I am excited to tell you that Mom Minus Dad is now available from smashwords.com in Iphone, Kindle and other mobile formats. These portable formats allow you to keep all the resources in the book at your fingertips when you need them.

All the formats available include: HTML, Javascript, Kindle/.mobi,  Epub/Stanza Reader, PDF, RTF, LRF/Sony Reader,  Palm Doc/PDB, plain text for  iPhone, iPod Touch, and IRex Iliad). To download, go to smashwords- this mobile ebook version is called Loss of a Parent Practical 500+ Resource Guide.

Today I talked with publishing and intellectual property rights attorney Jonathan Kirsch about my publishing company’s involvement with the Google Book Settlement. I found him to be very knowledgeable and helpful and would recommend him for any authors or publishers looking for advice about their specific situation. He also did a Webinar this week on the topic for the California Lawyers for the Arts.

Contact info: Jonathan Kirsch, Law Offices of Jonathan Kirsch, 1880 Century Park East, Suite 515, Los Angeles, CA 90067 Tel. (310) 785-1200, Fax (310) 286-9573, Cell (310) 871-6230, Email: jk@jonathankirsch.com, Website: www.jonathankirsch.com

A Parent’s Guide to Raising Grieving Children: Rebuilding Your Family After the Death of a Loved One by Phyllis Silverman, Ph. D and Madelyn Kelly. Published by Oxford University Press 2009.

Amazon link

When you need organizing help after the loss of a parent, contact a member of NAPO. NAPO, The National Association of Professional Organizers,  operates as the national association dedicated to the field of organizing and provides referrals to local organizers. On its Web site, you will find local organizers to assist with memorial service planning or general organizing assistance. You can find a referral to a local organizer for short-term or long-term projects or a part-time personal assistant on the Web site. The organizers are either generalists in the field of organizing or specialists in particular areas, such as cleaning out garages/attics/basements, working with seniors, electronic and paper organization, estate sales, and moving and relocation.

MAIN NAPO PHONE: (847) 375-4746

Prepared food can be a thoughtful and useful gift for a griever from friends or family, especially during the first few months after the loss of a spouse or loved one.  Here are a few options to choose from: Big City Chefs: personal chefs in major cities for hire; Diamond Organics: fresh organic foods from California with overnight delivery; Dinewise: gourmet frozen meals with special meals for seniors and diabetics; Gourmet Grocery online:  gift baskets and prepared meals and soups or Harry and David for gourmet gift baskets; and Home Bistro: meals for special diets. Your friends and family will appreciate having healthy foods around when they have low energy to get foods themselves after the loss of a loved one.

If you are looking for ideas on how to spend your first mother’s day with your newly widowed mother or father, download the ebook version of Mom Minus Dad on Powells.com for $9.97. There is a whole chapter with resources about how to handle anniversaries and holidays related to losing a parent.

For better tax planning strategies to assist your newly widowed parent or your family check out AARP’s Finance Guide, AARP’s  Tax-Aide, the section for widowed spouses of the American Institute for Economic Research’s “How to Avoid Financial Triangles”, the medical bill manager Medical Expense Manager (by the makers of Quicken) or Turbo Tax’s Its Deductible to help track and price (uses Ebay pricing) all your donations.

Topic: The Authors Guild, AAP, Google Settlement: What Authors & Publishers Need to Know as May 5th Approaches
Host: Copyright Clearance Center
Date and Time:
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 12:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 5:00 pm, GMT Summer Time (London, GMT+01:00)
Event number: 356 429 111

http://tinyurl.com/dmkcfj

Nice sympathy flowers for grievers and their families or to lift your newly widowed parent’s or your spirits with both domestic and international delivery. 1-800-Flowers, Calyx and Corolla and Just Flowers. 

I recently learned about a program offered by many companies -such as Nike and Intel- and individuals for caregivers called Powerful Tools for Caregivers. Offered by non-profit Legacy Caregiver Services, Powerful Tools for Caregivers is a six week program for family and friends of older adults who have Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or other long-term debilitating diseases.

Class topics include: “Taking Care of You”, “Identifying and Reducing Personal Stress”, “Communicating Feelings, Needs and Concerns”, “Communicating in Challenging Situations”, “Learning from Our Emotions”, and “Mastering Caregiving Decisions”.

For more information about local classes offered email caregiver@lhs.org. Or go to the Web site.