MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW: ALL STORMS PASS: THE ANTI-MEDITATIONS 2 - RAIN AND FIRE BY LUKE BENOIT

 Into everyone's life, especially now, a little Self-Help must fall! I'm excited to announce that I am partnering with Professional Life Coach and Hypnotherapist Luke Benoit this summer as we launch his follow-up to ALL STORMS PASS: THE ANTI-MEDITATIONS. Here's the scoop from the MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW:

If anyone ever told you that you were anything less than wonderful—they lied. 

                         —ALL STORMS PASS: RAIN AND FIRE 

 

Life Coach Luke Benoit has followed up his book, ALL STORMS PASS: THE ANTI-MEDITATIONS with a second book in the series: RAIN AND FIRE. Warning: This is not a book for the faint of heart in need of recovery from trauma. It’s a two-fisted, take-no-prisoners approach to coping with mental, emotional, and psychosomatic traumatic challenges.

This book offers ways to soothe the suffering and liberate them, if they are willing to face their demons.

As with the first book, Benoit presents verses he calls “anti-meditations” (which are the same as meditations, only different). RAIN AND FIRE continues to riff on therapeutic themes of recovery, addiction, self-help, and personal spirituality. A former psychotherapist with extensive 12-Step Recovery knowhow, Benoit proposes that these anti-meditations may occasionally serve as puzzles—jumping off places for discussion, self-assessment, or prayer.

As a philosopher and poet, Benoit strikes a balance between his own truths and universal truths. Yes, he went through the Valley of the Shadow, but he points out that his experiences are not unique. The question ultimately is not necessarily how can we avoid trauma, but how can we flourish in spite of it?

RAIN AND FIRE’S hybrid of searing poetry, confessional naked rage and heartfelt love is tempered with popup humor that keeps the reader smiling through tears while turning pages. Instead of titles, the meditations have subject-oriented headlines such as:

“When will it be success and how will I know it when it gets here?”

“Today, I will admit that sometimes BEING STUCK IS A CHOICE”

“Today, I will accept that LIFE is not an ALFRED HITCHCOCK MOVIE”

“There comes a time when no matter where you've been and no matter what you've been through, you have to MOVE FORWARD anyway”

And my personal favorite:

I will WALK MY DOG -
no matter what else is
going on.

Even Benoit’s Dedication starts out with a smile:

For my Auntie Cia,
my Mom and Dad
and the Tall Dark Stranger
I thought might bury me
in the basement.

In a poignant, highly personal passage, the author reveals that after writing the first book, he suffered a physical and mental breakdown that was eventually diagnosed as severe vertigo—a health crisis that ended his progress for a time, except in the arena of healing, which eventually did happen. 

Benoit does not attempt to offer readers magical solutions received from On High, but supplies aid as a fellow traveler who has come many times to a crossroads that asks him to choose between Light and Darkness, and he continues to choose Light.

I highly recommend this book to advocates of 12-Step Recovery and those who wish to learn more about it; seekers of recovery from trauma or life itself; spiritual seekers; and poetry lovers.

Title: ALL STORMS PASS: THE ANTI-MEDITATIONS 2 – RAIN AND FIRE
Author: Luke Benoit
Publisher: Luke Benoit
Publication Date: May 27, 2021
Language: English
Paperback: 346 pages $17.95
978-0692222119
Available on Amazon

"SUSHI" NOVEL EXCERPT BY MARLAN WARREN FEATURED IN THE [ARTIFA]CTUALS MAGAZINE (4/12/21)

For immediate release: 

On Monday, April 12, the online arts and culture magazine “The Artifa[ctuals]" will feature an excerpt from the upcoming novel, “Tales of Sushi,” by Marlan Warren, which focuses on the attraction between a lonely Caucasian American divorcee and a charming Japanese chef, who forge a cross-cultural friendship amid a lively sushi bar scene in the L.A. area.

“The story is based on my diaries from when I frequented this ‘Cheers’-type sushi bar in L.A. in the nineties,” says Warren, who is also the author of the novel, “Roadmaps for the Sexually Challenged [All’s Not Fair in Love or War].”

The Artifa[ctuals] was launched in the Fall of 2020 by author Aris Janigian, whose novels include "Waiting for Lipchitz at Chateau Marmont," (17 weeks on the L.A. Times best-seller list), "This Angelic Land," and "Waiting for Sophia at Shutters on the Beach."

"I really admire Aris’s vision and desire to create a collision space for critical thought and artistic expression," says Warren. "It’s an honor to be invited to participate."

 

The Artifa[ctuals] Website:

www.theartifactuals.com

 

Audiobook: Author Marlan Warren Reads Roadmaps for the Sexually Challenged (2) (Chapter 2)

Does it seem like the whole word is in VIEWING mode? Make an Audiobook!

I'm excited to announce that I've started creating an audiobook of my "fictionalized memoir" (aka "novel") Roadmaps for the Sexually Challenged [All's Not Fair in Love or War].

The e-book has enjoyed success on Amazon Kindle, and it will be coming out soon in paperback.

In L.A. we are still fairly locked down. For everyone that's hard, and it impacts publicists also. Sure you can Zoom, Zoom, Zoom your events and readings...but it ain't the same. It's a stop gap measure. And everyone knows it.

The other day, I decided to check out audiobooks on YouTube -- and wow! What a game changer! A service known as "Great Audiobooks" asks for volunteers to read well known books on the "air." I could listen while making breakfast to The Art of War if I wanted to. And it was so pleasurable that I realized...

The time has come to go Audio! With my book. It wouldn't have to even be every page. Excerpts would do, after the main gist of the setup was absorbed by readers.

A few years back, I reprinted "How To Make An Audiobook" from another blog (with permission) and I must say that at the time, it was rather daunting. You'd need some good equipment and at the very least, a very quiet closet to record in. AND a great speaking voice that suits the content.

But when I heard recently that a tech-phobic friend has been making How To videos on her iPhone, that stirred my own initiative. I  haven't yet succumbed to iPhone or adequate video editing equipment (due to financial constraints; I'm not a snob!). And I thought:

"Why not try to make this audiobook with what I have one hand?

So I recorded on my Android phone, which produces an MP4 file, and edited on the low-tech "Movie Maker" app on my PC, along with some jpg photos for a slide show.

And...(drum roll)...it worked great! 

Next, I uploaded the nearly 3 min. video to my MarlanWarren YouTube channel. And voila!

My closet is pretty noisy. You can heard the plumbing going and people walking in the hall. But I found that recording after most folks are in bed or before they wake up makes for excellent sound studio conditions.

I had no problem reading. Thanks to my first grade teacher Mrs. Stryker (her real name) who made me stay after school and read until she could hear "expression" in my voice. 

Social Media Video Time Limits

YouTube: 7-15 min. for unverified user. Verified users? Up to 12 hours!

Instagram: 1 min.

Facebook: It used to be 2 minutes. But today on my Book Publicity By Marlan site, FB suggested my video post be "at least" 3 minutes! Hallelujah!

Vimeo: Allows a total of 500MB per week with the basic free membership, with a total of 5GB storage.

Twitter: 2 min. 20 sec. Max. 

Okay. Yes, it can be a pain cutting the various lengths of your video, but if you want it to have a long "reach," you will joyfully spread it around your social media sites, and don't forget Linked In and Goodreads!

 About My Book and the First Audiobook Recording

Posted above is the beginning of Chapter 1 (“Signs”); Page 1.

Roadmaps for the Sexually Challenged is a post-divorce tale set against the backdrop of the O.J. Simpson trial with a consciousness raising journey through the wilds of Los Angeles.

What saves the story from being straight up Chick Lit are the divorcing woman's close encounters with the generational scars of the Japanese American Internment, interracial dating questions, and the story’s ultimate warning that no matter how great the sex is, how deeply you feel about someone:

“Don’t go unconscious for love.”

 And yes, I recorded the next segment this morning at 4 a.m. and will be posting it on YouTube, etc. very soon!

How to find this e-book, reviews, etc. on Amazon: Click Here

#amazonbooks  #audiobook #divorce #relationshipbook

#feministliterature  #californiawriter #losangeles #psychic

#filmthisbook  #interracialdating

How to Write a Memoir Panel : L.A. Writers Conference #Zoom 8/12 7:30pm

Details: Book Publicity By Marlan

We're presenting the "How to Write a Memoir Panel" at L.A. Writers Conference (8/12 7:30 PDT)!

For details, check out our Press Release!

GREATER LOS ANGELES WRITERS CONFERENCE PIVOTS TO ZOOM! AUG. 7-15

For immediate release:

Event: Annual Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference
When: Friday, Aug. 7 - Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020
Where: ZOOM
Registration/Info: L.A. Writers Conference Website
Program: http://www.wcwriters.com/aglawc/program.html

Executive Director of the Annual Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference (AGLAWC), Tony Todaro, has announced that this educational and networking event will celebrate its 26th year with a pivot from its pre-pandemic originally slated venue at the Culver City Doubletree by Hilton Hotel to Zoom, starting Friday, Aug. 7, and running through Saturday, Aug. 15.

"When it comes to virtual writers conferences, one major plus is that writers are able to interact with agents, writing experts, and publishing professionals who might otherwise not be able to attend in person," says Todaro. "Nobody is limited by geographical location anymore."

"The schedule is daily and linear, so writers won't have to choose between two workshops or panels happening simultaneously," Todaro says. "We'll have more than 40 literary agents, professional editors, and publishers on hand to give guidance on the craft and business of writing fiction and nonfiction."

Keith Ogorek, President of the Author Learning Center, will kick off opening day with a webinar titled "7 Things Every Writer Needs to Become an Author."

Speaker event topics include how-to's for pitching agents or publishers; writing a memoir; self-editing; ghostwriting; screenwriting. Writers may have their writing read and critiqued by publishing professionals. 

"Our faculty is not 'sheltering in place,'" says Todaro. "With this new technology, we consider them our Writers in Residence."

He assures attendees there will be ways to network, share your contact info, etc. And yes, they will still receive goody bags!

Tony N. Todaro
Photo ©Ester Benjamin Shifren

For the past 26 years, Todaro, aided and abetted by his wife, Lillian, have organized these writers conferences. Although the learning curve for transposing this massive event to the virtual realm is steep, Tony Todaro is a veteran at staying focused.



He quotes from his favorite t-shirt:

"Being an Executive Director is as easy as riding a bicycle, except you're on fire, the bike is on fire, and everything else is on fire."

(Sounds just a little bit like writing, doesn't it?)

#WritersConference

#LosAngelesWritersConference

#GLAWS

#TonyTodaro

#VirtualWritersConferences

This press release will be published and distributed by PR.com Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020.

Celebrating 8 years of Service! 
Book Publicity By Marlan is a subsidiary of Roadmap Communications.

MARLAN IS AVAILABLE FOR PRIVATE OR GROUP COACHING AND

SPEAKING AT YOUR GROUP OR BOOK CLUB.

ABOUT MARLAN WARREN 

Location: Los Angeles, California (Hollywood)
Phone: 323-347-6762
E-Mail: marlanwarren at outlook.com
Twitter: @marlanwarren 
Linked In: Marlan Warren on Linked In
Facebook: Book Publicity by Marlan & Marlan Warren - PR

Faculty Member: Greater Los Angeles Writers Society (GLAWS)
Member: Nonfiction Writers Association
Midwest Book Review: Contributor ("Marlan's Bookshelf")

Blogs: 
Roadmap Girl's Book Buzz
L.A. Now and Then 
Marlan Warren Author Blog 

PR services include, but are not limited to:

• Building Author Platforms
• Creating Exciting Book Campaigns
• Book Marketing & Publicity
• Coaching: Writing, Book PR
• Book Editing
• Writing Reviews
• Conducting Interviews
• Writing Press Releases
• Creating and Maintaining Press Kits
• Creating and Maintaining Websites, Blogs, Social media Outreach

 ABOUT MARLAN:

Marlan Warren is an experienced publicist, writing coach, writer, book editor, journalist, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, blogger, and website designer. Her skills include writing press releases, creating press kits, one-sheets, and launching events for authors, artists, designers, entertainers, and rock musicians. Marlan arranges for clients to appear on TV morning shows, NPR, and local radio programs. Her filmmaking credits include the documentary, What did you do in the War, Mama?: Kochiyama's Crusaders (currently in post-production), and the cross-cultural documentary, Reunion (shown at film festivals internationally). In addition, she is a produced playwright/director/actor. Currently, Marlan is on the faculty of the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society. Her novel, Roadmaps for the Sexually Challenged is still selling well on Amazon. Her BFA is from the University of Southern California in Screenwriting and English. She created the award-winning educational children's series, Reading Planet, and sold a screenplay (Midsummer Night Cowboy) for $30,000 in a Writers Guild signatory deal with Shadow Hill Entertainment.

Marlan is a featured speaker/panelist at the WC2 Writers Conferences in Los Angeles, California. Video interviews with her on topics ranging from Book Publicity and Marketing to Getting Great Reviews to Memoir Writing can be viewed at the Author Learning Center and YouTube.

WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR AN EFFECTIVE AUTHOR WEBSITE? (Video)

My interview with the Author Learning Center on "Key Elements of an Effective Author Website":

HOW TO HIRE THE RIGHT EDITOR FOR YOUR MANUSCRIPT

Thank you, Author Learning Center, for interviewing me on this topic every writer can benefit from:

THE IMPORTANCE OF HIRING THE RIGHT EDITOR FOR YOUR MANUSCRIPT

EDITING TIPS & TRICKS! BOOK COVER DO'S & DON'TS!

Last November I spoke on panels at the Digital Author Indie/Self-Publishing Writers Conference on the topics of "How to Design a Self-Published Book to Look Professional" and "Techniques for Editing Your Work." 

I am an experienced, detail-oriented book editor, as well as publicist and website designer.

ABOUT MY EDITING SERVICES:

I provide editing services at all levels of pre-publication.

• Manuscripts in early to final drafts
• Book Covers (Design and Text)
• Amazon Pages (Book Description, Etc.)
• One Sheets
• Book Summaries
• Author Bios
• Book Club Discussion Guides
• Query E-Mails

BOOK COVER TIPS

YOUR BOOK WILL BE JUDGED BY ITS COVER!

BEFORE

AFTER

In color, the "Before" image looked like a big brown toe. In fact, it was a picture of a rock in the New Mexico area where she lives and writes and rock climbs. I asked the author to show me some more colorful shots from her photo archive, and after we agreed on another image, she came up with a more fitting image that reflects the environment that she was depicting in her story. She decided to make it more visually abstract, evoking the beautiful mystery inherent in this imagery.
.

AUTHORS! GET OUT THERE AND GET KNOWN!

HOW NONFICTION MEMORIES EVOLVE INTO FICTION (Video Interview)

How Nonfiction Memories Evolve into Fiction

I was honored and grateful to be interviewed by the Author Learning Center (ALC) at the Annual Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference (AGLAWC). You owe it to yourself to check out this amazing writer's resource!

Marlan Warren, Author Learning Center Interview Still

My "fictionalized novel" -- Roadmaps for the Sexually Challenged: All's Not Fair in Love or War -- is 99 percent memoir. I was recently on a panel at a writers conference that covered both non-fiction and fiction in the "memoir" genre.

Here's a video clip on this controversial topic from my Spring interview with the Author Learning Center, which you may view on their website at The Author Learning Center

HOW TO GET BOOK REVIEWS (Video Interview)

Keith Ogorek of the Author Learning Center interviews Marlan Warren, reviewer/contributor to the Midwest Book Review about how to get great book reviews:

#BookReviews #AuthorLearningCenter #MarlanWarren #BookPublicityByMarlan #MidwestBookReview #WriterTips

Summary from the Author Learning Center website at:

Marlan Warren on writing and acquiring-book-reviews

Marlan Warren, Author and Publicist with Roadmap Communications, explains how to write and acquire book reviews. Through Marlan’s Bookshelf with Midwest Book Reviews, she chooses to only review books that she loves. She wants to support other writers and doesn’t feel the need to write bad reviews and will often let an author know that she’s choosing not to review their book if she doesn’t believe it’s well-written.

• Personally, Warren resonates with books that contain a human interest focus. That means she’s written about books containing a wide variety of content, from baby teeth advice to immigrant stories.

• If an author is looking for reviewers, Warren recommends that they utilize Goodreads. Within Goodreads groups, there are often readers who want to read and review books.

• Warren explains how to go about finding and pitching a story for a review. If a writer has a compelling pitch, they should be able to find a number of readers to provide reviews.

Watch the clip above to learn more about book reviews!

My Midwest Book Review: Fasten Your Seatbelts: Travel Journalist Judith Fein Explores The Final Frontier (Death)

Book Reviews, Book Lover Resources, Advice for Writers and Publishers

Reviewer's Bookwatch

Volume 19, Number 9

September 2019

---

http://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/sep_19.htm#marlanwarren

Marlan Warren's Bookshelf

Title:

 How to Communicate with the Dead and How Cultures Do It around the World
Author: Judith Fein
Publisher: Global Adventure
Website: http://www.globaladventure.us
ISBN: 9780988401990

"Communicating with the dead has been a secret part of my life for many years." - Judith Fein

Judith Fein's fourth deep travel memoir, HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE DEAD AND HOW CULTURES DO IT AROUND THE WORLD, invites us along on her decades of investigations and explorations of the final frontier: Death.

For most of her life, Judith Fein has seen and heard dead people. Not all the time, thank goodness, or it would not leave much time for this prolific journalist to write about her soul-searching globetrotting with her ever-skeptical photojournalist husband, Paul Ross. "Judie and Paul" are the "Nick and Nora" of the travel adventure-supernatural set. She can see a ghostly figure in the middle of nowhere and believe it to be a specter. He can be right next to her, eyes huge, and afterward admit "maybe" it was real. Their yin-yang bonding and love adds to the delightful humor of this Odyssey.

Los Angeles, CA, August 16, 2019 --(PR.com)-- Marlan Warren will read from her fictionalized memoir, “Roadmaps for the Sexually Challenged [All’s Not Fair in Love or War]” as a featured speaker in a workshop entitled “Writing a Best-Selling Memoir” on the first day of the Annual Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference (AGLAW), Friday, Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. “It’s an honor to be included,” said Warren. “This will be my first public reading of this book.”

PRESS KITS R US!

The power of your press kit resides in your One Sheet. Here are some faves that I've created: They can be printed out and mailed or viewed online as Electronic Press Kits (EPK).

Title: Apocalypse TV

Author: Thomas Allbaugh

Publisher: eLectio Publishing (Sept. 12, 2017) Website: www.electiopubishing.com

Genres: Christian Literary Fiction | Dark Humor
Paperback: $17.99  Pages: 277  Words: 80,610
In Stock: Barnes & Noble (Rancho Cucamonga & Glendora, CA)
Available on Amazon and Kindle
ISBN: 978-1632134288      ASIN: B075JQVNXF
Facebook: @ApocalypseTVBOOK
EPK: Click Here
Author Website: tallbaugh@apu.edu

Thomas Allbaugh welcomes media interviews, opportunities to read/sign his novel, 
and lively discussions about religion and spirituality in the 21st Century.

His whole life has been a sham because he can’t accept responsibility
 for his failure to live by his own convictions.—Apocalypse TV

SUMMARY

Mild-mannered Walter Terry, a beleaguered Christian intellectual professor struggles with reality, religion, and his own authenticity in Race to the Apocalypse, a Reality TV Game Show that brings together religious fanatics, atheists, zombies, the FBI, and “Elvis” as essential players in Thomas Allbaugh’s tightly wound, seriously hilarious novel, Apocalypse TV. Will Walter take up arms against the troubles unleashed upon him by unseen production forces or end up slaughtered as the show’s designated “sacrificial lamb”?

PRAISE FOR APOCALYPSE TV

Apocalypse TV argues against the extreme notion that only members of a certain faith are favored by God, while making a case for spiritual salvation through love, faith, hope, service…and the willingness to persevere.—Midwest Book Review

I was caught up from the opening pages to the end of this entertaining novel. Allbaugh has created a story to savor, and one that readers will not soon forget.

                                           —Joseph Bentz, Author of A Son Comes Home and Nothing is Wasted

Allbaugh challenges readers to consider conflicting perspectives related to social issues and faith . . .

 —OnlineBookClub

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Thomas Allbaugh’s short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals, including Writing on the Edge, In Touch Magazine, Relief, and Broken Skyline: An Anthology from 67 Press. His poetry chapbook, The View from January, will be published by Alabaster Leaves Press in Fall 2019, and he is working on a second novel, Radio Eden. He is an associate professor of English at Azusa Pacific University, where he has taught for 18 years.

**********************

Title: Inspirational Verse for Those Who Hunger and Thirst: A Book of Poems to Feed the Soul

Author: Artemis Craig

Publisher: Artemis Craig Publishing (Nov. 6, 2013

Genre: Inspirational and Religious Poetry (Christian, Evangelical)

Available:

Amazon Paperback $15.00 (64 pgs.) ISBN-13: 978-0989087605  

Amazon Kindle:  $.99 (64 pgs.) ASIN: B00HLXV864               

Author Website: https://artemiscraigpublishing.com/

Facebook: @inspirationalverseforthosewhohungerandthirst

Twitter: @artsyhuntress58

Publicist: Marlan Warren | Book Publicity by Marlan | memoircity@gmail.com

EPK: http://inspirationalversebookepk.blogspot.com

Artemis Craig would be honored to speak on rising up from the ashes of despair through acceptance of Christ as her Savior, and how she found her writer's "voice" again. She welcomes interviews and all interest & shares!

Soul Food for the Soul

By God’s grace, I regained my appetite for the wisdom I received from my grandmother and my mother who taught me about life and introduced me to Christianity while serving up savory dishes of fried corn, okra, green tomatoes, and collard greens smothered in Deep South Chow Chow Relish, along with bone-chewing fried chicken.—Artemis Craig

Summary

Inspirational Verse for Those Who Hunger and Thirst takes us on Artemis Craig’s firewalk from spiritual bankruptcy to redemption via compelling, heartfelt poetry and prose. Through the power of Faith, Poetry, and Love, she finds the strength to cope with Hollywood “failure”; devastating family losses; homelessness; single parenthood; attempted suicide and breakdowns. Her poems honor and reflect “the strong women of God” who wanted her to be saved, and serve as a testament to her “Never Surrender” determination.

Praise!

Artemis Craig has risen out of the ashes of Hollywood as an evangelical poet who has walked through fire, and lived to tell her story.  ̶  ̶ Midwest Book Review

Her poems are like devotions. Artemis Craig takes us on a journey through her darkest moments, becoming very transparent about her suicide attempts, depression and hopelessness . . . and Hope. ̶ ̶ Ellen Sudderth, ESP Literary Podcast