New Indie Book Release: Wife, Widow, Now What? (Rachel Engstrom)

New Indie Book Release:
Wife, Widow, Now What? How I Navigated the Cancer World and How You Can, Too - Rachel Engstrom
Memoir/Self-Help (345 Pages - September 2020)

Wife, Widow, Now What? chronicles Rachel’s journey using her narrative along with original Facebook, CaringBridge and Instagram posts, while giving resources on how to navigate cancer diagnosis, treatment, insurance, disability, finances, health care directives, emotions, patient and caregiver self-care and support, and much more.


About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

“Some days I think that if I didn't have "Grayson" tattooed on my wrist, I'd never believe that it happened. When I think back on the girl who went through everything in this book...I cannot believe she faced and tackled so many fires and wars and still came out on the other side."

When Rachel was 28 years old, her husband was diagnosed with leukemia. What they thought was the flu after working too many hours, turned out to be the life altering illness that would forever change everything they knew. Rachel became a cancer wife, manager, team cheerleader and expert juggler at life, while supporting her husband throughout his illness, until he died two days after she turned 31. She had to reboot her life and learn how to start over as a widow, without a map or guidebook to lead her. Rachel's humor, moxie and faith helped get her through the cancer world, and survive the calamity of errors that kept-on coming after he died. She fought tooth and nail to survive and is thankful for everything that brought her to present day, despite how hard it was to get there. 

She wishes she had had this advice and a story to reference when she was in the jungles of her cancer life and widowhood. Her hope is to provide you with some laughter, comfort, solace and guidance on your own journey, whether it be through the world of cancer, or any other life challenges.

This is the first of its kind to be written in this hybrid style of a memoir and self-help by a cancer spouse/significant other for other spouses/significant others or those navigating the cancer process.

In addition Rachel includes all the music she listened to during her journey, if you'd like to make a playlist for your reading pleasure.

Link to the eBook Wife, Widow, Now What? on Amazon

About the Author

Author Rachel Engstrom

Rachel Engstrom lives in the Twin Cities, has a Master degree in Social Work and is a Certified Health Education Specialist. 

She has worked in mental healthcare the past twelve years and enjoys advocating for and helping others. 

Wife, Widow, Now What? How I Navigate the World of Cancer and How You Can, Too has been a labor of love and at times a bit of PTSD, as she relived her cancer wife then widow journey in order to help those going through what she did in the past. 

Rachel dreams of a world without cancer, but in the meantime strives to advocate and educate those going through their cancer and/or grief and loss journeys to know they are not alone and that there is support out there.

Connect with Rachel Engstrom on the Author's Facebook Page
and on Twitter: @wifewidownowwh1

Featured Indie Book: Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America (John Egenes)

Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: Biography / Memoir Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America by John Egenes.

Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America: In 1974 John Egenes rode his young horse across the United States. The story of a young man coming to terms with himself, and how a little Quarter Horse named Gizmo showed the way. Ride with them as they make their incredible journey across an America that no longer exists.

The Book has been self-published via Delta Vee Publishing and is available as eBook and Paperback - 290 pages - released in August 2017.


About the Book

In 1974 a disenfranchised young man from a broken home set out to do the impossible.

With a hundred dollars in his pocket, a beat up cavalry saddle, and a faraway look in his eye, John Egenes saddled his horse Gizmo and started down the trail on an adventure across the North American continent. Their seven month journey took them across 11 states from California to Virginia, ocean to ocean.. As they left the pressing confinement of the city behind them, the pair experienced the isolation and loneliness of the southwestern deserts, the vastness of the prairie, and the great landscapes that make up America.

Across hundreds of miles of empty land they slept with coyotes and wild horses under the stars, and in urban areas they camped alone in graveyards and abandoned shacks. Along the way John and Gizmo were transformed from inexperienced horse and rider to veterans of the trail. With his young horse as his spiritual guide John slowly began to comprehend his own place in the world and to find peace within himself.

Full of heart and humor, Egenes serves up a tale that's as big as the America he witnessed, an America that no longer exists. It was a journey that could only have been experienced step by step, mile by mile, from the view between a horse's ears.

Click to Read an Excerpt

Reviews (Excerpts)

- "My pal Daniel Boling (songwriter and singer) posted about this on Facebook. Bought it on Kindle, now buying hard copies for two friends. A great adventure story with snakes, scorpions, human predators, an extraordinary friendship between the author and a 4-year-old Quarter Horse gelding and America. The lovely thing about the written word is the chance it gives readers to vicariously experience such stuff!" - P. W. Peterson

- "A must read! I love stories of long journeys, and this one works for me. It's a tale of adventure and a kind of coming of age that could maybe only happen in 1974 - and perhaps only be written now. The world has moved on and we have changed. The author looks back on this rich journey across his native America with the perspective of time, exploring his early life, from learning to be alone to the growing impetus to to take on such a momentous ride and beyond. [...]" - Lindsey Shields

Featured Indie Book: Reversed - A Memoir (Lois Letchford)

Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: Non-Fiction MemoirReversed by Lois Letchford.

Reversed - A Memoir illustrates how easily children can fall into the educational abyss, and why we must understand that not all children learn the same way. Readers will laugh and cry, cheering for those often sidelined in our society. Nothing is impossible when one digs deep, and looks at students through a new lens.

The Book has been published via Acorn Publishing and is available as eBook, Paperback, and Hardcover - 285 pages - released in March 2018.


About the Book

A journey from “the worst child in 20 years of teaching,” to Ph.D., Oxford University.

When Lois Letchford learns her son has been diagnosed with a low IQ at the end of grade one, she refuses to give up on his future. Testing showed Nicholas had no spatial awareness, limited concentration, and could only read ten words; he is labeled "learning disabled," a designation considered more derogatory than "dyslexia."

The world of education is quick to cast him aside. Lois begins working with him one-on-one. What happens next is a journey--spanning three continents, unique teaching experiments, never-ending battles with the school system, a mother's discovery of her own learning blocks, and a bond fueled by the desire to rid Nicholas of the "disabled" label.

Reversed is a memoir of profound determination that follows the highs and lows of overcoming impossible odds, turning one woman into a passionate teacher for children who have been left behind.

Click to Read an Excerpt

Reviews (Excerpts)

- "Lois Letchford has executed an athletic performance worthy of an Olympic medal. This book was written for all of the "true" teachers of the world--every nation, every school, and it will be the true teachers who will exhaust themselves in its reading. I laughed, I cried (often), and I recommitted myself more than ever before to fight for the needs of every child. If you consider yourself a true teacher or know someone who is, this is a book that will do some good for the heart and the mind. Read it, and you'll be doing the profession, and perhaps some of our neediest learners, a big favor." - Steven L. Layne, Chair, Graduate Programs in Literacy Education, Judson University Author, Igniting a Passion for Reading

- "Reversed: A Memoir is written as a compelling and emotional tale. A must read." - Stephen Hurley, Founder and Chief Catalyst, voicEd Radio

New Indie Book Release: Reversed - A Memoir (Lois Letchford)

New Indie Book Release:
Reversed: A Memoir - Lois Letchford
Non-Fiction Memoir (285 Pages - March 2018)

Reversed: A Memoir illustrates how easily children can fall into the educational abyss, and why we must understand that not all children learn the same way. Readers will laugh and cry, cheering for those often sidelined in our society. Nothing is impossible when one digs deep, and looks at students through a new lens.

"Read this book and you'll be challenged by questions about traditional teaching methods, measures of success and failure and what shapes how we view ourselves." - Reader Review


About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

A journey from “the worst child in 20 years of teaching,” to Ph.D., Oxford University.

When Lois Letchford learns her son has been diagnosed with a low IQ at the end of grade one, she refuses to give up on his future. Testing showed Nicholas had no spatial awareness, limited concentration, and could only read ten words; he is labeled "learning disabled," a designation considered more derogatory than "dyslexia."

The world of education is quick to cast him aside. Lois begins working with him one-on-one. What happens next is a journey--spanning three continents, unique teaching experiments, never-ending battles with the school system, a mother's discovery of her own learning blocks, and a bond fueled by the desire to rid Nicholas of the "disabled" label.

Reversed is a memoir of profound determination that follows the highs and lows of overcoming impossible odds, turning one woman into a passionate teacher for children who have been left behind.

Link to the eBook Reversed: A Memoir on Amazon

Featured Indie Book: Please Don't Ask Me Why (Jill Billeter)

Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: Memoir / True Story Please Don't Ask Me Why by Jill Billeter.

Please Don't Ask Me Why is a Journey to Mental Wellness. This true story will make you cry, it will make you laugh, and, most important, it will give you hope that there is a road to recovery from mental illness.

The Book has been self-published via Potomac Creek Publishing, LLC and is available as eBook - 170 pages - released in December 2017.


About the Book

Jill awakens in the mental health unit of Norfolk General hospital to the realization that she has failed once again to end her own life. To her way of thinking, it was unfortunate that the EMTs had managed to revive her from the overdose of powerful prescription drugs she had swallowed the night before. Her call to the suicide hotline would be considered by some a cry for help, but she just didn’t want to die alone.

How did it come to this? What has led her into this house of mirrors? How will she find her way out? Follow Jill’s journey into a world of counselors, doctors, hospitals, and psycho-pharmaceuticals and, ultimately, to the therapist who saves her.

Please Don’t Ask Me Why is a powerful tale of one woman’s fight against the forces of depression and a tribute to the man who taught her the artful tools for her survival.

Click to Read an Excerpt

Reviews (Excerpts)

- "Jill Billeter’s memoir, Please Don't Ask Me Why, is an insightful look into the everyday struggles a person has with mental illness, their struggle with friends and family’s reactions to the disease, and an inside look at how the mental health system works. This memoir will make you feel a wide array of emotions but most of all it will leave you inspired." - wvsinatag (Amazon)

- "Authentic and specific, funny and sad, yet with no trace of self pity. Jill Billeters story is important in so many ways. If you or a loved one have ever suffered depression or any other mental health issue I urge you to read this book. Enlightening and genuine." - Kellie Walsh

New Indie Book Release: Please Don't Ask Me Why (Jill Billeter)

New Indie Book Release:
Please Don't Ask Me Why - Jill Billeter
Memoir (170 pages - December 2017)

Please Don't Ask Me Why is a Journey to Mental Wellness. This true story will make you cry, it will make you laugh, and, most important, it will give you hope that there is a road to recovery from mental illness.


About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

Jill awakens in the mental health unit of Norfolk General hospital to the realization that she has failed once again to end her own life. To her way of thinking, it was unfortunate that the EMTs had managed to revive her from the overdose of powerful prescription drugs she had swallowed the night before. Her call to the suicide hotline would be considered by some a cry for help, but she just didn’t want to die alone.

How did it come to this? What has led her into this house of mirrors? How will she find her way out? Follow Jill’s journey into a world of counselors, doctors, hospitals, and psycho-pharmaceuticals and, ultimately, to the therapist who saves her.

Please Don’t Ask Me Why is a powerful tale of one woman’s fight against the forces of depression and a tribute to the man who taught her the artful tools for her survival.

Link to the eBook Please Don't Ask Me Why on Amazon

New Indie Book Release: Perpetuating Trouble (Chris Orcutt)

New Indie Book Release:
Perpetuating Trouble - Chris Orcutt
Memoir / Humor (239 Pages - October 2017)

Perpetuating Trouble is an honest portrayal of the life of a full-time independent author. While others attempt to sell their success stories of fame and fortune, Orcutt chronicles the realities one writer's life away from the writing desk.

"[...] Orcutt is a tortured perfectionist who sees satisfaction as a form of surrender. Perpetuating Trouble is a testament to his torment and to his legitimacy as a Master Craftsman." - Reader Review

About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

"I avoided writers very carefully because they can perpetuate trouble as no one else can," wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald. In his humorous memoir Perpetuating Trouble, independent author Chris Orcutt debunks the myth that full-time writers are "livin' the dream." Orcutt reveals that the writing life is really one of crushing solitude, chronic dissatisfaction, mood swings and self-doubt, and where successes, when the come, are like diner mints--sweet, but short-lived.

Yet, Orcutt's deep love of language, his saintly wife, and his indomitable sense of humor keep him going. Whether picking up two female hitchhikers who later turn out to be aliens from another planet, or divesting himself of a hoard of tacky paintings, or using philosophy to get out of a traffic ticket, Orcutt finds the humor and the art in his trials. It's also a life of love and sadness, as he recounts a whirlwind love affair with a ravishing redhead, and the death of his beloved writing companion, his cat.

In the end, Orcutt discovers that to be a writer, he must be part adventurer, crusader, humorist, lover, philosopher, and, of course, troublemaker.

Link to the eBook Perpetuating Trouble on Amazon

Featured Indie Book: Fat Girl, Skinny (Amye Archer)

Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: Memoir / Self-Help Fat Girl, Skinny by Amye Archer.

Fat Girl, Skinny is a Memoir about weight loss, food addiction, divorce, and finding yourself. This book is every woman's story.

The Book has been published via Big Table Publishing and is available as eBook and Paperback - 190 pages - released in February 2016.



About the Book

After her husband leaves her for a skinnier, blonder, younger woman, Amye is forced to confront the food addiction that has been holding her back for most of her life and has left her weighing two hundred and sixty-five pounds.

With the help of the gang of girls of Weight Watchers, and their fearless leader —former fatty and community college dropout—Pantsuit Pam, Amye spends the next year losing weight and learning to live in a skinny (er) woman’s body.

Only being skinny is not as easy as it looks, especially when inside, she will always be a fat girl.

Fat Girl, Skinny is Amye’s story, but it’s also the story of anyone who has ever been told: “You’d be pretty...if”.

Click to Read an Excerpt

Reviews (Excerpts)

- "Anyone who's ever been a few pounds overweight, had self-esteem issues, love troubles, or a bad relationship--in other words every woman I know--will see herself in Amye Archer's story. With sass and wisdom, Archer brings us on her bumpy ride towards a slimmer body and a happier soul. I laughed, I cried, and my jaw dropped from the virtuosity of the writing." - Beverly Donofrio

- " 'Fat Girl Skinny' is instantly engaging, constantly entertaining, and superbly written. I applaud Mrs. Archer’s courage as she transmogrifies her personal experiences into a profoundly introspective, yet irreverently funny, cliffhanging page-turner. Who knew weight loss could be this captivating?" - Tony Captitano

New Indie Book Release: Fat Girl, Skinny (Amye Archer)

New Indie Book Release:
Fat Girl, Skinny - Amye Archer
Memoir / Self-Help (190 Pages - February 2016)

Fat Girl, Skinny is a Memoir about weight loss, food addiction, divorce, and finding yourself. This book is every woman's story.

"Anyone who's ever been a few pounds overweight, had self-esteem issues, love troubles, or a bad relationship–in other words every woman I know–will see herself in Amye Archer's story. With sass and wisdom, Archer brings us on her bumpy ride towards a slimmer body and a happier soul. I laughed, I cried, and my jaw dropped from the virtuosity of the writing." - Reader Review

About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

After her husband leaves her for a skinnier, blonder, younger woman, Amye is forced to confront the food addiction that has been holding her back for most of her life and has left her weighing two hundred and sixty-five pounds.

With the help of the gang of girls of Weight Watchers, and their fearless leader —former fatty and community college dropout—Pantsuit Pam, Amye spends the next year losing weight and learning to live in a skinny (er) woman’s body.

Only being skinny is not as easy as it looks, especially when inside, she will always be a fat girl.

Fat Girl, Skinny is Amye’s story, but it’s also the story of anyone who has ever been told: “You’d be pretty...if”.

Link to the eBook Fat Girl, Skinny on Amazon

New Indie Book Release: There's a Hamster in the Dashboard (David W. Berner)

New Indie Book Release:
There's a Hamster in the Dashboard: A Life in Pets - David W. Berner
Non-Fiction / Pets / Memoir (138 pages - June 2015)

There's a Hamster in the Dashboard is a collection of humorous, entertaining essays about pets covering a lifetime, from the author's childhood to present. The author understands that our relationship to our pets and to the world around us defines who we are as humans.

- "Berner's book is meant to be read and re-read. For an animal person, this is a return to childhood and growing up with companions that truly mattered along the way." - Reader Review

About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

A book of essays by award-winning author and journalist David W. Berner is the next best thing to storytelling around a bonfire.

In There’s a Hamster in the Dashboard, Berner shares stories of “a life in pets”—from a collie that herds Berner home when the author goes “streaking” through the neighborhood as a two-year-old, to a father crying in front of his son for the only time in his life while burying the family dog on the Fourth of July.

And from the ant farm that seems like a great learning experience (until the ants learn how to escape), to the hamster that sets out on its own road trip (but only gets as far as the dashboard). Along the way, Berner shows that pets not only connect us with the animal world, but also with each other and with ourselves.

The result is a collection of essays that is insightful and humorous, entertaining and touching.

Link to the eBook There's a Hamster in the Dashboard on Amazon

New Indie Book Release: Southern Fried Fiction (Stuart Hotchkiss)

New Indie Book Release:
Southern Fried Fiction: How The Insidious Onset Of Depression Derailed A Successful Man's Life - Stuart Hotchkiss
Memoir (304 pages - May 2015)

- "Southern Fried Fiction is the remarkable memoir of a man who went from being a top executive with a prominent media corporation to a despondent mess whose life spiraled out of control and nearly ended in disaster. At its core, it is an inspirational story of hope and survival." - Reader Review


About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

Stuart Hotchkiss is at the end of his rope. Underemployment, bankruptcy, and a looming third divorce have worn him down. His mother has died. He’s estranged from his own son. Death seems like a release.

The son of a once great Southern family, Hotchkiss spent his early life struggling to escape familial expectations and secrets. He paid for his own education and eventually secured a position as president of a national media conglomerate, only to resign a year later and bring senseless litigation that rendered him permanently underemployed.

Southern Fried Fiction is all that a memoir should be—a captivating story, real and raw, with a healthy dose of humor to carry readers through the pain of its author’s loss and past mistakes. Through it, Hotchkiss eloquently exorcises the demons of his climb toward success, capping it off with a spark of hope beyond the veil of his near suicide, one that even the most cynical of us can find inspiration in.

In the vein of Russell Baker’s Growing Up and Michael Gates Gill’s How Starbucks Saved My Life, Hotchkiss’s memoir is a moving account of one man’s battle to overcome his demons and start over.

Link to the eBook Southern Fried Fiction on Amazon

Featured Indie Book: My Life According To My Destiny (Vanny Vorng)

Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: Memoir / Autobiography My Life According To My Destiny by Vanny Vorng.

My Life According To My Destiny is a personal memoir of the author's experiences in Cambodia under the multiple regime changes and my families struggles and success in leaving the country and arriving in America.

The Book has been self-published via CreateSpace and is available as eBook - 318 pages - released in March 2015.


About the Book

My Life According To My Destiny, a memoir written by Vanny Vorng a survivor of the Killing Fields of Cambodia, is a story about a man from his childhood up to the present time. It entails his struggles to survive many brutal events in Cambodia from the Coup d’Etat of 1970, the fall of the Khmer Republic in 1975, and the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979.

The Khmer Rouge Communist Party of Cambodia purged the cities and countryside of intellectuals, rival politicians, monks and teachers. The extremeness of this group leads to a country that has no religion, no free market, no schools, no families, and a closed border. Citizens attempt to hide their old lives from ears outside the walls while food becomes dangerously scarce in the so called Agrarian Utopia. The new party in charge invents ways of making families disappear.

New Indie Book Release: My Life According To My Destiny (Vanny Vorng)

New Indie Book Release:
My Life According To My Destiny - Vanny Vorng
Memoir / Autobiography (318 pages - March 2015)

My Life According To My Destiny is a personal memoir of the author's experiences in Cambodia under the multiple regime changes and my families struggles and success in leaving the country and arriving in America.

About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

My Life According To My Destiny, a memoir written by Vanny Vorng a survivor of the Killing Fields of Cambodia, is a story about a man from his childhood up to the present time. It entails his struggles to survive many brutal events in Cambodia from the Coup d’Etat of 1970, the fall of the Khmer Republic in 1975, and the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979.

The Khmer Rouge Communist Party of Cambodia purged the cities and countryside of intellectuals, rival politicians, monks and teachers. The extremeness of this group leads to a country that has no religion, no free market, no schools, no families, and a closed border. Citizens attempt to hide their old lives from ears outside the walls while food becomes dangerously scarce in the so called Agrarian Utopia. The new party in charge invents ways of making families disappear.

It describes the events of each conflict as they unfold, where each time he somehow manages to survive the ordeal to tell the story. After the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1979, he found a way to provide for his family’s needs. Vanny and his family realized they would be better off leaving the land they called home for so many years. He led his family and friends to the refugee camps in Thailand and the Philippines.

After that, Vanny and his family were transported to America to start a new life. Upon arriving in America he managed to work hard at his job while attending school.

Link to the eBook My Life According To My Destiny on Amazon

New Indie Book Release: A Descent to the Summit (Kristina L. Phillips)

New Indie Book Release:
A Descent to the Summit - Kristina L. Phillips
Memoir / Cancer-Survivor (244 pages - November 2014)

"Kristina puts words--beautiful, evocative words-- to my cancer experience! This isn't a "how to get through cancer" book though. It is really a "how to get through life" book. Lovely!" - Reader Review


About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

A DESCENT TO THE SUMMIT is story of transformation. Cancer is the catalyst one woman uses to change her life. The reader is taken on an intimate journey through the raw, internal landscape of a woman as she faces her mortality and suffers a mental breakdown.

Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, Kristina struggles to make sense of her life. This struggle doesn’t end when she finds out she is in remission. Remission is a beautiful word, cause for many celebrations, but what does it really mean? The cancer survivor knows it means there will always be a chance the cancer will return. Cancer is a betrayal. When you don’t feel safe inside yourself, it is very difficult to feel safe anywhere else.

Kristina desperately wants to break free of the fear and anxiety that paralyze her. Surviving cancer is not enough---more than anything she wants learn how to create a new life. In spite of debilitating panic attacks, reclusive behavior, physical pain, and emotional depletion, Kristina chooses to do the riskiest thing a person with an anxiety disorder can do--she walks out the front door and keeps walking. One month after chemotherapy, and one hundred miles later, Kristina decides to climb Mt. St. Helens, the mountain she watched erupt as a child; the mountain she loves and refers to as "the geological version of myself."

Link to the eBook A Descent to the Summit on Amazon with Excerpt

Featured Indie Book: Alzheimer's Through My Mother's Eyes (Suzette Brown)

Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: Memoir / Family-Relationships / Aging Alzheimer's Through My Mother's Eyes by Suzette Brown.

Alzheimer's Through My Mother's Eyes is the story of taking care of the Author's Mother as she descended into Alzheimer’s disease. Emotions boil over and advice, resources in addition to what the author “could” and “should” have done differently to help other caregivers as they read her story.

The Book has been self-published via Amazon / CreateSpace and is available as eBook and Paperback - 265 pages - released in December 2013.


About the Book

This book is for all of the caregivers out there who slowly found themselves in the position of taking care of a loved one who may no longer even recognize them due to the ravages of Alzheimer's.

Through Brown's experience watching from the sidelines as her mother slowly declined, to the day-to-day struggles she faced and the lessons she learned about meeting the very special needs of someone who used to take care of her, the author provides insight and information for anyone who may face this frightening possibility.

Click to Read an Excerpt

The author: "I watched helplessly as her physically, mental and emotional needs required more and more love and care. My devotion to her was my top priority. Journals, doctors notes,medical notes, calendars, phone calls, paper notes – all combined for a day to day accounting of Mom’s demise. I am not a doctor, health care professional or boast of any fancy degrees. I am a daughter who loved her Mom unconditionally and ensured she was safe and well taken of. My emotions are very real and the story is raw. Frustration, rage, anger, confusion – were experienced daily by both Mom and myself."


Reviews (Excerpts)

- "I would recommend Suzette Brown's book for anyone who may be going through the agony of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease. While many support groups exist, finding the time to attend one while holding a full-time job, taking care of a family and caring for the Alzheimer's patient is often impossible. Not only are we privy to Suzette's personal agony, we are also given some extremely beneficial advice along the way." - Susan Elizabeth Barton

- "Well written and heartfelt, full of information, life and emotion. Takes you through their journey. Well thought out and written." - Jennifer Casey

- "Beautiful, heartbreaking, honest. Those three words describe this book. If a loved one suffers from Alzheimer's Dementia, read this book. It will give you strength. Highly recommended." - Amazon

New Indie Book Release: Pretty Girl - A Memoir (Sasha Jeanelle)

New Indie Book Release:
Pretty Girl: A Memoir - Sasha Jeanelle
Memoir / Dysfunctional Relationships (140 pages - October 2014)

About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

The Unravelling of a life, in ruins, as a result of a controlling relationship that spanned over a decade.

This is a relatable book for all women, particularly those that are going through or have gone through traumatic relationships. It is a harsh depiction of abuse and its lingering affects, but holds a glimmer of hope for a new beginning once you find your way out of the rubble.

"A courageously written coming-of-age story wherein a young woman finally triumphs and finds love and acceptance in the place she least expected… Throughout her memoir the author candidly chronicles the often heart-wrenching events, characters and choices that have shaped her life in a brave and inspiring attempt to rid her-self of the demons that plague her journey to self-love and acceptance. Bravo!" - Reader Review

Link to the eBook Pretty Girl - A Memoir on Amazon US with Excerpt

Link to the eBook Pretty Girl - A Memoir on Amazon CAN

Featured Indie Book: Toe Up to 10K (Steven Fujita)

Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: Health / Fitness Book Toe Up to 10K: A Journey of Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury by Steven Fujita.

Toe Up to 10K: A Journey of Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury is a compelling and inspirational story. The book contains examples of issues caused by spinal cord injury, and strategies the author used to combat those issues.

The Book has been self-published via Amazon and Bookbaby and is available as eBook and Paperback - 153 pages - released in September 2014.


About the Book

In 2012, the author was stricken with meningitis and four days later, lapsed into semi-consciousness.

When he regained full consciousness, he could not speak, breathe independently, control bodily functions, nor move his legs. His spinal cord was damaged at the T4 level.

Toe Up to 10K takes the reader on a journey of recovery from the spinal cord injury, from ICU, to wheelchair to the regained ability to walk.

It is not only a journey of determination and hard work, but of positive attitude, of drawing inspiration, and of gratitude towards those around the author: his family, his friends, co-workers, and medical professionals.

Click to Read an Excerpt

Reviews (Excerpts)

- "This book was really hard to put down. It's the compelling story of Steven Fujita's recovery from meningitis. The first few chapters were very detailed from his first headache to the downward spiral that left him clinging to life in the ICU. The author goes into such detail about his recovery, you really get a sense of the pain and strength it took to get to where he is today. He offers his story and resources at the back of the book that he found helpful." - Pricilla Benton

New Indie Book Release: Toe Up to 10K (Steven Fujita)

New Indie Book Release:
Toe Up to 10K: A Journey of Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury - Steven Fujita
Health / Fitness (162 pages - September 2014)

Toe Up to 10K: A Journey of Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury is a compelling and inspirational story. The book contains examples of issues caused by spinal cord injury, and strategies the author used to combat those issues.

"An absorbing and inspirational memoir that will encourage much reflection, Toe Up To 10k is certainly deserving of a place on your bookshelf and is highly recommended." - Reader Review

About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

In 2012, the author was stricken with meningitis and four days later, lapsed into semi-consciousness.

When he regained full consciousness, he could not speak, breathe independently, control bodily functions, nor move his legs. His spinal cord was damaged at the T4 level.

Toe Up to 10K takes the reader on a journey of recovery from the spinal cord injury, from ICU, to wheelchair to the regained ability to walk.

It is not only a journey of determination and hard work, but of positive attitude, of drawing inspiration, and of gratitude towards those around the author: his family, his friends, co-workers, and medical professionals.

Link to the eBook Toe Up to 10K on Amazon with Excerpt

New Indie Book Release: Living The Big Sky Life (DK King)

New Indie Book Release:
Living The Big Sky Life (Urban Tales Of My Tortured Tenure In "The Last Best Place") - DK King
Biography / Memoir (294 pages - June 2014)

"This book was wonderful. Funny, moving, and thought provoking, I enjoyed every minute of it. I would highly recommend Living the Big Sky Life to anyone looking for a unique and refreshing read." - Reader Review

About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

Living The Big Sky Life is a clever memoir by DK King that will take you on a healing journey from the outside in - from the coastlines of Orange County, California, to the big sky resort town of Whitefish, Montana.

In a written voice that can be described as nothing short of audacious - real, raw and irreverent - DK King portrays her powerful passage through the peaks and valleys of love and life on her quintessential quest to turn the lemons in her life into an ocean of lemonade.

Recounting her personal ordeal with vivid clarity and unparalleled recall, DK King chronicles an unforgettable series of transformational experiences like only a great storyteller can. Her fearless account is nothing short of captivating, and should be a must-read for anyone who dreams of exchanging their robust urban lifestyle for the simple life in any small town U.S.A.

This is a book you won’t be able to put down until the startling end!

Link to the eBook Living The Big Sky Life on Amazon with Excerpt

Indie Author Interview: Gwendolyn M Plano

Indie Author Interview with Gwendolyn M Plano - Author of the (Family Relationship) Memoir Letting Go into Perfect Love.

Gwendolyn M Plano spent most of her professional life in higher education. She taught and served as an administrator in colleges in New York, Connecticut and California. She has multiple academic degrees, including one in Theology and in Counseling. Gwen now devotes herself to writing, volunteer work, and her beautiful grandchildren.

Interview with Gwendolyn M Plano

Author Gwendolyn M Plano

Alan Kealey (Indie Author News): What is your (writing) background?
Gwendolyn M Plano: I do not have formal training in writing, but for decades I was a teacher and later an administrator in colleges on the East and West coasts. I was often called upon to create brochures or reports, which required careful editing. Later I developed a monthly newsletter for employees, based upon common life concerns. In a way, this newsletter helped prepare me for writing my memoir.

Who are your favorite writers, your favorite books, and who or what are your writing influences?
Maya Angelou will always hold a very special place in my heart, because she gave me permission to write about the struggles that I had held secretly within my soul. She opened the doors behind which sexual abuse and domestic violence thrive, and with her courage she paved a path of monumental change. Though I was not fortunate to meet her, she will always be my mentor.
Poet Mary Oliver’s verses speak to my soul. Her ponderings draw me into mystery, where I am brought to a deeper level of understanding. Inevitably, her choice of words guides my own. For instance, this comment left me speechless: “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.” How extraordinary!
Oriah Mountain Dreamer’s writing is of similar quality to that of Mary Oliver—it is honest, pure, loving, and transformative. She knows pain and sorrow and yet has found joy. She is like the sister I have never met, a friend who by her life teaches me how to live.
In addition the works of the authors mentioned above, there are many others that are part of my life. Viktor E. Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s Hymn of the Universe, are just a few that crowd my bookcases and my dreams.

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always enjoyed writing, even though I did not envision myself a writer until much later in life. One of my English teachers in high school pulled me aside one day and told me I was a good writer. She particularly liked a story I had written entitled My Passport. I wrote about traveling the world via my library card—it being my passport to other worlds. Growing up on a farm, I only knew of distant lands through the magic of the library—which to this day I love.

"I try to see life through my heart [...]"

Do you have a writing routine?