Category

Non Fiction

Fiction, Non Fiction, Writers on Writing

OCT 15: Joseph Olshan’s Black Diamond Fall & James Swallow’s Nomad

In a constantly changing publishing world, two writers and authors have managed to sustain thriving careers.  Today, we’ll find out how they stay ahead of the game.

First, Joseph Olshan returns to discuss how he drove the publishing path for his tenth book, Black Diamond Fall, without an agent, and whether or not it is a direction he would continue to go in.  Joseph is an award-winning author of 10 novels and is the editorial director of Delphinium Books.  He will be appearing at University Bookstore in Seattle on October 18 at 6pm.

Later, from videogames, to audio dramas, to science fiction, to the first in a new thriller series with his new book Nomad, there is virtually no writing genre too big for James Swallow.  Today he’ll share how he approaches writing a game differently than, say, a novel.  James is a British author and scriptwriter. A BAFTA nominee, Scribe Award winner, New York Times, Sunday  Times and Amazon bestseller, he is the author of over 45 original books and tie-in novels, along with numerous short stories, audio dramas and videogames.

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Health & Wellness, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Self-help, Social Issues, Women's Issues

OCT 08: Linda Graham’s Resilience & Alexia Vernon’s Step Into Your Moxie

Do you stoically remain calm and together during a traumatic event?  Or are you more likely to fall apart?  Resilience: Powerful Practices for Bouncing Back from Disappointment, Difficulty, and even Disaster by Linda Graham, MFT, examines our brain’s built-in negativity bias, offering ways to improve your ability to withstand hardships and create positive change.

Linda is an experienced psychotherapist who integrates modern neuroscience, mindfulness practices, and relational psychology in her international trainings on resilience and well-being.  She is a past winner of the Books for a Better Life Award.

Recent headlines have proven that women still have a long way to go to overcome patriarchal prejudices. Forget payscale for a moment, and other more obvious gender inequalities. We’re talking about being taken seriously as a valued human being. We’re talking about being heard when we say NO. When we file complaints about abuse or harassment. When we claim the right to express our feelings.

If you have trouble speaking up for yourself, join us and Step Into Your Moxie.

Alexia Vernonbranded “Moxie Maven” by President Obama’s White House Office of Public Engagement, is a leadership coach for Fortune 500 companies and the United Nations. With a  graduate degree in women’s studies, she’s been featured on major networks and in publications such as Forbes Woman and Women’s Health.

 

 

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Humor, Non Fiction, Personal Development

SEP 03: Ken Jennings’ Planet Funny & Allen Gannett’s The Creative Curve

From Jeopardy! champion and  New York Times bestselling author Ken Jennings comes a history of humor.  From fart jokes on clay Sumerian tablets all the way up to the latest Twitter gags and Facebook memes, Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture tells the story of how comedy came to rule the modern world.

Since his record-breaking Jeopardy! streak, Ken has become a best-selling author and has appeared in numerous ads.  He is a frequent speaker at college campuses and corporate events.

Later, it helps to be creative to be considered a genius, but you don’t have to be a genius to be creative.  In The Creative Curve: How to Develop the Right Idea, at the Right Time, author Allen Gannett disproves the notion that creativity is limited to the brilliant few who possess a certain gift, showing how anyone is capable of turning their genius idea into reality.

Allen is the founder and CEO of TrackMaven, a software analytics firm whose clients have included Microsoft, Marriott, Saks Fifth Avenue, Home Depot, Aetna, Honda, and GE.  He has been on the “30 Under 30” lists for both Inc. and Forbes.

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Health & Wellness, Lifestyle, Non Fiction

AUG 13: Michael Fenster’s Food Shaman, Sindy Warren’s Radi8, & Julia Turshen’s Now and Again

If you’ve ever claimed to have a gut feeling, you might have been more accurate than you think.  In Food Shaman: The Art of Quantum Food, author Dr. Michael Fenster shares everything you need to know about the connection between your gut and your brain.

Dr. Mike, AKA the Food Shaman, combines his culinary talents with cutting-edge medical expertise to forge an approach to food and health beyond mere nutrition.

Next, John Lennon sang that we all shine on, but sometimes it might be hard to find that inner shine.  That is where yoga teacher Sindy Warren comes in.  She will help you focus from within using the techniques in her new book Radi8: Using the Practice of Yoga to Cultivate Your Inner Shine.

As principal for Warren & Associates, Sindy conducts workplace investigations, and uses the ancient art of yoga to ward off the stresses of her daily grind.

Finally, bestselling author and food writer Julia Turshen shows you how you can use food to bring people together with seasonal recipes, and she removes the stigma of using leftovers in Now and Again.

In addition to her own bestsellers, Julia has coauthored numerous cookbooks and hosted the first two seasons of Radio Cherry Bombe.

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Humor, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Women's Issues, Writers on Writing

AUG 06: Matthew Dicks’ Storyworthy & Maxine Rosaler’s Queen for a Day

You’re already a storyteller.  Whether it’s on a date, a job interview, or relating something that happened on the way to work, we tell stories every day.  Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling by Matthew Dicks gives you straightforward tips and techniques to take your ability to tell your stories to the next level.

Matthew is a 35-time Moth StorySLAM champion and 6-time Moth GrandSLAM champion.  He is an international bestseller, and in addition to his novels he has written musicals, a rock opera, and comic books.

Next, who wouldn’t want to be Queen for a day?  What if that meant you get to compete against other potential Queens for the grand prize of … stainless steel silverware?  Maxine Rosaler uses 1950’s era nostalgia as inspiration in her new book, Queen for a Day, examining imperfect women with special needs children, living under enormous pressure. 

Maxine has had fiction and nonfiction published in several literary magazines and is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship for Fiction.

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Fiction, Non Fiction, Writers on Writing

JUL 02: Amy Meyerson’s The Bookshop of Yesterdays & Summer Reads for Everyone

How does the dream of becoming a published author compare to the reality?  Amy Meyerson was already an established writer when she penned her first novel, The Bookshop of Yesterdays, and today she shares her journey in going from writer to novelist.

Amy is an Assistant Professor in the Writing Department of USC, and her writings have been published in numerous literary magazines.

Later, summer weekends are filled with camping trips, journeys to the beach, barbecues, and bonfires, but during the week are the warm and relaxing evenings to yourself.  And there is no better way to pass a few of them then on the back porch with a glass (or two) of wine and a good book.  Today, Vicki will introduce you to books for everyone, from fiction to nonfiction, love to horror, and children to octaogenarians.

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Humor, Non Fiction, Personal Development

JUN 25: Ken Jennings’ Planet Funny & Allen Gannett’s The Creative Curve

From Jeopardy! champion and  New York Times bestselling author Ken Jennings comes a history of humor.  From fart jokes on clay Sumerian tablets all the way up to the latest Twitter gags and Facebook memes, Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture tells the story of how comedy came to rule the modern world.

Since his record-breaking Jeopardy! streak, Ken has become a best-selling author and has appeared in numerous ads.  He is a frequent speaker at college campuses and corporate events.

Later, it helps to be creative to be considered a genius, but you don’t have to be a genius to be creative.  In The Creative Curve: How to Develop the Right Idea, at the Right Time, author Allen Gannett disproves the notion that creativity is limited to the brilliant few who possess a certain gift, showing how anyone is capable of turning their genius idea into reality.

Allen is the founder and CEO of TrackMaven, a software analytics firm whose clients have included Microsoft, Marriott, Saks Fifth Avenue, Home Depot, Aetna, Honda, and GE.  He has been on the “30 Under 30” lists for both Inc. and Forbes.

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Business, Career, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Self-help, Social Issues

JUN 18: Kate Davies’ Intrinsic Hope, Maia Duerr’s Work That Matters, & Aaron Edelheit’s The Hard Break

We are living in an era of unprecedented crisis, resulting in widespread feelings of fear, despair, and grief. Now, more than ever, maintaining hope for the future is a monumental task.  Intrinsic Hope: Living Courageously in Troubled Times by Kate Davies, M.A.D., offers a powerful antidote to these feelings.

Kate Davies has worked with numerous nongovernmental and governmental organizations on environmental issues, including Greenpeace, and is currently core faculty at Antioch University Seattle’s Center for Creative Change and Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington.

Are you trapped in wage slavery at a dead end job, not knowing how to channel your talents to your real life’s purpose?  In Work That Matters: Create a Livelihood that Reflects Your Core Intention, life coach Maia Duerr shares her “6 Keys to Liberation-Based Live-lihood” to point you in a positive direction towards breaking that glass ceiling.

Maia is a writer, organizational consultant, and coach for people going through life and career transitions, drawing years of Zen meditation practice and training in anthropology to create powerful tools for integrating mindfulness into the workplace and home life.

Aaron Edelheit used to work so hard, it nearly killed him.  In The Hard Break: The Case for a 24/6 Lifestyle, he breaks down the myths around productivity, revealing how taking a one day “hard break” each week to reset can be a life-changing experience, and shares the seven steps to a successful Sabbath.

Aaron is the Chief Strategy Officer for FLO Technologies.  He is the founder of Mindset Capital, a private investment firm, and serves on the board of Moishe House Foundation, also partnering with Social Venture Partners in Santa Barbara working on homelessness.

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Health & Wellness, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Social Issues

MAR 26: George Lynn’s Breaking the Trance & Tara Cousineau’s The Kindness Cure

Today’s children are constantly distracted by notification beeps, texts, floating messenger icons, and social media apps that deliver a shot of dopamine to the brain with every new “like” or “share”.  Breaking the Trance: A Practical Guide for Parenting the Screen-Dependent Child offers proven solutions to help anyone break their obsession, and develop a healthier relationship with technology.

Author George T. Lynn, MA, is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who pioneered the use of psychotherapy for those with neuropsychological issues. He has lectured internationally and is the author of four popular books on parenting children with extreme behavior challenges.

Co-author Cynthia C. Johnson, MA,  is the founding director of the Venture Program at Bellevue College, the first degree program in the nation for students with learning and intellectual disabilities.

Also today, our current political climate might have you wondering “What happened to kindness?” According to Dr. Tara Cousineau, science has proven what ancient wisdom always claimed, that kindness is a happiness fix.  In The Kindness Cure: How the Science of Compassion Can Heal Your Heart and Your World, you’ll explore how to strengthen relationships and promote compassion toward ourselves and others.

Dr. Cousineau has a PhD in Clinical Psychology and is a former Harvard Medical School Fellow and a licensed psychologist with a private practice.

 

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Conservation, Environment, Humor, Non Fiction, Travel & Adventure, Women's Issues

MAR 19: National Geographic’s Birds of the Photo Ark & In the Praise of Difficult Women

Noah Strycker joins Vicki to discuss his work with renowned photographer Joel Sartore in Birds of the Photo Ark … a beautiful keepsake book published by National Geographic to celebrate “The Year of the Bird”.  In 2015, Noah set a world record by traveling to 41 countries and documenting 6,042 bird species. But it’s not just about monitoring and counting the number of species, he says, it’s as much about adventure and how travel expands your outlook on life.

Noah is a writer, photographer, bird man, and four-time author, including Birds of the Photo Ark. As an on-board ornithologist for expeditions to Antarctica and the high Arctic, he has traveled to Earth’s polar regions more than 30 times.

Joel is an award-winning photographer, speaker, author, teacher, conservationist, National Geographic fellow, and regular contributor to National Geographic magazine. He specializes in documenting endangered species and landscapes around the world. 

Also today, fellow National Geographic writer Karen Karbo joins us to discuss her latest book, In the Praise of Difficult Women: Life Lessons from 29 Heroines who Dared to Break the Rules.  From Frida Kahlo and Elizabeth Taylor to Nora Ephron, Carrie Fisher, and Lena Dunham, this witty narrative explores what we can learn from the imperfect and extraordinary legacies of 29 iconic women who forged their own unique paths in the world.

Karen has supported herself as a writer since the days when novels were saved on floppy discs and manuscripts were copied at Kinkos and FedExed overnight to New York editors.  She is the author of multiple novels, works of creative non-fiction, and a memoir.

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