And Garners Praise from Top Amazon Reviewer

Roslindale, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/20/2007 -- YMAA Publication Center (with author, Arthur Rosenfeld) has brought the traditional Asian martial arts novel to the United States. And it used an unconventional approach to garnering book reviews. "We approached top Amazon reviewers directly and told them about our new novel," says publisher David Ripianzi. "And, much to our delight, we immediately heard back from Amazon's number one book reviewer, Harriet Klausner, who was interested in our title. She agreed to review the book, and she did. In fact, she wrote a glowing critique of The Cutting Season, calling it "fascinating" and praising the "fast-paced story line."

Ripianzi explains, "For us, receiving praise from Klausner was every bit as exciting as getting a review from one of the top daily newspapers in the country … more exciting, perhaps, since it goes directly to the heart of what readers want: honest feedback about books from real people."

YMAA Publication Center has been publishing martial arts books for nearly 25 years. Their titles include Qigong Health and Martial Arts by Dr. Yang (50,000 copies sold since 1985); Analysis of Shaolin Chin Na (more than 80,000 copies sold since 1989); and Sunrise Tai Chi by Ramel Rones (just released as a followup to a DVD, and critically acclaimed by Larry Lucchino, president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, as well as Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D., bestselling author of Strong Women book series). The Cutting Season is our first foray into fiction," says publisher David Ripianzi. "Martial arts characters are hugely popular in America, so the time is right for the traditional Asian martial arts novel to be introduced to the U.S."

Ripianzi chose Arthur Rosenfeld as his inaugural novelist after searching for several years. "We knew that we wanted to publish quality martial arts themed fiction, but the challenge has been finding the right author to launch our new imprint, YMAA Fiction. Typically, martial arts knowledge has been [in] the hands of people who don't write fiction, and it's a rare novelist who has the necessary advanced martial arts knowledge to craft a story in this genre. Rosenfeld is a true find. He possesses martial arts knowledge from traditional training, and he's also an established and critically-acclaimed novelist. I don't know of anyone else out there with his rare blend of talents and skills. We're really excited to have him aboard."

The Cutting Season
By Arthur Rosenfeld
YMAA Fiction
http://www.thecuttingseason.com
ISBN: 978-1-59439-082-1
$21.95
June 2007

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Roslindale, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/05/2007 -- Millions of martial arts fans will now have their day, as will the even greater number of Americans who love a great literary action hero. Of course, fans of the medical thriller have a treat in store, as do readers who enjoy the supernatural, the murder mystery, spirituality, and a good old fashioned vigilante tale.

All these dimensions are in full flower in Arthur Rosenfeld's new novel The Cutting Season (YMAA Publication Center, 2007), the first book in a planned series that brings the most popular category of Asian fiction to these shores for the first time.

In his novel, Rosenfeld introduces Dr. Xenon Pearl, the crack South Florida neurosurgeon who finds all he has trained and worked for in jeopardy when the child of a local mafia boss dies on his surgical table. Spurred by the specter of his deceased martial arts teacher, Pearl uses his medical training to exact justice. His credo becomes: "Do no harm … Honor your teacher … Cut without mercy …." The story involves mysticism, reincarnation, betrayal, romance, organized crime, communication with the dead, Jewish/Chinese culture, motorcycles, and medicine.

A martial arts master whose training spans over twenty-five years, and a critically-acclaimed and widely-published novelist, Rosenfeld's ground-breaking transplantation of this important exotic genre explores human conflict, desires, and the search for moral certainties to the United States. "The Cutting Season is the culmination of all my experience as a writer and as a martial arts expert. I've written it to answer the burgeoning interest in Asian themes, spirituality, and martial arts."

The Cutting Season
By Arthur Rosenfeld
YMAA Fiction
www.thecuttingseason.com
ISBN: 978-1-59439-082-1
$21.95
June 2007

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm