Gemma Catalogue Print Aug08

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TITLE S 4 Lola’s Luck:

My Life Among the California Gypsies Carol Miller

6 In High Germany Dermot Bolger

7 Not Just for Christmas Roddy Doyle

7 Sad Song Vincent Banville

8 Maggie’s Story Sheila O’Flanagan

8 Jesus and Billy

Are Off to Barcelona Deirdre Purcell

9 Ripples Patricia Scanlon

10 In Search of Iraq:

Baghdad to Babylon Richard Downes

W E L C O M E

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Gemm a exploring people and places and the spaces in between.

Gemma crosses the divide between readers and writers — from well-loved authors encouraging new readers to writers revealing quiet lives and hidden communities to journalists who open distant worlds for readers at home. Gemma brings you a host of new stories, new insights on culture, and introduces new lives from Manhattan to Mumbai, Howth to Ho Chi Minh City, Baghdad to Ballyvaughan. In this first catalogue, you will find a stunning personal story of life among the Gypsies in America. Lola’s Luck introduces a remarkable woman who drew a young anthropologist into her colorful society and changed her life. Lola’s story — “the story of the world!” — tells of luck, kinship, love and an entire world hidden from view. From the other side of the world, Richard Downes’ passionate view of Iraqi culture — before, during and as a result of occupation — shows a crumbling society, a clash of cultures, and a people torn apart. A journalist with the BBC and RTÉ, Downes provides a portrait that rises above news reports. In Search of Iraq is a memorial to a disintegrating nation. Here, Gemma introduces The Open Door series, showcasing new writing from authors such as Roddy Doyle, Dermot Bolger, Sheila O’Flanagan and a pantheon of talent. Six charming books published each and every season are bound to affirm the truth that a story doesn’t have to be big to open a door to our world. You’ve found Gemma, a bright spot in the sky. Now see the brilliance of our shared and diverse human experience. And look up. The world is much bigger — and much smaller — than we imagine. Trish O’Hare Publisher

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Lola’s Luck My Life Among the California Gypsies Carol Miller Bette Davis. That’s who I’m like. Did you notice? Everybody says so.

Gypsies in America are hidden. With estimates between fifty thousand and more than a million, the Gypsy population is as mysterious as their ways, and misinformation swirls around them like so much painted fabric. With remarkable vividness, Lola’s Luck peers behind the curtain, past the paisley walls and twinkling lights to find the authentic story of an extraordinary woman, Lola, “expert advisor on love, business and marriage.”

Memoir/Biography ISBN: 978-1-934848-00-5 Paperback original 200 pages 8-page color photo insert 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 • $20 September

Carol Miller is an anthropologist who has studied the Machvaia Roma of California. Gypsy ritual, belief and celebration are the topics of most of her scholarly publications. Carol Miller lives in Seattle.

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As a young Berkeley graduate student in anthropology, Carol Miller predicted a future of field notes, scholarly publications and afternoon lectures. When she began to study the Machvaia Gypsies in Seattle and along the West Coast of America, she did not expect to be drawn so deeply into a culture that would change her life, and those of the Gypsies. Door after door was closed by the fortune- tellers and future seers she sought to interview. Her luck changed when she was pressed into service as a chauffeur by the unforgettable matriarch. The flamboyant Lola became her guide, her inspiration, her luck and her friend. Lola described her early years in an overloaded wagon, moving across America. When she joined her husband’s expanding family, they slept in tents and traveled, at first by horse and wagon, and then in a caravan of cars.

“She was a Machvanka of Serbian Gypsy background, a bright, short, plumpish parrot, propelled to energy and movement by an abiding taste for the good things of life. She knew how to seize the moment and, just a few hours after we met, Lola announced with abrupt decisiveness that we were bound to be best friends. It was hard not to believe her.” Lola was barvali, which to the Roma means big, powerful and lucky. She introduced the young scholar to magnificent personalities and outrageous stories of the past, and she showed her the true identity of the misunderstood Machvaia. Immersed in this riotous, passionate world, the young student’s heart stood no chance against the affections of a married Gypsy man. Soon, their frenzied and potentially ruinous affair overwhelmed them. Wanting to study ritual and kinship, the researcher ended by studying the heart. “Lola said the great adventures are those of the heart, and that loving is always a risk. And not loving enough is riskier. That giving generously, with gladness and abandon, is something a person can count on; getting love back is serendipitous…life was short, too short, and the best plan of action was to ‘live like you are going out of style.’ “

Here is a fresh response to the stereotypes that surround Gypsies, a traditional culture trying to keep itself alive in the face of American values and capitalism. In the end, it is Lola’s story, “The story of the world!” that rivets us. Hand on hip, heart as big as the widest space, a Gypsy, yes, and a Queen. The first significant Gypsy lesson to be learned was that a cold and unfeeling heart is unforgivable.

Photograph by Margaret Hollenbach, c 1968

“A wild and bittersweet adventure into a world none but Machvaia Gypsies know” — Susan Sarandon

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INTRODUCING

THE•OPEN

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SERIES

This innovative program of original works by some of our most beloved modern writers was first designed to enhance adult literacy in Ireland. Yet these marvelous stories are much more, showcasing new writing from authors such as Roddy Doyle, Dermot Bolger, Sheila O’Flanagan and a pantheon of talent. Six charming books will be published each season. Open Doors are bound to affirm the truth that a story doesn’t have to be big to open the world.

In High Germany Dermot Bolger An Irish emigrant in Germany tells his son about football, and about home, through the nostalgia he feels for a match played many years ago. This is the story of Euro ’88, the largest football event on the Continent, and the Irish team are front and center. The excitement is high for football fanatics like Eoin, Shane and Mick, all working abroad. They find themselves in Germany supporting the Irish team, witnessing the highs and the lows and the cultural divides that separate them.

Fiction ISBN: 978-1-934848-01-2 paperback • 84 pages 4-3/8 X 7 • $12 September

For these emigrant friends, home is no longer a birthplace. Home is where their team plays, and there will be many adventures on and off the field before the final whistle blows. Included in this first Open Door is A Poet’s Notebook—a selection of short poems about ordinary life by the author, with his notes on how and why they were written. Dermot Bolger is a prolific novelist, poet, playwright and screenwriter. He founded and edited The Raven Arts Press in Dublin, which has become New Island Press, one of the most distinguished literary publishing houses in Ireland. His numerous awards include the Samuel Beckett Award, ÆMemorial Award and The Stuart Parker BBC Award. Dermot Bolger lives in Dublin.

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Not Just for Christmas Roddy Doyle Danny Murphy is going to meet his brother, Jimmy. They haven’t seen each other in more than twenty years, and Danny is nervous. On the way to the pub, Danny begins to remember the good times and the bad times, the humor, the fights and the pivotal argument that finally drove them apart. Can they turn back the clock and become the pals they used to be? Or does bad blood go on? Danny doesn’t know. From the bestselling author and screenwriter comes a story about family, jealousy, passion and redemption. Written in Roddy Doyle’s distinctive, intimate style, here is a poignant observation of ordinary lives by a writer at his best. Fiction ISBN: 978-1-934848-02-9 paperback • 92 pages 4-3/8 X 7 • $12 September

Roddy Doyle’s Barrytone Trilogy — The Commitments, The Snapper, and The Van— have been made into major motion pictures. He won the Booker Prize for Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha. Among his other books are The Woman Who Walked into Doors, A Star Called Henry, Paul Spencer and his latest, The Deportees. Roddy Doyle lives in Dublin.

Sad Song Vincent Banville John Blaine is a private detective who works Dublin’s mean streets. He is tough, talented and smart, but always unlucky in love. His wife has just left him, and he’s sad and sorry. Now, hired to bring home a stray daughter of the rich, he takes the girl’s side against her powerful father, and suffers for it. Gripping, funny and stripped to the bone, Sad Song is a short novel that packs a punch like a fist in a velvet glove . . .

Fiction ISBN: 978-1-934848-03-6 paperback • 90 pages 4-3/8 X 7 • $12 September

Vincent Banville is a writer, critic and journalist. He is the crime fiction reviewer for the Irish Times. Vincent Banville’s first novel, An End to Flight, won the Robert Pitman Literary Prize. He is also the author of children’s books, and lives in Dublin.

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O P E N

D O O R

Maggie’s Story Sheila O’Flanagan Maggie is forty-three years old and looking for romance. She loves her husband, Dan, but his idea of romance is a couple of drinks at the local bar and an early night at home. Her children think she’s too old to care. And she’s beginning to wonder if life has passed her by. But a chance meeting changes all that, and now Maggie faces tough decisions. Can she put the spark back into her marriage, or would she be better off calling it quits? Who is most important to her? Her husband? Her children? Herself?

Fiction ISBN: 978-1-934848-05-0 paperback • 104 pages 4-3/8 X 7 • $12 November

Sheila O’Flanagan lives in Dublin. Her first book, Dreaming of a Stranger, published in 1997, was followed by a stream of bestselling novels in the UK and Ireland. Several have been published in the US, including Too Good to Be True. Of He’s Got to Go, Publisher’s Weekly wrote, “O’Flanagan manages to keep wisdom and humor at the forefront and tosses in nice touches.”

Jesus and Billy Are Off to Barcelona Deirdre Purcell Billy is an average-looking sixteen-year-old who lives in an ordinary house in an ordinary neighborhood on the northside of Dublin. Jesus, on the other hand, is a beautiful boy with continental manners, from the most sophisticated part of Barcelona. As an exchange student, Jesus comes to live with Billy’s family for three weeks during the summer. At the end of his stay – according to The Plan – Billy will go back with Jesus on a return visit to Spain. And then, the best laid plans go awry.

Fiction ISBN: 978-1-934848-07-4 paperback • 104 pages 4-3/8 X 7 • $12 November

Deirdre Purcell has published nine critically acclaimed novels since 1990. Love, Like, Hate, Adore was shortlisted for the prestigious Orange Prize and her bestselling Falling for a Dancer was filmed for RTÉ and the BBC. Journalist, novelist, raised in Dublin she now lives in Meath.

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Ripples Patricia Scanlan The McHughs’ marriage is on the rocks. Daughter Ciara worries that her mother and father are going to divorce. Lillian, Ciara’s grandmother, is worried too. Since her bullying husband died, she has begun to enjoy a nice life of her own making. What if her son leaves his wife and comes ‘home?’ “The other woman,” Brenda Johnston, is very happy. She has everything to gain if the McHughs divorce. Or does she? Meanwhile, Mike and Kathy Stuart, the McHughs’ best friends, are beginning to wonder if the friendship can survive their divorce. Fiction ISBN: 978-1-934848-06-7 paperback • 92 pages 4-3/8 X 7 • $12 November

Then, one terrible night, everything changes . . . Patricia Scanlan is the Series Editor and contributing author to the Open Door series. She teaches creative writing and is involved in adult literacy programs in Dublin and throughout Ireland.

Forthcoming OPEN DOOR Titles: Joe’s Wedding by Gareth O’Callaghan No Dress Rehearsal by Marian Keyes Old Money, New Money by Peter Sheridan Pipe Dreams by Anne Schulman Second Chance by Patricia Scanlan The Comedian by Joseph O’Connor

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In Search of Iraq Baghdad to Babylon Richard Downes “One of the best books to come out of the coverage of Iraq. A beautifully written personal memoir [possessing] a startling writing capacity.” Village

From 1998 until the chaotic aftermath of the invasion, news reporter Richard Downes witnessed firsthand the incredible changes that have overwhelmed the Iraqi people. In Search of Iraq goes far deeper into the

environment than the daily news reports seen by the Western World. Small events of ordinary life and whispered conversations in back alleys are as telling as the grand political statements.

Current Events ISBN: 978-1-934848-04-3 paperback original • 288 pages 8-page color photo insert 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 • $25 November

With an unflinching focus on the customs, religion, culture and historical diversity of all the communities in the region, Richard Downes reveals the true horror and impact of war, as well as the friendships that can blossom in a country torn to shreds. What emerges is a stunning memorial to a disintegrating nation.

PLACE HOLDER ONLY

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Richard Downes is a journalist living in Dublin. After working in the financial press, he joined the BBC where he worked for a decade. For three and a half years he crossed the African continent covering wars, insurrections and catastrophes. His BBC posting in Jordan brought him to the Mideast in 1998, and he subsequently found his niche in Iraq. Isolated through international sanctions, Iraq and its people captivated him. Vincent Browne described him as “the best reporter covering the war.” He has continued to travel to Iraq in the chaotic post-war era.

It is impossible to understand Mohammed Darweesh without knowing where he came from. His hometown of Mosul is the most extraordinary city in Iraq, and its sons and daughters cherish it. Mohammed is entranced by Mosul, by its history, its vast religious and ethnic diversity and its stunning location as a bridgehead on the river Tigris. Mosul has Whirling Dervishes; Christians who speak the same language as Christ; Yazidi worshippers of a divine entity that others say is the devil; Kurdish, Shia and Sunni Muslims; Arab Sunni Muslims; Catholic and Chaldean Christians; Turcomens who originate from central Asia; and many other groups. The accretion of culture that occurred over centuries has produced a distinctly Mosul view of the world. It is an urbane, liberal outlook on life, and Mohammed Darweesh is its embodiment. — excerpt from In Search of Iraq, by Richard Downes

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GemmaMedia 230 Commercial Street Boston, MA 02109 www.gemmamedia.com [email protected]

Gemma: Bright binary star in Corona Borealis; the jewel of the Northern Crown.