January News

It's 2006, and we wanted to say thanks to all of you who have helped us spread the word about Amazing Dreams and our services. Because of your incredible support in sending emails with our website link, talking about our site to your friends both online and in person, and linking your websites to ours, we have doubled the hits to our website in one year!

In December 2004 we had 56,290 separate people accessing our site over 1,158,066 times, and in December 2005 we had 93,510 separate people accessing the site over 2,545,686 times! Quite an improvement! Because of people like you who support what we are doing by spreading the word, Amazing Dreams Publishing is quickly becoming one of the best places for our community on the Internet today
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During the last year, we have added many free services to our site. We now have a lot more Coming Out Resources for women; A New Bookstore featuring some of the best self-help books available; 58 Lesbian and Bisexual Women Networking Groups, one in each state and several English speaking countries; a STD Support Group for lesbians and bisexual women; over 750 Ecards from 25 artists; over 100 Sensual World Ecards; and New Holiday Specialty Ecards made just for us like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Halloween. We also have new Lesbian Film Reviews; new News Feeds from Planet Out; GLBT Marriage Updates; New Lesbian Comic Strips; Lesbian and Fantasy Women art and magnets; Lesbian Pride Items; Lesbian Travel Deals with Orbits and Olivia Cruises; Lesbian Dating with Match.com; and over 5,000 sensual toys in our Lesbian Sex Tips Toy Store, including two new vendors for beautiful glass sensual toys; and we've just signed up with two brand new affiliates for incredible GLBT Wedding Planning Software and inexpensive Health Insurance.

We've been busy, but we still need help getting the word out about our books and our services, so please feel free to pass on our website address to anyone who may need it.

CALL FOR BOOK REVIEWS

Our books are slowly but surely rising in Amazon standings, but we still need good reviews. If you have read either our Coming Out Guide or our Sex Tips Guide, soft-cover or PDF Ebook, would you please consider writing a positive review on Amazon? If you'd rather stay undercover that you read our books, you can quickly sign up for a new account and post a review anonymously.

A lot of people don't realize that the more positive reviews we get, the higher we are ranked in Amazon, and the more women will be encouraged to read our books. The more women that read our books, the more find out about our support groups, and the more women we can help worldwide!

The Sex Tips Guide really needs reviews. It has the same sexuality and relationship information in it as the Coming Out Guide, except it was written with inclusive language, for anyone, male or female, who loves women. If there was something in the sex and relationship chapters that helped you from the Coming Out Guide, you could post that information for the Sex Tips Guide.
Here are direct links to Amazon for each book:

Our Coming Out GuideOur Sex Tips Guide

About halfway down the page you will see Customer Reviews. Under that is a link that says: Write an Online Review. Click that and you will be helping us help women worldwide!!!

MORE NEWS

Our Aussie Ecard Artists, Private Pink, are getting ready to have one of their paintings featured on The L Word! The episode comes out in March, so be sure to watch for their painting which will be displayed in the Planet Cafe!!!

To start the new year off right, we designed a brand new home page for our website--half the file size and easier to navigate, so it should load much faster for people accessing the site. Be sure to check it out here: www.amazingdreamspublishing.com

HELP OUR FRIEND MAC

You may be wondering why our newsletter is a little late reaching you this month. Our friend and mentor, Mac McCloud, had a small cut on the back of his leg. This cut got infected, and this infection moved into his blood stream and eventually caused staph infection, which lead to a heart attack! Mac almost died, and has been in the hospital without insurance for over a month! Mac was instrumental in setting up all of our Lesbian/Bi Women Networking groups, and owns two great websites which help bisexual and gay men worldwide. He is doing for men what we are doing for women, and he is like a brother to us here.

To help Mac with his mounting medical bills, we've been fundraising nonstop here. If you'd like to contribute to "Our Dear Brother" we'd sure appreciate it. We are only asking for $1 or $2 to be sent to him in an envelope to his home where his sister, also "family," is picking up his mail:

Stewart ("Mac") McCloud
1826 East Third Street, #1
Long Beach, CA 90802
USA

Or you can use the Paypal link on his website here:

http://www.bimen.org/helpmacnow.htm

Mac's medical bills will be in the $250,000 range by the time he is through! This has been a sobering experience for us all here, and even more sobering is the fact that we do not have medical insurance either!

Our small company is run mostly by two people and 25 volunteers, and insurance was a luxury we couldn't afford--at least until we started dealing with Mac's situation. With a fire under our butts, we began digging around on the Internet, but alas, insurance companies are not allowed to issue policies for domestic partners yet. We did find the next best thing--a company with really great rates comparable to what a married couple would pay for both of them to be insured. If you need insurance for you and your Significant Other, or family, here's some information on the company we found with a banner link:

Do you and your Significant Other need Health Insurance?
In addition to featuring the largest selection of major medical health plans from leading companies, eHealthInsurance also offers a wide selection of quality short term, student, and dental plans. You can obtain FREE instant quotes, side-by-side comparisons, the best available prices, online applications, and a knowledgeable Customer Care team to help you find the plan that is right for you. Just click the banner below, and search for the best prices for you and your partner:

Don't wait until it's too late. Our friend Mac will be in debt for the rest of his life over what he thought was a simple cut on his leg.

THE YEAR AHEAD

This is the year that we all need to come together and support each other as a family. The tragedy in WV brought out a hate group that is actually picketing the funerals and stating that "God is laughing, mocking and deriding hypocritical fag-infested West Virginia."

We are scratching our heads here, because everyone knows that WV is FAR from being the homo capital of the world.

These people actually think that any disaster is God's wrath on gay people, and we are about sick of being labeled as "The Scourge of Society" here at Amazing Dreams Publishing!

What all this means is that there is no time for judging and separation within our own GLBT community. Not only are our rights to get married an issue, but our basic rights as human beings on this Earth are also at stake! There are hate groups popping up everywhere and blaming us for everything, and it is up to us to band together as a community and work as a unit to gain our freedom! TOGETHER WE STAND! The apathy that has been growing in our community needs to stop now before our rights float away on a sea of bigotry.

And speaking of bigotry, here's a story from two women in our town of Asheville, NC that was just sent to us today. You all may want to take a few minutes and lend them a hand by writing a letter or sending an email to their homophobic ex-business associates, or signing the petition at EQUALITY NC.

Hello All,

I'm writing to let you know about a recent unfortunate development with my business and to ask for your support.

As many of you already know, Virginia and I recently got legally married in Provincetown, Mass. Upon our return to Asheville, we decided to submit our wedding announcement to the Asheville Citizen-Times. Much to our delight, the newspaper readily accepted our announcement and ran it in the Nov. 6th issue. To our knowledge, this was the first same-sex wedding announcement with photo that was run in the Asheville Citizen-Times.

We received much positive feedback about our wedding and about our decision to submit our announcement. Unfortunately, we also lost our Winter business. It seems that the owner(s) of Wolf Laurel Slopes, where we had been doing ski and snowboard photography for the past two seasons, did not want us there any longer once they heard about the publication of our announcement. While they initially gave us some reasons that did not hold water, they eventually confirmed that they did not want us there because we are a lesbian couple.

Orville English, the primary owner, gave me the news that we could not do business there at a very late date, just two days before the ski season was scheduled to open. This was after Virginia and I had spent the previous month preparing and ordering supplies for this season.

For the past two seasons, All Terrain Images was allowed to take and sell photographs of skiers and snowboarders in exchange for allowing the ski resort free use of a variety of our photographs in its marketing materials. While English and his partner, Rick Bussey (also affiliated with Blue Ridge Savings Bank and Scenic Wolf Ridge), decided to terminate the part of the agreement allowing us to operate and generate income at their resort, they decided they would continue using our photographs for their own benefit.

We have always been extremely professional and conducted a respectable business at Wolf Laurel, and we added a valuable service to skiers and snowboarders who visited the resort. We have gone out of our way to provide excellent quality photographs for Wolf Laurel's use in promoting their resort. We've made the ski area look good in our photographs, which is not always an easy task on these particular slopes. Additionally, we've spent many extra hours photographing subjects at Wolf Laurel, and restoring old photographs, at the specific request of Mr. English for his own personal use.

The income from our work at Wolf Laurel was vital to All Terrain Images. We are very disappointed that Mr. English and Mr. Bussey have allowed their prejudice to get in the way of an otherwise good working relationship.

How you can help:
First, please forward this email to everyone you think may be interested. Second, since our website is advertised in the current Ski Wolf Laurel brochure, we have posted information on our site about this issue. Please check it out (more website hits means better search engine results and more publicity). http://www.allterrainimages.com/wolflaurel/index.html

And finally, if you disagree with the actions of the Wolf Laurel owners, please let them know by sending a written letter and/or email. If you have the time and inclination, we believe that personalized letters make more of a difference than form letters. However, a form letter is always better than no letter, so please contact us and we will send you one. You may also use our form letter as a starting point and add or delete as you see fit. The template is in MS Word format. Let us know if you need a different format and we'll do our best to get it to you.

To send a letter to Wolf Laurel, please use the following addresses. The reason for two addresses is because the mail system at the resort is not the most reliable. Additionally, If you are willing to use two stamps, sending a copy to Mr. Bussey at Scenic Wolf Ridge, will certainly have an impact.

For the following address, do not include any names on the envelope, but only use them in the letter:

Wolf Laurel Slopes
PO Box 969
Mars Hill, NC 28754

For the following address, include Rick Bussey's name on the envelope:

Mr. Rick Bussey
c/o Scenic Wolf Ridge Resort
104 North Main Street
Weaverville, NC 28787

If you prefer to use email, please send to: marketing@skiwolflaurel.com. Make sure you address your email to Mr. Orville English and Mr. Rick Bussey, or to "Wolf Laurel Slopes Owners" in order to ensure the email gets to them. Believe it or not, the marketing director will likely have to print it out and take it to them, as to our knowledge neither owner has a direct email address.

Thanks for your time and support.

Laurel E. Scherer
All Terrain Images, Inc.
http://www.allterrainimages.com
828-712-3464

This story was on our local news twice yesterday, and has been picked up by EQUALITY NC ACTION ALERT. Here are two more ways you can help:

1) Sign the petition at http://eqfed.org/campaign/employmentpetition

2) Forward this message on to your friends, family and co-workers and ask them to sign too. With your help, we can show decision makers that people all across the state are standing
together for equal rights.

SUPPORT FOR LESBIANS COMING OUT GROUP
Our Lesbian/BI Women Online Support Group now has 373 members from all over the world. We are providing support for women as far away as New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and Iran! Here's what some of our members are saying:

"I still can't thank you and everyone else enough for the help you've given me. Tracey is wonderful for setting up the group in the first place - there's nothing else like it. I don't know how I'd have coped if I hadn't been able to come here and talk things over and get advice. I love reading other people's posts too (whatever they're about), it gives me other things to think about so I don't dwell on my situation. As I've said before I really hope that one day I can help someone too. It is like having another family, coming here and seeing what other people have been up to."
Jayne
Member
Support For Lesbians Coming Out
Online Support Group

"As a short-timer on the list, I've already gained so very much from the support and acceptance of SFLCO members and moderators. Living in a small NW FL town is hard if you're different. Diversity is not embraced here, so having a list of like-minded, caring, and supportive women has been invaluable in a difficult time in my life. It's a safe nest to be in when you're learning to fly."
Katy
Member
Support For Lesbians Coming Out
Online Support Group

See more quotes from members of our support group

As always, sending huge THANKS to everyone who has spread the word about our website and our Support and Networking Groups.

OUR LESBIAN NETWORKING GROUPS
Our 58 Networking and Support Groups are thriving with one in every US state, and several more in English Speaking Countries. These groups now have over 2,000 members, both single women and women in couples, but we still need moderators. Being a moderator means you get to meet lots of women from your local area, a perfect way to make new friends or more. Our Moderators are setting up online chats, lunch get-togethers, and coffee meetings in their areas, so join in the fun, make some new friends, and network in your community.

The following Networking Groups now have moderators: AL, AZ, CANADA, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NJ, NY, NZ, OH, PA, RI, SC, TX, UK, VA, VT, and W VA. We have 27 more that need good women to make sure that the groups are a safe space with no men joining or lurking. If you are an honest, caring, woman who would like to volunteer some time for your community, please join your state's, or country's, Lesbian Networking Group and then email the List Owner that you would like to volunteer as moderator. The email address for the List Owner is listed under Group Email Addresses at the bottom of the Networking Group's home page.

Our affiliates provide quality products for our supporters.
Profits from them and our own books help us to
keep our services free for women worldwide.
ORDER EARLY FOR VALENTINE'S DAY!
See Specials listed in Red Below:

REMEMBER, VALENTINE'S DAY IS NEXT MONTH! SEND FLOWERS TO SHOW HER YOU CARE.
Our online flower shop is doing really well! People are signing up and ordering discount flowers from their accounts. Here are two emails we received last month:

"Because my girlfriend is in the mental health care profession, she is always dealing with "Sticky Situations." For a joke, I sent her a cactus garden to her work. I figured the garden would last a week or so, and then she could toss it. It's been over a year and the cactus still look great! Everyone loves it and it makes a handy weapon if a client gets wild in her office!" Terry, Lexington, KY.

"I sent my partner both the 12 Blue Roses with the Cobalt Glass Container and the Juniper Bonsai. The roses were so beautiful that she hung them up and dried them, and the Bonsai tree is still thriving in her kitchen window." Alice, Orlando, FL

SPECIAL VALENTINE'S DAY BOUQUETS:
Our Valentine's Day bouquets will be available online starting January 13, 2006 at 5 PM ET. These bouquets will be available until February 17, 2006:
* Valentines Day Bouquet
* Hugs & Kisses Bouquet
* Additional Valentine's Day Florist Arranged and Plant products will be available online throughout the month of January. Gifts starting at $19.95.
Visit the Amazing Dreams Flower Shop for our Valentine's Day selections!

LESBIAN AND FANTASY WOMEN ART PRINTS AND MAGNETS
Along with our lesbian-themed posters and magnets, we've now got 100 fantasy women art prints. Frame them yourself, or purchase them totally matted and framed and ready as gifts! From sensual to radical, from pride to fun, these posters and magnets make great Valentine gifts for friends, lovers, and just about anyone who loves women.
Visit our Lesbian Poster Page for beautiful prints.
Visit our Lesbian Magnet pages for the best in miniature art.
Visit our Fantasy Women Page for beautiful prints of incredible women.

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LESBIAN VIDEO AND DVD
Perfect for for romance on Valentine's Day! Lesbian DVDs and Videos! From sweet coming out stories to full-blown lesbian love stories, which may even spark some romance in your own relationship, remember to check out our online reviews before you rent or buy. We are also an affiliate with TLA Video, so any movies you purchase by linking from our site to TLA gives us a small percentage back from them. This helps us to continue providing free services for our community.
Visit our TLA AFFILIATE for the best in lesbian movies.

PRIDE ITEMS AND LESBIAN GREETING CARDS
Gorgeous lesbian seasonal cards, just in time for Valentine's Day! We have teamed up with 10 Percent to provide you with a full selection of beautiful Lesbian Pride Jewelry, including some gorgeous work from California Designer, Rick Alarcon. We also have Lesbian Pride Gear including Rainbow Key Chains, Flags, Journals, Wrist Bands, Lesbian Calendars and Magnets. For your friends, and more than friends, we have a full selection of printed Lesbian Birthday and Friendship Cards and Lesbian Love Cards just for you!

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