The genesis of my love of writing occurred when I entered a Young Author’s contest in the second grade. Since then, I've had an affection for writing and collaborating with other authors.
I believe that the mere thought of writing a book begins a cathartic process between the mind and soul from deep within the author; therefore, I thoroughly enjoy coaching and mentoring aspiring authors.
Good writing is the crystallization of pure thought. Publishing a book allows us to share our “crystals” with the world.
We’ve all got a story to tell. Our lives are stories – and each day is a new chapter. Some are sad, some are happy, some are true, some are embellished, some connect deeply with us and some have no meaning other than to the person who wrote it. Nonetheless, it would be a shame to take our stories to the grave where they are forever lost.
My philosophy is that aside from your attitude and your writing, there are not many things in life that you can completely control. I also believe that the pen truly is mightier than the sword and “writing wrongs” is a great way to deal with adversity and challenges in your life. Writing can be done anytime, anywhere - with a digital recorder, laptop or good ol’ fashioned pen and paper. As an avid traveler, I’ve done some of my best writing while traveling.
My first novel, “The Trip” is based on a ‘what if’ scenario I imagined while traveling in the South Pacific. This epic adventure novel is 199,000 words long and took over ten years to complete. If every word averages four characters and if you account for punctuation and spacing, my fingers hit the keyboard over one million times while writing this book.
My first published book, a non-fiction, self-help book entitled “Health and Happiness: an owner’s manual for the mind and body” is a compilation of good, common sense advice for healthy, happy living. I found inspiration to write this book due to the tragic loss of a co-worker to her second battle with cancer at the young age of 36. Her death, coupled with the impact it had on our workplace, plus the declining health of our nation, fueled my passion for wellness. My mission is to deliver tangible strategies to empower readers and help them create “Health and Happiness” in their lives. I’d like to think I’ve earned a P.H.D. in Practicing Health Daily.
My third book, “Invest in Yourself: six strategies to make this the best year of your life,” came to fruition as the result of a personal challenge I announced on a live radio show that I co-hosted. I was promoting an upcoming writing and publishing workshop for local authors and decided to refute multiple objections from prospective authors as to the time commitment required to write and publish a book. Having spent ten years writing “The Trip,” I hardly had a leg to stand on in this argument; however, I knew that a book could be written in a short period of time if there was a strong desire and systematization. From start to finish, including editing, cover design, digital proofing and shipping time, I had print copies of this 22,000 word, 150 page book in hand for the workshop ten days after I announced my challenge.
Some of my greatest achievements have been helping others accomplish theirs. In fact, I cherish the books that my author coaching clients have written as much as I do my own. It’s an honor and privilege for me to help people live better lives through creative and innovative communication facilitated by writing, coaching and speaking.