What’s on my iPod: “Simple Song” by The Shins
What I’m reading: One of many travel guides to Europe
The last person I followed on Twitter: @OscarPRgirl

1. NOMAD BRUSH in TIME Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle and many more after a successful weekend at Macworld

Our BizSparks clients NOMAD BRUSH were the talk of the trade show at this years Macworld in San Francisco! The innovative and artistic iPad accessory makers graced the cover of TIME magazine and San Francisco Chronicle. Here is a little excerpt from both below. Congratulations Nomad Team!

TIME

“When I attended Macworld|iWorld last Thursday and Friday, the show floor was bustling with attendees. And in terms of bustle-per-square-foot, the busiest booth I saw probably belonged to Nomad Brush, which makes brushes that can be used for digital painting on the iPad and other tablets. The company provided me with one for review.

The only input device that the iPad was designed to be used with is the human finger, and designing a decent iPad-compatible stylus is tricky — most of them have blunt, squishy tips that don’t feel like a pen point. But with a brush, being blunt and squishy actually works — and the nicely-made Nomad Brush feels like a real art instrument.”

San Francisco Chronicle 

“This Portland, Ore., company makes attractive styluses that artists can use to paint on their tablets. Recently they introduced a model called the Nomad Play designed for children: a rubber nubbin underneath the brush fibers prevents kids from scratching up the screen, and a thick maple base makes it easy to hold. Given the proliferation of free kids’ drawing and painting apps on the iPad, a brush like this could come in handy. ($18, nomad brush.com.)”

Read more on Nomad here 

2. Leon Gildin on ABC 15 Sonoran Living 

Leon Gildin – the oldest self-published author and author of The Polski Affair and The Family Affair – stopped by ABC 15 Sonoran Living in Phoenix to talk about his novels and to lend some inspiration to follow your dreams. Check out the ABC 15 segment here

More on Leon Gildin

Leon H. Gildin is an award-winning author, producer and retired entertainment attorney. While practicing law in New York for more than 40 years, Mr. Gildin served as general counsel to actors, writers and composers, produced on and off-Broadway, and collaborated with authors and musicians in the development of scripts and musical material for the stage. Leon is the 2010 International Book Awards winner in the Historical Fiction category for his novel, The Polski Affair. The award-winning story continues in The Family Affair, scheduled for release in November 2011. Leon is not quite retired, always in creative pursuit of his next compelling writing project. He resides in Paradise Valley, Arizona, with his wife, Gloria.

More on his latest novel, The Family Affair 

How can a woman’s struggle to reconcile her guilt of survival both unite and divide her family for years to come? It is some two years since Anna Adler returned from a reunion of the survivors who were “guests” of the Hotel Polski after the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto. At the reunion, she was applauded for her courage in testifying against the Commandant of the Polski at his War Crimes Trial. Despite the accolades, Anna’s obsession with what took place at the hotel during her period of imprisonment continues to haunt her.

The Family Affair, a sequel to The Polski Affair, tells of the fortuitous discovery of new members of Anna’s family, bringing her both joy and torment. For Anna, the ties that bind run deeper than she cares to remember … or admit. This results in explosive revelations and a family forever changed, proving that some things are better left unsaid.

3. Auryn App VAN GOGH AND THE SUNFLOWERS in USA TODAY

Another BizSparks client Auryn found themselves and one of their pioneering digital storybook apps in USA Today round-up “Five Amazing Apps for Kids”! Congratulations! Here is a highlight where the columnist commends one of their most popular apps Van Gogh and The Sunflowers:

“Drawing from actual events in Van Gogh’s life, Laurence Anholt’s book weaves a story about how a little boy named Camille befriends the artist. Camille and his family appeared in paintings created by Van Gogh. This interactive story reveals how, although Van Gogh painted vibrant paintings of the village people and its surroundings, the townspeople of Camille’s village thought the painter was odd and ostracized him. But Camille and his family accepted Van Gogh and saw the genius of his work. The book contains 19 puzzles which kids play to bring the characters within the book to life. By tapping illustrations of characters, kids can activate a mode that lets them see the gears and mechanisms that would make the character move. By tapping again on the character, the mechanisms spring apart so that kids can connect them once again. When they do, the character will now appear to animate in the story. Kids can also use simple art tools to repaint the characters so that they appear on the pages how they would like them to look. With soothing background music and the ability to be transported to a museum for closer inspection of Van Gogh’s work, this is a great way for kids to learn about this artist and 10 of his famous paintings.”

4. Advance THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME review on Booklist

THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME by Allison Winn Scotch hasn’t even hit bookshelves (psst, that happens in April) but is already receiving great reviews! Here is an advance review from Booklist:

“After waking up in the hospital with a splitting headache, more than a few bruises, and hundreds of

questions, Nell Slattery knows she’s unlikely to find any easy answers. As one of two survivors of a

violent plane crash, Nell is diagnosed with a healthy dose of amnesia and is unable to remember most of

her life before the crash. With the help of a playlist and the increasing affections of the other crash

survivor, it’s up to Nell to decide which pieces of her past are worth rediscovering. With a reclusive father,

an evasive mother, and a potentially broken marriage, Nell is completely unsure where to start rebuilding

her life. Scotch has drawn a fully three-dimensional heroine in Nell, and the story’s pacing perfectly

mirrors the protagonist’s increasing rate of self-discovery. Scotch peppers her chapters with a number of

pop-culture and musical references, giving the story a modern and lively feel. With shades of Sophie

Kinsella’s Remember Me? (2008) and Liane Moriarty’s What Alice Forgot (2011), this novel is a breezy

yet introspective examination of one woman’s newfound history.”

— Stephanie Turza

More on THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME 

From the New York Times-bestselling author comes a novel that asks the question, who are we without our memories?  And how much of our future is defined by our past?

One of only two survivors of a plane crash, Nell Slattery wakes in the hospital with no memory of the crash – or who she is, or was. Now she must piece together both body and mind — with the help of family and friends who have their own agendas.  She filters through photos, art, music and stories, hoping something will jog her memory, and soon – in tiny bits and pieces –Nell starts remembering…It isn’t long before she learns to question the stories presented by her mother, her sister and business partner, and her husband.  In the end she will learn that forgiving betrayals small and large will be the only true path to healing herself — and to finding happiness.

5. THE FAMILY AFFAIR on A Novel Review

Leon Gildin‘s captivating novel THE FAMILY AFFAIR continues to make buzz across the literary world. Check out a great review of his latest on A Novel Review. Here is a highlight:

“The Family Affair, is not typically a book I would pick up and read. It is a conclusion to the 2010 Winner of the International Book Awards for Historic Fiction, The Polski Affair.  You can read it without having read the first book. I haven’t read The Polski Affair and I believe this story may have been more powerful to me because of it.

Anna is a Holocaust survivor living in Israel with her husband Chaim. Both Anna and Chaim had lost family during the Holocaust and escaped after leaving the Hotel Polski in Warsaw. The hotel was a trap set up by the Nazis to lure Jews out of hiding in the hopes of obtaining visas. Anna at a later point in time testified against Col. Hauptmann during his war crimes trial.

The Story picks up two years after a reunion at the Hotel Polski. Her son, Sholom is an academic working on his doctorate about the hotel. After a devastating blow to the family, Sholom takes off to research the hotel and some nagging questions. While on his research trip, he uncovers something his mother had thought was lost forever. He had hoped it would finally free her of her burden. He also uncovers truths about himself.”

More on THE FAMILY AFFAIR 

How can a woman’s struggle to reconcile her guilt of survival both unite and divide her family for years to come? It is some two years since Anna Adler returned from a reunion of the survivors who were “guests” of the Hotel Polski after the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto. At the reunion, she was applauded for her courage in testifying against the Commandant of the Polski at his War Crimes Trial. Despite the accolades, Anna’s obsession with what took place at the hotel during her period of imprisonment continues to haunt her.

The Family Affair, a sequel to The Polski Affair, tells of the fortuitous discovery of new members of Anna’s family, bringing her both joy and torment. For Anna, the ties that bind run deeper than she cares to remember … or admit. This results in explosive revelations and a family forever changed, proving that some things are better left unsaid.