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AGING Known today as "The Golden Egg of Aging™", Shirley W. Mitchell is the owner of the Syndicated Media Groups "Fabulous after 50®", "Sensational after 60®" and "Aging Outside the Box®". Shirley is highly recognized as one of the Top Authors, Writers and Speakers on Aging, Seniors & Senior Lifestyles, the Baby Boomer Generation, Women's Issues and Healthy Lifestyles of Today. We call her "The Original Baby Boomer Promoter™" because of her tremendous insight years previous to the coming of the "Baby Boomer Wave of Aging Younger™" for the marketing, promotion of "Positive Aging" - She was writing about, and promoting, a "Positive Aging Lifestyle" before most were even thinking about it! Shirley is a Mother of Three, Grandmother of Ten and a Great-Grandmother of Two. Growing up in the South in Northern Alabama on a tenant cotton farm working with all her family members in the tenant cotton fields, even at that young age she had a "Vision and Passion" to make her life and others' lives more productive, seeing what hard, long work days and getting older did to those around her. Her life "Passion" and "Mission" is to promote "Positive Aging and Vitality in Health". Favorite pastimes are her Faith, spending time with Family, Travel, promoting her Works, Speaking all across the country and Hosting her Syndicated Radio Shows! Ms. Mitchell has appeared on many Local and National Radio & TV Programs/Shows, and has authored many articles that have appeared in several National Magazines. Shirley is the Author of 10 Books including "The Christian Writer's Desk Diary", "The Beauty of Being God's Woman", "Spiritual Sparks for Busy Women™", "Fabulous after 50®" and "Sensational after 60®", and the Co-Author of 5 books including "Love Notes for Mom", "Love Notes for Dad", "101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life" and "Love Like God: Embracing Unconditional Love". She is the Columnist of the Syndicated "Fabulous after Fifty™" On-Line Column, a Featured Columnist for Senior Lifestyle Magazine, and has an On-Line Newsletter at Passionate Sparks™. Shirley is the Celebrity Radio Talk Show Host of the Syndicated Radio Shows "Aging Outside the Box®" and "Aging Outside the Box® Christian Spiritual Sparks™". "Aging Outside the Box®" is a One-Hour LIVE Broadcast Show airing every Thursday night at 6PM-CST that features Special Guests and Important Topics like Aging, Baby Boomers, Seniors & Senior Lifestyles, Women’s and Men's Issues, Health, Diet, Exercise, Fashion, Beauty, Nutrition, Faith, Travel, Culinary and Literary, along with some of the most important Medical Information of today as we interview Authors, Writers, Speakers, Artists and, Business, Medical and Media Professionals. "Aging Outside the Box® Christian Spiritual Sparks™" is a Program that inspires "Sparks of Christianity" every Sunday morning at 8am-CST with a "Christian Tip" for every day of the upcoming week to help motivate and excite your "Christian Life". She received the "1997 Woman of Achievement Award" from the Business and Professional Women's Club; won the "Most Stunning Smile Award" at the "2000 Ms. Senior Alabama Pageant" and most recently received the "2004 Citizen of the Year Award" from the Albertville Chamber of Commerce for her contributions to the City and Local venues. In 2006, 2007 & 2008, she was nominated for inclusion into "The Purpose Prize" with Civic Ventures. Shirely supports groups such as the American Heart Association, GoRed for Women Program, and is a member of the National Association for Female Executives, American Business Women’s Association, International Women’s Leadership Association, Red Hat Society and the Diva Web of Fame. A Dale Carnegie Graduate, Shirley is also a Competent Toastmaster with Toastmasters International. Shirley belongs to over two dozen Social Sites. Ms. Mitchell is managed and represented by Lighthouse Coastal Productions of Alabama - Agent@lighthousecoastal.com.Shirley is comfortable Speaking on the topics of:
Penny Leisch has a passion for working with animals. Pets by Penny and Reiki4Paws are designed to serve pet guardians and pet care professionals. Penny is an Usui Reiki Master Teacher, a Karuna Ki Reiki Master Teacher, a Sacred Flames Reiki Master Teacher, and an empath and animal communicator. Although she is an AADP Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner, she continues to study with special emphasis on courses that promote wellness, as well as those that facilitate healing and comfort in ill or injured animals. She is also fully certified to treat humans in the same areas. She and her husband have been actively involved in rescue work for over twenty years and often adopt special needs and/or senior animals. In addition, her traditional education includes training and experience in psychology, medical social services, and business. Like many holistic practitioners, Penny comes to holistic studies from a background dominated by science and was not easily convinced of the value of nontraditional treatments. Personal experience and research convinced her, not only of the value, but that there is a need for practitioners, teachers, and information. She points out that the scientific evidence and research supporting nontraditional treatments for humans and animals grows daily. Today professional practitioners of nontraditional modalities are highly skilled, ethical, and well-educated. Of course, as with all services, traditional and nontraditional, one must shop carefully. As a writer, teacher, and small business consultant, her client list includes Florida Pet Book, WriteCraftweb, Inspired2Write, the City of Tempe, Garden and Hearth, Walsh America, Allwoodwork.com, Funds For Writers, Camping & RV Magazine, Warner Wrangler, Loving Pets Magazine, KTVK, and others. Her mother-son story, Like A Rock, appears in Cup of Comfort for Mothers & Sons http://www.pennyspensandpics.com/pennyleisch/cocmsinfo.html (Adams Media), released April 19, 2005. Penny also writes ad and web copy for pet industry businesses and businesses with a holistic lifestyle mission. Her latest client is Embracing Hue Ltd. She says it is an area that requires the special touch of someone who knows the industry intimately. Selling cars, soft drinks, and floor covering is just not the same. In this industry, clients need someone to craft words that convey their vision through their product or service. http://www.pennyleisch.com http://www.petsbypenny.com Penny writes on most subjects related to the following and offers workshops, seminars, or speaking in Arizona: * Benefits of Reiki for people and pets Some reprint articles are also available for a very nominal cost. Raised among books and art, Suzanne Blaney first chose the art route, becoming a nationally known, award-winning artist with many one person exhibitions and a list of patrons throughout the U.S. and Europe. From 1986-1998, she served on the Board of Directors for the international organization, Pastel Society of the West Coast. In 1992, Suzanne was appointed �Fellow� of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturers & Commerce, London, England, and six years later was invited to attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace celebrating the Royal Society�s 250th anniversary. She was introduced to HRH Prince Phillip at this �extraordinary event� attended by about 4,000 people from around the globe. Her first book, utilizing her knowledge of art, is The Little Book About Pastel (ZANDEL Books 2003). Suzanne lives in Northern California. http://www.suzanneblaney.com Pamela Harper is founder and president of Business Advancement Inc. (BAI), which helps companies accelerate progress toward their key business objectives. She graduated with honors from Northwestern University, where she majored in Organizational Behavior, and has been an adjunct faculty member at New York University's Management and Marketing Institute. Pamela is author of Preventing Strategic Gridlock: Leading Over, Under & Around Organizational Jams to Achieve High Performance Results (Cameo Publications 2003). She explains that "the book is based on lessons learned from more than 20 years' experience as both an internal and external consultant to leaders of high growth/high change companies." http://www.businessadvance.com --------------------------- Tricia Molloy is a seasoned entrepreneur and business consultant who knows how to work joyfully on purpose. She started her own marketing and public relations firm in 1988 to support the success of other passionate small-business owners. As a New Thought business leader, Tricia applies universal principles to run her company and counsel clients and colleagues. She is also a coach, speaker, workshop leader and freelance journalist who has written more than a hundred business profiles and stories for newspapers and magazines. Divine Wisdom at Work� 10 Universal Principles for Enlightened Entrepreneurs (Aha! House 2006) is the first in a series of books. Tricia graduated from New York University with a BA in broadcast journalism. As an executive radio talk show producer in the 1980s, she won several Associated Press awards. Tricia lives in Marietta, Georgia, (a suburb of Atlanta) with her husband, Rick Reyer, their 11-year-old twins, Connor and Allyson, and their �joyful� Golden Retriever, Honey. J For more information on Tricia Molloy's marketing and public relations services, please visit http://www.molloycom.com Molloy Communications. You can reach her at 770-565-1231 or tricia@divinewisdomatwork.com. http://www.divinewisdomatwork.com
Tricia can discuss or write articles on these topics:
Jacque Miller, owner of Career Dimensions of Arizona is a Human Behavior
and Nutritional consultant who passionately supports local and national issues
regarding small business, education and women's health. As a radio talk show
host in Denver, Colorado, she gave voice in the 1980's to a variety of similarly
related topics, interviewing those who supported and opposed such matters. Today
on her internet radio show �HealthStyle Choices� she gives voice to Business,
Health and Christian topics. --------------------------
Stephanie Chandler is the author of The Business Startup Checklist
and Planning Guide (Aventine Press) and From Entrepreneur to
Infopreneur: Make Money with Books, E-books and Information Products
(Wiley, coming Fall 2006).
CAREERS AND EMPLOYMENT Mrs. Francina R. Harrison, "The Career Engineer," has over ten years of experience in workforce development services. She has contributed to programs designs for welfare reform, correctional treatment, private rehabilitation and faith-based groups, which has helped thousands of individuals return to work. As the co-owner of Harrison & Associates, a career consulting company, she provides work/life consulting services, coaching services and conducts career development seminars for career seekers, professional groups, business owners, non-profits, universities and adult education centers. Francina is the host and creator of "Push Up Your Career" Internet TV show, is a freelance columnist and speaks on matters concerning workforce development and increasing human potential. It's this "non-traditional" and "soul" stirring delivery of career consulting that has this Navy spouse and Norfolk State University graduate interviewed on the Tavis Smiley nationally syndicated radio show, Chicago Tribune, Next Step Magazine and as a featured writer in The Black Collegian Magazine. Mrs. Harrison is also featured in regional, national media outlets and hundreds of sites on the Internet, branding her presence, around the globe. Francina has released her first book titled, A Mind to Work: the Life and Career Planning Guide for People Who Want Need to Work (iUniverse 2004) and she is also the creator of the "Don't Get Anxious - Get Prepared" audio CD series which launched nationally in August 2005. The motivator is a member of the National Association of Female Executives, Human Capital Institute, Empowerme Network, Career Engineers Network, Business Network International, Commonwealth Workforce Network and participates in a host of other professional associations. Francina graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor in Social Work and received her Masters in Social Work (MSW) from Norfolk State University in 1997. She is married to an active duty Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer, has two wonderful children and resides in Virginia Beach, VA. http://www.thecareerengineers.com
--------------------------
Cliff Hakim
is founder and principal of Rethinking Work, a Boston-based career-consulting
firm established in 1990 and focused on mid-life transition and change. He
earned a master's degree in special education at
Boston College and
subsequently counseled learning disabled young adults on work issues and placed
them in jobs. From here, Cliff joined an executive search firm specializing in
the placement of training and development professionals. Later he started his
own search firm which opened the door to his current practice. Cliff has always
been a compassionate and curious soul. When he was nine and friends mocked a
crippled man selling pencils, Cliff wept inside - here the man was expressing
himself - simply doing his best. Cliff is author of We Are
All Self-Employed: How to Take Control of Your Career (2003) and
When You Lose Your Job (1993) both published by Berrett-Koehler
Publishers.
http://www.rethinkingwork.com
--------------------------
A glance at Heather Resnick's two websites reveals someone
passionately interested in the plight of women and families.
http://www.womenreworked.com is
about empowering women in employment transition, from getting back into the
workplace after an extended absence, switching careers or becoming an
entrepreneur. She is pleased to be connected with F.A.C.E. - Family Abuse Crisis
Exchange
http://www.facel.org where a portion
of her proceeds will be donated; that helps empower families to become
financially self-sufficient.
http://www.mshumptydumpty.com is the
site of Heather's first novel, Ms. Humpty Dumpty, about a woman
who falls off the wall and tries to put her pieces back together again (no
publisher as of yet). A cancer warrior, lover of
life-long learning who earned a B.A. in later life and community volunteer,
Heather is author of Women Reworked (2006, to be published by
Creative Bound Inc. and available late December, 2005). Thought-provoking
stories of many inspirational women who jumped hurdles to achieve success fill
Women Reworked. It is unique in that it is also an extensive
resource guide to help women discover the myriad of government and non-profit
agencies across the United States
and Canada which will help them achieve their dream career. Heather provides her
message of fulfilling your life's purpose by motivational speaking and advising
women. She is a regional representative for the International Women's Writers
Guild - IWWG -
http://www.iwwg.org
------------------------- Called a networking expert by the
Chicago Tribune, Lillian D. Bjorseth is a speaker, trainer and
author who helps to improve business networking skills to insure more sales and
career success. She spent more than ten years at AT&T where she trained top
executives in public and communication skills, and spearheaded the company's
public relations efforts internationally when it entered the commercial computer
marketplace. In 1990, Lillian founded Duoforce Enterprises, a successful
Chicago-area business leads organization. Lillian is author of
Breakthrough Networking: Building Relationships That Last (Duoforce
Enterprises 2003). A graduate of the top 10% from the
University of Missouri School of Jouralism, Lillian had spent a few years in the
newspaper business, "but the pay was so poor, my first husband practically had
to subsidize me to pay the baby sitter, and, especially if I wanted to eat
'out,'" she recalls. "I spent many years in PR, including 11 at AT&T before I
started my own business. I always liked to schmooze and promote and was
naturally persuasive. I 'fell' into networking when I started my business and
realized my contacts were on the east and west coasts and I lived in the
Midwest. Every time I thought about having to work for someone, I networked all
the more. Eventually, it became my forte. The rest is history!"
http://www.duoforce.com --------------------------
Paul and Sarah Edwards
have been called the nation's "self-employed experts" and "gurus of the home
office." "Our focus is helping individuals
and couples identify post-corporate careers," declare Paul and Sarah, who have
developed self-employment lifestyle expertise over 25 years. "We came to this
field from practicing law and psychotherapy," they say. "What attracted us was
the very real possibility that, unlike our parents, we live in a time when we
could do work we like doing while living the lives we want to live. We've shared
the story of how we did this for ourselves in our book, The Practical
Dreamer's Handbook. Now through both our books and our special approach
to counseling and coaching, we focus on helping others define and realize
fulfilling and rewarding lifestyles." Paul and Sarah Edwards are authors
of 16 books, all published by Jeremy P.Tarcher/Penguin Books, except for the For
Dummies books: Working From Home, now in its fifth edition and the
first commercially published book on the subject, The Best Home Businesses
for People 50+, The Best Home Business for the 21st Century, Changing Directions
Without Losing Your Way, Cool Careers for Dummies, The Entrepreneurial Parent,
Finding Your Perfect Work, Getting Business to Come To You, Home-Based Business
for Dummies (For Dummies), Home Businesses You Can Buy, Making Money with Your
Computer at Home, Secrets of Self-Employment, Teaming Up: The Small Business
Guide to Collaborating with Others, The Practical Dreamers Handbook, Why Aren't
You Your Own Boss?, and Making Money in Cyberspace, which
received the best general computer book award from the Computer Press
Association. --------------------------
Wes Spence is a recognized authority in the fields
of employee relations and personal time management. He has authored two books:
The Busy Manager's Guide To Employee Relations Excellence (Author
House, 2003); and Day Planners, Your Ultimate Success Tool (Author
House, 2005). He is known for down-to-earth solutions for challenges facing
today's managers. Most recently, he has been focusing on doing seminars on
personal time management. Those seminars have been very well received. Wes is an honor graduate of Lamar
University and a graduate of the State University of New York. Among his other
achievements, he is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and a Senior
Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).
--------------------------------------------
CHILDREN'S BOOKS and BOOKS FOR
PARENTS/TEACHERS/LIBRARIANS Max Elliot Anderson
was a reluctant reader as a child, despite having a father who authored more
than 70 books. Ken Anderson was author of the popular Winky Series of the 40's
and 50's and owner of a film production studio. Max grew up in the business and
in 1978 was named Best Cinematographer for his work on the feature film,
Pilgrim's Progress - the first feature film for actor Liam Neeson. No one could have imagined that Max would become a
writer - and he has surely exceeded anyone's expectations. In just a few years,
he completed 33 manuscripts for a chapter adventure series for boys 8 and up,
seven of them already published. The books are written from a Christian
perspective and Max uses the elements of mystery, suspense and a few good, old
fashioned scares from his childhood radio shows as the basis for his novels -
from a stolen car plot in The Newspaper Caper, to a foiled
terrorist plot in Mountain Cabin Mystery, to an international
wildlife poaching operation in North Woods Poachers. Readers tell
Anderson that his books read like exciting movies - which he says helps him
bridge the gap between today's electronic distractions and a need for kids to
develop good reading skills. A teacher has been reading Max�s books to her third
grade class and the students beg her to keep reading. She told one of her boy�s
parents about how much their child enjoyed one of the books and they have gotten
all seven that are out. �At last we�ve found something that will interest him in
reading.� Max�s eighth and most recent book is Reckless
Runaway for readers 8 and up, especially boys. All his books are
published by Baker Trittin Press. Reviews:
http://maxbookreviews.blogspot.com
--------------
Sybilla Cook received her MALS from Dominican University in Illinois and a Masters in
Curriculum and instruction from the University of Oregon. She has been a media specialist in Illinois and Oregon, taught
library science at the college level, and is the co-author of three books about the Battle of the Book program. (A 70-year-old program
that uses in-school contests to promote and encourage children's reading). Sybilla was the first person to receive the Elementary Library Media Specialist of the Year award from The Oregon Educational Media Association.
Sybilla is co- author of Books, Battles and Bees: A Reader's Competition Resource for Intermediate Grades
(American Library Association 1994), Battle of the Books and More: Reading Activities for Middle School Students
(Highsmith Press 2001) and Elementary Battle of the Books (HIGHSMITH 2005). She is the author of
Walking Portland (Falcon Press,
now part of Globe Pequot 1998), now in its third printing, a book reviewer, and has published articles in many journals and magazines. --------------
Lana Jordan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in journalism from Texas Tech University in 1986
and has been writing, editing, and publishing ever since. Over the last 18 years, she has worked as an editor for a magazine
publisher, a family history publisher, and for individual writers. Lana is the author and publisher of two books: Journey to
Motherhood (a guide to pregnancy and childbirth from a mother's perspective) and The Sleepytime Ponies Trick a Trickster
(a read-aloud storybook about magical flying ponies that take children and their mother on an adventure to Thailand).
Lana is the founder of Jorlan Publishing, an author services and book publishing company, for which she is a publishing consultant and an editor. Areas of expertise include publishing (with emphasis on self-publishing), editing, and home-schooling. Lana has home-schooled her children for the last ten years, and has served on her county school district's Homeschool Advisory Board for four years.
http://www.jorlanpublishing.com --------------
Wendy Orr's dad was in the Air Force so the family moved around a lot. Wendy was born in Canada
and grew up in France, Canada and England. After meeting her Australian husband, the couple moved to Australia, where their two children were born. Wendy worked as an occupational therapist until suffering a serious auto accident.
She is author of 24 books for children, teens and adults including an ALA Best Book for Teenagers,
Peeling the Onion. Her book, Nim's Island (Allen & Unwin 1999) is in development as a feature film with
Walden Media and 20th Century Fox, and she has set up a blog just for the book, offering news about the film and suggestions for
using the book in the classroom.
http://www.nimisland.com/blogspot.com.
The book can be found in bookstores in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, USA, Canada, Korea, Spain (in Basque as well as Spanish
editions), Italy and Germany, and will soon also be available in Brazil. --------------
John Prophet earned a Master's Degree in Special Ed from Boston University and has had careers in teaching, management and sales.
He writes suspense mysteries for young adults and has turned out five Casey Miller mysteries since 2001, all from iUniverse:
Mystery At Salt Marsh (2001), Body In the Salt Marsh (2002), Mystery at Salt Marsh Winery
(2003), and Body in the Salt Marsh Boatyard (2004). A Jaded Affair (2005), the fifth Casey Miller mystery,
is now available at all major outlets. To order call toll free: 877-823-9235.
John chairs two writers' groups in Harwich, Mass and frequently visits schools. www.authorsden.com/johnprophet
--------------
Kate Stormer is the author of Casey's World books (named for Kate's miniature schnauzer). Currently, there are three
picture books in the series: Casey's Four Holiday Celebrations (2003); Casey's Unexpected Friend (2003)
and A Stranger in Casey's World (2004). The Rescue of Little Red (2005) is the first book in the new Casey's World chapter book series. �Having a series of books allows me to build characters and messages that I can share from one book to the next,� says Kate.
�Every story lets me repeat important statements, which help children understand and cope with certain life issues.
Children become emotionally attached to each doggie character, and identify with the problems and struggles of each dog in the books.
It is from here that the child can connect his or her own situation and problem resolution to those of Casey and her friends.� For example, A Stranger in Casey's World carries one of Kate's most important and wide-spread messages�we must
encourage our children to become aware of what is happening around them at all times. This awareness will help reduce the possibility
for a stranger to approach them. Kate adds that it could be difficult for a child to quickly recall a parent's instructions regarding
strangers because that message is only one of so many other instructions given regularly to a child (�eat your vegetables, look both
ways before crossing the street, brush your teeth, be kind to everyone, don't go anywhere with a stranger, etc.). She firmly believes
that the child will more easily and quickly remember the lessons shared in A Stranger in Casey's World, and will take the appropriate
action. �This book will save a child's life someday,� emphasizes Kate, �and that will make all the writing, marketing and money I have
invested in this book worthwhile.� Kate created an entire program to emphasize this message, and has presented this program at the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association
annual conference. In this program, she guides educators through the customization of a lesson plan that uses A Stranger in
Casey's World as the central tool to teach awareness and �stranger safety,�as well as offers an accompanying Parent's Guide
that the educator can copy and send home with each child. �We must, of course, have help from the child's parents or guardians to
continue this education at home,� explains Kate. A Wisconsin resident, Kate is passionate about delivering these special lessons to children and their parents. In addition,
Kate has formed a group called Authors To Go!, in which a small group of local authors speak to groups about book writing,
publishing and their experiences in creating each of their books. They appear at no charge and have been warmly welcomed at
retirement communities, libraries, schools, book organizations, community events, community organizations, and local businesses.
If anyone is interested in starting an Authors To Go! group in their town, please contact Kate at kate@caseysworld.net or 608-335-0401. Please visit the Casey's World website at
http://www.caseysworld.net Kate can write or talk about
the following: * several avenues of
publishing, including what to consider and what to avoid * co-authoring --------------
Margot Finke is an Australian-born children's book author who lives in Oregon. The first two of her 7-book series of rhyming picture books about
Australian and U. S. critters are published by Writers Exchange E-Publishing: Kangaroo Clues (2004) and Never Say BOO to a Frilly (2005). They can also be purchased from her website. Margot says, "My rhymes are more non-fiction, because they tell about the real animal, not some imaginary story that involves them. They are educational and fun, all at the same time.�
Margot finds it advantageous to be an Aussie author. �My accent intrigues kids and teachers,� she says, �Australian animals are
wonderfully different and intriguing." --------------
After Elaine Masters and her husband moved to Hawaii 17 years ago, she became fascinated by its history and
ethnic diversity. She has since written many children books, all with Hawaiian themes and published by Island Heritage Publishing.
The Thief in Chinatown (1998), followed by Yumi and her Best-Forever Friend (2000) and Kalani and
the Night Marchers (2001), high-low chapter books, make a trilogy about the early Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese,
and Hawaiian immigrants. Her latest book is Momi's Birthday Surprise
(2006). Lullaby Moon, published in 2002 and illustrated by well-known illustrator Tammy Yee,
received the Po'okela Ka Palapala award for best children's book published in Hawaii in 2002. The Royal Waker-Upper (2003)
was a nominee for the same award a year later. Footloose the Mongoose & The Jumping Fleas and Lullaby Moon both made the best seller list in Hawaii.
Elaine is also published on the mainland, with Teach Us to Pray, translated into more than fourteen languages, and Handbook
for Day Camp and Day Care, a how-to book for running children's programs in churches.
Elaine graduated with honors from UMKC and is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, Who's Who of Authors,
and Who's Who of Women. Elaine has also had many articles published in magazines, particularly in the field of education,
Christian living, foreign travel, and fiction for children. Now, she uses her past classroom teaching experience to visit schools,
enticing children into the wonderful world of books.
http://www.authorsden/com/elainemasters Elaine can write and speak on:
* the craft of
writing
Rae Pica, a children's movement specialist, has written more than a dozen books for educators, such as
Teachable Transitions: 190 Activities to Move from Morning Circle to the End of the Day (Gryphon House 2003), and
Wiggle, Giggle, Shake: 200 Ways to Move & Learn (Gryphon House 2001). Your Active Child: How to Boost Physical, Emotional & Cognitive
Development Through Age-Appropriate Activity (McGraw-Hill-Contemporary Books 2003), is her first trade book Written for parents, it details the importance of physical activity in the child's life and education.
A lyrist and vocalist for the Moving & Learning Series, Rae has made presentations throughout North America and is the most widely published author in the field of movement education. She served as adjunct faculty with the Department of Kinesiology at the University of New Hampshire for 13 years and has shared her expertise with such groups as the Sesame Street Research Department, the Head State Bureau, Centers for Disease Control, and Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues.
http://www.movingandlearning.com --------------
------------ After editing for a major publishing house, Hetty Gray
formed Sugar Creek Publishing, publisher of her three books, Net Prophet:
The Bill Garrett Story (2001), a biography of the first Negro to play
basketball in the Big Ten Conference at Indiana University in 1947; a work of
fiction, The Brown Paper Sack (2002), written expressly to raise
funds for The Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel; Love to the
Third Power (2004), a series of five Christian stories, each
followed with a reference to passages from Scripture, and A Bee On Your
Face (2004), a children's book tailored for toddlers to second graders
replete with hand painted illustrations by professional Indiana cartoonist Dee
Bonner.
http://www.sugarcreekpublishing.com Floriana �Flossie� Hall, 78, is a late bloomer. As
recently as 1995, while in church, she was inspired to write her first poem,
Love Never Dies, which won the Editor�s Choice Award in The National Library of
Poetry�s Anthology, Sea of Treasures. She went on to publish about 400 poems in
various books and magazines in the United States, Great Britain and India,
winning 10 first prizes, four second prizes, six third prizes, nine Editor�s
Choice Awards and eight Honorable Mentions. Flossie is founder and coordinator
of The Poet�s Nook, local poets who meet monthly at the Cuyahoga Falls Library
in Ohio. Her first book, self-published in 1999, is Small
Change (now called The Adventures of Flossie, Robbie and Juney),
the true story of her life as a child during The Great Depression. This was
followed by Daddy Was a Bad Boy (CeShore Publishing Company 2001),
an adult version of Small Change - written in a Christian manner - about not
blaming childhood for adult failures. Flossie is
also author of Out of the Ordinary (AuthorHouse 2002), a
compilation of her short stories about angel happenings and God-incidences, and
Touching the Hearts of Generations (Floriana Hall 2005) poems for all
ages. Flossie�s latest book, Hearts On The Mend (PublishAmerica
2006), is designed to help surgeons and patients understand what patients
experience during recovery. The book was inspired by Flossie�s quadruple bypass
surgery two years ago. �Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer
of women?� she asks. �I would not be here today except for a chance remark to my
doctor, for I had no symptoms, but finally four tests discovered I was 100%
blocked, so I had quadruple heart bypass September 4, 2003.�
http://www.expage.com/flossiesbooknook
------------------------------------- Pamela S. Thibodeaux is author of both fiction and
non-fiction books, short stories and essays. Her writing has been tagged as
"Inspirational with an Edge!" and reviewed as "Steamier and grittier than the
typical Christian without decreasing the message." She is also a multiple award winner, including three Coeur
awards given by Coeur de Louisiane, a non-profit corporation affiliated with
Romance Writers of America, whose goals are to promote excellence in romance
fiction. Pam is co-founder of the Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, La. Since the initial publication of Pamela�s two novels,
Tempered Hearts and Tempered Dreams published in
2000/2001 by Writer Exchange Epublishing, the entire five-part series has been
contracted by Com Star Media, a small press publisher. The newly edited versions
of Tempered Hearts and Tempered Dreams were
released by Com Star Media in Nov. 2005. A committed Christian, she firmly believes in God and His
promises. God is very real to her and she feels that people today need and want
to hear more of His truths wherever they can glean them. Although her writing is
Inspirational, she does her best to encourage readers to develop a personal
relationship with God. The grandmother of two lives with husband Terry in
Louisiana.
http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com John Stoddard Klar is the author of Christian Words,
Unchristian Actions: George W. Bush and the Desecration of Christianity in
Modern America (WinePress Publishing 2006). He was an accomplished
attorney when his life was irrevocably changed by crippling fibromyalgia, caused
by Lyme disease. In the depths of his physical torment, this lifelong hedonist
found God for the first time, and was led to a devout trust in the Truth of
Jesus Christ. He lives in rural Vermont, where he took up the task of writing
this book despite debilitating pain, in order to serve Jesus Christ and
humanity. �Christians are called by the New Testament to emulate the
example of Jesus Christ, and to shed their past lives and become more like Him,�
John contends. �Is a nation that calls itself Christian exempted from this
mandate? Have America�s Christians held their country�s government accountable
to Christian standards?� This
conservative Christian attorney holds George W. Bush accountable to the
standards of Christianity that Mr. Bush espoused to gain office. �George
W. Bush gained the White House by bearing the standard of Christian faith,� says
John. �But if George W. actually represented just more politics as usual, and
not a shift in the Oval Office toward Christian integrity, wouldn�t the American
Christians who trusted him want to know?� John practiced in court for years as a criminal, family and
personal injury litigator. He represented the University of Connecticut School
of Law in the 1989 National Appellate Advocacy Moot Court Competition, and was
a member of the Law School�s moot court board. After closing his law practice, John and his wife moved
from Connecticut to Vermont and farmed for seven years, before selling the farm
last year.
John is comfortable writing and speaking
about most political and legal issues, and many issues relating to Christian
faith.
As his book reflects, he has a strong
Christian faith which he brings to most subjects, hopefully not too
forcefully.
His chief focus presently is his current
book�s thesis � that George W. Bush walks a decidedly unchristian walk.
A retired college dean, Betty Jo Tucker serves as Lead Film Critic for ReelTalkReviews.com and is the author of two
movie-related books: Confessions of a Movie Addict (Hats Off Books 2001) and Susan Sarandon: A True Maverick
(Hats Off Books 2004). She writes monthly film commentary for The Colorado Senior Beacon, and her movie reviews also appear on Z Review
in the United Kingdom as well as on The Romance Club Website and on News First Online, an NBC-affiliate television Website.
She discusses movies every Monday afternoon with host Don Grady on his popular Louisiana Live radio show and is the resident movie
reviewer for �Laura's Much Ado about Books,� a new radio talk show on Voice America. She teaches an online writing class titled
�The Reel Deal: Writing about Movies� for the Long Story Short School of Writing. Betty Jo's academic credentials include a doctorate in
educational psychology from the University of Northern Colorado and a master's degree in counseling from Colorado College.
While serving as Dean of Humanities at San Diego Mesa College, Betty Jo supervised expansion of the film studies curriculum,
designed an �Exploring Human Values through Film� course and coordinated the �Reel to Real Film Forum� program. She belongs
to the Online Film Critics Society and is a founding member of the San Diego Film Critics Society.
Because of a passion for film, Betty Jo and her husband Larry, who co-authored a little romantic memoir called
It Had To Be Us (under the pseudonyms of Harry & Elizabeth Lawrence), see approximately 200 movies a year.
They live -- where else -- only ten minutes away from Cinemark's Tinseltown, the only multiplex theater in Pueblo, Colorado
http://authorsden.com/bettyjotucker
* Movie reviews
Genie Davis is a novelist, writer of non-fiction
articles for magazines and e-zines, and a screenwriter. She is currently
producer/writer/director for Liza Boo Productions in Hermosa Beach, CA. Other credits include reality programming HGTV's Weekend
Warriors and House Hunters; The Learning Channel, A Personal Story, (2001-2003).
Documentaries for PBS, Hospital Satellite Network, Art in Your Eye (1997-1999).
She was a staff writer for ABC Daytime Television, Port Charles (1999-2000); and
screenwriter on several feature film scripts optioned/in development; a comedy,
Losing Hope (2001) produced. A graduate of Boston University, Genie did graduate studies
in film at UCLA. Genie can
write and talk about the following areas:
Screenwriting, novel to script, script to novel, writing for genre
fiction, following your writing muse
---------------------------
---------------------------------
During the day, Linda Repasky is a full-time manager with the federal government. In her spare time she writes and does punchneedle. Her book, Miniature Punchneedle Embroidery, will be released in January 2006. The publisher is Martingale/That Patchwork Place, �After having read so much about how book promotion is generally left to the author,� says Lind, �I was stunned when the publisher contacted me and asked me to promote the book last month at the International Quilt Market in Houston, which is the largest trade show for the quilting trade in the world. They paid for my travel/lodging/expenses, and sponsored my doing two formal presentations during the show's �schoolhouse� for shopowners, and then had me at the publisher's booth for two days doing demonstrations and mini-lessons. �Even though the book hadn't yet been released, there was a huge amount of interest (yippee!), so that was heartening to see.� Along with teaching the craft, Linda �makes and sells some of the related tools, mainly to help make this somewhat obscure form of needlework more accessible to others,� she says. �Actually, punchneedle has suddenly become 'hot' and is now being sought out by many quilters, rug hookers, needleworkers, and others, so it's coming out of the shadows and getting a good bit of attention (this surely is why the publisher has been so eager to promote the book so actively).� Jayne A. Hitchcock is an author and
an internationally recognized cyber crime expert. She volunteers with the U.S.
Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime, the National Center for
Victims of Crime, and numerous law enforcement agencies worldwide. Jayne is a
valued resource to these agencies in the solving of Internet related crimes.
Additionally, she has worked tirelessly with our legislators in the drafting and
passing of many of this country's Internet laws.
Shirley Cheng (b. 1983), a blind and physically disabled poet and the author of five books by age twenty-three, has had severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since only eleven months old. Owing to years of hospitalization, she received no schooling until age eleven. Having mastered grade level in all areas after only about 180 days of special education in elementary school, she entered a regular sixth grade class in middle school. Unfortunately, Shirley lost her eyesight at the age of seventeen. After a successful eye surgery, she hopes to earn multiple science doctorates from Harvard University. As she says, "Although I'm blind, I can see far and wide; even though I'm disabled, I can climb high mountains. This is the kind of spirit and attitude that has allowed me to go for the gold medal and accomplish my life's passions, including writing and publishing three books after I lost my eyesight, doing math and chemistry in my head without Braille or vision, and finishing the entire elementary school with merely 180 days of attendance (and on the first day of school, I didn't know English)." Shirley is the author of Daring Quests of Mystics (Lulu Press 2005), a soothing read to relax the mind, body, and spirit; an empowering autobiography, The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine: A Young Woman's Autobiography of a 20-Year Tale of Trials and Tribulations (Lulu Press 2005), to bring humor, hope, and healing; and Dance with Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells (Lulu Press 2004), a collection of inspirational and fantasy short stories(fairy tales, fables, and myths) and poems for the heart from the heart. She wrote her books using a screen reader on the computer and completed every self-publishing task, including formatting her manuscripts, on her own without vision. She type with only her two index fingers at about 60 words per minute. With highly acclaimed experts like Dr. Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins, and Brian Tracy, Shirley co-authored Wake Up...Live the Life You Love: Finding Your Life's Passion, Second Edition (2007), the latest installment in the bestselling Wake Up...Live the Life You Love series; she is also the co-author of 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2 (Self Improvement Online Inc. 2006), along with leading experts Jack Canfield, John Gray, Richard Carlson, Alan Cohen, Bob Proctor, et al. She had been published twice before her writing career. One of her short stories, Mary Miller, the Elusive Lady, received Honorable Mention and was published by the Poughkeepsie Journal in 1997, and a poem, The Colors of the Rainbow, earned merit status and was published in Celebrate! New York Young Poets Speak Out in 1999. In 2006, Shirley tied for 1st place in the national writing contest for Be the Star You Are! founded by New York Times bestselling author, TV/radio personality Cynthia Brian, garnering her a third appearance on Cynthia's live radio show. Shirley's winning entry, titled The Jewel from Heavenly Father, is dedicated to her beloved mother Juliet Cheng. Shirley is also an advocate of parental rights in children's medical care, and aide/caregiver monitoring and screening for students with special needs and disabled people. As a parental rights advocate, she wants to help today's loving parents protect and keep custody of their children. "When doctors ask yes or no, parents should have the right to say no," says Shirley, who is the survivor of the 1990 five-month internationally broadcast news of mother Juliet Cheng's custody battle with a doctor. Juliet was on CBS This Morning with Paula Zahn. Shirley promotes aide advocacy for the disabled because she was mistreated and abused by one-to-one aides when she attended school. "The trouble with the uncaring aides actually lies in the authorities," she says. "If they listened to my complaints and kept a close watch on the aides, I wouldn't have gone through all the suffering." Shirley is available for interviews, speaking engagements, book signings, and inspirational events. She has been on nearly 20 radio shows, including Be the Star You Are! three times, The Donna Seebo Show, and Stu Taylor on Business. She was featured in World Journal, the largest Chinese national newspaper in North America, in July of 2004. Visit her website at http://www.shirleycheng.com and e-mail her at AuthorShirley@yahoo.com
Shirley can speak and write about inspirational and motivational topics, such as:
* How positivity can make you "ultra-abled" --------------------------------- EMPOWERING WOMENPrill Boyle is a classic late bloomer. Years ago, she dropped out of college, married young, and had two children. She ended up at Harvard-as a secretary, not a student. Twelve years later, divorced, remarried and tired of doing clerical work, she enrolled at Georgetown University and earned both a B.A. and M.A. in English. After graduating at age 38, she became a high school teacher. Then in January of 2000, Prill read an article in The New York Times about a 65-year-old Kentucky woman who had waited 39 years to join the Peace Corps and was leaving that day for Ukraine. Boyle was so inspired by this woman's persistence and courage that she decided to take her own leap of faith. At age 47, she left her teaching job, became a full-time writer, and today is the author of Defying Gravity: A Celebration of Late-Blooming Women (Emmis Books, hardcover 2004, softcover 2005). Profiled among the 12 in-depth stories--13 including Prill's--are a woman who became a flight attendant at 71 and another who became a medical doctor at age 50. The book has been translated into Chinese and will be coming out in Taiwan in late 2005. Now 51, Prill and her husband live in Westport, Connecticut where she is working on her second book. She has been featured on numerous radio and television programs and has spoken to groups all over the country, including at the United Nations, about the rewards of late blooming. For more information, visit http://www.prillboyle.com --------------------------------- Allyn Evans is founder of QueenPower.com, a dynamic on-line community for women, and author of the newly released book: Grab the Queen Power: Live Your Best Life! A Competent Toastmaster, Evans speaks to audiences about cultural influences and individual choices. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Mississippi and her MBA from Texas Tech University. Published in a variety of on-line and print publications, Evans is working on her second book, Beyond Ophelia Evans' work centers on her love of writing and her desire to help other women meet the challenges of successful living. As a young woman, Evans found she always got in the way of her own progress creating obstacles and allowing her deeply ingrained fears to stop her at every turn. Compelled to come to grips with herself, the native Mississippian dug down into her cultural heritage to figure out what went wrong and why. This self-study expanded to include the many women Evans interviewed for her work in the uplifting "Grab the Queen Power." The culmination of her community-building endeavor was the creation of QueenPower.com, where many women have found the strength, both in numbers and within themselves, to succeed. As Evans' daughter nears pre-adolescence, her work on female empowerment zeroes in on creating empowered women by cultivating emboldened spirits in young girls and adolescents. With plans to complete three books in 2006, Evans days are filled writing, interviewing, and speaking, that is, when she 's not playing tennis! Evans now resides in Oklahoma with her husband and eight-year-old daughter. For more information about Allyn Evans, please visit: http://www.queenpower.com/Evans/authors.html ----------------------------------- Dotsie Bregel is founder and host of Boomer Women Speak http://www.BoomerWomenSpeak.com, the # 1 site on all search engines for "baby boomer women" now receiving over 1.5 million hits every 30 day period. Due to the success of giving her generation of women a voice she launched the National Association of Baby Boomer Women, http://www.nabbw.com, an association that empowers baby boomer women to find their passions and live life to the fullest. Dotsie is an expert on all issues concerning her generation of women. She has been mentioned in Time Magazine and AARP Bulletin, among dozens of newspapers across the nation. She has done many radio and internet radio interviews and been interviewed for several publications. She also appeared in the outside audience of The Early Show (CBS) Her site offers many opportunities to promote your work. Submit for any of the following pages on her site: Resources for Women, Links, and Boomer Books. Her popular online neighborhood offers opportunities for women to talk about middle age, eldercare, empty nest, travel, plus 40-some more topics. Dotsie is always looking for authors to promote in the Featured Author Book Club Forum on her site. Books about writing and books of interest to baby boomer women are considered. --------------------------------- Charles Montgomery was born, and grew up on, a cattle ranch. His father was a world champion roper who also turned out roping, reining, and race horses. In the early 40's he set three world records with a horse called Jeep B. At the age of 11, Charles rode a daughter of Jeep B and won the California Futurity at Salinas California. After service in the army and graduation from San Jose State, he wrote copy, sold advertising and performed various other jobs at Sacramento Union until its demise. After that he was a consultant and troubleshooter for Freedom News Corp's various newspapers. In the early 90's he attended the Sierra Writers Camp, a resident four week 24 hour a day camp on writing the novel held by published writers. Charles is author two novels, Killing Judas (Commonwealth Publishing of Canada 1998), and the forthcoming Seduction and Betrayal from PublishAmerica. At his site, http://www.authorsinc.com Charles holds free classes on writing the all important first chapter of the novel. A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, Earle F. Zeigler (Ph.D., LL.D., D.Sc.) has taught, researched, and administered programs at four universities (Western Ontario [twice], Illinois, Michigan, and Yale). Having published 39 books and monographs and 406 articles, Dr. Zeigler writes primarily on North American human values, ethics, and personal decision-making.. The top five awards in his field in North America have been bestowed on him. Zeigler has also received two honorary doctorates and is listed in Who's Who in Canada, Who's Who in America, & Who's Who in the World. It wasn't until 2002 that Earle's first trade book was published, Who Knows What's Right Anymore? A Guide to Personal Decision-Making. He since written five more, including Telling It Like It Should Be (Challenging Human Values in North America) (2004), all published by Trafford Publishing. Lisa Lenard-Cook is a quick study who knows from experience how long it takes to make dreams a reality. The authorlink.com fiction columnist has been writing her whole life, but didn't begin her freelance career until the mid 1990s when a book producer she'd met in Dolores, Colorado contacted her about writing books for a new series. Could she write a book about astrology in three months? Even though she didn�t know anything about astrology, Lisa jumped at the opportunity. The Complete Idiot�s Guide to Astrology is now in its third edition, and Lisa went on to write CIGs to Tarot, Numerology, Palmistry, Drawing, and Reincarnation. She also wrote the Guide to Dreams for DK�s Keep It Simple Series. In 2000, Lisa saw a brief blurb announcing the Jim Sagel Award for an unpublished novel written by a New Mexican. She uncloseted Dissonance, which she'd first written in 1995, revised it extensively, and sent it off. A year later, she learned from contest judge Kevin McIlovy that he'd selected Dissonance for the award. The book went on to be published by UNM Press in 2003. It�s garnered many other honors, including being shortlisted for the Pen Southwest Book Award and selection as an NPR Performance Today Summer Reading Choice and as the countywide reading choice of Durango-La Plata Reads. UNM Press published Coyote Morning in 2004. Lisa is currently revising a novel she first wrote fifteen years ago. She teaches writing in private classes and also mentors both beginning and more experienced fiction writers. �The Art of Fiction,� her monthly column on fiction writing at http://www.authorlink.com/ has been called �a refreshing approach to the art of fiction writing.� She loves to hear from readers and writers, and cheerfully (mostly) responds to queries. Write to her at lisa@lisalenardcook.com Lisa lives in New Mexico. ------------------------- Helen Dunn
Frame
has been writing and editing non-fiction materials since high school and has
been published in the U.S., England and Germany. ------------ Brad Whittington was born in Fort Worth, Texas, where he lived for 20 years before leaving in mid-90�s. Before writing his first book, he lived in Texas, Ohio, South Carolina, Arizona, and Colorado, �annoying people as a janitor, math teacher, field hand, computer programmer, brickyard worker, editor, resident Gentile in a Conservative synagogue, IT director, weed-cutter, and in a number of influential positions in other less notable professions.� Today, Brad is a product manager in the telecommunications industry, a position that requires a lot of travel. In 2003, his first published novel, Welcome to Fred (2003) was published and in 2004 it won the Christy Award for a first novel. The book is a coming of age story set in the small East Texas town of Fred, Texas. His subsequent books are Living with Fred (2005) and Escape from Fred (2006). He also has a second book coming out in 2006, co-written with Phil Little, called Hell in a Briefcase. All his books are published by Broadman & Holman Publishers. Brad lives in Hawaii with his wife. ---------------- Larry Pontius is author of Waking Walt (iUniverse 2002), an award-winning thriller based on the urban legend that Walt Disney didn�t die but is out there somewhere in cryonic suspension. A former Disney executive, he joined the organization in 1974 as director of marketing for Walt Disney World. Two years later he was promoted to vice president of marketing for Disneyland and Walt Disney World and transferred to Disney corporate headquarters in Burbank. He left the Walt Disney Company in 1980 and returned to Central Florida where he founded his own advertising and video production firm. Waking Walt won the Florida Writers Association�s Royal Palm Award for 2003 as best speculative fiction book of the year. Raised in Jackson, Michigan, Larry Pontius attended Michigan State University, graduating in 1962 with a master's degree in Advertising. Following graduation, he spent ten years in the advertising agency business; as a copywriter at Leo Burnett Company in Chicago, a copy supervisor at Grey Advertising in Detroit, and as creative director of Grey Advertising�s two Australian offices in Sydney and Melbourne. Larry has won the Effie Award from the American Marketing Association, an Andy from the Advertising Club of New York, a Clio for international advertising, and Bronze Lions from both the Venice and Cannes Film Festivals. In 1978 he was chosen as the Outstanding Alumni of the College of Communication Arts at Michigan State University. In addition, he is the author of the poetry book, Lyrics of Life in four-part harmony. Larry lives in Longwood, Florida with his wife, Harriet. Currently, he is working on his second novel: Future King ------------------------------- --------------------
Judith Woolcock Colombo was born and raised on the
island of Jamaica. She came to the United States in 1969 to attend Fordham
University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1978, Ms. Colombo
earned a Masters in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research. Judith can write and speak about: * what the
writing process is for me. ----------
Tricia McGill spent most of her working life in the
fashion industry. It wasn't until she retired early that she was able to fulfill
her dream of being a full-time writer. Although her published novels cross
numerous sub-genres (Historical, time-travel, futuristic, contemporary,
mainstream) they are all romances. Traces of Dreams won the
Romance Writers of Australia's Romantic Book of the Year Award in 2003. Her
Time-Travel, White Clover, was voted Best Electronic Book of 2001
by the Romantic Times Book Club Reviewers, and Amaryllis was a
finalist in the Romance category at the Independent E-Book Awards. --------------------
Erica Miner was a violinist with the Metropolitan Opera, who had studied music at Boston University and the New England Conservatory of Music. Performing in this high-pressured milieu while raising her two children on her own, she felt gratified, confident that she had reached the pinnacle of her field. Then a car accident ended that career. Searching for a new artistic outlet, she drew upon her lifelong love of writing to give her inspiration. She studied screenwriting with famed script gurus Linda Seger and Ken Rotcop, as well as poetry, winning a number of awards in both categories. Eventually Erica set out to write about her life as a musician and single mother and published her first novel, Travels With My Lovers (Authorhouse 2002), winner of the Fiction Prize in the 2003 Author Book Awards. Drawing from her experiences and adventures traveling solo in Europe with and without her children, Erica penned her novel with a dual goal: first, to entertain; and second, to speak to all generations of women, past, present and future, and encourage them to express their emotional freedom. She has now completed the screenplay adaptation of her novel. In addition, Erica has developed a number of seminars and lectures related to writing in general and Travels With My Lovers in particular. Highly rated on her recent lecture tour with Celebrity Cruise Lines, Erica has been booked for two more series in coming months. Erica has just completed her second novel, Murder In The Pit, a suspense thriller about assassination and intrigue at the Metropolitan Opera. Presently she is hard at work on her semi-autobiographical novel series, tailor-made for "baby boomers," which chronicles the life journey of a young girl from her adolescence during the politically and socially volatile '60s through the transition into the New Millennium. www.ericaminer.com Erica can speak on: * A journey from violinist to novelist: how you, too, can re-invent yourself * Journaling as a tool for healing, self-wisdom and empowerment * Journaling in Films: the impact of journals on the silver screen * Jumpstart your Journaling: Methods and exercises for journaling success * How to integrate Journaling into your own life * Sex and the Single Mom: how to be a single mom and still have a personal life * How not to be a �Desperate Housewife� * Confessions of a violinist: Opera Stars I Have Known
After writing in the early morning hours, Aaron Lazar works as an electrophotographic engineer at NexPress Solutions Inc, in Rochester, New York. Double Fort�span> (2005) is his first book in the LeGarde Mystery Series, (www.legardemysteries.com); Upstaged (2005) is the second. Numerous books have been written and ready to go. Aaron just finished writing Counterpoint, his ninth. His books are published by PublishAmerica. His column, Seedlings, can be found on Bob Burdick�s The Back Room, A Cozy Retreat for Writers and Readers www.bobburdick.com/thebackroom and The Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine. www.fmam.biz/whatsnew.shtml Aaron resides in Upstate New York with his wife, three daughters, two grandsons, mother-in-law, dog, and four cats. -------------------- Marilyn Meredith is the author of the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, published by HardShell Word Factory and Golden Eagle Press between 2000 and 2004 and the latest, Calling the Dead from Mundania Press, in August of 2006. Hard Shell Word Factory has just published Wishing Makes It So (2006), �one of the most bone chilling novels I have ever read!� wrote Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews. One of the first authors to embrace e-publishing, Marilyn has several books that are available in both e-format and trade paperback, among them, the award winning mystery Guilt by Association (Treble Heart Books 2002). Christian horror is another of the genres she writes in - The Choice (PageFree Publishing 2002) and Deeds of Darkness (2003) and Cup of Demons (2005) both from Treble Heart Books, are prime examples. Marilyn is a writing teacher, serves as a judge for many writing contests, and is a popular speaker at many writing conferences. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, EPIC, and The Public Safety Writers Association. She spent the first part of her adult life following her Navy husband around from one duty station to another, having and raising five children. During this time she was also a telephone operator, pre-school teacher for developmentally disabled children, and day care center teacher. �At the same time hubby and I opened up a residential facility for six developmentally disabled women, I began writing and publishing in earnest,� she says. The couple is no longer operating the facility but Marilyn continues to be involved in the business in several ways. She�s the training chairman for an organization of residential care providers, does their monthly newsletter and writes program plans for new people going into the business) Marilyn is a prime example of a �never give up� attitude. Her first book was rejected nearly 30 times before being accepted for publication. http://www.marilynmeredith.blogspot.
----------------- Lisa Drucker, writing under the pen name, Jacqueline de Soignee, is author of a humorous novel called Princess-in-Training Manual (Red Dress Ink/Harlequin 2003). RDI is Harlequin�s chick-lit imprint, and did a ton of promo upon publication, including a Times Square billboard, US Weekly hot book pick, and booksignings at Bloomingdales. Currently managing editor for a reference publisher, Lisa was senior editor for seven years at a prominent lifestyles publishing house whose main title was Chicken Soup for the Soul. A cum laude graduate of Vassar College, Lisa has a master�s degree in communication from the New School for Social Research in NYC. The New York native lives in South Florida. Though specializing in non-fiction, Lisa�s first love is fiction and she is busy at work on several fiction projects. However, she only began writing fiction after relocating to Florida, �where the tropical heat seemed to percolate� her creative nature. http://www.princessintraining.com ------------------------
Yolanda Hooks Buick is author of Indiscretions�Fire & Desire (Disigold
2005), �filled with a sexy plot
entrapped with magnanimous, unmerciful and �Indiscretions has a meaning,� explains its author. �The plot centers around a woman who physically abused and taken advantage of by her husband�.What I want readers to understand is, no one can tell you when and if a person should leave an abusive relationship. That person has to look within themselves to find the inner joy and confidence to make that decision.� Yolanda grew up on Chicago�s West side during the 1970�s and 1980�s, when gangs and drugs started on the rise. Having a strong family, reared in church, her parents wanted her to succeed in life and stood behind Yolanda�s attempt for growth and success. After high school, Yolanda obtained a degree in Business Administration and minored in Accounting. While working full time as a Supervisor at a collection company, Yolanda modeled locally in Chicago, appearing on Chicago�s access cable channels. Yolanda�s favorite sayings are �Knowledge is Power," and "Don�t Be a Follower, be a Leader.� http://www.YolandaHooksBuick.com
GRIEF AND SURVIVAL
Lorraine Kember is the Australian author of Lean on Me: Cancer through a Carer's Eyes
(L. Kember Publications 2004), a true story of her husband's courageous battle with Mesothelioma (asbestos related cancer)
and her emotional journey as she cares for him and improves the quality of his life.
Many excerpts and poems from Lorraine's personal diary have been included in her book. �I have included these,� she says,
�because I want to let others know, that they are not alone as they travel the rollercoaster of terminal illness.
"Lean on Me is now sought after by many families who are caring for their terminally ill loved ones at home
and has also been recommended as a valuable resource for those who are studying or working within the palliative care industry.
Since writing her book, Lorraine has become a public speaker and she is frequently invited to speak to groups of
Palliative Care; Silver Chain and Nursing Staff members and volunteers, as well as the general public, about the importance of Pain Management and Symptom Control to �quality of life� and caring for terminally ill loved ones at home.
Lorraine also speaks to other Carers and Grief Support Groups. Sharing her emotional journey with her audience, she talks about:
Anticipatory Grief associated with terminal diagnosis, Coping with grief after loss and finding the strength to move on with your life.
�I have received strong support through the media� Lorraine says. �An article about me in a local paper was spotted by ABC National radio staff, which subsequently did a radio documentary about me. They did a wonderful job�, she recalls, �I received a lot of calls from people after this and, of course, these resulted in many requests for my book�. Lorraine has also appeared on a number of television stations and has been interviewed by several radio stations. �These opportunities have resulted in strong interest for my book and numerous invitations to speak to groups about my experience. Invariably when I speak to one group of nurses or care staff, it leads to me being invited to speak to staff at another centre.
Lorraine's book has also resulted in her travelling abroad. Last year, she was an invited speaker at the Global Asbestos Congress 2004, held in Tokyo Japan.
Lean on Me: Cancer through a Carer's Eye is highly recommended by Cancer Councils and Palliative Care Organisations worldwide.
For detailed information, doctor's recommendations, reviews, readers letters and Guest Book comments, please visit her website:
http://www.cancerthroughacarerseyes.jkwh.com
Lorraine
is frequently invited to share her knowledge with both professional
bodies and the general public, through the media and public speaking
engagements. Drawing from her personal experience, she is an inspirational and
motivational speaker.
Her sincere wish to reach
out and bring inspiration and strength to others is evident in her
honest, heartfelt and emotive speeches. Her
topics include:
Caring for the terminally ill
Making a Difference
Understanding and controlling pain and symptoms
Coping with Anticipatory Grief
Palliative Care
Dying at Home
Coping with Grief after loss Finding the
strength to move on with your life ------------------------------
Nineteen years ago, Bobbi de Cordova-Hanks was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer and thyroid cancer and given five years to
live. �There was very little information out there about breast cancer,� she recalls. �I wanted to live and was determined to
educate myself best I could about the disease and become a 'survivor' - never a 'victim.'�
At that time, she could have chosen to concentrate on her own health and spending time with her loved ones. Instead, she chose to make
a difference and dedicate her life to helping newly diagnosed women through the fear and anxiety that comes with a breast cancer diagnosis.
Bobbi started a breast cancer support group called Bosom Buddies with husband Jerry, who had lost his first wife to ovarian cancer.
The couple later co-authored Tears of Joy (Infinity Publishing 2003), �one of the few books written by a survivor and caregiver together,� says Bobbi. Jerry, a professional writer, editor and writing consultant who has a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, is president/owner of the Jacksonville, Florida public relations firm of Hanks-Livingston. Yet he was initially reluctant to join his wife on the lecture circuit until a friend convinced him he had something important to say as a two-time caregiver. �I was a professional musician for 30 years, before b.c. (breast cancer); that's why audiences don't faze me,� says Bobbi.
Bobbi and Jerry are national cancer survivorship speakers who travel the country with their presentation, �In Sickness and in Health: A Survivor and Caregiver Share Their Story of Tears and Hope.� Referred to by the local news media as the "first lady of breast cancer survivors in Jacksonville," Bobbi is called on frequently as a spokesperson on breast cancer issues. In 1992 she was awarded the Christy Birong Award for Courage, presented annually by WJXT-TV 4, to someone who has made an impact on the community in the area of cancer survivorship. In 1996 she was honored by the Jacksonville Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women and was a recipient of the 1997 Jefferson Award in Recognition of Outstanding Public Service from the American Institute of Public Service. In 1997, she also received of one of the coveted "12 Who Care Awards." In 1999, Bobbi was chosen BMW's Local Hero, in recognition of her work with Bosom Buddies and was the
recipient of Florida Community College's Trustees Award for Community Service.
�I started Bosom Buddies because of my own need, and it snowballed from there,� says Bobbi. �Anyone can do this. All you need is passion and be willing to work 24 hours a day. Breast cancer has been a positive force in my life, if you can believe it.�
http://www.speakersforlife.com
---------------------------------
Sandy Fox, a journalist her whole life, began her career working at a daily newspaper in Phoenix, Arizona, and then taught
journalism, producing a monthly newspaper for 28 years. During this time she won national awards for her writing and the newspaper,
and was honored for her teaching by winning state, national and international awards. Five years after losing her daughter and only
child, Marcy, at age 27 in a car accident, she began a two-year project of interviewing parents from across the U.S. who had also
lost children. The result was I Have No Intention of Saying Goodbye (iUniverse, 2001 with a new edition in 2005). In the book, 25 families share stories of courage, hope, survival techniques and their attempts to make sense out of the most unbearable loss of all. Sandy continues to write on a variety of topics for national magazines and also speaks at national bereavement conventions in addition to travelling across the country speaking to bereavement and non-bereavement groups on the subject of grief.
----------------- Lorraine Ash,
author of Life Touches Life: A Mother�s Story of
Stillbirth and Healing (NewSage Press 2004)
has been a full-time journalist since 1982, the year she earned
her master�s degree at Fordham University in the Bronx. A native New
Jerseyan, she began her newspaper career in her home state and has remained
there, currently writing for the
Daily Record in Parsippany, New
Jersey. Her feature articles and series, particularly on women�s issues as well
as physical and mental health, have won national, state, and regional awards and
appeared in daily newspapers across the country. Lorraine, a member
of
The International Women�s Writing Guild,
also has explored other writing genres. A published essayist and playwright, she
has written on topics that range from the historical�a close look at the lives
and characters of some American presidents, to the personal�identity and
intimacy. �Writers often
find the stories that are truly theirs to tell in the midst of suffering and
struggle,� she said. �Certainly it was that way for me after the stillbirth of
my daughter, Victoria. My pen helped me change my view of life, justice, God and
myself. The act of writing brings meaning.� As a workshop
leader, she helps others shape the raw stuff of their lives�experiences,
emotions and thoughts�into compelling prose that transforms, moves and inspires. �Pain is not just
to be felt,� she said. �It can be used to better the world, and literature is a
perfect way for the transmutation to take place. There is great healing in
telling our stories well and listening to those of others.� As a peer grief
contact, Lorraine works one-on-one with stillbirth mothers. She also is an
advisor to the Public Awareness Committee of the
International Stillbirth Alliance.
Lorraine lives in
Allendale, New Jersey, with her husband, Bill, a jazz trumpeter. Her passions
include Hindu philosophy, bookstores and libraries, good food, fitness, and the
state of Maine. Currently she is working on a book about holistic healing.
http://www.lorraineash.com
----------------- Susan K. Behm,
author of Civilized Savages (Media Creations 2002)
and Secrets in Paradise
(iUniverse 2004) and most recently, The Journey (Xulon Press
2006), is the outspoken voice for those who are unable to speak for
themselves. As an abuse survivor, she understands better than the average
individual the importance of raising awareness of the effects of abuse on an
individual. She bravely speaks out against the most extreme forms of child
labor and ritual abuse. In her novels, she illustrates that abuse of every type
is going on not only around the world, but in our own country as well.
No child is safe while this threat exists.
Susan
graduated college with a Bachelor�s of Science in Secondary Education, but is
currently working as an Information Technology professional. In addition, she
interprets for the hearing-impaired, teaches sign language, volunteers at her
church, runs her own computer business, and is an avid teddy bear collector. Her sincere wish is to be the voice for those survivors who
have not yet found their voice. She bringsinspiration, hope, and strength to
those she comes in contact with. Susan lives
in Maryland, where she cares for two exuberant black labs, Cal and Sammy.
Susan is available for public speaking engagements, book signings and
interviews. Some of her topics are:
�
Sharing her own abuse experiences
�
Hope for healing
�
How to help those who are hurting regardless of the emotional
pain
�
Looking for the positive in the negative
�
The joys of writing
�
Dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress and flashbacks Sigrid Macdonald was in her 40�s when she learned she needed a total hip replacement due to auto accident. She had the surgery in April 2004 and seventh months later her book, Getting Hip: Recovery From a Total Hip Replacement (AuthorHouse 2004) was published. A social activist and freelance writer, Sigrid felt that �she learned so much from the experience� that she wanted to share her knowledge with prospective surgical patients and their families. Also, since her recovery period was much longer than expected, Sigrid discovered �many useful tips that will hasten recovery.� According to Sigrid, �almost 400,000 North Americans undergo joint replacement surgery every year. Arthritic hips, knees, shoulders and occasionally, ankles are replaced with metal and plastic implants. Total hip replacements (THRs) constitute approximately half of these surgeries, allowing people who would otherwise be completely disabled by pain to resume full and active lives. How does her book differ from others on the subject? She says that in 2004, hers was one of only three books written on THR; one is by an orthopedic surgeon that provides a clinical perspective and another is by a physiotherapist who never had the surgery. Moreover, Sigrid�s book is written in the first person �to take a topic that was potentially dry and boring and to personalize it� There are several good books on THRs out there, but I found many of them to be rather stuffy. And most of them are out of date by four to nine years.� Sigrid graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in psychology from Ramapo College of New Jersey. In 1986, she won the �Woman of the Year� award for outstanding volunteer service at the Ramapo Women�s Center. She had a scholarship to study at the University of Toronto and completed three semesters towards a Master in Social Work, when her graduate studies were ended by a drunk driver. Sigrid grew up during the Vietnam War and was a protestor as early as 16 years of ago. Her activism developed into an interest in social issues and she is �particularly drawn to women's issues and health,� she says. �I've spent most of my adult life as a social activist in the women's movement, starting as the Political Action Coordinator and Legislative Task Force Leader of The National Organization for Women. In addition, I am an advocate for patients and have written extensively about alcoholism, hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, menopause, invisible disabilities, social phobias, panic disorder and joint replacement.� -----------------------Joan Swirsky has been a
longtime health-and-science and feature writer for The New York Times
Long Island section and is the recipient of seven Long Island Press Awards. A
former obstetrical nurse and Lamaze teacher, Joan is a practicing
psychotherapist. In addition, she is the book and lyric writer of four musicals,
one of which, "Oh Baby!" - about three couples facing parenthood - was produced
in New York City in 1983. Breast cancer is �somewhat epidemic on Long Island,� says Joan, and when her book co-authored with Barbara Balaban, The Breast Cancer Handbook � Taking Control After You�ve Found A Lump (Revised Updated Edition, Power Publications 1998), was published (http://www.gift-of-life.com/breastcancer.htm), there were already dozens of books about the subject. What sets her book apart from the competition, says Joan, is its �how-to� approach. Joan�s other health-related books are Coping with Lymphedema (Avery Publishing 1998), co-authored with Diane Sackett Nannery. http://www.gift-of-life.com/coping.htm; and Map of Destiny: Pinpointing a Cancer Epidemic on the Kitchen Table. (Tempest Books, 2005). http://www.mapofdestiny.com, the true story of an ordinary housewife who got breast cancer and went mad. Her successful fight to mobilize her neighbors, community leaders, politicians, and the powers-that-be in the worlds of science and medicine brought about the first-ever community-mapping project � and changed history! Her books on beauty and relationships are Instant Beauty ~ Getting Gorgeous on Your Lunchtime Break (St. Martin�s Press 2002), with coauthors Deborah S. Sarnoff, M.D. and Dr. Robert H. Gotkin, M.D. http://www.instantbeautynow.com; All About Love! ~ Finding a Relationship That Lasts Forever (QMP/St. Martin's Press, December, 1998), http://www.gift-of-life.com/allaboutlove.htm; and Beauty and the Beam: Your Complete Guide to Cosmetic Laser Surgery (St. Martin's Griffin and Quality Medical Publishing, 1998), with co-author Deborah S. Sarnoff, M.D. http://www.beautyandthebeam.com Her other books are Gift of Life: A Spiritual Companion for the Mother-to-Be (Daybreak Books, 1997) http://www.gift-of-life.com; Nurse Abuse: Impact and Resolution, with co-author and editor, Power Publications, 1991, 1996). http://www.gift-of-life.com/nurse.htm; Crossing the Line: The Joel Rifkin Serial Murder Story. (Putnam/Berkley, 1994), with co-author Lisa Pulitzer; and "Mommy, I Want to Kill Myself!" ~ The True Story of a Mother's Fight to Save Her Mentally Ill Little Boy. (Tempest Books, 2004). Joan and her husband Steve, a businessman, live on Long Island, have three children and three grandchildren. http://www.gift-of-life.com/joan.htm --------------- David Spero, RN is a 55-year-old nurse, journalist, activist and health educator living in San Francisco. He has taken care of people in a wide variety of settings, from hospitals to community health centers to home care. In 1989, as a father of two young children, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He had to learn something harder than taking care of other people: how to take care of himself. David became a health coach, working successfully with chronically ill people to maximize their health and their lives. He gives workshops for health care providers on building patients� capacity for self-care. Teaching self-care led David to diabetes, the only condition in which Western medicine recognizes the importance of self-care. He has given talks and led workshops at diabetes clinics, hospitals, and community centers all over the country. He researched, read, and studied with great teachers. He discovered some important truths about diabetes, especially who gets it and why, who profits from it, and what we can do about it. He writes and speaks passionately about the people causing chronic illness, and with hope and inspiration about new approaches that can prevent it and treat it. �David Spero is a dynamic speaker who engages his audience through theory, practice, and storytelling,� says Denise Daniello, Alaska Fairbanks Education Center. �His workshops are inspiring and practical.� In his books, classes and coaching, David provides paths over the obstacles that keep so many of us from taking care of ourselves. He counsels healthcare providers on more effective, social ways to help their patients � especially by working with them as equal and empowered partners. He is currently on the faculty of Quality Allies: Improving Care by Involving Patients, a project of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. David is author of The Art of Getting Well: Maximizing Health When You Have a Chronic Illness (Hunter House 2002) and the forthcoming Diabetes: Sugar-Coated Crisis: Who gets it, who profits, and how to stop it (New Society Publishers Sept. 2006). http://www.art-of-getting-well.com
DAVID�S 5 HOTTEST TOPICS *Diabetes as a social disease � caused by environments toxically high in stress and sugar, low in opportunities to move our bodies or feel good about ourselves. Why people with fewer resources and less power get sick; social approaches to treating and preventing diabetes; connection of diabetes to other health and social problems. *Why the American medical system is broken � twisted economics, dominance by drug companies, ignoring the most important issue � patients� capacity for self-care. *The toxic food environment � how human environments resemble feedlots for cattle, why sugar is an addictive drug, why diets don�t work *Understanding Stress � stress as a symptom of powerlessness, stress and depression, stress and trauma, historical trauma, overcoming stress. *Overcoming barriers to self-care � why it�s so hard for people to live healthy lives, ways to make self-care easier for yourself and your loved ones.
-------------------------
Beth Roybal is the author of nine books, five of them award-winners. In addition, her unpublished manuscript of a romantic mystery comedic chick-lit novel called I Swear I Didn�t Do It! took third place for fiction in the 1995 Central Coast Writer�s contest with theme of resiliency, and was a finalist in the 2005 St. Martin�s Press/Malice Domestic contest for best unpublished traditional mystery (the book was then called Pescadero Peril).
�I�ve been writing as long as I�ve been breathing,� says Beth, who currently provides freelance editorial services. In the 1980�s, her employment background includes four years as a media designer, University of Michigan Department of Biomedical Communications, and two years as a clinic manager, Cardiology Outpatient Service, The University of Michigan Medical Center. Beth�s master�s degree was in language and international trade from Eastern Michigan University, but all her previous books have been in the health field.
The four latest, all published by Ulysses Press, are:
Prediabetes Wake-up Call: A Personal Road Map to Prevent Diabetes (2006); Managing Diabetes_Your_Way Workbook: Living With Type 2 Diabetes (2005); Hepatitis C: A Personal Guide to Good Health, third edition (2002); 101 Simple Ways to Make Your Home & Family Safe in a Toxic World (2002)
�My strength as a writer,� says Beth, �is providing the basic information a person needs in order to deal with their health problem. These books are designed for the reader who knows nothing about the condition or becomes �stuck� in dealing with it and needs some advice and motivation.�
Beth lives in California.
http://www.bethroybal.com
--------------------- Thomas Neviaser was born in Washington D.C. and attended George Washington Medical School. He did his post-graduate residency in orthopaedic surgery in NYC at the New York Orthopaedic Hospital in the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. He then served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S Navy before starting his private orthopaedic practice in the Northern Virginia area in 1973. He retired as an orthopaedic surgeon following 30 years of active practice having written or co-written over 50 medical papers and participated in many presentations and seminars in his sub-specialties of the shoulder and knee. Thomas' two non-medical books are Man's Unofficial Guide to the Use of His Garage (Word Association, 2003) http://www.mans-garage-guide.com and The Comb in the Urinal and Other Perplexities of Life (Pecos Publishing 2004) http://www.pecospublishing.com. His third book, a novel titled Still Life, is now being edited and proofread. How did a surgeon come to write books about totally different subjects? "The garage book came from 30 years of organizing my garage and finally finding that it was organized enough that others should know about it," he explains. "The Comb in the Urinal book came from seeing a comb in a urinal in the men's lavatory at a restaurant one night and my musing fictionally as to how it got there. I then proceeded to write 15 other short stories about other objects I've seen and wondered how they too got there." ------------------------- British author Sam Smith left school at 16 and went to sea. Now living in Devon, UK, and most recently employed as an amusement arcade cashier, he is a prolific author, and has a varied career as a psychiatric nurse, residential social worker, milkman, plumber, laboratory analyst, groundsman, sailor, computer operator, scaffolder, gardener, painter & decorator........ �working at anything, in fact, which has paid the rent, enabled me to raise my three daughters and which hasn't got too much in the way of my writing,� he says. �I now have several poetry collections and novels to my name.� His novella, We Need Madmen, published in the anthology �Electric Sheep� (SKREV Press), won the 2004 SKREV prize for science fiction. Sam's �mental health� specialty was earned by working 14 years as a nurse and social worker in that field and he has had three books published - all well received - about his experiences. Two of the books were poetry collections: To Be Like John Clare (University of Salzburg Press 1997); and Problems & Polemics (Boho Press 2004). The third was a novel, The Care Vortex (BeWrite Books 2002), about his work in children's homes. (All royalties from the latter book go to a children's charity) Sam is editor of The Journal (formerly Contemporary Anglo-Scandinavian Poetry), publisher of Original Plus books, and poetry editor of select Six (BeWrite Books). ---------------------------------- A school nurse for 22 years until retirement, Arlene
Evans, R.N., �couldn't find literature for children or teens on the common
genetic condition of color vision deficiency (CVD) or colorblindness.� So she
self-published two books in 2003, Seeing Color: It's My Rainbow, Too
for children and Color is in the Eye of the Beholder for teens
and adults. �I wrote these books for everyone, so that those without the
disorder would understand the challenges involved just as they do with other
conditions and those with the disorder would know they're not alone and receive
helpful tips to deal with everyday situations.� She lives in California with husband, Don. Daughter
Kathleen teaches creative writing at San Jose State, and has a novel that is
making the rounds with a New York agent. �She's my best cheerleader!� says mom.
Mix knowledge of voodoo, Louisiana politics and forensic social work with the dedication to write fiction while working each day as a clinical social worker, and you get a snapshot of talented author Lynn Emery. Lynn has been a contributing consultant to the magazine Today�s Black Woman for three articles about contemporary relationships between black men and women. Lynn is a licensed social worker with twenty-years experience in child welfare and the mental health field. She has worked as an investigator in both child and adult protective services, as a social worker in juvenile corrections and at a psychiatric hospital. She has a special interest in mental health and women. Her novel Good Woman Blues (HarperCollins 2005), deals with the issue of women and depression. It was nominated by Romantic Times Magazine for Best Multicultural Mainsteam Novel of 2005. Her next book, Soulful Strut (Harper Collins, Dec. 2006) takes on the issues of women and the justice system. Lynn sold her first novel in 1995 to Kensington publishing for their groundbreaking Arabesque line. Night Magic went on to be recognized for Excellence in Romance Fiction for 1995 by Romantic Times Magazine. Her third novel, After All, became a movie produced by BET and aired on December 3, 1999. Holly Robinson Peete was the female lead as Michelle Toussaint, an investigative television reporter. In 2004, Lynn won three coveted Emma Awards. She was chosen Author of the Year and her novel, Kiss Lonely Goodbye (Harper Torch 2003) won Best Novel and Favorite Hero. Endless Passion is a collector�s series that includes three of her early novels, Night Magic, Tender Touch, and Sweet Mystery (Kimani Press, May 2006). http://www.lynnemery.com
Ben Romeo was born and raised in Northern New Mexico, the fifth of seven children in a Hispanic Catholic household. Ben is a part-time Adult Education teacher in an ESL program (English as a Second Language) and uses some of his writings as material for teaching. He has spent the past 30 years working for the US Post Service and serves as Customer Relations Coordinator for the Central San Joaquin Valley. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Management with a minor in Spanish from Fresno Pacific University in 1995. Chicken Chisme: The Fine Art of Gossip (Nov 2005) is Ben's fifth book. Other titles include Chicken Beaks: Growing Up Hispanic (2003); Chicken Beaks Revisited: An Hispanic Adolescence (2004); Chicken Beaks Forever: An Hispanic Migration (2005) and Dance of the Chickens: An Anthology of Light-hearted Stories. (2004). His sixth book, Chicken Chistes: An Anthology of Southwestern Humor, will be available in late 2006. All his books are published by Trafford. Ben is married to his wife, Evelyn, for 34 years. They have five children and four grandchildren. Visit www.benromero.com HISTORICAL FICTION AND NON-FICTION Former British naval officer Julian Stockwin MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) is the author of sea adventure novels set in the 18th century. All his books are part of a projected 15-part Thomas Kydd series, about one man's journey from common sailor to admiral. Six of the books have been published: Kydd (2001), Artemis (2002), Seaflower (2003), Mutiny (2004), published by Scribner; Quarterdeck (McBooks Press 2005) and Tenacious (Hodder & Stoughton, UK 2005; to be published in US by McBooks Press at a later date). As Kirkus Reviews wrote: "Stockwin.writes of the nautical life with vivid authority." Julian is keen to "enrich readers' appreciation of the great age of sail" - his website http://www.JulianStockwin.com has a great deal of sea-related material and he issues a monthly email newsletter called "The Bosun's Chronicle" as well as giving talks around the world on the common misconceptions about the Georgian Navy and Jack Tar. Julian and his literary partner (and wife) Kathy have also conducted free community classes on how to get a novel published. --------------------------------- A lifelong musician who originally had dreams of becoming a concert pianist, Susanne Dunlap received her BA and MA in music from Smith College and her PhD in Music History from Yale in 1999. Her first historical novel, �ilie's Voice, was published by Simon & Schuster in April, 2005. The same publisher will release her second novel, also a music-based historical, in the spring of 2007. The story takes place in 17th century Paris during the reign of Louis XIV. As Susanne writes on her website, while the characters are fictional, "their adventures� are not inconsistent with their historical setting. In fact, life at that time was so outlandish that even true events can seem unbelievable. This is largely a function of the extraordinary personalities who populated the French court and Parisian society." www.emiliesvoice.com Dunlap lives in Northampton, MA, with her family. --------------------------------- Bernard Fleury has a doctorate in education, administration and government. Two years after beginning as an assistant professor in 1968 at Westfield State College, Bernard was promoted to associate professor by the president upon the recommendation of his Peer Promotion Committee. Three years later, he was promoted to professor and double tenured, based on his excellent peer and student evaluation of this teaching and research competencies, his contributions to his department, the college, the community, and the publication of his first major text book, What Is Man? (University Press of America). A Bee in his Bonnet (1st Books Library 2002) was his first trade book. It's about Frank King, Fleury's grandfather, whose Army career took him around the world. Bernard covers the period from 1860 to 1958, which includes his grandfather's adventures, from coming to the Americas with his brother in 1860 as part of Prince Edward Albert's entourage and the brothers' escapade in the Canadian wilderness, to the involvement in the anti-terrorist campaigns in the Philippines and World War I. While the book documents his grandfather's origins, its major thrust, according to the author, is the Great Generation, "whose lives and struggles would later define international geopolitics and the American worldwide dynasty - the world we live in today." The bee in his grandfather's bonnet, says Bernard, carried him into Canada, the United States, Latin America, the Philippines, Japan and Europe and paved the way for Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation. Bernard is also author of Called into Life by the Light, which enumerates how meaningful and useful light is to mankind as a powerful source of healing. --------------------------------- Feather Schwartz Foster calls herself an amateur presidential historian. Still, the New Jersey resident and Syracuse University graduate has amassed a presidential library of more than 1200 volumes on each individual president, works at her town library, and speaks at libraries, historical societies, women's clubs, college university clubs and senior clubs. �My talks are never the same,� she says, given her �nearly unlimited� subject matter and type of presentation. Feather is author of Ladies: A Conjecture of Personalities (PublishAmerica 2003), which covers Martha thru Mamie. The book is 70-75% real fact, but the quotes are 90% fictional, albeit based on truth. Her second book, Garfield's Train (PublishAmerica 2005), is about the election and assassination of James Garfield whose eventual death occurred in Long Branch, N.J. in 1881. In her books, she explains, �fictional characters interact with historical figures to make it an enjoyable read.� Feather began life as a song writer and moved into advertising and public relations. �Writing songs is a wonderful preparation for writing anything else,� she says, �since it teaches you, above all, economy of words.� www.authorsden.com/featherschwartzfoster http://authorsden./featherschwartzfoster --------------------------------- Virginia Morton's book, Marching Through Culpeper: a novel of Culpeper, Virginia, Crossroads of the Civil War (Edgehill Books 2000), now in its sixth printing, also weaves historical and fictional characters. A native of Richmond, Virginia has lived in Culpeper (between Washington, D.C. and Richmond) for 36 years, where she's a local celebrity. Her Civil War walking tours of the historic downtown and battlefield grounds have been featured on Richmond Public TV, and on November 3, 2004, more than 200 fans of the book gathered at the Culpeper Holiday Inn to celebrate 5000 books sold and to honor the author. Her local fame expanded after a local paper published an article about the book and it was picked up by the AP wires. She's now sold a total of 8000 hardbacks and the book has had more than 40-five star reviews on the Internet. In a interview in her alumni magazine, Virginia was described �as a one-woman crusade to publicize and promote the fact that county was 'in the eye of the storm' from 1861 to 1865. �Culpeper County was the most marched across and camped upon locale in the Civil War,� she states. �There were more than 100 battles and skirmishes in Culpeper County. The action was constant.� In February 2004, Virginia was a leader of the HistoryAmerica Mississippi Riverboat Cruise focusing on �Women in the Civil War.� She has been invited back in January 2006, when her topic will be �Love and War: Great Love Stories of the Civil War.� --------------------------------- Don Bracken is author of Times of the Civil War (Authorhouse 2005), which presents the �ofttimes myopic eyes� of the reporters from The New York Times and Charleston Mercury who covered the Civil War. Ironically, the book's first glowing review appeared in the Charleston Mercury, which wrote in part: �The juxtaposition of the [modern historians of the Civil War] Advisory Commission and the inflated rhetoric of the leading newspapers of the time produces a long series of shocks. I am learning more about how the war was prosecuted and perceived from Times of the Civil War than from any source I have consulted in many years.� The 644-page book includes 100 sketches by wartime artists who were at the site. http://www.historyscope.com/times --------------------------------- The Breach (Last Knight Publishing 2002) by Brian Kaufman is about the Alamo from the Mexican point of view. When Touchstone Pictures' film version of The Alamo went into production, Brian contacted the webmaster of the unofficial movie site and began writing articles for the site. This stirred controversy and fodder for the discussion on the site's chat board. Every time the book was mentioned, Brian got more hits on his web page. "Sales and page-hits were steady for nearly a year," he recalls, "increased just before the release of the movie and dropped off when the movie tanked." Brian studied history as an undergraduate in the sixties, and eventually earned a degree in English Literature/Creative Writing from Colorado State University in 1999. When he's not writing, he cooks in a pub-style restaurant, plays blues guitar and lifts weights competitively (he recently placed first in the city-wide bench-press competition). http://www.briankaufman.net -------------------- Joyce Faulkner is author of Losing Patience (2004), a collection of philosophical short stories, and a novel In the Shadow of Suribachi (2005), about the Battle of Iwo Jima. She has also worked on several non-fiction projects for veterans that include an album for the Heart of America Chapter of Ex-Prisoners of War. Joyce has co-authored a non-fiction book, The Complete Writer: A Guide to Tapping Your Full Potential (2005). All her books have been published by Red Engine Press.
Joyce has been many
things in her life - author is just the latest in a long string of
accomplishments that include a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical
Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, and Master of Business
Administration from Cleveland State University. She has been a wife, mother,
world traveler, underground gas storage engineer, quality trainer, facilities
manager, manager of information services, director of ecommerce and consultant.
In the early years of the Internet, she traveled the country speaking at
conferences and seminars on this new medium as a tool for business to business
applications.
Joyce lives with her husband in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. http://www.intheshadowofsuribachi.com
------------------------------------ David Bowles was always an active man. As a youngster in his native Texas he loved reading about history and touring museums, libraries and state buildings. In 1990, following a 23-year career with a wine and liquor distributor, David founded dabow-inc�, an electronic check verification company to assist merchants in verifying checks presented at the point of sale. The firm later added credit cards and ATM machines to the products and services for brick-and-mortar companies, home-based businesses and online merchants. By 1994, the company had grown to 20 employees. That year, David was selected Business Leader of the Year by his peers at the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. In 1995, David was appointed by Congressman Lamar Smith to the White House Conference on Small Business. Then in October 1998, a motorcycle accident changed his life. Always intrigued by tales of his ancestors, David had been researching his family history at the time of the accident. But after this close call with death, he discovered a new avocation: writing the stories of his family. He found more time to write when his daughter, who has been diabetic since childhood, underwent a pancreas transplant. He carried his laptop to the hospital and typed his stories sitting in the lobby waiting through her surgery. To make his fiction exciting, he used stories about his ancestors that would become the basis for The Westward Sages � tales from colonial days to the settlement of the West. The first book in the series, Spring House (Plum Creek Press 2006), blends genealogy, American history and imaginative dialogue. David lives in San Antonio with his yellow lab, Lulubelle.
HISTORY AND MEMOIR Saul Silas Fathi was born into a well-to-do Jewish family in Baghdad in 1938. Two former prime ministers lived on the same street and it was an �idyllic� place, he recalls. That ended for the country�s Jewish population in the late 1940s when the creation of Israel set off a wave of anti-Jewish sentiment.
As a young boy, Saul witnessed public executions and his family was falsely accused of treason against the Iraqi government. Like all wealthy Jews, his family was labeled Zionist and Communist.
When he was 10, he and his younger brother were smuggled out of Baghdad through Iran and eventually landed in Israel. In 1958, Saul worked his way to Brazil, where he nearly starved. Two years later, he came to the U.S. and joined the Army for three years. In Israel, Saul had studied aeronautics and in the Army was assigned to the 15th Aviation Company, the famed helicopter division in the Vietnam War.
Back in the U.S. he earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia and went on to found three high-tech companies over a 20-year period.
Saul retired in 2003 to write his memoir, Full Circle: Escape from Baghdad and the return (Xlibris 2006). A review by the president of Military Writers Society of America, stated that Saul�s autobiography �takes the reader to places and events that one may only get to know about from small glimpses on The History Channel or in some old National Geographic Magazines. This guy has lived a life that would make a great movie.�
Saul�s second book, published in March, 2006 is History of the Jews and Israel � 4000 years of history condensed into 76 pages. He is fluent in English, Hebrew, Arabic and Portuguese.
He and wife Rachelle have three daughters and one grand-daughter and live on Long Island (NY). http://www.saulsilasfathi.com Saul is comfortable writing or talking about the following subjects: * INTRODUCTION TO FULL CIRCLE... * THE WAR IN IRAQ AND PROSPECTS FOR WAR IN IRAN * ISLAM AND THE MIDDLE-EAST * JEWISH LIFE IN ARAB COUNTRIES
HOLISTIC HEALTH She holds national licenses in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine through the National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncturists (NCCA) and is licensed to practice acupuncture in California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Shoshanna was named the first woman president of the National Qigong Association in 2004 and is now a member of their Advisory Board. She is on the board of advisors of Body + Soul Magazine owned by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. She is also chairperson of the New Jersey Acupuncture Examining Board. Most recently, she was voted the Chairman of the National Qigong Association Advisory Council. Shoshanna has taught Qigong to 700 high school students at the Red Bank regional High School This was done in coordination with the National Qigong Association, which supplied free Qigong videos for the students. After receiving a Bachelors degree in Sociology from Hofstra University, Katzman began her career in the field of health and fitness by working with the aging as a social worker and recreation director in nursing homes. In 1974, she began studying massage at the San Francisco Massage Institute. At this time, she also began learning Qigong and the related Chinese movement arts of Tai Chi and Kung Fu. In 1981, she earned her Master�s in Sports Medicine from San Francisco State University and began her formal studies of Traditional Chinese Medicine, eventually opening practices in California, Pennsylvania, and then New Jersey. Shoshanna is a nationally licensed acupuncturist with a Master in Science in the field. In 1998, The Honorable former Governor Christine Todd Whitman appointed her to the New Jersey State Acupuncture Examining Board. In 2003, she became Chairman. Through her membership in and involvement with professional organizations including the American Association of Oriental Medicine and the Federal Acupuncture Oriental Medicine Regulatory Agency, Shoshanna keeps abreast of trends in the field. As author of Qigong for Staying Young: A Simple 20 Minute Workout to Cultivate Your Vital Energy (Avery Penguin Group 2003), Shoshanna has produced a companion DVD directed by Eli Kabillo (Mad Dog Films) and Lorna Thomas (Swing Pictures). As co-author of Feeling Light-The Holistic Solution to Permanent Weight Loss and Wellness (Avon Books 1997), she completed a successful national book tour in 1997. Shoshanna's suggestions for weight loss have been highlighted in Alternative Cures, The Most Effective Natural Home Remedies for 160 Health Problems, by Bill Gottlieb (Rodale, 2000). Shoshanna has been featured in numerous magazine and newspaper articles, most notably in The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Examiner, The Chicago Tribune, Asbury Park Press, The New York Post, Body + Soul, Health, First for Women, Experience Life, Mind, Body, Spirit magazine. She has appeared on radio and local, regional, and national television, including programs on the Food Channel and America's Health Network, and on New Jerseys Talking, Everyday Living, Good Day New York and Extra. Katzman is the co-founder and producer of eight annual Women's Wellness conferences which has drawn thousands of people and hosted speakers Richard Simmons, Coretta Scott King, Christine Northrup, and Caroline Myss. She is an inspirational speaker in the series and also lectures at a host of public forums including Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores. As former adjunct professor in the Health and Fitness Department at Brookdale College and guest lecturer to 700 students at Red Bank Regional High School, she has taught Chinese exercise and medicine to a wide range of students. In October, Shoshannas Qigong Show will be airing on the Lime Television Network available on Dish network Channel 264 and cable throughout the world. Shoshanna is the mother of three teenage children, Hilary, Noah, and Jared, and shares her life with her husband & partner, Michael, in Little Silver, New Jersey. The author of four humor books, Bob Schwartz is a columnist whose humor essays focus on parenthood and family life and appear in more than 140 newspapers and magazines throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia. After graduating from the University of Colorado with a degree in American studies and receiving a law degree from The University of Oregon, Bob turned to writing humor. In 2002, he received the Gold Award from Parenting Publications of America. Bob's latest book, Would Somebody Please Send Me to My Room! (Glenbridge Publishing 2005) was a finalist for the USA Book News awards in the Humor category as well as the Parenting category. His other books include: the best-selling: I Run-Therefore I am - Nuts! (Human Kinetics Publishing 2001), Office Toys: How to Waste Your Day at Work (Andrews McMeel 2005), and Top-Secret Area 51: The Truth is In Here (Andrews McMeel 2005). He lives in Michigan with his wife and three children. ---------------------------------- The Wacky World of Womanhood (iUniverse 2003) is a collection of humorous personal essays by Vicky DeCoster on childhood crises, dating dilemmas, marriage mishaps, parenthood pitfalls and midlife mayhem. Vicky has written humorous essays and articles for Atlanta Singles, Metro Parents, and Single Life, has authored humor columns for various women's magazines, won national humor writing contests, and her inspirational essays have been published in the Don't Sweat Stories with a foreword by Richard Carlson, Ph.D, author of the best-selling book, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, as well as Christian Single magazine and several other books. Her second book of humor entitled Husbands, Hot Flashes and All That Hullabaloo! is due out in late 2006. Vicky lives in Nebraska with her husband and two children. ---------------------------------- Marja McGraw was born and raised in Southern California; her family goes back six generations in Los Angeles. For several years, she worked in both criminal and civil law enforcement and later owned her own business. At the time that Marja worked for the Los Angeles County Marshal's Office there were no female deputies, so she doubled as Deputy Clerk and Matron. She also worked as a Legal Secretary and for a County Sheriff's Office in Oregon. Divorced soon after her daughter was born, Marja raised her daughter alone and then moved to Carson City, Nevada when her daughter was 13. After 30 years of single life, she met Al, and the couple married and moved to Arizona. She wrote her first book in the late 1980's, but didn't have the resources to go forward with it. After Al and she married, he encouraged Marja to keep writing and to try self-publishing. That's how Big Trouble for a Little Lady (iUniverse 2001) was born, she says. Mysteries are Marja's first love and after discovering a female P.I. series with humor can be popular, she knew she'd found her niche. Ah, what a boon to discover that an author can write a mystery and make it light and humorous, she says. Marja works part-time in a library, where she's not all business. She made T-shirts with her logo, A little humor, A little romance, A Little Murder! on the back and Mystery Lover on the front. Some staff members wore the shirts and when people came to the counter to check out books, they would see Mystery Lover and nothing else until the girls turned around. It's started some pretty interesting conversations, says Marja. Big Trouble for a Little Lady was the first of her Sandi Webster series. The second book, Secrets of Holt House (iUniverse 2002) is a stand-alone mystery. Marja is currently in the process of a publisher search with A Well-Kept Family Secret, the second in her Sandi Webster series. Also see Experts I-W |
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Francine Silverman 2003 - 2006
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