The New IQ by David Gruder, Ph.D.

About the Author:

David Gruder, PhD, DCEP, is perhaps the world’s only clinical-organizational psychologist specializing in integrity development. Known as "The Integritizer," he is the leader in transpartisan nondenominational strategies for solving the massive integrity deficits that have caused today's vast social, economic, and political challenges. Dr. Gruder founded the "Integritize America Campaign," an integrity stimulus plan for renewing personal, relationship and societal integrity so we can finally co-create sustainable solutions to today's most challenging issues. His latest book, "THE NEW IQ: How Integrity Intelligence Serves You, Your Relationships and our World," is the world's first step-by-step guide to attaining personal, relationship, and career fulfillment during difficult times without sacrificing ethics and integrity. It has won five book awards in the areas of "social change," (book of the year), "current events in politics and society" (honorable mention), "health & wellness" (book of the year), "self-help" (bronze medal) and "metapsychology" (book of the year). A professional speaker and trainer for almost three decades, Dr. Gruder speaks, trains, consults worldwide on how to "Integritize" citizens, government, communities, businesses, health care, education, religion, journalism, advocacy groups, and leadership. His clients have ranged from family-owned businesses to American Express work teams, from the Sanoviv Medical Institute to the San Diego Office of Education Management Academy, and from local politicians and executives to World Trade Organization ambassadors. His main website is http://www.thenewiq.com/.

About the Book:

From the White House, to the board room, to the privacy of our own bedrooms, and virtually everywhere in between, integrity deficits are destroying our personal lives, our businesses, our economy, our healthcare, our society, and our planet.

Creating sustainable integrity-centered solutions to today's vast array of major challenges requires us, as individuals and as a society, to take a fresh look at what creates life fulfillment. It requires us as citizens to develop a new integrity-centered vision of what we need to require from our leaders in government, business, advocacy groups, community organizations and the media.

The New IQ is the world's first road-tested guide to integrity-centered living, working, loving, and serving. Hailed as a "once-in-a-generation book," it provides the first step-by-step road map for restoring the vanishing virtue of integrity... for the sake of our loved ones, our communities, our businesses, our society, and our own personal well being.

Going far beyond being a self-help book, this critically acclaimed five-award-winning action plan offers a socially responsible way to attain personal, relationship, and career fulfillment during difficult times, without sacrificing ethics and integrity. Here at last is your complete guide to "personal development that serves us all.

The author agreed to an interview. These are his answers:

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

I’d be glad to. The New IQ provides practical answers to the five biggest challenges of our time:

1) Why have we allowed severe integrity deficits to damage virtually all parts of our society?
2) How did so many of us adopt the insane belief that life fulfillment, wealth accumulation and a comfortable lifestyle require sacrificing integrity, people and social responsibility?
3) What do the few who succeed without making these sacrifices do to create happy fulfilling integrity-centered lives?
4) How can the rest of us easily learn to do on purpose what these rare folks do intuitively?
5) What profound improvements will we see in the world as more and more of us shift toward integrity-centered living, loving, working and serving?

The New IQ’s way of reconnecting the dots among integrity, life fulfillment, love, abundance, businesses, and social responsibility, has resulted in it being:

* Endorsed by over fifty leaders across a wide range of fields
* Embraced across the political and faith spectrums
* Honored with five book awards in the unusually diverse categories of:

* Social change

* Current events in politics & society

* Health & wellness

* Metapsychology

* Self-help

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

Oh, yes. Absolutely. As surprising as this might sound, my original inspiration for The New IQ was the infamous Woodstock music festival in 1969, which I attended as a fifteen-year-old. However, it took two profoundly traumatic experiences decades later to cause me to realize that I could no longer put off writing this book. The first was being in the New York City area when 9/11 occurred, and for the ten days after following that history-shifting event. The second was my own personal twin towers falling six months after 9/11 when my first wife ended our marriage in early 2002. The events surrounding 9/11 made it clear to me that I had to bring to the widest audience possible the things I know about how we lost our way with integrity. Recovering from a divorce I would never have predicted brought into focus some key pieces about integrity I hadn’t known were crucial to a complete understanding of integrity. The profound gifts I harvested from these two traumas gave me the final pieces I needed in order to finally write The New IQ.

Who is your biggest supporter?

My wife, Laurie, whom I married in 2006. I live in perpetual gratitude for her love, heartfelt support, and personal integrity. She stood by me not only while I was writing The New IQ, but through the countless late night and early morning media interviews since its release, and my regular travel in the U.S. and abroad to give my integrity education keynotes and workshops based on The New IQ.

Your biggest critic?

I would have to say marketing experts. Even though my material about reconnecting integrity with life fulfillment and abundance is universally embraced, marketing experts are constantly telling me what I need to be doing differently to get the word out in a bigger way. Believe me, I’m grateful for their advice even when I am not always able to implement all of it!

What cause are you most passionate about and why?

I recently launched a public service project called the Integrity Stimulus Plan: a five ingredient action plan anyone can use to help restore integrity anywhere you want to have impact. I can’t find words to express how excited I am that this plan is being embraced across the political and faith spectrums. Go to www.IntegrityStimulusPlan.org to read the Integrity Stimulus Plan and complete your Integrity Pledge. Then join Facebook’s Integrity Stimulus Plan Promoters Group.

In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?

Absolutely. I feel like I have been in a relentless crash course on all aspects of marketing, from how to give a great interview, to upgrading my website, to strategies for expanding internet visibility, and much more.

What is the most important thing in your life right now?

Remaining dedicated to my self-care, wellbeing, and life balance. I write in The New IQ about the three most common integrity deficits people have: with ourselves (self-integrity), with those who depend on us (relationship integrity), and with the world in which we live (societal integrity). Most people tend to neglect one of these 3D Integrity dimensions more than the other two. My lifelong tendency has been to forget myself in favor of serving others. The more popular my messages have become the more crucial it has become for me to make sure I don’t fall into my old self-neglect habits. I’m mindful each and every day that unless I am role-modeling my messages about 3D Integrity, I have no business teaching others how to embody it. Yet, this isn’t merely an act of altruism on my part. Maintaining my 3D Integrity is good for me, is good for my personal and work relationships, and helps me have the best possible impact on the world, all at the same time. This is why the subtitle of The New IQ is "How Integrity Intelligence Serves You, Your Relationships and Our World!"

What are you currently working on?

I just agreed to co-host a live call-in radio show with a seasoned veteran in the radio business. Its focus, not surprisingly, is on integrity, and I will serve as the resident integrity expert. Recordings of this live show will be available via podcast. Because the fine details are still being finalized at the time of this interview, please visit www.TheNewIQ.com to discover the show title, description and broadcast information.

What are some of your long term goals?

I will continue to write books like The New IQ that integrate personal growth and societal repair. In fact, the byline for my material is "personal development that serves us all."

What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?

My greatest achievement is seeing The New IQ’s blueprint for reconnecting the dots among integrity, life fulfillment, love, abundance, businesses, and social responsibility, result in it being:

* Endorsed by over fifty leaders across a wide range of fields
* Embraced across the political and faith spectrums
* Honored with five book awards in the unusually diverse categories of:

* Social change

* Current events in politics & society

* Health & wellness

* Metapsychology

* Self-help

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

There are three personal development genres: self-improvement, relationship improvement and leadership improvement. Two things set The New IQ apart:

1) It is part personal development road map, part health and wellness manual, part social change blueprint, and part staff development and leadership template; and

2) It shows everyday people to world leaders how to coordinate personal, relationship, career, and leadership development in an elegantly efficient and streamlined way.

If you know another book that does both of these things, please e-mail me about it through the contact page at http://www.thenewiq.com/

Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? In what way/s?

Oh yes. Dramatically. In 2002 my life as I had known it since 1985 came to an untimely end with the surprise demise of my supposedly divorce-proof marriage. My story is a Phoenix rising from the ashes story that transformed the most excruciating painful and disorienting experience of my life into the greatest gift of my life. This story is too long to recap in an interview like this beyond my answer to the next question. But, you can read it in The New IQ.

What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?

For decades I had lived and trained others in most aspects of relationship and societal integrity. But not until recovering from the untimely demise of my first marriage in 2002 did I finally discover the devastation that can occur as a consequence of self-integrity deficits. Only then did I come to grips with how huge a role my chronic self-neglect played in destroying the fabric of my life has I had known it. This was my "duh" moment with integrity: discovering that integrity is three-dimensional – one-third self-integrity, one-third relationship integrity and one-third societal integrity.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

We got into the mess we’re in as individuals, in our relationships, and as a society, because we have believed that attaining life fulfillment requires sacrificing integrity, people and/or social responsibility. Natural developers show the rest of us, from everyday people to world leaders, the secrets to reconnecting integrity, life fulfillment, love, abundance, business profitability, and social responsibility. Please join me in helping to create the integrity revolution we so deeply need today in order to build a sustainable next chapter in humanity. I look forward to hearing from you at www.TheNewIQ.com.

Bleach/Blackout by David S. Grant

Join David S. Grant, author of the literary fiction dual novel, Bleach/Blackout (Offense Mechanisms, May '08), as he virtually tours the blogosphere in December on his third virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

About the author:

David S. Grant is the author of Corporate Porn, published by Silverthought Press in 2006. David's first novel Bleach and sequel titled Blackout are now available through Offense Mechanisms, an imprint of Silverthought Press. Also, newly published in 2008 the novel The Last Breakfast and short story collection Emotionless Souls through Brown Paper Publishing. David lives and works in New York City.

About the book:

Fans of fluffy romance novels and that all-too-familiar, over-hyped, edge-of-the-seat crap should steer clear. This is life at its most jaded. Offense Mechanisms is proud to present Bleach | Blackout by David S. Grant, two novels about drugs, sex, revenge, the corporate crunch, and the inevitable unpleasantness of life and death.

You can visit David's website at www.davidsgrant.com/ to read an excerpt!

I had the chance to interview the author and here's what he had to say:

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

Bleach|Blackout explore a group of people living in the moment, yet not necessarily aware they are in the moment, but rather wasting time to get to the next point in their lives. Is it boredom, or more a feel of today’s generation and lack of cause, or motivation to find a cause?

Bleach is more the type of in your face read that forces you to either accept or not accept the lifestyle being led, there really no room for the in between. Blackout details more of these same characters pulling from their past and being forced to use instinct, rather than wait for life.

Bleach opens during the last 60 seconds of 2003 in a bathroom where a girl lay dying and a jaded 30-year-old named Jeremy, who navigates the reader through the endless repulsiveness of the world, watches. Before diving into an explanation of what the is going on, Jeremy doubles back eight days where you find him in the office ready to embark on a vacation back home to the Midwest. The question is whether Jeremy makes it back to New York.

The entire story builds up to the climax of the "The Party" on New Year's Eve where all the men are dressed as prostitutes, all the women look like pimps and decadence and debauchery dictate the rules. Everything seems to be spiraling out of control, and Jeremy realizes there are no guarantees for him or anyone else.

Blackout picks up two years after Bleach in Las Vegas where Stoner and friends are celebrating his bachelor party complete with strippers and crack cocaine. The ride home is blurry and the next morning in Los Angeles brings a surprise when Stoner’s friends, Chip and Jeremy, wake to find police officers and a dead body they are allegedly responsible for, but neither can recall.

In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?

As a writer, being able to interconnect multiple stories and plots while keeping the reader looking off to side focused on the guy with a shaved head chain smoking cigars.

What are you currently working on?

Next year my novel, Blood-the New Red, will be published through Offense Mechanism. Blood-the New Red begins at an after party where Mickey, an ex-adult movie star turned supermodel, is aligning himself with a top Designer of Seventh Avenue.  In addition to landing a runway job, Mickey is thrown into the center of a scene where sex is used as motivation, the wine is served by year, and cocaine is back in style.

I am also working on a travel memoir titled “Locations, Libations, and Locals”. This will be many travel stories with a “Fear and Loathing” tone searching out the corners most tourists pass by.

Do you have any advice for writers or readers?

Continue to read and write. Between Guitar Hero and flat screen televisions we as readers and writers are the minority. The good thing is there are rarely any lines when you go and by a book. The bad, well, let’s keep this positive…

Is there an author that inspired you to write?

Several authors have inspired me. The way Bret Easton Ellis displays a scene to the reader with no emotion, true literary story telling. The sharp wit of Hunter S. Thompson, how it bites you as you read his work. The romance, with an edge of F. Scott Fitzgerald during a time America was finding itself. And finally and maybe most important in today’s age: Chuck Palahniuk's ability to shock through social commentary.

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

Transgressive novels are everywhere. This is a good thing (remember, keeping this positive). I believe the humor in my books, specifically in Bleach|Blackout, is what sets my book apart from the others. The humor with the use of the corporate world as a backdrop, a party of debauchery that kicks off my story, and the strippers. My God, let’s not forget the strippers.

WIN PRIZES!

THE BLEACH/BLACKOUT VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR '08 will officially begin on December 1st and end on December 23rd. You can visit David's blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in December to find out more about his latest book!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available. The winner will be announced on December 23rd!

Eyone Williams Book Spotlight and Author Interview

Paperback: 216 pages
Publisher: The Cartel Publications (July 18, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 097949317X
ISBN-13: 978-0979493171

Book Synopsis:

What we bring together, let no man tear apart...is the motto of the Hell Razor Honeys.

Vida is young, sexy and naive. That is until she grows tired of Samara, the leader of The Come Back Honeys using her body to entertain local hustlers. When Vida refuses to play the whore, Samara reacts and kicks her out of the crew. Alone, Vida stands firm and decides she will not be pushed around even if it means taking a few beat downs.

On the sidelines, Tia, also a loaner decides she ll help Vida stand up against Samara even though it s not her battle. Their unity starts the beginning of a new gang they call, The Hell Razor Honeys.

Only two girls strong, eventually they meet up with Ice, nicknamed because of her white skin and innocent nature. Her innocence quickly disintegrates once she becomes a member of the infamous crew. Despite a few fights, the Hell Razor Honeys were only known for tucking razors in their mouths and slashing a few faces. That is until they meet Tec. Under his watch, he teaches the girls a new hustle which includes murder, mayhem and larceny. Even though they go harder than most men, one look under their skirts would prove they're all women. But when Vida s grandmother begs her to get out of the streets, she complies vowing to change her life. But how can she when the friends she calls family maintain their hold?

Take a journey with Vida, Tia and Ice as the rip through the streets of D.C., cruise through the city of New York and land on the L.A. Hollywood scene on a mission. Hell Razor Honeys reads like a fast paced car chase! This novel is one to die for, one bloody slice at a time!

I was fortunate enough to be able to ask the author a few questions:

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

The first writer to influence me would have to be Donald Goines. I read many of his books as a juvenile and they were the first books I saw that told stories about what I saw in the streets of DC. Some years later after reading Goines’ Daddy Cool, I decided to write a book. That book was my first book, Fast Lane. I wanted to capture my era in time as Goines did. Shannon Holmes also influenced me. He was the first author that I paid attention to that wrote a novel while in prison. At this point, Eric Jerome Dickey influences me more than any other author. He is smooth, sharp and keeps the story together from all angles. That’s how I strive to bring my street stories to life.

Do you write every day?

I try to, but my situation doesn’t allow me to. I’m in federal prison and there’s always drama of some kind going on. Nevertheless, I write almost every day. I have to write often to get my ideas on paper. Writing also helps me deal with life in prison.

What has been your greatest achievement as a writer?

At this point I would have to say my greatest achievement was making Don Diva magazine’s bestseller’s list. That showed me that the streets were feeling Fast Lane. However, I felt very proud when I learned that Fast Lane was selling out at Karibu Books; that meant a lot to me as well.

Have you always wanted to be a writer, or did you aspire to be something else growing up?

I never thought about being a writer when I was growing up. As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a football player. Then around 13 I got it in my head that I wanted to be a gangsta. That was the worst idea I ever had. I ended up in prison at 16. I wanted to be a rapper at one point as well. In the end, I wrote a novel and fell in love with writing and I’ve been writing novels since. Now, I’m sure that being an author is something I will love about myself for the rest of my life.

How would you describe your writing?

Real! I try my best to tell it like it is in the real world. I get deep into the people I bring to life in my novels. I’m very vivid about the things I paint pictures of in my novels. It’s somewhat like music. You have music out now that’s real hip-hop, stuff that’s good for the radio and the clubs, but some of it ain’t for the streets. Gangsta rap is for the streets. My writing is the gangsta rap of urban fiction. I’m Scarface/NWA of the urban fiction game.

Are you currently working on anything?

I’m always working. I grind hard. My second book, Hell Razor Honeys, was recently released and it ends with a bang that leaves you wanting more. I’m now working on Hell Razor Honeys II: Til Death Do Us Part. I have other novels done – Lorton Legends, Never Lay Down and Money Ain’t Everything. I’m working on deals for them. I’m also working on a screenplay about DC street legend Wayne Perry. I’m a staff writer for Don Diva magazine and I’m working on street articles for upcoming issues.

What authors do you enjoy reading?

I have to say T. Styles, Jason Poole, Eric Jerome Dickey, C-Murder, Kwame Teague, Wahida Clark, K’wan, Seth Ferranti and a few others.

Is there a particular author/s (yourself excluded) who you feel don't get the recognition they deserve?

Anthony Fields, author of Angel presented by Teri Woods, Ghostface Killaz and Bossy, is slept on. He has dropped three books that people have supported by buying out the stores’ stock. Since he is in prison I think he is overlooked a lot. The same goes for Kwame Teague. This brother crushed the game with the Dutch story, but Teri Woods got all the shine. Kwame put his thing down real strong in The Adventures of Ghetto Sam/The Glory of My Demise, but fans missed it for whatever reason. Caleb Alexander is also underrated. He put Teri Woods on his back. Those brothers need to be given their props!

What is your favorite book?

Standing at the Scratch Line by Guy Johnson!!!

What is a book that has been highly acclaimed but you haven't liked?

I live by a serious code in life and if I have nothing good to say, I say nothing at all. What I don’t like is only important to me. I never want to add to all the hate in the world. Feel me?

Is there a word you feel is overused?

In street novels I believe that the word “millions” is overused. Everybody in the hood ain’t seeing no millions. Let’s not forget the grind. Let’s not forget the struggle of the stripper trying to make ends meet as she stacks Gs; the same for the dope boy that’s selling Gs with million dollar dreams – stuff like that. I write what I know and what I’ve seen. I know, personally, two dudes out of countless others that made millions in the streets. That’s not to say that there aren’t street millionaires, I’m only saying that they are rare.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions!

Blood Poison by D.H. Dublin

Guest Reviewer Wendy Runyon

Blood Poison by D.H. Dublin is the second book in the C.S.U. Investigation series set in Philadelphia. Crime Scene Investigator Madison Cross has been on the job for three months and she already has a reputation stirring up trouble. Madison is stranded at the home of the deceased, Derek Grant, his body splayed out on the kitchen floor, as she waits for the medical examiner's office to retrieve the body. The cause of death appears to be natural, perhaps a heart attack.

Before their arrival, however, the dead man's father arrives home, after having checked himself out of an assisted living home after only a week's stay, and Madison must break the news to him. Madison cannot help but feel for the grieving father, who seems to have no one else in the world. When the routine toxicology panel comes back with questionable results, Madison's job becomes even harder. Did Derek Grant commit suicide or could it be something more sinister?

Meanwhile, Madison is pulled into what appears to be a more complicated investigation when, another body has the entire Philadelphia Crime Scene Unit stumped. They have little to work on besides bones, hair and nail tips. A forensic anthropologist is called in to help with the identification. The woman was obviously murdered, but exactly who she was and why someone would kill her remains unknown. Things are not always what they appear to be and if anyone is bound to uncover the truth, Madison knows just where to look. The closer she gets to uncovering the truth, the more dangerous the situation becomes for her.

Madison is easy to like. She is smart and caring, although perhaps a little naive. She gave up a promising medical career to work with the Crime Scene Unit along side her uncle, Lieutenant David Cross, and is trying to settle into her new life. She is surrounded by a colorful cast of characters who are talented and supportive.

Author D.H. Dublin has written a suspense filled novel. He takes the reader into the center of a crime scene unit and lets the reader walk through the paces of what it might take to solve a crime, weaving the investigation naturally into this entertaining crime fiction novel. I will definitely be keeping a look out for further books by D.H. Dublin.

Questions for the author:

How did the character of Madison come to be? Did you have a favorite character that you especially enjoyed writing about?

Madison came about through conversations with my editor at Berkley, Katie Day. We both had some specific ideas about Madison, about who she was and where she came from, and it started there. Madison has had some tragedies in her past, and as a writer, I think it's always interesting to look at how these events of the past impact a character. One of the great things about writing a series is that you get to continue to explore how events change a person over a longer term than the arc of a single book. Madison is definitely the character with whom I've grown the most attached. I've spent a lot of time occupying her point of view and thinking about her motivation and her world. But while there is a lot of me in Madison, we're obviously very different people, so also I enjoy writing for characters that give me an outlet for my more smart-alecky tendencies, like Tommy Parker and Spoons.

What kind of research do you need to put into writing a crime scene investigation series? Do you have a background in the field or is it just something you are interested in writing about?

I do not have a professional background in forensics. I had long been fascinated by it and had done a lot of reading before starting the Madison Cross series, but I had to do a lot of research. It was tremendously enjoyable, but it was a huge amount of work. I started out with a few books and a few experts who would help me, but most of the research started with Google. After the internet phase, I would find studies and articles to read, and then, of course, the people who had written them. There were some instances where people did not want to talk to me, or I could not track them down, but I was continually impressed by the generosity of the experts in the field, most of whom were very gracious about sharing their expertise. You can learn a lot by reading, about how things work and the science and the ideas behind certain procedures and technologies, but when you want to know how to depict something being used, you need to speak to a human being. A book or an article won't tell you if you have time to get a cup of coffee in the middle of a procedure. There are different stages of research throughout the writing process. I'll do preliminary research that gives me a broad understanding of the forensic techniques I plan on using in a book. That research will often spark ideas for different directions a book can take. Once I have determined which techniques or procedures I plan on featuring in a book, I'll research those particular applications more deeply. But the research is also part of the writing process, and I'll often have to stop and research questions that pop up, even into the final draft. I have always been fascinated by the writing process of my favorite authors.

Describe your writing process. Do you outline and plan everything ahead of time, knowing exactly how the story is going to end up, or do you take things as they come, start wring and see where the characters and story take you?

I'm a bit of a plot junkie, which means I have an outline dependency as well. For me, any project starts out with a central idea, a nugget or hook at the middle of everything. Since I write thrillers and crime novels, my central idea often has something to do with the crime at the center of the book. I'm one of those people whose brain is rarely idle, so if the idea captures my imagination, I immediately -- and involuntarily -- move on to the next phase, the free-flowing idea/brainstorming phase, just thinking and writing down every idea that comes to me. This is one of my favorites parts of the process, because everything's possible and there are no rules. After that, I start to outline, figuring out what works, what doesn't, and how. For the CSU books, where so many plot points rest on technical or procedural elements, I need to know exactly where I'm going, so I'll write a 30 – 50 page outline. I know plenty of writers don't outline, but for me, any mystery/crime/thriller has a lot do with the revelation of information about the central mystery, so for me it is important to know how you are going to reveal each bit of information, both to the characters and to the reader. Once I start writing the first draft, I usually have to go back and revise the outline periodically, but I'm still a big fan of having the outline there. It's great when characters let you know how they would act, but if you have a good understanding of a character in the first place, you will have resolved most of those conflicts in the outline phase. Sometimes you need characters to do things that don't on the face hem reconcile with who the characters are, but I usually look at those instances as opportunities to look deeper into characters and figure out what would motivate them to act the way I need for them to act. I find I get a lot of insight into my characters and interesting little subplots by pursuing those little eddies of character and plot.