(openPR) - "I received an e-mail from a reader telling me that Anna Kournikova was reading my novel," says author and columnist Andrea Rains Waggener. "I visited the link the reader gave me, www.kournikovaimages.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=124, and I found a post at the site talking about Alternate Beauty."

Andrea wrote Alternate Beauty, which is described and excerpted at www.alternatebeauty.com, in response to feeling invisible in our society when she gained a lot of weight. She was surprised, therefore, that Anna Kournikova was reading the novel. "Alternate Beauty is about an obese woman who finds herself in an alternate universe where fat is considered beautiful," Andrea says. "I wouldn't have expected someone with a body like Kournikova's to be interested in the subject."

However, Andrea has discovered that the book's theme of distorted body image is relevant to women of all sizes. Even slender, beautiful women like Anna Kournikova need a reality check about their bodies. "Perhaps Anna Kournikova was drawn to Alternate Beauty," Andrea says, "because she feels the pressure to live up to the beauty standard and perfect body image that is attributed to her." Women everywhere, Andrea says, even beautiful women like Anna Kournikova, tend toward insanity when it comes to obsessing over body image.

Contact Andrea Rains Waggener at (360) 581-4085 or e-mail her at theupbeat@coastaccess.com for more insights into this topic. Andrea has been featured in Fitness, Shape, and Diane magazines. She’s been a guest on Pacific Northwest TV’s Northwest Afternoon and Being In Seattle, as well as on several radio talk shows. More information about Andrea's books and articles, along with Andrea's inspiring blog, can be found at www.waggener-books.com. A description of Alternate Beauty and an excerpt from the novel is at www.alternatebeauty.com.