Fresh from the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, Amy Asbury is at a crossroads. The grunge scene took over and left her hair band crowd in the dust. Where to go? What to do? It was as if a three year long party had just been broken up and no one remembered where they lived. Everyone was left with an identity crisis. Those who turned to drugs found themselves spinning out of control, especially Amy's friend Birdie. The Sunset Strip girls migrated into the mainstream L.A. club scene and took over the V.I.P. rooms. Read about lots of run-ins with 1990's stars like Anna Nicole Smith, Pamela Anderson, and many others. What happened inside the clubs? Read about the insane nights of young twenty-somethings on the loose in Los Angeles. When Amy became overwhelmed by L.A., she headed for Aspen, Colorado. Read about the total chaos inside the closed doors of Aspen ski lodges, where cocaine was king. The death of a close friend caused her to sink into an ugly depression. Will she turn to drugs to comfort herself? Confetti Covered Quicksand is a true story of a girl in Los Angeles, trying to survive on her looks and struggling with her identity. It is about using drugs and alcohol to cover up pain and humiliation. Can she find happiness in the emptiest, numbest city in the world?

Confetti Covered Quicksand

Biographies & Memoirs

Asbury, Amy

Community & Culture

Estep & Fitzgerald Literary Publishing

Tales From the Pantry: Random Rants &amp; Musings of a Stay-at-Home Mom is a collection of witty, funny, and sometimes gut-wrenching stories told by a 40-something mother of two small children. Based upon the popular blog 'Don't Make Me Count to Three!', Shari Owen Brown uses humor to navigate the daily slings and arrows of motherhood. Many parents can relate to the often unspoken challenges of child rearing. And for those who have yet to have children...consider yourself warned! Shari found herself the last of her friends to have children and was then SHOCKED to discover all of the lies she had been told! Why hadn't anybody mentioned these things before?!! It was like a secret club of parents who dared not tell the truth or else none of their friends would have children, leaving them all alone in their own private nightmare! Shari blows the lid off of these unspoken challenges &amp; discusses daily life in a funny and entertaining way that still manages to speak the truth. It is a great outlet for parents to laugh at themselves through Shari, and realize that they are not alone or crazy (well, maybe just a little!) for feeling the way that they do.

Tales From the Pantry: Random Rants & Musings of a Stay-at-Home Mom

Humor & Entertainment

Brown, Shari Owen

Humor

Pop some pink bubblegum and turn up the boom box: It's time to visit the 1980's. Crazy cartoons, wacky food, crackhead-like candy and the most important decision of a pre-teen's life: new wave or heavy metal? Jelly shoes or checkerboard Vans? Growing up in California's San Fernando Valley in the 80's was chock full of sunshine and skateboards, but author Amy Asbury takes us through the lesser known issues such as creepy pervs in cars and overly sultry sixth graders. Amongst these lively essays are the questions of 80's pop culture: Why did Simon LeBon's sexy stare work straight through the TV? Why did Cabbage Patch Kids start to run out of good names like Jennifer and start coming out with names like Bertha and Edna? Why did we love camel-toe inducing designer jeans? Why did the bass of "Billie Jean" make us stop in our tracks like a dog hearing a silent whistle? Why did a boy's entire social life depend solely on his kickball skills? Read about fights with neighborhood kids, taking down bullies and trying to fit in with the cool chicks. Slumber party games, crushes, scary teachers, rivals, finding one's talent (double joints, rolling tongue or wonky eye tricks), looking at boobs in the Sears catalog and forays into capitalism by way of lopsided homemade carnivals and melty sno-cone stands. Jump into the salty waves at Zuma beach, eat your 30-scooped zoo sundae at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor, and get yourself down to the Northridge mall: It's time to dive into the world of the Valley Girl.

Valley Girl: Childhood in the 80's

Memoirs

Mosh pits, Venice Beach, raves, mind-blowing concerts, snowboarding, hipster record stores...This was the 90's for Becky Asbury. She was part of Generation X, the MTV generation. They were the first generation to be heavily affected by divorce and broken homes. They were the generation whose mothers went back to work in droves. The generation of many latch-key kids, raised in after-school programs. They grew up searching for their identity. They were numb, they were bored, they were angry, cynical, and alienated. They were called unfocused, uncommitted, apathetic slackers. But the truth was, they were lost. SMELLS LIKE is a true story about a girl who came from a typical eighties middle-class family and what happened after her home life was shattered. Some kids ran off and caused chaos, but Becky Asbury turned quietly to drugs, namely Crystal Meth. How did she get drugs? What did it feel like to do them? What did it do to her physically and mentally? Read true diary entries from the life of a girl in 1990's Los Angeles trying to figure out who she was; working in record stores, listening to Grunge, and all the while wishing she could get it together and become a ballet dancer. Grab your flannel shirt and put in your nose ring, it's time to dive back into the decade that reminded us that sometimes you have to lose yourself in order to find yourself.

Smells Like: Drugs, Music, and Life in the 90's

Politics & Social Sciences

Asbury, Becky

Social Sciences

As a former Labor and Delivery nurse, Kirsten Falsey thought she was prepared to be a mother. So when she found out she and her husband were expecting twins, she couldn't wait to experience pregnancy and the joys of parenting. But things were thrown off-course when her cherished mother was suddenly diagnosed with cancer, and life took an unexpected turn.  The first year of parenthood didn't go at all like she'd planned. But through highs and lows, Kirsten's battle with grief and postpartum depression is a story of hope and emergence from the greatest of difficulties.  "A brave account of a new mother's mind- I wish someone had given me this book during my early parenting days. Chilling and truthful.''  -Amy Asbury

Hope and Emergence: A Journey Through Grief and Postpartum Depression

Self-Help

Falsey, Kirsten

Death & Grief

Even when things look good on paper, they can go horribly awry. Amy moved to a beautiful beach town with her toddler and husband, looking forward to her new job as a mother. But the abrupt death of her estranged father brought her a lot of confusion - who was the man from her early childhood? What happened to him? Were the answers in the secrets of her grandmother? Amy's estranged mother's interest in her new baby felt uncomfortable. Could they ever have a real relationship after their years of turmoil? Was it possible to forgive and forget? Worst of all, Amy's sister became engaged to a man that gave Amy a sharp jolt in her stomach- something wasn't right. And she was determined to find out what it was. But the biggest surprise of her early motherhood years was finding a lump in her breast. The diagnosis changed her life, and changed it fast.

Fuzzie Wuzzie

By Dawn We'll Be Free

At the end of World War II, the Soviet Army pushed the Nazi's out of Eastern Europe and began to occupy it. It was 1945 when they invaded Hungary and made it a Communist state, one of the most repressed in the world. Georgette Hadvina's family quickly went from a comfortable middle class life in Budapest, Hungary to being prisoners of one of the most horrific systems in modern times. Thousands of Hungarians had been arrested, imprisoned, and tortured. Many had died of starvation and of foul conditions after being forced from their homes and made to live in camps. Some were executed. Georgette and her family knew they had to escape, or they would be joining their unfortunate neighbors. Hadvina was captured by Russian soldiers, hunted by a Communist spy in Austria and suffered the consequences of a failed attempt to escape through the infamous Iron Curtain, all before she was seventeen years old. By Dawn, We'll Be Free is the narrative of a brave child and teenager, who lived through the tyranny of Stalinist Communism and ultimately triumphed in the free United States of America.

Hadvina, Georgette

At the end of World War II, the Soviet Army pushed the Nazi's out of Eastern Europe and began to occupy it. It was 1945 when they invaded Hungary and made it a Communist state, one of the most repressed in the world.Georgette Hadvina's family quickly went from a comfortable middle class life in Budapest, Hungary to being prisoners of one of the most horrific systems in modern times.Thousands of Hungarians had been arrested, imprisoned, and tortured. Many had died of starvation and of foul conditions after being forced from their homes and made to live in camps. Some were executed. Georgette and her family knew they had to escape, or they would be joining their unfortunate neighbors.Hadvina was captured by Russian soldiers, hunted by a Communist spy in Austria and suffered the consequences of a failed attempt to escape through the infamous Iron Curtain, all before she was seventeen years old.This is the narrative of a brave child and teenager, who lived through the tyranny of Stalinist Communism and ultimately triumphed in the free United States of America.

Two families come together during summer break. After spending many sunny days at the beach, Bailey's father teachers her to surf as her friend Dylan watches from the sand. Will he ever find the courage to ride the waves like Bailey? This is the story of friendship, bravery and having confidence. Sometimes all it takes is the encouraging words of a friend to conquer your fears.

Our Summer Waves

S Michelle Johnson

Beyond His Silence

Robin Fotie

Literature & Fiction

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Estep & Fitzgerald Literary Publishing publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Estep & Fitzgerald Literary Publishing

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Estep & Fitzgerald Literary Publishing publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Confetti Covered Quicksand

Tales From the Pantry: Random Rants & Musings of a Stay-at-Home Mom

Valley Girl: Childhood in the 80's

Smells Like: Drugs, Music, and Life in the 90's

Hope and Emergence: A Journey Through Grief and Postpartum Depression

Fuzzie Wuzzie

By Dawn We'll Be Free

By Dawn We'll Be Free

Our Summer Waves

Beyond His Silence