Writing and Publishing Radio Show

Join Felice as she interviews entrepreneur, Marc A. Grant and his innovative approach to the publishing market. Marc grew up in Brooklyn, NY where he pursued a career in retail sales, and was soon bitten by the 'entrepreneurial bug' and in 1994 launched his very own business MagMa Distribution, Corp.,by 2001, this company generated almost $300,000 in sales per year. In June 2002, Marc and his company were forced to file for bankruptcy. It wasn't long before Marc started a new company now called the Success Connection Team. Marc has also served as the Marketing Director for the "By-Ways and Hedges Real Life Times Immigration Newspaper" along side Rev. Terry Lee in Brooklyn, NY. Mr. Grant has received many community awards including the 110th Congress United States of America Congressional Record by Congressman Ed Towns. Marc is not only the CEO of the Success Connection Team, Corporation Director of Marketing and Media Relations for Mentor Equity Press International but a highly sought after Public Speaker, Self-Publishing, Business Development, and Marketing Consultant.

Join Felice as she interviews first-time authors, Hal and Melanie Young and the success of their new book, "Raising Real Men." Today's show will focus on the trials of a self-published author and the success of the Young's in reaching 3000+ on their Facebook Fan Page and other marketing tips. Hal and Melanie Young have published articles with Homeschooling Today, Homeschool Digest, the N.C. Family Policy Council, the John Locke Foundation, and the Heartland Institute. The Youngs live in noisy familial bliss in North Carolina Today the focus will be on writing what you know and turning it into a profitable product!

Twila Belk, also known as the Gotta Tell Somebody Gal, is a popular speaker, writer, publicist, and former Christian bookstore owner. She directs the Quad-Cities Christian Writers' Conference and the Presbyterian Writers' Conference, which will be held in Nashville April 28-29. Twila is privileged to work full time with best-selling author Cecil (Cec) Murphey as his manager, personal assistant, publicist, promoter, scheduler, events coordinator, and biggest fan. She tries hard to make him look good and to keep him in line. She jokes that more appropriate titles for her might be Executive Director of the Cecil Murphey Empire, The Wind Beneath His Wings, or maybe even just Cec's Mom. Through her work with Cec she is getting to know the publishing industry from the inside out. She interacts daily with writers, agents, editors, publishers, and other industry professionals. Twila has written one book, numerous articles for a variety of publications, multiple radio spots, and lots of promotional materials. She contributed two stories for Cec Murphey's Christmas Miracles book, wrote a series of devotions for Disciplines 2009, and is currently writing a gift book with Cec Murphey. She's a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, The Writers View, Christian Booksellers Association, and Christian Humor Writers. You can find Twila at: http://www.gottatellsomebody.com for her Gotta Tell Somebody, Inc and at http://www.qccwc.com for the Quad-Cities Christian Writers Conference she hosts.

Marketing! Publicity! What is the difference? We will discuss how-to market your upcoming book or product and what that means to an author...and more especially to your publisher! My guest, Carol White is a marketing specialist. Carol White has been in sales and marketing her entire life. From selling Girl Scout Cookies, to running events in high school, to a career at AT&T/Lucent Technologies – and now helping authors market their books – she has seen business from every angle and has truly become a Marketing Maven. In addition to consulting with authors on their book projects, Carol is a sought-after speaker in both the genre of her book (Travel) and in publishing circles. She is also a frequent writer for websites and magazines on a variety of subjects including travel, publishing, and more. As an award-winning author and publisher herself, Carol is well-equipped to help you guide your book to success. She has worked on projects that include award winners for Mom’s Choice, ForeWord Magazine, Benjamin Franklin (IBPA), Nautilus and others.

How do I get an agent? Do I need an agent? What will a literary agent "really" do for me? These questions and many more will be answered in this interview with co-owner of Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency (Michael Larsen - Elizabeth Pomada Literary Agents) Elizabeth, represents commercial and literary fiction plus narrative non-fiction, and Michael, handles prescriptive non-fiction, combined they have sold hundreds of books to more than one hundred publishers. They are also the co-founders of the San Francisco Writers Conference and the Writing for Change Conference. Laurie McLean joined the agency in 2005 to represent adult genre fiction and children's middle-grade and young adult books. Bring your questions or email them to me in advance.

Shelly Beach has invested her life in the field of communication as an educator, administrator, writer, and writing consultant for the past thirty years. Her writing has been published in both the secular and religious markets. in a wide variety of genre including poetry, short stories, feature articles, and interviews. Shelly speaks at writers’ conference, seminars, retreats, schools, and women’s conferences through the Midwest. She is the founder and director of the Cedar Falls Christian Writers’ Workshop in Cedar Falls , Iowa , as well as a co-founder of the Breathe Christian Writers’ Workshop in the Grand Rapids , Michigan area. Shelly’s contemporary novel, Hallie’s Heart (Kregel Publications), was released in April of 2007. Her book of meditations on caregiving, Precious Lord, Take My Hand (Discovery House Publishers), also released in April 2007. Shelly’s second book on caregiving was released with Discovery House in 2008, and she is currently completing a sequel to her novel. Shelly is also a contributing feature writer for the Stewardship Bible (Crossway Books). Shelly is a graduate of Oakland University (B.A.) and Grand Rapids Theological Seminary (M.R.E.). She and her husband Dan, who works as a Christian School Superintendent, reside in Rockford , Michigan , where they attend Blythefield Hills Church . They have two adult children who reside in Iowa and Washington State .

Virginia Smith recently contracted her twelfth book in four years. Previous books in the Sister-to-Sister series include: Stuck in the Middle and Age before Beauty. In 2008 she was named Writer-of-the-Year at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. Stuck in the Middle was a finalist for American Christian Fiction Writers’ 2009 Book of the Year Award. A Taste of Murder was a finalist for the 2009 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. Ginny and husband, Ted, divide their time between Lexington, Kentucky, and Salt Lake City, Utah, escaping as often as possible for diving trips to the Caribbean. Admittedly, her adventurous outings are often as much fun as they are “book research.

Frankie Sherman is a national speaker, comedian, and Bible teacher for conferences, retreats, and women's events. She fell in love with Jesus at Vacation Bible School and takes every opportunity to tell others about the joy of being alive in Christ. She is a former choreographer for the Georgia Peach Bowl and the Florida Citrus Bowl Halftime Show. Her specialty is in theater musical/productions. Her first Bible Study, Why We Need Girlfriends is based on the relationship of Mary and Elizabeth, from Luke's gospel. Two women brought together by extraordinary circumstances by an extraordinary God. Frankie is from South Carolina—loves sweet tea, BIG hair and her grand-girls. She believes there will never be another Elvis. And knows that her Jesus will return for her soon. http://www.frankiedsherman.com/

Since the time she could read Nancy Drew, Cara has wanted to write mysteries. In 2005 she attended a book signing at her local Christian bookstore. The rest, as they say, was history. There she met Colleen Coble. With prompting from her husband, Cara shared her dream with Colleen. Since those infamous words, Cara’s been writing books. Heartsong Presents published a three book series of World War Two romances: Canteen Dreams (October 2007 – ACFW 2008 Book of the Year – Short Historical), Sandhill Dreams (May 2008), and Captive Dreams (September 2008). Love Inspired Suspense published her first romantic suspense Deadly Exposure in May 2008. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Business Law released in May 2009 with an Ohio World War Two series for Heartsong Presents, and Trial by Fire, the sequel to Deadly Exposure, releasing in 2009 and 2010. Cara is also an attorney, lecturer at a Big Ten university, active in women's ministry, and all around crazy woman. Crazy about God, her husband and her kids that is. She graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Huskers!) and George Mason Law School. You can learn more about Cara at www.caraputman.com

Known as the “connector,” Pam Perry knows how to pull the right people together for the right project at the right time. Her public relations and advertising career spans over two decades. A graduate from Wayne State University with a B.A. in journalism, Perry has worked in media and the nonprofit sector. Perry was the founder of Blacks in Advertising, Radio & Television. Over a ten-year period, the organization hosted career conferences, award programs honoring African American heroes in the industry and held regular professional development meetings. She is also a past winner of the “One to Watch” Award from the American Women in Radio and TV – Detroit Chapter and jointly won an Emmy for her work as a producer for “The Edge with Jeffrey Miller” television show. Currently she does public relations for the publishing industry. Her best training and experience came when she spent five years working in her husband’s marketing communications firm, Perry Marketing Group. Now she uses those skills to give back to local ministries through Ministry Marketing Solutions which is a public relations/marketing consulting firm. A consummate communicator, Perry has even taught journalism at Renaissance High School in Detroit. She also pens weekly columns in the Michigan Chronicle and Michigan Front Page. Her work has also appeared in Gospel Today magazine, The Detroit News, The Detroit Free Press, CBA Marketplace Magazine, Precious Times Magazine, Christian Covenant News and The Christian Communicator. Her passion is Christian books and assisting writers through the American Christian Writers Association (www.Acwriters.com) where she is president/founder of the Detroit Chapter. She and her husband, Marc have a daughter and live in the metro Detroit area. pamperry@ministrymarketingsolutions.com.

Communication skills are very important for all of us. JoJo will share with you her tips and upcoming seminar series you won't want to miss!

Join Felice and her guest, Chris Brady, a businessman, author, speaker, humorist, father, and mentor. Combining passion and clean humor, his entertaining communication style has won him fans across age groups and genres. He has appeared on stages around the world teaching leadership principles and success. Brady is co-author of four books with friend and business partner Orrin Woodward; the latest, Launching a Leadership Revolution, was re-released in October 2007 reached the best seller lists of the Wall Street Journal and Business Week, New York Times, and USA Today. Chris will share his trials and triumphs of being an author.

Felice welcomes, Sabrina Sumsion who is a publicist. Through her experiences working with a variety of authors from self published to commercially published, Sabrina has gained insights into the literary world and it's many traps and scams. Sabrina first developed a blog with the purpose of making authors aware of the ramifications of their publishing decisions. That blog turned into a white paper for the authors she works with. After 2 years of being asked when she was writing a book on the topic, she finally broke down and typed out her first book, "Writer Beware," due to be releases soon. She has also presented to Writer's Guilds and Organizations on publicity topics ranging from the basics of publicity to developing media hooks. With a strong passion to help others, she enters each presentation with enthusiasm and spunk.

Join Felice and her guest Jocelyn Green as they explore the world of writing and publishing. Jocelyn is based in Cedar Falls, Iowa, she is a full-time freelance writer, editor, wife and mother. She writes for Indiana Wesleyan University, and is a contributor to Christianity Today, Ignite Your Faith, Today's Christian, ZIA Magazine, InSite, EFCA Today, Today's Pentecostal Evangel and Baptist Bulletin. She is a contributor to High-Definition Life: Student Edition by Luis Palau (Revell 2005). Her her first book, Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives, was released by Moody Publishers in November 2008. She writes articles for General Mills (Box Tops for Education Web site), Nestle's Very Best Kids magazine and Publix's FamilyStyle magazine and the Juicy Juice Web site.

Join Felice and her guest, Jeannette Windle as they explore the world of being a published authors. As the child of missionary parents, award-winning author and journalist Jeanette Windle grew up in the rural villages, jungles, and mountains of Colombia, now guerrilla hot zones. Her detailed research and writing is so realistic that it has prompted government agencies to question her to determine if she has received classified information. Currently based in Lancaster, PA, Jeanette has lived in six countries and traveled in nearly 30, including Afghanistan. She has more than a dozen books in print, including political/suspense best-seller CrossFire and the Parker Twins series.