Final Episode of ink & peatIn this, our final episode of ink & peat, we offer a sampling of guests' recollections of joy when they least expected it.A heartfelt thank you to all our listeners.

Following the advice of a mentor, Becky Parker Geist took a leap of faith and combined her love for theater, reading aloud, and books. She turned these beloved pastimes into a global business dedicated to publishing audiobooks explicitly for indie authors. Pro Audio Voices is a company that produces audiobooks for authors who want to take their work off the page and turn it into an audio experience. In ink & peat episode 48, Becky tells about how she was drawn to voice acting from an early age, the role that gratitude plays in her success, and how her innovative company has developed an app that is a game-changer in the world of indie publishing.Website

In her memoir, Love’s Journey Home, author Gabi Coatsworth tells the story of finding, leaving, and reuniting with the love of her life. Gabi’s candor about how their relationship worked, and then didn’t, and ultimately did, makes for a read that is both romantic and packed with the realities two people must face when confronted with difficult life choices. In episode 47, Gabi shares how she was encouraged by friends to write the memoir for herself and how – through the writing process – she was able to gain clarity about her experiences and affirm her love’s journey home.Linktree

Cristina Vargas McPherson’s memoir is a deeply moving account of coming to terms with grief – a grief handed down from grandmother to mother to daughter, brought about through unconscionable events of the Spanish Civil War. Told through imagined conversations between her grandparents, real events of Franco’s fascist regime, and vivid mystical encounters with the revered religious icon, La Macarena, Cristina weaves fact and fiction, history and mysticism into a spellbinding memoir that heals and, in so doing, breaks her family legacy.In ink and peat episode 46 Cristina talks about the inspiration for her book - Inheriting Our Names - An Imagined True Memoir of Spain’s Pact of Forgetting, the challenges she faced in writing and getting it published, the insights she gained about her grandmother and mother and her family roots. And she reveals glimpses of a remarkable secret her grandfather kept to himself for nearly four decades.WebsiteFacebookInstagram

Expert book reviewer and developmental editor ~ Annie Mydla ~ joins us on ink & peat again. This time to share her vast knowledge about what has made each of three North Street Book Prize winning memoirs worthy of the awards they received and why a reader would do well to invest time and soul into these self-published authors and their books. In ink & peat episode 45, Annie talks about what makes these memoirs memorable, how each writer approached crafting her book, the pitfalls they avoided and the remarkable stories that win not only prizes, but the hearts of those that read them. WebsiteFacebookInstagram

When Mike Evans graduated from college, he moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland – ostensibly to be a Program Director for a non-profit, coaching basketball to young school kids in a visionary program called Playing for Peace, while keeping his hand in semi-pro basketball on the side. But things didn’t turn out quite as he expected, and Mike soon found himself playing out a vision of his own – coaching basketball to a mixed group of reluctant Protestant and Catholic 15-year-old boys – each side charged with preconceived notions and generations of prejudices. In his memoir, The Belfast Blazers, Mike writes about the challenges he faced, about how a chance meeting of the Dalai Lama on a basketball court opened his mind to a vision of collaboration, and documents his audacious belief in the power of basketball to be a vehicle for change. In ink & peat episode 44, Mike Evans shares his story and describes how his Belfast Blazers became the trial run of what would become Full Court Peace - a winning  organization dedicated to bringing peace and understanding across cultural divides.WebsiteInstagramSubstackLink to book

Enchanted by the rugged beauty of the Apennines in Italy's Abruzzo region, and drawn to the rich history and struggles of its inhabitants, Kimberly Sullivan crafted a novel that tells the stories of two women separated by a century yet connected intimately by place and circumstance. In the Shadow of the Apennines is Kimberly's third self-published novel. In ink and peat episode 43, Kimberly talks about Women's Fiction – what it is and why she is drawn to it, why self-publishing is a perfect fit for her, and how her love for writing, history, and international travel provide endless sources of inspiration for her novels.WebsiteInstagram

ELB Media builds websites for authors. An unbridled love for books and reading inspired ELB Media’s Founder ~ Emma Bates ~ to apply her vast technical know-how and social media expertise to help authors. In ink&peat episode 42, Emma shares her insights on what makes author websites unique, how her life has been impacted by books and authors, and how she helps authors create personalized websites for the next chapter of their writing careers.TiktokFacebookInstagramWebsite

Dana Huneke-Stone expresses her poetry in bite-sized morsels. She recently self-published a collection of her poems and accompanying illustrations in a book entitled Amuse Bouche - A Taste of Melancholy. In ink&peat episode 41 Dana shares how she draws inspiration from living on the Oregon Coast and through taking what she calls prayer walks, how she writes poetry to express her deeply-held beliefs and experiences, and how she prefers to forgo rules and write from a place all her own.InstagramFacebook

Michelle Meyer created The Book of She as a means of celebrating, exploring, and honoring the experience of womanhood. Having lost her mother unexpectedly, Michelle – an only child – felt a deep longing to cultivate relationships with other women. Through a year-long Instagram collaboration with 51 women who interpreted Michelle’s poems and created accompanying artwork inspired by the poems, The Book of She was born. In ink & peat episode 40, Michelle talks about how writing has shaped her life, how poetry is a vehicle for understanding and self-knowledge, and how collaboration with 51 other women over the course of a year held elements of healing and renewal.Webpage: https://www.michellemeyerwrites.comInstagram: @meeshmeyerwrites

Inspired by the teachings of an Indian spiritual master and following a deep desire to find her way in the world, 20-year-old Ceilidh Michelle left home and a fractured family life in Canada for an ashram in Southern California. Accompanied by her acoustic guitar and a few belongings, Ceilidh found herself instead broke, but not broken, living and seeking solace on the streets of Venice Beach. In ink and peat episode 39, Ceilidh recounts how thankful she is now to her younger self who captured keen observations of life on the streets, the people she met and took shelter with, and how she survived being homeless. Her masterfully written memoir Vagabond – Venice Beach, Slab City and Points In Between recounts her time as a young woman wandering without a place to call home.Instagram

These are Golden Days for Indie writers. With so many options for self-publishing, however, it can be daunting. To help emerging authors and seasoned writers maneuver through the complexities of crafting a quality finished product, Alexa Nazzaro created Aaxel Author Services.  Alexa's commitment to the authors she works with is summed up aptly in their tagline "We won't let you publish crap". Alexa shares with us in ink & peat episode 38 what separates Aaxel Author Services from other self-publishing options, what to look for in vanity press scams, and gives in detail the steps they take to support you in creating a top-shelf book.Website https://www.aaxelauthorservices.com/

Author Chancellor K. Jackson shares his story of 14 Days in Beijing – what brought him to China, the significance of 14 days, how he sought and received help from his ancestors to overcome the challenges he faced, and the lessons learned along the way. He realized in talking with family and friends after he returned home that there was a book about his experiences waiting for him to write and share.  In ink & peat episode 37 Chancellor talks about his writing experience, about the ownership self-publishing provides writers, and how he is now committed to using his knowledge of writing and publishing to help others share and own their stories.

Annie Mydla knows good writing when she reads it; she is an impassioned advocate for well-written books and stories in what she refers to as the Golden Age of Literacy. Annie applies her keen sense of what makes a great book to help emerging writers craft manuscripts that transport readers. Along with offering mid-draft critiques to aspiring authors, Annie spends her days reading, reviewing, and judging manuscripts that have been submitted to Winning Writers competitions. In ink & peat episode 36, Annie shares key pitfalls writers should avoid in order to deliver a book that enthralls readers.annie@winningwriters.comhttps://winningwriters.com/

In 1992, at the age of 28, Martina Clark's life took an unexpected turn: she was diagnosed as HIV positive and told by doctors she had from a few months to a few years to live at best. At the time, Martina knew of no other women who were HIV positive – information and support were scarce. Through her determination, courage, and facing her situation head-on, Martina became an HIV activist, ultimately working for the United Nations and sharing her story on the global stage. In her memoir "My Unexpected Life" Martina shares how her life took a turn, what she did as a result, how she impacted and was impacted by the lives of others, and where she gratefully is now, exceeding all expectations thirty years later. Website: martina-clark.comIG/FB: @MartinaClarkWriterTwitter: @MartinaClarkPen

A career in the fast-paced, cutthroat corporate music industry provided Diane Hatz with the inspiration for her first novel – Rock Gods and Messy Monsters. Diane writes with a masterful blend of satire and absurdism to create fantastical characters in bizarre scenarios that shed light on seamier sides of the star-making music machinery. Diane shares how writing helped her gain perspective on her music industry stint – the thrills as well as the inequities she experienced there. She also provides us with her take on indie publishing and a few hard-won tips about how to avoid some publishing pitfalls.www.dianehatz.com

Author of The Lightworker's Guide to Healing Grief, and seven self-published books on Amazon, Tina Erwin is known as a Ghost Helper. Ghosts, she explains, are just souls that - for any number of reasons - did not make the transition from their earthly life to the realm of the afterlife. In ink & peat episode 29, Tina shares with us her insights and enthusiasm about self-publishing, glimpses of her history and the responsibilities she feels as a Ghost Helper, and a few anecdotes about ghosts she's helped to reach the "other side". https://ghosthelpers.com/

Liza McQuade joins us on ink & peat episode 33 to talk about her book Spontaneous Revolutions – Seeing America One Pedal at a Time, a travel story about biking with her husband cross country on the spur of the moment - out of shape, lacking long haul biking experience and armed with only a basic knowledge of bike mechanics. Instead, they relied on their belief in each other, in the gifts that come with spontaneity and a healthy dose of wild hair. Liza shares with us insights she gained on the road about following dreams, the kindness of strangers, the power of love, and how to succeed one pedal at a time.

It’s estimated that roughly 80% of us would like to write and publish a book, but most of us don’t know where to begin, or what to do to bring it to fruition. Erin Donley is the motivating force behind the book publishing service, Author Now, where she uses her skills as a ghostwriter, author, editor, and book coach to guide people through the process of self-publishing their non-fiction books. In ink & peat episode 32, Erin explains why this is the Golden Age of self-publishing for seasoned writers and first-timers alike, and why now is a great time to be an author.

In the depths of the global pandemic, one of her dear friends gave Delila Olsson a milkweed plant to attract Monarch butterflies to her Portland, OR garden. A keen observer, Delila noticed a tiny caterpillar had hitched a ride on the milkweed and realized she’d been given both a physical and metaphorical gift to lift her spirits. She set about creating a safe haven to support, watch and record the caterpillar’s metamorphosis. A fan club of the little caterpillar emerged through followers of Delila’s posts on Facebook and from this experience, her first book was born: Fred the Monarch -- A Tale of Transformation and Hope. Delila Olsson is a writer, Montessori educator, and is the wise and creative force behind WisdomofNaturePress.com