'Poppa Too'

Author Shares Painful True Story of His Fight for His Daughter

After five court appearances, Michael Anthony was allowed to enjoy joint custody of his only child, Amanda. For the next four years he became the part time parent, able to see her on the days awarded by the judge. In that time he built a wonderful, positive relationship with his daughter. His girlfriend - her mother - continued to ignore the judgments. He returned to Louisiana from a job in Florida only to discover that she had packed up, moved away, and taken Amanda with her.

In his new book, "Poppa Too" (published by AuthorHouse - http://www.authorhouse.com), Anthony reveals the heartbreaking true story of his daughter's abduction by her mother, an act that is unlawful yet has left him legally unable to do anything.

"Obeying all the orders given by the court was to no avail," Anthony writes.
Much of the documented evidence wasn't reviewed and seemed to be a waste of time. Orders from five court appearances meant nothing. Having to survive and endure this sort of helplessness is a very difficult thing to do. It wasn't until after Amanda was taken that I was able to gather evidence and do the research that exposed my dire situation.
When local authorities refused to help him recover his daughter, Anthony conducted his own investigation. Even after he had proof of where his child was, detectives did not assist. For Anthony, this opened his eyes to a world of harsh realities for men battling the court system for their children:
Some aren't aware of the oppression one must endure when drawn into a vicious child custody battle where domestic decisions are made by one person, a judge. In a malicious litigation, the amount of men who must spend large sums of money, have their reputations slandered, are assumed guilty and receive harsher punishments far outnumber the women. There are no battered men's shelters, no financial assistance of any kind and no government funded agencies to assist him. In most cases, it's the child who will lose his or her right to establish a healthy relationship with one or both of their parents. Kids have feelings too and don't deserve this kind of maltreatment.
"People should know that this deprivation can happen to anybody," writes Anthony. "When there's no justification, losing your child to a vengeful spouse or the faulty decisions of a family court is inhumanity at its best."

"This story is not about what can happen," he states, "it's about what will happen to you when you do not recognize the signs and take the necessary precautions to avoid losing your child. Hopefully my work will help to prevent a tragedy like this from happening to anyone."

'Flower of My Hope'

Spanish Poems Tell Story of a Husband's Love for His Wife and His Agony at Her Passing

The new collection of poetry from the late Lorenzo Santiago Padilla, "Flor de mi esperanza: historia de un amor en versos" ("Flower of my hope: a story of love in verse") (published by AuthorHouse - http://www.authorhouse.com), is a life-affirming, yet heartbreaking, recollection of a husband's love for his wife and the agony caused by her passing.

Written entirely in Spanish, this posthumous publication of Lorenzo's romantic, lyrical poems speaks to a sublime love that gives way to feelings of solitude after the death of his wife, Flor.

Combining a simple style with a melodious, slow rhythm, these poems revisit the memories of two people in love, from their first date onward. As Lorenzo brings himself to reflect on Flor's death, he comes to a powerful conclusion: Love should be cherished purely and truly while it lasts because separation is unavoidable.

Consider this passage from "Sigo sonando y amando" ("I continue dreaming and loving"):
Pido perdon a mi Dios,
pido clemencia a mi amada,
Y al pensar en la escalada,
para llegar a su hogar,
prometo junto a ella estar,
cuando ya no hayan palabras ...

I ask forgiveness from my God,
I ask mercy for the one I love,
and when I think about the climb,
to come to her home,
I promise to be with her,
when there are no more words ... Lorenzo Santiago Padilla was born in Patillas, Puerto Rico. He dedicated his life to serving others as a politician and as a cooperative and community leader.

"Flor de mi esperanza," his first book, is being published by his daughter, Aida, who plans on publishing more of his writings. "Flor de mi esperanza" does not include English translations.

Free Web Site to Authors Who Start the Publishing Process in February

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Feb. 5, 2008 -- AuthorHouse(R) (http://www.authorhouse.com/) is again offering a free author Web site (http://tinyurl.com/29d7dv) to authors who enter an agreement to publish a book (http://www.authorhouse.com/ContactUs/Publish.aspx) with AuthorHouse in February.

"We've continued this offer because it was extremely popular with our authors in January," said Keith Ogorek, AuthorHouse marketing director. "Everyone has a book in them and now is the time to get that manuscript finished and put your voice in print."

The free author Web site includes tools for providing real-time news and events about the featured book, content control features like active blog posting, and a portal where readers can purchase and review the book. Additionally, AuthorHouse hosts the site for free.

"We've heard from many of our authors that their author Web site is one of their most effective marketing tools," said Ogorek. "In reality, a Web site isn't a luxury anymore; it's a necessity for effectively marketing your book."

AuthorHouse also is providing authors who choose the Standard Paperback Publishing option 20 free paperback copies of their completed book. Additional special offers are available to authors who want to self-publish (http://www.authorhouse.com/GetPublished/FAQ.aspx) children's books and poetry books.

About AuthorHouse

Headquartered in Bloomington, Ind., AuthorHouse is the leading provider of publishing and marketing services for authors around the globe, last year publishing one out of every 30 titles in the U.S. Since its founding in 1997, AuthorHouse has served the publishing needs of more than 30,000 authors and produced nearly 50,000 titles. AuthorHouse titles are available at more than 25,000 retail outlets worldwide, including Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. For more information, please visit www.authorhouse.com. AuthorHouse is a brand of Author Solutions, Inc. (http://authorsolutions.com/).