Have you had a Near-Death Experience ~ Out-of-Body Experience ~ Spiritually Transformative Experience ~ or other experience that can't be readily explained?
Then, be sure to join Yvonne Perry as she interviews Reverend Juliet Nightingale on Writers in the Sky Podcast today.
Because of her NDEs (near-death experiences) and her involvement with the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS), Ms. Nightingale not only pioneered her own radio program, Toward The Light, she has also been interviewed on other radio and television programs and has appeared in numerous print media as well. Juliet is our guest by special request as part of our Samhain (Halloween) celebration this month.
Toward The Light is a special organization that offers an abundance of resources and services that bring nourishment to the soul, inspiration, peace of mind and a true sense of well-being. We offer near-death studies & support (including a weekly radio show); Reiki & remote healing; psychic, spiritual, grief & motivational counseling as well as books/videos/DVDs on near-death and related topics. We also offer other special products and services for body, mind & spirit.
Click here to listen to the 35-minute interview...
Rev. Juliet Nightingale is a facilitator, radio show host, speaker, teacher, medium and life coach, and is available for public and private speaking engagements. She also conducts seminars covering a wide range of topics. From England, her accent immediately draws people in. And although a bit shy and reserved, with her "tell-it-like-it-is" style, Nightingale holds her audiences spellbound, then engages the audience in colorful dialogue.
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Listening to Writers in the Sky Podcast on a computer is easy. Just click this link: http://yvonneperry.blogspot.com and go to my blog.On the right sidebar there is a list of archived shows. Click on the interview you would like to hear and it will open a post that has a link to the audio file.
Have you thought of hosting your own podcast? It's easy. Learn how at http://nashvillewriter.audioacrobat.com/
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Special Halloween Podcast Collection
Happy Halloween everyone!
This is a great day to be alive either in an earth suit or in the afterlife. The veil is thin right now so some of you may be sensing the presence of your ancestors, spirit guides, or deceased loved ones. Don't panic! This can be a good thing if you know what to expect and how to react.
Here is a list of some of our podcast guests who have discussed such things as paranormal events, near-death experience, communication/visitation with deceased loved ones, ghosts, angels, past lives, dying, karma, afterlife, crossing over, psychic phenomenon, new age thought, and mystical teachings.
When I was a child, I watched a TV program that scared the wits out of me, or is that WITS? Anyway, you might like to hear the theme song for Dark Shadows so I'm including a link for old time's sake.
Reverend Cherise Speaks about Karma from a Soul's Perspective
Myrna Palm Reader gives insight into what the hands tell us about our life's journey.
Dr. Meg Blackburn Talks about Psychic Children
Carol Denbow interviews Yvonne Perry about her book More Than Meets the Eye True Stories about Death, Dying, and Afterlife.
A ghost helps solve gang problems in this Teen Ghost Story by Tim Stewart.
A teen is guided by a ghost in this novel by Sheri Sinykin.
Numerologist and New Age magazine publisher, Kathleen Jacoby.
This is a great day to be alive either in an earth suit or in the afterlife. The veil is thin right now so some of you may be sensing the presence of your ancestors, spirit guides, or deceased loved ones. Don't panic! This can be a good thing if you know what to expect and how to react.
Here is a list of some of our podcast guests who have discussed such things as paranormal events, near-death experience, communication/visitation with deceased loved ones, ghosts, angels, past lives, dying, karma, afterlife, crossing over, psychic phenomenon, new age thought, and mystical teachings.
When I was a child, I watched a TV program that scared the wits out of me, or is that WITS? Anyway, you might like to hear the theme song for Dark Shadows so I'm including a link for old time's sake.
Reverend Cherise Speaks about Karma from a Soul's Perspective
Myrna Palm Reader gives insight into what the hands tell us about our life's journey.
Dr. Meg Blackburn Talks about Psychic Children
Carol Denbow interviews Yvonne Perry about her book More Than Meets the Eye True Stories about Death, Dying, and Afterlife.
A ghost helps solve gang problems in this Teen Ghost Story by Tim Stewart.
A teen is guided by a ghost in this novel by Sheri Sinykin.
Numerologist and New Age magazine publisher, Kathleen Jacoby.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Pitching Yourself to Bloggers
Copyright © 2008 Penny C. Sansevieri
If you're trying to pitch yourself to bloggers you may have found dead silence at the end of your email exchange. Why? Well, let's face it. The top bloggers in any market probably get a ton of email. Most of it fairly useless. I know this for a fact because I get pitched all the time for reviews, interviews, all sorts of things. Ninety-percent of the emails are useless form letters, ninety-nine percent of the pitches are from people who don't even read my blog.
In a world where bloggers are quickly replacing media, it's amazing to me that pro-media pitchers don't get that regardless of the person you're pitching, the same rules still apply. Let's do a quick run through in case you're unsure.
1) Customize, customize, customize: I delete every email that starts off with "Dear Sir or Madam." First off, I hate the term "madam" and second, my picture is posted right on my site. If you can't tell from my photograph what sex I am, we have bigger problems than a generalized pitch.
2) Personalize: ok, I know this is repetitive but let me clarify: personalize the pitch. Talk about their blog, a recent posting, how long you've been reading. Now don't gush on and on like you would bragging about Junior's first baby steps but showing that you know who the blogger is and what they blog about is important. We love it when you read our stuff and when you tell us what we talk about, we love that even more.
3) KISS: Keep it simple. Very simple, short and sweet. Don't meander on through pages and pages of your pitch. If I have to scroll through an email to find the point of your message I probably won't read it. State your goals right up front, in the first paragraph. Don't bury your reason for targeting them somewhere in paragraph four. Chances are the email will hit the trash bin before the reader hits paragraph four.
4) Don't be a stalker: if you haven't gotten a response from the blogger there's probably a reason. They are either too busy, haven't gotten to it, filed it away for later or aren't interested. Yes, you're allowed to follow up, but only once. Any more follow ups and you become a pest. No one likes a pest.
5) WIIFM: don't forget the "what's in it for me" factor. What's in it for the blogger? Hint: bloggers love scoop and exclusivity so if you have something no one else does, by all means tell them. If there's another reason for sharing this with them then by all means tell them.
6) Figure out what you want: See #5, keep it simple but also don't just email a blogger with a 'whatever you're willing to do' type of message. Ask for what you want, if it works for the blogger, and if your pitch is good, it's likely you'll get it.
7) Don't send attachments unless you're asked to. I don't think this needs any further clarification, but keep in mind: unless someone says "Yes, please send me more info" don't load their inbox with attachments. Not only is it rude, but I've found that attachments often end up in my spam filter where they stay till the spam filter is emptied, often without even seeing the email or associated documentation.
8) Mention your blog: bloggers love other bloggers. Let them know you have a blog, include a link to it, possibly even to a recent post they might be interested in.
9) Add a link: bloggers love incoming links. If you're pitching particular bloggers, you should have a link to their blog on your site. No exceptions.
10) Ask good questions: if you're pitching a blogger for an interview but they don't do interviews, you've just wasted a valuable communication. Don't assume that because you contact them about an interview, "I know you don't do interviews," that they will make an exception for you.
Remember that much like pitching the media, it's all about relationships. The more you can cultivate relationships with bloggers, the better your online campaign will be. Also, consider that future campaigns will also be affected by relationships you build now. Media may come and go but bloggers tend to own their market and stay put, having a solid contact is always a good place to start. Regardless of the campaign.
Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. She is the author of five books, including Book to Bestseller which has been called the "road map to publishing success". To learn more about her books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at http://www.amarketingexpert.com/. To subscribe to her free ezine, send a blank email to: subscribe@amarketingexpert.com
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Pond
The Pond
Author: Tamera Lawrence
ISBN: 978-1-4327-2474-0
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc. 2008
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Reviewed by Barbara Milbourn for Writers in the Sky (9/08)
First-time author and mystery/thriller aficionado Tamera Lawrence has taken a true story told to her by her mother and put her own spin on it.
A boy drowns in a pond near his home in rural Pennsylvania—an innocent, nearly friendless boy. Twenty-five years later the first chapter begins across the road when the drowned boy’s only friend, Mike Adams, returns to the area with his wife and seven-year-old daughter to live in the house he grew up in.
It’s a grand old estate. His mother died there and left it to him, her only child. His wife has put her own personal stamp on it which meets with everyone’s approval—or maybe not. Things swiftly turn creepy when objects fall, break, move, or splatter for no apparent reason. It might just be overactive imaginations triggered by the silence or the emptiness of the countryside. Incidents come and go and the pleasant family dynamics unfurl between this small-town dentist husband and his loving, helpful wife and daughter as they try to get comfortable with rural life and their neighbors.
The neighbors across the way are friendly, particularly Fanny, who Mike has known from boyhood and who is the area’s premier pie baker. Everyone knows Fanny and her husband for her pies and hard work and for their outreach as foster parents during the time Mike was a boy. One of his old friends, and now dental patient, was one of the children they fostered.
As in any good story, the plot starts twisting. Things pop up in attics, and bedrooms, and barns. People aren’t always as they appear to be. A clue is uncovered here, a voice may heard there, and the chills begin to roll. You turn the lights up brighter if you’re home alone and reading in the dark.
Tamera Lawrence has spun a prickly and entertaining tale. She’s pulled the reader in to her native state and introduced them to a sparse, but diverse cast of characters and events that evokes a sense of dread and hoped-for resolve. The Pond is a good first effort. Enjoy.
Author: Tamera Lawrence
ISBN: 978-1-4327-2474-0
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc. 2008
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Reviewed by Barbara Milbourn for Writers in the Sky (9/08)
First-time author and mystery/thriller aficionado Tamera Lawrence has taken a true story told to her by her mother and put her own spin on it.
A boy drowns in a pond near his home in rural Pennsylvania—an innocent, nearly friendless boy. Twenty-five years later the first chapter begins across the road when the drowned boy’s only friend, Mike Adams, returns to the area with his wife and seven-year-old daughter to live in the house he grew up in.
It’s a grand old estate. His mother died there and left it to him, her only child. His wife has put her own personal stamp on it which meets with everyone’s approval—or maybe not. Things swiftly turn creepy when objects fall, break, move, or splatter for no apparent reason. It might just be overactive imaginations triggered by the silence or the emptiness of the countryside. Incidents come and go and the pleasant family dynamics unfurl between this small-town dentist husband and his loving, helpful wife and daughter as they try to get comfortable with rural life and their neighbors.
The neighbors across the way are friendly, particularly Fanny, who Mike has known from boyhood and who is the area’s premier pie baker. Everyone knows Fanny and her husband for her pies and hard work and for their outreach as foster parents during the time Mike was a boy. One of his old friends, and now dental patient, was one of the children they fostered.
As in any good story, the plot starts twisting. Things pop up in attics, and bedrooms, and barns. People aren’t always as they appear to be. A clue is uncovered here, a voice may heard there, and the chills begin to roll. You turn the lights up brighter if you’re home alone and reading in the dark.
Tamera Lawrence has spun a prickly and entertaining tale. She’s pulled the reader in to her native state and introduced them to a sparse, but diverse cast of characters and events that evokes a sense of dread and hoped-for resolve. The Pond is a good first effort. Enjoy.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Book about Death, Dying, and Afterlife
Some people say that the veil between earth life and afterlife is the thinnest on Halloween (Samhain or All Saints Day) and this time of year reminds me that many people are afraid of death.
In 2005, I wrote a book designed to help people overcome their fear of death by viewing it differently. I have several dinged copies of this paperback that I've been carrying in my car. They have some wear on the cover, and I will sell those for half price. Contact me to order for $5 plus shipping.
Perhaps the fear of the unknown is what makes death so intimidating. If only we knew what was on the other side. Knowing for sure what lies ahead might make a difference in how we handle death.
Many of our fears are rooted in delusions or distorted ways of looking at life and the world around us. Generally, our fear of death is an unrealistic fear. Perhaps the best way to overcome the fear of death is to remember that our present physical life had a beginning. There is no real separation between the physical and non-physical realms. The separation seems real because there is a very thin veil (i.e.: our skin and physical body) between the two realms that dims our ability to interact with those in other dimensions. But more than the physical sense of separation, we limit ourselves with the false belief that we have only five senses with which to explore and experience life. This belief hinders us from accepting what our inner knowing tells us is true. We are multi-sensory spiritual creatures able to sense the presence and energy of non-physical beings.
More Than Meets the Eye uses true stories to look squarely in the face of euthanasia, near-death experience, walk-ins (soul exchange) , suicide, hospice care, living wills and other topics many people are reluctant to talk about. The book offers non-religious information and insight to assist people in finding peace about the mysterious process of transitioning back to God/Source. A legal document that may be used as a living will is included in the appendix. More Than Meets the Eye: True Stories about Death, Dying and Afterlife by Yvonne Perry is available as a paperback book or may be downloaded into your Kindle reader on Amazon.com.
In 2005, I wrote a book designed to help people overcome their fear of death by viewing it differently. I have several dinged copies of this paperback that I've been carrying in my car. They have some wear on the cover, and I will sell those for half price. Contact me to order for $5 plus shipping.
Perhaps the fear of the unknown is what makes death so intimidating. If only we knew what was on the other side. Knowing for sure what lies ahead might make a difference in how we handle death.Many of our fears are rooted in delusions or distorted ways of looking at life and the world around us. Generally, our fear of death is an unrealistic fear. Perhaps the best way to overcome the fear of death is to remember that our present physical life had a beginning. There is no real separation between the physical and non-physical realms. The separation seems real because there is a very thin veil (i.e.: our skin and physical body) between the two realms that dims our ability to interact with those in other dimensions. But more than the physical sense of separation, we limit ourselves with the false belief that we have only five senses with which to explore and experience life. This belief hinders us from accepting what our inner knowing tells us is true. We are multi-sensory spiritual creatures able to sense the presence and energy of non-physical beings.
More Than Meets the Eye uses true stories to look squarely in the face of euthanasia, near-death experience, walk-ins (soul exchange) , suicide, hospice care, living wills and other topics many people are reluctant to talk about. The book offers non-religious information and insight to assist people in finding peace about the mysterious process of transitioning back to God/Source. A legal document that may be used as a living will is included in the appendix. More Than Meets the Eye: True Stories about Death, Dying and Afterlife by Yvonne Perry is available as a paperback book or may be downloaded into your Kindle reader on Amazon.com.
Interview about Near-death Experience by Irene Watson
Irene Watson of Reader Views interview with Yvonne Perry and discussion about her book, More Than Meets the Eye True Stores About Death, Dying and Afterlife.
Irene: Yvonne, what inspired you to write More Than Meets the Eye?
Yvonne: I have always been curious about the other side, but while my uncle was on life support for almost a year, I kept sensing that I was being visited by his spirit. Moments after he passed away, (before my mother called to share the news) I heard my uncle’s voice in my head and knew that he had passed. He told me what songs he wanted me to play and sing at his funeral. I hadn’t yet been asked to play, but when my mother did call to tell me my uncle had passed, she also requested I sing and play for the funeral. Of course the songs my aunt picked were the same songs my uncle had requested during his supernatural visit. I sensed my uncle’s presence at the ceremony so strongly that I could only smile while everyone else was crying. To me, he had not “gone” anywhere. He was closer than ever. Irene: Did you have a close connection with your uncle while he was alive?
Yvonne: Not really and that is why it was so strange that he chose to connect with me. He lived at least twenty hours away so I only saw him once a year. Somehow our spirits were more connected than our lives intertwined.
Irene: Your book is about quite a touchy subject that most people are afraid to talk about. How would you encourage people to face the subject and read your book?
Yvonne: I think most people are afraid of things they do not understand, and they either try to avoid the matter or find a way to invalidate their experience. The American view of death and afterlife is deeply rooted in fearful superstition and religious dogma that suggests punishment for sin. Much of this does not align with the experiences had by people who have had a glimpse of the other side. Due to fear of being rejected by family, friends and religious organizations, people are not comfortable sharing anything that veers from the path of what society considers “normal.” I find that when I talk about my spiritual experiences, people are genuinely interested and they feel safe enough to share similar encounters they have had. Once the ice is broken, they find the conversation so comforting and liberating, they want to read my book.
Irene: What do you mean by spiritual experiences?
Yvonne: communicating with the spirits of deceased people, having non-physical beings (angels, guides) interact with me, remembering parts of my past lives, picking up on another person’s energy field i.e.: knowing what is going on with them physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Yvonne: In 1977, I was burned in a grease fire that my brother and I set while our parents were not home. In my effort to put out the fire, I picked up the flaming skillet and started walking toward the door to get the pan out of the house. My hand caught fire, so I sat the flaming skillet down on the table to extinguish my hand. The tablecloth caught fire. I picked up the flaming skillet again and threw it through the screen door. Grease splattered everywhere; I slipped and fell to the floor. I was then aware of myself in two dimensions: from above the scene near the ceiling where I was looking down, as well as in my body as I sat inside the wall of flames. I remember feeling no pain; I was not panicking and felt totally peaceful even by the thought of dying. While my body instinctively kicked and tried to get out of harm’s way, I saw my life flash before my eyes and read a quick glimpse of my obituary in a newspaper column. I saw my parents saddened and grieving for me and I knew I had to live. It all happened in the flash of a second and when I re-entered my body, which had suffered 1st, 2nd and severe 3rd degree burns, I immediately felt excruciating pain and wanted to go back to the peaceful place where I had been hovering. The fire had completely gone out when I got up from the floor. I have not feared death since that day.
In 1988, I had emergency gall-bladder surgery to remove a gallstone that was blocking my bile duct and causing my gall-bladder to perforate. Toxins were starting to leak into my body and I had a sense that I was dying. Even so, I knew everything was going to be fine and I felt no sense of panic or fear. I had seen a huge, bright light either in a dream-like drug-induced state or in an experience I had while under anesthesia. When I awoke in the recovery room, I asked if I was still in heaven. A nurse answered, “Not hardly.” I was so angry to be back in my body on earth and having lived through the surgery. I did not want to be here. It took me years to get past the feeling that I had somehow been cheated by having to come back.
Yvonne: Listen to your inner voice, intuition, or Holy Spirit (whatever you choose to call it) and you will find direction in fulfilling your life’s purpose. Interact with your guides and angels. Grieving the loss of a loved one is normal and everyone needs to allow themselves to feel legitimate emotions. However, the fear of death is an irrational fear. Death is just another realm of consciousness for which our spirit is preparing to enter. Letting go is much easier when you know that your loved one, not bound my human restraints, is happy and able to be near you in spirit.
Irene: Yvonne, what inspired you to write More Than Meets the Eye?
Yvonne: I have always been curious about the other side, but while my uncle was on life support for almost a year, I kept sensing that I was being visited by his spirit. Moments after he passed away, (before my mother called to share the news) I heard my uncle’s voice in my head and knew that he had passed. He told me what songs he wanted me to play and sing at his funeral. I hadn’t yet been asked to play, but when my mother did call to tell me my uncle had passed, she also requested I sing and play for the funeral. Of course the songs my aunt picked were the same songs my uncle had requested during his supernatural visit. I sensed my uncle’s presence at the ceremony so strongly that I could only smile while everyone else was crying. To me, he had not “gone” anywhere. He was closer than ever. Irene: Did you have a close connection with your uncle while he was alive?
Yvonne: Not really and that is why it was so strange that he chose to connect with me. He lived at least twenty hours away so I only saw him once a year. Somehow our spirits were more connected than our lives intertwined.
Irene: Your book is about quite a touchy subject that most people are afraid to talk about. How would you encourage people to face the subject and read your book?
Yvonne: I think most people are afraid of things they do not understand, and they either try to avoid the matter or find a way to invalidate their experience. The American view of death and afterlife is deeply rooted in fearful superstition and religious dogma that suggests punishment for sin. Much of this does not align with the experiences had by people who have had a glimpse of the other side. Due to fear of being rejected by family, friends and religious organizations, people are not comfortable sharing anything that veers from the path of what society considers “normal.” I find that when I talk about my spiritual experiences, people are genuinely interested and they feel safe enough to share similar encounters they have had. Once the ice is broken, they find the conversation so comforting and liberating, they want to read my book.
Irene: What do you mean by spiritual experiences?
Yvonne: communicating with the spirits of deceased people, having non-physical beings (angels, guides) interact with me, remembering parts of my past lives, picking up on another person’s energy field i.e.: knowing what is going on with them physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Irene: In your book you talk about experiences that some people have had. Most have the same experience. Would you please tell us about the commonality that occurs?
Yvonne: First, I need to determine if you are referring to the near-death or out-of-body experiences or to spirit communication with the deceased.
1. The NDE: The most common things experienced are: a feeling of unconditional love, a life review, being able to communicate telepathically, seeing deceased loved ones or angelic beings, seeing a light or tunnel, being given a choice of staying there or coming back to the present life, and accessing knowledge or record books pertaining to their life’s mission.
2. Spirit Communication: Most people who are energy sensitive are able to see, hear, sense or feel a presence in the room with them and are able to communicate telepathically with the being. Commonly, a bit of knowledge or a request is exchanged in the encounter.
Irene: What is the difference between near-death or out-of-body experiences?
Yvonne: A near-death experience occurs when a person is in a life-threatening situation or is actually pronounced dead then returns to the body. An out-of-body experience can occur during a life-threatening situation, or while in meditation or sleep (astral travel). Some people are able to have an out-of-body experience at will.
Yvonne: In 1977, I was burned in a grease fire that my brother and I set while our parents were not home. In my effort to put out the fire, I picked up the flaming skillet and started walking toward the door to get the pan out of the house. My hand caught fire, so I sat the flaming skillet down on the table to extinguish my hand. The tablecloth caught fire. I picked up the flaming skillet again and threw it through the screen door. Grease splattered everywhere; I slipped and fell to the floor. I was then aware of myself in two dimensions: from above the scene near the ceiling where I was looking down, as well as in my body as I sat inside the wall of flames. I remember feeling no pain; I was not panicking and felt totally peaceful even by the thought of dying. While my body instinctively kicked and tried to get out of harm’s way, I saw my life flash before my eyes and read a quick glimpse of my obituary in a newspaper column. I saw my parents saddened and grieving for me and I knew I had to live. It all happened in the flash of a second and when I re-entered my body, which had suffered 1st, 2nd and severe 3rd degree burns, I immediately felt excruciating pain and wanted to go back to the peaceful place where I had been hovering. The fire had completely gone out when I got up from the floor. I have not feared death since that day.
In 1988, I had emergency gall-bladder surgery to remove a gallstone that was blocking my bile duct and causing my gall-bladder to perforate. Toxins were starting to leak into my body and I had a sense that I was dying. Even so, I knew everything was going to be fine and I felt no sense of panic or fear. I had seen a huge, bright light either in a dream-like drug-induced state or in an experience I had while under anesthesia. When I awoke in the recovery room, I asked if I was still in heaven. A nurse answered, “Not hardly.” I was so angry to be back in my body on earth and having lived through the surgery. I did not want to be here. It took me years to get past the feeling that I had somehow been cheated by having to come back.
Irene: In “More Than Meets the Eye” you address suicide and some peoples beliefs as to what happens after suicide. What is your opinion of what happens to the person and what do you base your belief on?
Yvonne: I no longer believe in a punishing God. I do believe that the eternal soul incarnates from body to body on its evolutionary path. I believe we create our own heaven and hell by the beliefs we own and the choices we make. Therefore, I realize that we are here for a purpose that our soul knows quite well regardless of what our conscious mind tells us. With certain things to accomplish in a lifetime, a soul who leaves a body prematurely will need to come back into a human body to complete the assignment. It only makes sense that a suicide is the result of a soul deciding to abort its mission. Once that soul reaches the other side, it realizes the mistake, gains insight about what needs to change, then prepares to come back to finish what it started. I base this upon what people have shared with me from their own supernatural experiences, research I have done and what the soul of a suicide victim showed me when I inquired of him on behalf of his mother who was severely grieving and troubled over what might happen to him as a result of his actions.
Irene: You talk to souls of people that are deceased? Explain to our readers how you do this.
Yvonne: I rarely initiate contact with a deceased spirit unless I am asked by a living relative and feel it is in the best interest of everyone involved to do so. However, there are times when I am in public that I accidentally tap into someone’s field. There are also times when I am alone and sense a presence wanting to make contact with me. In any of these instances, I may hear voices in my head that I know are not my own thoughts, or sense an energetic shift around me; I may feel a sensation as if someone is touching me, or I may see a mist or grey cloud hovering. Many times it is simply a sense of “knowing” some bit of information that has not been revealed to me in traditional ways such as sensing when a woman is pregnant when she hasn’t told anyone.
There have been times when spirits, not so lovingly have tried to attach to me. One actually broke a glass bowl in my kitchen to get my attention. Since then, I have set strong boundaries with the spirit world and they know not to contact me, enter my home, or tap into my field without my permission. I have asked my angels and guides to set a watch around me and keep out intruders who have foul intentions. This is very necessary for anyone who is energy sensitive and finds themselves picking up illnesses or experiencing mood swings that have no logical source.
Irene: There are a lot of controversial thoughts around euthanasia, and you explain two types in your book. Late Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a renowned expert on death and dying, has changed many people’s thinking about their last days of life. She felt that euthanasia robbed people from completing their lessons and resolving issues that occurred during one’s life. What are your thoughts on this subject and why?
Yvonne: I respect and value Dr. Ross’s views about a soul needing time at the end of a life cycle to complete whatever unfinished business remains. I also consider the natural course of action a body in the same condition would have taken 100 years ago when we did not have life support technology and equipment. The most natural course for a body that has no hope of survival would be to allow the spirit to leave and the body to fade away. Life support is a valuable tool for helping a person revive and live a healthy life. While each case is unique and should be approached individually, it is not usually in the best interest of the patient or his/her family to support a body in a vegetative state. Realizing that the soul has many more opportunities in the Afterlife and future lifetimes to resolve its issues and complete its evolution, it makes no sense to keep a soul imprisoned in a body that has no hope of recovery.
Yvonne: Listen to your inner voice, intuition, or Holy Spirit (whatever you choose to call it) and you will find direction in fulfilling your life’s purpose. Interact with your guides and angels. Grieving the loss of a loved one is normal and everyone needs to allow themselves to feel legitimate emotions. However, the fear of death is an irrational fear. Death is just another realm of consciousness for which our spirit is preparing to enter. Letting go is much easier when you know that your loved one, not bound my human restraints, is happy and able to be near you in spirit.
Irene: Is there anything else that you would like readers to know about you or your book?
Yvonne: Make sure you have a living will. This removes your family’s burden and any guilt associated with making critical medical decisions for you should you be unable to do so. There is a free copy of a legal living will included in my book.
More Than Meets the Eye may be purchased on Amazon.com as a paper back or download for Kindle reader. Or you may request a signed copy from the author for $10 plus shipping.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
The Real Secret to Succeeding as a Writer
By Anne WallsAh, the life of a writer. Toiling away over your keyboard, stacks of old cereal bowls and who knows what else accumulating on your desk while your brain turns itself inside out trying to be brilliant. Finally, one glorious day, you finish your project. Hurrah! Triumph! Glory!
But then what?
Then you have to get your masterpiece out there. Many successful writers believe to maximize the chance of publication, it’s best to have at least ten submissions out at all times. Consider it the writing world’s secret to success. But how can one person manage this feat on a constant basis and still have time to write? Suddenly, you’re required to turn your well-oiled writing brain into a multi-tasking business/publicity machine. You have to research writing markets and competitions. Flawlessly copy and package your work. Juggle the Post Office, Staples, and the ATM because sending those babies out to the world is going to cost you, and not just in your wallet. I’ve seen whole days lost while I’ve turned my living room into “Operation Get Published.”Yes, it is of the utmost importance to send your work out. But, as you sit there with four paper-cuts and three annoying “Return to Sender” stamps, don’t you ever wonder if there’s a better way?
I used to wonder this too. Then my partner John and I decided to stop waiting for a miracle solution and create one ourselves. We started WordHustler.com, a website dedicated to providing writers with everything they need to get published. WordHustler is the first website to take care of the whole process of writing and submitting work.
With WordHustler, you can upload projects of any kind, search markets you want to submit to, and voila! We print and ship everything for you. It's easy to track all of your submissions using WordHustler's organized tracking system and we cost less than doing it yourself. Most importantly, WordHustler saves you time so you can do what you're supposed to be doing: WRITING.
One of the basic tenets of publishing success is that you have to submit often and well, but writers face an incredible barrier because of the sheer amount of secretarial work involved. There has never been anything out there to address the issues of sending and tracking work in one complete package. Since John and I are also writers, we want to provide the most cost-effective, helpful service we can. Our over 3,500 literary markets are free, as is membership. The only thing you pay for is the cost of printing and shipping your work, which starts as low as $0.99 for sending four pages or less. For under a dollar, you can send a query letter, a poetry submission, and more. This price includes shipping, a SASE, and WordHustler’s professional tracking services. Due to the overwhelming request of our clients, we are also about to unveil our email submission system so writers can track all of their submissions using WordHustler.
WordHustler offers additional useful writing tools such as unlimited, protected storage for your projects, a sophisticated letter composer, a signature tool, online contest forms, Virtual Office for writers on the go, an Advanced Submission Wizard and more.
At the end of the day, submissions coming from WordHustler increase your chances of landing on an editor’s desk, not the slush pile. We are constantly strengthening our relationships with agents, editors, and publishers so they are aware of what WordHustler is doing in the writing world. Our goal is to create a place where writers can submit flawless, professional submissions and markets are happy to receive them because they know they will be formatted correctly and organized properly. Everyone wins.
We know how hard it is to get your work out there. But after uploading a project, choosing a few markets, and hitting “Submit Now,” we hope you’ll breathe a sigh of relief because the hard part is over. The best part is that you now have time to start your next project. What’s it going to be about? Not sure yet?
Good thing you’ve got lots of time to think about it.
Anne Walls and John Singleton are the co-founders of WordHustler.com. They live in Los Angeles with their two semi-insane dogs and a house crammed full of books. They enjoy movies, tennis, and of course, writing.
Books to Help You Improve Your Writing
Each of these books contain valuable how-to information for writers who want to improve their skills, and especially for authors who want to do a better job of writing text to market their books.
Do-it-Yourself Copywriting Guaranteed to Ignite Sales & Explode Your Business is a must-have guide for anyone writing their own marketing copy. This do-it-yourself book is just the tool to help authors learn how to write toward their target market and get a response. Click here to obtain Copywrting 101.
The Complete Guide to Writing a Press Release That Gets Results–A step-by-step guide to writing a press release easily, painlessly and skillfully is an eBook that teaches the basics by defining what a press release is (and isn’t) and goes into how one should (and shouldn’t) read, look, and sound. After demonstrating when one should be written, the author provides a template to be used as a model and explains each numbered step in the template. Purchase here.
Do-it-Yourself Copywriting Guaranteed to Ignite Sales & Explode Your Business is a must-have guide for anyone writing their own marketing copy. This do-it-yourself book is just the tool to help authors learn how to write toward their target market and get a response. Click here to obtain Copywrting 101.
The Complete Guide to Writing a Press Kit That Gets Results by Allison Nazarian is a very useful tool for anyone who needs an electronic press kit to introduce themselves or their products. This is especially needful for authors trying to get book reviews, interviews on radio shows or podcasts, or trying to get the media to run a press release. Order here.
Book Marketing in the Digital Age Online Promotion Made Easy by Yvonne Perry gives tips and how-to information include: creating an online media kit, blogging tips, getting traffic to your site, virtual book tours, social media and networking, using video for book promotion, getting author interviews, and the benefits of podcasting. Purchase here.
The Complete Guide to Writing a Press Release That Gets Results–A step-by-step guide to writing a press release easily, painlessly and skillfully is an eBook that teaches the basics by defining what a press release is (and isn’t) and goes into how one should (and shouldn’t) read, look, and sound. After demonstrating when one should be written, the author provides a template to be used as a model and explains each numbered step in the template. Purchase here.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Virtual Assistants Excel in the Publicity and Marketing Niche
We all realize how virtual assistants have revolutionized the way we work today. Most businesses now count on their virtual assistant the same as they used to count on their secretaries, only so much more. VAs are a prized and respected part of their client's team, and unlike secretaries, who often were taken for granted, virtual assistants are praised for their professionalism and skills. Most businesses today can't imagine where they would be without their VA. And as the potential for success in a virtual assistant business continues to explode, so does the need for good virtual assistants.
Today's virtual assistants need to take pride in their business and also learn as much as they can about their niche, which is the specialty they have chosen. One niche I highly recommend is to offer publicity and marketing services to clients. This is an area that is growing in leaps and bounds as more and more authors, businesses, and other professionals realize the need to market their business to get good publicity. A business can expand tremendously when hiring a virtual assistant to help them spread the word about their products or services. Also, authors today aren't aware that once they write a book, that's when the real work begins. They need to get the word out about their book in order for it to be successful. That's where a good publicity virtual assistant comes in.
Publicity and marketing is thrilling to say the least. There's such a great rush when your client gets recognized in national magazines, or a TV station wants to do a segment on them and you helped them achieve this success. Or better yet, when your efforts start resulting in substantial increased sales for them. Clients will not only keep using your services, but will also tell others about this new positive addition they have to their business. And best yet, you too get to feel that satisfaction as you are helping them achieve their goals.
One of my most successful tips is learning how to effectively use any publicity that a client receives. When clients get national attention in a magazine, newspaper, or TV segment, or even on a popular website, it's important to make sure that everyone is aware of this. A press release should immediately go out to announce their accomplishment. This release should be added to their website and also should go to all their local papers, radio stations, and TV networks. Media loves to highlight a success story of their locals, so make sure you get this out there as soon as you can. And you don't have to wait for the publicity to happen. If your client lands a major TV segment, you can start sending this press out beforehand in order to get more media when the event happens. You just want to make sure the client is fairly confident the segment will air. Also, don't worry if the segment gets bumped back, that often happens as breaking news takes priority. This can almost be a blessing, as then you get to do more publicity before the airdate.
It's also important to follow-up with the reporters and let them know how much you appreciate the acceptance of your quotes for an article. When you go the extra step to show them your appreciation, they remember you when the next article comes up and they need help with more expert advice. Many reporters work for multiple magazines so one good ally can lead to lots of media exposure. Always keep your PR hat on. Learn to take any situation and turn it into good press for your clients and your business as well. Stay on top of current events and see if you have anything to offer. Whenever a story hits the press that any of my clients would have a connection to, I'll send it right away. Having press releases already prepared for clients on their business is always a great help. How do you know about these events? Sign up for Google Alerts under the topics of interest and then whenever a story is written, you can follow-up with your press release or article to the reporter. It works! I also use ProfNet from PRNewswire, which allows me to get daily leads from major news outlets. You can also consider PRLeads.
It's also important to learn how to write a good press release and article and know where to send those. Make sure that your press releases and articles are newsworthy and also something that interests the readers. When I write a release, I always think would I read this release? Would it interest me? If not, I doubt your target audience would be reading it either. Plus, be careful not to sound too promotional. You can easily get your message across without sounding like an ad.
Publicity is a great niche for virtual assistants. To learn more stop by my site at www.virtualwordpublishing.com or contact me for a free 10-minute call on PR tips or my free PR Informational Package.
Diana Ennen is the author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant - The Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and accompanying Workbook; She specializes in publicity and book marketing and is president of Virtual Word Publishing http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com and http://www.virtualassistantstartups.com.
Today's virtual assistants need to take pride in their business and also learn as much as they can about their niche, which is the specialty they have chosen. One niche I highly recommend is to offer publicity and marketing services to clients. This is an area that is growing in leaps and bounds as more and more authors, businesses, and other professionals realize the need to market their business to get good publicity. A business can expand tremendously when hiring a virtual assistant to help them spread the word about their products or services. Also, authors today aren't aware that once they write a book, that's when the real work begins. They need to get the word out about their book in order for it to be successful. That's where a good publicity virtual assistant comes in.
Publicity and marketing is thrilling to say the least. There's such a great rush when your client gets recognized in national magazines, or a TV station wants to do a segment on them and you helped them achieve this success. Or better yet, when your efforts start resulting in substantial increased sales for them. Clients will not only keep using your services, but will also tell others about this new positive addition they have to their business. And best yet, you too get to feel that satisfaction as you are helping them achieve their goals.
One of my most successful tips is learning how to effectively use any publicity that a client receives. When clients get national attention in a magazine, newspaper, or TV segment, or even on a popular website, it's important to make sure that everyone is aware of this. A press release should immediately go out to announce their accomplishment. This release should be added to their website and also should go to all their local papers, radio stations, and TV networks. Media loves to highlight a success story of their locals, so make sure you get this out there as soon as you can. And you don't have to wait for the publicity to happen. If your client lands a major TV segment, you can start sending this press out beforehand in order to get more media when the event happens. You just want to make sure the client is fairly confident the segment will air. Also, don't worry if the segment gets bumped back, that often happens as breaking news takes priority. This can almost be a blessing, as then you get to do more publicity before the airdate.
It's also important to follow-up with the reporters and let them know how much you appreciate the acceptance of your quotes for an article. When you go the extra step to show them your appreciation, they remember you when the next article comes up and they need help with more expert advice. Many reporters work for multiple magazines so one good ally can lead to lots of media exposure. Always keep your PR hat on. Learn to take any situation and turn it into good press for your clients and your business as well. Stay on top of current events and see if you have anything to offer. Whenever a story hits the press that any of my clients would have a connection to, I'll send it right away. Having press releases already prepared for clients on their business is always a great help. How do you know about these events? Sign up for Google Alerts under the topics of interest and then whenever a story is written, you can follow-up with your press release or article to the reporter. It works! I also use ProfNet from PRNewswire, which allows me to get daily leads from major news outlets. You can also consider PRLeads.
It's also important to learn how to write a good press release and article and know where to send those. Make sure that your press releases and articles are newsworthy and also something that interests the readers. When I write a release, I always think would I read this release? Would it interest me? If not, I doubt your target audience would be reading it either. Plus, be careful not to sound too promotional. You can easily get your message across without sounding like an ad.
Publicity is a great niche for virtual assistants. To learn more stop by my site at www.virtualwordpublishing.com or contact me for a free 10-minute call on PR tips or my free PR Informational Package.
Diana Ennen is the author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant - The Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and accompanying Workbook; She specializes in publicity and book marketing and is president of Virtual Word Publishing http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com and http://www.virtualassistantstartups.com.
The Savory Secrets of Dodi's Home Cooking
The Savory Secrets of Dodi’s Home Cooking 
Author: Howida (Dodi) Elhalogy
ISBN: 978-1-4327-2557-0
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc. 2008
Genre: cooking, food, culture
Reviewed by Sarah Moore for Writers in the Sky (9/08)
I always take a little time to skim through cookbooks while at my local bookstore. I like discovering new ingredients, or perhaps just new ways to use already familiar ingredients. I enjoy taking a moment to envision the great dinner parties I will host and the compliments I will receive on the unique and delicious menu I prepared. Above all, I love to stare at the beautiful pictures of the final product as created by the author. While my limited culinary skills may never allow for an exact visual replica of the dish as it’s intended, the colorful presentations provide something to which I can aspire. The new cookbook The Savory Secrets of Dodi’s Home Cooking by Howida “Dodi” Elhalogy exceeds all of my prerequisites for a great addition to anyone’s kitchen collection.
Mrs. Elhalogy grew up in an Egyptian village as the daughter of the province’s mayor. Since her family did a lot of entertaining on their large estate, Mrs. Elhalogy learned at a young age to prepare meals for special events and eventually mastered the art of Middle Eastern cooking. She decided to pull together her family’s recipes into this beautiful cookbook as a way of preserving a cultural tradition and of introducing a new audience to the amazing flavors and textures found in the dishes of the Middle East.
I was first struck by the beauty of the book. Mrs. Elhalogy uses rich colors of yellow and orange on the cover, along with a photo of garlic, onion and cilantro (I’m already sold … you cannot do better than those ingredients for a great-smelling kitchen!) to draw her readers into the culinary treasures inside. Once I turned the pages, I found page after page of beautiful pictures highlighting the table presentations that can be created with her recipes. When necessary, there were even “action photos” showing how to proceed correctly with certain steps in the recipe. I am a cook who hesitates to try a new recipe unless I can see the intended end product, so the pictures that accompanied each recipe were much appreciated.
The recipes themselves provided explicit step-by-step instructions. I have tried to work from other cookbooks that take certain steps in the process for granted, inevitably leading me to make a critical error. Not so with the recipes written by Dodi. The recipes develop methodically from the initial washing of ingredients to the necessary garnishes. I feel confident that, even though I would be working with some food that is unfamiliar to me, Dodi has provided enough instruction to ensure my success. And, just in case aspiring cooks of Middle Eastern cuisine still have some concern when working through her recipes, Dodi includes a glossary of some of the more unusual ingredients, along with their alternate names and descriptions. This component of the Helpful Hints section, along with the recipes’ Arabic translations on each page, provide an opportunity to learn about the individual foods while you are bringing them together for a meal.
As I read through each recipe, I was struck by an even greater opportunity that this book provides than just creating amazing food. A primary way of learning about a culture is through its traditional foods. I think back to “Culture Days” as a young child at school, when we would bring in a meal from the country of our choice. Learning about food opens the doors to other conversations, and this truth continues into adulthood. Why is a particular ingredient a staple of the diet in certain cultures? What are the most common cooking methods and why are they used? What are the standard customs practiced when eating a meal? I believe that by discussing these questions and other topics that may evolve from the conversation, we can gain greater appreciation and understanding for individuals from around the world. The recipes in The Savory Secrets of Dodi’s Home Cooking provide an excellent catalyst for just this purpose.
My husband and I have long considered Middle Eastern cuisine to be among our favorites. I already have tried several of the recipes, including the Tabula Salad and Koshary, to rave reviews around my dinner table. I look forward to wearing out the pages of The Savory Secrets of Dodi’s Home Cooking as I teach my own children the great Egyptian traditions that Dodi learned in her own youth and now, thankfully, shares with all of us. For those who are interested in expanding their culinary horizons, or perhaps simply want to enjoy the beauty of a well-planned cookbook, this offering by Howida “Dodi” Elhalogy is a must-have addition to your home library.
Author: Howida (Dodi) Elhalogy
ISBN: 978-1-4327-2557-0
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc. 2008
Genre: cooking, food, culture
Reviewed by Sarah Moore for Writers in the Sky (9/08)
I always take a little time to skim through cookbooks while at my local bookstore. I like discovering new ingredients, or perhaps just new ways to use already familiar ingredients. I enjoy taking a moment to envision the great dinner parties I will host and the compliments I will receive on the unique and delicious menu I prepared. Above all, I love to stare at the beautiful pictures of the final product as created by the author. While my limited culinary skills may never allow for an exact visual replica of the dish as it’s intended, the colorful presentations provide something to which I can aspire. The new cookbook The Savory Secrets of Dodi’s Home Cooking by Howida “Dodi” Elhalogy exceeds all of my prerequisites for a great addition to anyone’s kitchen collection.
Mrs. Elhalogy grew up in an Egyptian village as the daughter of the province’s mayor. Since her family did a lot of entertaining on their large estate, Mrs. Elhalogy learned at a young age to prepare meals for special events and eventually mastered the art of Middle Eastern cooking. She decided to pull together her family’s recipes into this beautiful cookbook as a way of preserving a cultural tradition and of introducing a new audience to the amazing flavors and textures found in the dishes of the Middle East.
I was first struck by the beauty of the book. Mrs. Elhalogy uses rich colors of yellow and orange on the cover, along with a photo of garlic, onion and cilantro (I’m already sold … you cannot do better than those ingredients for a great-smelling kitchen!) to draw her readers into the culinary treasures inside. Once I turned the pages, I found page after page of beautiful pictures highlighting the table presentations that can be created with her recipes. When necessary, there were even “action photos” showing how to proceed correctly with certain steps in the recipe. I am a cook who hesitates to try a new recipe unless I can see the intended end product, so the pictures that accompanied each recipe were much appreciated.
The recipes themselves provided explicit step-by-step instructions. I have tried to work from other cookbooks that take certain steps in the process for granted, inevitably leading me to make a critical error. Not so with the recipes written by Dodi. The recipes develop methodically from the initial washing of ingredients to the necessary garnishes. I feel confident that, even though I would be working with some food that is unfamiliar to me, Dodi has provided enough instruction to ensure my success. And, just in case aspiring cooks of Middle Eastern cuisine still have some concern when working through her recipes, Dodi includes a glossary of some of the more unusual ingredients, along with their alternate names and descriptions. This component of the Helpful Hints section, along with the recipes’ Arabic translations on each page, provide an opportunity to learn about the individual foods while you are bringing them together for a meal.
As I read through each recipe, I was struck by an even greater opportunity that this book provides than just creating amazing food. A primary way of learning about a culture is through its traditional foods. I think back to “Culture Days” as a young child at school, when we would bring in a meal from the country of our choice. Learning about food opens the doors to other conversations, and this truth continues into adulthood. Why is a particular ingredient a staple of the diet in certain cultures? What are the most common cooking methods and why are they used? What are the standard customs practiced when eating a meal? I believe that by discussing these questions and other topics that may evolve from the conversation, we can gain greater appreciation and understanding for individuals from around the world. The recipes in The Savory Secrets of Dodi’s Home Cooking provide an excellent catalyst for just this purpose.
My husband and I have long considered Middle Eastern cuisine to be among our favorites. I already have tried several of the recipes, including the Tabula Salad and Koshary, to rave reviews around my dinner table. I look forward to wearing out the pages of The Savory Secrets of Dodi’s Home Cooking as I teach my own children the great Egyptian traditions that Dodi learned in her own youth and now, thankfully, shares with all of us. For those who are interested in expanding their culinary horizons, or perhaps simply want to enjoy the beauty of a well-planned cookbook, this offering by Howida “Dodi” Elhalogy is a must-have addition to your home library.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Podcast Guest Author of Book on Near-death Experience
Since Samhain or Halloween is coming soon, I thought it would be nice to offer something on our podcast for those who have loved ones on the Other Side.
The veil between the physical and non-physical worlds is thought to be very thin this time of year and many of us ask the spirits of our deceased loved ones to join us for the evening. For me, it’s like a family reunion of departed souls as we lovingly honor Virginia, Mom-Mom, Pop-Pop, Edmond, Pap, Little Granny, and Uncle Asa. This year, we will add to the list my dear friend Jerry McEwen, who was murdered during the holiday hoopla last December.
My podcast guest today is yours truly. Yes, I’m going to be the guest on my own show again! This time, I have invited Carol Denbow, the author of A Book Inside, How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Story, to interview me about my book More Than Meets the Eye, which covers many aspects of the dying and grieving process and sheds light on near-death experience, suicide, euthanasia, and spirit visits after the passing of a loved one.
You may remember Carol as a guest on our blog when she made her virtual tour on the Internet in September. I asked Carol to be my guest interviewer today because she has experience with South Coast Hospice & Palliative Care in Coos Bay Oregon. Hospice care is one of the topics in my book and one that I believe is a concern for many people, who have aging loved ones they need to care for in their final days.
Click here to listen to Part 1...
My book, More Than Meets the Eye, True Stories about Death, Dying, and Afterlife, is available for free as a PDF for anyone who subscribes to our free newsletter at writersinthesky.com.
Or, I will mail you a brand new signed paperback copy for $10 plus shipping if you contact me. Dinged copies that have a little wear on the cover are $5 plus shipping.
Click here to listen to Part 2...
Trick or treat is actually a spinoff of the tradition of providing food offerings to honor deceased visitors who were welcome to come by their old homestead. Like balloons on a mailbox for a birthday party, candles were lit to let the spirit know where the celebration was being held. Read this article about Samhain, an ancient Celtic holiday for more information.
The veil between the physical and non-physical worlds is thought to be very thin this time of year and many of us ask the spirits of our deceased loved ones to join us for the evening. For me, it’s like a family reunion of departed souls as we lovingly honor Virginia, Mom-Mom, Pop-Pop, Edmond, Pap, Little Granny, and Uncle Asa. This year, we will add to the list my dear friend Jerry McEwen, who was murdered during the holiday hoopla last December.
My podcast guest today is yours truly. Yes, I’m going to be the guest on my own show again! This time, I have invited Carol Denbow, the author of A Book Inside, How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Story, to interview me about my book More Than Meets the Eye, which covers many aspects of the dying and grieving process and sheds light on near-death experience, suicide, euthanasia, and spirit visits after the passing of a loved one.
You may remember Carol as a guest on our blog when she made her virtual tour on the Internet in September. I asked Carol to be my guest interviewer today because she has experience with South Coast Hospice & Palliative Care in Coos Bay Oregon. Hospice care is one of the topics in my book and one that I believe is a concern for many people, who have aging loved ones they need to care for in their final days.
Click here to listen to Part 1...
My book, More Than Meets the Eye, True Stories about Death, Dying, and Afterlife, is available for free as a PDF for anyone who subscribes to our free newsletter at writersinthesky.com.
Or, I will mail you a brand new signed paperback copy for $10 plus shipping if you contact me. Dinged copies that have a little wear on the cover are $5 plus shipping.
Click here to listen to Part 2...
Trick or treat is actually a spinoff of the tradition of providing food offerings to honor deceased visitors who were welcome to come by their old homestead. Like balloons on a mailbox for a birthday party, candles were lit to let the spirit know where the celebration was being held. Read this article about Samhain, an ancient Celtic holiday for more information.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Science & New Age Guest Author Brings Oneness to Opposing Communities
Have you been concerned about the economy? Politics got you worried? Time to change your focus to something more positive!
Instead of being enemies with the "other" side of the issue, let's look toward healing our world by healing ourselves and our relationships with one another.
The guest author on our WITS blog today will give some insight about how two separate communities can come together to reach a place where communication and cooperation sparks collaboration rather than debate.
Today we welcome MaAnna (pronounced May-ANN-ah) Stephenson to our writing blog as part of her virtual blog tour with Nikki Leigh. MaAnna is discussing her book The Sage Age—Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom. Since I edited this book, and know the author personally, I am going to ask specific questions to help our readers understand how valuable this work is to both the scientific and holistic communities.
MaAnna addresses some conflicting issues while bringing understanding to both the holistic (intuitive or faith-based) and scientific (must be proven with facts) communities. However, combining the knowledge of physics with intuitive practice is no small task because the two disciplines often use the same words to mean entirely different things.
Yvonne: Scientists reading your book and wanting to know why energy workers and intuitive practitioners inaccurately use terms such as light, vibration, and aura, will be surprised to learn that there is scientific support for what the intuitive tries to explain by using a spiritual language. It has also been confirmed by experiments that the subtle energies of the aura surrounding all living things hold the key to breakthrough understandings in biology and chemistry. Could an aura could be an electromagnetic field?
MaAnna: Intuitive practitioners are very often attempting to relate ineffable qualities in quantifiable terms. And they will confirm that much of it gets lost in translation. Theirs is an experiential knowing. So, it’s not that they are using the terms inaccurately in that context. The confusion that arises is due to the fact that those same terms are used very differently in the context of the rational sciences, specifically in physics. The collaborative studies of the subtle energies surrounding all living things and the investigation of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum have tried to clarify these misunderstandings. Through technological advancements, measuring devices have become ultra-sensitive allowing physicists in various disciplines to measure very faint EM energies radiating from the hands of healers, Qigong masters, and even from plants. This is a step toward scientifically validating the claims of intuitives. However, what is not being measured is the transfer of information that may be carried on those frequencies of energy. To an intuitive, that is the most important part of the process. The entire model rests on the idea of radio waves as a carrier frequency of information. Perhaps a new model will lead to different questions, which will result in entirely different answers. That is the purpose of The Sage Age; to bring new models for new thought.
Another thing to keep in mind is that an extremely wide range of EM frequencies have been detected and measured by physicists. These include low energy rays longer than a football field all the way up to extremely high energy gamma rays, which are so tiny and so energetic they can break molecular bonds. For science, this constitutes the full EM, or light spectrum. Intuitives, however, claim that the light energies which carry the most meaningful types of information, such as thought, are at a higher frequency than can be measured. And that’s where the breakdown in the collaborative studies begins. Science requires a measurable entity to carry out an investigation. That is the limit of science, but not the limit of reality. From my research and my own experience, I am coming to the notion that the “light” of which intuitives speak does not even lie in the EM spectrum measured by physics. Measureable light, in the most basic sense, is a by-product of heat, like the light that comes from the sun or a light bulb. This is not the same light which penetrates all realms of existence or is the one source from which all else emanates, as intuitives claim.
Yvonne: You are a musician and sound engineer with a degree in electronics, yet you are able to reach into the subtle realms of the unseen as a shamanka. First of all, I think we are going to need you to tell us what a shamanka is and how this role gives you the authority to speak about intuition. Also, tell us what credentials you have to address the scientific side.
MaAnna: Shamanka is the feminine term of shaman. Most folks equate a shaman with a medicine person or one who works with Earth energies. But, at the core, a shaman is one who journeys to the other realms to bring information to this realm. Sometimes a shaman is also a medicine person who journeys to find the source of the illness as well as the remedy and also implements it. I seek a different sort of information and use a shaman’s discernment to help sort through the mountains of research papers necessary to produce a book like The Sage Age and to bring clarity and focus to the project.
I was born an intuitive and lived “in country” with that mindset for most of my younger life. All of the women in my family are also intuitives. My father had the mind of an engineer and the heart of an artist. This gave me a wholistic approach to life. As an adult, I lived “in country” with the rational sciences through my work in technology. That education and experience helped me understand the very technical language used in all the scientific research papers and helped me organize the information in a way that connected the dots between what seemed, on the surface, to be far-flung disciplines. I have lived immersed in blending and balancing scientific and intuitive ways and this has led me to value all ways of knowing and to harmonize them into a peaceful, wholistic way of thinking, perceiving, and experiencing.
Yvonne: The Sage Age took four years of research that launched from your own desire to understand some complex ideas. Tell us why you wrote The Sage Age.
MaAnna: Breakthroughs in quantum physics and frontier science led the way for more collaborative studies with intuitives. This spawned another branch of books in the New Thought genre which attempted to translate the advancements and philosophical implications of these matters. In turn, these ideas began springing up all over pop-literature and culture. What I found, though, were many misunderstandings and a lot of confusion caused by the common terminology used by both the rational sciences and the esoteric sciences, or intuitive practices. Some folks were drawing parallels where none actually existed or implying “scientific evidence” of intuitive claims. I began to educate myself in both schools of thought to bring myself a clarity of understanding of the terminology in proper context and to better understand the actual experiments. I suddenly found that one question of inquiry led to ten more. Before I knew it, I was knee-deep, literally, in books and research papers. The information began to center on certain themes and I followed them until I had a full understanding. By the third year I had enough information to begin to connect the dots between different disciplines. It was like getting my hair blown back every day. That’s when I realized how helpful this information would be to others and I began formatting the information into a publishable form. The book is a condensed version of the research. It is a four-year education boiled down to a one-inch thick book. Writing it completely changed the way I think and helped me see the connections in everything.
Yvonne: Your book is filled with history. Why?
MaAnna: History is as much about our future as it is our past. This point cannot be overstated. During the second year of the research, I realized that the breakthroughs of today were simply the fruit of very ancient questions. We did not come to these modern conclusions from a vacuum. The questions we now ask and the perceptions of our answers are squarely rooted in ancient thought. Through the research, I was able to witness the evolution of human thought, which was an incredible gift to myself. I also realized that every age has patted itself on the back for its own ingenuity and cleverness. We are doing much the same now. Without historical perspective, we cannot see our path in context.
For all of our modern breakthroughs, in the West, we are still very much on the path laid out by Pythagoras. Even though we incorporate pieces of other cultures, such as acupuncture, or feng shui, it comes without contextual understanding. In the West, we have yet to attain a true paradigm shift of thought. Certainly we have expanded to incorporate ideas from other cultures, but we have not gone so far as to truly accommodate another belief system. Everything we see, we still see through the filter of ancient Western thought.
To get a wholistic understanding, it was necessary for me to delve back into the culture of ancient Mesopotamia, before the split into Eastern and Western thought patterns and then to bring that wholistic view forward into the cultures as they appear today. The old adage of not knowing where you’re going until you know where you’ve come from holds true.
It’s also worth noting that the Arabic nations held both ways of perception (East and West) in harmony for centuries. In fact, at one time they were the most technologically advanced societies on the planet. And, the reason we have copies of many ancient Western texts is because they were safely kept in Arabic libraries. If you can pull back enough to see the full arch of the pendulum’s swing, you might be able to perceive the current conflicts in this area of the world and the rise of China in a different way. In many ways it is a process of rebalancing. The Western ways are not the only valid ways of knowing and being. Much of the ancient knowledge held by other cultures is beginning to resurface. Understanding something like that is one reason why history is so important to our future.
Yvonne: What are some of the main themes in the book?
MaAnna: One of the main reasons I began my research was a curiosity about the shape of things. What I found was that the body, from the bones to the cells, was a multi-faceted antenna system. A great deal of research is being conducted on the conformational shape changes which occur at a cellular level. This leads to a new understanding of disease and the effective delivery of nutrients and pharmaceuticals. Believe it or not, our sense of smell is based on the shapes of molecules. Ritual forms of body movement, such as those found in yoga or Tai Chi position the physical body, which is a crystalline structure, into different antenna shapes. It’s like moving the rabbit ears on an analog TV for better reception of certain frequencies. Also, the subtle energy bodies, which surround the physical body, receive certain frequencies of informed energies. So, the first four chapters of the book are devoted to those subjects and how thoughts affect those processes. As noted earlier, historical perspective is key and a chapter is devoted to the roots of both the rational and esoteric sciences. Later chapters cover the basics of physics including quantum physics and cosmology. These are written in layman’s terms with plenty of analogies and illustrations.
Yvonne: There’s been some hype in the media about the Large Hadron Collider. Some fear that we are about to re-create the Big Bang and blow our planet into oblivion. Is this possible?
MaAnna: Particle colliders or particle smashers, as they are more commonly called, are nothing new. The first one was developed in the 1930s and there are currently 75 of them on six continents. The purpose of them all is to ramp up two particles to near lightspeed and collide them, which releases their innards, or more particles. Due to the nature of E=mc2, it takes a lot of energy to accelerate a piece of matter, regardless of size, toward the speed of light. Every new collider incorporates more energy. With a bigger collision, more internal particles are released for study. The purpose of the Large Hadron Collider is to cause such an energetic collision that hadrons are released. These are particles which are theorized to have existed only at the very first instant of the Big Bang and are thought to be the reason why matter has mass. So, to study them, the collider must recreate the first instant of the Big Bang over and over again in a controlled way. What has some folks nervous is the control-ability of such an occurrence and that the collider might also have the capacity of producing a black hole big enough to swallow not only the Earth, but all the space surrounding it. Those scenarios are so highly unlikely as to be marginal, but the media can’t resist sensationalizing the ideas.
Yvonne: What do you hope readers will gain from your book?
MaAnna: In one word, I hope they gain clarity. I hope the book gives them the resources to be able to connect the dots for themselves. The book doesn’t tell you what to think. It gives you the information to be able to draw your own conclusions based on what is most meaningful to you. In other words, The Sage Age gives you 2 + 2 = ? Ultimately, you have to put forth the effort to educate yourself and dig a little deeper to determine what “?” really means to you.
Yvonne: How did you publish your book? Tell me about your publishing experience and what you learned from it.
MaAnna: I was fortunate to be picked up by a publisher, which is Nightengale Press, just days after handing the book over for editing. The publishing business is in a radical state of flux right now because of all the various ways there are to publish. I went with Nightengale because they are a hybrid between a traditional publisher and a vanity publisher. I retained my copyright, but got the full support of a legitimate publishing house, which resulted in the book being displayed at expos that required a membership and ultimately, being featured in Publishers Weekly, which is a magazine written by and for industry insiders. Those are some of the things you simply cannot get if you self-publish or go with a vanity publisher.
Several months prior to the book’s completion, I had taken a teleseminar course on the business of writing. After the book got picked up, I began a crash course on marketing with a focus toward online marketing. The Sage Age is a niche book that crosses genres. So, it takes a creative approach to market it properly and the internet offered more possibilities to make the necessary connections. No matter how the book is published, the bulk of the marketing falls to the author. So, going with a traditional publisher doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have any advantage in that area.
Yvonne: As far as marketing, tell me some ways you have promoted your book. Give examples and links to any sites you feel might help other authors.
MaAnna: When I first decided to publish the book, I absolutely dreaded the idea of marketing it. But, what I realized is that marketing is simply sharing your passion and talking to others about it. I built a Web site and got a blog immediately. What I have really found most enjoyable, though, is social networking through groups, such as those found on Ning, and quick exchanges through sites like Twitter. Internet radio interviews have been a key component, as well as a virtual blog tour. These marketing devices help me plug into the established networks of others and market the book across multiple mediums. I am also a member of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and have a blog on their Shift in Action Web site.
Articles containing book excerpts or which focus on book topics is a great way to market your book and your message. Write as many as you can and post them to as many article directories as possible. I also placed my name and the book’s title on a Google Alert. I’ve really enjoyed being notified when the articles get picked up by other sites through syndication.
My best advice to other authors is to find folks who are already well connected and plug into their resources and networks. I was very fortunate to find you (Yvonne Perry) locally as both my editor and mentor in the business of writing. The offerings on the WITS site are extensive, and the podcast is literally a gold mine of information. So, first, I would send folks to www.WritersInTheSky.com as a starting point. Through my association with WITS over the past year, I’ve been able to get the information contained in Book marketing in the Digital Age: Online Promotion Made Easy in piecemeal fashion. By all means, get this book. I also found the information in these two books helpful: From Book to Bestseller and Red Hot Internet Publicity: An Insider's Guide to Promoting Your Book on the Internet! both by Penny Sansevieri; Talk Radio for Authors by Fran Silverman; and The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't by Carolyn Howard-Johnson.
Create an author profile on Amazon and update that blog often. Request reviews of your book to be posted on Amazon as well. Another way to get noticed is to write reviews for other books and post them on Amazon. Your list and links to your Amazon page get spread far and wide for free. You can also post reviews on specific book review sites.
For the virtual blog tour, contact Nikki Leigh and get her book Promo 101: Virtual Blog Tours. She is incredibly well connected and is a walking, talking encyclopedia of promotional and marketing information.
Yvonne: You have a Web site and blog for The Sage Age where the book may be purchased, but what else might a reader find there?
MaAnna: The Web site is www.SageAge.net where folks will find the full interview and tour schedule as well as several audio interview clips. All of the articles taken from book excerpts are on the site and there is a link for an eBook titled How Thoughts Become Reality, which was written exclusively for newsletter subscribers. It contains many excerpts from chapter four.
Yvonne: Any other comments you would like to share?
MaAnna: My entire experience with this book has been a little different than most. I didn’t follow the suggestions to start my marketing campaign well in advance of authoring the book, nor did I have to endure months of query letters to find a publisher. But, the one rule I did follow was to retain a professional editor. A quality product simply cannot be produced without one. This is especially important for a first-time author. I would also like to offer that you be willing to learn the business of marketing and be flexible with the presentation of your book. The cover design, title, layout, and initial marketing may require that you put sentimental favoritism aside and see the book as others will see it. What is most meaningful to you about it may not be the thing that readers will find attractive. And last, enjoy sharing your passion. Connecting with others is what it’s all about.
Yvonne: I agree. Networking and sharing online is the best way to promote a book. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to get to know you and learn about your book. I wish you well in your journey as a successfully published author.
Instead of being enemies with the "other" side of the issue, let's look toward healing our world by healing ourselves and our relationships with one another.
The guest author on our WITS blog today will give some insight about how two separate communities can come together to reach a place where communication and cooperation sparks collaboration rather than debate.
Today we welcome MaAnna (pronounced May-ANN-ah) Stephenson to our writing blog as part of her virtual blog tour with Nikki Leigh. MaAnna is discussing her book The Sage Age—Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom. Since I edited this book, and know the author personally, I am going to ask specific questions to help our readers understand how valuable this work is to both the scientific and holistic communities.
MaAnna addresses some conflicting issues while bringing understanding to both the holistic (intuitive or faith-based) and scientific (must be proven with facts) communities. However, combining the knowledge of physics with intuitive practice is no small task because the two disciplines often use the same words to mean entirely different things.
Yvonne: Scientists reading your book and wanting to know why energy workers and intuitive practitioners inaccurately use terms such as light, vibration, and aura, will be surprised to learn that there is scientific support for what the intuitive tries to explain by using a spiritual language. It has also been confirmed by experiments that the subtle energies of the aura surrounding all living things hold the key to breakthrough understandings in biology and chemistry. Could an aura could be an electromagnetic field?
MaAnna: Intuitive practitioners are very often attempting to relate ineffable qualities in quantifiable terms. And they will confirm that much of it gets lost in translation. Theirs is an experiential knowing. So, it’s not that they are using the terms inaccurately in that context. The confusion that arises is due to the fact that those same terms are used very differently in the context of the rational sciences, specifically in physics. The collaborative studies of the subtle energies surrounding all living things and the investigation of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum have tried to clarify these misunderstandings. Through technological advancements, measuring devices have become ultra-sensitive allowing physicists in various disciplines to measure very faint EM energies radiating from the hands of healers, Qigong masters, and even from plants. This is a step toward scientifically validating the claims of intuitives. However, what is not being measured is the transfer of information that may be carried on those frequencies of energy. To an intuitive, that is the most important part of the process. The entire model rests on the idea of radio waves as a carrier frequency of information. Perhaps a new model will lead to different questions, which will result in entirely different answers. That is the purpose of The Sage Age; to bring new models for new thought.
Another thing to keep in mind is that an extremely wide range of EM frequencies have been detected and measured by physicists. These include low energy rays longer than a football field all the way up to extremely high energy gamma rays, which are so tiny and so energetic they can break molecular bonds. For science, this constitutes the full EM, or light spectrum. Intuitives, however, claim that the light energies which carry the most meaningful types of information, such as thought, are at a higher frequency than can be measured. And that’s where the breakdown in the collaborative studies begins. Science requires a measurable entity to carry out an investigation. That is the limit of science, but not the limit of reality. From my research and my own experience, I am coming to the notion that the “light” of which intuitives speak does not even lie in the EM spectrum measured by physics. Measureable light, in the most basic sense, is a by-product of heat, like the light that comes from the sun or a light bulb. This is not the same light which penetrates all realms of existence or is the one source from which all else emanates, as intuitives claim.
Yvonne: You are a musician and sound engineer with a degree in electronics, yet you are able to reach into the subtle realms of the unseen as a shamanka. First of all, I think we are going to need you to tell us what a shamanka is and how this role gives you the authority to speak about intuition. Also, tell us what credentials you have to address the scientific side.
MaAnna: Shamanka is the feminine term of shaman. Most folks equate a shaman with a medicine person or one who works with Earth energies. But, at the core, a shaman is one who journeys to the other realms to bring information to this realm. Sometimes a shaman is also a medicine person who journeys to find the source of the illness as well as the remedy and also implements it. I seek a different sort of information and use a shaman’s discernment to help sort through the mountains of research papers necessary to produce a book like The Sage Age and to bring clarity and focus to the project.
I was born an intuitive and lived “in country” with that mindset for most of my younger life. All of the women in my family are also intuitives. My father had the mind of an engineer and the heart of an artist. This gave me a wholistic approach to life. As an adult, I lived “in country” with the rational sciences through my work in technology. That education and experience helped me understand the very technical language used in all the scientific research papers and helped me organize the information in a way that connected the dots between what seemed, on the surface, to be far-flung disciplines. I have lived immersed in blending and balancing scientific and intuitive ways and this has led me to value all ways of knowing and to harmonize them into a peaceful, wholistic way of thinking, perceiving, and experiencing.
Yvonne: The Sage Age took four years of research that launched from your own desire to understand some complex ideas. Tell us why you wrote The Sage Age.
MaAnna: Breakthroughs in quantum physics and frontier science led the way for more collaborative studies with intuitives. This spawned another branch of books in the New Thought genre which attempted to translate the advancements and philosophical implications of these matters. In turn, these ideas began springing up all over pop-literature and culture. What I found, though, were many misunderstandings and a lot of confusion caused by the common terminology used by both the rational sciences and the esoteric sciences, or intuitive practices. Some folks were drawing parallels where none actually existed or implying “scientific evidence” of intuitive claims. I began to educate myself in both schools of thought to bring myself a clarity of understanding of the terminology in proper context and to better understand the actual experiments. I suddenly found that one question of inquiry led to ten more. Before I knew it, I was knee-deep, literally, in books and research papers. The information began to center on certain themes and I followed them until I had a full understanding. By the third year I had enough information to begin to connect the dots between different disciplines. It was like getting my hair blown back every day. That’s when I realized how helpful this information would be to others and I began formatting the information into a publishable form. The book is a condensed version of the research. It is a four-year education boiled down to a one-inch thick book. Writing it completely changed the way I think and helped me see the connections in everything.
Yvonne: Your book is filled with history. Why?
MaAnna: History is as much about our future as it is our past. This point cannot be overstated. During the second year of the research, I realized that the breakthroughs of today were simply the fruit of very ancient questions. We did not come to these modern conclusions from a vacuum. The questions we now ask and the perceptions of our answers are squarely rooted in ancient thought. Through the research, I was able to witness the evolution of human thought, which was an incredible gift to myself. I also realized that every age has patted itself on the back for its own ingenuity and cleverness. We are doing much the same now. Without historical perspective, we cannot see our path in context.
For all of our modern breakthroughs, in the West, we are still very much on the path laid out by Pythagoras. Even though we incorporate pieces of other cultures, such as acupuncture, or feng shui, it comes without contextual understanding. In the West, we have yet to attain a true paradigm shift of thought. Certainly we have expanded to incorporate ideas from other cultures, but we have not gone so far as to truly accommodate another belief system. Everything we see, we still see through the filter of ancient Western thought.
To get a wholistic understanding, it was necessary for me to delve back into the culture of ancient Mesopotamia, before the split into Eastern and Western thought patterns and then to bring that wholistic view forward into the cultures as they appear today. The old adage of not knowing where you’re going until you know where you’ve come from holds true.
It’s also worth noting that the Arabic nations held both ways of perception (East and West) in harmony for centuries. In fact, at one time they were the most technologically advanced societies on the planet. And, the reason we have copies of many ancient Western texts is because they were safely kept in Arabic libraries. If you can pull back enough to see the full arch of the pendulum’s swing, you might be able to perceive the current conflicts in this area of the world and the rise of China in a different way. In many ways it is a process of rebalancing. The Western ways are not the only valid ways of knowing and being. Much of the ancient knowledge held by other cultures is beginning to resurface. Understanding something like that is one reason why history is so important to our future.
Yvonne: What are some of the main themes in the book?
MaAnna: One of the main reasons I began my research was a curiosity about the shape of things. What I found was that the body, from the bones to the cells, was a multi-faceted antenna system. A great deal of research is being conducted on the conformational shape changes which occur at a cellular level. This leads to a new understanding of disease and the effective delivery of nutrients and pharmaceuticals. Believe it or not, our sense of smell is based on the shapes of molecules. Ritual forms of body movement, such as those found in yoga or Tai Chi position the physical body, which is a crystalline structure, into different antenna shapes. It’s like moving the rabbit ears on an analog TV for better reception of certain frequencies. Also, the subtle energy bodies, which surround the physical body, receive certain frequencies of informed energies. So, the first four chapters of the book are devoted to those subjects and how thoughts affect those processes. As noted earlier, historical perspective is key and a chapter is devoted to the roots of both the rational and esoteric sciences. Later chapters cover the basics of physics including quantum physics and cosmology. These are written in layman’s terms with plenty of analogies and illustrations.
Yvonne: There’s been some hype in the media about the Large Hadron Collider. Some fear that we are about to re-create the Big Bang and blow our planet into oblivion. Is this possible?
MaAnna: Particle colliders or particle smashers, as they are more commonly called, are nothing new. The first one was developed in the 1930s and there are currently 75 of them on six continents. The purpose of them all is to ramp up two particles to near lightspeed and collide them, which releases their innards, or more particles. Due to the nature of E=mc2, it takes a lot of energy to accelerate a piece of matter, regardless of size, toward the speed of light. Every new collider incorporates more energy. With a bigger collision, more internal particles are released for study. The purpose of the Large Hadron Collider is to cause such an energetic collision that hadrons are released. These are particles which are theorized to have existed only at the very first instant of the Big Bang and are thought to be the reason why matter has mass. So, to study them, the collider must recreate the first instant of the Big Bang over and over again in a controlled way. What has some folks nervous is the control-ability of such an occurrence and that the collider might also have the capacity of producing a black hole big enough to swallow not only the Earth, but all the space surrounding it. Those scenarios are so highly unlikely as to be marginal, but the media can’t resist sensationalizing the ideas.
Yvonne: What do you hope readers will gain from your book?
MaAnna: In one word, I hope they gain clarity. I hope the book gives them the resources to be able to connect the dots for themselves. The book doesn’t tell you what to think. It gives you the information to be able to draw your own conclusions based on what is most meaningful to you. In other words, The Sage Age gives you 2 + 2 = ? Ultimately, you have to put forth the effort to educate yourself and dig a little deeper to determine what “?” really means to you.
Yvonne: How did you publish your book? Tell me about your publishing experience and what you learned from it.
MaAnna: I was fortunate to be picked up by a publisher, which is Nightengale Press, just days after handing the book over for editing. The publishing business is in a radical state of flux right now because of all the various ways there are to publish. I went with Nightengale because they are a hybrid between a traditional publisher and a vanity publisher. I retained my copyright, but got the full support of a legitimate publishing house, which resulted in the book being displayed at expos that required a membership and ultimately, being featured in Publishers Weekly, which is a magazine written by and for industry insiders. Those are some of the things you simply cannot get if you self-publish or go with a vanity publisher.
Several months prior to the book’s completion, I had taken a teleseminar course on the business of writing. After the book got picked up, I began a crash course on marketing with a focus toward online marketing. The Sage Age is a niche book that crosses genres. So, it takes a creative approach to market it properly and the internet offered more possibilities to make the necessary connections. No matter how the book is published, the bulk of the marketing falls to the author. So, going with a traditional publisher doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have any advantage in that area.
Yvonne: As far as marketing, tell me some ways you have promoted your book. Give examples and links to any sites you feel might help other authors.
MaAnna: When I first decided to publish the book, I absolutely dreaded the idea of marketing it. But, what I realized is that marketing is simply sharing your passion and talking to others about it. I built a Web site and got a blog immediately. What I have really found most enjoyable, though, is social networking through groups, such as those found on Ning, and quick exchanges through sites like Twitter. Internet radio interviews have been a key component, as well as a virtual blog tour. These marketing devices help me plug into the established networks of others and market the book across multiple mediums. I am also a member of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and have a blog on their Shift in Action Web site.
Articles containing book excerpts or which focus on book topics is a great way to market your book and your message. Write as many as you can and post them to as many article directories as possible. I also placed my name and the book’s title on a Google Alert. I’ve really enjoyed being notified when the articles get picked up by other sites through syndication.
My best advice to other authors is to find folks who are already well connected and plug into their resources and networks. I was very fortunate to find you (Yvonne Perry) locally as both my editor and mentor in the business of writing. The offerings on the WITS site are extensive, and the podcast is literally a gold mine of information. So, first, I would send folks to www.WritersInTheSky.com as a starting point. Through my association with WITS over the past year, I’ve been able to get the information contained in Book marketing in the Digital Age: Online Promotion Made Easy in piecemeal fashion. By all means, get this book. I also found the information in these two books helpful: From Book to Bestseller and Red Hot Internet Publicity: An Insider's Guide to Promoting Your Book on the Internet! both by Penny Sansevieri; Talk Radio for Authors by Fran Silverman; and The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't by Carolyn Howard-Johnson.
Create an author profile on Amazon and update that blog often. Request reviews of your book to be posted on Amazon as well. Another way to get noticed is to write reviews for other books and post them on Amazon. Your list and links to your Amazon page get spread far and wide for free. You can also post reviews on specific book review sites.
For the virtual blog tour, contact Nikki Leigh and get her book Promo 101: Virtual Blog Tours. She is incredibly well connected and is a walking, talking encyclopedia of promotional and marketing information.
Yvonne: You have a Web site and blog for The Sage Age where the book may be purchased, but what else might a reader find there?
MaAnna: The Web site is www.SageAge.net where folks will find the full interview and tour schedule as well as several audio interview clips. All of the articles taken from book excerpts are on the site and there is a link for an eBook titled How Thoughts Become Reality, which was written exclusively for newsletter subscribers. It contains many excerpts from chapter four.
Yvonne: Any other comments you would like to share?
MaAnna: My entire experience with this book has been a little different than most. I didn’t follow the suggestions to start my marketing campaign well in advance of authoring the book, nor did I have to endure months of query letters to find a publisher. But, the one rule I did follow was to retain a professional editor. A quality product simply cannot be produced without one. This is especially important for a first-time author. I would also like to offer that you be willing to learn the business of marketing and be flexible with the presentation of your book. The cover design, title, layout, and initial marketing may require that you put sentimental favoritism aside and see the book as others will see it. What is most meaningful to you about it may not be the thing that readers will find attractive. And last, enjoy sharing your passion. Connecting with others is what it’s all about.
Yvonne: I agree. Networking and sharing online is the best way to promote a book. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to get to know you and learn about your book. I wish you well in your journey as a successfully published author.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Another Free teleseminar on book Marketing
What a great response we had to our seminar last night about book marketing! We had so much fun and so many questions from our listeners, Suzanne Lieurance and I are offering a second free teleseminar tonight (Wednesday October 22)!
The call starts at 7:00 Central Time. Suzanne will be presenting Build Your Business Write Program, but she has graciously set aside 30 minutes for me to answer the questions we don't get to last night.
Use the link below to sign up and get the call in information for the teleseminar tonight:
http://buildyourbusinesswrite.com/free-teleseminar/
We hope to hear from you tonight!
Yvonne Perry
The call starts at 7:00 Central Time. Suzanne will be presenting Build Your Business Write Program, but she has graciously set aside 30 minutes for me to answer the questions we don't get to last night.
Use the link below to sign up and get the call in information for the teleseminar tonight:
http://buildyourbusinesswrite.com/free-teleseminar/
We hope to hear from you tonight!
Yvonne Perry
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Entrepreneur Releases eBook to Help Authors Promote Books Online
Book Marketing in the Digital Age, Online Promotion Made Easy was designed by a successfully published author to specifically help other authors understand and implement the various methods available to publicize a book online.
NASHVILLE, TN-- The benefit of publishing with a conventional publisher is to gain access to trade publications and inside marketing information that self-published authors do not have. Unfortunately, most publishers, regardless of whether it’s a large house or POD (publish-on-demand) company, expect authors to do most, if not all, of their own book promotion, but many authors do not have a clue where to start with this monumental task.
Without a strong promotion campaign, a book simply does not sell no matter how good its content may be.
The best place to promote a book is on the Internet because that’s where most readers buy books. Shopping from the comfort of home, people can get books at discounted prices and many times with free shipping from online bookstores. However, other than offering an author’s page on the publisher’s Web site, most publishers are not utilizing online marketing avenues to sell books for their authors. Many publishers are not even aware of how social networking via the Internet can be used to create awareness for authors and their books.
In her new eBook, Book Marketing in the Digital Age, Online Promotion Made Easy, Yvonne Perry gives authors the basic tools needed to get started with successful online book promotion. By breaking it into bite-sized pieces, the reader of this eBook can begin to see changes in their Web ranking and book sales within just a few months of devoted use of the techniques provided. During Perry’s 2007 online blog tour, her book reached #2 in Amazon’s bestselling books for the biomedical category.
“When I launched my third book, I hired a publicist and tried doing things the old-fashioned way,” says Yvonne Perry, the owner of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services (WITS). “I gave up hours of my time trying to get my book noticed by people in the stem cell, religious, and political communities, whom I thought were my target market. I spent thousands of dollars promoting my book using print media and local venues. Only a handful of my closest friends, who would have bought my book anyway, showed up for the book signing event. In contrast, it was my online book tour that brought in book sales and pushed my book to the top of Amazon.com’s bestseller list.”
Calling upon her experience with online promotion and her book industry knowledge gained from assisting clients with editing, ghostwriting, and author promotion, Perry’s new eBook gives sample screenshots and more than 100 links to helpful sites that serve as examples to further explain the text. Tips and how-to information include: creating an online media kit, blogging tips, getting traffic to your site, virtual book tours, social media and networking, using video for book promotion, getting author interviews, and the benefits of podcasting.
For a complete list of contents, access free marketing tips, purchase the eBook, or connect with the WITS community, see www.OnlinePromotionMadeEasy.com
###
Contact:
Yvonne Perry
615-884-1224
www.writersinthesky.com
NASHVILLE, TN-- The benefit of publishing with a conventional publisher is to gain access to trade publications and inside marketing information that self-published authors do not have. Unfortunately, most publishers, regardless of whether it’s a large house or POD (publish-on-demand) company, expect authors to do most, if not all, of their own book promotion, but many authors do not have a clue where to start with this monumental task.
Without a strong promotion campaign, a book simply does not sell no matter how good its content may be.
The best place to promote a book is on the Internet because that’s where most readers buy books. Shopping from the comfort of home, people can get books at discounted prices and many times with free shipping from online bookstores. However, other than offering an author’s page on the publisher’s Web site, most publishers are not utilizing online marketing avenues to sell books for their authors. Many publishers are not even aware of how social networking via the Internet can be used to create awareness for authors and their books.
In her new eBook, Book Marketing in the Digital Age, Online Promotion Made Easy, Yvonne Perry gives authors the basic tools needed to get started with successful online book promotion. By breaking it into bite-sized pieces, the reader of this eBook can begin to see changes in their Web ranking and book sales within just a few months of devoted use of the techniques provided. During Perry’s 2007 online blog tour, her book reached #2 in Amazon’s bestselling books for the biomedical category.
“When I launched my third book, I hired a publicist and tried doing things the old-fashioned way,” says Yvonne Perry, the owner of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services (WITS). “I gave up hours of my time trying to get my book noticed by people in the stem cell, religious, and political communities, whom I thought were my target market. I spent thousands of dollars promoting my book using print media and local venues. Only a handful of my closest friends, who would have bought my book anyway, showed up for the book signing event. In contrast, it was my online book tour that brought in book sales and pushed my book to the top of Amazon.com’s bestseller list.”
Calling upon her experience with online promotion and her book industry knowledge gained from assisting clients with editing, ghostwriting, and author promotion, Perry’s new eBook gives sample screenshots and more than 100 links to helpful sites that serve as examples to further explain the text. Tips and how-to information include: creating an online media kit, blogging tips, getting traffic to your site, virtual book tours, social media and networking, using video for book promotion, getting author interviews, and the benefits of podcasting.
For a complete list of contents, access free marketing tips, purchase the eBook, or connect with the WITS community, see www.OnlinePromotionMadeEasy.com
###
Contact:
Yvonne Perry
615-884-1224
www.writersinthesky.com
Monday, October 20, 2008
Free Teleseminar about Online Book Marketing
The Working Writer's Coach Suzanne Lieurance and Yvonne Perry are hosting a free teleseminar on Book Marketing in the Digital Age Online Promotion Made Easy tomorrow night.
Ask your questions now so we can be sure to answer them on the call. Here is the link to the sign up page to get the call info for the teleseminar: http://www.buildyourbusinesswrite.com/askyvonnenow/
Ask your questions now so we can be sure to answer them on the call. Here is the link to the sign up page to get the call info for the teleseminar: http://www.buildyourbusinesswrite.com/askyvonnenow/
A Discussion about Death, Dying, and Afterlife
Yvonne Perry will be joining Carol Denbow on Writers in the Sky Podcast October 24, 2008!
Carol Denbow will interview Yvonne Perry about her book More Than Meets the Eye, which covers many aspects of the dying and grieving process and sheds light on near-death experience, suicide, euthanasia, and spirit visits after the passing of a loved one. Carol has experience with South Coast Hospice & Palliative Care in Coos Bay, Oregon. “Hospice care is one of the topics in my book,” says Perry, “and one I believe is a concern for many people who have aging loved ones they need to care for in their final days.”
Yvonne’s book, More Than Meets the Eye, True Stories about Death, Dying, and Afterlife, is available for free as a PDF for anyone who subscribes to our free newsletter at writersinthesky.com.
************************
Listening to Writers in the Sky Podcast on a computer is easy. Just click this link: http://yvonneperry.blogspot.com and go to my blog.On the right sidebar there is a list of archived shows. Click on the interview you would like to hear and it will open a post that has a link to the audio file.
Have you thought of hosting your own podcast? It's easy. Learn how at http://nashvillewriter.audioacrobat.com/
Carol Denbow will interview Yvonne Perry about her book More Than Meets the Eye, which covers many aspects of the dying and grieving process and sheds light on near-death experience, suicide, euthanasia, and spirit visits after the passing of a loved one. Carol has experience with South Coast Hospice & Palliative Care in Coos Bay, Oregon. “Hospice care is one of the topics in my book,” says Perry, “and one I believe is a concern for many people who have aging loved ones they need to care for in their final days.”
Yvonne’s book, More Than Meets the Eye, True Stories about Death, Dying, and Afterlife, is available for free as a PDF for anyone who subscribes to our free newsletter at writersinthesky.com.
************************
Listening to Writers in the Sky Podcast on a computer is easy. Just click this link: http://yvonneperry.blogspot.com and go to my blog.On the right sidebar there is a list of archived shows. Click on the interview you would like to hear and it will open a post that has a link to the audio file.
Have you thought of hosting your own podcast? It's easy. Learn how at http://nashvillewriter.audioacrobat.com/
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Hard Times and Great Blessings
Hard Times and Great Blessings
Author: Kenneth F. Worth
ISBN: 978-1-4327-2308-8
Publisher: OutskirtsPress.com 2008
Reviewed by Sarah Moore for Writers in the Sky (9/08)
How many people have fascinating life stories, are even encouraged to share their experiences through the written word, but never follow through with the task of compiling a memoir? Author Kenneth Worth is one man who listened when others told him that he had a story worth sharing, and the result is the captivating memoir titled Hard Times and Great Blessings. In this short, but detail-rich, book, Mr. Worth relates a life filled with some moments to which almost any reader will be able to relate and other events that most can only begin to imagine.
Kenneth Worth was made an orphan two days after his eleventh birthday, when his mother killed his father and then took her own life. Worth and his brother were both asleep in the house when this tragic crime occurred and, even though they somehow slept through the sounds of the shots being fired, they were the ones who found their father lying in bed with, as Worth describes it, practically no head remaining. Obviously a tragic scene for two boys to witness, Worth does not spend much time reflecting on this day. The reader is left to wonder why Worth’s mother felt compelled to commit such a violent act. Was there mental illness? Untold abuse? Through the noticeable absence of such details, Worth lets the reader know that he did not allow his life to be consumed by the questions surrounding that day. Like Worth himself did, the reader must move on.
What Mr. Worth does focus on is the importance of relationships in his life. He writes with genuine emotion when sharing the love story that developed between him and his wife, Ruth. As he describes it, the two are joined at the hip and have been since their courtship started when the two were both teenagers. Now married for forty-eight years, the commitment between Kenneth and Ruth that remained through multiple job changes, personal illnesses, and family deaths is a testament to true love and partnership. Beyond his marriage, Worth also expresses his delayed appreciation for the grandparents who raised him following his parents’ death (he admits to a lack of gratefulness at the time), pride at the accomplishments of his two adult daughters, and respect for the in-laws who became surrogate parents and led him to his faith. Although Mr. Worth lost his mother and father at a young age, and in some ways that relationship can never be replaced, he certainly understands that he has a life richly filled with people who love and care for him.
Among the details Mr. Worth shares about his life, I greatly enjoyed the memories that he associates with the cars he has owned over his life. (He shows a particular affection for models developed by Ford.) He fondly remembers the car he was driving when taking his pregnant wife to the hospital, the one that got him to a new city as he searched for a home for his growing family, and several others. I found that the inclusion of these cars, down to the make, model and color, added another way in which readers could relate to Worth’s story. I always smile when I see a Ford Escort that reminds me of my high school boyfriend, remember the crayons that melted in the back of my dad’s 1978 Honda Civic, and cringe when I think about the car I was driving when rear-ended by a drunk driver. Don’t many of us associate cars with events in our life—a uniquely American mindset?
Through his military service in Vietnam with a young bride left at home, administrative civilian positions that took him to many areas of the country, the recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease, and his wife’s own health problems, Kenneth Worth acknowledges the constant strength that his Christian faith has provided. He takes time throughout the book to remind the reader that God is always working in his life, even when the circumstances seemed bleak. Worth focuses on the blessings he has received and encourages his readers to do the same. A man who lost his parents to violent deaths when he was just a child certainly could find reason to go through his days filled with resentment, but instead Kenneth Worth serves as a model of how an optimistic outlook can improve one’s life. What a great lesson for every reader of his book to learn!
Through Hard Times and Great Blessings, first-time author Kenneth Worth shares an amazing life story that inspires and encourages. I certainly hope that Mr. Worth plans on writing more in the future, as he mentions so many events in his life that could each be worthy of its own publication. And, perhaps Kenneth Worth’s decision to share his life story will encourage some of his readers to do the same.
Author: Kenneth F. Worth
ISBN: 978-1-4327-2308-8
Publisher: OutskirtsPress.com 2008
Reviewed by Sarah Moore for Writers in the Sky (9/08)
How many people have fascinating life stories, are even encouraged to share their experiences through the written word, but never follow through with the task of compiling a memoir? Author Kenneth Worth is one man who listened when others told him that he had a story worth sharing, and the result is the captivating memoir titled Hard Times and Great Blessings. In this short, but detail-rich, book, Mr. Worth relates a life filled with some moments to which almost any reader will be able to relate and other events that most can only begin to imagine.
Kenneth Worth was made an orphan two days after his eleventh birthday, when his mother killed his father and then took her own life. Worth and his brother were both asleep in the house when this tragic crime occurred and, even though they somehow slept through the sounds of the shots being fired, they were the ones who found their father lying in bed with, as Worth describes it, practically no head remaining. Obviously a tragic scene for two boys to witness, Worth does not spend much time reflecting on this day. The reader is left to wonder why Worth’s mother felt compelled to commit such a violent act. Was there mental illness? Untold abuse? Through the noticeable absence of such details, Worth lets the reader know that he did not allow his life to be consumed by the questions surrounding that day. Like Worth himself did, the reader must move on.
What Mr. Worth does focus on is the importance of relationships in his life. He writes with genuine emotion when sharing the love story that developed between him and his wife, Ruth. As he describes it, the two are joined at the hip and have been since their courtship started when the two were both teenagers. Now married for forty-eight years, the commitment between Kenneth and Ruth that remained through multiple job changes, personal illnesses, and family deaths is a testament to true love and partnership. Beyond his marriage, Worth also expresses his delayed appreciation for the grandparents who raised him following his parents’ death (he admits to a lack of gratefulness at the time), pride at the accomplishments of his two adult daughters, and respect for the in-laws who became surrogate parents and led him to his faith. Although Mr. Worth lost his mother and father at a young age, and in some ways that relationship can never be replaced, he certainly understands that he has a life richly filled with people who love and care for him.
Among the details Mr. Worth shares about his life, I greatly enjoyed the memories that he associates with the cars he has owned over his life. (He shows a particular affection for models developed by Ford.) He fondly remembers the car he was driving when taking his pregnant wife to the hospital, the one that got him to a new city as he searched for a home for his growing family, and several others. I found that the inclusion of these cars, down to the make, model and color, added another way in which readers could relate to Worth’s story. I always smile when I see a Ford Escort that reminds me of my high school boyfriend, remember the crayons that melted in the back of my dad’s 1978 Honda Civic, and cringe when I think about the car I was driving when rear-ended by a drunk driver. Don’t many of us associate cars with events in our life—a uniquely American mindset?
Through his military service in Vietnam with a young bride left at home, administrative civilian positions that took him to many areas of the country, the recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease, and his wife’s own health problems, Kenneth Worth acknowledges the constant strength that his Christian faith has provided. He takes time throughout the book to remind the reader that God is always working in his life, even when the circumstances seemed bleak. Worth focuses on the blessings he has received and encourages his readers to do the same. A man who lost his parents to violent deaths when he was just a child certainly could find reason to go through his days filled with resentment, but instead Kenneth Worth serves as a model of how an optimistic outlook can improve one’s life. What a great lesson for every reader of his book to learn!
Through Hard Times and Great Blessings, first-time author Kenneth Worth shares an amazing life story that inspires and encourages. I certainly hope that Mr. Worth plans on writing more in the future, as he mentions so many events in his life that could each be worthy of its own publication. And, perhaps Kenneth Worth’s decision to share his life story will encourage some of his readers to do the same.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Book Marketing in the Digital Age
The eBook Book Marketing in the Digital Age, Online Promotion Made Easy is now available at OnlinePromotionMadeEasy.com. The author, Yvonne Perry, explains why she wrote the eBook in this video clip.
Book Marketing in the Digital Age, Online Promotion Made Easy has everything an author needs to understand in order to successfully promote a book online. This eBook covers such things as:
The eBook takes the guesswork out of the equation. It is filled with live links and screen shots to show exactly how to do what is being explained. There is a resource page with tons more information about online book marketing.
The things I teach in this book are from the knowledge I have gained from real life experiences in promoting my business and my books online. I know it works because we use these same techniques with our author clientele and they are also getting positive results by simply doing as we instruct.
Book Marketing in the Digital Age, Online Promotion Made Easy has everything an author needs to understand in order to successfully promote a book online. This eBook covers such things as:
- What a Web site must have to compete in today’s online marketplace
- Things needed on a Web site or blog in order to promote and sell a book
- How to create an online author media kit
- Getting traffic to your blog or Web site
- Newsletters as a marketing funnel
- Promoting your book online via virtual book tours, networking, social media web 2.0, tagging and social bookmarking, blogging, and video
- Getting author interviews
- Podcasting and RSS feed/syndication
The eBook takes the guesswork out of the equation. It is filled with live links and screen shots to show exactly how to do what is being explained. There is a resource page with tons more information about online book marketing.The things I teach in this book are from the knowledge I have gained from real life experiences in promoting my business and my books online. I know it works because we use these same techniques with our author clientele and they are also getting positive results by simply doing as we instruct.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Syrian-born author Marc Boyajian Shares Political Solutions
Marc Boyajian will be joining us today on Writers in the Sky Podcast October 17, 2008!
We will take a mid-month break from the theme of the spirits to
interview Marc Boyajian about his book The Next Falling Empire. Mr. Boyajian is a Syrian-born author who was raised in Lebanon and moved to the United States as a young adult. As someone who always held a deep love for this country, even before having the opportunity to live here, Mr. Boyajian shares his thoughts on steps that must be taken to preserve the American way of life.
Click here to listen to Part One ...
Mr. Boyajian provides a road map of policy changes, ranging from issues of health care and education to the Iraq War and our global economy. He discusses each subject in straightforward language with specific solutions. Whether or not you agree with his proposals, you will appreciate the ability of Mr. Boyajian's writing to spark debate. Check out this interview to learn about his prescription for America.
Click here to listen to Part Two ...
For more information about this book, please visit http://outskirtspress.com/thenextfallingempire
***************************************
Listening to Writers in the Sky Podcast on a computer is easy. Just click this link: http://yvonneperry.blogspot.com/ and go to my blog.On the right sidebar there is a list of archived shows. Click on the interview you would like to hear and it will open a post that has a link to the audio file.
Have you thought of hosting your own podcast? It's easy. Learn how at http://nashvillewriter.audioacrobat.com/
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Using Video to Promote Books Online
Click the triangle in the bottom left corner of the box above to see an example of how authors can use video to promote a book online. The video is only 1.5-minutes long.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Book Marketing in the Digital Age Online Promotion Made Easy
Yvonne Perry's new eBook has over 100 links to helpful sites that help authors learn how to promote their books online. There are tons of tips on topics such as creating a media kit, getting traffic to your site, going on a virtual book tour, using social media, networking, and video for book promotion, getting author interviews, and understanding podcasting.
See the full list of contents for Book Marketing in the Digital Age Online Promotion Made Easy and find free marketing tips at www.OnlinePromotionMadeEasy.com
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