Jenna Glatzer, Ghostwriter

"Funny you should ask that, Bob. As it says in my book, in chapter 4..." That's where I roll my eyes and change the radio station or TV channel. I hate... freakin' hate... being "pitched to" in ways that are thinly veiled as something other than pitches. Free webinars that are really just teasers to try to get you to buy big packages of audio books and DVDs, free e-books that promise to tell you all the REAL secrets in the book that you have to pay for... etc. I think I've struggled with the concept of self-promotion-- and commercialism in general-- since college, when I was an advertising major. Actually, I started as a fine art major, but by sophomore year, realized I wasn't good enough, so I switched into advertising. By the end of junior year, however, I realized I didn't want to spend my life convincing people to buy things they didn't need and couldn't afford. It's just that it was too late for me to switch majors again without ...

**CONTEST CLOSED** Congrats to the winner, Debbie C, comment #166! Thanks, too, to CSN Stores, for allowing me to review one of their products. I chose the Patch Products Building Words Tabletop Pocket Chart ($15.25). It's a very cool tool for kids who are starting to learn how to read and spell. It includes pictures of simple things: a cat, a bug, a pot-- all three-letter words-- along with the cardboard letters needed to spell all those words. Kids place the cardboard letters into vinyl "sleeves" to spell out the words, and when not in use, all the letters and pictures get stored in a big pocket in back of the chart. Love it! ----------- Hey, guess what? I have another $50 gift certificate to CSN Stores to share with you, my glorious and splendid blog readers. CSN is a great online network of sites where you can find anything you need for your home, from nightstands to rugs . If you'd like a chance to win, I have a bunch of ways you can do so. Leave a separate comm...