Monday, February 25, 2019

Defining Your Audience for Your Novel


February 25, 2019

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Happy end of February. To celebrate a have a special giveaway for you a novel by Jarrod Fassan called Trickling Sands by Jerrod Fasan is a very quick and easy read. Fasan, unlike most authors writes in the present tense but weaves a very intriguing story with moral implications. In the beginning we find two lifelong best friend Richard and Garett engaging in a casual conversation after a long day at work as police detectives which sets up their relationship and the relationship to their families. All appears to be in order as the two depart from home.


This is where things get interesting and by interesting, I mean intriguing. The next morning Richard wakes up and feels strange as things around him also feel strange. As the morning develops, he soon learns that Serene, his wife also experiences the feeling. Nothing really out of the ordinary for the morning until they can’t locate their six-year-old son Mark. Both horrified begin a search. From there things go from bad to worse when Garett discovers Richard didn’t show up for work which starts a manhunt. Without giving away the details or a spoiler alert, what seems to happen, isn’t really happening as Fasan takes the readers onto an entirely different path and into a creepy darkness of what happens. The tale quickly changes into a who done it as Garett and the Welder Viller Police Department searches for a killer.

The random drawing will be conducted by Random.org.



DEFINING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE FOR YOUR NOVEL


Whom you think your audience is and who they are, do not go hand-in-hand. You must be target specific and know your audience. Consider two of my books, The Keystroke Killer and Never Stop Running. Those books are as opposite as night and day; therefore, two different audiences. I know this. A reader who purchases The Keystroke Killer expecting Never Stop Running to be like it, has a shock coming. I’m very honest with my readers about this. Before I recommend them to a potential buyer, I let them know what they will find.

  Please do not tempt yourself to skip this step as your target audience guides everything else in your marketing plan. I wouldn’t target readers of romance novels with an ad for The Keystroke Killer. I’d waste my money. Why would I target science fiction lovers with my next novel Secret Romances: A Forbidden Thirst For Love. The way to find your target audience is to do a little investigating on your own. Visit Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, and Pinterest and make a note of the audience who reads your book’s genre. You might find that women between the ages of thirty-five and fifty read romance novels. What about serial killer books? Find out the age group and plan to target them with your ads. The key to discovering your target group is to ask, “Who will purchase my book?”






I am really excited to introduce to my readers author Bryan DeMinico. He is a first-time author who grabbed my attention with his first paragraph. I must admit I love science fiction novels, especially that have alien culutures mingling with humans. Add a twist, political issues and more, and you get Retrospect. I bought it and loved it. Meet Bryan DeMinico.



Bryan DeMinico
Retrospect


Tell your readers a little about yourself. Where you grew up, where you live now, where you went to school etc. Let them get to know the personal you.


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I am a native Floridian now living in Georgia.  One day, I hope to see the beach again.  I grew up in a small city known as Hollywood, FL.  Deciding to start college after high school, staying local, earned my AA at Broward Community College where I played trumpet in the jazz band and helped with the college literary arts magazine.  After my two-year degree, went to Florida Atlantic University to earn a BA in English.  Soul searching began, and I felt a need to serve my country, especially after the 9/11 attacks.  Since many of my family members had served, I joined Army ROTC at the University of Central Florida to commission as an Army officer and earn a second BA, this one in Sociology.  My branch of choice was Armor, so I got to experience Tanks and Guntrucks, essentially serving on the front lines near the Tigris River conducting combat operations during the 2006 Operation Iraqi Freedom surge.  I returned for my second deployment near Mosul, Iraq, during 09/10 rotation.  Then once home after my second deployment, I served on numerous Army installations until I decided it was time to transition to civilian life after nearly 10 years of service.  And here I currently am, surviving Corporate America as an operations manager while continuing my love for the creative arts.  I would say, deep down, I may be a type of modern renaissance man.




What inspired you to write this book?

I was always a huge Bond fan at such a young age.  Blend in Star Trek and Star Wars and picking up writing as a hobby also at a young age, I wanted to create something of my own.  The first actual concept for a story was Retrospect.  I thought of great scenes and memorable characters and took it from there.  The original draft was completed in 1999, but then I went and lived life and served my country.  About a year and a half ago, I dusted off the draft and wanted to complete it and get it published.  Agent Jonah is the need to create a Bond type character, but without being anything like Bond when the storyline gets peeled away.  I took the idea of an agent with a set of lethal skills, put him into a futuristic setting with a politically and sociologically charged backdrop, and sat down everyday and worked on what would become my first completed novel.

Your book is futuristic and deals with an alien race in co-existence with humans. How do you as an author develop a setting and merge believability to it for the readers? Did you ‘Invent’ technology? What is their living environment?  

This is the futuristic essence of my book’s setting, and where I think some of my love for sociological factors come to light.  The binding factor is a new galactic political theater, the United Planetary Government and its inner workings of democratic relations between all three races present in my book – human, novus, and alien.  But with any political history of democracy, race relations, feelings between each race, societal interactions, tensions born from such, melding of race technologies, languages, and immigration issues provide a fantastic backdrop throughout my created futuristic setting in the year 3421. 

This is a future where the galaxy has been populated, but a special planet, an artificial earth type planet named Atlas, was engineered to offer an alternate to old Earth, a type of population balancing calculation.  Now, on Earth, we see a planet separated by a security border wall, where the Southern Hemisphere homes the majority of the novus race.  The social structures of major cities are also examined, showing another level of living cohesion.  I did invent technology throughout my book.  This is where I think sci-fi may be a little more challenging than a modern fiction story, whereas I really don’t have to explain how a car’s engine works, for example, in a standard fiction story.  But in a futuristic world, the need to subtly explain what the reader is dealing with, at least to me, is important to paint that whole picture, a true immersive, imaginative experience.   
What were your struggles or obstacles you had to overcome to get this book written?

At first, working six days a week in Corporate America.  Finding time, most definitely.  But, I maintained a disciplined mindset, so I dedicated at least thirty minutes to an hour on weekdays.  Now the weekends, I really burned that midnight oil.  Six to eight hours on Saturday and Sunday.  Let’s just say, I did not get out much.  The end reward of holding my first published book in my own hands made it all worth it.  The other major struggle, this was the novel that my true voice establishes itself.  So, as I am writing each draft, my writer’s voice strengthens and refines.  Another obstacle, is rewriting a draft that was pretty much almost ten years old.  Basically, I rewrote the whole book many times, as I deleted and rewrote every sentence, became an initial endeavor.  But, keep in mind the storyline and content all stayed the same.  It matured and got better during the revisions. 
Tell your readers about your book. 

In the far-off future, year 3421, political order is maintained throughout the United Planetary Congress and its branches.  Three races, human, novus, alien, all coexist as best they can throughout the ideas of what a futuristic “melting-pot” looks like.  Enter the political intrigue and greed of such a future, when our main villain, Ambassador Dracon T. Michaels, develops a plan to ensure a drastic change in the current galactic political structure.  The Galactic Interpol Society must investigate a set of stolen codes, codes ultimately fulfilling Ambassador Michaels’ goals for political takeover.  Agent Jonah, one of the society’s top-priority agents, goes into the heart of political theater – the Revised Washington District.  As Jonah fights his way through novus terrorists, he realizes a rogue galactic agent also biting at his heels, further complicating the mission.  Jonah learns that another key ambassador, Andrea, is also involved.  And when a novus crime lord, Jax, shows his true intentions while helping out Dracon, readers will experience an exciting plot until the last sentence.   



Who is your target audience and why? 

I think fans of Bond, or the spy genre in general, definitely will love this book.  Then the fans who love Star Trek, Star Wars, stories like Blade Runner, this story will not disappoint.  Also, Retrospect offers a unique futuristic setting for Sci-Fi readers to dive into.  The action sequences are also vivid and descriptive with style.


If you were going to give one reason for anyone looking at your book to read, why should they buy it?

The political happenings of today find themselves intertwined within a good versus evil Sci-Fi plot with plenty of action, memorable characters and settings, and readers will want to get to the last page to find out how everything comes together for Agent Jonah.


What do you consider your greatest success in life?

That is a tough question and thank you for asking this.  Looking back, I think to say that I led brave Soldiers in combat operations as a Platoon Leader was a very honorable and humbling experience all at once, and not many people can claim such. 


When you look at yourself in the mirror, what would you tell your younger self?

Well, the million-dollar statement.  I think I really have no regrets.  I think I can complain and be bitter about some little things that turned out the way they did.  But, if I looked in the mirror right now, I would tell my younger self – “See, it all worked out just fine.”


What advice can you give anyone who is considering publishing a book?

I would say that it is not easy at first, since everything needs to be pretty close to perfect in a novel.  But the moment you think it is not fun, stop it.  There should be an inner creative drive to get that story out onto the written page.  Writing has its stressful moments, but it always must remain fun and goal driven.  If it is not fun, it might show up in the writing as being “forced” or “dreary.” Set the goal and go for it.  If I can work about six days a week and write a 362-page novel, anyone else who is goal driven can also achieve such a life goal.


Everyone has life lessons to learn, tell your readers one or two of yours and how they make you the author you are today.

You can only learn to swim if you jump in the water.  By all means, no piece of writing is perfect.  As long as you keep at it, re-read it, work on the drafts, get it close to near perfection, then I think it’s good to go.  Always remember the most important person in the whole process – the reader.  If the narrative hook works, and they get to the next page, and the flow is good, I’m a happy author.  I think life experiences are a must for some writing an author might tackle.  For example, I experienced combat, so in a book showing some instances of combat may have a different/better feel than a piece of inexperienced writing trying to do such.  Let your imaginative run wild.  Anything, and everything, is possible for a great story these days. 

What one unique thing sets you apart from other writers in your genre?

Besides knowing what it feels like to wear heavy tactical gear and sweat and run for one’s life, again, those life experiences help, I refuse to remain straightforward and bland and will try a more difficult approach to something.  Not only writing in the 3rd person omniscience point of view, but injecting some sociological and cultural themes in-between the lines is not playing it completely safe, but I want to give readers something a little more than a great good versus evil story, something to explore and experience while the action scenes develop around all characters involved.

How did you come up with the idea for your book? 

I know I wanted a type of spy character, but I didn’t want the typical formula I kept seeing in a lot of Bond alternatives.  But I also wanted a setting in the future where the known galaxy had already been populated.  I wanted a sense of order though.  The futuristic settings that have hundreds of races and locales, those are awesome, but again, I wanted uniqueness and a different approach.  What if old Earth needed a re-vamp, a breath of fresh air?  This is when I created Atlas, a planet artificially built from scratch to balance out environmental/population issues on old Earth.  Keeping simplicity in mind and a sense of order, the novi are born from the original human race, but mix in the alien race, and a trifecta of race relations is born.  I thought of awesome action sequences and characters, and a lot of writing Retrospect was as if the movie played over and over in my head. 

Tell your readers anything else you want to share.

This is my first self-published book.  I hope to write many more and grow a fan base.  I am humbled that a person might use my first novel as an escape from reality for a while.  Always keep the readers in mind.

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Saturday, February 23, 2019

An Author's Mindset - Are you a Writer or are you an Author?



February 23, 2019

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There is a great on my mind today -- exciting things! I have been able to express myself through a myriad of ways including radio, television, and podcast interviews. I really want to than two of those hosts. Brian Hammer Jackson and the Ellen J. Morning show was so much fun. It felt like speaking with friends who have known me for years. It was upbeat and fun. I also got to announce two of my audio narrators I hired for two different books. Scott Ellis will be narrating THE KEYSTROKE KILLER: TRANSCENDENCE and Tymothy Burke will be narrating my new book HOW TO LAUNCH AND MARKET A BOOK which will launch on April 1, 2019. Congratulations to you both.

Also this week I was a featured guest on the Yaya Diamonds show. Amazing experience! Her upbeat professional and her questions brought out things I hadn't mentioned in public before, much less during an interview. I felt instantly connected to her. Thank you, Yaya!

I have also been working with several new authors mentoring them through the publication process and editing their manuscripts. Each experience for me is wonderful as I see them grow as authors. I can't wait for their books releases. As an author, I feel it is important to network and help other authors. I don't see them as my competition; we're colleagues.

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This last week I also published the NEVER STOP RUNNING REGRESSION JOURNAL. This book is only available in paperback because it is a journal where you can write down your regression sessions. In a sense, it is a diary for you. Next month the NEVER STOP RUNNING DREAM JOURNAL is set to launch on my BIRTHDAY! More about that later in another blog.

I also attended Grandparent's Day for two of my grandsons. Wow! I felt like I was the queen of the world. Not only did I get to watch a fabulous program by the students of the school I also received a tour and met their teachers. Once experience was when I met my grandson's English teacher. She gifted me with the news that my grandson chose my novel NEVER STOP RUNNING as one of three books to read and do book reports. She said in her entire teaching career she has never had a student choose one of their grandmother's books. Of course, I had my bookmarks with me and gave her thirty to share with the faculty. The next day, I sold sixty books. I have a feeling my grandson had something to do with that.

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Lastly, NEVER STOP RUNNING is currently on sale at .99 on Amazon. That price won't last long so get your copy today. Also available for pre-orders is my new book HOW TO LAUNCH AND MARKET A BOOK. This book takes an author on a step-by-step process six months prior to a book's launch. There are five pre-launch checklists included along with one for post-launch. This book explains how I release my books as the #1 New Release on Amazon.

That about covers my update for last week and on to a new section that I am starting in my blog today -- Authors Tip of the Week. I frequently write tips here in my blog and articles, but I decided after mentoring several authors, I would create this section. I will continue to post independent articles as well.

AUTHOR TIP OF THE WEEK - AN AUTHOR'S MINDSET



To be an author, you must become an author. Anyone can write something, but will it be author worthy? Case in point. If you visit my webpage at www.drmelcaudle.com the first thing that pops up is my landing page. It clearly identifies me as an AUTHOR. Notice that I didn't declare myself a writer. Why? It has to do with my mindset. To me, a writer writes, and an author publishes incredible stories with plots and hones their craft. I'm not content to publish a novel full of errors or written in a passive voice because that is what an amateur writer would do. When I publish a novel, it is a reflection of myself, my thoughts, and my profession as an author. There I go again, I am an author, not a writer. That is my mindset. When you get into the mindset that you are an author instead of a writer, it will guide you to hone your craft. Don't settle for mediocracy. Take online courses. Read best-selling books and analyze their style. Read, read and read about the process of authoring and get feedback. Take the feedback and grow as an author.

Feedback from an editor can be brutal, but if your editor is worth any grain of salt they must be honest with an author on how to improve. Why would you want it any other way? I will give you a specific example. An author asked me to review their book and provide honest feedback. The manuscript had so many formatting errors, grammatical mistakes, and written in a passive voice, I struggled reading it. Here's the kicker. The book was already published, but it wasn't selling. I knew why -- a poorly written novel by a writer and not by an author. A huge difference. The plot and characters were magnificent; so, I edited the first chapter, free, and sent it back with my feedback. The author felt as if the changes I made as an editor didn't feel as if he wrote it. I explained the difference between a document written in passive voice and past tense and provided specific examples. I also explained why the document now had a different feel to it. I removed all of the 'TELLY, TELLY' sentences and edited to show rather than tell. So now I identified two major weakness for this writer -- learn how to eliminate writing in a passive voice and show not tell. It will be up to him to hone his craft if he wants to grow from being a writer to an author. Again a mindset. An author accepts feedback and hones their craft. A writer declines feedback as remains a writer. Which one are you? Are you an author or are you a writer?


The featured author for today's blog is Radhaa Nilia. Have you ever instantly connected with someone and you didn't know why? It is rare when I do, but that is precisely what happened when I connected to Radhaa Nilia. She truly is a remarkable author and I don't mean that lightly. I am excited to share her story and what makes Radhaa Nilia unique and her book Ascending Beyond Duality.

About Radhaa Nilia

Tell me about your journey to what led you to this point in your life.


It’s been a wild ride of learning and growing all the way. I think I signed up for the accelerated duality program. I started with parents who were hippies and really wonderful, into meditation, vegan types. Both wildly talented artist, who infused me with a sense of spirituality and an artist soul. I’ve traveled all over the world, lived in Asia as a model and actress in my twenties and then moved to Hollywood. I’ve been a producer, director, writer. But spirituality and healing always called me, so studied the healing arts for years and got trained and certified in over a dozen modalities. Then I created my own called Goddess Activations™. It was amazing how this came to me when I was working in Hollywood Hills and the Goddesses would just pop over into my sessions. I realized how each Goddess has an essence, energy, gift and attribute that is related to the feminine many archetypes. The old way of being one dimensional, good vs bad just wasn’t working. We are so much deeper than those two shallow boxes and the Goddesses really activated my clients to their own inner gifts and helped integrate so much in sessions. I was blown away and I work with eleven main Goddess Archetypes. There are so many more that I work with, but for now, my next book: Goddess Activations™ is based on the eleven main feminine archetypes.


Some readers may not know about a Shaman is or what they do. How can you describe this to us?

Indigenous people across the world always had Shamans as sacred leaders, healers, and restorers of peace. Sadly, many Shamans have been killed off in and this great tradition and important role in many societies has been forgotten and replaced with religion during the takeovers. A Shaman is someone who is divinely connected to spirit. They innately have this Shamanic information in their lineage and must be trained and tap into their birthright. A Shaman can help in many ways. They are a bit of a trickster, not in a harmful way, but they can show you your shadow and other parts that perhaps you have not been able to fully see yourself. A Shaman can assist in bringing back soul fragment retrieval and journey with you to reclaim parts of yourself you may have forgotten or lost along the way. Shaman can speak with spirit, animals, nature. They are here to just be sweet and pleasing love and lighter types. They are a bit more intense because of their depth and ability to be with and enter the realm of darkness and light. They are a bridge between worlds and duality. When a Shaman is honored and their wisdom is heard again, this is when healing in the world will begin. Many have forgotten their roots, their source and the divinity which is our birthright. But it time to remember, time to stand in our light, our truth our wisdom. To honor our ancestors that came before us, to honor our earth and the children that will come after us. We are here to remember.

How did you discover your healing powers?

I have always had a connection to the divine, to nature, to my ancestors. I disconnected in my teens as a way to fit in. I moved far from my gifts and my own true nature to explore duality in the fullest way. But it was always there. When my mom opened her art gallery in Ashland Oregon, I would paint kimonos and every one of them would sell. I started interacting with the women and they would disclose so much personal information with me as if I’d known them for years as if we were looking for some advice and healing. I would simply be present with them, talk with them as they tried on clothes and jewelry. They would transform before my very eyes as we talked and played and they dressed up. From telling me their greatest sorrows and tragedies they became light and playful. I began to understand I had a way of transmuting energy without really putting a name or title on it. Then a Shaman came into the gallery and told me she was looking for me and we were meant to meet. She asked to do a session with me, and she told me many things that really blew my mind. She said I would be part of creating a new earth grid and I had no idea what that meant. She came to prepare me for the work I would be doing later in life. She told me I had more exploring of duality to do, but it would lead me back to the light. She was right. After working in Hollywood for some time, I was very tired of the crude, dark and dense energy that was present there. I was seeking some deep healing and I wanted to go back to the lightness of magic, of miracles or grace and ease of the divine. I called out to the divine and it answered. Goddess Lakshmi came forward as a living emanation of light and spoke with me. She told me that it was time for a change and she would assist me back to the true, divine Goddess. Hollywood really is the land and factory of the false Goddess and I wanted nothing to do with it. I was ready to make this quantum shift. I was lead to healers and then to study full time and take classes, courses and get fully trained in this healing work. Friends asked for sessions, I gave at least a hundred away before I opened my practice. I never advertised but people found me by word of mouth. I was working full time as a healer, shaman, coach and that’s the time the Goddess Activations™ came to me.

So much magic and light came into my life. My own great, great, great, great, grandfather Don Pedro who was a highly regarded Shaman and Mystic came to me as a guide. I had no idea who he was and when I asked my mom and told her about this Shaman man who was coming to me she confirmed his identity and started to reveal family secrets of our Shaman history and how it had to be hidden during the Spanish Inquisition. Our families were threatened and the Catholic church came to move everyone from their homes and land with the military. My family had to move everything within 24 hours. The course of our lives changed and it was not ok to talk about Shamanism or anything like that. It was all about religion now and it sadly has forgotten through the following generations. I was in awe when I found everything out. It was bittersweet to hear how this all came about but it’s been the greatest gift to connect with my Ancestors and to understand my lineage. Everyone has the ability to connect with the divine, to access healing and to use it in their own lives. It is our birthright to know how powerful we truly are. Healing is a gift you give yourself and others. No one truly heals another, one must be open and the healer is the conduit for the divine. If the person receiving is closed and doesn’t really believe they are worthy or that it can happen, they can block their own blessings. You must come from an open heart to do this work and receive the gifts that are available to us, always.

Tell us about your book?

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My book is a memoir style of the various aspects of dualism I have encountered. From light to dark and back to light again. It’s a way to look at experiences as a form of a lesson and to start learning instead of judging. We can not grow in judgment, we only grow from an open mind and heart and the effort we put in being willing to look at the positive and negative. So much of spirituality these days is all about thinking positive. I certainly think positive and am one of the most optimistic people you will ever meet. But I am not afraid to face the darkness and look at certain things that are taboo. If we are unwilling to meet our own shadow, we will continually find in outside of our selves. My book is really about integration and how to use everything in our lives as a source of empowerment. There is truly nothing we cannot overcome.

Where did you get your inspiration to write your book?

I actually didn’t really want to write this book at all. I was resistant and it was a long process, but the book wanted me to write it. I always follow the divine’s loving orders and I did write it as a guidebook for women who are trying to figure out who they are if they belong if they are ok and if they will be ok. I am that friend that is here to say yes, you are ok and if you are willing to learn from your experiences, greatness will follow. As a great guru, Shrii Shrii Anundamurti says: The future is brighter then you could ever imagine. I believe that, and we are here to co-create that future together. Before we master the world, we must master ourselves.


What would you like for someone to come away with after reading your book?

I believe people who are drawn to my book will come out feeling better about themselves. My hope is that they will know that we are here to make mistakes, go on wild adventures, to have experiences that allow our soul to grow and that we are not here to judge that. We are here to learn from it. I hope that they will recognize that they don’t have to live out the tragedy of Princess Syndrome or fall into the trappings of the False Goddess mindset. That they are enough as they are. More than enough. We are resilient and have the power to heal ourselves. I want them to know they have a friend and an alley in the Goddesses, and in me. I am rooting for your greatness. 

Tell me what Goddess Code Academy is and what it has to offer? Where can someone interested in attending, find it.

Goddess Code Academy came after working with clients. Some, I would work with for years. They had healed so much and seen quantum shifts in their lives and now they wanted to learn how they could apply this work to themselves or others. They wanted to know more about the Goddess Activations™ and become a practitioner or just work with this energy on their own. I created my courses for my clients and then they became students. The thing is, we are actually all students and I my clients are my teachers. They show me what I should be creating, and I learn so much from them. So, it’s really a win-win situation. We will be rolling out Goddess Coaching certification soon as well. There is so much we are doing, but I have a small team it’s a lot to keep up with. I enjoy the entire process from developing to teaching very much.


What is your next book? Tell me a little about it.

My next book is Goddess Activations™. This will include eleven Goddesses and it’s a way for women and men to get to know and work with the Goddess energy in their life. My experience with the Goddess Activations™ came organically, almost like they fell onto my lap and into my sessions. It was through my client's willingness, openness, and permission that allowed me to take them onto these intuitive journeys with them. The Goddesses showed me what was possible and how they could assist in healing in so many ways. I just knew that all of this was a benevolent call to write a book.

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As I said earlier, I created and developed the Goddess Activations™ many years ago, and it has been a continuous unfolding since! When we are open to receive her gifts without expectation, there is a powerful surrendering that occurs and often women were getting far more then what they could have asked for. These gifts never come through expectations nor demands. The gifts of the Goddess are blessings that come through a sincere heart, dedication, and devotion to the divine. They are living light codes. That is why it is vital to understand the gateway to the goddess and rite of passage along with sacred rituals before you connect with her.

When women were open and we explored the Goddess Activation™ process together, the feedback was phenomenal. Feelings of more confidence, more alive within herself, forgiveness, healing, and miracles occurred. I’ve seen the women who journey with the Goddess grow exponentially, in a very short period of time, even found the love of their lives after searching a lifetime. I knew that I couldn’t just limit the Goddess Activations™ to just one on one session. I knew it was my duty to make them more accessible in the physical realm and when the Goddesses asked me to write a book, I absolutely did. The Goddess Activations™ book is a great way to introduce the Goddesses and this work to many.  

What other thing(s) would you like to share with my readers.

Life is about experience. Please don’t judge your journey or compare to anyone else’s. We are here to share our journey and that is why I’ve been so open in my book Galactic Goddess. I want to encourage people to explore, learn, grow and have meaningful conversations. One of the reasons I so enjoyed working one to one with clients over the years was the raw honesty they would bring into our sessions. They would share stories with me that I was deeply moved by everyone’s experiences. I never sat there in judgment, only wonder and awe of what they had been through. I realized that everyone goes through so much in life but everyone plays off as if nothing happened. But then it shows up in your relationships and life when you don’t look at it, deal with it, explore and be willing to heal the past by honoring it. Yes, honoring every aspect is important. Not just the shiny award-winning moments. This is why I created Radhaa Publishing. So people can share their stories. We are currently co-creating and enrolling people who want to share a story in this collaborative book. The book is called: Awakening Starseeds: Stories Behind the Stargate.

We encourage people to come and share their experiences, their breakdowns to breakthroughs, their journey into darkness, their journey to the light and everything in-between. This book will come out the end of Spring and we are calling people to join. You don’t have to have been a published author or written a book before. We have a whole team from start to finish that helps move this along. If you are curious or interested in becoming a published author on Awakening Starseeds, email
radhaapublishing@gmail.com

This is coming with a whole lot of community, fun and great PR. We do video and audio interviews of each of our authors and it’s a way of really celebrating your stories, your creativity and coming out of the spiritual closet and sharing your gifts. Watch the intro video.




For more information about Radhaa, her Academy, books, courses, and events, please visit www.goddesscodeacademy.com

Connect with Radhaa on Social Media:

Personal Facebook - www.facebook.com/radhaanilia
Goddess Code Academy Facebook- www.facebook.com/goddesscodeacademy
Radhaa Publishing Facebook- www.facebook.com/radhaapublishing
Twitter- www.twitter.com/radhaanilia
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCc2wErRQP-U0Pmjuqe1Bjqg/featured
Instagram: Radhaa Nilia www.instagram.com/radhaanilia
LinkedIn- www.linkedin.com/in/radhaanilia

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Join me on the Yaya Diamonds Radio Show


Please join me and ask me anything you'd like about my books or myself.

I am scheduled to be on the Yaya Diamonds Show on Wednesday night, February 20, 2019. Please listen are call into the show and join us. 8:00 pm Est 6:00 Cst.

Link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dreamchasersradio/2019/02/21/making-it-beautiful
Call in to speak with the host (347) 855-8209



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Sunday, February 17, 2019

Maker of Sunshine: Only for Love


February 17, 2019
It is with pleasure that I introduce my subscribers to this novel because I love it when I support other authors and women writers. G Nichelle and I have something in common - we both are from Dallas, Texas. Although I live in New Orleans, there is something special about women from Texas. I hope you enjoy meeting G Nichelle and take the time to learn about her and her books.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW

G Nichelle
Maker of Sunshine: Only for Love





Name of Book: Maker of Sunshine: Only for Love

Year Published: 2019

Publisher: HunBun Luv (Independent)



Tell your readers a little about yourself. Where you grew up, where you live now, where you went to school etc. Let them get to know the personal you. - I was born and raised in Dallas, TX, which is a big small town. There are huge buildings, but the streets are still quiet by ten o’clock on weeknights. I still live in Dallas, because I love the diversity and opportunities available. A de-segregation court order created various school programs in the city that provided me with the opportunity to explore the arts through a specialized magnet school program. Every day I rode a bus from my neighborhood to another school that had programs geared to the performing arts. On those thirty-minute bus rides is where I began sharing stories that I wrote about a music group that I adored. Back then I called my stories ‘dreams’. I would tell my friend “I had this dream…” and then I would include all of our friends as characters who meet and fall in love with the band members to live happily ever after. Class work was easy for me, so I would write the ‘dreams’ down and pass them around on the bus back home.



What inspired you to write this book? -  For all of the great things in my childhood, there were many dark moments. I wanted more for my children, I wanted a loving stable environment for them to flourish in. How do you accomplish that when you have never seen love? How do you accomplish a healthy relationship when you have never seen one and don’t know anyone in a meaningful positive relationship? The story grew from questions about how to love after trauma. When it’s hard to love yourself and you are struggling to just survive, how can you love? Is it even a good idea?  I wanted to explore what that looked like.



You’re very young for a novelist? When did you begin writing? - I fell in love with books before I could really read. My parents would have to limit the number of books that I could bring home. The grandmother that cared for me when I was pre-school age doodled a lot and wrote on everything. I would mimic her and by the end of the day have a notebook full of curly loops that were words just like hers (in my mind at least). I have always written. I remember reading Terry Mc Millan and Zora Neal Hurston in middle school and wanting more stories like that. So between my fan fiction, mimicking great writers, and the women in my life, I began crafting my romance stories.



Are there any authors who inspired you growing up or who inspires you now? - Terry Mc Millan and Zora Neal Hurston are the inspiration of course, but Maya Angelou and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings… that did it for me. I still watch her interviews in amazement at the way she was able to craft words of wisdom in a way that stuck with me without that sense of judgment or condescension.



Susan Mallory and Brenda Jackson influence my romance writing.



What were your struggles or obstacles you had to overcome to get this book written? - First and foremost, time was/is the biggest hurdle to overcome. I have a fulltime job, a husband, and three active children. Over the years I have written when I had a moment of quietness or when the muses spoke to me, but to write consistently on one piece and complete it was difficult. My characters are like family, so ending the story was difficult as well (hence a novella coming this June). Finding good resources became a hurdle. Finding a cover creator, editor, a person to help with a blurb for sales etc. took longer than needed. I took the long way around to get simple things done.



Tell your readers about your book. - It’s a story about love on many levels. While the main plot focuses on Nailah and Tyriq finding each other, I also explore how the love of family and friends shapes our lives. Nailah is a social worker who was abandoned by her mother, father and foster mother. She has learned that relationships are temporary and it’s best to love in small doses. Tyriq is ready for the forever kind of love and doesn’t mind walking Nailah each step of the way, even if it is at a snail’s pace. Nailah is not what Tyriq’s family or his ex-girlfriend expected. The two have to overcome individual past hurts to build a future.




Who is your target audience and why? - People who love a love story. Love is universal, but women may relate to the story more since the majority of the book is given from Nailah’s perspective.



What one unique thing sets you apart from other writers in your genre? - I believe romance includes more than the physical act of sex, so while there are some erotic scenes, my books delve into the love moments that make life fun. My goal in writing is to make my reader’s smile. I want to normalize romance and give people the opportunity to see the love in their everyday lives. Love is not always grand gestures with billboards and millionaires, love includes backrubs and favorite pasta dishes while watching a show you despise. My writing includes the grandiose… Tyriq is wealthy of course… but also the little things that people overlook, like getting your girlfriend new tires.



How did you come up with the idea for your book? - It’s always a question for me. What would that look like in someone’s life? My grandmother told me about her grandmother being left with her father’s girlfriend when she was young and I had tons of questions. I am always inspired by the real.



What is your next book? Tell us a little about it. - I have three.


Maker of Sunshine: The Wedding, this will be a novella out in June that will continue Nailah and Tyriq’s journey to marriage.
COMING JUNE 2019


Maker of Moonlight: Midnight in Bloom, is the love story about two of the characters from Maker of Sunshine. Terrence lost the love of his life and first wife at the tender age of 23. He knows that no one will ever be able to replace her, so he promises that he will remain single to honor her memory. Regina is poised to take over her father’s investment company, but there is one stipulation, she can’t do it alone. Her father requires that she marry first. Even though Regina is a beautiful woman, she can’t find the right combination of intelligence and compassion that she requires in a man to tolerate being married. When Terrence and Regina begin a fiery love affair, they learn that their bodies were made to be connected to each other, but what about their hearts?

In Maker of Moonlight, I still explore the theme of loving after trauma and learning to love in a way that was not taught to you.  Regina’s parents had a marriage based on mutual understanding and it worked out well, but Regina is not as compliant as her mother. Her independent spirit and unrestricted vocabulary usually drive away the men that she doesn’t dismiss first. Terrence grew up in a home with strong women, so Regina’s brazen attitude doesn’t scare him, but the fact that she has wiggled close to his heart does.

Tell your readers anything else you want to share. I’m simple: I like to write stories. I hope people will read them, smile, and like my stories too.