Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. Releases "A Brainy Refrain" Nationally

****** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ******



Sacramento author Bill Kirk's children's picture book, "A BRAINY REFRAIN" (illustrated by Eugene Ruble), has been released nationally by Guardian Angel Publishing in Saint Louis, MO under their Academic Wings imprint in e-book and print form. Both formats are available for sale through the Guardian Angel Publishing web site and from most online retailers, such as Amazon, Google, Target.com and Barnes and Noble.

Book's Blurb: "A BRAINY REFRAIN" is the fourth in a series of anatomical rhymes by children's author Bill Kirk. The series, which is called THE SUM OF OUR PARTS, will eventually cover several anatomical systems including the skeleton, muscles, skin, circulation, respiration and many others. The entire series will be "kid-friendly" with just the right balance of technical content, humorous verses and anatomical factoids, brought to life through the playful illustrations of artist Eugene Ruble.

Learning about the brain and nervous system can be a challenge for anyone. Using this clever learning tool may be just what you've been looking for. You'll be amazed at how fast you will be able to learn the brain and various nerve pathways in your body. The subject matter and presentation format are ideally designed to support the science curricula for middle school grades 7 and 8. However, they are very suitable as basic human anatomy learning tools for elementary school age children 6 to 12 years old and even older students having difficulty with the subject matter.

Author's Bio: Kirk's writing has been influenced by his travels on five continents and the every day inspiration from his grandchildren. In addition to stories written in rhyme, Kirk writes fiction and satire for local and national publications. Kirk also wrote news and features for two Sacramento newspapers in the mid-1990s, The Suttertown News and The Old City Guardian. His children's stories have appeared in Boys' Quest, Fun For Kidz, Grandparents, Wee Ones and Saplings magazines. His poems have also been published by North Dakota Horizons, Absolute Write, The Baseball Almanac and the University of South Carolina Gamecock Health newsletter.

Kirk says his goal for his children's stories is to challenge the imagination of his readers, young and old, by exploring everyday life, simply and profoundly, and having fun in the process. Bill and his wife, Rita (a clinical psychologist), married since 1969, have made Sacramento their home since 1985.

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to check out what reviewers are already saying about this book. To request review copies of "A Brainy Refrain" or to request an interview with the author, please contact the publisher, Lynda Burch, at bulk-orders@guardianangelpublishing.com or (314) 276-8482.

Title: A Brainy Refrain
Author: Bill Kirk (www.billkirkwrites.com)
Illustrator: Eugene Ruble
ISBN (e-Book) 13: 978-1-61633-232-7
ISBN (print) 13: 978-1-61633-231-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012934652
Publication Date: March 2012
Release Date: March 1, 2012
Number of Pages: 24
Price: Ebook $5.00, CD-Rom $9.95 (+$5.95 s&h), Print: $10.95 (+$6.95 s&h)
Available at most online booksellers or from: Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

"Muscles Make Us Move" Released Nationally

Events occuring in July seem to have evaporated in a writing nano-second. I am behind in announcing the July 31 release nationally of "Muscles Make Us Move", the third children's picture book in THE SUM OF OUR PARTS series. Published by Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. in St. Louis, MO, the series will eventually include nine books under the Academic Wings imprint on various anatomical systems in the human body. Released so far are books on the skeleton, the circulatory system and now the muscles.

"Muscles Make Us Move" will be released simultaneously in e-book and print formats. The e-book version is available through Fictionwise as well as through the Guardian Angel Publishing web site. The print version will be available for sale at http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/muscles-tsoop.htm and online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Print copies can also be ordered by request through your local brick and mortar bookstores.

"Muscles Make Us Move" is all about the muscles in the human body, from the very smallest (the stapedius) to the largest (the gluteus maximus). If you have ever had difficulty learning all the Greek and Latin terms for the muscles, this book is a great place to get you started. Between the comprehensive information in the rhyming text, the factoids and the fun and technically accurate illustrations by Eugene Ruble, you'll be learning the muscles in no time.

Author's Bio: Kirk's writing has been influenced by his travels on five continents and the every day inspiration from his grandchildren. In addition to stories written in rhyme, Kirk writes fiction and satire for local and national publications. He also wrote news and features for two Sacramento newspapers in the mid-1990s, The Suttertown News and The Old City Guardian.

Kirk's children's stories have appeared in Boys' Quest, Fun For Kidz, Grandparents, Wee Ones and Saplings magazines. His poems have also been published by North Dakota Horizons, Absolute Write, The Baseball Almanac and the University of South Carolina Gamecock Health newsletter. Kirk says his goal for his children's stories is to challenge the imagination of his readers, young and old, by exploring everyday life, simply and profoundly, and having fun in the process. Kirk and his wife, Rita (a clinical psychologist), have been married for 41 years and have made Sacramento their home since 1985.

To request review copies of "Muscles Make Us Move" or to request an interview with the author, please contact the publisher, Lynda Burch at (314) 276-8482.

Title: "Muscles Make Us Move" (in THE SUM OF OUR PARTS series)
Author: Bill Kirk
Illustrator: Eugene Ruble
ISBN (e-Book) 13: 978-1-61633-135-1
ISBN (print) 13: 978-1-61633-134-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011932757
Publication Date: July 31, 2011
Number of Pages: 32
Price: Ebook $5.00, CD-Rom $11.95 (+$5.95 s&h), Print: $10.95 (+$6.95 s&h)
Available at most online booksellers or from: Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.

In An Instant, History Was Made

I, Roger Bannister
By Bill Kirk

May 6, 1954. “Will this be the day?”
Is the singular question for the 3.000 present
At the Iffley Road track today—
A question for which only I will have the anwer.

Three runners to the line:
Chris Brasher, Chris Chataway and I, Roger Bannister.

It is a day like no other has been or will be again.
In the minds of men, long anticipated expectations
Were held in check by the history of a feat often tried
But never accomplished.

With tension in the air and muscles on the brink of exploding,
The gun goes off—then heartbreak
As we are called back to the line.
“How to put the lions back in the cage,” they wonder?
Might our legs recover sufficiently for another go?
We would learn soon enough they would and they did.

Then, in an instant, the world turns on four words,
“Runners take your mark!”
Another shot and the eternity of that first quarter mile
Flashes by in just 57.5 seconds.
Hearts pounding and lungs near bursting,
I hear myself yell, “Faster”
As I run impatiently from behind.

An arm's length ahead of me,
Brasher’s cooler head prevails, controlling the race.
Were he not leading with patience,
The price I would pay in three scant minutes would be dear.
The next two quarter miles each exceed a minute—
“Not by much,” some would say.
But will "not much" be "too much" at the end of the day?

Then Chataway takes the lead in the third circuit around the track.
Stride for stride three champions drive on—
Into the last revolution.
Now is when “faster” is needed.
At last it is my turn—my time.

I surge ahead down the back stretch.
“59, 59, 59 seconds,” is my singular thought.
Can it be done? Is this the day?
Rounding the last turn, with 50 yards left,
I race toward my date with destiny.

Nothing left now but raw will,
I stare at the tape stretched across my path.
It beckons from a mere 15 feet before me.
Less than three more foot strikes to leave on the track.
In a duel with the clock: What razor-thin portion
Of a single second might I gain or lose?

Tick-tick-tick.
The snap of the tape—time frozen with the
Click, click, click of stop-watches,
And the pop, pop, pop of flashing bulbs.

Then unbearable pain and
Total collapse into waiting arms.
Gasping for breath. I strain to hear
The three long-anticipated words: “… three minutes and…”
Everything after is swallowed by the rising din.

I, Roger Bannister, have done it—
With a time of 3:59.4,
The unassailable 4-minute barrier has at last been broken—

The first sub-four mile is mine.

"No Bones About It"

This post may be a short one today. Mostly I wanted to share---yes, that's the right word. For I don't want to appear unseemly or unduly excited. The final proofed, edited and approved version of my picture book, "No Bones About It" has been sent to the printer. Yes, I know its official publication is still a few weeks away. But I must say, it feels pretty good to see it come this far. Are you kidding me? This is way too cool!

The book is the first of a series of anatomical rhymes designed to help kids learn about the human body. The series, which is called THE SUM OF OUR PARTS, will eventually cover several anatomical systems including the skeleton, muscles, skin, circulation, respiration and many others. The entire collection will be "kid-friendly" with just the right balance of technical content, humorous verses and anatomical factoids, brought to life through the playful illustrations of artist Eugene Ruble.

When "No Bones About It" finally hits the street, look for a press release on this blog and my website announcing the book's publication and launch. In the meantime, readers are most welcome to visit my website for more information about "Bones" and any of the rest of the series. Just look for the link to the THE SUM OF OUR PARTS on the right side of the website's main page.

Cheers!

Why Do You Write?

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as
you are dead, either write things worth
reading or do things worth writing."

Thus wrote Benjamin Franklin in what seems to have been a reflective moment. How could those who lived in Franklin's time know just how their actions (and the way those actions were recorded) would change the future? How do any of us know how what we do now will make a difference?

Could Franklin's dictum have been advice given to young up and comers in his day to either do something that might change history or the live of others--or to write about it?

Maybe not. But his thought does raise an essential question for those of us engaged in the art of writing. If the fact that something notable was done is not recorded in some way, will it exist beyond the immediate memory of those who saw it done? Perhaps writing about such things is the literary equivalent of taking note of the proverbial tree falling in the forest.

The significance of the written word is that it becomes the de facto record of what has happened or might happen, whether in fact or only in the creative minds of human kind. So, pick up your pens, cuddle your keyboards and capture what is going on around you or in the lives of the tantilizing characters you create. Will you write poetry, a journal, an essay, an article or a book? Will it be fiction or the real McCoy? Will you entertain or incite? Will you satirize reality, giving life a funny face?

And, by the way, who is your audience? After all is said (whether done or not), will anyone read what you have so meticulously recorded? Will what you have written become its own version of the tree falling in the forest?

Perish the thought! Because thinking that thought may be enough to put an end to the writing. And that we can ill afford. So, take heart, my friend, and keep writing. Make every word count as a grand, bold, essential step forward. toward preserving who we are and what we have done.

Now, Maestro, please! The Crescendo!