Tag Archives: Nonfiction

Building Your Empowered Steps Virtual Book Tour

Building Your Empowered Step

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Nonfiction

Date Published:  05-01-2018

Publisher: Phenomenal One Press

 

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Our way of thinking about your ability to change and your worth in reaching
for it through active exercises and simple bites that when taken can guide
you in building your dreams and aspirations, one step at a time.

 

 

 

 

Conference Workshop for the Book 

 

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Building Your Empowered Steps

By LM Preston

Empowered Steps Series

Excerpt

Building Your Empowered Steps paperback

Key Triggers That Change Your Perception

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” – Albert Einstein

 

The experiences in our lives, our environmental noise and conditioning, all contribute to our perception of the world around us. It’s how people who live in other places of the world find peace and joy in things we may find repulsive or depressing.

  • Are you ready to assess your current perceptions about your environment, your life, and what contributes to your perception of them? 
  • Get out and explore the diverse views of others by meeting new people, going different places, and even watching videos on others’ opinions of experiences that you are interested in exploring. Listen with open ears so that you understand others’ point of view. Ponder on what people with different perspectives share, and think how it can relate to your personal interests. Absorb the things you find valuable and discard information you don’t want to compromise on or don’t find helpful.
  • When you find perceptions that call to you, that you want to experience for yourself, write them in your journal to do further discovery. Find others who are living that perspective; observe, and emulate them.

 

Perspective.

Your attitude in response to your perception of the world around you.

 

It is the way we view the world. The thing about perspective: it is a powerful way to manipulate our emotional and responsive make-up towards our current environment or situation.

Controlling perspective can be done from internal thoughts, feelings, responses, or external peer pressure, interpretation of circumstances, and voices from others. 

The mind is a powerful and underutilized tool that we were gifted with. When we realize that we are the owners of our thoughts, we are free to fill our thoughts with what feeds us. If we used our minds to change our perspective, then our experiences in life will gain us peace and contentment or motivate us to move forward like never before.

For instance, I grew up poor. My mother had to work three jobs and get aid, yet in my mind, we were rich. I was satisfied in a way that I don’t think I would have understood or accepted if I was an adult. I didn’t even feel as though my parents should be married because I was happy with the one-on-one time I got to spend with either of them during my allotted visitation time. It wasn’t until I was older, a teenager, that I questioned this perception. After understanding that many shows on TV had two parents—a mom and dad who lived together—I started to wonder if the definition of family I had wasn’t the ‘right’ form of family.

The influences that changed my positive perspective of family came from external sources. Therefore, that perspective change seriously impacted my emotional wellbeing. It made me ashamed of my family circumstances, and I took on sadness associated with that. At that time, I never realized that what I considered a contented existence wasn’t considered a happy existence by the majority of the world.

 

About the Author

L.M. Preston

L.M. Preston, a native of Washington, DC. An avid reader, she loved to
create poetry and short-stories as a young girl. She is an author, an
engineer, a professor, a mother and a wife. Her passion for writing and
helping others to see their potential through her stories and encouragement
has been her life’s greatest adventures.She loves to write while on
the porch watching her kids play or when she is traveling, which is another
passion that encouraged her writing.

 

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That Sucked. Now What? Virtual Book Tour

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Nonfiction

Date Published: 01-01-2023

Publisher: Hay House

 

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The Brave Table podcast host offers a practical five-stage framework to
embrace the possibilities in chaos, normalize sucky human moments, overcome
setbacks with grace, and fly forward every time.

You know those awful, terrible, sucker-punch moments in life? The ones that
knock you down, burn you up, or make you cringe so hard you wish it was all
a bad dream? Probably–because we all do. These epic, messy,
oh-no-oh-crap moments of chaos are just part of life–yet, as Dr. Neeta
Bhushan shows us, they’re also beautiful opportunities for change.

As co-founder of the Global Grit Institute, a mental health training
platform for leaders and coaches, co-founder of the Dharma Coaching
Institute, training thousands to live their best lives, and a thriving coach
in her own right, Neeta Bhushan has helped thousands of people move past
their heartbreaks, failures, and disappointments. And after years of
research into human behavior, observing people in their worst and best
moments, being a mother of two small children, and failing more than a few
times herself, Neeta knows what it takes to get back up no matter what
bowled you over.

That Sucked, Now What? is a real-talk guide to personal growth that draws
on and embraces the suck–and helps you break through to lasting,
audacious resilience. You’ll learn why it’s so hard to get back up when
stuff goes down, how four core components of your life shape your individual
Bounce Factor, and how to navigate the five stages of the Fly Forward
framework through Falling, Igniting, Rising, Magnifying, and on to Thriving.
Along the way, Neeta shares successes and failures of her own, from the
wonderful to the WTF, in an indispensable book to pull off the shelf
whenever life serves up a setback, no matter the size.

 

Praise for That Sucked. Now What?

 

“If you’re someone who feels that life just isn’t going
your way, read this book. Dr. Neeta lays out actionable tools for overcoming
obstacles and building your resiliency so you can get that extra push toward
your dream.”
 

— Vishen Lakhiani, New York Times best-selling author of The Buddha
& the Badass

 

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About the Author

Dr. Neeta Bhushan

Dr. Neeta Bhushan is a cosmetic dentist turned three-time international
best-selling author and world-renowned emotional health advocate. She is
also the founder of Global Grit Institute, a wellness education platform for
optimizing well-being, and co-founder of Dharma Coaching Institute, a
coaching organization training coaches to become the highest versions of
themselves. Neeta has shared her thought leadership on grit and resilience
on international stages and as the host of her top-rated podcast, The Brave
Table.

After realizing how trapped she felt running the million-dollar dental
practice she built, Neeta embarked on a journey that led her across 45
countries as she researched the intersection of human behavior, ancient
wisdom, Eastern philosophy, and therapeutic psychology. That knowledge,
along with other life experiences overcoming multiple adversities, which
include being orphaned at a young age, surviving an abusive marriage, and
extensive loss, contributed to the powerful message of resilience she shares
in this book. Neeta is a mother of two and currently lives in Austin, Texas,
with her husband and children.

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The Voice of Villainy Virtual Book Tour

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The Betty Lou Gerson Story

 

Nonfiction

Date Published: January 28, 2023

 

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She voiced one of Disney’s most infamous villainesses. With her husky
timbre and most unforgettable cackle, Betty Lou Gerson terrified an entire
generation as Disney’s original “Cruella de Vil” in One
Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). Betty used her whiskey-soaked voice to
give us an innovative portrait of elegant villainy beyond
entertainment’s stereotypical “old hag” antagonists in
radio, film, and television. She had a prolific radio career in both Chicago
and Hollywood before the silver screen and was featured in many popular
television series in the 1950s and 1960s such as Perry Mason, The Dick Van
Dyke Show, and Hazel. Though “Cruella” is perhaps her most
recognized role, she also performed in other beloved film classics including
Cinderella (1950), Mary Poppins (1964), and Cats Don’t Dance
(1997).

The great irony of Betty’s story is that while her voice frightened
audiences through nearly all mediums, off mic, she was in fact no villainess
at all. Betty traversed through some of the most volatile eras in American
history, while overcoming many personal tragedies of her own. She was among
twentieth century entertainment pioneers and an iconic voice of
feminism.

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EXCERPT

Author’s Note 

She was a three-pronged paragon, but only 5’2. She gave our world so much through her femininity, creativity, and agility, but on the surface, she was just damn good at sounding “really mean.” 

In many ways, Betty Lou Gerson was far ahead of her time in her candid approach to life. As a pioneer in America’s early entertainment industry, she helped lay the cornerstones of today’s multifaceted industry that spans all mediums. She suffered many personal tragedies in her eighty-four years, yet gracefully overcame them. She traversed through some of the most volatile eras in American history, and continuously evolved with the times, which isn’t always an easy thing to do. She lived through two world wars, Red Scares, the myth of the Deep South, civil rights, and nearly outlived her entire family of origin. She was among twentieth century pioneers in stage, radio, and television and perhaps most notably rose to global acclaim as the voice of villainess “Cruella de Vil” in Disney’s animated film One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). She lived a fascinating life that still holds countless secrets. It has been an honor to “get to know her” in writing her biography, and I hope her contribution to our world will continue to live in her earthly absence. 

This is a chronicle of research, but as a caveat to readers, Betty Lou Gerson was and is so much more than any book could relay (as all biographic subjects are). While humanity can be better understood through historic preservation, people themselves are much more than collections of facts, records, and personal accounts. In this book, I hope never to attempt to speak for Betty, but to simply introduce you to her in a way that allows you to better hear her husky voice for yourself. I’m merely turning up the volume on a compelling story that has many elements of connection, inspiration, and grit from which we all can learn. 

This work is published after months and months of sifting through historical records, recorded interviews, newspaper articles, and radio recordings in tandem with countless interviews, phone calls, emails, texts, and snail mail exchanges that helped bring the research points into technicolor. While the research presented in these pages has been carefully conducted and compiled with the utmost intentionality, gaps are present and due to the nature of the historical accounts collected and presented, the entirety of any story can never be shared. I hope you will view this as a showcase of several significant portions of Betty’s life that have contributed toward the legacy she has left behind, and perhaps consider your own in a new way. The majority of the content in quotations throughout this book has come directly from either recorded or printed interviews with quotations indicating secondary sources – some listed and some unlisted. 

This biography is part record and part experience, as all humanity is. It includes primary and secondary data along with the unique interpretation of the researcher and writer herself. The facts and experiential content found in the following pages are accurate in so much as any historical account can be. There are some discrepancies on certain records and dates, but those are generally detailed on a case-by-case basis. The experiential accounts presented by individuals mentioned in this book have been contributed of their own free will based on their own personal recollections and experiences. While many of her works are detailed in the pages hereafter, no exhaustive list of her complete works in any media exists. 

As a researcher and writer, I approach this biography with three glaring personal biases that should be mentioned straightaway: First, I never had the privilege of meeting the star of this bio; therefore, I have researched and written from behind a glass, so-to-speak. Second, I am removed from the historical context by a couple of generations; therefore, my postmodern worldview will undoubtedly be evident throughout this work. This is significant in that my worldview as a researcher and writer is an indirect byproduct of the eras I have studied and shared about in the following pages. Third, I am a fan of Betty Lou Gerson’s, and my interpretation of her career and life will certainly be based on my overall favorable opinion of her and her contribution to our world. Not all biases are negative, though they should be acknowledged in any effort to share information in an ethical and veracious way. 

Some of the contextual information found in this biography may be obvious or even painfully boring to some, leaving readers asking, “What the devil does this have to do with Betty Lou?” but in an effort to preserve and further the particular segment of history of which she was a part, I believe it is important to detail as much context as possible for generations, like my own, who may be unaware of some of the era-related implications that make her story so interesting. 

Perhaps most importantly, a very special thanks to all who made this biography possible. Thank you to all those who have been so kind to contribute their time, memories, and support to this project. I have been so fortunate to connect with many remarkable individuals whose journeys intersected with Betty Lou Gerson in unforgettable ways. Empirical research is so important in any project of this nature, but the ways in which we touch each other’s lives is truly how “biography” is created. One of the most rewarding elements of researching and writing this book has been connecting with family members, friends, and colleagues of Betty’s who have been so generous to share their stories with me. A very special thanks to Betty’s family for their support of this writing project and for sharing the lovely memories. 

Thank you to all the stellar people at SPERDVAC who not only personally directed me to many archive interviews and recordings with and about Betty, but for being instrumental in creating these archive interviews and recordings in the first place. The grand efforts of organizations like SPERDVAC are so important for later generations, of which I am a part, to experience a bit of time travel through the voices and the stories of previous eras. Without SPERDVAC’s vigilant efforts in capturing pieces of history through interviews and recordings, the beautiful, hilarious, and heartbreaking stories (many of which you will find in this book) would have been lost forever. While I so appreciate SPERDVAC as a whole, I also want to specifically name a few people within the entity who have been especially impactful in the creation of this book: Larry Gassman, Walden Hughes, and John Tefteller. 

A special thanks to the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters (PPB) for their archiving efforts of Les Tremayne’s private recordings. A special thanks to David Seubert at the University of California, Santa Barbara for his unyielding perseverance in locating the lost archive of those recordings. If not for John Tefteller’s tip, and David Seubert’s efforts, the wonderful interview by Alice Backes with Betty Lou Gerson for the PPB would have been forever lost in dusty warehouse storage. 

A special thanks to all the wonderful old time radio researchers who helped guide my own research in this project. Without the preservation work of so many researchers before me, this biography would have been incredibly difficult if not impossible to write. Thank you, John Dunning for your incredible work Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio 1925-1976; J. David Goldin’s RadioGOLDINdex; OldTimeRadioDownloads.com; Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs; RUSC Old Time Radio; Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.; and The Digital Deli. Your work is invaluable, and I am ever grateful for your efforts to preserve this wonderful history of the Golden Age of radio. 

A special thanks to Chuck Schaden for his preservation work in creating recordings of so many interviews with legendary artists like Betty, and for making them available to others. A special thanks to those wonderfully talented colleagues of Betty’s who were so kind in sharing their memories with me such as Karen Dotrice and Joyce Meadows. 

To everyone mentioned above, thank you all for being so patient with my nosiness and excavation efforts in gathering all the information I could about one of our favorite voices in media history. It has been a great pleasure partnering with you in these research efforts. Thank you for allowing history to live on through your intimate contributions! 

Dr. Lona Bailey 

About the Author

Lona Bailey

Lona Bailey is a Golden Age of Hollywood researcher and writer of
“Uncredited: The Life and Career of Actress Virginia Gregg” and
“The Voice of Villainy: The Betty Lou Gerson Story.”

As a PhD and former therapist, Lona is passionate about telling the untold
#storiesofwomen who perhaps weren’t finished using their own voices
during their earthly journeys. Lona is a mother of three with a balanced
perspective on the multidimensional elements involved in legacy-maintenance
with particular interest in the preservation efforts of the
#GoldenAgeofHollywood. Lona’s #biographic works are delicately
researched and written with a candid and fair pen and plenty of room for
levity.

#OldHollywood holds millions of secrets in its gothic #sensationalism; with
its #darksecrets, come just as many shimmering triumphs– and Old
Hollywood wouldn’t be as we know it without both.

 

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Speak No Evil Virtual Book Tour

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In Search of Our Self-Esteem, Self-Empowerment, and Self-Worth

 

Nonfiction

Publication Date: October 10, 2022

Publisher: Mindstir Media

 

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It is rare that a book can claim to challenge the way we view ourselves,
view others and the way we seek out romantic relationships. Speak No Evil –
In Search of our Self-esteem, Self-Empowerment, and Self-worth is such a
book. It is the culmination of twenty years of communication strategies and
concepts developed by Dr. Frank Plateroti whom inspired thousands of
university students.

Now everyone can take the challenge to see if they view their world the
same way after reading Speak No Evil – In Search of our Self-esteem,
Self-empowerment, and Self-worth.

 

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 EXCERPT

November 1, 2022

 

  “It is my strong believe that healthy and loving relationships are the only thing in life that really have true value and meaning.” Thus is the essence of Speak No Evil, the Search of Our Self-Esteem, Self-Worth, and Self-Empowerment. Meaningful and rewarding relationships requires both positive intrapersonal (self-talk) and interpersonal (with others) communication, which develops and maintains meaningful relationships — or destroy them through gossiping, jealousy, resentment, and begrudging. “These societal and relational cancers destroy the good until there is nothing good left.” 

First and foremost, the most important relationship is the relationship is with ourselves.  If we don’t have an honest and healthy relationship with ourselves through honest intra-personal communication, it may be impossible to have a healthy and rewarding relationship with others. Having an honest relationship with ourselves requires an understanding of the importance of self-esteem. “Honest self-esteem enables us to be confident, appropriately modest, accepting the responsibility of our own actions and always being humble and sincere.” Healthy self-esteem in turn effects our self-empowerment and allows us to increase our self-worth. To help develop healthy self-esteem, we must accept our Birth Destiny, which is the situation we are born into, regardless if it is an advantaged or disadvantaged situation: Either way, we are no better or worse than anyone else.  As adults we move into our Life Destiny, which means we are responsible for our actions and life’s consequences. 

To be truly fulfilled, it is our relationships that have the most value and rewards. It is what makes life worth living and we have the power to change our life’s direction by understanding that, “Our past does not have to determine our present or future. We can begin a new life today.”

 

About the Author 

Dr. Frank Plateroti

Dr. Frank Plateroti earned his Doctorate Degree in Education Research and a
Master’s Degree in Communication. For the past twenty years Dr.
Plateroti has taught in the communication department at William Paterson
University in New Jersey. Some of the courses he taught were television
production, media studies, and his specialty; intrapersonal and
interpersonal communication. Prior to his teaching he worked in public
relations and was a television producer, writer, and director with his own
international production company. Today, Dr. Plateroti is concentrating on
his writing with the publishing of the trilogy, East Clifton Avenue. He is
currently working on the completion of the second and third book of the
trilogy. Dr. Plateroti is also active in award winning home renovations,
maintaining his real estate and financial investments, and a recording
vocalist. Speak No Evil is the culmination of twenty years of teaching the
communications course that he developed, which he describes as “the
most rewarding period of my career.”

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Get Out of Your Head Virtual Book Tour

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How to Stop Negative Thoughts and Emotions and Live a Positive Productive
Life.

 

Nonfiction

Date Published: June 15, 2021

 

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We live in uncertain times and due to this anxiety rules over manys daily
lives. The spiral of toxic thoughts can leave you paralyzed, In this book
you will find many ways to overcome your negative self defeating thoughts
and behaviours. From meditation, daily routine improvement , C.B.T therapy
skills, healthy habits and much more. This is a tool kit designed to help
you stop negative thoughts and emotions as well as tips on how to live your
best life with no regrets. I personally have struggled with my own self
defeating thoughts and emotions and through these steps I was able to take
control of my life.

 

Get Out of Your Head tablet

EXCERPT

What’s in Your Head? 

There’s only one person standing in your way and, spoiler alert, it’s you. Don’t let this be the case anymore, you don’t want to be wishing you’d been able to speak to your past self (this present self) and tell it to stop worrying or to take more chances. You want to look back at the person you were and thank them for the incredible life they lived. 

It all starts with you, right now. 

There are stories in our heads about how things are supposed to go and what we need to do. Expectations are piling up from everyone surrounding us, stacking their judgments on top of your own personal judgments, creating a mountain of self-esteem crushing thoughts and behaviors waiting to be sifted through. 

Do we really know what’s happening outside of our heads anymore? In our bodies? In our everyday lives? In our relationships? The answer is most likely no, or maybe maximum 50% yes but the point is it’s not a 100% yes. 

We rarely know what is going on around us anymore because of the blinders we put in our brains so that we can focus solely on our ‘productive’ lives of constant work, heading for an inevitable burn out because of our overachieving tendencies. The questions posed in the previous paragraph should act as your beginner’s guide; if you answered no to any of those questions, read on. If you answered yes to those questions, you must read on because there is a big chance you were not exactly transparent with yourself. 

In this book we will describe tried and true methods for setting goals, forming habits, designing routines, and scheduling weeks to stop negative thoughts and become a more effective version of yourself. We discuss the importance of self-care and why you should include meditation in both your self-care and daily routines to reduce stress and create mindfulness. Finally, we will move into the interdependent aspect of the work addressing how the state of our minds can influence our relationships, how to reach out when you might need help, and how to ultimately let go of what is no longer serving you. 

There is a lot to learn so take your time, there’s no rush. Please feel free to use this as a guide in life, a reference that you can return to when needed.

About the Author

 Peter Vickers

 Peter Vickers 29, Originally from Calgary Alberta has always enjoyed
expressing his creativity in many different ways. Only in the last few years
has he decided to use writing as a creative outlet. Having his fair share of
hardship Peter is no stranger to negative thoughts emotions and hopes that
his books may help others to lead a healthy happy life using the tips that
helped him. Peter enjoys Hiking, camping and being outdoors and now lives in
the beautiful okanagan where he continues to write and explore with his 3
year old lab husky mix.

 

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