Trend Watch » roll around heaven

BWP brings home 2 COVR Awards from INATS

Whitney — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:50:35 +0000

For the thirteenth consecutive year, COVR’s Visionary Awards were presented at the INATS banquet on June 26th, 2010. Both our marketing manager, Danielle Marshall, and one of the co-owners, Richard Cohn, were on-hand for the ceremony, along with some of our favorite booksellers at a banquet table.

The Visionary Awards are judged by retailers and seasoned professionals who evaluate each title based upon content, presentation, and their own knowledge of the industry, as a guide to what best represents metaphysical, mind/body/spirit books, music, and products with positive energy and flair.

We were thrilled by the results–two winners and three runners-up!

2010 COVR Visionary Awards for Beyond Words Publishing:.

Roll Around Heaven for Auto- / Biographical Book Category
Infinite Possibilities for Conscious Living / Self-Help Book Category
Frequency for Spirituality / Alt. Science & Spirituality Book Category
Something Unknown for Video / DVD Category
The Living Matrix for Video / DVD Category

The COVR winners are in bold. All others are “runners-up.” We would like to thank all involved, especially our award winning author and filmmakers!

Jessica Maxwell on Coast to Coast

emma — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:58:44 +0000

It is always exciting when one of our authors is on George Noory’s radio show Coast to Coast, and just last week the delightful Jessica Maxwell took the audio-spotlight to talk about her memoir Roll Around Heaven.

Roll Around Heaven is an all-true accidental spiritual adventure that led one nonbeliever to lunch with Deepak Chopra, dance with Stephen Hawking, heal animals with Yogananda, sing Christmas carols with an enlightened rabbi, banish evil spirits with a Himalayan Rinpoche, talk all night with the daughters of Islam, find true love in a Presbyterian choir, share Celtic visions on the isle of Iona, and learn an abiding respect for all paths to God.

Jessica has received some terrific reviews for her book. More magazine wrote:

If you want laughs, you don’t usually turn to spiritual memoirs. But Jessica Maxwell’s Roll Around Heaven is so full of LOL moments, it fits the bill…. Maxwell is exuberant, grumpy, skewering, wise and so gosh-darn good-hearted in her quest to understand the universe, I couldn’t help wanting to tag along for the ride—er, roll.

To hear more from the author who the great Tom Robbins once described as “Empress Tizzie Izzie of adventure writing,” click here to listen to the Coast to Coast episode.

A storm in God’s tea-cup perhaps?

emma — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:50:51 +0000

Jessica Maxwell’s essay for Powells.com has provoked some lively discussion in the comments section. It is terrific actually, and as Jessica herself responded: “Thank you all for your clearly passionate interest in Roll Around Heaven, and for jumping into this lively dialogue with both hooves.” Read the essay here and join the debate!

Even better, join us at Powell’s City of Books on Burnside, Portland, OR, on Friday, November 13 at 7:30 PM where Jessica will be reading from Roll Around Heaven and encouraging a passionate and fun discourse!

Roll Around Heaven

Whitney — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:32:07 +0000

On Sunday we went down to Salem for the book launch of Roll Around Heaven! It is finally here, and we wanted to celebrate. It was one of the most unique launches I have ever been to. There was a blessing by Tom’s father, Presbyterian minister Rev. Henry Andersen, , a book blessing by Lama Karma (which involved bells and singing. Very cool), and, what seemed like, a hundred of Jessica’s friends. Now don’t get me wrong, there was quite a bit of room in that house (the Gaiety Hill House, quite historic), but there was not enough room for that many people. Luckily it was a beautiful day, so some of us enjoyed the ceremonies from outside.

The best part (at least gastronomically) was the flying pig cupcake lollies made by the Itsy Bitsy Bakeshop. They were adorable and delicious! Imagine cake on a stick!

Another highlight was getting to hear from the Holy Pig Farmer himself. He flew down especially for this event, and his toast to Jessica was really touching. I can understand why she learns so much from him.

Visit our Facebook page to see photographs of the event—and become a Beyond Words Facebook fan at the same time!

Lucky Old Sun

bernadette — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:17:26 +0000

When I first heard the title, Roll Around Heaven, I thought to myself “what the heck does that even mean?” But in immersing myself in Jessica Maxwell’s sumptuous memoir, I quickly learned that it is an expression her mother used to use.

“She’d be rolling out dough for chicken-and-dumplings, trying, as always, to make her dumplings turn out as good as her mother’s–a near impossible mission that would vex my mother mercilessly if she let it. “You can either roll around heaven or roll around hell,” she’d say with a laugh, “the choice is yours honey.”

It turns out this folksy saying is also featured in a beautiful song written in 1949 called “Lucky Old Sun.” The line goes like this: “But that lucky old sun has nothin’ to do, but roll around heaven all day.” The song “Lucky Old Sun” has been covered by some of the most incredible performers of all time. With Jessica’s words in my head, I went a searching on YouTube and found versions by everyone from Louis Armstrong to Johnny Cash. There is even a version of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty singing the song together.

But, far and wide, the version I love most so far is Aretha Franklin’s. When you listen to Aretha Franklin sing this song, you will get a feel for the meaning of the title, and a sense of the bliss, angst, and transformation that Maxwell expresses in her “all-true, accidental, spiritual adventure” Roll Around Heaven.

So Pretty!

georgie — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:55:07 +0000

The delicious smell of printer’s ink, the whooshy sound of pages being flicked through, and many a blissful sigh abound in the office today. Reason: we have just got some early copies of Jessica Maxwell’s Roll Around Heaven.

Not only that, but Ms Maxwell will be in town tomorrow for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Fall Show.

I can’t stop talking this book up—it is so fresh, exuberant and spiritually satisfying. Sometimes you find one book from a season that just clicks with you.

When I started reading the early galley of Roll Around Heaven I carried it around with me everywhere, and my conversation started being peppered with little examples of what Jessica had experienced, apropos of… well, not that much really. I think I just liked having her voice inside my head. But it was when the cover art was finished that I gave a squeak of joy and did a happy dance. Perfect! The cover is Perfect!

I’m afraid you all will have to wait a little longer (pub date is October 6) but I couldn’t resist sharing my happiness with you. I hope that you will be equally as excited and enlightened by Jessica’s book as I was. And if you happen to be at the PNBA Fall Show on Friday, pop by our booth and say hello!