Guess What? I Love You

At forty-one, musician MIKE MAIMONE never imagined he would become a widower. In GUESS WHAT? I LOVE YOU (Fox & Quill; February 10, 2026), Maimone chronicles the profound love story he shared with his late husband, legendary publicist Howard Bragman, whose groundbreaking career empowered countless public figures and everyday people to live more openly and authentically.

Written with candor, warmth, and emotional precision, GUESS WHAT? I LOVE YOU weaves together humor, heartbreak, spirituality, and healing. The memoir offers an intimate portrait of a relationship sparked by unexpected magic on a hookup app, deepened through a months-long phone courtship, and culminating in a life-changing first weekend walking hand-in-hand through New York City. Maimone captures not only Bragman’s larger-than-life public persona, but also the tenderness, vulnerability, and emotional generosity known only to those closest to him.

“Revisiting the hospital experience was the hardest part,” Maimone reflects. “I cried a lot while putting those moments on the page.” At times, the process was so excruciating that he admits he questioned why he put himself through writing the book at all.

A recurring thread throughout GUESS WHAT? I LOVE YOU is Maimone’s transformative “Year of Yes,” a period marked by openness, surrender, and the courage to release control over both life and career. Guided by Bragman’s mentorship and hard-earned wisdom, Maimone discovers balance, renewed creative clarity, and a healthier relationship with success; insights that resonate far beyond the entertainment industry.

Music remains central to Maimone’s storytelling. A lifelong album artist, he approaches the memoir with the same emotional intentionality that defines his songwriting, carefully shaping tone and narrative across each chapter. The accompanying album, also titled Guess What? I Love You, serves as a true companion piece, deepening the book’s emotional impact. Songs such as “Paranoid in Paradise,” “So Hard to Let Go,” and “Big Kiss” echo moments on the page, while the stories behind the music add rich new layers to the listening experience.

Throughout his journey, Maimone invites readers—especially those navigating grief—to embrace connection, remain open to unexpected possibilities, and allow themselves to experience the full spectrum of human emotion.

Visually, the book’s cover reflects the spirit of the story itself. Featuring illustrated cake pops (a symbol of joy discovered amid loss), the artwork honors a love story that didn’t unfold as planned, but was deeply meaningful, fully lived, and profoundly transformative. 

What's On My Mind...

Sam I Am

This is what's on my mind...for real!

I am Sam
Sam I am

That Sam-I-am!
That Sam-I-am!
I do not like that Sam-I-am!

Do you like 
green eggs and ham?
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.
I do not like
green eggs and ham. 

Would you like them 
here or there?

I would not like them
here or there.
I would not like them anywhere. 

I do not like
green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

Would you like them in a house?
Would you like them with a mouse?

I do not like them
in a house.
I do not like them
with a mouse.
I do not like them
here or there.
I do not like them
anywhere.
I do not like 
green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, 
Sam-I-am.

Green Eggs and Ham on Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Eggs_and_Ham

Kinds Of American Film Comedy

In his 42nd book, prolific writer and scholar Wes D. Gehring presents the well-researched and intricately crafted Kinds of American Film Comedy: Six Core Genres and Their Literary Roots. Gehring breaks down six core comedy genres in an accessible style, yet academic enough for classroom use. This time, he ties in the predecessor of comedic cinema: print humor.

Gehring states, "This study needed at least a lengthy, if compressed, opening chapter survey upon which to build. It is keyed on several important pressure points, which in their totality, provide a basic foundation for the film-focused chapters to follow." And in this chapter, he is able to succinctly introduce the foundations of U.S. comedy that underpin the genres of cinematic comedy.

Dr. Ashley Donnelly, Professor of Media at Ball State University, says, "Though knowing him as a film scholar in the truest sense, I've always considered Gehring's work to be rooted in social history. His works take the people, the genres, and the history of cinema and intertwine them with the stories of the period he's exploring, the complexities of his subjects' lives, and the events and moments in time that touched the world, leaving generational, unconscious connections between the screen and the most important moments of human history."

This groundbreaking film study begins with a survey of American print humorists from eras leading up to and overlapping the advent of film—including some who worked both on the page and on the screen, like Robert Benchley, Will Rogers, Groucho Marx and W. C. Fields. Six comic film genres are identified as outgrowths of a national tradition of Cracker Barrel philosophers, personality comedy, parody, screwball comedy, romantic comedy and dark comedy.

Gehring says, "The goal here is to place between two covers an updated in-depth look at a still too frequently neglected subject-the core comic film genres, and their integral ties to print humor. Moreover, at some level, comedy is most often about blowing "raspberries" at the world around us. And if one is at all engaged, you are a humor activist a reminder that you are not alone."

ORDER THE BOOK HERE

A Subliminal Existentialist

Sydney Pollack: A Subliminal Existentialist

by Wes D. Gehring

Available now from Indiana Historical Society Press

“Gehring remains supreme in film comedy scholarship” - Choice

“Just about anything with film historian and media writer Wes D. Gehring’s name on it will be of quality.”

- Cinema Retro

"Gehring has a breezy and playful writing style. I found myself chucking aloud several times. His prose is also, at times, wickedly cynical...referring to the kidnapped Betty in the 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much as a 'losable daughter.' " - The Hitchcock Annual

Filmmaker Sydney Pollack found his greatest success as the director of such celebrated pictures as They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, The Way We Were, Tootsie, and Out of Africa which won Pollack Oscars for both director and producer. Pollack found early success as an actor, an acting teacher, and later as a producer. In ensuing years, he would be praised as a character actor, from Dustin Hoffman's scene stealing agent in Tootsie to a sympathetic cynic in Eyes Wide Shut.

Forever curious, Pollack often used these films to see how other significant directors plied their trade. Trying to balance time for family and his many other soon-to-be-explored talents, Pollack's ability to recognize quality material also made him a producer of such memorable works as The Fabulous Baker Boys, Sense and Sensibility, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Iris, and Michael Clayton. This work weaves the story of Pollack's life and career through ten of his films and covers his relationship with two actors; teacher and mentor, Burt Lancaster, and Robert Redford, with whom he frequently collaborated

Peter Evans, Emeritus Professor of Film Studies, Queen Mary University of London, recently wrote the author, "You certainly make an excellent case for his [ Pollack's ]re-evaluation, [ while ] providing your characteristic mixture of scholarship and sharp analysis."

Order Here -

https://shop.indianahistory.org/products/sydney-pollack-a-subliminal-existentialist

Caught In The Act

CAUGHT IN THE ACT:

A MEMOIR

By Shane Jenek aka Courtney Act

 

  

“Hysterical! Shockingly honest, raunchy, funny and moving, and a hugely surprising education for me. A must-read for anyone curious to know the complexities of being Shane and Courtney!”
—Dannii Minogue, Australian singer, actress, and television personality

Behind SHANE JENEK’s rise to global fame as beloved drag queen COURTNEY ACT is a story of searching for and finding oneself. Told with Courtney’s trademark candor and wit, CAUGHT IN THE ACT: A MEMOIR (Pantera Press: September 13, 2022) is a hilarious, often scandalous, and at times heartbreaking, peek into the entertainment icon’s journey towards understanding gender, sexuality and identity.   

In CAUGHT IN THE ACT: A MEMOIR, Courtney writes about growing up in Brisbane, Australia in the 80s and 90s and how adolescent Shane’s unconventional angst was pitted against the love of his traditionally wholesome parents.  She shares tales of the thrill in discovering the Sydney drag scene and then unflinchingly recounts her adventures into its seedier side that led her to dabbling in methamphetamines and multiple sexual encounters with a broad spectrum of sexualities and genders including straight-identifying men.

Of course, Courtney also dives deep into her wild ride into the world of entertainment, losing so many TV reality shows and finally winning one.  There's lots of Drag Race tea spilled, too, including her shaky introduction to Adore Delano and oh, the time RuPaul blocked her on Twitter.  

In CAUGHT IN THE ACT: A MEMOIR, Courtney Act does what she does best:  she dazzles and titillates.  At the same time, her honest reflections help readers to reexamine and appreciate wrong choices they may have made that ironically helped steer them toward the right path on their own life’s journey.   

# # # 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

COURTNEY ACT is a drag artist, singer, advocate and cultural provocateur. She has appeared on several reality TV shows, including her breakout in 2003 on the first season of Australian Idol; making the Top 3 on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6; and taking the UK by storm on Celebrity Big Brother, which she won. When Courtney isn’t busy being glamorous on TV and stage, she’s a boy from Brisbane called Shane Jenek. 

As a gender-fluid, queer person, Courtney uses her public profile to educate audiences on issues such as gender identity, sexuality, marriage equality, anti-racism and more. As a singer-songwriter she has released a pop EP and entertained audiences in her cabaret shows throughout the world. She currently splits her time following Pride parades and chasing summer between London, Los Angeles and Sydney.

 

CAUGHT IN THE ACT: A MEMOIR

By Shane Jenek AKA Courtney Act

Pantera Press 

On-sale date: September 13, 2022 • ISBN:  978-0-6452401-2-2 • Price: $26.95

Also available as an eBook: ISBN 978-0-6452401-8-4 • Price: $9.99

 

Jesus Christ Movie Star

BearManor Media Announces June 7 Release

Of Jesus Christ Movie Star, a New Book by Phil Hall

BearManor Media is proud to present Jesus Christ Movie Star, the new book by the award-winning film historian and podcaster Phil Hall. The 176-page illustrated book will be available beginning on June 7 in a $22.00 paperback edition and a $32.00 hardcover edition.

 

The life of Jesus Christ has challenged and inspired filmmakers from the pioneering works of the late 1890s through today’s digital cinema. No other life story has been the subject of so many films, with so many wildly different interpretations. 

 

The big screen Jesus has traveled through multimillion dollar epics and microbudget underground films, recreating the miracles of the Gospels while also advocating for modern political issues. Moviegoers have seen Jesus walk on water and conquer death, and also break into show tunes and play straight man to a zany Bette Midler. Films about Jesus have inspired a diverse range of controversies, ranging from a groundbreaking copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Thomas Edison to an intellectual scandal that rocked the 1964/65 New York World’s Fair to accusations of anti-Semitism against Mel Gibson’s distinctive interpretation of the New Testament. 

 

Phil Hall, author of the critically acclaimed books The History of Independent Cinema and In Search of Lost Films and host of the award-winning podcast The Online Movie Show, takes the reader on the most extraordinary odyssey in cinematic studies by tracing how filmmakers from across the years and around the world have sought to fill theaters with the story of Jesus. Beloved classics and bizarre curios are part of this memorable journey as the “light of the world” brings illumination through the lens of a movie projector.

www.bearmanormedia.com

Jive Talkin'

DOUBLE TALKIN’ JIVE: TRUE ROCK ‘N’ ROLL STORIES

FROM THE DRUMMER OF GUNS N’ ROSES,

THE CULT, AND VELVET REVOLVER RELEASES SEPT. 7

In Double Talkin’ Jive (Available September 7, 2021) legendary drummer Matt Sorum takes music lovers behind the scenes of a remarkable life in rock. Sorum, whose albums have sold tens of millions of copies around the world, provides an honest, engaging account of the highs and lows of superstardom. Sorum recounts his childhood years idolizing Ringo Starr and surviving an abusive stepfather. After leaving high school, Sorum sold pot to get by. Over time, his drug dealing escalated to smuggling large quantities of cocaine, a career that came to a halt following a dramatic shoot-out. Sorum fled his old life and settled in Hollywood, where he’d enjoy a rapid ascension to rock ’n’ roll immortality. He caught his big break drumming for the Cult, and only a year later was invited to join Guns N’ Roses, with whom he’d record two of rock’s most iconic albums: Use Your Illusion 1 and 2.

 

The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee & Grammy Award winning Sorum opens up with forthright honesty, sharing anecdotes from his time touring the globe, battling drug and alcohol addiction, as well as working with Axl Rose, one of the greatest frontmen in rock, Slash and the rest of the GNR team. His career with the Cult, Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, Motörhead, the Hollywood Vampires, and Kings of Chaos costars an ensemble of rock royalty, from Billy Idol to Steven Tyler, Billy F Gibbons and Alice Cooper.

 

Double Talkin’ Jive goes beyond the clichés of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll, telling the very human story of what it takes to make it in music, and the toll stardom exacts from those who achieve success. Sorum invites fans to revel in the debauchery of the good times, but also paints a stark portrait of life after the party. Music fans of any generation will find value in the pages of this evocative, thoughtful, and candid autobiography.

 “A colorfully dark look into the f * * * ed-up psyche of a legendary and badass drummer. I want to read it over and over.” — Jonas Åkerland, Film Director

Available in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook,including a signed limited-edition hardcover with vinyl audiobook bundle, narrated and performed by Matt Sorum

Signed preorders bundles ship August 2021—Preorder at rarebirdlit.com -HERE

Trade hardcover, e-book, and audiobook formats wherever books are sold Sept 7^th, 2021

 

In addition, Hardware, the third solo album from ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons, is set for release June 4 on Concord Records. The album was produced & written by Gibbons along with Matt Sorum.  The album release is preceded by the first two singles “West Coast Junkie” HERE  and  “My Lucky Card” HERE. Sorum co-wrote the tracks and also serves as Hardware’s drummer.

 

“Chasing Whiskey” sdtrk w/Matt Sorum & Shooter Jennings: HERE

 

Follow Matt Sorum here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattsorum/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattsorum

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattwsorum

Official website: Www.mattsorum.com   

It's Hammock Time!

Put The Lime In The Coconut...
Brie Larson

Another week another shit show in the US of A. With all of the turmoil surrounding our daily lives wouldn't it be nice to get away? You don't have to go far, to tune out. Find a hammock, a coconut and a good book and bingo! Staycation! 

Put this image of Oscar Winner Brie Larson doing just that on your visualization board as something to aspire to this weekend.

See how content she looks? She may be at the beach, which is something you can add as well to the mix. However if you are unable to reach the beach, try another tranquil location, heck even being in your bedroom shutting out the world is a very peaceful substitute.

I know I personally find my refuge taking a spin class. However this weekend I'm going to try a book on the couch in addition to it. You know, up the ante a little. 

T.G.I.F! The word of the day is: rejuvenate!

Brie on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/brielarson/?hl=en