Tales from the residential real estate trenches are complete with attempted tear-jerking from former model Fitzgerald. The author took a running start at selling real estate after leaving behind a violent ex-husband in New York and arriving in L.A. with her infant daughter in tow, with few belongings, no education and no job prospects. After a rocky start, she's grown to be one of the most successful agents for Coldwell Banker. Fitzgerald runs through frustratingly general advice on ambition, leadership, building rapport among would-be clients, navigating a bewildering industry and looking the part of a successful businesswoman. Though Fitzgerald strives for practical advice with cheerful chapter wrapup lessons, interviews with inspirational professionals and practice sales scripts, the advice is disorganized and vague, and the personal-story prose off-putting and melodramatic (My fairy-tale husband and life had shattered on the marble floor like a fallen mirror—razor-sharp shards of glass lacerating my hopes, my dreams, and my heart). Would-be realtors seeking advice would be best off looking elsewhere, as this book tries too hard to be both a memoir and a how-to guide, and thus falls short at both. (Mar.) 
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"Heart and Sold is inspirational for any woman -- or anyone -- struggling to build a business of their own. Valerie's personal triumphs will make you feel like you can do anything." -- Leeza Gibbons

Before Valerie Fitzgerald began her real estate career, she was an unemployed single parent. Yet over the last fifteen years, Valerie Fitzgerald has single-handedly managed to build a multi-million dollar real estate business, establish her own charity foundation, speak around the country at numerous business conventions, appear on television shows like "Entertainment Tonight" and M.T.V's "Cribs," rank among Coldwell Banker's Top 10 agents nationwide, and earn the attention of the Los Angeles Business Journal for the highest sales volume in L.A. County for residential real estate in 2000 (she was also recently nominated for the publication's 13th annual "Women Making a Difference").