Sex in the South: Unbuckling the Bible Belt
(Justin Charles & Co. 2003)

"Suzi Parker combines wit, insight and investigative journalism to tear back the curtains and expose the sirens-sounding sex of the so-called 'genteel south.' Funny, fearless and ultimately, humane, this is a neon orgasm of a book."

--Sparkle Hayter, author of The Last Manly Man "Slide between the pastel sheets for a salacious sneak peek at the phantasmagorical sexual antics of these oh-so kinky Southerners.

Suzi Parker's hysterical take on Suburban Swingers, Big Beautiful Belles, Aqua Porn and Passion Parties for the pent-up Religious Right will shock, surprise and titillate. 'You may now spank the bride' indeed!"

--Pamela Des Barres, author of I'm With the Band Publishers Weekly: "While Southerners may be famous for churchgoing and family values, they also 'like to liberate themselves,' according to journalist Parker, a Little Rock, Ark., native with a reputation for sexual controversy.

One needs only an Internet connection, a car and an open mind, and the South is a veritable smorgasbord, with its Passion Parties ('think 1970s Tupperware parties but with rubber penises instead of plastic ice trays'), Iron Belles (for 'muscle fantasy'), bondage and S&M clubs, aqua porn, swingers parties, strip clubs and BBW (Big Beautiful Women) parties.

The South may look straight-laced, but the same ladies trying and buying double-penis dildos at Passion Parties in Maumelle, Ark., are also reading the Christian apocalyptic Left Behind novels and going to church every Sunday."

The Memphis Commercial Appeal: "She has solid reporting skills and a breezy approach to feature writing that works well with this topic, don't you know. She puts herself in these expositions and that works with the attitude - think Janeane Garofalo with manners. But sometimes you hunger for another voice. Her profile of a gay man in Natchez, for example, relies solely on the subject's voice. He gossips, he makes claims, he judges people. You wonder, "Can that be true?" But Parker seeks out no one to confirm or counter his statements. Nonetheless, this is a terrifically readable book. It is meant to entertain (see how a sex toy party is like a church meeting!), educate (a burlesque dancer is not a stripper!) and amaze (an underwater porn enterprise in rural Tennessee!)."

1000 Best Bartender's Recipes
(Sourcebooks, 2005)

Booklist: "Modern mixology has invented multiple modes of martinis--so many martinis that to list them all requires a full chapter in this new, exhaustive bartender's guide. The classic martini has given way to a wide diversity of potables whose only common element is alcohol. Parker inventories all these, from the austere gin-and-vermouth originals through the cosmopolitan and on to outrageous martinis that include exotica such as sliced black truffles. Manhattans, margaritas, and mojitos still have their partisans, and Parker gives their recipes plenty of space. A chapter on champagne cocktails offers some festive, fizzy libations. Tropical concoctions call for rums and all sorts of fruit extractions. A section on vintage cocktails recalls drinks from old movies. Parker's nonalcoholic alternatives go beyond the well-known Shirley Temple to a host of fruit juice-based drinks that appeal to both children and adults. The book concludes with some recipes for drinks such as the prairie oyster, reputed to counteract the effects of excess revelry. This is a good contemporary addition for a reference collection."

Both books available at local bookstores, Amazon.com, and BN.com.