[CrimsonTide4]

Subject: AOL'S BLACK VOICES HIRES STAR JONES AS 'LOVE COACH'

`View' host to advise ladies on how to snag a man.

*After being married for only 14 months come Jan. 15, Star Jones Reynolds is already offering advice to the lovelorn via her new book, "Shine: Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Journey to Finding Love"; and through a promotional counterpart on AOL Black Voices as the site's new "Love Coach."

The AOL Coaches program is a self-improvement area providing solutions and answers to people's most pressing questions. Reynolds is among the first of the Coaches to be featured in the new interactive workshop format available through the AOL Coaches program.

Based on her personal experiences and content from her book, the workshop enables consumers to obtain tips and insights through a full-featured, multimedia program which includes original videos on topics such as "Am I Sabotaging My Love Life" and "How Do I know He's THE ONE?"

Additionally, through her Coaches site and through AOL Black Voices, consumers will find excerpts from her book and a direct link to purchase it, as well as tutorials, quizzes and self-assessment exercises. Plus, AOL Black Voices recently debuted a "Books" sub- channel highlighting Reynolds' new book as the main feature.

"We are thrilled to launch this new forum to provide audiences with a destination to learn more about and engage black authors and topics that matter to our community," said Nick Charles, Editor in Chief, AOL Black Voices. "We are sure that through this area, members of the black community and the wider community will be able to express their opinions and explore all types of literature including fiction, non-fiction and poetry."

Other books to be featured this month include Dr. Michael Eric Dyson's Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster and Paul Beatty's upcoming release Hokum: an Anthology of African-American Humor.

In other Star Jones Reynolds news, the co-host of "The View" speaks candidly about her husband, Al Reynolds, to Entertainment Tonight's Chrishaunda Lee.

"I think he's the icing on my cake," she says. "In all honesty my cake was baking when I met Al -- I had made up in my mind already to get physically healthy. He refreshingly was on his own journey so it was almost as if we walked together."

While refusing to discuss the way in which she lost nearly
150 pounds, Reynolds said the weight had to be unloaded for health reasons.

"I went from full figured to fat, from fat to obese, from obese to morbidly obese," she says. "I am healthier than I've ever been. When I say the words 'morbidly obese,' it says to me it's something I will never be again."

Her book "Shine," meanwhile, is divided into three parts. Part one focuses on the physical weight loss, beauty tips and fashion. Part two probes the reader's emotional preparedness, including a look at past relationships, previous mistakes and wants and desires. Part three delves into spiritual life and focuses on strengthening your relationship with God.

Here are some excerpts from the book:


On Self:

• "Unless you are in serious denial, no one's going to be as honest with yourself as you ... I want you to get into the habit of assessing yourself truthfully."

• "I'm a firm believer in bigger is better for many things."

• "Check your breath - either by having a very good friend smell when you exhale, or blow into a paper bag and smell what comes out."

• "Thou Shall Not Pay Retail."

• "I was lucky - I've never been taught anything but 'You're fabulous and can achieve anything you want.'"

• "Look - when I did a summation on myself, I clearly saw some of my faults. I'm bossy, I'm extremely controlling. I find it easier to do things myself rather than share in the doing."


On husband, Al:

• "Al was watching a ballgame in the living room, but all of a sudden, there he was in my room. And he started massaging my feet while Fifi and the girls braided my hair."

• "We went out dirty dancing - we call it slow dragging - four nights in a row."

• "We learned to make love without having sexual intercourse. It would hold us for awhile."

• I mean, Al is a beautiful man. He's got the legs of a stallion.