Gracious Living on Social Security – Author Interview – Valerie Kent

With today’s economy some of us can barely live on our regular income let alone even thinking about a retirement income or social security. However, Author Valerie Kent found that she must have been doing something right when so many of her friends remarked at how well she lived on a minimum income. Thus, the idea for her retirement memoir/self-help book was born Gracious Living on Social Security (Tree Farm Books).

ABOUT THE BOOKGracious Living is an easy-to-read decade-long journey that offers tips and suggestions on how senior citizens can stretch their dollar and get the most for their money. Eleven chapters cover every important aspect of living together, from the wedding preparations to where to live. Key considerations follow each chapter for quick reference: considerations like where and when to buy clothing, choosing a place to live and juggling your finances. Artist Jeff Nitzberg adds his unique touch with original drawings introducing each chapter.

ABOUT THE AUTHORAt eighty-eight, Valerie Kent is the survivor of a long lifetime spent adjusting to dramatically evolving worlds. She moved from Britain to the United States in 1933. Valerie began at the age of forty-six the drawn-out process of education – seven universities – that would generate, initially, a career as a drug and alcohol counselor for troubled women, then a decade as a celebrated college teacher and – ultimately – a final, exultant marriage. This is her story.

INTERVIEW

Hi, Valerie Kent.

Welcome to Paperback Writer.

Glad to be aboard.

Q: Would you share with us how you came up with the idea for your book?

A: The writer and publisher, Burton Hersh, a good social friend, remarked at how well we lived on a fundamentally minimum income. Out of that came Gracious Living on Social Security.

Q: How did you come up with the title?

A: The title recommended itself. So many people commented on our elegant life style and demanded to know our thousands of secrets that I embarked on Gracious Living.

Q: How did you find an agent and publisher?

A: The whole idea was a recommendation of the writer and publisher, Burton Hersh, who nurtured this project and oversaw the publication within his own enterprise, Tree Farm Books. No agent was involved.

Q: Who reads your work in progress?

A: My husband Rick and Mr. Hersh kept me on track.

Q: Who made a difference in the book’s quality?

A: Imaginative editing and design by Burton Hersh and George Pequignot kept us on course. We were impressed by the brilliant, biting, and hilarious illustrations by Jeff Nitzberg.

Q: How long did it take you to complete the first draft?

A: Perhaps a year.

Q: How long did it take from start to publication?

A: Almost two years.

Q: Do you have any advice for new authors?

A: Writing is hard work and the publication process is sometimes maddening. Sell insurance.

Thank you, Valerie Kent, for stopping by Paperback Writer on your virtual book tour. I wish you continued success through the rest of your tour.

Thanks for giving me a chance to share a few ideas. For more detail about Gracious Living and me, look at the Tree Farm Books website, http://www.treefarmbooks.com.

Valerie Kent’s GRACIOUS LIVING ON SOCIAL SECURITY VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ’09 officially began on July 6 and will end on July 31. You can visit Valerie’s blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of July to find out more about this great book and talented author!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

Understanding Learning Disabilities – Author Interview – Etta Brown

Paperback Writer welcomes Etta K. Brown, author of the nonfiction guide, Understanding Learning Disabilities: Understanding the Problem and Managing the Challenges (Langdon Street Press), as she virtually tours the blogosphere in July on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

About the Author:Etta K. Brown received her undergraduate degree from the Ohio State University with a major in Dental Hygiene Education and the Masters in Education degree from South Carolina State University with a major in Special Education. The Educational Specialist Degree was conferred at Kent State University with studies in School Administration, and a major in School Psychology.

Through her graduate programs, and internships, the author acquired skills with speech and language, visual-motor training, auditory training, and the teaching of reading and handwriting.

During twenty years of professional experience in the public schools in Ohio, Iowa and California she has worked as a special education teacher, a school social worker and as a school psychologist. At no time, in either of those positions did she feel that she was able to apply any of her acquired knowledge to help children to learn.

Those were long, frustrating years watching children being placed in Special education because that was all that the School District had to offer. On the other hand were the frustrated parents who agonized over what to do about their child’s learning problems and the stigma of being placed in Special Education.

About the Book: This work, while written by an academician, is an uncomplicated resource of information addressed to parents who have been introduced to the concept of Special Education for the first time. Overall, this work is a road map of how-to activities which will be of assistance from the beginning to end of the special education process.

Part I is an introduction to the environmental influences since World War II, that are believed to be contributing to the incidence of learning disabilities that is increasing at a rate of 20% every 10 years.

Part II includes a definition and history of special education and its intended role and function in the effort to educate all children. The reader is introduced to the process of determining eligibility for Special Education, and Federal and State Legislation are explored in terms of the parent’s rights in the process.

Part III is an exploration of processing disorders as required for a designation of learning disability. Behaviors exhibited in the classroom, a rationale for the behavior, along with modifications and accommodations for the general education classroom are listed. These interventions are applied to the elementary, middle school, and high school environments as an aid in developing the individualized education plan (IEP).

Hi Etta,

Welcome to Paperback Writer.

Q: Would you share with us how you came up with the idea for your book?

A: People have been saying for years, you should write a book. After retirement I traveled, and was looking around for something else to do. One morning I got up and said I think I will write that book today. While pondering a subject, I decided to write about something that I knew well. What I knew best was learning disabilities. A friend supplied the remainder of the title.

Q: Was it a light bulb moment or something that you thought about for a very long time?

A: I had assessed hundreds of children with learning problems over the years, and had always wanted to become more involved in the remediation of the problem. I was well trained as a child advocate with a background in language, the teaching of reading, and held a degree in special education as well as school psychology.

As a school psychologist I was unable to utilize any of these skills, and remained frustrated over the years watching children being placed in special education without proper support for their problem. Being placed in a self contained program for learning disabled children was a death knell for those children. They were never to return to the general education classroom with a well rounded curriculum. Many became truant in middle school and never returned full time. On the other hand were the parents who were unprepared to understand the process of special education and IEPs. Every parent wants the best for their child, and while I could have helped, I had the wrong job title, and those activities were not included in my job description.

After one year of writing, I thought I had finished the book, and while editing for grammatical errors I realized that I had written all my frustrations and anger about the way in which the schools are failing children, and they are not getting the kind of services they need. Having healed sufficiently to realize that I was doing therapeutic writing, I began to edit out all the anger and frustration.
One day while writing, I suddenly lost control of my fingers, my vision became blurred, and I could no longer form sentences. An immediate trip to my friendly diagnostician resulted in a diagnosis of mercury toxicity, from amalgam fillings, and it was identified as the culprit that caused all my learning problems since high school. This changed my whole approach to the concept of learning disabilities. When I was in school in the early 60s, the causes of learning disabilities were unknown, and they were defined by what they were not because their true nature had not been identified. Now I found a wealth of new research about the causes of learning disabilities and the environmental factors which caused them.

I revised my whole approach to learning disabilities, and finally accepted that children arrive at school with these disabilities. Learning disabilities were not the failure of the school to teach, rather they were due to a lack of stimulation during the critical periods of neurological development during the formative years.
All this research became Part I of the book which identifies the incidence and causes of learning disabilities which is increasing in the population at the rate of 10-20% every 10 years.

The schools were not completely off the hook, because there were many discrepancies between what they were saying and what they were actually doing. The law said one thing, but it was not funded sufficiently for the schools to provide the services that they mandated. This made for some interesting misleading comments to parents and what they were being told about their children, so Part II of the book became a compilation of all the information that parents needed to know about schools, the law and what they needed to know about their rights under the law. Parents are actually empowered with an insider’s view of special education and other things that the schools would rather that outsiders did not know; especially empowered, activist parents demanding what their child needs, and now accepting less because it is the only thing available in their school.

Parents and teachers needed to know how to accommodate the special needs of these children at home and at school, so Part III of the book became a description of the ways in which learning disabilities manifest behaviorally, and techniques and strategies are presented which will be helpful in assisting the child’s learning both at home and in the classroom.

Q: How did you come up with the title?

A: That was a no brainer, learning disabilities were so obvious to me that I could not conceive of calling the book anything else. Now I am beginning to think that a catchier title would have attracted more readers. I think that the contents would be of interest to anyone who likes to read, and a spiffier title would be more attractive.

Q: How did you find an agent and publisher?

A: I found a publisher on the internet. After reading about the publishing industry, I decided that self-publishing fit best with my approach to writing. I stopped querying agents when none showed an interest in representing my work.

Q: Who reads you work in progress?

A: Who made a difference in the book’s quality?

Q: How long did it take you to complete the first draft?

A: One year at the rate that I was writing.

Q: How long did it take from start to publication?

A: As explained above, the book and its contents evolved over a three year period.

Q: Do you have any advice for new authors?

A: Yes, be sure that you don’t have any amalgam fillings slowly seeping a toxic metal into your blood stream and poisoning your nervous system. It is difficult to recall and communicate ideas when you are only functioning on minimum. After that, write something that you are passionate about and the words will flow. Somewhere in all that therapeutic ranting will be a wealth of information from which some other hurt, angry, frustrated person will benefit. Then edit out the useless, keep the ingenious and publish it.

Ms Brown may be reached at http://www.understanding-learning-disabilities.com

Thank you, [author name] for stopping by Paperback Writer on your virtual book tour. I wish you continued success through the rest of you tour.

Etta K. Brown’s UNDERSTANDING LEARNING DISABILITIES VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ’09 officially begin on July 6th and will end on July 31st. You can visit Etta’s blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of July to find out more about this great book and talented author!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

Living Like You Mean It: Use The Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life Your Really Want – Author Interview – Dr. Ronald J. Fredrick

Paperback Writer is pleased to introduce author Dr. Ronald J. Frederick, author of the nonfiction self-help book, Living Like You Mean It: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want (Jossey-Bass (Wiley)), as he virtually tours the blogosphere in June on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

ABOUT THE BOOK
So many of us long to feel more alive, connected, and secure in our lives, particularly now, in these challenging and difficult times. Why is it so hard? Part of the problem, says Dr. Ronald J. Frederick, has to do with a fear of our feelings—a feelings‐phobia—and the consequences of expressing our feelings to others. It’s this fear that keeps us stuck, detached from the wisdom inside us and distanced from the people around us.

And yet positive emotional experiences can actually “rewire” our brain and free us up to experience ourselves and our lives more fully. LIVING LIKE YOU MEAN IT: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want by Ronald J. Frederick, shows how we can overcome our feelings phobia in order to enjoy more satisfying lives.

Drawing on cutting edge science, many years as a psychotherapist and his own personal experiences, Dr. Frederick advocates that we understand and express the broad range of our emotions so that our feelings actually become allies in our search for fulfillment. His proven four-step process for tapping into the hidden power of our emotions includes:

*Recognizing the signs of fears in ourselves, and the defenses we unknowingly use to cut ourselves off from our potential power.
*Understanding how to tame our fear and exercise control.
*Learning how to experience our true emotions and make use of their many resources.
*Developing effective, measured ways to express and share our feelings.

A master story‐teller, Frederick interlaces therapeutic techniques with stories from people who have learned to recognize and deal constructively with the emotions that have kept them from living their best lives. The trick, Dr. Frederick shows, is in being able to navigate and diminish the fear that is so entangled with our feelings, so we can progress in a healthier, less encumbered direction, and get the life we really want.

INTERVIEW

 Hi, Dr. Ron Frederick. Welcome to Paperback Writer.

Q: Would you share with us how you came up with the idea for your book?

A; Living Like You Mean It: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want is a self-help book published by Jossey-Bass, a division of Wiley. Based on cutting-edge science, it shares my proven four-step approach to overcoming fear and becoming more emotionally present in one’s life and relationships.

I was inspired to write Living Like You Mean It by my own life-changing experience. I was in my early thirties, had just finished my doctoral studies, and despite having everything going for me, I hit a wall. I was in relationship I frequently questioned and found myself filled with trepidation and fear about moving forward. I ended up in therapy and discovered, rather surprisingly, that the anxiety I was experiencing at the time had so much to do with being uncomfortable with what I really felt deep down inside. I had become so afraid of my emotions, of listening to and trusting my true feelings, that I couldn’t hear the voice of my deepest self buried somewhere inside me—the voice that knew what I wanted, knew what I longed for, knew what felt right to me and what felt wrong. I might have gone on doubting myself forever had I not gotten the help I needed to recognize what, in fact, I really was afraid of and to learn how to overcome my fears, accept and embrace my emotional self, and really connect with others. The experience changed my life. My anxiety decreased, I stopped doubting myself and felt much more confident and in touch with my personal truth. I found it much easier to be emotionally present and felt closer to the people in my life. Ultimately, I found the courage to listen to and trust my heart and move forward, to leave the relationship I was in, and to realize the kind of relationship and life I had dreamed of having.

When you have an experience like that, when your life is changed in such a dramatic way, you want to spread the good stuff around. The more people I’ve been able to help, and the more I witness the dramatic changes that can take place when we develop the ability to be with and share our feelings, the more I have felt compelled to spread the word. I guess you can say that it’s become a mission for me: to help people to wake up to their feelings and get the lives they really want. I wrote this book to help people do just that.

Q: Was it a light bulb moment or something that you thought about for a very long time?

A: While the material in the book is something I’ve thought about for a long time, the impulse to put it into a self-help book format was a bit of a “light bulb” moment. One of my trainees asked me if there was a book he could recommend to clients to help them deal with their feelings and, after considering that there wasn’t anything that quite addressed the topic in a way that would be useful, something stirred inside me and, I thought: why don’t I write one!

Q:How did you come up with the title?

A: The title was quite a challenge. I went through several before ending up with Living Like You Mean It which, in the end, I adore. I had wracked my brain, consulted friends, family, editorial and marketing professionals. On a last ditch effort to come up with something, I ran a list of all the titles I had considered by a marketing consultant and Living Like You Mean It jumped out at him. I had considered so many titles that, at that point, they’d all become a blur. I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. A fresh pair of eyes did the trick. Living Like You Mean It had actually been suggested by my sister and, in the acknowledgements section of my book, I credit her. She saved the day!

Q: How did you find an agent and publisher?

A: I solicited agent referrals from people I knew who had published books. I also did a lot of research on my own. I found the site: http://www.agentquery.com to be invaluable. I did three rounds of mailings to agents and, ultimately, got offers from two. The agent I chose, Dan Ambrosio at Vigiano Associates in NYC, was recommended to me by a colleague. He helped me tighten up my proposal a bit and then pitched it to several publishing houses.

Q: Who reads your work in progress?

A: Well, along the way, my partner Tim read every word I wrote. I chose to have my editor at Jossey-Bass review each chapter at a time. I preferred working in this way as I wanted and needed the feedback and guidance along the way. It helped to focus me and shape the book as I went.

Q: Who made a difference in the book’s quality?

A: My editor, Sheryl Fullerton, was amazing as well as the other folks at Jossey-Bass. I also got wonderful feedback from a few colleagues, family members, and friends that was invaluable.

Q: How long did it take you to complete the first draft?

A: The first three chapters of the book were part of my book proposal. I worked on my proposal for over two years. After I signed my contract with Jossey-Bass, I had eight months to complete the rest of the book. I got it in just a week or so before my deadline. Whew!

Q: How long did it take from start to publication?

A: Four years from start to finish. From inception to hardcover book sitting on the store shelf.

Q: Do you have any advice for new authors?

A: Getting a book published has so much to do with being tenacious. For me, it was four years from start to finish, with many road blocks along the way. I’m so glad that I persevered despite all the rejection, all the hurdles, all the down times. That I reached out to others for help and that I stuck with it as long as I did. I can hardly believe it sometimes when I’m holding the book in my hands that it’s actually come to fruition. It’s been quite a ride. So, don’t despair. Hang in there and keep at it!
And, to learn more about me and Living Like You Mean It, please visit: http://www.livinglikeyoumeanit.com/index.html

Thank you, Dr. Ron, for stopping by Paperback Writer on your virtual book tour. I wish you continued success through the rest of you tour.

LIVING LIKE YOU MEAN IT VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ’09 officially begin on June 1 and will end on June 26. You can visit Dr. Ron Frederick’s blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of June to find out more about this great book and talented author!

The Pyewiz and The Amazing Mobile Phone – Author Interview – Herbert Howard Jones

Paperback Writer would like to introduce our author for today Herbert Howard Jones, author of The Pyewiz and the Amazing Mobile Phone. Herbert is on his first book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion and as part of his virtual book tour you have a chance to win prizes.

WIN PRIZES As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

ABOUT THE BOOK: Journey to a frozen planet to find a long lost twin an amazing crystal phone with incredible powers and a cunning old pirate wizard who must be stopped.

Schoolboy Terry Mctrain thinks the new tenant in his parent’s guesthouse is strange. Stranger still is the reason why she is here. Then Terry learns about a twin brother he never knew he had, kidnapped by a pirate wizard years ago. Baffled by all this, Terry realizes there’s a mystery to be solved, and a secret to be uncovered. But when he discovers that the fate of the world is also in his hands, he wonders..

Could this turn into the adventure of a lifetime?

Perhaps, but unless Terry and his friend Will travel to the other side of the solar system to solve this puzzle there’s a danger that the world would be destroyed, and his twin brother lost forever.

Hi, Herbert Howard Jones,

Welcome to Paperback Writer

Q: Will you share with us how you came up with the idea for this book?
A: Thank you for asking me. But unfortunately, there was nothing profound about the stimulus for my book, which came quite unexpectedly, early one afternoon, in the form of a workman that I had employed to remove some junk. But it was his manner, the way he held himself, his appearance, his aura, which reeked of the sea and planted the thought of The Pyewiz in my head! He was the very incarnation of a fictitious character yet to be born on paper. He had two help mates with him, Terry and Will, and they too became the young protagonists in my swashbuckling adventure. I also borrowed ideas from Tolkien, but not too blatantly that you would notice. But he did invent the ultimate adventure travelogue, and I used this format in my book. I also wanted to write the book as a kind of cathartic therapy and see what I would come up with.

Q: Do you plan your stories first with an outline or does it come to you as write it?
A: I think that it is essential to have an outline, and then fill in the details as you go along. Once you know what your parameters are, you know when you are out of bounds. I believe that it keeps everything tight and under control.

Q: Do you know the end of the story at the beginning?
A: The end of the book is surely the back story, isn’t it? The book in hand is the sequel to the back story! First you work out the character’s motivations and reasons for their actions, and then you tuck this away somewhere, and start work on your novel, which deliberately leaves out these very elements. Then at the end of the book, you tack on the back story. So you really have to know the end, even before you get to work on the book itself. Well for certain types of fiction, anyway. But if you don’t keep your readers guessing, which is what this method achieves, then you may as well stick to writing letters!

Q: Do you have a process for developing your characters?
A: The J.R Rowling method is the best in my view. She kept note books, and wrote notes about them, what they looked like, what they wore, and what their general preferences were. She built up a character dossier, and got to know her characters so well that she knew how they would behave in any situation. This gave her characters consistency and believability. I use this method myself. But it also helps to draw a little picture or caricature of them too. Then there really is no going back. The character springs to life and there is nothing you can do about it, other than finish the story. Because obviously, it is the characters who are the true authors of your tale.

Q: It is said that authors write themselves into their characters. Is there any part of you in your characters and what they would be?
A: Yep, I’m Terry! I felt closer to this character than any of the others. I could never be the Pyewiz. The guy’s karma would freak me out for one thing!

Q: What is your most favorite part about this book?
A: The Pyewiz conducts mock war games to keep his crew on their toes. Terry and Will find themselves getting enmeshed in this. They manage to commandeer one of the galleons and play loud rock music over the PA system! I thought this might tickle some readers.

Q: When in the process of writing your book did you begin to look for a publisher?
A: At the end of the project, which probably isn’t the wisest thing to do. But I hate the idea of writing story proposals. I don’t think I could cope with the pressure if one of them was taken up.

Q: What struggles have you had on the road to being published?
A: The usual round of rejections, bouts of self doubt, envy of those who are published, tendency to subscribe to conspiracy theories about the industry, formation of sweat beads on forehead when opening agent’s letters, nightmares, inane looping of self-talk; was it the folder? Yes it was the folder; I knew I shouldn’t have used that yellow folder with the Homer Simpson logo on it! Rollercoaster’s have an easier time! Aside from all that, there is a feeling that the industry is oversubscribed, and that it would doing agents a big favour if people stopped writing books for a while. I also don’t think it’s healthy for authors to get too wrapped up in their brainchild. I think you have to distance yourself emotionally from it, and at an appropriate time, let it go! The mental, emotional and physical struggles of an author are truly the struggles of the damned.

Q: What has been the best part about being published?
A: The reaction of people around me. I have been invited to quite a few dinner parties since getting into print. Also, I’d say handling the book for the first time in the knowledge that the British Museum has a policy of keeping a copy in their archives. Well, they used to, and it’s a damn nice thought!

Q: What do you want readers to remember and carry with them after reading your novel?
A: I want them to say to them, ‘I can’t wait for the movie’. No, seriously, I want them to think fondly of The Pyewiz, despite his failings as a human being. And I hope this doesn’t sound big headed, but it is surely ever writers dream to have their characters creep into twenty-first century culture as mini icons of sorts. If not, my book is big enough to be used as a door stop! Either way I can’t loose!

Q: Do you have plans to write another book?
A: Well I’ve set myself a target of writing 500 pages a year, which equates to two books year. At the present time I am writing the sequel to my first book, entitled, The Pyewiz and The Sons of Terrafirma, and I’m tapping out my first occult thriller about an unusual archaeological find which has curious implications for the heroine of the story.

Q: Would you care to share with us how the virtual book tour experience with Pump up Your Book Promotion has been for you?
A: Simply thrilling! It is also a great honour to be on the same promotional pages as Barry Eisler and Jamie Ford! These guys really are the top guns, and so with any luck some of their talent will rub off on me! And by way of a quick infomercial, let me tell all authors out there to immediately down tools and sign up with Dorothy Thompson’s agency right now! Pumpupyourbookpromotion has to be the best value for money PR outfit on the internet. I’m happy because there are already there are over 18,600 listings for the word ‘Pyewiz’ on Yahoo, and it is all down to Dorothy Thompson. I even made the Chicago Times and libreria universitaria! Thank you Dorothy and partners!! Also, it really is fun to be given carte blanche to write anything you like and have it posted on all these sympathetic blogs. I’ve really indulged myself. If Dorothy will have me again, I’ll sign up with her like a shot.

Q: Where can readers find a copy of your book?
A: From Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk also Amazon.com.jp (I do actually have a Japanese character in the story), Barnesandnoble.com, Powells.com. Whsmiths.com, to name but a few.

Q: Do you have a website for readers to go to?
A: Yes indeed, http://www.science-fiction-fanatsy.com and http://www.solarsystemtales.com

Thank you, Herbert Howard Jones for sharing your book and characters with us today. It has been a pleasure and I hope you have had a successful virtual book tour.

Thank you Rebecca for taking such a kind interest in my work.

THE PYEWIZ AND THE AMAZING MOBILE PHONE VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ’09 will officially begin on May 4 and end on June 26. You can visit Howard’s blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in May and June to find out more about this talented author!

Sea Changes – Author Interview – Gail Graham

Paperback Writer is pleased to announce or author for today, Gail Graham, author of Sea Changes. Gail’s virtual book tour is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion. As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

ABOUT THE BOOKWhen Sarah’s husband dies suddenly, she is left with no anchor and no focus.

Grief is an ever-present companion and counseling a weekly chore with minimal results, but when Sarah decides to end her life her suicide attempt takes her to an underwater world where she finds comfort and friendship. Afterwards, back on the beach she wonders – Was it a dream? Was I hallucinating? Or am I going mad?

Her efforts to make sense of the experience lead to Sarah’s becoming a suspect in the alleged kidnapping of a young heiress. Now her worlds are colliding – and the people she trusts are backing away, not believing a word she says. She must decide what is real and what is not. Her life depends on it.

Hi Gail,

Welcome to Paperback Writer

Thanks for inviting me here to talk about Sea Changes.

Q: Will you share with us how you came up with the idea for this book?
A: My husband died suddenly, leaving me a youngish widow. I instantly become socially invisible. Friends vanished. My life was gone, even though I was still alive. I seemed to no longer have an identity. Many widows experience this, but it was not what I expected. (It’s not what any of us expect) Then one night I found myself watching a documentary about people who believed they’d been abducted by aliens. I was intrigued by how ordinary these people seemed. They certainly weren’t publicity-seekers. They were just ordinary people to whom something extraordinary had happened. I wondered how that would feel, to experience something that you know is impossible, to know that it happened and to also know nobody believes you. The anomie of widowhood plus this curiosity to know how “the impossible” might feel provided the seeds of the ideas at the center of Sea Changes.

Q: Do you plan your stories first with an outline or does it come to you as write it?
A: I don’t actually make an outline, but I usually have an idea of where the plot is going. My fiction is always very character-driven, and Sea Changes is no exception. But a good plot is important, too. It keeps your readers turning the pages and wondering what will happen next.

Q: Do you know the end of the story at the beginning?
A: Yes. In fact, the last line of Sea Changes was the first thing I wrote.

Q: Do you have a process for developing your characters? A: My characters grow and develop like children. When they’re born, they are totally dependent upon me for everything. Then they start talking and walking and developing their own, distinct personalities. Sometimes – again like children — they turn out very differently from what I expected. And sometimes, they take the plot in an entirely different direction from what I planned. But that’s okay. In fact, when that happened with Sea Changes, I knew I had a viable, living novel.

Q: It is said that authors write themselves into their characters. Is there any part of you in your characters and what they would be?
A: Certainly, there is a lot of me in Sarah Andrews, the protagonist of Sea Changes. Like Sarah, I am a widow. Also like Sarah, I lived in Australia for many years, and felt very much of an outsider. But I think Sarah Andrews is also a stronger, better, braver version of me – I think she’s perhaps the person I would like to be rather than the person I am. As for the other characters – they’re figments of my imagination, and to the extent that it is my imagination that creates them, they are part of me, part of my psyche. The creative process is basically a process of dissembling and reassembling elements of the author’s experience and psyche. That’s what I love about writing. Authors get to create whole worlds out of nothing other than what’s in their head.

Q: What is your most favorite part about this book?
A: The magical realism. These are the parts of Sea Changes where exciting and transformative things happen, because these are the moments when anything is possible.

Q: When in the process of writing your book did you begin to look for a publisher?
A: Not until I’d finished it. But you can’t just look for a publisher, these days. First, you’ve got to find an agent, because most mainstream publishers won’t look at an unagented manuscript. It’s the agent – rather than the author – who goes looking for a publisher

Q: What struggles have you had on the road to being published?
A: I was fortunate enough to find an agent. But the process is time-consuming, frustrating and generally awful. And the sheer rudeness of many of these people is appalling. They say that they’re busy, but that’s what running a business is about – being busy. I mean, how long does it take to hit the Reply button? I also have a big problem with the idea that agents have to “be in love” with a book before they take it on. It just sounds totally phony. So the biggest struggle was the agent thing. I have promised myself that I will never go through that again.

Q: What has been the best part about being published?
A: The best part of being published is having people (mostly reviewers at this stage) reading Sea Changes and totally “getting” it – that is just so great! I tried very hard to do something, and from the comments so far, I succeeded. That’s a wonderful feeling. Having Sea Changes out there and knowing that even as I sit here answering your questions people are reading it is the most fabulous feeling in the world.

Q: What do you want readers to remember and carry with them after reading your novel?
A: I want them to believe – as I do — that anything is possible.

Q: Do you have plans to write another book?
A: I’m currently working on another novel, set in 7th century Tang China. Also, I’m writing a book of non-fiction about what it’s like to come back to the United States after having lived in Australia for 32 years.

Q: Where can readers find a copy of your book?
A: Sea Changes is available through Amazon and in book stores.

Q: Do you have a website for readers to go to?
A: My website is at http://www.gailgraham.net

Thank you, Gail for sharing your book and characters with us today. It has been a pleasure and I hope you have had a successful virtual book tour.

The SEA CHANGES VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ’09 will officially begin on June 1 and end on June 26. You can visit Gail’s blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of June to find out more about this great book and talented author!

How To Win A Pitch – Author Interview – Joey Asher

Paperback Writer is please to announce our author for today, Joey Asher, author of How to Win A Pitch.

 ABOUT THE BOOK

How to Win a Pitch will help you learn how to: Develop presentations that win contracts. Create connections to secure business relationships. Identify, discuss and fulfill client needs effectively. Veteran business coach Joey Asher has helped his clients win over five billion dollars in new business contracts. He uses his former experience as an attorney and journalist to help readers and clients rise above their competition. He has authored two previous books, Selling & Communication Skills for Lawyers and Even a Geek Can Speak: Low-Tech Presentation Skills For High-Tech People.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JOEY ASHER  is one of the country’s preeminent experts on selling skills and communication.  As President of Speechworks, an Atlanta-based communication and selling skills coaching firm that has been helping business people deliver presentations that win business for over 20 years, Asher combines his skills as an attorney and journalist to help sellers communicate a clear, simple message that connects with prospects and wins business.

 

 

 

Hi Joey.

 

Welcome to Paperback Writer.

 

Q: Would you share with us how you came up with the idea for your book? 

 

A: “How can we distinguish ourselves from the competition when what we are offering is so similar?”

 

Q: That’s the most common question my clients ask as they prepare sales presentations. My new book answers that question.

 

A: The book is “How to Win a Pitch: The Five Fundamentals that Will Distinguish You from the Competition.”  It details how to create and deliver presentations that win business.  It’s aimed at sales people. But it’s also a great book about how to persuade listeners.

 

As president of Speechworks, an Atlanta-based, nationally-known communication skills coaching firm, my colleagues and I have helped clients create and deliver presentations that have won billions of dollars in new business. We work with all industries including construction, architecture, engineering, high tech, financial services, manufacturing, real estate, accounting, law and others.

 

We have learned that the key to a great pitch is executing five fundamentals.

 

• Making the presentation solution-oriented
• Keeping it simple
• Delivering with passion
• Interacting with the prospect during the presentation
• Appearing well-rehearsed.

 

The book teaches how to execute those fundamentals. It includes recipes for success as well as success stories taken from my experiences working with clients.  The book covers everything you need to succeed including how to:

 

• Create a simple, persuasive presentation.
• Rig the pitch in your favor.
• Develop a presentation style that connects and builds relationships.
• Get lots of questions.
• Rehearse.
• Overcome stage-fright.

 

 

Q: Was it a light bulb moment or something that you thought about for a very long time?

 

A: We are a communication skills coaching firm that works with sales people in helping them learn how to create and deliver great presentations.  So I always thought it would be a good idea to do a book focusing on helping sales people. I sat down to write it when I felt I had enough ideas for sales people to really help them.

 

Q: How did you come up with the title?

 

A: The title is a simple description of what you will get from the book.

 

Q: How did you find an agent and publisher?

 

A: I’ve never had an agent. I’ve always approached publishers directly with my ideas.

 

Q: Who reads your work in progress?

 

A: No one.  I finish it and send it to the editor.

 

Q: Who made a difference in the book’s quality?

 

A: In this most recent book, Amy MacGregor, who managed the publishing and editing of the book, did a nice job of suggesting ways to make the book more user friendly.

 

Q: How long did it take you to complete the first draft?

 

A: All three of my books have taken me six months to write.

 

Q: How long did it take from start to publication?

 

A: About 18 months.

 

Q: Do you have any advice for new authors?

 

A: When I’m writing a book, I write two pages every day. If I’ve done my two pages, I stop even if I’m in the middle of a sentence. That allows me to get a running start the next day. If you do that every day, you’ll have a book in about six months.

 

Thank you, Joey for stopping by Paperback Writer on your virtual book tour. I wish you continued success through the rest of you tour.

 

The HOW TO WIN A PITCH VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ’09 officially begin on June 1 and will end on June 26. You can visit Joey’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of June to find out more about this great book and talented author!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

The New IQ: How Integrity Intelligence Serves You, Your Relationships and Our World, – Author Interview – David Gruder, Ph.D., DCEP

Paperback Writer is pleased to announce our author for today, David Gruder, author of The New IQ: How Integrity Intelligence Serves You, Your Relationships and our World. David’s virtual book tour is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

David Gruder, PhD, DCEP, is perhaps the world’s only clinical-organizational psychologist specializing in integrity development. Known as “The Integritizer,” he is the leader in transpartisan nondenominational strategies for solving the massive integrity deficits that have caused today’s vast social, economic, and political challenges. Dr. Gruder founded the “Integritize America Campaign,” an integrity stimulus plan for renewing personal, relationship and societal integrity so we can finally co-create sustainable solutions to today’s most challenging issues. His latest book, “THE NEW IQ: How Integrity Intelligence Serves You, Your Relationships and our World,” is the world’s first step-by-step guide to attaining personal, relationship, and career fulfillment during difficult times without sacrificing ethics and integrity. It has won five book awards in the areas of “social change,” (book of the year), “current events in politics and society” (honorable mention), “health & wellness” (book of the year), “self-help” (bronze medal) and “metapsychology” (book of the year). A professional speaker and trainer for almost three decades, Dr. Gruder speaks, trains, consults worldwide on how to “Integritize” citizens, government, communities, businesses, health care, education, religion, journalism, advocacy groups, and leadership. His clients have ranged from family-owned businesses to American Express work teams, from the Sanoviv Medical Institute to the San Diego Office of Education Management Academy, and from local politicians and executives to World Trade Organization ambassadors. His main website is http://www.TheNewIQ.com

ABOUT THE BOOK:
From the White House, to the board room, to the privacy of our own bedrooms, and virtually everywhere in between, integrity deficits are destroying our personal lives, our businesses, our economy, our healthcare, our society, and our planet.
Creating sustainable integrity-centered solutions to today’s vast array of major challenges requires us, as individuals and as a society, to take a fresh look at what creates life fulfillment. It requires us as citizens to develop a new integrity-centered vision of what we need to require from our leaders in government, business, advocacy groups, community organizations and the media.
The New IQ is the world’s first road-tested guide to integrity-centered living, working, loving, and serving. Hailed as a “once-in-a-generation book,” it provides the first step-by-step road map for restoring the vanishing virtue of integrity… for the sake of our loved ones, our communities, our businesses, our society, and our own personal wellbeing.
Going far beyond being a self-help book, this critically acclaimed five-award-winning action plan offers a socially responsible way to attain personal, relationship, and career fulfillment during difficult times, without sacrificing ethics and integrity. Here at last is your complete guide to “personal development that serves us all.”

INTERVIEW:

Paperback Writer
http://www.rebecca2007.wordpress.com

Interview Questions For Non-Fiction Authors

Hi Dr. Gruder.

Welcome to Paperback Writer.

Would you share with us how you came up with the idea for your book?

It’s no secret that we are suffering today from the devastating effects of massive integrity deficits at all levels of society. What is largely a secret, however, is the widely embraced faulty life fulfillment formula that is responsible for these integrity deficits. I wanted to write a book that exposed this faulty formula and that provided a practical nonpartisan interfaith road map for replacing it with a sustainable formula for individual life fulfillment and societal repair. My idea was therefore to write a book offering answers to what I believe are the five biggest questions of our time: 1) Why have we allowed severe integrity deficits to damage virtually all parts of our society? 2) How did so many of us adopt the insane belief that life fulfillment, wealth accumulation and a comfortable lifestyle require sacrificing integrity, people and social responsibility? 3) What do the few who succeed without making these sacrifices do to create happy fulfilling integrity-centered lives? 4) How can the rest of us easily learn to do on purpose what these rare folks do intuitively? 5) What profound improvements will we see in the world as more and more of us shift toward integrity-centered living, loving, working and serving?

Was it a light bulb moment or something that you thought about for a very long time?

It was a combination of both. The first light bulb leading to The New IQ went off forty years ago, but it took me decades to fully decipher the lessons I learned from the experience. When I was fifteen my parents naively sent me to the infamous Woodstock music festival because the summer camp for the performing arts I attended had offered it as an optional field trip. Woodstock surprisingly opened my eyes to some of the key integrity ingredients I describe in The New IQ. The second light bulb was the profound ways in which I was impacted because of being in the New York area during and immediately following the 9/11 attacks. That experience moved me so deeply that I committed the remainder of my career to helping to restore integrity in our society and around the world. The third light bulb was my own twin towers falling six months after that, when my first wife ended a marriage that I would have sworn on a stack of bibles was a marriage for life. It woke me up to hidden aspects of self-integrity and relationship integrity that I had never before understood to be crucial integrity dimensions. I write in The New IQ about all of these stories and the lessons about integrity that they taught me.

How did you come up with the title?

Many people know that there is more to intelligence than their Intelligence Quotient (IQ). There is emotional intelligence, relationship intelligence, leadership intelligence, etc. But, of the many forms of intelligence we have (or need to upgrade), it seems to me that the most central one of all is the one in which we are collectively most lacking: Integrity Intelligence. As a clinical and organizational psychologist, I am convinced that this form of intelligence is the foundational ingredient necessary for co-creating sustainable solutions to the multitude of significant problems we face today. Hence, my book title, “The New IQ: How Integrity Intelligence Serves You, Your Relationships and Our World.”

How did you find an agent and publisher?

I did not use an agent for The New IQ. I was deeply blessed that my publisher found me.

Who reads your work in progress?

My wife Laurie (who spots where I’m unnecessarily complicated and where my heart or passion aren’t shining through), my now-84-year-old mother (a published poet and incredible proofreader), some of the men in a support group I attend (they give me valuable insights about how my material will be received by average readers), a number of professional and writing colleagues (they point out my inaccuracies, blind spots and technical writing weaknesses), and of course my publisher and editor.

Who made a difference in the book’s quality?

All of the people I listed above plus everyone else I mentioned on my acknowledgments page in The New IQ.

How long did it take you to complete the first draft?

About a year.

How long did it take from start to publication?

About 1¾ years.

Do you have any advice for new authors?

Here is what I share with the helping professionals and leaders I mentor who are thinking about writing a non-fiction book. Truth told, this is the advice I wish I had been given and mentored with when I wrote my first book. Build your platform for selling your book before you finish the book. Non-fiction books are rarely ends in themselves. Before you write your book get clear about the upscale backend you want your book to generate interest in. While you write your book develop that backend so it’s ready when your book is published, including effective strategies to convert book buyers into upscale customers. Consciously write your book so that it serves your back-end. Write at the intersection of what you are truly passionate about and what your target readers most want (your target readers are those who are most likely to want to buy your back-ends). Write your book in a marketing-friendly way, rather than writing it for the sake of the content only. Allow your passion to shine through on every page. Understand each step in the book creation, production and marketing process, from soup to nuts. Invest in experts who specialize in the parts of the process you don’t have the expertise, passion, objectivity or time to do yourself. Make peace with the fact that writing a book is about 15% of the book process – and get good with the rest, which is about securing a publisher, pre-production, printing, distribution, marketing, and maximizing your back-end sales. In particular, get really, really good at and passionate about effective book marketing – don’t expect a publisher to rescue you from this responsibility. Learn to love the entire process, no matter how much of it you decide to outsource, or don’t bother writing a book. And once you start marketing your book, be prepared to persist, persist, persist, and improve, improve, improve.

Thank you, David, for stopping by Paperback Writer on your virtual book tour. I wish you continued success through the rest of your tour.

The Tablet of My Heart -Author Interview – Elizabeth Walker

Paperback Writer is pleased to announce our guest author for today, author Elizabeth Walker, author of the memoir, The Tablet of My Heart, (Xulon Press). Elizabeth is on virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion. Find out how she found and agent for her book and how long it took to complete the first draft.

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The world turns upside down for a young girl when her father begins a fatal battle with the merciless affliction cancer. Before his illness finishes its devastating rampage through her adolescence, she is confronted by a new demon. She falls victim by the hands of a trusted adult, to sexual abuse. The devastation of these events causes her to question God’s roll in her life, and whether He ever loved her at all. The Tablet of My Heart is a collection of Poetry from the journal of that young girl. It is narrated by the author of the journal herself, who paints a portrait of words illustrating her emotional journey from hopelessness to healing. It is dedicated to victims of abuse; to bring to them the realization of hope that there is a light at the end of the silence.

 

 

Hi Elizabeth

 

Welcome to Paperback Writer.

 

Would you share with us how you came up with the idea for your book? 

 

Love to. I had always planned to publish, just not my own story. When my son’s and I were suddenly shaken and left in the wake of my husband’s (their father’s) secret cocaine addiction, I was longing to help them find healing and well, closure to this incredibly difficult chapter in their lives. In our lives, I decided at first just to share my childhood story with them, so that they could see where I came from, see that I healed. I hoped they could find strength and inspiration in what I shared with them. It turned slowly from sharing my diary with them, into creating a manuscript from that diary. Before I knew it I was planning to publish, and offer a portion of the proceeds to a foundation that helps abused children, in order to show my own boys that helping others heal would help us heal as well.

 

Was it a light bulb moment or something that you thought about for a very long time?

 

It came about slowly. As I said before, I had never planned to publish my own story. It just took on a life of its own, and I decided to see where it would take us. I have seen many miracles happen at the root of this project and I expect to see many, many more.

 

How did you come up with the title?

 

I decided to call it the Tablet of My Heart because, that is exactly how it began. The story is based entirely on the diary that I kept as a child. I took the poems that I wrote as a young girl, inspired by the death of my father, the sexual abuse that occurred repeatedly at the hands of my step father, my mother’s decision to essentially abandon me in order to maintain a relationship with him, and I narrated each moment so that it reads like a story rather than a journal, but the poetry really punctuates the explanations of the journal entries.

 

How did you find an agent and publisher?

 

I didn’t. I self published. By the time I had decided to publish this story, I already had a very specific purpose in mind for it. I wanted to use it to make an illustration of healing for my own hurting children, by leading them to help other hurting children. That wouldn’t have worked out if I waited for an agent or a publisher to read my manuscript, think about it, deny or accept it and so on and so forth. I had no idea how long that process was going to take me since it is often a process of chance, but I did know how long it would take if I put the process in motion myself. I had left life up to chance far too many times prior to make that silly mistake again. I needed this story in the hands of the public, and the money that it generated in the hands of the people at childhelp USA – aiding in the treatment and prevention of child abuse.

 

Who reads you work in progress?  

 

Only one, very close friend, and an editor who took care of all of the spelling and punctuation mistakes for me. I didn’t share it at all until it was nearly complete. Of course, my sons knew the story and the purpose – but had not read the manuscript.

 

Who made a difference in the book’s quality?

 

The editor was quite helpful! I can write all day long, but punctuation is not my strong point. I want to get to the core of the story – often I leave a lot of punctuation out in the process, or put a little too much in :0)

( I absolutely love comma’s – It’s like I just can’t find enough uses for them)  

 

How long did it take you to complete the first draft?

 

The first draft (of course) was the longest. It took me about 9 months from the birth of the idea to a manuscript that was ready for editing and polishing.

 

How long did it take from start to publication?

 

I spent about a full year on it, to complete it, have it edited, polish it and have it ready for publication. It took only about 8 weeks from that point to have it in print.

 

Do you have any advice for new authors?

 

If it’s in your heart that it needs to be read, don’t let one single thing get in your way of putting it in front of the eyes and ears that need to receive it. Go full force, whichever route you choose, and no matter what remember; there will always be someone that doesn’t like it. Unless their opinion comes in the form of useful advice, don’t take that person too seriously.

 

Thank you, Elizabeth for stopping by Paperback Writer on your virtual book tour. I wish you continued success through the rest of your tour.  

 

I’m so glad you had me! Thank you.

 

 

THE TABLET OF MY HEART VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ’09 will officially begin on May 4 and end on May 29. You can visit Elizabeth’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in May to find out more about this talented author!

 

Keys to Living Joyfully – Author Interview – Sheri Kaye Hoff

Paperback Writer welcomes author Sheri Kaye Hoff, author of the inspirational non-fiction book, Keys to Living Joyfully (Createspace, Aug. ’08), as she virtually tours the blogosphere in March on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sheri Kaye Hoff resides in Parker, CO with her husband and three children. She is a Life Coach and owner of the Sheri K Hoff International Coaching Company. She teaches college classes as an adjunct faculty member and has earned her Master of Arts in Organizational Management. Her new book, Keys to Living Joyfully offers ways of living a meaningful, successful and joy filled life.
Ms. Hoff is a personal and executive life coach. Spirituality is a vital part of her life’s work. Prayer and meditation are integral pieces of her daily ritual, which enables her to pursue her life’s passions and live a truly joyful life.
Her words on faith are derived from her own Christian walk and spiritual self-discoveries. Her action steps mix faith and years of leadership training, mentoring, and management. Sheri Kaye Hoff suffered the tragic death of her younger brother when she was a teenager and struggled for years to rediscover the capacity to feel joy and to enjoy her successes. She has a heart felt desire to pass on her knowledge and discoveries that have led to a truly transformational life. Ms. Hoff publishes a free weekly inspiration newsletter, Coach Sheri’s Weekly Inspiration Tips. The Sheri K Hoff International Coaching Company also offers:

* Teleclasses.
* Webinars
* In person small and large group Coaching
* Corporate Training
* Keynote speaking
* Seminars
* Individual Career and Life Coaching (For a limited time- receive a free introductory one hour life coaching session)
You can visit her website at http://www.lifeisjoyful.org.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Keys to Living Joyfully is an inspirational book on experiencing joy, peace, passion, and energy in daily life. It is designed to demonstrate the powerful roles of thoughts, action, and faith. The book is a merging of Sheri Kaye Hoff’s spiritual life and lifelong interests in leadership and motivation. The ideas presented in the book are techniques and processes that have worked for the author and clients. Foreword is written by Michele Caron, creator of MyLIfeCoach.com
The book, Keys to Living Joyfully, was born out of a heartfelt desire to share the keys that lead to living a transformational life. Ms. Hoff is a personal and executive coach working with individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Her words on faith are derived from her own Christian walk and spiritual self-discoveries. Her action steps are a mix of faith, love, leadership skills, and management experience. Chapters include topics such as: Is your heart thinking right and how to tap into intrinsic motivation. This book, Keys to Living Joyfully, offers the techniques and insights that move people towards more peace, joy, energy, and passion in everyday life.

INTERVIEW:

Hi Sheri,

Welcome to Paperback Writer.

Thank you. I am happy to be here.

Would you share with us how you came up with the idea for your book?

I lost my brother when we were teenagers. For years after my brother’s death, I felt numb and thought I did not deserve to be truly happy ever again. I read hundreds of books on leadership and motivation. When I went deeper into my spiritual life, I experienced a way to merge my personal leadership skills and my spirituality. My life clicked into place. I became truly happy, and I felt so free. I wanted to share my keys with others. I hoped that people would be inspired to tap their sources of joy. This desire eventually became my book idea, though it took me awhile to recognize that it was a book idea.

Was it a light bulb moment or something that you thought about for a very long time?

The topic of living joyfully is something that I thought about for a long time and I always knew that I would write a book someday. In the spring of 2008, I lessened my workload to devote time to work on a book idea. I thought I would write a fiction novel and had a few ideas. Every time I thought about it, though, I felt blocked. I went to bed one night thinking about different book ideas and I woke up in the middle of the night realizing that I needed to write an inspirational book and I knew what my approach would be. I would mix my personal quest in finding more joy with sound personal leadership techniques. I knew I wanted to write in a way where readers felt like I was talking directly to them in a personal way, kind of like the way that I talk with my coaching clients or friends. The true inspiration did seem to be a light bulb moment.

How did you come up with the title?

Again, this seems to be a similar pattern for me, I had fallen asleep at night thinking and praying about several different ideas. My primary thought was to call it Life is Joyful, which is my website name (www.lifeisjoyful.org). When I woke up the next morning, I knew it should be Keys to Living Joyfully. Then, I googled the name and searched on Amazon to make sure that no other book had exactly that same title. I could not find any matches, so I kept it and it never changed after that.

How did you find an agent and publisher?

I journaled and prayed about how I should have my book published. I researched several different methods. I bought Dan Poynter’s Self Publishing Manual. I decided that I wanted to have my book available fast, so I chose self-publishing and then researched print on demand options. I decided to go with createspace.com. They are a subsidiary of Amazon. I ordered a proof copy and was impressed with quality. Overall, I have been very happy with createspace.

Who reads your work in progress?

I have a few trusted people. Michele Caron, owner of mylifecoach.com is one of the people that I trust to read works in progress. I also have some friends who are highly regarded professionals. I trust them to give me their honest opinions.

Who made a difference in the book’s quality?

I have a friend who is the head of the visual media program at a college and she gave me great book cover advice and referred me to a superb graphic designer. I also had toyed with idea of putting my picture on the cover, since I have seen so many people do this. My friend’s advice to me was to not do it, unless I was Oprah. I laughed at that advice, but decided not to put my picture on the cover. I have nothing against people who do have their pictures on the cover; it just seemed to be the right choice for the message in my book. For future books, I may change my mind. I also had my friend look over my template for the book’s interior to make sure that it was professional quality. Before I designed the interior of the book, I studied many different book interiors for things that I liked and did not like. Once she gave her nod of approval, I knew that I had a high quality piece. My friend gave me all of this help at no cost. The graphic designer who designed the book cover cost about $700. It was well worth the money. I wanted a book cover that was as high quality as my message, and I wanted to be very proud of it.

How long did it take you to complete the first draft?

The first draft took about three weeks. Then, I edited it for content for another two and one half weeks. When I was getting ready to publish, I edited carefully for typos and other errors. Still, though when I ordered my first proof copy, I found many errors. It is quite different to be looking at something in your hand than it is to be looking at it on a computer screen. I spent hours and made the appropriate changes. My second proof copy was the final that ended up being published.

How long did it take from start to publication?

My book, Keys to Living Joyfully, from start to publication, took five and half months.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I say go for it. Write about something you love and something that inspires you. Do it because you love to do it, not because you think you should do it. If you have a great story or message, the world needs to read it. You are giving the world a great gift. Along the way, mastermind with a few really good people to make sure you don’t develop tunnel vision and miss something important. Enjoy the process.

Thank you, Sheri, for stopping by Paperback Writer on your virtual book tour. I wish you continued success through the rest of your tour.

KEYS TO LIVING JOYFULLY VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ’09 officially begin on March 2 and end on April 29. You can visit Sheri’s blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in April to find out more about this talented author!

On My Own Now: Straight Talk from Proverbs – Author Interview – Donna Lee Schillinger

Paperback Writer welcomes our author for today, Donna Lee Schillinger, author of the nonfiction Christian Living book, On My Own Now: Straight Talk from the Proverbs for Young Christian Women who Want to Remain Pure, Debt-free and Regret-free (Quilldriver, April 2009). Donna comes to us from Pump Up Your Book Promotion on her first virtual book tour.

ABOUT THE BOOK: Freedom! Finally, life on my own!”

Excited about making your mark on the world, living life on your own terms and eating ice cream for dinner if you want? Being on your own is so great, but when the decisions get a little more difficult than “Do I wash a black-and-white striped shirt with whites or colors?”, this little book will be invaluable.

On My Own Now shows you how to apply biblical wisdom of the ages to choosing everything from friends to underwear; exercising and exorcising (ooh, creepy); juggling commitments and balancing bills; taking mom and dad for all they’re worth (er, uh, we mean like taking their advice and stuff); and waiting, dating and maybe someday mating.

On My Own Now is about strengthening young women’s faith and preventing the screw-ups that can brand us for life. Donna Lee Schillinger draws on her eclectic past as a rebellious youth, Peace Corps volunteer, social worker, single mother, court mediator and executive director of a home for single young mothers.

She uses gender-reversed Proverbs with real-life applications to wave the red flag of caution for young women, warning against the pitfalls of a post-modern, sexually casual, consumer-is-king society that is indelibly scarring youth with cynicism, sexually transmitted diseases and bad credit.

This compact collection of quirky vignettes is great for daily devotions, affirmations, confessions, benedictions and many other religious “tions,” all with the goal of keeping you on the yellow brick road. After all, you’re not in Kansas anymore – you’re on your own now (unless you live in Kansas, then you would still be in Kansas

INTERVIEW:

Hi Donna Schillinger,
Welcome to Paperback Writer.

Would you share with us how you came up with the idea for your book?
I was 40 (just a few years ago) and I was reading Proverbs. When I was a teenager, I used to read Proverbs religiously (no pun intended). I latched on to some key verses, but to be honest, I didn’t really believe that most of the Proverbs applied to me and my life.

In retrospect, when I realized how much my errant youth could have benefited from some straight talk from the Proverbs, the first thing that occurred to me was that I needed to find a way to convey the importance of the Proverbs for a regret-free life to my own daughter, who at the time was 10. The idea grew from a sort of Proverbs scrapbook from mother to daughter in to On My Own Now, the book and the organization.

Was it a light bulb moment or something that you thought about for a very long time? It was a light bulb moment for the original idea, but then it became a book idea over a period of months.

How did you come up with the title?
Very anticlimactic answer: I don’t remember!

How did you find an agent and publisher?
I didn’t even look for one. I already had a small publishing company (I have two other titles by another author), so it just made sense to me to publish the book myself. Authors have to do so much promotion, especially when they’re first-time unknown authors, that in my case, what a publisher could really do for me, the editing, proofing, typesetting, distribution, just didn’t seem like much compared to what I would have to do for myself in terms of marketing to make the title a success. I also like the idea of control over the project and keeping the profits.

Who reads your work in progress?
Whoever volunteers. I’m not terribly secretive about my work, but I don’t go out seeking reviewers either. If someone volunteers to read the book, I love to have their perspective.

Who made a difference in the book’s quality?
My sister gave me some great feedback from the perspective of Christian women who might read the book and feel like, “It’s too late for me – I’ve already screwed up too much.” And Donna Partow, a Christian author, told me candidly that my cover looked home-grown. Yet, I kept hearing the same thing from all the young people I showed it to – I like it! I didn’t give up on the cover concept, but it caused the designer and me to take a hard look at how we could improve it. I came to terms with the front not appealing to 40 somethings and instead, we reworked the back cover so that it would appeal to Mom or Grandma who picks up the book as a possible gift for her special young woman.

How long did it take you to complete the first draft?
I worked on the manuscript five mornings a week, for an hour or two at a time for a period of about 18 months.

How long did it take from start to publication?
It took about another 18 months to reach the publication date – April Fool’s Day, 2009. Doing it through my own company, one would think I could have sped up that preparation time, but reality looked a little something like this: bread and butter job has a looming deadline, baby has a dirty diaper and wants attention, husband has homework to do for his master’s degree, daughter has a soccer game today, etc.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t wait on your publisher to make the splash. If you have a contract, start now to promote your book by setting up a Web site or blogging – even if your publisher says they are going to do that for you. Use social networking. Lastly, get over the pain of having to self-promote. You didn’t write this book to have it die in obscurity. Whether or not it does, it’s up to you, not the publisher.

Thank you, Donna, for stopping by Paperback Writer on your virtual book tour. I wish you continued success through the rest of your tour.

ON MY OWN NOW VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ’09 officially begin on April 1 and end on April 30. You can visit Donna’s blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in March to find out more about this great book and talented author!