Author Spotlight

To get inside the story from Ann’s perspective, read the entire interview at the World Literary Cafe.

Reason, masquerading as both the minimum prerequisite of intellectual coherence as well as the apex of human ingenuity, has systematically undermined every traditional and modern attempt to find a satisfying and compelling meaning of life. This ongoing, and perhaps accelerating, demolition of meaning has left us so devoid of purpose, so unsure of ourselves and our culture, that we now lack the conviction needed to defend ourselves or our values, and we are slowly committing demographic suicide.

Esoteric as this topic may appear on its face, it dominates, more or less explicitly, nearly every aspect of our political, cultural, scientific, and religious conversation. The reviews, essays, commentaries, and discussions on his new blog, if successful, will illustrate the depth of the crisis and the urgency of a solution.

Awards were chosen in two categories – 1. Closest to the story of the book and 2. The most fun or unexpected caption.

"Hmmmm, do I really need my soul?" "I didn’t know that a dinosaur could use a compass?!!"

And, the WINNERS are:

Closest to the book:

WINNER: “Hmmmm, do I really need my soul?” Submitted by Roseann

Honorable mentions:

“See in the shadow while committing pen to page,
What darkness surrounds the small circle of light for thy son, a sage.” Submitted by Marlene

“Utopia beckons, but at what price?” Submitted by Jessa

Most fun or unexpected:

WINNER: “I didn’t know that a dinosaur could use a compass?!!” Submitted by Patricia

Honorable mentions:

“Lawyer Gang Signs” Submitted by Shannon

“Just sign here…no, here…NO! HERE!!!” Submitted by Gianna

Congratulations Roseann and Patricia!

Clubs can either download the document or participate online.

As always, we’d love to read your comments.

Book clubs – use the contact us form to ask about volume discounts.

The Labbitt Halsey Protocol

• Online Discussion
• Download the document

Do You Doubt the Daffodil? Meditations from the Garden

by Bobbi Junod
ISBN: 978-0-9802088-3-2

• Online Discussion
• Download the document

The Law of Physics

• Open forum discussion for the first three chapters

- Andrew Ryan, author

The Labbitt Halsey Protocol

ISBN:  978-0-9802088-0-1 Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-9802088-2-5 eBook
ISBN: 978-0-9802088-7-0 Kindle

Lexington, KY (May 15, 2011) – Do You Doubt the Daffodil? Meditations from the Garden by Bobbi Junod has been selected the WINNER of the 2011 Indie Excellence Award in the category of Gardening.

The Indie Excellence Awards are reserved for the “best of the best” in books published in various genres. The criteria for recognition are stringent and include overall excellence in presentation. This award celebrates the highest achievements in independent press and self-publishing, a sector of the industry that has grown exponentially in recent years.

Winners and finalists were announced on Sunday, May 15. For a complete list of the honorees visit: .

A novel by Andrew Ryan

ISBN:  978-0-9802088-0-1 Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-9802088-2-5 eBook
ISBN: 978-0-9802088-7-0 Kindle

(May 2011 – Leesburg, Virginia) Andrew Ryan, author, asks that question in his debut novel THE LABBITT HALSEY PROTOCOL (Gadfly, May 17, 2011). In a world where the reach of science has tragically exceeded its grasp, Ann Franklin is now faced with the consequences of her choice to genetically enhance her son, Jeremy, with super-human intelligence. Set in the hyper-competitive Washington, D.C. government consulting arena, Ann is torn between her work and Jeremy’s world, a subculture of society – one of nihilism and despair, and beset with suicide as a result of the sheer weight of the unendurable genius that plagues these would-be children of the future. Timing, however, could not be worse as this attractive, shrewd, hard-charging single-mother is about to seal the deal of her career with the largest contract her company has ever pursued; a win means promotion to vice president, lose and she is out of a job.

THE LABBITT HALSEY PROTOCOL draws on our most basic human motives – motherhood, personal success, the search for meaning, the illusion of control. Before it’s over, Ann’s quest to understand her son will push her right up to the limits of the mind’s tolerance of meaninglessness and chaos and take readers along for the ride, leaving them with questions of their own.

THE LABBITT HALSEY PROTOCOL is available in paperback, Kindle, Nook and eBook.

A novel by Andrew Ryan

ISBN:  978-0-9802088-0-1 Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-9802088-2-5 eBook
ISBN: 978-0-9802088-7-0 Kindle

(May 2011 – Leesburg, Virginia) Andrew Ryan, author, asks that question in his debut novel THE LABBITT HALSEY PROTOCOL (Gadfly, May 17, 2011).  In a world where the reach of science has tragically exceeded its grasp, Ann Franklin is now faced with the consequences of her choice to genetically enhance her son, Jeremy, with super-human intelligence. Set in the hyper-competitive Washington, D.C. government consulting arena, Ann is torn between her work and Jeremy’s world, a subculture of society – one of nihilism and despair, and beset with suicide as a result of the sheer weight of the unendurable genius that plagues these would-be children of the future. Timing, however, could not be worse as this attractive, shrewd, hard-charging single-mother is about to seal the deal of her career with the largest contract her company has ever pursued; a win means promotion to vice president, lose and she is out of a job.

THE LABBITT HALSEY PROTOCOL draws on our most basic human motives – motherhood, personal success, the search for meaning, the illusion of control. Before it’s over, Ann’s quest to understand her son will push her right up to the limits of the mind’s tolerance of meaninglessness and chaos and take readers along for the ride, leaving them with questions of their own.

THE LABBITT HALSEY PROTOCOL is available in paperback, Kindle and eBook.

Lexington, KY (May 15, 2011) – Do You Doubt the Daffodil? Meditations from the Garden by Bobbi Junod has been selected the WINNER of the 2011 Indie Excellence Award in the category of Gardening.

The Indie Excellence Awards are reserved for the “best of the best” in books published in various genres. The criteria for recognition are stringent and include overall excellence in presentation. This award celebrates the highest achievements in independent press and self-publishing, a sector of the industry that has grown exponentially in recent years.

Winners and finalists were announced on Sunday, May 15. For a complete list of the honorees visit: .

Released May 17th, 2011

What choice did she really have?

With the perfection of Labbitt Halsey Genomics’ groundbreaking XEN protocol, no conscientious parent could deny the tantalizing possibilities. At least that’s what Ann Franklin’s husband convinced her of at the time they chose to conceive. Her son was to be one of the children of the future, whose unprecedented genius would propel mankind into a bright, shining tomorrow.

But sixteen years later, sobered by the pitiless law of unintended consequences, Ann finds herself drawn into Jeremy’s horrifying world, one of nihilism and suicide, while struggling against the loss of her high-powered consulting career, her son, and possibly her own life.

From the pressure-packed government-corporate culture of Washington, D.C. to the XEN underworld in the back streets of New Orleans, The Labbitt Halsey Protocol explores the depths of a mother’s love in the face of genetic manipulation gone tragically awry.

(July, 2010 – Leesburg, Virginia) Turning the universal remote control into a conversation controller, binaryFrenzy, LLC debuts in the iTunes App store with the Universal eMote. Designed for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, the Universal eMote plays the sounds of common buttons on a universal remote control adding humor and remote emotes to conversation. The Universal eMote, selling for 99 cents, is pure entertainment that teens and pre-teens will use to hone their “annoy adults” skills.

“The idea came when, while reading aloud one evening, someone gestured to me as if pressing the pause button on the remote control and spoke ‘Pause, pause’. While it didn’t have an immediate effect, my reading paused for a side bar conversation morphing into the idea for an app.” Jill Ryan, project manager. Will Troxell, President, binaryFrenzy, decided the concept had merit and took the project on. With expertise in audio engineering and computer science, the Universal eMote was a perfect app to debut in the iTunes App Store.

About the Developer:

Will Troxell, president and founder of binaryFrenzy, LLC, is an accomplished musician, audio engineer, and computer scientist. A graduate of the AboutObjects iPhone Development course, Troxell has several projects in process for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad. He continues to maintain his own recording and mastering studio as well as playing in two local bands.

Gadfly, LLC was founded by a philosopher with an insatiable desire for the truth that only intensifies when it threatens to upset the status quo. When we added our second author, the name became even more appropriate. Both of our authors are seekers of truth, albeit from very different perspectives, who want to share what they’ve learned with the world.

For us, Gadfly is about taking a chance, holding back nothing and risking it all. Our work may not always be popular or even politically correct. But, if we learn something worth sharing and selfishly protect it from the world, our lives will be nothing but a sad series of what-ifs.

Founders

Andrew Ryan

Andrew M. Ryan is the author of two books; The Law of Physics (2008) and The Labbitt Halsey Protocol, released May 2011. Earning his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Louisiana State University, he continued to educate himself in physics, cosmology, and neuroscience. Gadfly was initially established to publish Andrew’s work and therefore, forms the creative side of the business. To pay the bills, Andrew is a Senior Proposal Manager with expertise in Federal Proposals in the Washington D.C. metro area.

Jill Ryan

Jill R. Ryan is the management side of the business. She started her career in broadcast news and followed an evolutionary path into IT project management. Jill earned her Bachelor’s degree in Radio/TV/Film from Indiana State University and her Master in Business Administration from Reading University, England. An accomplished program and project manager with PMP certification, Jill provides the business and project management elements to Gadfly’s work.

Joseph-Beth Booksellers

The Morris Book Shop

Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea

UNIVERSAL REMOTE CONTROL NOW EMOTES

Click here for iTunes Product Page

(July, 2010 – Leesburg, Virginia) Turning the universal remote control into a conversation controller, binaryFrenzy, LLC debuts in the iTunes App store with the Universal eMote. Designed for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, the Universal eMote plays the sounds of common buttons on a universal remote control adding humor and remote emotes to conversation. The Universal eMote, selling for 99 cents, is pure entertainment that teens and pre-teens will use to hone their “annoy adults” skills.

“The idea came when, while reading aloud one evening, someone gestured to me as if pressing the pause button on the remote control and spoke ‘Pause, pause’. While it didn’t have an immediate effect, my reading paused for a side bar conversation morphing into the idea for an app.” Jill Ryan, project manager. Will Troxell, President, binaryFrenzy, decided the concept had merit and took the project on. With expertise in audio engineering and computer science, the Universal eMote was a perfect app to debut in the iTunes App Store.

About the Developer:

Will Troxell, president and founder of binaryFrenzy, LLC, is an accomplished musician, audio engineer, and computer scientist. A graduate of the AboutObjects iPhone Development course, Troxell has several projects in process for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad. He continues to maintain his own recording and mastering studio as well as playing in two local bands.

Click Here

(July, 2010 – Leesburg, Virginia) Turning the universal remote control into a conversation controller, binaryFrenzy, LLC debuts in the iTunes App store with the Universal eMote. Designed for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, the Universal eMote plays the sounds of common buttons on a universal remote control adding humor and remote emotes to conversation. The Universal eMote, selling for 99 cents, is pure entertainment that teens and pre-teens will use to hone their “annoy adults” skills.

“The idea came when, while reading aloud one evening, someone gestured to me as if pressing the pause button on the remote control and spoke ‘Pause, pause’. While it didn’t have an immediate effect, my reading paused for a side bar conversation morphing into the idea for an app.” Jill Ryan, project manager. Will Troxell, President, binaryFrenzy, decided the concept had merit and took the project on. With expertise in audio engineering and computer science, the Universal eMote was a perfect app to debut in the iTunes App Store.

About the Developer:

Will Troxell, president and founder of binaryFrenzy, LLC, is an accomplished musician, audio engineer, and computer scientist. A graduate of the AboutObjects iPhone Development course, Troxell has several projects in process for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad. He continues to maintain his own recording and mastering studio as well as playing in two local bands.

Winner National Indie Excellence Book Award

Do You Doubt the Daffodil?

Meditations from the Garden

By Bobbi Junod
ISBN: 978-0-9802088-3-2

Author and artist, Bobbi Junod, makes her debut with an inspirational heartfelt walk through the garden in Do You Doubt the Daffodil? Meditations from the Garden. Filled with meditations accompanied by intriguing drawings, photographs and quirky humor, Junod takes the reader on a journey of self-reflection finding peace in the heart of the garden.

Do You Doubt the Daffodil? is the result of a lifetime of seeking and building a spiritual relationship. Junod takes the reader along on her walk allowing a glimpse of the very personal reflections and challenges revealed in her meditations. “For me, creativity is such an enormous part of meditation. Source just loves to play off imagination, often taking up a thread from daily life and using it to tell me a story or give me a reminder to help me in some way.”

Each page is a spiritual message of wisdom, play, challenges, and comfort that weaves a personal and uniquely different path for the reader. Belonging on the bedside table, this is not a page turner. Each morsel provides an opportunity to examine our very essence of life and how each of us fit in this world, from chaos, through self-doubt, to peace.

“It is unfortunate but true that not all of us can sit alone with nature. But lacking your own garden, Do You Doubt the Daffodil? invites you to share Bobbi and Molly’s garden through these vivid sketches and meditations. The plant and animal spirits weave nature like a web, and soon you are caught up in the magic of the seasons. These images and meditations are a joyous adventure and healing salve for anyone on a spiritual quest.”

Stephanie Landregan, Director of the Landscape Architecture program at UCLA Extension and owner of Wild by Design.

May 2011  What Choice Did She Really Have? The Labbitt Halsey Protocol

Bobbi Junod Honored by National Indie Excellence Awards

July 2010  Universal Remote Control Now eMotes

June 2010 New Book Finds Peace in the Heart of the Garden

Welcome to the Gadfly Press Room.  This page is intended for anyone preparing to publish an article on one of our books or authors.

Press Kits

The Labbitt Halsey Protocol Press Kit

Do You Doubt the Daffodil? Press Kit

The Press Kits are zip files available for download containing the following files:

• Press Release
• Cover Images
• Author Photos
• Descripton Copy
• Praise For Quote(s)
• About the Author

If something is missing or you require any other details, please email your request to Publ...@GadflyLLC.com.  Also email us if you would like to contact one of the authors directly or set up a time for an interview.

Winner National Indie Excellence Book Award

• Press Kits
• Distribution
• How to order & Volume Discounts
• Contacting the publisher
• Contacting an author
• General information about Gadfly

If you prefer, our mailing address is:

Gadfly, LLC
P.O. Box 147
Leesburg, VA  20178

NOTE:  Gadfly is not accepting new manuscripts at this time.

Read the first two chapters online.

Making Physics Physical Again

Over the past century, physics has become increasingly and alarmingly difficult to represent in concrete physical terms. Whether it’s spacetime curvature, the superposed and probabilistic states of matter or, more recently, the eleven dimensions of string theory, scientists have reluctantly conceded that the cosmos is radically different from the comfortable and mechanistic model handed down by Isaac Newton. As Richard Feynman famously quipped, “If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t.” 

But does it have to be this way? 

In The Law of Physics, Ryan asks a simple question: Is there an interpretation of existing empirical observations that simultaneously acknowledges the great success of the standard models, but also paints an intuitive, comprehensible, and above all physical picture of the universe? In other words, can Newtonian sobriety be injected back into the dizzying world of string theory? Ryan believes the answer is yes.

Armed with a powerful reconception of spacetime-viewed as pressure rather than curvature-Ryan paints simple, geometric pictures of many phenomena that are currently impossible to visualize by mere mortals. 

Just a few of the perennial head-scratchers Ryan addresses: 

1. The nature of gravity.
2. The curious rotational characteristics of spiral galaxies.
3. The origin and fate of the universe.
4. The origin of the cosmological constant.
5. The genesis of neutrons.
6. The geometric configurations of atomic nuclei.
7. The nuclear dynamics of radioactive decay.

If successful, this new picture will permit scientists to pose questions of theory and practice in terms and images that are better suited to our logical, three-dimensional brains.

Author and Co-Founder of Gadfly

Andrew M. Ryan was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1967. With an insatiable passion for truth, he naturally gravitated to Philosophy and earned his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University while continuing to educate himself in physics and cosmology. He has a wife and teenage daughter and lives in Virginia.

Ryan is the author of two books – The Law of Physics and The Labbit Halsey Protocol.

Author Blog: http://blog.gadflyllc.com

Bobbi Junod

Author and Artist

Bobbi Junod, author of Do You Doubt the Daffodil?, was born in 1950, growing up in Royal Oak, Michigan. Always an artist and lover of nature and all things in it, she began her adult life working in and teaching horticulture. She received a teaching certificate from the University of Kentucky and was the first student to receive a master’s degree in Vocational Education with a specialty in Horticulture from Eastern Kentucky University. Her wanderlust has carried her on many travels where “seeing and experiencing anew rejuvenates my soul”. Ms. Junod has spent her life blending art, horticulture, education, and spirituality through her many career steps; landscape designer, creating yard art, conducting workshops on sacred gardening, managing a garden center, and writing to name a few. She is currently the director of education at Lexington Healing Arts Academy and lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her partner and two pooches.

Author Blog: http://bobbijunod.wordpress.com/

What choice did she really have?

Set in the highly competitive landscape of Washington DC, The Labbitt Halsey Protocol chronicles a single mother’s struggle to save her son from the tragic consequences of a groundbreaking genetic procedure. It was initially hoped that the XEN protocol, designed to dramatically enhance intelligence, might produce insights and breakthroughs to benefit all mankind. Instead, it created a subculture, the inhabitants of which are plagued by nihilism and for whom suicide is often the only escape. Risking her high-powered career, and ultimately her life, she immerses herself into the inscrutable Xen world in a desperate attempt to reach her son. Read More…

Do You Doubt the Daffodil?

Meditations from the Garden

 Do You Doubt the Daffodil? is a beautiful and provocative collection of meditations that explore Spirit through the purifying lens of nature. Set in the tranquility of the garden, it navigates the joys and trials of life with insight and humor. The author shares with her readers her personal journey of discovery from fear and uncertainty to self confidence and peace. This book will become a trusted companion – on the coffee table or near the bed-side – and makes a wonderful gift for all the women in your life. Read More…

The Law of Physics

Making physics physical again.

Over the past century, physics has become increasingly and alarmingly difficult to represent in concrete physical terms. Whether it’s spacetime curvature, the superposed and probabilistic states of matter or, more recently, the eleven dimensions of string theory, scientists have reluctantly conceded that the cosmos is radically different from the comfortable and mechanistic model handed down by Isaac Newton. As Richard Feynman famously quipped, “If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t.” But does it have to be this way?

In The Law of Physics, Ryan asks a simple question: Is there an interpretation of existing empirical observations that simultaneously acknowledges the great success of the standard models, but also paints an intuitive, comprehensible, and above all physical picture of the universe? In other words, can Newtonian sobriety be injected back into the dizzying world of modern physics? Ryan believes the answer is yes. Read More…

Released June 23, 2010

Gadfly is proud to announce the release of

Do You Doubt the Daffodil?

Meditations from the Garden

By Bobbi Junod
ISBN: 978-0-9802088-3-2

Author and artist, Bobbi Junod, makes her debut with an inspirational heartfelt walk through the garden in Do You Doubt the Daffodil? Meditations from the Garden. Filled with meditations accompanied by intriguing drawings, photographs and quirky humor, Junod takes the reader on a journey of self-reflection finding peace in the heart of the garden.

Do You Doubt the Daffodil? is the result of a lifetime of seeking and building a spiritual relationship. Junod takes the reader along on her walk allowing a glimpse of the very personal reflections and challenges revealed in her meditations. “For me, creativity is such an enormous part of meditation. Source just loves to play off imagination, often taking up a thread from daily life and using it to tell me a story or give me a reminder to help me in some way.”

Each page is a spiritual message of wisdom, play, challenges, and comfort that weaves a personal and uniquely different path for the reader. Belonging on the bedside table, this is not a page turner. Each morsel provides an opportunity to examine our very essence of life and how each of us fit in this world, from chaos, through self-doubt, to peace.

“It is unfortunate but true that not all of us can sit alone with nature. But lacking your own garden, Do You Doubt the Daffodil? invites you to share Bobbi and Molly’s garden through these vivid sketches and meditations. The plant and animal spirits weave nature like a web, and soon you are caught up in the magic of the seasons. These images and meditations are a joyous adventure and healing salve for anyone on a spiritual quest.”

Stephanie Landregan, Director of the Landscape Architecture program at UCLA Extension and owner of Wild by Design.