award-winning social issues columnist, author of 16 books, university professor of journalism
<p>Maria hits the streets of New York in search of the love denied by her alcoholic father and indifferent mother. When Sergio, a dark, worldly stranger, lures her with diamonds, brand-name clothing, and undivided attention, Maria sees a way out of her dysfunctional home. Seduced by Sergio’s charm and the promise of wealth and recognition, Maria ignores her panicked intuition and wanders into his lair.<br /><br />But in a world where ambition and deception go hand in hand, where dreams are shattered and innocence crushed, Maria discovers she’s trapped in a hell much worse than the one she left. And now, there is no escape. The price for betrayal is blood.<br /><br />Destiny intervenes when Maria meets Christian, a handsome law student haunted by a dark family secret. With her life at risk and time running out, will Maria find the strength to save herself and convince Christian to go against all reason and risk everything to help her?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in -.5in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"></span></p><p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><strong><span style="font-size:12.5pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span> </span></span></strong><span style="font-size:12.5pt;color:#0000FF;font-family:'Times New Roman';">“Outrageous and irreverent, but always on target. Better than most of what passes as commentary in the daily press.” </span><em><span style="color:#0000FF;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><font size="3">—Donald Bird, professor and former chair, journalism, Long Island University</font></span></em></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:12.5pt;color:#0000FF;font-family:Verdana;"></span></p><p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:12.5pt;color:#339966;font-family:'Times New Roman';">“Insightful, readable and tightly written.” </span><span style="color:#339966;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><font size="3">—<em>R. Thomas Berner, professor emeritus and former journalism head, Penn State</em></font></span></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:12.5pt;font-family:Verdana;"></span></p><p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:12.5pt;color:#993366;font-family:'Times New Roman';">“Walter Brasch is both refreshingly irreverent and irreverently fresh. Little escapes his attention. This is a book about the media, politics, government, war, political incorrectness, religion, the injustice system, the health industry and other corporations, Miss America and, yes, sex and beer. He ties these subjects together under a double-barreled heading of the foibles and strengths of American society. His approach is both biting criticism and healthy respect, both creative imagination and deep understanding. Most of all, <em>Sex and the Single Beer Can </em>is a plea for a better media and a better place in which to live. . . . Because it is broad in its scope, it’s also suitable for a variety of journalism/mass communication classes either as a primary or secondary text. It could add important perspectives to classes in ethics, media management, media economics, media and society, media criticism and a variety of other subjects of journalistic interest.” </span><font size="3"><span>—<em>Ralph Izard, former associate dean, Manship School of Journalism, Louisiana State University; professor emeritus and former director, Scripps School of Journalism, The Ohio University<br /></em></span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Verdana;"><font color="#000000"><span> </span><span> </span></font></span></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:12.5pt;color:#FF0000;font-family:'Times New Roman';">“Effective and powerful. In Dave Barryesque fashion, Brasch weaves sights, sounds, feelings, and attitudes into clever, playful, entertaining essays. Brasch provides an excellent guide for students trying to learn the art of writing. For a teacher, this collection offers models of tone, dialogue, description, narrative voice, and point of view.”—<em> Beverley Pitts, president, University of Indianapolis; forrmer provost and professor of journalism, Ball State University</em></span></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><br /></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><strong><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;"></span></strong></p><p><br /> </p>