Health & Wellness, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Psychology, Self-help

Help for Sensitive People in Today’s Turbulent World with Dr. Judith Orloff

October 18, 2023

Dr Judith Orloff Empath's Survival GuideThe Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies

If you find yourself turning off the news, avoiding certain people, or declining events simply because you can’t cope with one more thing, Dr. Judith Orloff gets you.

Speaking personally as a high-empath, and professionally as a licensed psychiatrist, Dr. Orloff feels your pain and understands firsthand how being sensitive can lead to anxiety, stress, and feelings of being overwhelmed.

Today we share how to tell what kind of empath you are and what that means. Dr. Orloff highlights the different experiences between introvert and extrovert empaths. We discuss the neuroscience behind empaths that  shows why some people feel things more than others. How to rise above self-medication (think, food, alchohol, and other substances}. And we share easy solutions to help combat toxic energy.

About Judith Orloff, MD

Dr Judith Orloff is the New York Times bestselling author of The Empath’s Survival Guide and Thriving as an Empath. A psychiatrist in private practice, and a member of the psychiatric clinical faculty at UCLA where she specializes in treating highly sensitive people and empaths, Dr. Orloff’s work has been featured by The Today Show, Oprah Magazine, and The New York Times.

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Essays, Non Fiction, Personal Development

What Can Dogs Teach Us? Plenty Says Hersch Wilson

October 11, 2023

Dog Lessons: Learning the Important Stuff from Our Best Friends

Podcast with Hersch Wilson author of Dog Lessons

Firefighter, writer, and speaker Hersh Wilson joins us today with his latest delight — Dog Lessons: Learning the Important Stuff from our Best Friends.

It’s not a training book for dogs; it’s about what we can learn from them. In fact, while researching Dog Lessons, Hersch found himself changing his mind on a couple of things he thought he already understood.

Part memoir, part humor, with a lot of love, Dog Lessons is packed full of insight into the powerful presence of dogs in our lives and the transformative lessons they can teach us about love, loyalty, zoomies, grief, and more.

Hersch Wilson

Hersch Wilson‘s diverse background includes paid jobs as a corn pollinator, a Ferris wheel operator, a short-order cook, ballet dancer, outdoor educator, soccer coach, leadership consultant, pilot, and writer. He says his job as a Ferris wheel operator was by far the strangest — lots of physics involved in that. Hersch was a volunteer firefighter-EMT for 33 years which culminated in the awarding winning book, “Firefighter Zen, A Field Guide for Thriving in Tough Times. He sees his most important roles as that of partner/husband, father, and dog guardian. 

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Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Writers on Writing

PJ McIlvaine Introduces The Good Man

October 2, 2023

New Psychological Mystery Thriller – He Wants to Remember, He’ll Wish He Could Forget

A Good Man with author PJ McIlvaine

PJ McIlvaine has successfully jumped genres more than once — from screenplay to children’s books, young adult, and now her debut thriller A Good Man.

How did this author do what many say you can’t or shouldn’t? Today we discuss her writing journey and PJ’s publishing experiences. She also shares personal details of how her brother’s death helped inspire her protagonist.

We discuss character development, some of PJ’s research. The types of scenes that thrill and challenge her as a writer. And how PJ juggles multiple projects, since she just had two books published within two months!

About PJ McIlvaine

PJ McILVAINE is the author of A GOOD MAN and THE CONUNDRUM OF CHARLEMAGNE CROSSE. Her Showtime original movie My Horrible Year was nominated for a Daytime Emmy. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Newsday, and elsewhere. She lives on Eastern Long Island with her family and Luna, a pampered French Bulldog. Find PJ online at pjmacwriter.com.

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Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Writers on Writing

Best Selling Author Robert Dugoni: Her Deadly Game

September 27, 2023
Her Deadly Game with Author Robert Dugoni

Seattle Author Introduces New Protagonist, Prosecutor Keera Duggan

Robert Dugoni’s new character, Keera Duggan, worked hard to build an impressive reputation as Seattle prosecutor. When she makes a major life change, she gets more than she bargained for, and is immediately thrown into the middle of mayhem.

We discuss why and how Robert developed a host of new characters for Her Deadly Game. What the author did to ensure realism in his tense courtroom drama, and how he uses dialogue to develop the story. Robert shares his favorite type of scenes to write, and why he keeps sex scenes to a minimum. We also learn his elixir for managing stress and keeping life balanced in these crazy times.

About Robert Dugoni

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series set in Seattle, which has sold more than 8 million books worldwide. He is also the author of The Charles Jenkins espionage series, the David Sloane legal thriller series, and several stand-alone novels. Dugoni is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and a three-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest.

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Health & Wellness, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Self-help, Uncategorized

Dr. Richard Dixey Shows How to Change Your Life with Three Minutes a Day

September 20, 2023

Gain Clarity, Reduce Stress, Enhance Creativity

Three Minutes a Day with author Richard Dixey

If you’re one of the millions of people interested in meditation but have a busy monkey-mind, find it hard to sit still, or are short on time, Three Minutes a Day is the perfect way to learn how to incorporate this valuable practice into everyday life.

Dr. Richard Dixey presents a different approach to meditation that uses short exercises to stabilize mental experience. He shares a direct path to clarity of mind, stress relief, sharper thinking, improved concentration, and enhanced creativity that can be followed from anywhere, no matter how busy your schedule.

About Dr. Richard Dixey

Richard Dixey, PhD, is a scientist and lifelong student of Asian philosophy. He runs the Light of Buddhadharma Foundation in India with his wife Wangmo, the eldest daughter of Tibetan lama Tarthang Tulku. He is a senior faculty member at Dharma College in Berkeley, and divides his time between California and India. His new book, Three Minutes a Day: A 14 Week Course to Learn Meditation and Transform Your Life.

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Creativity, Non Fiction, Personal Development

Creativity Catalyst Patti Dobrowolski with the Equation that Makes YOU Great!

September 13, 2023

Get Unstuck, Breakthrough Blocks, Visualize New Possibilities

Creative Genius You, the Equation that Makes You Great with author Patti Dobrowolski

One of our favorite creativity catalysts returns today – this time with an interactive visual book that lays out Patti Dobrowolski’s simple formula to help anyone tap into their unique genius and creativity.

If you think you’re not creative, Patti will show you otherwise in Creative Genius You, The Equation That Makes YOU Great!

Patti’s unique tools and resources provide simple ways to get unstuck, see things with a different perspective, and unlock the creative spark within that is unique to you.

About Patti Dobrowolski

A critically acclaimed comic performer, international keynote speaker, writer, and business consultant, Patti Dobrowolski has brought innovative visual practices to Fortune 500 companies, NGOs, and small businesses. She’s a three times TEDx speaker. And if you wander around clients’ buildings – such as Microsoft, Starbucks, Samsung, and Seattle Space Needle – you’re likely to see her large format visuals adorning walls and hallways. We previously discussed Patti Dobrowolski’s earlier book Drawing Solutions: How Visual Goal Setting Will Change Your Life.

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Children's Fiction, Fiction

Sep 06: Arletis, Abuelo, & the Message in a Bottle with Author Lea Aschkenas

September 6, 2023

The True Story Behind the Children’s Story – Cuba, Family, Love, & Connection

Arletis, Abuelo, and the Message in a Bottle with author Lea Aschkenas

On an alligator-shaped island in the middle of a wide sea, there lived a little girl who loved maps and dreamed of far away places. In another part of the world, at the mouth of a wide bay, there lived an old man who’d once dreamed of sailing the world and making friends in foreign lands.

When these two strangers connect through a message in a bottle, it sparks a friendship that expands both of their worlds.

Based on a true story, Arletis, Abuelo, and the Message in a Bottle is an illustrated children’s book of life in rural Cuba. We discuss the story book, the inspiring true story behind it, and writing for children’s books.

About Lea Aschkenas

Lea Aschkenas has written reviews for Washington Post Book World, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Salon. She’s the author of a travel memoir Es Cuba: Life and Love on an Illegal Island. She fell in love with Cuba and its people on her first trip to the island in 2000, and has returned almost every year since.  Arletis, Abuelo, and the Message in a Bottle is her first children’s book. Lea lives in Northern California where she works as a librarian and teaches with the California Poets in the Schools program. Visit www.pencilmoonstudio.com to lean about the award-winning husband and wife children’s book illustrator team – Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu.

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Cookbook, Essays, Non Fiction

Aug 30: Recipes for Murder with Karen Pierce

August 30, 2023

What Do You Get When You Mix a Writer with an Agatha Christie Superfan & Foodie?

Recipes for Murder with author Karen Pierce

Answer: You get a book full of Recipes for Murder, 66 Dishes that Celebrate the Mysteries of Agatha Christie.

Author Karen Pierce shares what sparked the concept for Recipes for Murder, as we also gain a peek into Agatha Christie the woman, and some of the social history of the times that Christie’s books reflect.

About Karen Pierce

Karen Pierce is a detective-fiction doyenne, food lover, and Agatha Christie Superfan. She’s made pilgrimages to Torquay and Greenway House, Christie’s hometown and home. Karen Pierce has also attended and volunteered at several Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Conventions. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

Aug 23: Joel Johnson with Never

August 23, 2023

Debut Novelist at age 68 Tells Coming of Age Story in the Segregated South

Podcast – Never with author Joel F. Johnson

It took Joel Johnson seven years to write his first novel, Never, and he couldn’t have done it a day sooner he says.

Today we discuss why, despite growing up in Georgia, Joel created a fictional town for Never. He shares some of the research he used to weave historical events into his story, narrated by a young boy named Little. We look at how Joel – a white middle-class, professional male – approached the challenge of writing about the life of a black maid called Bit, working on the white side of Jim Crow’s South. And why Bit quickly became his favorite character.

About Joel F. Johnson

A graduate of Harvard, Joel made stops in Alta, Utah, Boulder, and Manhattan before settling in Concord, MA. His collection of poems Where Inches Seem Miles, was selected by Kirkus Reviews as one of the best independent books of 2014. Never is Joel F. Johnson’s first novel.

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Fiction, Thriller, Writers on Writing

Aug 16: Ryan Steck On His Latest Matt Red Thriller, Lethal Range

August 16, 2023

“A terrific sense of place in Big Sky country and a hero to root for in Matthew Redd” – #1 NYT bestselling author C J Box

Podcast Lethal Range with author Ryan Steck

Lethal Range is the second novel in Ryan Steck‘s Matt Redd thriller series. Today he shares why he broke away from the stereotypical thriller protagonist by making Redd a family man who has to balance every day life with his former marine raider instincts.

We explore how Ryan – a busy father of six – made time to build a successful career as editor and author. How he learned to work with dyslexia. And, what Ryan learned from switching roles as editor-in-chief helping others write their books, to becoming an author himself.

About Ryan Steck

Ryan Steck is an editor, author, and founder and editor-in-chief of The Real Book Spy. Ryan has been named an “Online Influencer” by Amazon and is a regular columnist at CrimeReads. More about Ryan Steck at the TheRealBookSpy.com.

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