Celebrate with Atlantic Publishing Group — We have 250 books for that

Wrap your fingers around topics from repairing your credit score to creating your own organic skin care line, because at Atlantic Publishing Group, we have 250 books for that.

The Cake from 250th Book Celebration!

With more than 35 book categories, APG provides readers with the knowledge they need to be successful at whatever skill fits their fancy. Thursday marked the 250^th book release from Atlantic Publishing Group Inc., your No. 1 source for nonfiction books.

The Complete Guide to Planning Your estate in Virginia: A Step-by-Step Plan for Virginia Residents to Protect Your Assets, Limit Your Taxes, and Ensure Your Wishes Are Fulfilled claimed the 250^th book title, receiving a very special spot on the APG book shelf. This title is just one of an entire series for individual states including Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, California, Georgia, Indiana, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Texas.

“I’m very pleased to pause and reflect on the tremendous success and growth of our book publishing program with the release of our 250^th book today,” President of APG Douglas Brown said. “Despite the ongoing problems of a worldwide recession and a multitude of long-term issues affecting media and publishing industries, we have continued to prosper.”

Founded by Douglas and Sherri Brown, APG is celebrating its 20^th anniversary in 2010. Now an active publishing and distribution group, the company began as a cataloguer bounding onto the publishing scene in 2001, producing 16 titles in its first year. In May 2008, APG opened a 25,000-square-foot distribution center in Starke, Fla. The company continued to grow in 2009, releasing 57 new titles. As 2010 is barely underway, more than 20 titles have been sent to press.

“I’m very proud of our tremendous staff, and how we have addressed the challenges we have, and will continue, to face,” Douglas Brown said. “I have every confidence that we will continue to employ our expertise and company culture to keep Atlantic Publishing on the path to a prosperous future in a new age of publishing.”

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Get Back in Touch with the Basics: Add a Splash of Green to Your Lifestyle

Getting your hands dirty can be fun. If you are curious about growing your own vegetables or even making your own wine or cheese, we have a book for that.

In honor of our Back to Basics series we have compiled a list of conferences, conventions, and expos that celebrate a sustainable lifestyle. So, go ahead and adopt a new hobby. Showing off your green thumb has never been easier, or more fun!

“A Celebration of Green Solutions”

The 4^th annual EarthWorks Expo in Denver, CO offers a more than 150 exhibits, expert speakers, 50 workshops, and numerous special programs all related to renewable energy, green building, green transportation, resource conservation and eco-friendly products and services. This expo, May 22-23, offers participants a taste of the green life.

Brush up on some “green”  knowledge with this title from APG:

“Sustaining Our Bounty”

The California Small Farm Conference gathers farmers and their supporters together for on-farm tours, educational workshops and sessions, and peer networking opportunities. This three-day event takes place in San Diego, CA Feb. 28-March 2, 2010.

Learn how to tap into the small farm industry:

“Supporting Sustainable Agriculture”

The Organic Growers School is holding its 17^th annual spring conference March 6 & 7, 2010 at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. More than 1300 farmers, gardeners, chefs, and activists will merge together for a weekend of learning and networking.

Check out this upcoming title for growing your own vegetables:

“A Walk Through a Sustainable Community”

At Green Festival®, a joint project of Global Exchange and Green America, they are celebrating what works for all aspects of the community and what solutions can be found for healthier living. Participants can enjoy more than 125 authors, educators and leaders, how-to workshops, vegetarian cuisine, films, activities for children, and much more. This event takes place in San Francisco, CA April 10-11.

This book from APG shares tips you might find at Green Festival®:

“Back to Basics: Staying True to Our Roots!”

The 30^th annual League of Environmental Educators in Florida conference takes place in Clewiston, FL March 25-28. Participants will get to take field trips, network, experience hands-on workshops, and much more. The conference aims at exploring the natural roots of life and how to educate the community about natural practices.

APG recommends this title:

Returning veterans and their entitled benefits

By: Bruce C. Brown

Bruce C. Brown is serving his 26th year in the U.S. Coast Guard. He is currently the Deputy Chief, Resource & Performance Management Division of the Seventh Coast Guard District, Miami, Florida. Bruce has three sons and is happily married for 24 years to Vonda.

When soldiers and sailors prepare to leave the service or loved ones deal with the loss of a service member, they need something to help them wade through their rights and benefits while they’re dealing with a heavy emotional impact.

In most cases, veterans (or family of a veteran) are not aware of the many benefits they are entitled to. As a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard, it has become my personal crusade to educate the millions of veterans on what they are entitled to. Entitled is the key word. After serving in our armed forces, veterans have earned and are entitled to certain benefits, many of which are obscure or not well advertised. As a member of the armed forces for nearly 26 years, nothing would give me greater pleasure than seeing every serviceman or servicewoman who is preparing to depart the military or any family member whose loved ones have been wounded or killed in action receive their maximum benefits. In these cases, they are entitled to special benefits based on their loved ones service to our country, yet many do not know about these entitlements.

For example, the new Post 9/11 GI Bill can pay for a four-year college degree and a housing allowance for a veteran who served at least 36 months of active duty. This incredible benefit can even be transferred to the veteran’s wife or children. I took advantage of this incredible benefit, and my son is now attending law school at the University of Texas using my VA benefit at no cost to me. He not only gets 100% tuition payments, but a monthly housing stipend and book allowances as well. The fact is that many veterans are not familiar with this and the many other programs out there to help.

Health care is currently a raging topic across the political platform, but the TRICARE program is regionally managed health care program specific for veterans, those currently in active duty and their families and survivors. The key thing to not is that you are not automatically enrolled in TRICARE; veterans must enroll themselves in this program to get these benefits.

Specifically, the War on Terrorism has left many veterans disabled or medically retired. This is a difficult adjustment to make when returning to home soil, and there are benefits established to help these veterans adjust to a new lifestyle. For example, you may qualify for up top $3,100 in monthly benefits as well as travel reimbursement for mileage or public transportation.

In the past, military members would rely on information passed at retirement briefings, through scuttlebutt or by spending hours searching the VA Web site for benefits. That is why I wanted to write Returning From the Way on Terrorism. (Don’t let the title fool you: This is much more than a book for those returning from war.) Now, everything is captured and indexed in one place so you can find exactly what you need and it is packed with factual, practical information.

I hope that my 26 years of military service and the effort I put into writing this book will help other military veterans and their families to ensure they receive the entitlements they deserve.

Click here if you’d like more information about Returning From the War on Terrorism and military benefits.

Atlantic Publishing Group Inc. is your No. 1 source for nonfiction books. We publish nonfiction books, focusing on small business, management, online media, and real estate, as well as parenting, cooking, and traveling. Atlantic Publishing Group is the leader in providing training materials including books, videos, posters, tools, and software to the food service industry. Follow us on Twitter @AtlanticPub.

Let Atlantic help pamper your pet

On Sunday, Cupid’s arrows will be flying, and sweethearts across the world will be celebrating the day of love. But not everyone will be spending the holiday with a loved one of the two-legged variety.

Meredith, a PR intern at Atlantic Publishing Group, will be spending Valentine's Day with her four-legged friends, GiGi & Hercules.

One in five adults worldwide would rather spend Valentine’s Day with their pet than their significant other, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll of more than 24,000 adults from 23 countries were surveyed.

While France ranked last in the poll with 90 percent saying they would rather spend the holiday with a partner than pet — no surprise considering its capital, Paris, is known as the “City of Love” — the U.S. ranked fifth, with 27 percent of Americans saying they would prefer to spend the day of romance with a furry friend.

Would you rather treat Sparky than Sam on Valentine’s Day? Does Fluffy deserve to be spoiled more than Fiona this year? Forget the squeak toys and pass up the catnip. Instead, cook up a savory meal for your pet to express your love. At Atlantic Publishing, we have two books for that.

Atlantic Publishing is giving you all the information you need to deliver a delicious dish for your favorite four-legged friend with its upcoming Pampered Pet Package. These up-coming books include information on your pet’s nutritional needs as well as a variety of recipes for all occasions so you can keep your canine or feline happy and healthy all year long. The two books below will help you get started, but you can visit www.atlantic-pub.com/parenting.htm for a complete list of all our pet-related titles.

Purr-fect Recipes for a Healthy Cat: 101 Natural Cat Food & Treat Recipes to Make Your Cat Happy will provide you with more than 100 healthy recipes to help your cat live the best possible lifestyle. It explains how to recognize the nutritional needs of your cat and why its current cat food may be falling short. Feline dietary experts share their insights so you can slowly and effectively make the change without disrupting your cat’s health. With the helpful information included in this book, preparing the 101 recipes contained within will be a snap — and these treats will leave your cat purr-fectly satisfied.

Canine Cuisine: 101 Natural Dog Food & Treat Recipes to Make Your Dog Healthy and Happy explains how your dog’s diet affects both its nutrition and full-body health. You will learn everything you need to know to keep your dog healthy, its coat shiny, and its energy level peaked. Even special dietary concerns such as allergies, blood sugar concerns, and stomach issues are addressed. The 101 recipes included will guide you through making stews and casseroles, gravies and sauces, savory snacks, tasty treats, holiday and party foods, and ethnic specialties just for your dog that are nutritious and tail-wagging good.

Click for more information about these up-coming books from Atlantic Publishing Group.

Atlantic Publishing Group Inc. is your No. 1 source for nonfiction books. We publish nonfiction books, focusing on small business, management, online media, and real estate, as well as parenting, cooking, and traveling. Atlantic Publishing Group is the leader in providing training materials including books, videos, posters, tools, and software to the food service industry. Follow us on Twitter @AtlanticPub.

The Coolest Places to Go in the Sky

By Meredith Wynn

In honor of our latest book The Complete Guide to Building Tree Houses: For Parents and Adults Who are Kids at Heart, we have scoured the Internet searching for people who have developed some really cool places and activities involving nature’s largest resource. These tree top dwellings from around the world are full of unique qualities that can inspire you to create your own masterpiece in your back yard!

1. The Grand Treehouse Resort of Eureka Springs, Arkansas offers guests luxurious suites located in the trees. Some rooms even have trees growing through them! 

2. Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa has incredible rooms located inside the lush forest on the shores of Lake Buena Vista. These Treehouse Villas can sleep nine people comfortably!

3. Basement Systems Tree House Team offers its 15 employees a lofty workspace — literally!

4. The Yellow Treehouse Restaurant in New Zealand is located 10 meters up in a redwood tree.

5. The Alnwick Garden in the United Kingdome features one of the world’s largest wooden tree houses.

6. The Tree House Restaurant, Bar & Café allows guests to dine inside a canopy in Costa Rica.

7. The Tree House Italian Grill in Austin, Texas invites guests to dine in an      oak tree that is more than 700 years old.

8. Tree Yoga is a form of exercise that uses slings to stretch or hoist themselves onto the tree to perform stretching exercises.

How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Interior Design Business: With Companion CD-ROM

An active real estate market has turned interior design into a boom industry in recent years. Interior designers owning their own firms have a median income of $75,000. Tens of thousands of homes are for sale in the United States today, and many need the help of an interior designer to be sold. Interior designers create the spaces where we work, play, and live every day. Whether it is a private residence, corporate office, retail store, or a zany restaurant, interior designers use their creativity, as well as their knowledge of color principles, architecture, and design, to make it work and look amazing. As a result, they are well compensated for the work.

This guide provides readers with an understanding of the basic concepts of starting their own interior design business. This new book is a comprehensive and detailed study of the business side of interior design. You will learn everything from the initial startup decisions to working with clients. If you are investigating opportunities in this type of business, you should begin by reading this book.

You can build a highly successful business using your talent and understanding of color and architectural features, while providing a much needed service to home owners. If you enjoy working with people and have that creative knack, this may be the perfect business for you. Keep in mind that this business looks easy but, as with any business, looks can be deceiving. This complete manual will arm you with everything you need, including sample business forms; contracts; worksheets and checklists for planning, opening, and running day-to-day operations; setting up your office; and dozens of other valuable, timesaving tools of the trade that no business should be without.

While providing detailed instruction and examples, the author leads you through every detail that will bring success. You will learn how to draw up a winning business plan (the companion CD-ROM has the actual business plan you can use in Microsoft Word™) and about choosing a name; getting Started; the who, what, when, why, and how of interior design; equipment; selling your other services to your present customers; home staging and interior redesign; how to build a portfolio; how to get your first clients; how to attract and bid on new jobs; contracts and billing procedures; advertising; insurance; legal matters; basic cost control systems; market research; getting new clients; tax laws; zoning laws; pricing; leads; sales and marketing techniques; and pricing formulas.

You will learn how to set up computer systems to save time and money, how to hire and keep a qualified professional staff if necessary, how to meet IRS requirements, how to manage and train employees, how to generate high profile public relations and publicity, and how to implement low cost internal marketing ideas. You will learn how to build your business by using low and no cost ways to satisfy customers, as well as increase sales and have customers refer others to you.

You will learn the basics of accounting and bookkeeping procedures, auditing, successful budgeting, and profit planning development, as well as thousands of great tips and useful guidelines. This manual delivers innovative ways to streamline your business. Learn new ways to make your operation run smoother and increase performance. Successful entrepreneurs will appreciate this valuable resource and reference it in their daily activities as a source of ready-to-use forms, Web sites, operating and cost cutting ideas, and mathematical formulas that can easily be applied to their operations. The companion CD-ROM contains all the forms found in the book, as well as a sample business plan you can adapt for your own use.

Sleep: Not in the forecast for first-time fathers

By: Dan Peterson

Sleep: It’s the most important advice I can offer to a father-to-be.

Dan Peterson is a wildlife biologist living in Ocala, Florida. He and his wife, Melissa, will celebrate their three-year anniversary this year. Their first daughter, Delaney, was born in May 2009.

Sleep now while you can. Go to bed early. Sleep in. Once the baby comes, sleep deprivation will be something you will fully understand. Unfortunately, enjoying a restful night’s sleep may become impossible even before the baby arrives. Toward the end of your partner’s pregnancy, she’s likely to be too uncomfortable to sleep well. Her back will hurt, the baby will kick her in the ribs, and she’ll have to pee — a lot. My best advice is if your partner can’t sleep, you should be supportive. Make her a snack, rub her back, and whatever you do, do not bury your head under the pillows and ignore her. She’ll make you regret it in the morning — trust me.

After the baby is born, your sleeping patterns will never be the same. Expect to be up every two to three hours for the first three to four months, and even though you will not always be awake for long periods of time, these short interruptions will really mess up your sleep. Remember to stay calm and stay positive — especially with your partner. Lack of sleep will make you very irritable, and you may say things you later regret.  Remember to count to three and breathe before you say or do anything you may not really mean. This is a stressful time for both of you, and yelling or saying unkind words will not make anything easier. It will be a frustrating first few months — and perhaps a frustrating first year — and the only way to get through it is by working together and loving each other.

Be prepared to take on more chores around the house. Adding a baby to your life will take a lot of time and work. To compensate for this, both of you will have to put in extra effort to keep your home orderly and clean. Keeping a clean house is one way to keep your sanity. Watching bills and laundry pile up will only add to the amount of stress you will undoubtedly experience. If your partner usually pays the bills, sit with her before the baby comes so you can help out if she is too tired to handle this the first month after the baby is born. If you usually only wash your own clothes, wash hers too. Remember: Don’t wash her white clothes with her red sweater. This will not turn out well.

When leaving the house — even if you are only going to be gone for a few hours — be prepared for the journey to and from the car to take as long as the journey itself. With all the additional supplies and getting your new baby in and out of the car seat, getting ready to go and packing it all up will take some time. Even though you may not think all of the supplies are necessary, if your partner does, your best bet is not to argue and go along with her. She usually knows best, anyway.

My daughter is 9 months old now, and her personality is really starting to come through. Every day, she learns something new and makes us laugh while she performs her new tricks. She is still a lot of work — but in different ways. Sleep is a little easier – although she is teething now and last night I got a total of three hours of sleep — but she is a lot harder to keep happy while awake. The longer she has been with us, the more normal this new life has become, sleep deprivation and all. Is it worth it? You would be hard pressed to find a new father who would tell you “no.” My daughter, like all children, has brought so much laughter and love into our home that I wouldn’t have it any other way; although, I do wish she would learn to sleep past 6 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Good luck, and remember to thank your partner. Not only for carrying your baby for nine months and then giving birth, but for understanding that adjusting to this new life is just as hard for you as it is for her.

Need more advice? Check out Atlantic Publishing’s new book, I’m Going to be a Dad: Now What? Everything You Need to Know About First-time Fatherhood.

Atlantic Publishing Group Inc. is your No. 1 source for nonfiction books. We publish nonfiction books, focusing on small business, management, online media, and real estate, as well as parenting, cooking, and traveling. Atlantic Publishing Group is the leader in providing training materials including books, videos, posters, tools, and software to the food service industry. Follow us on Twitter @AtlanticPub.

Author’s Corner: Craig Baird Dishes on Future Fatherhood

Writing about being a father brought forward plenty of challenges. Undeterred, I decided to learn as much about being a father as I could possibly learn. With some help from a series of books provided by Atlantic, and a lot of Internet research, I was able to begin putting together a meshwork of what it meant to be a father. There was plenty to learn.

Through my research for the book, the first thing I learned about was pregnancy. Just like everyone, I knew the general process of pregnancy but to learn about the minute details that come into play that a husband and future father needs to think about? Let’s just say I was quite surprised. There are the many trips to the doctor, the need for Lamaze, the complications that can arise and most importantly, what a future mother goes through with pregnancy. I know now that a husband has to be there for their spouse to help with their spouse’s emotions and needs. That means when the time comes for me, I will be ready for the challenge.

There has been plenty of comedy done about men on the day their child is born, worrying about the birth and panicking while the mother calmly prepares for labor. Again, through research for this book, I learned not only about the phases of labor, but what one needs to have ready 24 hours a day for when the labor begins.

Of course, pregnancy and labor was only the first third of the book, and there was plenty more for me to learn about being a father, or a future father in my case. Taking care of a puppy is nothing compared to the effort it takes to take care of a baby. For the first few months, there is very little sleep and a lot of worry about how to be a father. There is playing with the baby and finding ways to entertain the baby while helping fuel the development of their mind and personality. As the baby ages, there are the worries about illness and even knowing what I know now, I know I will be rushing to the hospital at the first sneeze from the baby. (Babies sneeze: It’s nothing to worry about.)

There is a lot to know about being a father, and that may deter some fathers but if I took one thing away from writing this book, it is this: Being a father is a joy. With every worry over a single sneeze and wonder about the growing fetus in your partner’s belly, there is the joy of playing with a new baby and helping to forge a new life into this world. There is the happiness that comes from your baby’s first steps, their first words and their smile. Like seeing my dog’s tail wag even after I have had a hard day, seeing a baby’s smile has a way of making a father smile no matter what happened during their day.

Writing this book I now know that there is much more responsibility in being a father than I ever thought possible, but much more happiness as well.

Craig Baird is a writer based out of rural Canada, where he lives on a ranch with his wife and dogs. He has published several books and short stories, as well as written for magazines and newspapers across Canada. When he is not writing, he spends his time traveling the country and hiking in the outdoors with his wife, Layla. Follow him on Twitter @CraigBaird.

Are you going to be a new dad? Check out Craig Baird’s new book, I’m Going to be a Dad: Now What? Everything You Need to Know About First-time Fatherhood.

Atlantic Publishing Group Inc. is your No. 1 source for nonfiction books. We publish nonfiction books, focusing on small business, management, online media, and real estate, as well as parenting, cooking, and traveling. Atlantic Publishing Group is the leader in providing training materials including books, videos, posters, tools, and software to the food service industry. Follow us on Twitter @AtlanticPub.