A podcast and blog about the craft and business of freelance writing, book publishing, and author promotion.
Writers, Authors, Publishers, and Book Publicists
Writers in the Sky Podcast is a weekly talk show about writing, publishing, and book marketing. We offer interviews with authors, publishers, and book publicists who provide the latest news about books, publishing methods, and marketing techniques. Click on the links in the right sidebar to hear our archived show.
I attended a lecture by author Janet Conner at Unity Church last week. Not only was Janet entertaining, I learned about soul writing and I’d like to share a few writing tips with you. She instructed us on how to write from theta brain waves that support creativity rather than beta waves associated with stress (where many people live their daily lives).
I’ll have Janet on my podcast in early February, but if you want to get a jumpstart on writing down your soul, get Janet’s book, Writing Down Your Soul: How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within on Amazon.com.
Try this writing exercise using these seven steps:
Set your intention to connect with the voice inside you
Address the voice directly: Dear ______ (fill in the blank with whatever name you want)
Write by hand
Activate all five senses. Vision, hearing, and touch are automatic in this process, but include a candle, incense, aroma oil, or flowers for smell and water for taste
Ask open-ended questions as you write.
Write fast; don't stop to correct grammar, spelling, punctuation (very hard for me as an editor). Just let the words flow from spirit to paper without the interference of logic or correctness.
Be grateful; say thank you.
Let me know how you fair with this. Leave a comment to let me know you've tried it and what you experienced.
Please plan to join us this Friday as Writers in the Sky welcomes first-time author Julia Booker as she discusses her book I'm Still Standing. This novel tells the story of mother and daughter Jenny and Erin Baker. The two women endure every imaginable type of abuse, including rape, beatings, and emotional cruelty from the men in their lives. The book is filled with heartbreak, but also shows readers that they can survive through even the most difficult circumstances.
Julia Booker does not have a formal background in writing, but felt compelled to publish this very personal story. She shows a great ability to capture her readers' attention with the graphic but realistic depiction of her characters. Julia shares at the beginning of I'm Still Standing that she hopes her work while encourage women to leave their own abusive relationships.
Title of Document: Book Review Book Title: I’m Still Standing Author: Julia Booker ISBN: 978-1-4327-4263-8 Publisher: OutskirtsPress.com Genre and Target Market: memoir, abuse Publication Date: 2009 Book Length in Pages: 125 Reviewed By: Sarah Moore
Books certainly have the ability to transport you into the lives of their characters, which may be a thrilling adventure, a terrifying experience, or something in between. A period piece can whisk the reader away to the royal courts in Europe or the frontiers of the Wild West. As you turn the pages of a science-fiction novel, you may be able to close your eyes and envision yourself exploring a new galaxy. And then, sometimes, there are those books that just hit you in the gut with raw emotion … plain and simple. You are handed the heartbreak and pain that a supposedly fictional person is living and the feelings could not be more real. Such is the case with the first release by author Julia Booker, entitled I’m Still Standing. The gripping story shared within its pages will affect you long after the final words are read.
I’m Still Standing tells the story, primarily, of a mother and daughter who find themselves caught in lives of constant abuse. Jenny Baker gives birth to her daughter, Erin, when she is just a young teenager and soon begins to numb the regrets of her life through drugs and alcohol. The men who Jenny brings into her home are abusive in all possible respects to both her and her daughter, as the reader is brought into scenes of beatings, rapes, and emotional cruelty. As Erin develops into a young woman, she is dismayed to find herself in danger of following the same path in life that her mother has chosen.
Julia Booker’s writing is so powerful because each word seems to come at the reader from a place of genuine and enduring pain. The author mentions on the back cover of I’m Still Standing that her book depicts a true story, which makes each episode of abuse and neglect even more compelling. There is no attempt to sugarcoat the harsh reality that exists in the lives of both Jenny and Erin. The scenes of violence are graphic, the language used between those who should be in loving relationships is explicit and hurtful, and all of the shattered pieces of Erin’s life are not brought back together with a shiny bow by the end of the book. Yet, through it all, the reader is also given a sense that there is reason to have hope. After all, as the title points out, Erin remains standing and growing stronger through her ordeals.
If you are looking for a light read to enjoy while on vacation, I’m Still Standing is probably not the right book for you. If, however, you are ready to make an emotional investment in women who are repeatedly told they are not worth the time, you should check out this initial release by new author Julia Booker. I’m Still Standing is a gut-wrenching literary experience that sends an important message to all of its readers, but especially women, about the damage of staying in an abusive situation. Hopefully, as the author encourages in her introductory letter to her readers, the words of I’m Still Standing will result in at least one reader deciding to leave an abusive situation. I cannot imagine a more important impact for a book to have.
I hope you are enjoying being part of my virtual blog tour for The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children. Here are the stops for this week. Please stop by and leave a comment on the blogs that you find interesting.
Sunday, November 22 Janet Riehl is hosting a question and answer interview about Yvonne's process for writing, publishing, and marketing The Sid Serieshttp://www.riehlife.com/.
Monday, November 23 Yvonne will be the radio guest of Maxine Thompson on Dr. Maxine Show http://www.maxinethompson.com/.
The Shift Guru Barbara Joye http://www.theshiftguru.com/ will feature part 1 of a 3-part article on how Yvonne shifted from religion to metaphysics when her grandson, Sidney, (for whom The Sid Series was written) started manifesting psychic gifts.
Wednesday, November 25 The Shift Guru Barbara Joye http://www.theshiftguru.com/ will feature part 2 of a 3-part article on how Yvonne shifted from religion to metaphysics when her grandson started manifesting psychic gifts.
Thursday, November 26 Yvonne will be visiting Karen and Robyn - Writing for Children at http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com/ where Karen Cioffi is the hostess. Yvonne will tell how she self-published The Sid Series.
Friday, November 27 Stephanie Ward will post information about Yvonne’s book on Stark Raving Bibliophile http://starkravingbibliophile.blogspot.com/. The Shift Guru Barbara Joye http://www.theshiftguru.com/ will feature part 2 of a 3-part article on how Yvonne shifted from religion to metaphysics when her grandson started manifesting psychic gifts. We hope to see you on both blogs that day.
Saturday, November 28 Yvonne will post a press/media release about the book's debut. This will go to multiple online sources.
C. Michael Thompson brings his experience as a teacher into his first novel, Twinsational. This book, which is aimed at readers between the ages of ten and thirteen, focuses on one day in the life of twins Mark and Michelle. The brother and sister team encounter the school bully, first crushes, and an episode that has one of them on the run from teachers and the principal for most of the day.
Twinsational shares important messages about friendship, honesty, and the special relationship that exists between siblings.
Mr. Thompson will be discussing how he developed the idea for his book, the person to whom he dedicated this first release and why, and the plans he has for more books in the future.
My tour stops will provide interesting and unique information about my book, how and why I wrote it, how I published it, and some little known tidbits about me as a real human (and not just a freelance writer, editor, and marketing guru). It will also be an opportunity for authors to see how a virtual blog tour works and give you some ideas about what to post on your own tour. See the tour schedule at http://tinyurl.com/SidTour.
I encourage you and your friends with children to subscribe to the RSS feed you don't miss any of the stops! Tomorrow I'll be at http://www.bloggingauthors.com/
sharing an article titled “Does Your Child Have An Imaginary Friend?”
The Future That Brought Her Here: A Memoir of a Call to Awaken by Deborah DeNicola
Today we welcome Deborah DeNicola to our writing blog. She is discussing her book The Future That Brought Her Here; Memoir of a Call to Awaken.
YVONNE: Tell me something about yourself and your writing background. DEBORAH: I’ve been writing since I was 7, poems, stories at first. I’ve been a free-lancer, so I’ve really written in every genre. I’ve published 5 collections of poetry and have won, among other awards, a National Endowment of the Arts fellowship for my poetry in 1997. I compiled and edited a poetry anthology, Orpehus & Company; an anthology of contemporary poetry on Greek mythology from The University Press of New England. Another collection of my poems, Original Human, is forthcoming from WordTech Press in 2010. None of my books are self-published.
I consider myself foremost a poet; I mean my master degree is in poetry, but currently, in addition to poems, I am putting together a book of essays on Dream Image Work, the technique I use for understanding dreams. I was trained by a Dutch Jungian Analyst, Robert Bosnak, who founded “embodied dreaming.”
I’ve got a short essay on my web site called “Dreaming Aloud” on the correspondences between poetry and dream image work: http://intuitivegateways.com/essays.shtml.
I’ve always written; I get antsy if I’m not working on some piece of writing. For years I spent a month or two at writing colonies. When I was teaching at colleges, I’d get January and August off and often go off to sequester myself and write. It took eight years to write this memoir because of the research in it and the traveling I did, and because I had no idea where I was going.
YVONNE: What is the title of your book? Give us the basic story line so we’ll know what it’s about. DEBORAH: The Future That Brought Her Here is about a spiritual awakening. I was dragged kicking and screaming into the occult world by spontaneous events. I’ve been practicing meditation for over twenty years and suddenly my third eye opened. At the same time I became claire-sentient; I could sense spirits’ presence and feel energy. I actually began the book as a novel but one day an inner voice told me I must come out of the spiritual closet.
I was an adjunct college professor at The Massachusetts College of Art, Lesley University’s graduate program in Creative Arts and Learning, and at Massasoit Community college. My colleagues were not open to my experiences. Even poets I knew backed away from me. I had considered myself “intellectual,” I had owned an independent literary bookstore in Portland, Maine and hadn’t been interested in the occult for the major part of my life.
When I look back, I sense that I had a magical childhood with imaginary friends and I wonder how imaginary they were. Those senses shut down for most of my life until a few strange experiences in 1987 and then in 1994 with the publication of my book from Alice James Books, Where Divinity Begins.
I recall the energy being around me but I couldn’t really see it until September of that year. That sent me on a quest for more knowledge about what was happening to me. The book is the story of that quest and the conclusions I come to about it: that humanity is undergoing an evolutionary leap of consciousness. I never expected to be a “New Age” person. Actually the New Age is really just the return of ancient, esoteric knowledge.
At that time I was all about intellect and my reading tastes were biographies, fiction and poetry. I was a skeptic, which is why I’ve done so much research for a memoir.
Although, when I think about it, I did always have strong intuition and very vivid dreams, prescient dreams in a few cases. The book is also about being called to different places and seeing through my third eye visions of what I think are past/parallel lives. (Since there is no time, or rather “linear time” is something we have agreed to construct, these lives all are happening at once in the eternal NOW.)
The book is also about heartbreak and depression and the difficulty of integrating my father’s death when I was an adolescent. Essentially, it’s about healing, Jungian psychotherapy, archetypal psychology, medieval history, and some quantum physics thrown in for grounding.
YVONNE: What inspired you to write this book? DEBORAH: Some amazing things were happening to me. I suddenly had new senses. I was a writer, so I figured I was destined to write about my experiences. I didn’t want to at first. I wrote half a novel before I started it again as a memoir.
Also I had written twenty poems in a sequence about my father’s death and afterlife that I had published piecemeal in journals, (and it won me the NEA award. At the time I was teaching Dante and that inspired me to think about the afterlife). I wanted to publish the poems altogether. They fit well into the story because it’s also about how imagination heals and creative process heals.
YVONNE: Is this the first book you have written? DEBORAH: It is my first prose book. Though I’ve written a lot of academic prose. I actually won an essay contest from Packingtown Review this year. http://www.packingtownreview.com/pieces/5
YVONNE: How long did it take to write this book? Any interesting tidbits about your writing method or how the book developed? DEBORAH: As I said above, it took eight years and probably six rewrites. It developed in pieces although I did brainstorm for the chapters, when I started it I hadn’t yet taken the trip to France. I talk about creative process in the book.
YVONNE: How did you publish your book? Tell me about your publishing experience and what you learned from it. Please go into detail if you wish. DEBORAH: I sent it to agents at first and got some nice feedback but I think in the New Age genre they wanted a proven author. A lot of them said they thought it was good writing but it wasn’t their subject matter. Then I started sending directly to publishers. Nicholas Hays accepted it for their imprint, Ibis Press. Most of their work is Jungian, and they publish a lot of occult classics.
YVONNE: Did you work with an agent? If so, how did you find the agent? Was it beneficial to you? DEBORAH: As I said I didn’t get an agent.
YVONNE: Where is your book(s) available? Do you have a Web site or blog where we can learn more about you or your book? DEBORAH: My book is available through all the major distributors and it is on Amazon.com. bn.com and my publisher’s site. The book’s site is www.thefuturethatbroughtherhere.com. It hit number #1 in Social Science and Psychology categories on September 15th on Amazon when I did an email blast and it stayed there for awhile! I do have a web site with a complete bio, essays, poems, and a new blog page: http://blog.intuitivegateways.com/
YVONNE: As far as marketing, do you do more online publicity or print/radio/TV promotion? Tell me some ways you have promoted your book. Give examples and links to any sites you feel might help other authors. DEBORAH: I’ve had to do all the promotion myself. Other than the Amazon blast, local readings, conferences, book clubs, some advertising on social media sites and the workshops I give, I haven’t done much else yet. I have promoted it through my own web site that has a brand new blog about dreams. I’ve gotten 11 excellent reviews on Amazons by customers and three journal reviews.
YVONNE: Have you hired a publicist to help promote this book? If so, what was your experience like? DEBORAH: A publicist cost $20,000 and I couldn’t afford one. I now have a marketing coach who is helping me with my business as a dream workshop facilitator and speaker.
YVONNE: Any other comments or things you would like for us to know? DEBORAH: The book came out late in June, so it really hasn’t been out that long. I am still planning on it falling into the right hands of someone in the major media. Of course, everyone wants Oprah to read his or her book. But this book is about the Power of Black Madonnas and I think it’s perfect for Oprah. How you get it to her besides sending a copy, I have not yet discovered.
I am just getting my complete press kit together now, so even though I sent out review copies, I will do another big mailing as soon as possible. It is difficult for an author theses days without a publicist.
When Dan Brown published The DaVinci Code, I was a little distraught because we have much of the same information on Mary Magdalen, for example, though mine is more scholarly but also more personal. Later I was grateful he had broken open that story and brought it into the mainstream. My research into the Gnostic gospels had been going on since the early ninety, long before Brown’s books. My book didn’t come out till 2009 and by then Brown’s book was renowned. Still, I think my personal story of my encounter with those themes is enlightening in a different way.
My book actually traces the story of the coming evolution of humankind as far back as the Egyptians, through Israel and the Gnostics, to Gaul or ancient France, to the medieval Catharsis, the Templar Knights, the Rosicrucian’s, The Freemasons to present New Age practices.
I have just finished reading Brown’s new book, The Lost Symbol, which focuses on the Freemasons, and he comes to the exact same conclusion I do in my book, (along with thousands of other people) i.e., we are in for a Golden Age of Peace if we can survive this chaos which is preceding it. In any event, I am focused on that message, living that message, teaching the truths of spiritual laws. I’ve discovered so-called “miracles” are actually quite in keeping with nature, or natural law. I did not have the strange extra-sensory powers I have now until I was 47. I’m living proof something’s going on.
YVONNE: Thank you for giving us the opportunity to get to know you and learn about your book. I wish you well.
Deborah DeNicola is the author of five poetry collections and she edited the anthology Orpheus & Company; Contemporary Poems on Greek Mythology. Among other awards she won a Poetry Fellowship in 1997 from the National Endowment for the Arts. Deborah has been a recipient of many writing colony residencies. Her most recent book is her spiritual memoir published by Nicolas Hays/Ibis Press, The Future That Brought Her Here. Another full collection of poetry Original Human is forthcoming from Custom Word Press in 2010. She teaches dream image work and mentors writers online at her web site www.intuitivegateways.com.
Please plan to tune into the WITS podcast this Friday when our guest will be first-time author C. Michael Thompson. He will be discussing his new release Twinsational. This book focuses on eleven-year-old twins Mark and Michelle as they deal with the typical issues that preteens face during a day at school. But, there are also some exciting adventures that challenge their friendships and their good standing at school along the way!
C. Michael Thompson, or "Mike" as he is known, has a background as a teaching of young children and brings this experience to Twinsational. The book has important messages about friendship and honesty. It is intended for readers around the ages of ten to thirteen, but will also be enjoyed by parents who read the book with their children.
Title of Document: Book Review Book Title: Twinsational Author: C. Michael Thompson ISBN: 978-1-4327-3033-8 Publisher: OutskirtsPress.com Genre and Target Market: children’s fiction Publication Date: 2009 Book Length in Pages: 116
I have been a voracious reader my entire life, spending hours combing the stacks of books in the kids’ section of the library as soon as I was old enough to get my own card. It was not unusual to find me sitting in my favorite tree with a book in hand on a Saturday afternoon. As a child and young teenager, I loved finding stories in which kids my age were involved in adventures into which I could easily transport myself. I had no need for outlandish plots or exaggerated characters. Just give me a great book about average kids and the crazy situations they manage to create. I am now well into my thirties but, through my work in the writing industry, still enjoy the discovery of a book to which kids can really relate and enjoy reading. I have found such a novel in Twinsational, the new release by author C. Michael Thompson.
Twinsational shares one day in the life of Mark and Michelle (known to most as Shelly) Johnson, eleven-year-old brother and sister twins who have each other’s back no matter the situation. The book has all of the elements that most preteens can expect to encounter on a daily basis—the class bully, good friends, demanding teachers, and first crushes. The day begins with the first of many confrontations that the twins have with their nemesis, Bubba, as they walk to school. Once they arrive on campus and meet up with friends, a series of events causes Mark and his friend David to elude the watchful eye of teachers and the new principal, with sister Michelle and her friend Kianna acting as accomplices. As the story unfolds, readers get a real sense of the loyalty shared between the characters in this book and a lesson in making the decision to do the right thing.
For me, the greatest strength of Thompson’s writing is his ability to capture a genuine sense of the way in which preteens interact. Young people who read Twinsational will not feel as if the author is condescending in his depiction of Mark and Michelle, nor will they find the characters written as adults before their time. Instead, you really feel that you are being placed into a typical middle school and I am certain that readers in this demographic will love reading a fun story about such a realistic group of peers. Mr. Thompson spent several years as a teacher, and even though his students were younger than the ones depicted in Twinsational, his ability to capture the language and priorities of the preteen population is obvious.
We all know that when our children read on a regular basis, they are increasing their chances for success in many areas of life. This is why I am so pleased when a new author comes along who offers a book that will get kids excited about the written word. Twinsational by C. Michael Thompson is a wonderful novel that I know will get kids talking about the experiences had by the brother and sister team. With the last page of the book implying that there are more adventures ahead for Mark and Michelle, I hope there will be great “twinsational” conversations among young readers for a long time to come.
I just got word of this writing workshop/seminar and I plan to attend. I thought some of you writers in Nashville might like to join me, so here are the details.
Writing Down Your Soul When: Wednesday, November 18 Time: 6:30 to 9 p.m. Where: First Church Unity Sanctuary, 5125 Franklin Pike, Nashville, TN 37220 Author & keynote speaker: Janet Conner Cost: Love Offering More info at http://www.firstchurchunity.org or call 615-333-1323
What would happen if that "Still Small Voice" came in loud and clear? Guess what? That "Still Small Voice" isn't still or small. It can be vibrant, loud, and crystal clear. You just have to know how to activate it. And that's what Janet Conner, author of Writing Down Your Soul is going to share with you.
In this workshop, you'll learn what deep soul writing is and is not (hint, not journaling). You'll hear the astonishing story of what the mystery man said at Janet's first book signing, You'll learn the seven steps to the all-important theta brain wave state, And you'll fall in love with Hafiz, the great Sufi master. When you leave, you'll be on your way to a vibrant, living conversation with the wise and loving Voice of Spirit within. _______________________________________________________________________
I will be touring the Internet from November 19 to December 20 to introduce people to my new book The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children. During that time, I will visit 30 places on the Internet where I will present a variety of material to promote my book.
If you are interested in learning more about online book marketing through a viritual book tour, I suggest you sign up for the RSS feed on my blog Online Promotion Made Easy. You will get some great ideas by following me and seeing the different items I post at each stop. For more information about what a virtual blog tour is, see my book marketing blog.
Every blogger on my virtual book tour will have unique material to post. From how and why I wrote and published the book, to informative articles on spirituality, business, grandparenting, and children, all visitors get to read something new each day as they follow me from blog to blog. Audio clips, YouTube video, book previews, media releases, and radio interviews will also be interspersed into the lineup.
Articles on my virtual book tour include:
Children Have Much to Teach Us About Past Lives Dealing with the Death of a Pet Does Your Child Have An Imaginary Friend? Combining Authorship and Free-Lance Writing Business Having My Book Published by Lightning Source How I Self-published The Sid Series How to Skype an Author Out of the Mouths of Babies! Channeling 101 Part 1 - Shifting from Misfit to Miss Fit Part 2 - Shifting from Saint to Sinner Part 3 - Shifting from Grand Mal to Grandma Reading of a Book for Kids (and Adults) Who Love Fairies Reading of a Book for Kids Dealing with Pet Death The Crystal Kid Behind the Inspiration for The Sid Series The Teenage Artist Who Illustrated The Sid Series The Writing of a Children’s Book Why I Wrote The Sid Series Young Age Grand-parenting
For a complete list of my tour stops and who will be presenting which article, please see http://tinyurl.com/SidTour.
Joseph Adegboyega-Edun has worked in the education field for more than two decades as both a high school counselor and college advisor in Maryland. He brings his professional expertise to his new book Succeeding in High School: A Handbook for Teens and Parents plus a College Admissions Primer. In this book, Mr. Adegboyega-Edun shares what to expect from each year of high school, how to deal with the academic and social pressures, and what the various options are for post-secondary education and employment.
During his interview with author's assistant Sarah Moore, Joseph Adeboyega-Edun will discuss how students should select classes and manage their time, what parents can do to help their teenage children, and when families should start thinking about what happens after graduation.
Yvonne Perry is a published author, successful full-time freelance writer, podcast host, and the owner of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services. Skilled in ghostwriting, editing, and formatting for books, articles, bios, resumes, and newsletters, she is available for contract assignments.
Proficient in Microsoft applications and having a wide variety of writing experience that includes educational and self-help books, Web text, impressive resumes, personal and professional biographical sketches, high-quality press releases, and articles, Yvonne is ready to work with you on your next project.
As a networker, Perry loves to share her knowledge and connect authors, writers, publishers, and readers through her monthly newsletter and weekly podcast.
Yvonne Perry is a graduate of American Institute of Holistic Theology where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Metaphysics. Her spirituality and love for humanity comes through in the books she has written:
Do you want to get more mileage out of your book marketing dollars? WITS publicity is an affordable and effective way to market your book. Choose from publicity packages containing book videos, article marketing, online media releases, author interviews, book reviews, and blog tours.
Those on a budget who need help with editing a book will be interested in the helpful tips in this book by Carolyn Howard-Johnson. The Frugal Editor: Put your best book forward to avoid humiliation and ensure success is an excellent resource for writers and editors.
Yvonne Perry offers the benefit of the knowledge she gained from her own book marketing experience in an ebook to help authors learn how to do their own online marketing.
