Angelina Jolie is so busy with kids and career that she only got the chance to be alone when she is in the shower.She said, “I wake up. I’ve got four kids in bed with me and Brad is on the phone and with the twins.”I just don’t get any solitude - most people with kids don’t. Sometimes you get a bath or a shower but usually somebody is trying to get in. You get used to it.”Source

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page where we share what reads we have received in our mailboxes the previous week.

Here are the goodies that arrived for me last week:

The Partnership by Steven J. Harper (publicist contact)

Debut novel from the author of the true-crime award winner Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster’s Story, The Partnership opens a window into a secret world. A mysterious death, illicit romantic liaisons, courtroom drama, and crises of personal conscience frame a titanic struggle at the nation’s most lucrative law firm. A twenty-first-century legal thriller with a twist, The Partnership reveals what happens to rich and powerful insiders as the business school mentality extends its tentacles across a once-noble profession. The themes resonate; The Bonfire of the Vanities still burns.

Albert Knight has reached the pinnacle of power as one of the “magnificent seven”-leaders of the international legal powerhouse Michelman…

Pop star Britney Spears is making secret phone calls to ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib.The singer, who dated the British photographer for about three months, has contacted her ex-love in recent weeks.”She says she’s not living the life she wants. She really wants to get back together with Adnan,” femalefirst quoted a source as saying.If she has made contact with her ex-love, it goes against the restraining order placed upon Ghalib and her former manager Sam Lutfi in January 2009, after the duo were allegedly found plotting to take over her affairs.Spears has been dating her former manager Jason Trawick, 38, since March 2009.

Angelina Jolie wants Jennifer Aniston to stay far from her kids. She is angry that her partner Brad Pitt still contact his ex wife Jennifer Aniston.One source said, “Angie told Brad that it was one thing for him to hang out with ‘That woman’ “but it would be quite another if he let her see the children.“The last thing she wants is Jen trying to act like some kind of surrogate mother to her six kids. She cannot imagine anything more distressing — and at the same time she does not want any of them getting confused about what is happening to their family.“Angie doesn’t want the kids — and particularly the ones who are too young to understand, like 4-year-old Shiloh — why Brad is spending time with another woman.“As usual, Brad explained to her that his friendship with Jen is totally innocent — and all about business. She…

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page where we share what reads we have received in our mailboxes the previous week.

Here are the goodies that arrived for me last week:

The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson (publicist contact)

Water for Elephants meets Geek Love in this riveting first novel, an enchanting love story set in P. T. Barnum’s American Museum in 1865 New York City

Bartholomew Fortuno, the World’s Thinnest Man, believes that his unusual body is a gift. Hired by none other than P. T. Barnum to work at his spectacular American Museum—a modern marvel of macabre displays, breathtaking theatrical performances, and live shows by Barnum’s cast of freaks and oddities—Fortuno has reached the pinnacle of his career. But after a decade of constant work, he finds his sense of self, and his contentment within the walls of the museum, flagging. When a…

I was recently contacted by Jason at the CSN Stores with a fabulous opportunity to review an item of my choice from their more than 200 stores.  If you’re not familiar with CSN, be prepared to be amazed!  As mentioned, they have more than 200 stores and over a million products.  Yes, that was a million. 

So I spent hours - - literal hours - - browsing through their many stores, probably resembling Augustus Gloop upon first seeing that choco river in Willy Wonka’s factory.  Need kitchenware?  Check!  Pet items?  Check!  Outdoor decor?  Check!  Recessed lighting?  Check! Honestly, I think they have everything, including the proverbial kitchen sink. 

I wanted to select an item that would tie in with my blog and therefore, reading.  I also wanted an item that would be easy to pack and transport, as we will be moving cross country by August.  So after much thought,…

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page where we share what reads we have received in our mailboxes the previous week.

Here are the goodies that arrived for me last week:

Psychic: My Life in Two Worlds by Sylvia Browne (publicist contact)

“At the age of seventy-three, New York Times bestselling author Sylvia Browne is ready to tell the whole story of her extraordinary life. In Psychic, we meet the woman behind the public figure: from the child receiving her first visits from the spirit world to the teenager doubting her own sanity; from the new mother living through staggering highs and lows to the burgeoning celebrity, and, ultimately, the successful, happily married woman she is today. Filled with never-before-told stories and otherworldly encounters, Psychic is a riveting account of how Sylvia Shoemaker, a traditional girl from Missouri, became world-famous psychic Sylvia Browne.

Nothing is off-limits….

Today I am pleased to welcome author Pamela Samuels Young, author of the fantastic thriller Buying Time,  to Psychotic State.  Welcome, Pamela!

Digging Out of a Writing Slump by Pamela Samuels Young

You’ve been working on your novel for months, maybe even years, and lately you feel more discouraged than ever. Perhaps it’s the disappointment of not having finished the book yet. Maybe you don’t know where to go next with your story. Or it’s possible that you’re just physically and emotional drained from all the time and effort you’ve poured into this dream. I’ve been there!

Occasionally falling into a writing slump isn’t reason for alarm. What’s important is that you don’t stay there too long. Here are five tips for re-energizing yourself when you feel like giving up.

â–  Read Inspirational Stories About Writing and Writers

Take a writing break and read about successful writers who weathered the storm. Here are two excellent books to…