Charmed Monday Minute, April 2

Happy April, everyone, and welcome to new readers...

I’m in the midst of preparing for the launch of the new book, Fat, Broke & Lonely No More, and I’ll let you know as developments, well, develop! (Next week there’ll be a “Nibble of the Week” and I’ll put the Introduction in the newsletter.)

Thanks to everyone who volunteered to help in getting the word out on the book. My assistant Joya is still accepting names of people who are willing to help in large and small ways (inviting me to their town and hosting a party [that’s really large!], putting something on their website or in their blog, passing out postcards about the book, etc.). If you’d like to be one of these “godparents to a book” please email Joya at charmedassistant@aol.com.

Lots of exciting things have been happening for me. I went to a documentary, Czech Dream, about the creation of a fictional hypermart in Czech Republic, at the Independent Film Center in Greenwich Village. Michael Moore was to be there to provide some commentary. Some of you know that Mr. Moore loved my book Fit from Within and wrote a glowing review of it when he was celebrity book reviewer one month for O, the Oprah Magazine. Well, on my way to the concession stand to be a good wife and get William his de rigeur Diet-Coke-for-the-movie, there was Michael Moore in the theater lobby. I introduced myself and he said, “I can’t believe I’m meeting you: I keep your book by my bed! And look how well I’m doing” (and he is: he’s lost lots and lots of weight since the last time I saw him on TV). It was such a surreal experience. I was the one who couldn’t believe I was meeting him, and he was saying all these nice things. Anyway, it was a wonderful meeting. His next film is called Sicko, an expose on health care in America.



Dr. Neal Barnard (www.pcrm.org) was in New York last week on tour with his latest book, Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs. It’s an exciting approach to the prevention---and in many cases, reversal---of Type II diabetes. And it’s an easy-to-follow program. Dr. Barnard is so dedicated. He’s traipsing around the country going to some 40 cities to get the word out. And he was gracious enough to have dinner after his signing with William and me at Counter, a lovely (albeit noisy) East Village eatery, vegetarian and mostly vegan, with the largest organic wines and spirits menu in the city. (As a nondrinker, I didn’t know there were organic spirits. Life is filled with learning experiences!)

And a major high point since last week was shooting a short film for Fat, Broke & Lonely No More. We shot in my apartment from 10 to 6:30, although the actual film will only be 2 to 3 minutes long. It will be ready mid-April and we’ll put it on YouTube, YahooMovies, etc., on my site, maybe the HarperCollins site, and if you would like to post it on your website or blog, just let Joya know. In addition (if it’s good: please, God, may it be good...) it will go out in the press packages and I’ll show it when I do book signings. The format is a workshop with five attendees (one is my daughter Adair). I so have my fingers crossed that it will be a dandy little movie with a couple of truly helpful tips for people.

I know there are other things to cover in this “Minute” since Joya has been on vacation and things have piled up, so I’ll close this part and wish you all that between now and next Monday, you’ll have a whole list of blessings to add up.

-- Victoria

If you're near St. Charles, Illinois... A reader in this western suburb of the Windy City is looking for other women in her area for the possibility of forming a study group around my books and similar topics. If that sounds good to you, email Cindy at ml@gemsoft.us. Where I’ll be: Speaking of geography, we’re just in the beginning stages of booking cities for the Fat, Broke & Lonely tour, but here are some places and dates scheduled so far: April 14 – New York City, “Law of Attraction” seminar, ghislainemahler.com May 7 – Fargo, ND – First Lady’s Women’s Health Summit, www.firstlady.state.nd.us, 800-773-7583 May 10 – Merrillville, IN – Speaking of Women’s Health, www.speakingofwomenshealth.com June 9 – Portland, OR, 23rd St. Books, 7:30 p.m., 503-224-5097 June 10 – Lake Oswego, OR – Unity World Healing Center, Sunday service, www.worldhealing.org, 503-697-9765 June 16 – Marin County, CA – Book Passage, 4 p.m., 415-927-0960 June 17 – Unity of Palo Alto, Sunday service, www.unitypaloalto.org, 650-494-7222 June 18 – San Francisco, The Learning Annex, 6:45-9:30, www.learningannex.com, 415-788-5500 June 20 – Newport Beach, CA, professional women’s group, email joyceelaine1@cox.net for details July 1 – New York City, Unity of New York, Sunday service, www.unityofnewyork.org, 212-560-0756 July 14-15 – Shreveport, LA, Pulpwood Queens International Book Club Author Extravaganza, www.beautyandthebook.com August 17-18 – Neversink, NY, New Age Health Spa, www.newagehealthspa.com, 800-682-4348 September 30 – Providence, RI, Community Church of Providence, Sunday service, 401-751-9328

Healthy eating tip of the week: If you really want it, have it. I’m not talking about a box of Oreos with some Twinkies on the side, but if you really want the pasta instead of the salmon, the sautéed broccoli instead of the steamed stuff, the latte instead of the black coffee (as long as the latte isn’t venti), enjoy. The reason: when you really want something, you’ll get satisfaction from the first taste. Maybe you won’t even need to finish it, but even if you do, it will hit the spot and you’ll go on to other, non-edible adventures. If you try to talk yourself out of what you want and substitute what you think you “should” have, you’ll eat every molecule of it trying to get a sense of satiety that just won’t come. And you may end up going for the Oreos and the Twinkies. A movie to watch and a fun book to read: My colleague Daylle Deanna Schwartz (you may know her from her Oprah-featured book All Men Are Jerks Until Proven Otherwise – don’t worry, guys, it’s just an in-your-face title...’seems we all have one...) has a new book out that every single woman (and many not-single women who just want to understand men better) will want to read: Straight Talk with Gay Guys: What Girlfriends Can’t Tell You and Straight Men Won’t. In it, she interviews 33 savvy and articulate gay men to get the scoop on what men are really about. And Daylle and her team have made a delightful short movie for YouTube. Watch it here.

COUNTDOWN TO VICTORIA'S NEW, 10th, and (we're hearing!) BEST BOOK EVER, Fat, Broke & Lonely No More: Your Personal Solution to Overeating, Overspending, and Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places coming from HarperOne on June 1, 2007 ...8 weeks and 4 days! If you’d like to pre-order online, here are links to the big guys: Amazon Barnes & Noble Or, call your favorite independent bookstore to reserve your copy! (To find an independent bookstore in your area, you can search on booksense.com here.)

Happy week, all!

My very best,

Victoria Moran