Category: Travel

One of the most prominent women in tech — and one of Google’s earliest employees — is leaving the company.

Source: YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down

Everybody on Earth is related by virtue of the fact that we’re all the distant grandchildren of the very first humans. Exactly when these grandparents were alive is up for discussion, but scientists think it was probably somewhere between 550,000 and 750,000 years ago. The first humans had children and they became brothers and sisters, who made way for aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and, most confusingly, cousins.

The word “cousin” is often used loosely across cultures, and even throughout American history.

Source: First, Second, Third, Removed, Kissing — It’s Complicated! A Cousins Tutorial

And it is not just the whales and you know it!

Blue whales are the largest animals on Earth, but that didn’t save them when commercial whaling wiped out as much as 97 percent of their numbers. Today, the aquatic giants are still considered Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, and while their numbers are increasing, they still face threats including vessel strikes and the climate crisis. Now, a new threat may be looming on the horizon: deep-sea mining.

Blue whales are one of the 22 to 30 species of cetaceans — the order that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises — that have been documented in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a region in the Pacific Ocean where testing for deep-sea mining has already begun. That’s one of the findings from a Greenpeace Research Laboratories and University of Exeter led study published in Frontiers in Marine Science this month, which researchers believe is the first to look at how deep-sea mining might impact cetaceans.

Source: Deep-Sea Mining Could Harm Whales and Dolphins, Too – EcoWatch

Alongside the 37th America’s Cup in 2024 will be the Women’s America’s Cup and Youth America’s Cup, with up to 12 teams competing for each event in

Source: Canadian update for Youth, Women’s AC >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News

Mark Zuckerberg follows Elon Musk’s lead in introducing fee for blue ticks, while Twitter to restrict 2FA via SMS to paid users

Source: Facebook and Instagram to get paid verification as Twitter charges for two-factor SMS authentication

The 2022 Nobel Prize in physics recognized three scientists who made groundbreaking contributions in understanding one of the most mysterious of all natural phenomena: quantum entanglement.In the simplest terms, quantum entanglement means that aspects of one particle of an entangled pair depend on aspects of the other particle, no matter how far apart they are or what lies between them. These particles could be, for example, electrons or photons, and an aspect could be the state it is in, such as whether it is “spinning” in one direction or another.

Source: Quantum Entanglement Is the Strangest Phenomenon in Physics, But What Is It? | HowStuffWorks

Hello,  

Your February Press Tip Sheet features a variety of guests who cover a wide range of topics. Who would you like to book? 

All Black Château experts are authors who can discuss an array of topics that your audience will surely enjoy.  

As always, we made it super easy for you and can arrange remote interviews, calls, articles and more. Review copies of books available, too.  

Did you know we feature select interviews and articles to feature in the Webby Award-Winning Books That Make You Newsletter which goes to a list of over 23,000 subscribers? Maybe we’ll feature your show in the next issue and give a shout-out to it on the Books That Make You Instagram profile with 26,500+ followers. 

Here is a little bit about your next guests and some talking points for each. A full list of talking points, bios, book descriptions, copies of their books and other information is provided upon booking. 

Kelly Anne Manuel  

Kelly Anne Manuel is proof you can flip things upside down and become a prolific children’s book writer. She’s here with an array of positive messages for kids with four captivating book series.  There are a total of 31 books—one for each day of the month—in four un-put-downable series. 

Kelly’s books meet children where they are in their journey. They are about permission, and helping children see the world in both an entertaining and inspiring way.  

Her titles are reversals of familiar phrases, such as “Boots Rain” rather than rain boots. By shifting perspectives, she sees things through a child’s eyes. Her energy is kinetic. Her journey as an author is uncommon, and the way children respond to her, and her books, is life changing.  

Talk to Kelly Anne Manuel about: 

• Why she felt compelled to write and publish 31 books—an incredible feat for any author 
• What it means to be an “uncommon author” 
• What will children learn from her books? 
• They are launch-pads for discussion and discourse 
• A traumatic fire led Kelly on her author journey 
• How a devastating life experience led to the beauty of publishing these books 

For more information, see Kelly Anne Manuel’s latest press release. 

Mark J. Rose 

Mark J. Rose is standing at the intersection of technology, and society, ready to talk to your audience. 

He is a scientist who believes in both evolution and God, an author who takes readers back in time with the historical science fiction series Matt Miller in the Colonies, and an adventurer who travels to the places he writes about and studies. 

Mark has a doctorate in pharmaceutical chemistry and is a director of research and development at a startup biotech company. As a neuroscientist who authors bestselling books, Mark can discuss: 

• Releasing Architect, the fourth book in the Matt Miller and the Colonies historical sci-fi book series 
• Being historically accurate and researching places and times to create plausible fictional narratives 
• How genetics, human consciousness, the quantum world, God, the Universe, and religion are all pieces of the same story 
• Why he strives to open the minds of fellow scientists — he exists in a community of people who often laugh at the existence of a higher power 
• Technology including artificial intelligence will never be superior to the developed power of the human mind 

Find out more on Mark’s website and read the latest press release for the release of Architect, Book 4 in the Matt Miller in the Colonies series. 

Randi Braun  

She’s changing women’s lives, one play at a time. 

Women are natural leaders, but they’re burnt out. Though they’ve been playing by the rules, they still don’t achieve the leadership roles they deserve. Now, with Randi Braun as their coach, they stand on the precipice of something major. 

Randi Braun is a sought-after thought leader, speaker, and author of the women’s leadership book Something Major: The New Playbook for Women at Work (New Degree Press, 2023).  

Randi Braun’s energy is contagious. She is brimming with anecdotal stories as well as facts and figures. Conversations with her are infused with heavy ideas that are also wildly entertaining. 

Randi Braun can discuss: 

• Why women are burnt out and the “Five Self Care Myths” 
• Why women are getting the pursuit of “productivity” dead wrong 
• The truth about Imposter Syndrome  
• Why women are constantly minimizing failure, not maximizing success 
• Why women leaders and not happy 
• Hustle culture (and breaking free) 

For more information read the press release. 

Clyve Rose 

Romance and historical fiction writer Clyve Rose does it again. She is captivating audiences with her latest book, The King’s Mistress, which is a sequel to her award-winning Always a Princess. 

What is the allure of regency romance? Why are stories about love some of the most powerful ones we have? 

Clyve Rose has been writing historical romance fiction for the best part of two decades. Her novel Always a Princess is a BookFest Award-Winner. The sequel to it, The King’s Mistress, just launched.  

Clyve can discuss: 

• What is regency romance? (Think Bridgerton) and what is the allure of this period in history 
• Why does love takes courage? How does being vulnerable help one find courage in love? 
• Romance isn’t really the right name for the genre. It isn’t about “romancing someone”, it is really about love. 
• Her passion for historical accuracy in her writing.  
• Researching her writing – Clyve has maps of Regency London, she has researched color and types of paints used in art, and has even become an expert on historical clothing and corsets. 

Discover Clyve’s world: https://www.clyverose.com/  

Anika Savoy 

Anika Savoy is an award-winning author and attorney who has always felt a supernatural pull. A healthy skeptic, she can’t deny her near-death experience. It made a shift in her life and in her writing.  

An avid explorer and researcher, Anika can discuss the historical elements in her writing as well as the real history she uses. Her research has taken her to dark places, like Blackwell’s Island, a chance encounter with a gentleman who gifted her an amazing cookbook, and into the recesses of her own past. 

The Ghost In Her is the first in Anika’s Ungilded Series. 

Anika (Pronounced: Anika like Anne + ick + a) can discuss themes, research, and her own journey that influences her writing: 

• Involuntary commitment and how she explored Blackwell’s Island (now known as Roosevelt Island) and its deep connection to disability and incarceration 
• Her paranormal journey – she is a psychic and comes from a long line of seers 
• What her NDA taught her 
• Thoughts on reincarnation 
• Visions, prophecy and Catholicism  
• Romance as substance and her writing style 
• Historical romance writing 
• Supernatural elements and weaving a blend of elements into her stories 
• Women overcoming persecution: How truly unprotected women once were 

Find out more about in the press release. 

Deborah Levine Herman

Deborah Levine Herman is a gifted spiritual teacher who believes we are here to raise the vibration of others and to live with love, authenticity, and, most of all, hope. 

She is the author of Spiritual Writing from Inspiration to Publication 2nd Edition, as well as a bestselling author of thirteen other books. She has dedicated her 25-plus year career in publishing to writer education. Through this timely book, Deborah helps writers discover their spiritual writing path. 

Deborah is a former literary agent with a top agency, a publisher, and an intuitive writing coach. She is also the bestselling author of thirteen books and has dedicated her 25-plus year career in publishing to writer education. 

Deborah can discuss: 

• Intuitive readings – Deborah can do readings with authors to see:  
• If they are on the right track with their book 
• Their lessons and “soul path” – she gets a “download” of what lessons they are working on 
• Cults and the dangers of blurring the line between a spiritual path and one that could become dark. She is a cult expert who has appeared in several national documentaries. Have presented with my co-author at Cornell University  
• Energy drawings or neuro drawing – she makes beautiful drawings with one line that connects in the form of a mystical mandala  
• Using energy drawing with meditation 
• Mediumship – may sometimes happen to help others get closure and for healing messages. 
• Energy balancing that brings balance to the chakras and the etheric body to release trauma embedded in the soul record 

Read the latest press release about Deborah Levine Herman. 

E. A. Smiroldo 

What happens when a nuclear engineer who specializes in weapons nonproliferation writes a novel? You get a thinking-person’s thrill-ride cli-fi (climate-change science fiction) novel.  

E. A. Smiroldo uses real science in her debut novel The Silent Count. In it, her expertise blends with real-world inspired drama.  

A native of Washington DC, something many who live in the nation’s capital can’t claim, she’s seen how politics corrupts and skews human perspectives on what’s right and wrong. She understands how close humanity is to the brink of real climate crisis. And she is determined to bring to light how important it is for us to trust and love one another. 

E. A. Smiroldo can discuss: 

• How the premise of her book, The Silent Count, was inspired by a real textbook and valid science  
• Climate change and is it too late? 
• If countries like France can make climate headway, then the US can, too 
• Her book is satire but in the same spirit as movies like Don’t Look Up, is a cautionary tale that we need to think about our choices now 
• As a Washington DC native, she why we need to make sure leaders are doing things for the betterment of the people, not for poll numbers 

Read the press release to discover more. 

Virginia Fox 

A whirlwind release of five books into the United States market – how did bestselling author Virginia Fox do it?  

It all started when she visited a sleepy Colorado town and fell in love with the Rocky Mountains. Virginia Fox will tell you all about how this mystical land of grand mountains and sweeping plains inspired her breathtaking and heartwarming Rocky Mountain Romances book series.  

Author, mother, horse trainer, and part-time healthy food cook, Virginia Fox is a woman who cares deeply. Family, animals, the environment, and friendships are the values she holds dear. The author currently lives with her family, her Australian cattle dog, and two moody tomcats on a small ranch near Zurich. 

Virginia can discuss: 

• How it feels to release a five book series in five months 
• Her time spent in the Rocky Mountains set the stage for a life as a successful writer: The big impression the tight communities and people of Colorado made on her 
• The value of family and friendships and the importance of connection 
• Horses and why they are her mediation 
• The recipes in her books as well as the healthy snacks she makes for her picky daughter 
• The business side of writing and why you shouldn’t forget about it – the importance of being an author-prenuer today 

Read the Press Release for more details. 

Steven Joseph 

As an attorney and negotiator, Steven knows a thing or two about shifting one’s point of view to see things anew. He is wildly creative and an entertaining interview your audience will never forget. 

Snoodles, Kidoodles, Poodles and Lots and Lots of Noodles casts a fresh light on how we handle everything from mask-wearing to distance learning, to the climate and environment. 

Steven Joseph is also a first generation American, son of a Holocaust Survivor, speaker, and 5-time Boston Marathon and 18-time NYC Marathon runner. He is a humorist who likes to marry therapists in his spare time and has spent nearly a lifetime going back and forth between schuckling at the synagogues, and sitting in stillness staring at the blank wall in the Zendo. 

Steven can discuss: 

• Creativity—how looking at something in a different way can help us come to new understanding and create change 
• The environment and what his new book says about how we can unite and have clean air and blue skies 
• Alliteration and the delightful tongue-twisters kids and adults will find when they read aloud, Snoodles, Kidoodles, Poodles and Lots and Lots of Noodles 
• How his crankiness blog inspires his books—one day he realized he had “barely scratched the surface” of where his ideas could take readers 
• Tips and advice for embracing one’s crankiness. 

For more information, read the latest press release. 

~Desiree Duffy

Founder, Black Chateau

Desiree@BlackChateauEnterprises.com

213-444-1958

The Ford government’s opening of Greenbelt land for development will be probed by both Ontario’s auditor general and integrity commissioner

Source: Greenbelt sales to be investigated by Ontario watchdogs | The Narwhal

Who benefits from Canada’s recent extension of copyright? Dead authors? Students? Marginalized writers? If you answered no to all of these, you’d be correct.

At the beginning of January, Canada extended its copyright period by an additional 20 years after an author’s death. Previously, copyright lasted up to 50 years after an author’s death. The extension means that works will not enter the public domain in Canada for 70 years after a creator’s death.

The Supreme Court of Canada has made it clear that “Copyright law does not exist solely for the benefit of authors,” but is meant to balance the rights of users and authors.

The Supreme Court has also stated that while copyright should ensure a just reward as incentive for authors, “increasing public access to and dissemination of artistic and intellectual works, which enrich society and often provide users with the tools and inspiration to generate works of their own, is a primary goal of copyright.”