Today we are interviewing Dora Carpenter about her non-fiction book "Don't Bury Your Why in the Cemetery."
Tell us a bit about yourself. My mission and passion is to help individuals work through life transitions, grief, and fear. I am a certified professional coach, author, speaker, trainer, mentor, and founder of The ANIYA Group Life Coaching Center. I am honored to be one of a select group personally licensed by internationally known best-selling author and motivational speaker, Susan Jeffers, Ph.D. to teach her Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway® work in the United States. Recently, I was recognized by The National Association of Distinguished Professionals as a professional in my field and will appear in a 2015 issue of Women of Distinction Magazine.
Describe the purpose of your book in a few sentences. I want to help individuals, especially entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs, to find their ‘why’ and go for it. You were put on this earth to thrive, so what is stopping you?
Who do you think would most appreciate this book? Entrepreneurs who have thought about quitting and aspiring entrepreneurs who might be sabotaged by roadblocks such as self-doubt or fear.
What inspired you to write a book about living in the present?
Author Dora Carpenter.
After working in the death care industry for many years and hearing countless stories of unfulfilled hopes and dreams being buried in the cemetery, it became my passion to help individuals appreciate and live more fully in the present. Why do you think it’s so difficult for people to live in the present? Do you think the increasing presence of technology has made it easier or more difficult to live in the present? In our fast-paced lives of options, opportunities, technology, gadgets, etc., we tend to always seek more… the next best thing. Sometimes, I question if our brains were even designed to handle the amount of multitasking and overload that we consistently impose on it. When was the last time you took a walk and noticed the petals of a rose? What are some of the dangers of living in the past or the future? You are held hostage by situations, or perceived situations, that prevent you from allowing and receiving all that life has to offer you right now. Emotions such as guilt, regret, fear, and disappointment are a few emotions that can lead to unhealthy physical, mental, and psychological effects.
How do you think reading your book will impact people? This quick-read is a dose of inspiration. A boost of motivation. A wakeup call to the fragility of life. A call to action to say Yes! to yourself, your dreams, and your life! Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book? In this complimentary eBook, I will give you my formula for achieving success and you will also be introduced to my 3-step Decide to Say Yes! coaching system.
Today we are interviewing Delroy Constantine-Simms about his collection of motivational/inspirational stories called "Rice & Peas For The Soul," published by Think Doctor Publications.
Tell us a bit about Think Doctor Publications. Think Doctor Publications started out as a one man organization printing t shirts and small post cards in mainly African-Caribbean outlets in London during the 1999’s after an very long sabbatical from the trade, I restarted the business through www.zazzle.com/thinkdoctor which sells my products world wide.
Describe “Rice and Peas for the Soul” in a few sentences. Rice and Peas for the Soul; is an edited collection of more than 150 thought provoking, motivational, inspirational empowering stories of hope, faith and courage. These story based ingredients have been selected due to their positive underlying messages, which encourage readers to think, reflect and wonder about life in general.
Who do you think would most appreciate this book? This is not just an ordinary book of motivational and inspirational stories, he suggest that the book can be used as personal developmental tool. “Each person going through life issues has at least one inspirational story that can be used as a positive self- esteem building stepping stone out of issues that may be holding them back in some way. In essence the stories are about empowering each reader to move from where they are now, to the place where they would prefer to be in their own lives”
Author D. Constantine-Simms.
What inspired the idea to publish a collection of thought provoking, motivational, inspiring, and empowering stories? I have always been interested in publishing, writing and editing, but did not know how the process let alone where to start. I was born and brought up in the pre internet and pre digital publishing age. So my dreams of publishing remained just that a dream. I guess going to University helped me understand the rules of writing.
It’s also important to add that the greatest and only motivational book on the market I have heard prior to my own book was the Bible, which is a great book but it was not the type of book that I wanted to reproduce.
I first thought about this book project, after meeting Muhammad Ali in my home town of Wolverhampton in 1983 Ali was visiting the West Midlands (UK) as part of speaking tour and to visit loyal fans. Without doubt he was an inspiration on so many levels form he still is, but I was slow to act on that injection of inspiration, that didn’t really last. I had no real guidance or direction, let alone know how so the idea died, like so many other dreams I had at the time.
However, my dream was re-awakened when I met Nelson Mandela in Bloemfontein South Africa in (1992) while I was on holiday with friends who invited me over for a visit during the height of Apartheid. I was lucky enough to meet him in Bloemfontein where he gave his first major speech after being released from prison. I was fortunate enough to meet BBC Journalist John Harrison (RIP) whom I followed to where Mandela was posing for photos and took the opportunity to shake his hand, a moment I will never forget.
However, the real motivational push to complete the book was the election of Barack Obama in 2008, after I stood for nearly 12 hours in the freezing cold of Washington DC, to witness the inauguration of the first Black President of the United States of America. That’s when I knew it was time to stop dreaming and start doing. That’s exactly what I did and I have been editing books as a ghost writer and editor and a number of other publications and other writers
Is “Rice and Peas for the Soul” similar to any other books out currently? My books follow the tradition of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul." What do you think is the value of the short story, compared to longer formats, such as the novel? The stories were chosen to accommodate the bite size mentality of readers that do not want to spend hours reading one book with one message. My book has several message conveyed in several stories, thus allowing readers to pick and choose which ones they like. Most importantly, they don’t have to go from one chapter to another in order to follow a story line or the underlying messages.
How do you hope readers react to the book? I’ve been quietly surprised by the public response to this book. I had hoped that the book would do well, but I am hoping this book and the follow ups to this book Rice and Peas 2-4, which will be out later this year, will be as popular and even better received than other more established books in this genre.
I am hoping that the selected stories will continue to encourage readers, irrespective of cultural background to think, reflect and wonder about their own lives in terms of their trials, tribulations and how they have coped and weathered those difficult situations, by way of reading this book, or at least as a consequence of reading at least one story.
What do you have in mind for your next project? My next project is related to a diversity and equality training project called Changing Hearts & Minds: Diversity and Equality Training which is a training manual being designed to promote and affirm diversity and equality.
I intend to publish at least ten books in the Rice and Peas Series, before I focus on developing a catalogue of self- help psychology books for students, practitioners and whoever is interested in the associated subject matters
Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book? Think Doctor Publications will be doing a series of book launches in Toronto, Dubai, New York and Jamaica during the latter part of 2015.
Author Profile D. Constantine-Simms is an occupational psychologist, counselling Psychologist and a qualified Therapeutic career coach. He also works as freelance print and photojournalist, whose work is regularly submitted and distributed by photo agencies such as Corbis Images and Demotix. His articles and images have appeared in British and international publications such as the Word (Canada) The Big Issue, The Guardian, The Voice Newspaper, Miami Times, and many other publications. Constantine-Simms has previously edited the following books, Teachers for the Future (1995) The Greatest Taboo: Homosexuality in Black Communities (2001) Hip Hop Had a Dream: Vol. 1 the Artful Movement (2008) Constantine-Simms is the recipient of the 2001 Lambda Award for Best Anthology: The Greatest Taboo: Homosexuality in Black Communities (2001).
Today we're interviewing Barry Mangione, author of the self-help book No Easy Answers.
Tell us a bit about yourself. I'm an author, musician, singer/songwriter, life coach, and pediatric physical therapist. Over the past several years, I've overcome depression, divorce, bankruptcy, alcoholism, and thoughts of suicide to become the happy, healthy, and hopeful person that I am today.
Describe the purpose of No Easy Answers in a few sentences. Without self-awareness, there can be no self-help. In order to truly know yourself and be able to help yourself, you first have to ask yourself some hard questions. The purpose of this book is to share the questions that helped me transform my life in an effort to help and inspire others do the same. Each chapter is a question that I asked myself during my personal transformation, and the reader is encouraged to ask the same questions of themselves. Who do you think would most appreciate No Easy Answers? I think anyone who is in the process of changing their life for the better will appreciate this book. It's divided into three sections: recovery, redemption, and reinvention. If you can identify with any one of these stages of life's journey, there's something in No Easy Answers for you. What inspired you to write a book about your transformation from a struggling individual on the verge of suicide to a happy and successful person? I realized that I had a choice. I could either keep this knowledge and experience to myself, or I could share it with the world in the hopes that someone else going through similar struggles would find hope, inspiration, and the individual empowerment to overcome their personal adversity.
During the period of your most difficult challenges, what motivated you to strive to be a better person? My love for my children motivated me to keep going, and a burning desire to express myself through music and writing. If I did not have music and writing as a creative outlet during those times, I'm not sure where I would be today.
How do you think reading your book will impact people? My hope is that people will ask themselves the same questions that I ask myself in the book, and that the process of answering those questions for themselves will lead them down a path of greater self-awareness and inspire them to do great things. I hope people will come back to the questions in No Easy Answers throughout the difficult times in their lives for guidance and wisdom.
What do you have in mind for your next writing project? My next project is tentatively titled, Weapons of Hope. The idea is to further explore all the concepts, ideas, and practices that kept hope alive for me during the darkest of times and that still motivate me to strive for more today. Rather than using the framework of questions as I did in No Easy Answers, I'm using the framework of weapons to view hope not as something you wish for, but as something you fight for.
Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book? A portion of the profits from sales of No Easy Answers will be donated to Appalachia Service Project, a nonprofit organization with which I'm personally involved. Their mission is to make homes in the poorest regions of Appalachia warmer, safer, and drier for the people who live there. I talk about some of my experiences with Appalachia Service Project in the book. More Information www.barrymangione.com
Today we are interviewing Mike Robertson, author of the self-help/motivational book The Pizza, the Peach & the Platypus.
Describe the plot of your book in a few sentences. The Pizza, the Peach & the Platypus is a book on creativity, but not a dry, scholarly tome on that subject. Instead, it contains a series of personal stories from my life, showing how many different aspects of my life have been enriched by using the simple formula I include in the book. This three-part formula will show readers how to become more creative while finding new ways to use the natural talents and abilities they already have within them. Who (age, gender, etc) do you think would most appreciate this book? Children are almost always creative thinkers, so they don’t need much encouragement in that area. As we become adults, though, we often stop dreaming. We settle into familiar routines and think that’s just the way it has to be. It does NOT have to be that way. We are the authors of our own lives and we have enormous power to change the nature and direction of our futures.
What inspirations contributed to this book? I’m a professional speaker who talks to audience regularly about creativity. For several years audiences have asked if I had a book on the subject I had spoken about. So it was incumbent upon me to expand the ideas of my speech into the larger format of a book, where I could add even more stories and examples of the power of creative thinking. How long have you been writing? I wrote my first book about ten years ago, but I have not consistently written all this time. I’ve done three books now and they’re all very different from each other. But I like that. It appeals to me more than writing the same ideas over and over.
What is your favorite book? Some contenders would be ‘A Prayer for Owen Meany’ by John Irving; ‘Banvard’s Folly’ by Paul Collins; Bill Bryson’s ‘One Summer: America 1927’ and ‘Outliers’ by Malcolm Gladwell. What genre do you read most frequently? When I was young, I mostly read fiction, but now I tend to buy much more nonfiction: biographies, social science, humor, etc. How do you think you've evolved as a writer since when you first started? I have found my own voice, which is tricky when you begin writing. It took a while before I could shake the idea that some English teacher was going to be grading my work; I was writing as though I were trying to fit someone else’s guidelines. I finally realized that I should just write something that I would enjoy reading myself.
As a writer, one would assume English was your favorite class in school. If that was not the case, what was and why? It was indeed, and I give credit to my high school English teacher. I went to a very small school and had the same teacher all four years. She was terrific, allowing us to do nontraditional things for credit and encouraging me to read and to write. How do you feel about the increasing popularity of ebooks? I started reading ebooks on a Palm Pilot before iPhones or Kindles even existed. Now I read almost exclusively on the iPad. While I miss the twice-weekly bookstore visits I used to make, it’s great to be able to instantly download a book. And they never need dusting or cramming into an already-full bookshelf. What are your goals as a writer for the next ten years? I think I already know what my next two books will be about. I hope to write more regularly and produce a book a year. Is there any aspect of writing you don't like (e.g. editing)? No, I like it all…I just have trouble making myself sit down to do it. Once I’m writing, I love it. Editing doesn’t bother me. And, since I have extensive graphic design experience, I can do my own interior layout and cover design. I have just about complete creative control. Do you write with a computer, typewriter, or pen and paper? Why do you use this tool? I only write on the computer. I don’t think I could write fast enough with pen and paper to keep up with my thoughts. Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book? Since my book is about creativity, I wanted to put a couple of little goodies inside for the wonderful people who choose to read it. There’s a bonus link in the book to a visual and audio enhancement of one very important story. And there’s also a secret message hidden inside the book, a treasure hunt that will reward observant readers with a cool little prize. My test readers have loved finding out the secret.
