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Author Myrna J. Smith Launches her Blog Tour for God and Other Men: Religion, Romance, and the Search for Self-Love
Dates: Feb. 16 - March 13
About the Book:
Myrna Smith opens her story one Sunday night when she returns home from a ski weekend with her three children. While she was on the slopes, her husband had moved out. That had been the plan.
Yet her story, though it encompasses her divorce, is much larger. Ultimately, Smith sets out to love herself, to find an inner place where she can rest and grow.
In this search-for-the-holy-grail memoir, Smith traces her travels toward enlightenment as a middle-aged American woman with a wry humor and heartfelt longing. On the journey she discovers spiritual fulfillment doesn’t come easily, or all at once. For her, it is quite elusive.
The quest really started, she realizes, in her childhood on an Oregon farm where she and her older sister were once “converted” in their father’s pea patch by two young Bible summer school teachers barely out of their teens. The school was part of the tiny church their mother attended while their father stayed home, read Edgar Cayce books, and mused on reincarnation.
Later, drawn by the mysticism of the Hindus, Smith’s journey leads to Bangalore where she touches the robes of Sai Baba, the Indian saint. Back home in New Jersey, she finds herself in a country farm- house getting prescriptions channeled through a medium for every- thing from her back woes and diarrhea to an obsession with money.
She also writes of the demons that surface during a years-long love affair with her beloved Charlie and what A Course in Miracles stirred within her.
Smith’s story is one of adventure and effort that, in the end, reveals three simple yet essential truths that are both the journey and the destination.
Publisher: Cape House Books
http://www.capehousebooks.com/godandothermen.htm
About Myrna J. Smith:
Myrna J. Smith, EdD, is a retired professor of English and comparative religions who continues to travel and explore the world’s spiritual traditions. God and Other Men is her first book.
Praise for God and Other Men: Religion, Romance, and the Search for Self-Love:
“Never has Myrna J. Smith accept- ed trite or dubious solutions to her soul’s deepest yearnings. The result is a lifetime of tested and practiced wisdom, culled from all the great philosophical traditions of the world and the hard-won lessons of her own heart. This book tells the whole tale in language that never veers from the elegant.”
—Elizabeth Gilbert
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
“My Princeton Theological Semi- nary education can’t hold a candle to this exploration of the world’s religions and paranormal sources of spiritual truth.”
—the Rev. Dr. Susan Alloway
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Available Dates: Feb. 17, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27,
March 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12
Guest Post Topics:
Writing Topics
• Writing from the Mature Point of View
- How Reading Spiritual Texts and Stories Influence My Writing
Non-Writing Topics
• Being in the presence of love: Zdenko Arsenijvevic could heal and perceive unseen color, but his best aspect was the love that emanated from him to his students and clients.
• Living with an Indian guru: Tapoguna Maharaj led an ordinary life but was not at the whims of the body. (Smith lives in his ashram lived for two months in India.
• Studying with Kenneth Wapnack: The late Kenneth Wapnack, the foremost teacher of A Course in Miracles, worked with the scribe of the Course and helped bring it into print. Smith took classes with him over two years, and was amazed by his compassion while never moving away from the difficult principles of the Course, mainly that we are never a victim.
• Traveling alone or in groups: Smith has traveled to India five times, three times by herself. She will be spending two weeks alone in Vietnam in January. Smith has also gone in partially organized small groups to Indonesia and Thailand, and to China on a regular tour.
• Traveling and/or taking classes when you're in your 70's. Smith is 74 and is taking a five-week trip to Asia, mostly on her own, although she will be traveling with one person the first two weeks.
Myrna is also available for interviews.
Author M. Shannon Hernandez Launches Her Blog Tour for Breaking the Silence: My Final 40 Days a Public School Teacher
Dates: March 9 through April 3
About Breaking the Silence:
America’s public school system is broken and M. Shannon Hernandez knows why, firsthand. After fifteen years in the teaching profession, three gut-wrenching realizations forced her to recognize that she must leave the career she loved so dearly. She knew that if she continued to work for a failing system, she would also continue to lose a little piece of her heart and soul every day.
You are invited into Hernandez’s classroom for the final forty days of her teaching career to understand the urgent need for school reform, clearly demonstrated in each story. You’ll witness the intelligence, vulnerability, and humanity of her students, and the challenges teachers like Hernandez face as they navigate the dangerous waters between advocating for and meeting students’ needs, and disconnected education policy.
This book is not only a love letter to her students, her fellow teachers, and to the reformed public school system she envisions, but also a heartfelt message of hope, encouragement, and self-empowerment for those who feel they are stuck in soul-sucking careers. It is an essential read for each citizen who is seeking a life comprised of more purpose and happiness, as well as parents, teachers, administrators, and policymakers who know our nation’s education system is in desperate need of an overhaul.
About the Author:
M. Shannon Hernandez is the founder of The Writing Whisperer, and her mission is to help heart-centered entrepreneurs and heart-centered authors find their brand voices, share their unique stories, gain more visibility, establish themselves as experts, and create authentic marketing messages, all through the use of smart content strategy and engaging copywriting. The Writing Whisperer was named one of Top 100 Websites for Writers by The Write Life in both 2014 and 2015, and Shannon has been featured as a content strategy and copywriting expert on many prominent podcasts and websites. She is a leading voice in the world of authentic business writing and heart-centered education reform, and she writes regularly for The Huffington Post. Shannon’s memoir, Breaking the Silence, chronicles her exit out of public education, after 15 years, and provides readers an intimate view of her journey to business ownership, finding happiness, and reinvention.
Guest Post Topics:
Education related:
Love: The Missing Ingredient in Public Education Reform
Why Student-Centered Public Education Reform Must Become THE Priority
Changing Lives Across the Country, One Page at a Time OR Chaining Lives Across the Country, One Podcast at a Time
Writing related:
Reinvent Your Life—One Journal Entry at a Time
How Becoming an Author Made Me a Better Person
How to Write a Memoir that Creates a Movement OR How to Write a World-Changing Memoir
5 Signs You Should Invest in a Memoir Writing Coach
Reinvention (of life/career) related:
Having the Courage to Live a Truly Audacious Life
From School Teacher to Business Owner—In 4 Months Flat
How My Life Improved After 15 Days of Saying “No”
Behind the Scenes of a Heart-Centered Entrepreneur
Available Dates:
March 10, 11, 12, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31
April 1, 2, 3
Shannon is also available for interviews.
Dates: March 9 through April 3
About Breaking the Silence:
America’s public school system is broken and M. Shannon Hernandez knows why, firsthand. After fifteen years in the teaching profession, three gut-wrenching realizations forced her to recognize that she must leave the career she loved so dearly. She knew that if she continued to work for a failing system, she would also continue to lose a little piece of her heart and soul every day.
You are invited into Hernandez’s classroom for the final forty days of her teaching career to understand the urgent need for school reform, clearly demonstrated in each story. You’ll witness the intelligence, vulnerability, and humanity of her students, and the challenges teachers like Hernandez face as they navigate the dangerous waters between advocating for and meeting students’ needs, and disconnected education policy.
This book is not only a love letter to her students, her fellow teachers, and to the reformed public school system she envisions, but also a heartfelt message of hope, encouragement, and self-empowerment for those who feel they are stuck in soul-sucking careers. It is an essential read for each citizen who is seeking a life comprised of more purpose and happiness, as well as parents, teachers, administrators, and policymakers who know our nation’s education system is in desperate need of an overhaul.
About the Author:
Guest Post Topics:
Education related:
Love: The Missing Ingredient in Public Education Reform
Why Student-Centered Public Education Reform Must Become THE Priority
Changing Lives Across the Country, One Page at a Time OR Chaining Lives Across the Country, One Podcast at a Time
Writing related:
Reinvent Your Life—One Journal Entry at a Time
How Becoming an Author Made Me a Better Person
How to Write a Memoir that Creates a Movement OR How to Write a World-Changing Memoir
5 Signs You Should Invest in a Memoir Writing Coach
Reinvention (of life/career) related:
Having the Courage to Live a Truly Audacious Life
From School Teacher to Business Owner—In 4 Months Flat
How My Life Improved After 15 Days of Saying “No”
Behind the Scenes of a Heart-Centered Entrepreneur
Available Dates:
March 10, 11, 12, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31
April 1, 2, 3
Shannon is also available for interviews.
Author Karen Mann Launches Her Blog Tour for Historical Romance Novel, The Woman of LaMancha
Dates: March 16 through April 10
About The Woman of La Mancha:
The Woman of La Mancha, a companion book to Don Quixote, tells the woman’s story of Don Quixote by recounting the story of the girl he called Dulcinea, the woman he loved from afar.
It’s 1583. An eleven-year-old girl wakes in the back of a cart. She has lost her memory and is taken in by a kindly farm family in La Mancha. She adopts the name Aldonza. She doesn’t speak for quite some time. Once she speaks, there is a family member who is jealous of her and causes a good deal of trouble, even causing her to be forced to leave La Mancha in tragic circumstances. Having to create a new life in a new location and still unaware of her birth family, she adopts the name Dulcinea and moves in the circles of nobility. While seeking her identity, she becomes the consort of wealthy men, finds reason to disguise herself as a man, and leans herbal healing to help others.
There is a parallel story of a young man, Don Christopher, a knight of King Philip and the betrothed of the girl, who sets off on with a young squire, Sancho, to find the girl. Christopher’s adventures takes them across Spain and forces him to grow up. Does he continue the quest to find his betrothed or marry another and break the contract with the king.
Both young people have many experiences and grow up before the readers’ eyes. Floating in and out of each other’s paths as they travel around Spain, will they eventually find each other and be together?
About the Author:
Karen Mann is the Administrative Director of the brief-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program at Spalding University in Louisville (spalding.edu/mfa) of which she is also the co-founder. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in various anthologies. Her second book, The Saved Man: The First Century, is available as an ebook on Amazon. After having lived in Indiana most of her life, she now lives in California.
Guest Post Topics:
Research for an Historical Novel: How to Begin and End
Writing about Places You’ve Never Been
What Does Don Quixote Tell Us About Modern Times?
The Fun Part of Revision
Using a Spreadsheet to Keep Track of Your Characters
Find Yourself a Writing Community
Low-residency VS. Traditional MFA in Writing
Got an Idea for a Novel? How to Get Started
Homeschooling: A Literature Course for Middle Grades
Dates: March 16 through April 10
About The Woman of La Mancha:
The Woman of La Mancha, a companion book to Don Quixote, tells the woman’s story of Don Quixote by recounting the story of the girl he called Dulcinea, the woman he loved from afar.
It’s 1583. An eleven-year-old girl wakes in the back of a cart. She has lost her memory and is taken in by a kindly farm family in La Mancha. She adopts the name Aldonza. She doesn’t speak for quite some time. Once she speaks, there is a family member who is jealous of her and causes a good deal of trouble, even causing her to be forced to leave La Mancha in tragic circumstances. Having to create a new life in a new location and still unaware of her birth family, she adopts the name Dulcinea and moves in the circles of nobility. While seeking her identity, she becomes the consort of wealthy men, finds reason to disguise herself as a man, and leans herbal healing to help others.
There is a parallel story of a young man, Don Christopher, a knight of King Philip and the betrothed of the girl, who sets off on with a young squire, Sancho, to find the girl. Christopher’s adventures takes them across Spain and forces him to grow up. Does he continue the quest to find his betrothed or marry another and break the contract with the king.
Both young people have many experiences and grow up before the readers’ eyes. Floating in and out of each other’s paths as they travel around Spain, will they eventually find each other and be together?
Karen Mann is the Administrative Director of the brief-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program at Spalding University in Louisville (spalding.edu/mfa) of which she is also the co-founder. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in various anthologies. Her second book, The Saved Man: The First Century, is available as an ebook on Amazon. After having lived in Indiana most of her life, she now lives in California.
Guest Post Topics:
Research for an Historical Novel: How to Begin and End
Writing about Places You’ve Never Been
What Does Don Quixote Tell Us About Modern Times?
The Fun Part of Revision
Using a Spreadsheet to Keep Track of Your Characters
Find Yourself a Writing Community
Low-residency VS. Traditional MFA in Writing
Got an Idea for a Novel? How to Get Started
Homeschooling: A Literature Course for Middle Grades
Available Dates:
March 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31
April 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 ,10
March 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31
April 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 ,10
Author D.A. Russell Launches His Blog Tour for Lifting the Curtain: The Disgrace We Call Urban High School Education (2nd Edition)
Dates: March 23 - April 17
About the Book:
The 2nd edition of the acclaimed look at today's failed education system -- with dozens of teacher submissions from across the USA and nine new chapters! Both KIRKUS and CLARION praise this important book "...from the unique perspective of a classroom teacher" that shows the real problems that have destroyed the education of our children. Few parents or legislators have any chance of seeing the real state of education in our urban schools. It is a shameful disaster -- unlike anything that we, as parents, experienced just 15-20 years ago. The real problems stay largely unseen, because career DoE bureaucrats and school administration are extremely good at hiding their failed policies behind the curtain of the school entryway. In Lifting the Curtain, Russell provides a detailed look at urban high school education from inside the classroom, including three years of research, and the first ever major survey of what students and teachers think of the educational system. If we want a real solution for our children, then for once we must focus on the real problems, the ones carefully hidden behind the educational curtain.
About D.A. Russell:
D. A. Russell has spent the last ten years as a math teacher in one of the urban high schools that is the subject of Lifting the Curtain. He is an honors graduate of Dartmouth College, and has his master’s degree from Simon School, where he was valedictorian of his class. Russell is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He has two children that he treasures, and four grandchildren. His son is a police officer who served in the US Army in Afghanistan, earning a Bronze Star for valor. His daughter is a lawyer and his most passionate fan and honorary literary agent. Russell has a passion for children that dominates his life. He has taught and coached children for decades. Few things are more important in Russell’s view than to cherish the children who are our real treasures in this world. He is a contributor for education matters to the Huffington Post, and runs a personal blog at: LiftingTheCurtainOnEducation.wordpress.com dedicated to letting teacher voices be heard in the real problems with education.
Available Dates:
March 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31
April 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
Website: http://liftingthecurtain.com/
Blog: http://LiftingTheCurtainOnEducation.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiftingTheCurtainOnEducation?ref=hl
Guest Post Topics:
April 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
Website: http://liftingthecurtain.com/
Blog: http://LiftingTheCurtainOnEducation.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiftingTheCurtainOnEducation?ref=hl
Guest Post Topics:
- Standardized testing focus in schools
- The value of PDPs
- Bullying and intimidation by school administrators
- Specific DoE mandates that undermine the ability to teach
- Duties of teachers not related to the curricula
- The loss of arts and elective courses in schools
- The pressure to pass children
- Qualifications and management experience of school administrators
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