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Veteran World Traveler, Cruise Specialist Joins “Travel For Boomers”

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Pamela Scala brings her expertise to the new blog.

Pamela Scala

December 7, 2011– Pamela Scala, a seasoned world traveler and cruise specialist, has joined Travel For Boomers, a new blog about a host of travel topics specifically for members of the “Baby Boomer” generation who either love to travel or want to travel, and want to do it as inexpensively and comfortably as possible.

Cruising, travel safety, and traveling with special dietary needs will be Scala’s focus on Travel For Boomers.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Pamela Scala studied Radio, television and film production with a sub-specialty in journalism. Her career has included working for a Chicago marketing firm, work with non-profits in board development, public relations, and event planning. Most recently she’s been involved in website development.

Known to her family as “Thrifty Pam,” Scala lives up to the moniker in her world travels by using frequent flier miles and rewards points to fly and stay in hotels for free. She’s also an expert at finding the best deals for luxury travel.

“I lived for 25 years in the Chicago area, where I did almost anything to get away from the weather,” she said. “Snow is a four-letter word, after all. Having had enough of that, my husband and I moved to a barrier island in Florida where we happily wear flip-flops year round.”

Her travel mantra is “Anywhere, anytime,” she said. “Back alleys and hidden storefronts don’t scare me. Biking where no motorized vehicles can go and people take their water buffalos for an afternoon walk is right on target. And luxury travel that includes flying in the front of the plane is the only way to go as long as it’s for free.”

A dedicated “travel hacker,” Scala uses a variety of methods to amass frequent flier miles and hotel rewards points. She brings that expertise, as well as her vast experience on cruise ships, to Travel For Boomers.

For more information on Travel For Boomers, visit www.travelforboomers.com.

ABC’s Nightline Spotlights Rick Ingersoll, The Frugal Travel Guy

Categories: blogs, budget travel, entertainment, news, people, travel, video
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Millions who tuned in discovered “Flying First Class For Free.”

November 29, 2011 — Rick Ingersoll, author of The Frugal Travel Guy blog, received national broadcast coverage last week when he was featured on ABC’s Nightline on November 22 in a segment entitled “Flying First Class For Free.”

Ingersoll is what ABC’s John Donvan called “a frequent flier mile millionaire.” He and others like him go to extreme measures to amass airline miles and hotel rewards points so that they can travel “literally around the world in first class for next to nothing,” anchor Terry Moran said in his introduction to the segment.

Donvan taped the segment with Ingersoll during the Chicago Seminar in late October. Organized by Rick Ingersoll and other veteran “travel hackers,” the seminar teaches participants how to maximize frequent flier miles and rewards points to enjoy free or nearly free travel around the globe. Donvan pointed out that Ingersoll does the same on a daily basis on his blog The Frugal Travel Guy.

Donvan highlighted three of the methods “extreme mileage hoarders” like Ingersoll use: (1) credit card sign-up bonuses, which often offer from 20,000 to 70,000 miles for an approved card after a minimum spend on that card is reached; (2) mileage and “mattress” runs to rack up frequent flier miles or hotel bonuses; and (3) rental car deals that often offer mile deals on rentals.

“Rick wants to teach the rest of us the tricks to becoming miles millionaires, too,” Donvan said.

ABC taped Ingersoll in United Airlines’ First Class Lounge at O’Hare Airport and caught him conducting a workshop at the Seminar. Among other world travels, Ingersoll told Donvan about a 10-day trip to China he and his wife took this year in business class that would have cost around $20,000 but, instead, cost them only $60 each in taxes plus 120,000 miles each.

In the luxury of a first class cabin aboard a parked United jet, Donvan asked him, “So you think this is something ordinary folks can do?”

“Not only can, but should do,” Ingersoll said.

ABC’s “Nightline” is late-night television’s award-winning news program featuring anchors Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran and Bill Weir. A video of November 22 segment with Rick Ingersoll and a transcript of the show are available at http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/frequent-flyer-secrets-tips-racking-travel-points/story?id=15001634#.TtKMmHG8pEQ.

For more information on The Frugal Travel Guy, visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

About The Frugal Travel Guy:

Rick Ingersoll is the author of The Frugal Travel Guy blog, which is read around the world and averages 6000 views per day, and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses and other promotions. He posts frugal travel tips deals every day on his blog with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. For more information visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

The Wall Street Journal Endorses The Frugal Travel Guy

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As the go-to blog for credit card sign-up bonuses for frequent flier miles

Rick Ingersoll, author, The Frugal Travel Guy blog

November 1, 2011 (Hilton Head Island, SC) – “Do you want 500,000 frequent-flier miles for free? It can be done, fairly easily,” wrote the Wall Street Journal’s Scott McCartney in his WSJ blog “The Middle Seat,” recently. “Hard-core frequent-flier junkies are churning credit card sign-up bonuses into first-class trips to exquisite destinations.”

To learn how to do this while keeping your credit score intact, McCartney suggests following Rick Ingersoll, author of the award-winning blog The Frugal Travel Guy, who “tracks card bonus offers closely.”

In the article, entitled “Miles For Nothing and Your Trips Are Free,” Ingersoll is the only frugal travel blogger McCartney mentions as an expert at amassing frequent flier miles “where [credit card] promotions can be churned into free miles or at least very inexpensive miles that can be turned into expensive tickets,” he notes.

While there are a host of other ways to garner frequent flier miles and rewards points, credit card sign-up bonuses offer the most miles in one move, sometimes as many as 100,000 in one application. And Ingersoll is the recognized expert in that type of travel hacking.

A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll is perhaps naturally aware of the benefits and pit-falls of credit cards in general and “card churning” to amass miles in particular. As a former banker, he knows how to make sure credit card applications have a minimal negative impact on someone’s credit score and how to meet the minimum spend in the required time to receive the bonuses. And he consistently cautions his readers to remember, “Your good credit is your most important asset.”

Ingersoll began travel hacking as a hobby and was so successful at it (he has a “bankroll” of over a million miles) that he “just decided to start spreading the word,” he said, by blogging. Today, his blog averages 6000 views per day and has received the Budget Travel Award for travel blogs from Tripbase.com for the past three years.

Ingersoll has been interviewed on CNN and by a host of travel media. He runs the successful “Chicago Seminar” on travel hacking each year with other leaders in “the game,” as he calls it, which has now become the largest single gathering of frequent travel enthusiasts in the nation. Scott McCartney’s endorsement in the Wall Street Journal is a welcomed addition to his accolades.

“It’s quite an honor to be singled out by a writer for the highly respected Wall Street Journal,” Ingersoll said.

For more information on Rick Ingersoll and The Frugal Travel Guy, visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

About Rick Ingersoll:

Rick Ingersoll, author of The Frugal Travel Guy blog and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook, is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses. He posts travel tips daily on debit and credit card deals and on other interesting promotions with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs today and for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll and his wife live in Hilton Head Island, SC, and Traverse City, MI, when they’re not traveling the globe. www.frugaltravelguy.com.

Travel For Boomers.com Targets Baby Boomers Who Love To Travel

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New travel blog is authored by “Boomers” for “Boomers.”

October 10, 2011 — A group of self-professed “travel fanatics” and veteran “travel hackers” have launched Travel For Boomers.com, a new blog specifically targeted to “Baby Boomers” (people born between 1946 and 1964), who either love to travel or want to travel, and “want to do so as inexpensively and comfortably as possible.”

Travel For Boomers went live on September 15. Just a few of the topics posted thus far include:

How to get the best deal when you’re booking a hotel room
Medical and dental “vacations” to get less expensive procedures
Why everyone should have a passport
Whether or not AARP travel discounts are all they advertise
Who “Baby Boomers” are and how they affect the travel industry
Suggestions for great destinations for mature travelers
and humorous, just-for-fun topics.

“We want Travel For Boomers be both informative and fun,” said blog editor and award-winning journalist Kim Weiss. “We’ll cover everything from step-by-step ‘how-tos’ on amassing frequent flier miles and rewards points, to memories of traveling before security check points — when airlines named Piedmont, Pan Am and Eastern still existed. We recently ran a post on how to help your kids who have their own kids travel more comfortably, and we have a three-part post on how to see the world in a weekend. That’s right: in a weekend.”

Weiss noted that most travel blogs direct their content to 25-45 year-old travelers. “That’s why we started Travel For Boomers. Baby Boomers are active, enthusiastic travelers who often have different priorities than less mature travelers, and certainly have different priorities than senior citizens. As Boomers ourselves, we can relate to those priorities and address them specifically on the blog. And we’re looking forward to reader input via the ‘comments’ feature.”

Weiss said she’s particularly proud of the roster of “Boomer” writers already on board and contributing posts, including veteran travel “hacker” and magazine columnist Cristine Krzyszton, who has amassed a million frequent flier miles; humor writer and seasoned frugal traveler Mars Candiotti; published author and award-winning freelance writer Bill Morris, who travels the world in search of the best fishing opportunities; and world traveler and film director Allen Weiss.

Producer/technical director Howie Rappaport and advertising/marketing director Shannon Watson round out the behind-the-scenes support system for Travel For Boomers.com.

“We’re currently working on the design and branding of Travel For Boomers,” Weiss added, “so readers can expect to see some changes in the look of the blog in the near future.”

To follow Travel For Boomers, go to www.travelforboomers.com. The blog also maintains a Facebook page.

About Travel For Boomers.com:

Travel For Boomers.com is travel blog specifically for members of the Baby Boomer generation (1946-1964) who love to travel, want to travel, and want to do so inexpensively and comfortably. Its contributors are veteran world travelers located across the U.S. who address a variety of travel concerns specific to the Baby Boomer audience, from “travel hacking” to amass frequent flier miles and points, to exciting and unusual destinations for mature travelers who are clearly not “senior citizens” yet. For more information, go to www.travelforboomers.com.

Affordable Flying: The Frugal Travel Guy’s Top Travel Deals

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Rick Ingersoll discusses the best deals out there for frequent travelers

Rick Ingersoll

by Kim Weiss

Rick Ingersoll is the author of the popular Frugal Travel Guy blog, which is read around the world and averages 6000 views per day. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses, and he posts travel tips daily on these and other technique to help his readers reduce their travel expenses for the rest of their lives.

Yet with all the new deals he’s constantly finding, his “Top Travel Deals” remain constant. What are they? He took the time recently to explain.

No 1: Specific credit card companies that offer huge sign-up bonuses.

“The number of cards offering big bonuses with no first year fee is growing rapidly,” Ingersoll said. “If you need 50,000 Continental or British Airways miles, or 50,000 Hyatt, Priority Club, or Marriott hotel points, you should apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Guest card. And the Chase Ultimate Rewards points are easily transferrable, one to one, to the Hyatt, Priority Club and Marriott programs.”

No 2: The new Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express “Open.”

“This card offers 50,000 Membership Rewards Points with no first year fee,” he said. “The minimum spend is $10,000, but you have a lengthy five months to complete that spend. If you have property taxes to pay or you have an extension to pay your income taxes in October, you can use this card to pay both and get to that minimum spend pretty quickly.”

No 3: Using your good credit to secure free travel.

“There is no more effective or lucrative way for someone with a good credit score and financial discipline to amass frequent flier miles than to take advantage of a host of credit card sign-up bonus offers,” Ingersoll says. “Of course, this method is not for those who don’t handle credit wisely and who don’t, or can’t, pay off their cards’ balances in full every month. It takes a good credit score and the ability to follow promotion directions to pull this off.”

The effect on your credit score per credit card application is only two to five points, according to Ingersoll. “I’ve received over 90 credit card sign-up bonuses over the years and still have excellent credit. This is a terrific mileage earning technique, but remember: You must meet the minimum spend requirements in the amount of time they give you, and you must pay your cards in full at the end of the month. If you can’t do that, this technique is definitely not for you.”

No. 4: American Express Platinum for points and lounge access.

“The American Express Platinum Card has a rather steep annual fee of $450, but it gives you 25,000 Membership Rewards points, $200 in airline incidental spend credit, and lounge access for one full year,” Ingersoll said. “There are also two ‘Mercedes Benz’ versions of this card that offer 5000 or 50,000 points, depending on the annual fee. The more expensive card provides lounge access as well. I can’t vouch for these other versions, however.”

No. 5: Bank Direct Mileage Checking for American Airlines.

“Why do I like this program? Because you can earn up to 22,000 American Airlines frequent flier miles by making direct deposits into it for three months, using its bill pay function for 12 months, and, most importantly, you can earn 100 miles per month per $1000 you keep in the account,” he explained. “There’s also a 1000-mile sign-up bonus.”

Ingersoll noted that miles earned are typically non-taxable, and that the Bank Direct program requires maintaining a $2500 minimum balance to avoid monthly fees.

No 6: The best all-around travel credit card, year after year: Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) credit card from American Express.

“The SPG card is simple the best for travel,” he said. “It allows you to earn a 10,000-mile sign-up bonus, there’s no annual fee for the first year, and you have the opportunity to earn 15,000 more points with just a $5000 spend over the first six months. This is my go-to card for everything.”

No 7: US Airways’ 40,000-mile card with no first year fee.

No 8: FlyerTalk tip – 75,000 American Airlines miles

On on FlyerTalk.com, the primary online community where frequent travelers around the world exchange knowledge and experiences, “there’s evidence that people are still getting 75,000 American Airlines miles for personal cards on the same day they apply and that amount again on the business card if they apply 90 days later,” he said. “That’s a good deal in anybody’s book.”

Rick Ingersoll is a retired mortgage banker who got into the “travel hacking” game as a hobby. But as he continued to amass miles and points and he and his wife began to enjoy travel the world for free or nearly free, he was inspired to share his tips and techniques with others by blogging. He also published The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook.

Today, Ingersoll receives a constant stream of thanks from readers who have been able to travel at prices they can afford since they began following The Frugal Travel Guy.

Local Bookstores and Shops Support Cary Author’s New Book, Mission

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“Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” now available in retail locations.

September 30, 2011 (Cary, NC) – “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane,” the new humor book by Cary, NC, author and blogger Cris Cohen, was officially released this month, and four Triangle area retail establishments have already signed on to stock it.

The book is now available at All Booked Up bookstore (www.allbookedupsalemst.com) and DownTown Knits (http://downtownknitsapex.blogspot.com) in Apex, and Chambers Arts gallery and studio in Cary (http://chambersart.com), and Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill (www.flyleafbooks.com).

“It is really nice of these stores to support a local writer,” said Cohen, “especially one who doesn’t write about the current hot topic of the undead, such as a zombies, vampires, and members of Congress.”

“Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” is a collection of humor columns Cohen, 40, wrote for several newspapers in California and new ones he’s written since he moved to Cary in 2008. He published the book through his own small press, Tyrannosaurus Max Press.

Janice Monaco, the owner of All Booked Up in Apex, explained why she’s enthusiastic about carrying Cohen’s new book:

“I took a chance a few years ago with opening my store. So with that came a local awareness for my community and what I could do to help other ‘little guys’ like me. Now that I’ve beaten the odds, I want to support local authors and artists in my store. The big chain stores don’t have someone like me, who believes in the author and his or her work. And my space for local authors’ work is showcased prominently. I pushed through the tough times and made it. Now it’s time for me to help others with the same goals. And Cris? He’s taken a chance and has something to say. He’s funny, smart, and his great voice shines through his work.”

About the subject matter of the columns, Cohen says: “Other people have great stories about big things that have happened to them. But for me, it’s like the label on a sweetener packet that just really catches my attention.”

As funny as the content is, the book has a serious purpose. Cohen will donate proceeds from sales to the Miracle League of the Triangle, a local baseball league for kids with special needs, including his own young son, Max.

In the middle of the book, a section of what appears to be advertisements suddenly appears. Cohen, who self-published the book, explains:

“These are not really ads, but sponsorships, acknowledgments of thanks to the business and individuals who gave one to help this book come to fruition. After all, this book was not underwritten by a large publishing house, or a small publishing house, or even a house where people occasionally use the world ‘publishing’ in conversation. Were it not for the help of the nice people on those pages I’m not sure it would have made it to print.”

The Kindle version of “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” is available on Amazon.com.

For more information on Cohen’s new book and to read an excerpt, visit www.stayingcrazy.com.

About Cris Cohen:

Cris Cohen is the author of the humor blog “Nothing In Particular,” the book “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane,” and the humor columnist for the CaryCitizen.com. Born in Buffalo, NY, he grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles, eventually graduating from the University of Southern California. After a stint in rock radio in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, Cris started writing his humor column for a collection of California newspapers. He eventually gravitated toward the tech world and Silicon Valley, working for companies such as Netscape and Cisco Systems. Cris, his wife Michele, and their young son Max, moved to Cary, North Carolina, in 2008. Cris’ blog is available at http://criscohen.typepad.com. For more information on his book, visit www.stayingcrazy.com.

The Frugal Travel Guy Receives Third Consecutive “Best Budget Travel Blog” Award

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Tripbase.com announces its 2011 winners.

September 28, 2011 (Hilton Head Island, SC) — For the third consecutive year, “The Frugal Travel Guy” blog has received a Tripbase Award for Best Budget Travel Blog.

Rick Ingersoll is the founder and primary author of “The Frugal Travel Guy” blog and a recognized “travel hacker” expert on frugal travel and flying for free. A retired mortgage banker and frequent world traveler, he is always on the look out for deals others miss or simply don’t know about towards accumulating airline frequent flier miles and hotel rewards points. He shares everything he finds and teaches his readers a host of tips and tricks for accumulating miles and points and significantly reducing their travel budget for life.

“My true intent is to teach people how to do this themselves,” he says, “so that they can see the world at prices we can all afford. I love showing average folks like me, who think they can’t afford to travel, that they can by following the tips, deals, and advice I post on the Frugal Travel Guy blog every day.”

Ingersoll is rewarded by near-constant thanks from readers for who have been on trips they never thought they could afford.

“The Frugal Travel Guy” blog also features weekly “Rookie Travel Tips” by Ingersoll’s daughter, Shannon Watson, for readers who are just beginning the “travel hacking” game; his son Andrew’s posts and photographs from his own extensive world travels; and “Sunday Success Stories” by readers who share how they used Ingersoll’s advice to afford often amazing travel experiences.

The Tripbase Travel award is only given to the blogs that are the top of their respective class and are some of the best in the field, according to Tripbase’s website (www.tripbase.com). A team of travel experts scours the Internet for the best blogs they can find and make the nominations. The group then short-lists certain blogs, considering factors such as how informative the blog is, the overall writing style, the actual blog appearance, and how well that blog performs in its given category when compared and contrasted to other, similar blogs.

“The award is a mark of prestige, which is only afforded to the blogs that score highly when our judges review them for selection,” Tripbase reports. “The award is a sign that a blog succeeds greatly at what it does, and surpasses all expectations, thereby indicating it as a veritable bastion of quality and information.”

For more information on the Tripbase Awards, visit www.tripbase.com/d/awards/2011.

For more information on The Frugal Travel Guy, visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

About The Frugal Travel Guy:

Rick Ingersoll is the author of The Frugal Travel Guy Blog, which is read around the world and averages 6000 views per day, and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses. He posts travel tips daily on debit and credit card deals and on other interesting promotions with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs today and for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll and his wife live in Hilton Head Island, SC, and Traverse City, MI, when they’re not traveling the globe. For more information visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

The Frugal Travel Guy Welcomes Hotel Group’s New Best Price Guarantee

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Rick Ingersoll suggests how to make the most of the new offer.

Rick Ingersoll, The Frugal Travel Guy

September 21, 2011 (Hilton Head Island, SC) – Rick Ingersoll, the author of the popular blog “The Frugal Travel Guy,” applauds the new Best Price Guarantee recently announced by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).

“It’s so refreshing to see a major chain of hotels like IHG step up to the plate with a meaningful best-price guarantee,” he said.

IHG’s portfolio of hotels includes InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.

IHG has promised to make sure the best hotel room prices for any IHG property can be found directly on its websites. “If you find a lower price on a competing Web site for the same hotel, type of accommodations and rate restrictions on the same date(s),” the IHG site says, “we’ll not only match that lower price, we’ll give you your first night free. It’s that simple.”

According to Ingersoll, this is very similar to the same guarantee offered years ago by Trip Rewards: If you found a cheaper price for the same exact hotel room with the same rate restrictions on another website, filed your claim within 24 hours, and the claim was approved, your hotel room was free.

“The key to success is to find the cheaper rate before you actually book your room on an approved IHG group website,” he cautioned. “Remember, everything must be exactly the same as far as the room type and room rate restrictions. And if you are going to be in a given town more than one night, look for more than one hotel best price guarantee and hotel hop for more free nights.”

To start the process of getting this best-price guarantee, Ingersoll suggests beginning by looking for a hotel room through Kayak.com or HotelsCombined.com, two hotel aggregator sites that show the room rates from many third-party sites.

“You’re looking for cheaper rates than the rates quoted by the IHG group website,” he stressed.

He also pointed out that refundable rates must be matched against refundable rates, and non-refundable rates must be matched against non-refundable rates.

“The game is actually fun and the results should be automatic since you can call in your claim once you have found a winner,” he said. “You can also fill out an online claim form, but I want to know right now if they are going to honor my claim. I tend to make refundable reservations for hotel rooms just in case my guarantee is not approved.”

Rick Ingersoll is always on the look out for ways to reduce travel expenses dramatically through credit card sign-up bonuses (that offer frequent flier miles), hotel rewards programs, and a variety of other ways. He reports his findings on “The Frugal Travel Guy” blog so that all his 6000-plus daily readers will be able to use them as well. For more information on Ingersoll and to follow his blog, go to www.frugaltravelguy.com.

For more information on IHG’s new rates offer, go to www.ichotelsgroup.com and click on “Best Price Guarantee.”

About Rick Ingersoll, “The Frugal Travel Guy”

Rick Ingersoll is the world’s expert on flying free and author of The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. A retired mortgage banker, he splits his time between Traverse City, Michigan and Hilton Head, SC. Rick’s expertise includes frequent flyer programs, getting the “bump,” customer service requests, and using good credit ratings to take advantage of bank promotions. He has collected over five million frequent flyer miles and has a current “bankroll” of over 1.5 million miles and points. He shares his expertise in his book, The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook, on his daily-updated blog at www.frugaltravelguy.com, and through speaking engagements and seminars he presents around the U.S. “The Frugal Travel Guy” blog has been a Best Travel Blog Award winner, presented by Tripbase.com, for the past three years.

Book Launch Party: “Staying Crazy” at Connolly’s with Suicide Blonde

Categories: blogs, books, charity, entertainment, events, fundraising, kids' issues, music, NC musicians, people, people with disabiliites, Triangle music scene
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September 12, 2011 (Cary, NC) — The official book launch party for “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane,” the new humor book by Cris Cohen, will be held on Saturday, September 17, beginning at 6 p.m. at Connolly’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in Cary. The event is open to the public and children are welcome.

“Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” is a collection of humor columns Cohen wrote for several newspapers when he lived in California and new ones he’s written since he and his family moved to Cary in 2008.

The launch party will coincide with a performance at Connolly’s by Suicide Blonde, a local band that plays ‘80s cover tunes. Cohen’s wife, Michele, discovered the band a couple of years ago and “became an instant fan,” he said, adding:

“I thought that a launch party should be energetic, carefree, and fun. Unfortunately I am none of those things. Thus I am attaching myself to Connolly’s Pub and the band. They will provide great food, great drinks, and great music. Meanwhile I will fill whatever need they might have for a guy to sit at a table with books.”

The band will take the stage at 6 p.m. Connolly’s will serve food and beverages throughout the afternoon and evening.

Cohen will have plenty of books on hand to sign and sell ($12) during the event, and he will donate proceeds from sales to the Miracle League of the Triangle, a baseball league for kids with special needs.

Pulitizer Prize-winning humor author Dave Barry has called it “a fine book for a fine cause.” The New Yorker’s cartoonist Drew Dernavich says, “If Cris made a lasagna, it would probably be a funny lasagna. If Cris made a chair, it would be a funny chair. Thankfully, he has decided to make a book instead, which I enjoyed reading along with a glass of the most hilarious Merlot.” An excerpt from the book is available on the website www.stayingcrazy.com.

Connolly’s Irish Pub & Restaurant is located at 1979 High House Road, Cary, NC 27519. For more information visit www.connollysirish.com.

For more information on “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” and The Miracle League, visit www.stayingcrazy.com.

Book Facts:

Title: Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane. Author: Cris Cohen. Publisher: Tyrannosaurus Max Press LLC. Genre: Humor, Nonfiction. Editor: Michelle Cohen. Cover illustrator: Darla Yancho. Interior illustrators: Daryl Stephenson, Michelle Zerzanek, Marilyn Berg Cooper. Pages: 178. Price: $14. Website: www.stayingcrazy.com.

About Cris Cohen:

New Book Keeps Readers Laughing and Raises Funds For A Good Cause

Categories: blogs, books, charity, fundraising, kids' issues, news, people, people with disabiliites
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Cris Cohen publishes “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane.”

September 6, 2011 (Cary, NC) – Humor author Cris Cohen takes on everything from credit card offers and his wife’s ultrasound to energy bar addiction, exercise videos, and Southern humidity in his new book “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane,” which is now available online and at select retail locations.

“Other people have great stories about big things that have happened to them,” Cohen, 40, says, “but for me, it’s like the label on a sweetener packet that just really catches my attention.”

The book is a collection of humor columns Cohen wrote for several newspapers when he lived in California as well as new ones he’s written since he moved to Cary, NC, in 2008.

In the section entitled “Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due – Or Not,” for example, he offers:

“Credit card companies regularly offer people cards to use in the hopes that, when it comes to financial issues, you’ll have the brains of a salad bar. After all, if you are good with your money and make all of your credit card payments on time, they only make a small profit. However, if you are bad with your money and miss some payments, they can legally sell your family.” (The full column can be read at www.stayingcrazy.com by clicking on “excerpt.”)

But there’s more to this book, which PEN/Faulkner prize-winning author T.C. Boyle calls “very funny stuff,” than a good belly laugh. Cohen will donate the bulk of the proceeds from sales to The Miracle League of the Triangle, a baseball league for kids with special needs, including his own son, Max. That fact prompted Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist Dave Barry to call it “A fine book for a fine cause.”

“Max’s various physical and mental challenges prohibit him from participating in a lot of fun, regular kid stuff,” Cohen said. “The League is one of the few places where all of those barriers and limitations are magically wiped away. It’s a place where Max gets to have some independence, to leave Mom and Dad in the stands and head out to the field. And we have made a lot of great friends, people who understand the challenges of being the parents of a special needs child and can offer advice, support, etc. After receiving all of that, my wife Michele and I wanted to give something back.”

And he adds: “I have always dreamed of publishing a book, or at least finding a way to make my computer a tax deduction.”

Cohen is selling “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” at Miracle League baseball games in Cary, through CreateSpace (https://www.createspace.com/3638597) and on Amazon. It is also currently available in Chambers Arts, 200 South Academy Street, Cary, NC. An ebook version will be available soon and will be announced on the book’s website www.stayingcrazy.com.

“If you would like a signed copy, I recommend getting someone really famous to do it. Then it might be worth something some day,” Cohen said. “However, if you cannot find someone famous, I am happy to sign them.” Signed copies may be ordered for $14 from: Tyrannosaurus Max Press, 211 Parkmeadow Drive, Cary, NC 27519.

For more information on “Staying Crazy To Keep From Going Insane” and author Cris Cohen, go to www.stayingcrazy.com.

For more information on the Miracle League of the Triangle, visit www.miracleleagueofthetriangle.com.

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