Had the GOP won the presidental election, Sarah Palin would have made little over $200,000 per year as vice president. It seems, however, that not winning the election and the mere fact that she ran as John McCain's running mate was enough to net her an even better offer. The Times has reported that Palin has been offered $7 millions to pen a biography and 7-week memoir on the campaign trail. With figures like that, that comes to roughly $1 million per week that she spent campaigning, and writing a book is far less stressful than the job she would have had as VP.

When Palin was announced as McCain's running mate, she was relatively unknown to the non-Alaskan masses. The Times suggests that Palin is following in Obama's footsteps, whose book "The Audacity of Hope" is what they called his springboard to the presidency. By letting us know about herself through the book, allowing her intelligence to shine through, and gaining sympathy as a working mother, she might just be able to snag a ticket in the next presidential election.

It's also rumored that talk shows and numerous other opportunities have been offered to Palin, and that the book deal should be finalized by the end of the month.

To celebrate Barack Obama’s victory in The 2008 Presidential election, Derek Hess will be giving away a free Obama poster with every purchase of his latest book, Please God Save Us. Supplies are limited, so be sure to get yours NOW.

“With the election over and the good guys winning, it looks like the change is in play, so I decided to give a signed “Change” poster away with a book purchase,” says Hess.

Please God Save Us, by Derek Hess and Kent Smith, is available for purchase in stores and online at www.strhesspress.com and www.amazon.com.

Please God Save Us is a collaboration from Hess and Smith that features over 50 pieces of Hess artwork and covers an array of topics, all of which are ripped from US headlines. Thought provoking visuals and words address an array of important subjects including the Religious Right, Iraq War, censorship, evolution and global warming to name a few.

Derek Hess is an internationally known artist who launched his career creating rock-and-roll poster art. His work has graced the walls of hundreds of galleries and museums throughout the world and is part of the permanent collection of Louvre and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Additionally, in 2003, Hess launched a clothing line called Strhess showcasing his art.

Bestselling author Michael Crichton died today after a battle with cancer that he had kept hidden from the public. Crichton was 66.

Crichton, who may be perhaps best known for his novel-turned-movie Jurassic Park and the television show ER, was the author of more than a dozen best-selling novels.

His family posted a statement on his website, describing his battle with cancer as both "courageous and private".

“While the world knew him as a great storyteller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us - and entertained us all while doing so - his family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes.

“He did this with a wry sense of humour that those who were privileged to know him personally will never forget.”

“Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand.

Britney Spears mother, Lynne Spears is now reported to be in talks with Hollywood studios to turn her controversial book about her daughter into a movie. The book, "Through the Storm" talks about Britney's struggles with drinking, drugs, and teen sex.

According to various reports, Anna Faris is being lined up to play Britney, and Lynne has her heart set on a Hollywood superstar to play the part of her. Why are we not surprised? Lynne has been pushing her daughters since they were born, and living vicariously through them to fulfill her own unrealized dreams of superstardom.

According to reporters, "She's pitching the book around to studios," and the superstar she has in mind to play her is Julie Roberts.

If Britney's mom manages to get this book made into a film, one can only imagine the effect it would have on Britney.

Roberto Saviano, author of the Italian best-selling expose on the criminal underworld in Naples, may be in danger of losing his life. On Tuesday, anti-Mafia prosecutors in Italy said that they are investigating a reported death threat against Saviano. Of course this is only likely to increase interest in the already wildly popular book.

Prosecutor Franco Roberti of Naples said that his unit is currently looking into a claim by an informant that the Camorra crime syndicate is planning to kill Saviano by December. Roberti said that the reported threat involved an attack along a highway that would also target Saviano's police escort.

Ever since his book "Gomorra", which denounced the Camorra's hold on everything from drug running to waste disposal to the garment industry, became a best-seller in Italy, Saviano has been under police protection.

In the book Saviano claims that Camorra-run cmopanies routinely win contracts to dispose of toxic wastes from northern Italian industries by underbidding competitors, and then disposing of it illegally and untreated in rivers and dumps in the region.

Saviano has been under police protection since 2006 when his book "Gomorra," denouncing the Camorra's hold on everything from garment industry to drug running to waste disposal, became a best-seller in Italy.

On screen in the hit television show "The Brady Bunch", Maureen McCormick was the vision of perfection. But off-camera, her life was a very different story, as she describes in her new memoir, "Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice", which hits stores on Tuesday.

McCormick was just 14 years old when she first began playing the role of the all too perfect Marcia Brady on "The Brady Bunch", which ran from 1969 to 1974 on ABC. Now 52, she is finally coming clean about her struggles during that time, and the period after the show ended.

The youngest of four children born to father who abused and cheated on their month, McCormick privately struggled with anxiety and insecurity, and even an on-screen romance with TV brother Barry Williams. After the show's demise, McCormick's life spiralled out of control and she took up a hard-partying lifestyle in Hollywood, complete with cocaine binges and parties at the Playboy Mansion and home of Sammy Davis Jr, an unwanted pregnancy, and swapping sex for drugs.

As a young adult in Hollywood, McCormick found it difficult to regain her earlier success, and landed some TV and movie roles. However she soon developed a reputation for being unreliable because of her addictions. She even messed up an interview with Steven Spielberg because she was high.

Americans may have only just recently been introduced to David Walliams, one of the primary stars of HBO's newest sketch comedy program, Little Britain USA, but across the pond he's been a familiar face for many years now. Afterall, Little Britain USA is an offshoot of the original Little Britain which aired in the UK. Nevertheless, we've become accustomed to seeing Walliams in an assortment of women's wear. In a photoshoot for Parade magazine to promote his new children's book, Walliams gets in touch with his feminine side yet again, sporting high fashion women's attire.

He wore the stunning ensembles, which let's be honest, were more fit for a waifish fashion model than a 6 foot 3 inch man, to promote his new book, "The Boy in a Dress". Walliams, 37, wrote the book which is narrated by Quentin Blake. It tells the story of a young boy named Dennis who likes to dress up in women's clothes, and his attempts to be accepted by his peers.

When asked his opinion of cross-dressing, Walliams said:

"I didn't want it to be seen purely as a metaphor for that, but... the truth about... transvestites. The truth is that it doesn't really mean you're gay. As anyone who has watched Kilroy, and seen transvestite truckers and soldiers being interviewed next to their long-suffering wives, will know."

Financial mastermind Warren Buffett is profiled in a new book called "The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life". Buffett granted an unprecedented amound of access to author Alice Schroeder. The finished product is the most complete biography that has been assembled about the "Oracle of Omaha".

Here is a video clip of Schroeder discussing the book which was released yesterday:

DEREK HESS AND KENT SMITH ANNOUNCE UPCOMING BOOK SIGNINGS FOR “PLEASE GOD SAVE US”

Please God Save Us, the new book by Derek Hess and Kent Smith, is available in stores and online at www.strhesspress.com and www.amazon.com. The two authors have scheduled several in-store book signings. Dates are listed below.

Please God Save Us is a smart, provocative and perhaps controversial look at some of today’s most pressing societal issues. The book is full of the authors’ incendiary observations of the right wing. This debut book has been receiving attention from coast to coast. Visit www.strhesspress.com/press for a sample of Please God Save Us.

“I never really wanted to do a book like this, but after the last 8 years I feel I had to,” says Hess. “Kent and I were eating at a diner in Dayton, OH on our way to a book signing, and this guy sitting behind us was talking loud on his phone. We hear him say ‘I'd vote all kinds of Obama, he’s right on just about everything, but I'm a Roman Catholic and Obama is pro-choice, so I’m voting for McCain.’ Now THAT is what’s wrong with this country. Not religion in general, but letting an issue like abortion be the only reason to vote or not to vote for somebody. Not to say the sky is falling, but this country is in dire straits.”

Tony Mandarich, one of the most heralded offensive lineman in college football history, has admitted to to be addicted to pain killers and alcohol. Mandarich, who starred at Michigan State University and was the second pick in the NFL draft, says that he went so far to fake a urine test in college to play in the Rose Bowl. Mandarich also states in a new book that he used steroids in his seven year NFL career with the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts .

“I used them (steroids),” he says on Showtime's 'Inside the NFL' show where he conducted an interview promoting his upcoming book "My Dirty Little Secrets -– Steroids, Alcohol and God.". “This is the first time I ever said it. … If I would have come out and said it, I think it would have affected a lot of other people that were doing the same things."