Varla Ventura Livres

Women have always been heroes. But it is no longer enough just to say so. As we shake off the last traces of a major patriarchal hangover, women need a new name of their own. As sheroes, all women can fully embrace their fiery fempower and celebrate their noholdsbarred individuality. From the serhoic foremothers who blazed trails and broke barriers, to today's women warriors from sports, science, cyberspace, city hall, the lecture hall, and the silver screen, Sheroes paints 200 portraits of powerful and inspiring role models for women poised for the future. Drawn from the fictional and real worlds, the sheroic profiles include: Dian Fossey, Martina Navratilova, Sojourner Truth, Indira Ghandi, Aretha Franklin, Margaret Mead, Coretta Scott king, Georgia O'Keeffe, Jackie JoynerKersee, Agent Scully, Joan Baez, Eleanor Roosevelt, Coco Chanel, Anita Hill, Thelma and Louise, Ripley, Roseanne, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathai, and others.

The lusty vampire, the sympathetic werewolf, the tragic banshee are just a few of the dark and frightening creatures you'll discover in Banshees, Werewolves, Vampires, and Other Creatures of the Night. Huffington Post Weird News columnist and author Varla Ventura takes readers on a wild ride through the shadowy hills of rural Ireland, the dark German forests, and along abandoned farms and country roads across the world to discover some of the most frightening and freak-tacular tales, tidbits, and encounters with all those beasties that go bump in the night. Along with classic pieces from Bram Stoker, Elliot O'Donnell, Sabine Baring-Gould, William Butler Yeats and many others, Ventura includes: Famous vampires you may not know The identity of the author of the first English vampire novel (and his relationship to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein) Excerpts from the first psychic vampire novel ever written Stories of 19th century werewolf hunters Why banshees are the most feared of supernatural creatures

From Homer's Odyssey to Pirates of the Caribbean, Mermaids have fascinated popular culture for centuries. Among the Mermaids is an enchanting collection of classic stories, facts, and tales of mermaids from around the world that will thrill every lover of this romanticized mythological creature. Compiled by Book of the Bizarre author and Magical Creature devotee Varla Ventura, Among the Mermaids includes turn of the century tales of merfolk from Bret Harte, T. Crofton Croker, and W.B. Yeats, along with tantalizing trivia, facts, first-hand accounts, and speculations about mermaids in popular culture. Some facts about the fluid and the fair from the book: Many people believe today that early explorer sightings of mermaids were manatees. (Scurvy + many days away from your lady = a blubbery creature looking supple and bodacious.)Blackbeard, the fierce and terrible pirate, was afraid of his crew being lured into a watery grave by mermaids, so he ordered his ships to avoid certain areas reputed to have a high number of mermaid sightings.Since 2009, the town of Kiryat Yam, Israel has offered a prize of $1 million dollars to anyone who can prove the mermaid off their coast is real. The prize remains unclaimed.

While it's true that fairy folk love a good garden and take great pleasure in a tulip, there are dozens of beasties who fall under the fairy domain that are not quite as delightful as the quintessential flower fairy. This book is an exploration of the many things that go bump in the night near the fairy mound. Along with an exploration of folklore and historical literature, readers will delight in fairy tales that demonstrate everything from striking a bargain with a fairy to staving off changelings to laughing with the dwarves. Included are fairy tales and myths from Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Scandinavia plus classic stories by Thomas Crofton Croker, Joseph Jacobs, Clara Stroebe, the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Yei Theodora Ozaki, and others on goblins, trolls, gnomes, pookas, changelings, banshees, and more! Chapters include: Fairy, Fae, Faerie Way: What Is a Fairy, Anyway? The Hand That Rocks the Cradle: Changelings and Baby Snatchers I'm Not Drunk, It's My Pooka: The Legacy of the Trickster Fairy I Begged You Not to Stay: What You Might Meet at the Crossroads A Fear of Little Men: Leprechauns, Hobgoblins, House Elves, and Other Little Things If you think fairies are merely delicate beings who follow you about on gossamer wings, you are in for quite a shock: the kingdom of the fairy is one of vengeance, thievery, trickery, and wild creatures. Consider yourself warned!

The Book of the Bizarre The Book of the Bizarre is designed for the depraved, outlandish enough for the eccentric, and freaky enough for even the hardest trivia nut. Full description