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Allan Kronzek, author of 52 Ways to Cheat at Poker - our blogger for the week of 4/7:

Allan Kronzek is our guest blogger during the week of March 31st. If you have any questions for Allan Kronzek, add a comment to any of his posts. Here is some brief information about 52 Ways to Cheat At Poker: How to Spot Them, Foil Them, and Defend Yourself Against Them:

How do cheats win at poker? What are the swindles, the marking systems, and other devious tools of the trade? In this fascinating look at the card sharper's art-from its origins in Renaissance Italy to the high-tech methods of today-sleight-of hand expert, Allan Kronzek reveals 52 of the most diabolical scams ever invented. You'll learn how cheats can rig a Hold'Em tournament, why cutting the cards doesn't guarantee an honest deal, how cheating crews crush the opposition, and how to spot cheaters at work (when possible!). If you've ever wondered what card sharps do and how they get away with it, 52 Ways to Cheat at Poker has the answers that can help you and your game.

About Allan Kronzek

Allan Zola Kronzek is a professional magician, writer and educator. He is the author of the New York Times best seller The Sorcerer's Companion-A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter (Broadway Books, co-written with his daughter Elizabeth), and the acclaimed A Book of Magic for Young Magicians-The Secrets of Alkazar. He performs and lectures on the history of conjuring at schools, colleges, libraries and museums. He was a student of crooked gambling expert Frank Garcia.

Allan Kronzek,

52 Ways to Cheat at Poker,

cards,

cheating,

poker,

scams,

card sharp,

Penguin Books,

books

Posted by Penguin Group USA on Fri, 04/04/2008 - 4:41pm. in

52 Ways to Cheat at Poker, Allan Kronzek

Fri, 04/04/2008

Cross Genre Writing by Karen Chance:

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I suppose my last blog post is a good time to talk about endings: specifically genre crossover endings. A lot of books these days are hybrids of several genres. The Cassie Palmer series, for example, appeals mainly to fantasy, mystery and romance fans, with a sprinkling of horror and thriller readers mixed in there for good measure. The question I get asked most frequently is, does trying to please the readers of so many genres, each of which has its own rules and expectations, cause any problems?

Short answer: Oh, yeah.

Long answer: Since one of the biggest bones of contention is how a story ends, let's use that as an example. And there are no two genres more disparate in that regard than romance and fantasy. In romance, the genre expectation is still the happily-ever-after ending (which is so common that it even has a widely understood abbreviation: HEA). Not that all romance stories conform to this anymore-romance, like most genres, has become more flexible in recent years-but a great many romances do follow the old formula because a great many romance fans still prefer it. In fantasy, happy endings are also the norm and have been for generations. It's one of the main things that separates fantasy, even dark fantasy, from horror. The problem is that fans of the two genres often have a very different take on how they define the term "happy."

Posted by Penguin Group USA on Fri, 04/04/2008 - 2:02pm. in

Fri, 04/04/2008

10 Reasons to Date a Vampire by Karen Chance:

Top Ten Reasons to Date a Vampire

10. They sleep all day, so no complaints about how much time you spend with the girls.

9. They usually have Renfield-types hanging around who can be used for running errands, general house cleaning and pest control.

8. Superhuman strength means no more struggles to open jars.

7. Easy storage in a basement or closet (so they don't take over your house).

6. Personal protection is no longer a worry.

5. They never ask you to cook for them.

4. Most come from an era when men actually knew how to dance.

3. They have stock portfolios going back centuries.

2. They don't age.

1. And the top reason for dating a vamp-centuries of practice!