Ghosts and Writing.

I’m writing a memoir and nothing gets to to confront your ghosts of Christmas past like a memoir. It’s been a fun and exciting experience to go through old memories and tie them together with an undercurrent of theme.
And yet, as quickly as ghosts pop up from my past, ghosts are popping up in my future.
I’ve been ghostwriting.

I’ve been helping people write the books that they want to write but just either don’t have the time to do it, or just can’t seem to get the words and story from their minds onto the paper. I help them organize their thoughts and walk with them through the entire process.

The bonus for them is, they get all the credit.
The bonus for me is, I get to continue to write (on my own schedule) AND I get to help others find their voice.

If you are considering hiring a ‘ghost’, there are a ton of really great resources online of things you should know. Like this, here, are four excellent questions. Be sure you have a non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement (with retainer) in place before you start talking about the scope of the project. That protects both you and your ghostwriter. Then decide what you want help with. Do you want help with just the outline or proposal? Do you want help writing a full manuscript? Or perhaps you just want help with the editing and publishing process. All of these things a ghostwriter can help you do.

Basically, a ghostwriter is like a ‘life coach’ for publishing. They work hard behind the scenes so that you can shine your best.

To date, I have published eight of my own books, with three more on the way. This doesn’t include the four other projects I have been silently and secretly working on with others. I am beginning to know this process of writing, editing and publishing intimately and am very proud of the work I put out.

If you are interested in hiring a ghostwriter, but have some questions, feel free to shoot me a note. I also have a basic ‘price sheet’ which outlines services and costs I would be happy to send over.

Everyone has a story to tell, it is just a matter of finding their voice.
xoxo

Solar Eclipse: 'Ring of Fire' Coming Sunday

Reblogged from NewsFeed:

Don’t look directly at it (not to sound like your elementary-school teacher), but plan on checking out a “ring of fire” partial eclipse on Sunday, May 20, if you live on the West Coast of North America.

In this weekend’s annular solar eclipse, the moon will slide in front of the sun and block 94% of its light. Because the moon is near apogee — the point in its orbit when it’s farthest away from Earth — it appears smaller to us and will cover most of the sun, leaving a ring of fiery light blasting the edges.

Read more… 179 more words

oooh exciting!

Happy Birthday Title IX

I was a Title IV baby. So was my sister. We grew up in a family where we were encouraged and supported in the ‘girls can do anything’ idea.

Title IX (for those who don’t know) reads in part like this:

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…”

We (and countless others) are the daughters of the Title IX revolution: Young women running and swimming their way through college, often with the help of athletic scholarships. My sister and I both got athletic scholarships to college which would not have been possible if it had not been for the passage of Title IX. We both have benefited greatly from our opportunities of post-secondary education due to Title IX and equal opportunity in the classroom, in the gym and in the pool. We have benefited greatly from the belief and confidence we received early on to ‘Do or Be anything you want!’ and innately know that we had the opportunity to make it happen.

and … Title IX is coming up on it’s 40th Anniversary of legislation (June 23rd). 40 years of federally mandated equal opportunities for women in athletics and financial opportunities.

Title IX has changed the landscape of society, empowered girls at a young age with the belief that ‘they could do anything’ and who grew up to be strong women. Even as controversial as it was (and has continued to be) I do think that the benefits far outweigh the costs. Why? Because it gives young girls an opportunity to engage in something other than America’s ‘celebrity culture’. Sure, not everyone is built to do a ‘sport’, but because of Title IX there are a thousand other after-school activities which have been opened up to girls/women which otherwise would not have been.

It is these after-school activities that encourage young people to stand strong in the face of adversity. It is these programs which introduce young people to role-models and leaders in the community, and it is these programs which help build confidence in an age where celebrity sex-tapes and drunken collapsing on a Hollywood sidewalk at 3 a.m. is blasted at young girls 24 hours a day, pinging from TV screens to computer screens to smart phone screens. The future of these young people is a constant fight between empowerment, encouragement and confidence and the gluttonous nutrition-less sleez-ebrity culture.

I understand deeply the positive effects that Title IX had on my life. I also understand that not every girl is an athlete. Which is why I am passionate about giving these young people an opportunity to do something more with their spare time than obsessively watch their twitter feed for the latest on celebrity culture.

Which is why I have put my energy and effort behind the SEEDs program. It was started in 2001 in New Mexico as a mentorship program for young girls and has since blossomed and spread, like seeds often do.

In Seattle it is offered at Skin Deep Dance, and poignantly this inaugural year of Deep SEEDs is also the 40th anniversary of Title IX.

One program — or 20 — won’t stem the tide. But with a shared and wide commitment to present — and, if we’re lucky, to be — the real role models, we might lift young girls above this empty celebrity culture.

Proud to Announce Deep SEEDs

I am so very proud to announce my affiliation with Skin Deep Dance and the new after-school program called:
Deep SEEDs.

Read more HERE

Check the video HERE

Come to the Open House on June 7, 2012 from 5-7pm at the Skin Deep Dance Studio for more information and

Please consider sending a donation to get this program off the ground for the 2012-2013 school year!

And SHARE SHARE SHARE to help get the word out!

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Press Release:

Seattle, Wa., – Skin Deep Dance is proud to offer Deep SEEDs. The non-profit afterschool program launches the week of Sept. 24, 2012, and will run through the end of the school year.

SEEDs stands for “Self-Esteem, Education and Empowerment through Dance.”

SEEDs is a mentorship program to empower young girls through their confusing adolescent years when self-esteem, body image and health are susceptible to negative societal influences. The success of SEEDs is due to the variety of guest speakers and different inspirational programs provided through an artistic medium such as Tribal Style Belly Dance.

Participants can learn about goal-setting, financial planning and other topics as requested in a group setting. By cultivating trust through communication and a close mentorship, an avenue is open for attendees to safely ask for help or seek further resources-which are provided by Katrina McCoy, the SEEDs certified instructor.

SEEDs was established in 2001 in Santa Fe, NM, by Myra Krien and Pomegranate Studios. Currently SEEDs of Euphoria is operating successfully in Portland, Or., and Deep SEEDs will be the first official SEEDs program in Seattle.

Skin Deep Dance will host an Open House to introduce Deep SEEDs to the public
June 7, 2012, 5-7 p.m. Anyone who is interested or has questions is welcome to attend.

SEEDs is intentionally inexpensive for students and full scholarships are available.
The cost to the student is just $99 a month (actual cost is $375). Deep SEEDs is a non-profit program actively looking for donors and sponsorships.

Please send donations to:
Deep Seeds
c/o Skin Deep Dance
2524 16th Ave S. #311
Seattle, Wa 98144

MEDIA CONTACT:
Katrina McCoy (Certified SEEDs Instructor)
Skin Deep Dance
(206) 322-9500
Katrina@skindeepdance.com
www.skindeepdance.com

INTERVIEWS ARE AVAILABLE
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Supermoon

Seattle’s Space Needle and the Supermoon.

In the News!

Published April 1, 2012 in the East Oregonian
The reviews are great!

Many thanks to the East Oregonian and Renee Struthers!

Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, WA, tries new approach to school discipline -- suspensions drop 85%

Reblogged from ACEs Too High:

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Jim Sporleder, principal of Lincoln High School

THE FIRST TIME THAT principal Jim Sporleder tried the New Approach to Student Discipline at Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, WA, he was blown away. Because it worked. In fact, it worked so well that he never went back to the Old Approach to Student Discipline. This is how it went down:

Read more… 6,189 more words

I hope more schools follow in this footstep.