return leaving the bags full of worthless junk behind MUWHAHAHA Mission: Obtain Free Meal COMPLETE.

• No place like home. So you have ditched the family and obtained free food now you need a place to stay. But where? well you have a couple of choices. Choice one the dis-honest way those who say this is for people with no morals bare with me. Its important to take into consideration that this is your last resort, when all is lost during these troubling times. So here it is your first choice. You find a local bar and go up to the most ugliest chick/dude on the premises, you maintain a level of conversation and keep the compliments frequently coming as this chick or dude is most likely used to people frequently running. After this comes the STING you fake a phone call, oh dear your best friend is in hospital and you have lost your wallet! What will you do your distort your friend could be dying and your not even at the hospital! But wait I’m sure your new friend will help :-). Either this or you manage to get yourself a one night stand with the ugly dude/chick (bare in mind this is a last resort i repeat A LAST RESORT) Either Way Problem Solved! you have managed to obtain a “Taxi Fare” which will really be used to get a room for the night at a nice little hotel.

• Transport - Start going places. So you have managed to secure yourself a place to stay and get your self something to eat but this lying lifestyle ain’t for you. You need to start looking for a new job in order to get your life back on track and start going places. So what to do well for this one we figure you need to get your karma restored back to its normal neutral self. So simply ask around until you come across the good Samaritan that pays for your fare and sends you on your road to financial recovery.

Thanks for reading, I would like to make note this was made to lend a comical hand to the current seriousness that is everywhere from our media to our homes.

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AMP Energy Rock Off (Pepsi's energy drink in Canada streams an event live  on Facebook. Plus "Bruno," Sacha Baron Cohen's latest character, promotes MySpace, asking fans to "freund" him) (MediaPost, reg. required) (Ad Age, reg. required) -... Read the rest of this post

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SCENE: WAITING ROOM OF PLASTIC SURGEON'S OFFICE.

DR. MAK. M.E. YOUNG'S NURSE

Barbie and Ken. The doctor will see you now. By the way – um - Barbie, do you have a last name for my records?

BARBIE
Like…don't you know who I am, nurse? I'm Barbie! I mean, I'm everywhere in better toy retail outlets – and of course Walmart. Everyone knows me! I don't need a last name!

DR. MAK. M.E. YOUNG'S NURSE
Everybody has a last name. You can't see the doctor until my file is complete

KEN
Tell her, Barbie! You're half a century old for crying out loud

BARBIE
Oh? Since when do you have an opinion, surfer boy? If I'm a half-century – so are you!

KEN
Am not!

BARBIE
Are too!

KEN
Fibber!

BARBIE
Surfer stupid-o!

DR. MAK. M.E. YOUNG'S NURSE
'Scuse me but I still don't have a last name. No last name- no see doctor

KEN
I've kept this secret because I love you, babe but I gotta tell someone. Her real name is Barbara Millicent Robert

BARBIE
(sobbing)
Ken – how could you?

KEN
There's nothing wrong with your name

BARBIE
It's so…plain and normal. I'm Barbie, fashionista! If the Bratz ever find out…

KEN
I hadda share… Wait a minute…I hear something… I smell water…

DR. MAK. M.E. YOUNG'S NURSE
Oh shoot! Don't tell me the toilet's running over again. I swear, plumbers these days…

KEN
(grabbing surf board and running out of waiting room)
Surf's up!

BARBIE
(composing herself)
…he promised he would keep our secret forever…

DR. MAK M.E. YOUNG'S NURSE
There…there…Ms Robert…

BARBIE
It's Barbie! Got that?

DR. MAK M.E. YOUNG'S NURSE
Whatever… Dr. Mak M.E. Young will see you now

(another patient walks in. Looks around the office and stares at Barbie)

PATIENT
Hey! Aren't you… You know… I forget her name…

BARBIE
Yes…go on… You see me everywhere…? I'm into high-fashion…?

PATIENT
Paris Hilton! Like...ohmygawd! I can't believe it's you!

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KATHRYNN DENNIS is the author of Dark Rider and Shadow Rider. The Romance Times Reviews recently awarded Shadow Rider 4 Stars! and writes: "The color, vibrancy, and excitement of the Middle Ages allows Dennis to create a memorable tale of two people whose destiny is tied to a mystical colt. Dennis tells her story with passion, drama, and a love of animals that will enthrall readers."

Horses take center stage in her stories. I asked her if pets are a hinderance or a help to plotting? (naturally!)

Pets and animals have a lot to contribute to plot—I’m not talking about Old Yeller, or Black Beauty, where the animal is the plot, but rather books where the animal plays a role, though not so prominantly. Animals can be developed as stand alone characters that take action and thus move the plot in a particular direction, or they can add a layer of character to their owner’s personality. How, exactly, do they do that, you ask? The literature is rich with information on the human-animal bond and why people choose the pets they do. It’s called pet-owner profiling. Pets and animals in the story help the reader get into the head of the human characters. There are good studies which suggest pets are an extension of their owners—in looks and in behavior. People tend to chose pets that look like them, much like they choose a human life-partner. Take a look at Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, and Jake Gyllenhaal with their dogs. It’s hard to miss the physical similarities. Pet owners also tend to choose pets with personality traits like their own. Turns out you can learn a lot about a person’s character just by knowing what kind of pet they own. Here’s what the seminal research by Kidd and Kidd (1980) tells us about pet-owner personality traits:

• Cat lovers are high in autonomy and low in dominance and nurturing.

• Dog-loving men are high in dominance and aggression. Dog-loving women are high in dominance, too, but low in aggression.

• Horse lovers in general are assertive, introspective, and self-concerned, but limited in cooperativeness, nurturing, and warm human relationships. Male horse-lovers are aggressive, dominant, and less expressive in general. Female horse-lovers avoided aggression and are easy going.

• Turtle lovers are hard-working, reliable, goal-oriented, and see the world as lawful.

• Snake lovers are unconventional, informal, novelty seeking, and unpredictable.

• Bird lovers are contented, courteous, expressive, social, and altruistic.

Pet owners in general are considered to be more nurturing and low in autonomy, no matter what kind of pet they own. I’ve noticed dog and cat-loving characters enrich a fair number of romance novels (for an early example, think of Georgette Heyer’s Ulysses in Arabella) and the personality of a male horse-owner certainly has the makings of a historical romance hero—think cowboys, knights, and men who were rich enough to fox hunt. Dominant men. Aggressive, alpha males who had trouble expressing themselves (until they met the heroine, of course).
.
I keep thinking about Rex, the hamster in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. Rex embodies the character of a bounty-hunting woman who keeps a hamster for a pet. She’s high in autonomy and not especially nurturing. Neither is Rex. Both make me laugh.
I’ve not seen many romances where a character owns a nontraditional pet (fish, lizards, or pocket pets like Rex), but I’m sure they are out there.

There are also some interesting reads on the pathological condition known as pet hoarding. Profiles of hoarders suggest the condition is a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder and affected people usually come from chaotic, unstable homes. Just google pet hoarding and you’ll turn up a fair number of psych reviews on the topic.

If you’d like to dig deeper into pet-owner profiling, check out Why We Love the Dogs We Do: How to Find the Dog That Matches Your Personality by Stanley Coren (Simon and Schuster; ISBN 978-0684855028). There are some interesting chapters in there about dogs (breeds) for introverts and extroverts, dominant people, not-so-dominant people, trusting, or controlling people, and an in-depth examination of the dogs owned by various leaders and famous personalities--what their dog-ownership reveals about their non-public personality.

If you understand your character, the character will drive the plot. Not the other way around (a pitfall for writers). So pets can enrich the plot, especially if they are used as character enhancers. They are only a hindrance if they serve no purpose. I love an author who can weave a pet into a plotline or incorporate a pet or an animal to enlighten my understanding of the owner’s character. As a reader, can you recall pets that helped move a story along, or helped you better understand the character of their owner?

I’ll give a free copy of SHADOW RIDER to a randomly chosen commenter!

Thank you, Martha, for inviting me to blog!

For more about Kathrynn Dennis, please visit for a plot interview where we asked Kathrynn about her writing process, with an emphasis on plot.

(NOTE: I had the great honor of working with Kathryn on her book's early development.)

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I used up my April Fools energy making an April Fool AskMe page on MetaFilter. Those of you in reference positions may appreciate the jokes even if you’re not closely acquainted with the community. If you reload that page, you’ll get to the main page of AskMe as it usually is. The other site admins and I really tried for something that was mostly funny and not very confusing. I never like feeling that I spend the whole day on the first of April fending off bad jokes at my expense.

april1, aprilfool, aprilfools, askme, blogs, me, mefi

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In This Show: A listener inspired episode. Re-thinking Paris Hilton and Barbie Fandom Children’s books with strong female characters Deirdre Flint’s Boob Fairy Podcasts Mentioned: Just One More Book, Mostly News, Desperate Husbands Books Mentioned: The Bobbin Girl by Emily Arnold McCully Mirette and Bellini Cross Niagara Falls by Emily Arnold McCully America Is her Name by Luis J. Rodriguez Getting in the Game by Dawn Fitzgerald From [...]

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