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22 LEADERSHIP FUNDAMENTALS- ALISON VIDOTTO

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Alison Vidotto Alison Vidotto is a mother of six, published author, professional speaker, CEO of Vidotto Group, Founder and Managing director of the Australian Charity for the Children of Vietnam, qualified ESL teacher, trainer, and business owner. Alison has a passion for leadership and development, both within herself and in others. Born in England, Alison is one of seven children. When she was 13 Alison's parents moved the family to Melbourne, Australia. At 16 Alison was living and working independently and working full time, but determined to continue her education. Married at 18, Alison had her first child at 21 and sixth at age 34. During that time Alison put herself through night school, completed a tertiary degree and started a number of successful small businesses whilst being a devoted mother to six children, often alone while Lou travelled to site and moving 20 times in 15 years. Alison set up her first small business in 1992 and found many of the same challenges business owners experience today. Having worked through the Australian 1992 recession, the Global Financial Crisis and Brisbane's 2011 floods, Alison has developed a real world understanding of potential hardships businesses face and the…

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Authors' Chat

CAULDSTANE-LINDA GILLARD

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Linda Gillard Cauldstane is "A gothic novel in the romantic suspense tradition of Daphne du Maurier & Mary Stewart." When ghostwriter Jenny Ryan is summoned to the Scottish Highlands by Sholto MacNab – retired adventurer and Laird of Cauldstane Castle – she's prepared for travellers' tales, but not the MacNabs' violent and tragic history. Lust, betrayal and murder have blighted family fortunes for generations, together with an ancient curse. As members of the family confide their sins and their secrets, Jenny learns why Cauldstane's uncertain future divides father and sons. But someone resents Jenny's presence. Someone thinks she's getting too close to Alec MacNab – swordsmith, widower and heir to Cauldstane. Someone will stop at nothing until Jenny has been driven away. Or driven mad. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Especially a dead woman. Stephanie: Hello, Linda! Thank you for chatting with me today about your book, Cauldstane and congratulations on the B.R.A.G. Medallion. This book sounds absolutely brilliant and I love a good gothic suspense. I've got your book on my Kindle and will be reading it very soon. Linda: Hi Stephanie! It's good to talk to you again. Stephanie: Lets talk about…

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Authors' Chat

HARP’S SONG-CASSIE SHINE

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Cassie Shine Cassie Shine released her debut young adult novel, Harp's Song in November 2013, finally finishing the short story she started in her college creative writing class ... many, many moons ago. She has always been an avid reader and lover of music (yes, she was in the high school marching band). While she has a weak spot for all things teenybopper, especially boy bands, she also loves classical, country, rock and well, pretty much all music. After living in St. Louis for more than ten years, she and her husband packed up a U-Haul and headed west. They currently live in Orange County, CA with their furry kids Finnegan and Molly. Stephanie: Hello, Cassie! Thank you for chatting with me today and congrats on the B.R.A.G. Medallion! What an honor! How did you discover indieBRAG and what has your experience been like with them? Cassie: My friend and publicist extraordinaire sent me information on indieBRAG and suggested I submit Harp's Song. I thought it was a long shot, but submitted it anyway. So, basically ... I owe her, BIG TIME! Stephanie: Please tell me about your book, Harp's Song. Cassie: Harp is a 17-year-old senior…

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SMELL THE BLUE SKY- VALERIE WILLMAN

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Valerie Willman Valerie Willman is the author of Smell the Blue Sky: young, pregnant, and widowed, winner of the B.R.A.G. Medallion for Top Indie-Published Books. She co-chairs the Mid-Valley Chapter of Willamette Writers and teaches various workshops on writing, and on grief, such as "Booze and Chocolate Aren't the Only Ways to Cope: Turning negative emotions into art." She's a successful freelance editor through her company, Yellow Pen Editing, and is also a certified bereavement facilitator, and licensed massage therapist. Valerie has served in the United States Army, owns land in Costa Rica, and lives with three big dogs, two kids, and one Turk. She's walked the length of two marathons—on purpose—and loves olives, chai, and chocolate. You can find more about Valerie on her website and on Facebook Stephanie: Hello, Valerie! Thank you for chatting with me today and congrats on the B.R.A.G. Medallion. How did you discover indieBRAG and how has self-publishing worked out for you so far? Valerie: I don't recall exactly how I discovered indieBRAG. I know it was through my extensive research on the internet—looking for how to market my book. You provide a great service to indie-published authors. Thanks! Self (or…

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ST. MAGGIE- JANET STAFFORD

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Janet Stafford It is a pleasure and honor to have Author Janet Stafford as my guest today. I met Janet through social media and she has won the B.R.A.G. Medallion for her book, Saint Maggie. Today I have asked her to talk about her writing and I have asked her some questions.... Why Do You Write? I write because I have to. It's that simple. It's been a part of me ever since I can remember. I loved stories when I was a child. My parents read to me and when I could read I got books from the library and through the book club at school. Childhood was also when I started telling stories to my friends. When I was eight or nine I realized that I could put my stories down on paper. So I wrote and illustrated my own book (in pencil!) about the Wizard of Oz. At the same time I began to imagine that someday my books would be published. As a teen I wrote stories that featured my favorite pop stars. I also shared a continuing story in the oral tradition with a good friend, and I learned to make up…

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DYING PHOENIX- LORETTA PROCTOR

Stephanie Hopkins
  Author Interview with Loretta Proctor Dying Phoenix is set against a background of fear and torture, under a military dictatorship in Greece. Max and Nina Hammett struggle to preserve a marriage that has become fraught with jealousy and despair. In April 1967, a totally unexpected military coup throws Greece into turmoil. People vanish amid terrified rumours of torture and murder. As these events unravel, so does Nina and Max's marriage. Nina doesn't trust Max, and leaves him in a jealous rage. But the truth of the matter is that Max was trying to help an abused woman escape her tormentor, not taking her to his bed as Nina imagines. Young, flighty Zoe's angst puts Max in terrible danger from a ruthless murderer. At the same time, he must also try to find Nina, who has disappeared into the shadowy depths of Athens. He knows that her willful nature, along with her refusal to cater to the military, could get her killed. Hearing that she is in danger, he sets off on a journey across Greece to find her and to escape his own past. Dying Phoenix is a thrilling historical romance that covers an interesting, little-known period of Modern…

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A RAGE TO LIVE -JOSEPH KRYGIER

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Joseph Krygier Victor Breitburg is a survivor of the Lódz Ghetto, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Rhemsdorf and Theresienstadt concentration camps. He was liberated with a group known as "The Boys". Their experiences have been documented in Sir Martin Gilbert's Book, The Boys:Triumph Over Adversity. Victor and many of "The Boys" are still in contact with one another, although as it is with WWII veterans, their numbers are slowly diminishing. Victor's journey from Lódz, to the camps in Europe, to England, Scotland and the United States and his new life in America is the story told in this volume. Victor completed studies in America, became a successful businessman and an accomplished lecturer on the Holocaust, having received numerous awards and citations for his role as an educator. He is a widower, having been married to his beloved wife Lucille for sixty years. He currently lives in Coconut Creek Florida, and at 84 years old, occasionally speaks on Yom HaShoa. He has written some poems, short stories and is considering a novel based on the early days of the Mossad, the Israeli Secret Service. Victor has two daughters, Denise and Myra. Denise is married to Mark and they have two children,…

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Authors' Chat

BOLDER AND WISER-SARAH DALE

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Sarah Dale Sarah Dale is a practicing occupational psychologist and coach. She is the author of Keeping Your Spirits Up, a guide to facing the challenges of modern life. She lives in Nottingham, UK, with her husband, two daughters and step-son. Her moments of leisure are spent Nordic walking, reading fiction and frequenting coffee shops, the more independent the better. She secretly loves a good jigsaw. Stephanie: Hello, Sarah! Congrats on the B.R.A.G. Medallion and thank you for chatting with me today about your book, Bolder and Wiser. Please tell me a little about your story? Sarah: Hello there, and thank you for having me on your site. I am approaching my fiftieth birthday, and, along with many of my friends, it is provoking some mixed feelings. My 'day job' is occupational psychology and coaching (I run my own business on Creating Focus), so I also hear similar reflections from some of my clients about the experience of mid-life and everything that comes with it. It is common of course to experience quite some turmoil about ageing as well as what that means for our careers, our family responsibilities, our appearance, our health and – in short…

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Authors' Chat

MY LIFE- RICH SAMUELS

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Rich Smauels Stephanie: Hello Rich! Thank you for chatting with me today and congrats on the B.R.A.G. Medallion. Please tell me a little about your book, "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain." Rich: "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain," is the story of 13 year-old Alexander and his outrageous (and unfounded) fears about everyday life in middle school. He sees danger everywhere – and bullies around every corner. He thinks of himself as "prey in a sea of predators." He even wrote a smartphone app, BullyTrack, to share his bully-avoiding skills with other kids. Though his fears are entirely in his imagination, they spiral out of control, and he's convinced an evil bully plot is unfolding. He sets up what he imagines to be a huge public showdown with a boy he perceives to be his arch-enemy. Alexander thinks he's on the way to a great victory, but the reality is something else. Stephanie: Bullying is a constant problem in our children's schools and your premise is really interesting and different from other books I have read on bullying. Alexander's fears and anxiety of being bullied has made him paranoid it…

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Authors' Chat

TO VENICE WITH LOVE- JANE BECK

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Jane Beck Stephanie: Thank you for chatting with me today, Janet and congrats on the B.R.A.G. Medallion for your story, To Venice with Love. Tell me a little about your story. Jane: My heroine Isobel is free for the first time in her life from a philandering ex-husband, the necessity to work and the demands of the family. She decides to take herself to Venice, a place she's longed to visit. She leaves everything behind in an uncharacteristic bid for time on her own, time to be self-indulgent. She meets Rupert, a widower, half-Italian and an architect, before she has left Heathrow, and they discover a mutual love of Venice, which crystallizes into love for each other as he shows her around the city where he lives for half the year. If I were to sum up the story I would say that it is a combination of wishful thinking and an over-active imagination! Venice is a city designed for lovers and it is easy to create an ambiance against which the love story can play out. There would be no novel without tension however and I've used various members of both Isobel and Rupert's families to…

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