Rubi

by Billie Rae Bates

Meet Rubi Veronica Blass, age 29, and more female than most men can stand. She's got a billionaire daddy, a charming fiance, a plum job as the book critic of the Detroit Daily, and the world by the tail. After all, when you're cynical, shallow, crass, cunning, conniving, dauntingly witty, careless with morals, fabulously wealthy, luscious in red hair and deadly in physique, what's there to worry about?

In "Rubi," longtime author and journalist Billie Rae Bates offers a modern-day take on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the vanities of life -- minus the repentance. Learn more about the author at BillieRae.com.

300 pages, Paperback

First published December 13, 2004

About the author

A journalist of both print and broadcast, Billie Rae Bates has a long career as a professional writer and editor that includes 10 years in the daily newspaper industry in Detroit; Saginaw, Mich.; and Wausau, Wis. She's written three novels, two of which are set in Detroit, as well as the BRBTV series of fact books and reports, which cover the primetime soaps "Dynasty" and "Dallas," the action-adventure hits "Wonder Woman," "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "The Green Hornet," and a host of animated and kids' series. Since 2006, she's kept up a news blog focusing on these classic TV shows, and she's also blogged for other sites. BRB reviews books for Foreword Reviews. She's the creator, writer and photographer of two yearlong photo essays, the much-discussed "My Mother's Clothing" and "The Inexplicable Lives of Dolls."

A graduate of Michigan State University's School of Journalism, Bates' work over the years has included interviews with all manner of actors and other Hollywood pros for the BRBTV products, as well as many artists and writers in the comics industry for her on-camera work for the TV shows "Comics Continuum" and "Fantastic Forum." She's done a bit of acting on the side, as well.

Bates is a mid-Michigan native who has also lived in Detroit, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. You can visit her official site at BillieRae.com, as well as the home page for BRBTV at BRBTV.com.