October Featured Author

Cristina T. Lopez-O'Keeffe

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: CRISTINA T. LOPEZ-O’KEEFFE


By day, Cristina is a communications consultant with a diverse background as a public relations account executive, typist, marketing coordinator, peace corps volunteer and, currently, a freelance copywriter. Writing has always been the thread throughout her career.

By night, Cristina is a storyteller. She has been writing since she was seven years old. She writes mostly personal essays and poetry. In 2003, Cristina published her first non-fiction book, Finding Francis, about finding someone she hadn’t seen in twenty years (Author House). She is currently working on her first chapbook of poems entitled, Bunny was a Horse, and a fictional book of letters to a lost friend, Letters to Helen.

Cristina is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Ladies Who Launch, International Women Writers’ Guild (IWWG), Fresh Meadows Poets and was a resident poet at the Vermont Studio Center for November 2001. She is active as a returned Peace Corps volunteer and with groups such as Poets in Nassau.

She lives in Stewart Manor, NY with her husband, Thomas, and daughters, Dalia and Juliana.

Book description

Finding Francis



When she was six years old, Cristina’s childhood friend, Francis, had a birthday party. She was the only one who showed up. Over twenty years later, she sets out to find him and discover why no one else ever came and why, after that party, she never saw him again. What secrets about Francis did she hope to uncover? What secrets of her own did she bring to light?



From New York to Philadelphia to New York again, Finding Francis is a hilarious journey that takes the reader into the twenty-something dating scene, the life of a nanny and the living room of an old Cuban grandmother. The search for Francis takes you into the mind of a young writer struggling to find herself as she sets out to find a childhood friend.



Finding Francis is a memoir about writing a memoir. A story that asks: Why do we yearn to find those we have lost contact with? Why do we insist on raising the dead? As individuals? As a society? What do we hope to find in the past that is lacking in our present?

Contact Information

Look Out Communications -
Your Vision Transformed: Ideas into Words
www.lookoutcommunications.com
646 641 3514

Cristina's blog http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/writing-right/

June Featured Author

Debbie Pokornik
Bio:

Debbie is a mother, wife, author and parent educator. Her interest in parent education began when she was attending the University and discovered she was pregnant. Her area of study—Social Work—caused her to reflect often on the kind of parent she wanted to be. This, along with her natural desire to help others excel in life, led her into the role of parent educator.

Today Debbie is the mother of two teenagers who provide ample opportunity for her to practice her parenting skills. She admits, she is not a perfect parent and uses her own mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow. In her job as a prevention social worker she has created numerous programs, trainings and other supports for toddlers to seniors. She is now the CEO (Chief Empowerment Officer) for her company, Empowering NRG, and works part time in a school division as their Early Childhood Support.

Debbie has written about parenting for years, developing a knack for taking challenging topics and breaking them into pieces people can understand and apply to their lives. Her book Break Free of Parenting Pressures: Embrace Your Natural Guidance provides parents with ideas for relationship building, developing discipline, understanding Parent Power, recognizing effective parenting tools and much more.

Debbie encourages others to listen to their natural guidance while striving to be the best that they can be. She is patient, energetic, intuitive and motivational. She provides insightful workshops, thought provoking keynotes, and enlightening seminars.

Debbie lives on a small acreage in rural Manitoba with her husband, two teens, her “snowbird” mother-in-law, numerous pets and a yard that is far too big to keep free of unwanted plant growth. Her most recent goal is to get past her fear of social networking and learn to face book, twitter, and blog with confidence.

Book Description

When we believe something is natural we think it should be easy.  When we think something should be easy we tend to beat ourselves up if we don’t have the answers or don’t do it well.  This opens the door to self-doubt, uncertainty, harsh judgment, and second guessing.

In Break Free of Parenting Pressures, author and parent educator, Debbie Pokornik, urges parents to throw off the shackles that come with this way of thinking and tune into the inner wisdom required to enjoy and excel at this task. Very little about parenting is truly natural, meaning personal development and a willingness to learn or adapt will always be required.

Written in a gentle, friendly style, this book shares stories about the author’s personal parenting adventures, focusing not only on her successes, but her “moments of learning” as well. She provides insight into where our current skills and strategies come from and enlightens us on how we might adapt them to ensure they are meeting our parenting goals.  

“The parenting experience is unique to each of us,” Debbie says, “but I believe all parents will benefit from support at some point in their parenting journey.” Awareness, open-mindedness, a willingness to practice and adaptability are all important pieces of the parenting puzzle and this book provides plenty of tips and exercises to help parents do all of these things. The book concludes with a chapter on self-care focused on helping parents de-stress and take stock of what they can realistically handle in their lives. 

“I really hope parents reading my book come away feeling tuned into their natural ability and confident they have what it takes to do this job. There is no one way to parent and I’d love it if my book could remove a lot of the self-doubt parents feel so readers fully enjoy this journey and build strong loving relationships as a result.”

Parenting is not really natural, but becoming a parent often is and that is an important distinction to understand.  Nature doesn’t give us tasks we are unable to handle. This means despite our set backs, questions and uncertainties, we are the perfect person to parent our child…if only we are willing to embrace this challenge and can be open to making this journey our own. 

More information about Debbie and her services can be obtained from her website at http://www.empoweringnrg.com

May Featured Author

Elizabeth Blake 

No Child Left Behind? The true story of a teacher’s quest

Bio

Elizabeth Blake worked 20 years as a Medical Technologist in chemistry and hematology laboratories, before switching careers to teach high school science. She currently writes science materials for homeschoolers.

Visit her at http://www.easyscienceactivities.blogspot.com

Book description

When teaching science in an inner-city high school, Elizabeth Blake tries to find a way to reach her at-risk students. But when crushed by shootings, gangs, drugs, a riot, and abusive administrators, can she overcome the stress and find the ultimate meaning behind her life’s struggles?

Full of drama and hope, No Child Left Behind? The true story of a teacher’s quest is not just for teachers. It’s a book for anyone who wishes to be inspired through tough times.

Roy Pickering, Jr., Author, states, “The tone of her memoir is of hope that change will someday come; satisfaction that she did do something to help as many kids succeed as she was somehow able to reach; and gratitude that in the process of affecting their lives they blessed her own.”

No Child Left Behind? The true story of a teacher’s quest was a finalist in the 2009 Premier Book Awards national book contest. To read an excerpt, visit http://www.easyscienceactivities.blogspot.com

April Featured Author

Trish Silver

Author’s Bio: She was inspired to write this book after closely following the journey of a real American Idol from his television debut to his realization of a life-changing career. This journey provided her insight into the characteristics of a phenomenal fan base, as well as an inside look at how someone can find the strength to stay grounded despite the unsettling impact of stardom. A long personal relationship with a musical performer, a prior job with Creative Management Agency and my attendance at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Journalism all helped her to lay the groundwork for the story, while her real-life experiences as a wife, mother and grandmother inspired the rest. Trish lives and works in Southern California with her husband, Ed and their two dogs.  She is currently working on a sequel to When I Remember Love entitled The Price of Love.

Blurb: When I Remember Love is a poignant story that follows two kindred spirits as their lives collide and their passion ignites, leading them to build a life together through circumstances that range from exhilarating and exciting to difficult and frightening. When Jenna, a young woman who is grieving the loss of her mother, is invited to stay with her aunt in Los Angeles, she has no idea that her life is about to change. It is there that she meets Aidan Price, a young singer who has come to Hollywood to compete on American Star, the immensely popular televised singing competition. Their connection—physically, romantically, and spiritually—is instant, and together they embark on a journey that tests their love and their commitment to each other.  If you love American Idol, you will love this book. 

 

Watch the book trailer video and listen to the original music that was written for the book at http://trishsilver.com.

 

Trish knows how difficult it is for new authors to promote their books, so she has dedicated three pages of
her web site, http://trishsilver.com to help new authors promote their books. Every month she chooses five authors to showcase on her Spotlight on New Authors page. Those that are waiting to be spotlighted and those that have already been spotlighted have a place on her New Authors Links page where the title and authors name are linked to the author’s website and the book cover is linked to the Amazon page where the book can be purchased.  The third page spotlights authors who have book promotion tips and links to sites that promote books at no cost.  This page is called Promote Your Books.   Please visit http://www.whenirememberlove.com/new-authors.html
to learn how to promote your book on Trish’s site.

 

Trish can be contacted at trish@trishsilver.com.

March featured author

Dr. Kathleen Ruddy

She created the Breast Health and Healing Foundation whose mission is to “Discover the specific causes of breast cancer all over the world and to use this knowledge to prevent the disease.” Dr. Ruddy is devoted to helping women with breast cancer find a cure for their disease, but she has also come to a new vision, one based on eradication of breast cancer by discovery of its causes. Dr. Ruddy continues to care for patients in her offices in Belleville and Bernardsville, New Jersey while working tirelessly to grow the Breast Health and Healing Foundation team.

Books Written

The Mind Is A Force That Matters

The Pink Virus:  Does A Virus Cause Breast Cancer In Women?

A Woman's Companion:  Recipes For Breast Health And Healing

Dr. Kathleen Ruddy can be contacted at www.kathleenmrca@aol.com and her website is www.breasthealthandhealing.org

Meet the Author

Author

Priscilla McGee

Priscilla McGee was born and raised in Salisbury N.C. She  graduated from Salisbury High School in 1989. She has been writing poetry for 20 years and when she gave her life to the Lord her writing style changed. Priscilla McGee began writing about God and it eventually became poetic expressions. She has  four beautiful  children. She  is now a member of Living for God Deliverance Ministries International. Where Apostle A.P Clark and Apostle Tyna Clark are her  leaders and she is a minister in the church.  Priscilla McGee is a certified Childcare Teacher. She is a student at Central Piedmont Community College. Priscilla McGee has been a lover of poetry since High School and  she began writing these creative expressions in 2007. She was then inspired in 2008 to transform them into book. 

Books Written By Priscilla McGee 

This Book is a inspirational poetry book which was written in the form of a devotion book, it has sections, prayers and scriptures which are all related to the poem.  

You may contact Priscilla by email at www.priscillasbooks@yahoo.com

The book is available from the following websites as well as amazon and barnes and noble dot com.

www.priscillasbookstore.weebly.com