From The Publisher Ed Bertha April 2009

From The Publisher April 2009

Thu, Apr 23, 2009

From The Publisher Ed Bertha.

Passion, it was on display when we visited The Ringling Circus Museum for April’s feature story on the Wisconsin. Striking in size, the Wisconsin was John Ringling’s version of today’s private jet. Without the efforts of Howard Tibbals, who found and researched the rail car, and railroad car historian David Duncan, you could not take a step back in time and pretend you are John Ringling crossing the country. Accurately recreating the railcar as it was in the early 1900’s is a painstaking process, yet both Tibbals and Duncan relish in it. Whether it is fabricating a replica of the original stove, peeling back seven layers of paint or detailing the gold gilding no effort was spared. The last step in completing the project is carpeting the Pullman car. In keeping true to the nature of the restoration the duo are looking to reweave the 60 square yards of the original Pullman Wilton carpet the car contains. At a cost of $40,000 this is an opportunity for a rail aficionado or philanthropist to put their name on the project.

Passion is also evident with my daughter, Charlotte, and her continuing efforts in becoming a writer. Known on stage and at the opera as Mimi, she has completed a 500 page novel, Raptures Flaw. We are on the road to publishing her work and will introduce you to Mimi in the April edition.

Walton Beacham, Mimi’s editor remarks “Rapture’s Flaw is a remarkable achievement for any novelist, but especially for a fourteen year old, who surely is a prodigy. Set in contemporary Newport, Virginia, its protagonist is a young woman who was spared death in a car crash in which her mother died. On her journey to accepting why her mother was killed, she encounters a group of possessed teens, her classmates at Newport High, who either want to protect her or draw her into their cult. Each page-turner chapter reveals more about her attraction and repulsion of death. Almost medieval in its questioning of body and spirit, Rapture’s Flaw develops a character who is wise but vulnerable to the emotions of a young woman searching for herself in a world that is symbolically mysterious and foreboding. This compelling story rewards readers with rare insights into the teenage mind and heart; it is also an engaging, fun mystery.”

In closing, passion is also evident at Innovative Agent Services. Tina Darling and her team manage REAL Magazine’s distribution and event promotion. Be it standing room only at March’s networking event at The Founders Club or turning around REAL’s magazine mailing in a single day, Innovative Agent Services makes it happen. Things run so smoothly that at times I forget Tina and her team are there. Thanks Tina for your team’s dedication to service!

Ed Bertha
April 2009