Press Release #1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2007
Contact: Susan J. Hetrick
Susan@advicefromtheblender.com
Website: www.advicefromtheblender.com

 Blended Families Need to Get Over The Brady Bunch

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - The statistics aren’t pretty: almost 70 percent of remarriages with children end in divorce, most remarriages do not last five years, and it can take up to 10 years for a stepfamily to blend! Is there a happy middle ground; something between The Brady Bunch and these dire predictions?

Author Susan J. Hetrick, says there is. Her latest book, Advice from the Blender: What to know before you blend so nobody gets creamed (ISBN 978-1-60266-569-9) distills eight key ingredients for blending a family successfully. Hetrick shows readers how their blended family can succeed and how to manage such challenges as: We’ll-live-happily-ever-after-Syndrome, choosing to love children who wish you were dead, bonding as a family without resorting to duct tape, and much more.

Hetrick says, “With both the Christian and secular divorce rate for remarriages hovering at around 70 percent, it seems that people in blending families need some help and encouragement in order to stop the recidivistic divorce rate.”

Hetrick and her husband began blending their family while she was in graduate school. During that time, they were faced with many of the issues presented in the book. “I know first-hand the struggles that blending families go through,” she explains, “and I know how difficult it is to face the challenges. However, I also know which tools make it work. I feel called to share that with others through this book, combining our own experience with those of other blending families from around the country.”

Susan J. Hetrick lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband David and their four children. Susan earned her M.Div. in Counseling and Family Ministry from Phoenix Seminary.

Xulon Press, based in Longwood, Florida, is the publisher of Advice from the Blender. Part of Salem Communications Corporation, Xulon Press is the world’s largest Christian publisher, with more than 3,900 titles published to date.

Retailers may order Advice from the Blender through Ingram Book Company and/or Spring Arbor Book Distributors. Individuals can purchase the book at Christian bookstores, or order directly online at www.advicefromtheblender.com.

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Press Release #2

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2008
Contact: Susan J. Hetrick
Contact: Susan@advicefromtheblender.com
Website: www.advicefromtheblender.com

 Book nominated for two national awards

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Susan J. Hetrick’s latest book, Advice from the Blender: What to know before you blend so nobody gets creamed (ISBN 978-1-60266-569-9; Xulon Press, 2007) was recently nominated for a National Indie Excellence 2008 Book Award, in the categories of Best New Non-Fiction, and Parenting and Family, as well as a 2008 National Best Books Award in the category of Parenting and Family.

Advice from the Blender distills eight key ingredients for “blending” a family successfully. Hetrick shows readers how their blended family (or stepfamily) can succeed and how to:  

• Overcome we’ll-live-happily-ever-after-Syndrome,
• Choose to love children who wish you were dead,
• Bond as a family without resorting to duct tape, and much more.  

Hetrick and her husband began blending their family while she was in graduate school. “I know first-hand the struggles that blending families go through,” she explains, “and I know how difficult it is to face the challenges. However, I also know which tools make it work. I feel called to share that with others through this book, combining our own experience with those of other blending families from around the country.”

Regarding the nominations for the Book Awards Hetrick says, “I am absolutely thrilled with the nominations! To have my writing recognized on the national level is quite an honor.”

Susan J. Hetrick lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband David and their four teenage children. Susan earned her M.Div. in Counseling and Family Ministry from Phoenix Seminary.

The National Indie Excellence Book Awards recognize preeminent books published by Independent Publishers, Small Presses, and Self-Published authors each year. The competition is judged by an independent panel of experts from all aspects of the publishing industry, and is sponsored by Smarketing, LLC, based in Beverly Hills, California. Winners of the 2008 award will be announced at the Book Expo America Convention in Los Angeles, California, in June 2008.

Now in its fifth year, the National Best Books Awards is one of the largest literary competitions in the United States, recognizing excellence in the publishing industry. Sponsored by JPX Media and USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, the National Best Books Awards are based in Los Angeles, California. This year’s winners will be announced in September 2008.

Retailers may order Advice from the Blender through Ingram Book Company and/or Spring Arbor Book Distributors. Individuals may purchase Advice from the Blender at Christian bookstores; Amazon.com, Target.com, and Barnes & Noble.com online bookstores. Autographed copies can be ordered online at www.advicefromtheblender.com.

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