Power Tools For Leadership Success by Katherine Craig

Power Tools For Leadership Success | Katherine Craig

Power Tools For Leadership Success

Katherine Craig

Pages: 80
ISBN: 978-145751-110-3
List Price: 14.95
Category: Business, Investing & Finance
Available: April 2012
Edition: Perfectbound

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This book expands on the exciting work of Katherine Craig, leading-edge business coach. It delivers key tips and a wealth of tools that will fuel your success as a leader.

Learn how to handle a crisis with calm; learn how to run a retreat that will make your team the envy of the organization; learn how to lead with confidence.
Quick and concise, Power Tools for Leadership Success is the ultimate resource for executives, no matter where they are in the leadership journey. Whether you’re up-andcoming or trying to reenergize your team, you’ll find powerful tools you need to build your leadership skills.
Use the tools. Build your skills. Be the leader you admire now.

Here’s what leaders are saying about Katherine and her work:

“… reignited my passion for my job!”
“To the point, clear, and practical.”
“…provided a lot of useful information, instead of theoretical activities.”
“Katherine was very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and energetic.”
“…quick pace … clear and practical.”
“I heard some great management and leadership concepts and ideas.”
“…insightful and energizing.”
“I enjoyed being reminded of the basics, self-reflecting and gaining new strategies and ideas.”
“The constant, consistent themes make an impact and are easily recalled.”
“Katherine always presents content in entertaining ways using realistic examples we can all relate to …”
“…fast paced, interesting and relevant.”
“Katherine is amazing. To the point and concise.”

Founder of Spearhead Executive Coaching, Katherine Craig is an industry leader in elevating individual, team and organizational performance. With over 20 years of global experience, Katherine has coached senior executives and teams in healthcare, high tech, business solutions, education, and provincial and federal governments. A sought-after public speaker, her vision, insight and engaging delivery make her workshops, retreats and coaching sessions motivating and relevant. As a thought leader in professional development she has been widely published in trade publications across Canada.

You can reach Katherine by visiting www.SpearheadExecutiveCoaching.com.

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Dr. Hellemn’s All-Natural Weight Loss by Michael Hellemn, MD

Dr. Hellemn's All-Natural Weight Loss | Michael Hellemn, MD

Dr. Hellemn’s All-Natural Weight Loss

Michael Hellemn, MD

Pages: 88
ISBN: 978-145750-841-7
List Price: 16.95
Category:
Available: April 2012
Edition: Perfectbound

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Are you having trouble controlling your weight? Cholesterol? Just months before I graduated from medical residency, I too was prescribed a cholesterol medicine.

From my medical experience, however, I realized that conventional medical guidelines of checking labs and taking medications were not likely to keep me healthy. Instead, I tried some alternatives. Within six months, my cholesterol numbers were perfect and I was back to my high school waist size. I could benchpress more than my weight for the first time in decades and I could run 5 miles with ease. All without prescription medications. As a practicing physician, I treat many patients with obesity, high cholesterol, and diabetes. I give my patients the options of following the current medical guidelines or taking the all-natural approach. Many of them have been confused by the overwhelming amount of health advice and hype in the media. With some clear instructions, these patients have reached their goals without medications. This book provides the simple directions you need to improve your health without prescription drugs.

Originally from New Orleans, Michael Hellemn started out in engineering, with degrees in both Biomedical and Electrical Engineering. He worked in such diverse areas as satellites, children’s education, mobile computers, and telecommunications. At age 39, after a successful engineering career and a couple of patents, Michael got tired of the corporate world and went to medical school. He attended both Texas A&M and UT Southwestern Medical Schools, and he completed a residency in Family Medicine at Baylor. He currently practices medicine full time in Plano, Texas. Michael has a lovely wife and two sons. When not nagging patients about obesity, diabetes, or high cholesterol, he and his family like to travel, fish, and scuba.

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Shelby’s Grace by Joe Dwyer

Shelby's Grace | Joe Dwyer

Shelby’s Grace

Joe Dwyer

Pages: 180
ISBN: 978-145750-951-3
List Price: 17.95
Category: Inspirational
Available: January 2012
Edition: Perfectbound

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The Pit Bull With the Heart of Gold Joe Dwyer was a man facing challenges that seemed insurmountable. Battling depression and anxiety, he was broken and in need of serious help. Shelby was a young pit bull facing death. Damaged and abused, she trusted no one. She was confined to a shelter and in need of major surgery to repair her hind legs.

When man and dog first met it wasn’t love at first sight—at least not for the dog.

But in time—and with a little magical help—the two grew to trust one another.

When Joe finally brought Shelby home to join his family, he discovered something remarkable: She had an uncanny gift. Shelby was able to sympathize with and bring solace to individuals in need, including hospital patients, the elderly, the lonely and the bereaved. It was nothing short of amazing.

But not everyone embraced this discovery. Facing stiff resistance, Joe fought to gain acceptance for Shelby as a therapy dog and they have enriched each other’s lives and the lives of countless others who were in need of rescuing.

“Sparkling with joy. Shelby saves Joe as much as he saves her, and together they recover their senses of purpose. Children and adults will love this story.”
Mary B. Lucas, author of Lunchmeat & Life Lessons

“Most people think of pit bulls as monsters, but Joe shows how they are reflections of the people who raise them. A gorgeous story of friendship, trust and spiritual awakening.”
Tom Acierno, author of A Whisper in God’s Ear

“The way Joe accepted Shelby into his family and the way Shelby accepted them into her heart are reminders of what it means to love unconditionally.”
Marie B. Leonarde, author of A Woman’s Worth: My Life, My Struggle

About the Author Joe Dwyer is a motivational speaker, a life coach and a member of the National Speakers Association. He is also a dog trainer and martial artist. Previously, he worked as a chemical engineer and as an executive for Verizon and the Archdiocese of Newark. Joe is a man of faith and spirituality, and he supports rescue groups and therapy dog training. He lives in Nutley, NJ, with his family and four dogs.

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Soul Portrait: Improve Your Quality of Life By Making Aging Personal by Sally Zuck McBain

Soul Portrait: Improve Your Quality of Life By Making Aging Personal | Sally Zuck McBain (Sally McBain)

Soul Portrait: Improve Your Quality of Life By Making Aging Personal

Sally Zuck McBain (Sally McBain)

Pages: 116
ISBN: 978-145750-792-2
List Price: 14.95
Category: Nonfiction
Available: February 2012
Edition: Perfectbound

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Soul Portrait helps us take a closer look at who we are, and at the same time, share a deeper part of ourselves with others. By creating our Soul Portrait and making it available to family, friends, and care providers, we can make life-long soul connections and improve our quality of life. As a MAP (Making Aging Personal), Soul Portrait will lead others beyond their basic notions about us, and beyond our identities as patient, frail elder, favorite uncle, or parent. With Soul Portrait as our guide, and family and friends as our advocates, we will have a voice in our care at a time we may not be able to express it ourselves.

“I never knew five percent of my father’s soul, and only a little more of my mother’s. I deeply regret this, but realize my kids are exactly where I was – they know nothing of the real me. Soul Portrait is a gift we can give to ourselves, family, and caregivers.”
Ron Nelson, MSW

“I showed Soul Portrait to my mother-in-law, who immediately latched onto it. I believe no matter how much we pretend otherwise, each of us hopes others will understand us – even if we are beyond knowing or caring.”
Rhonda Schutz, RN, Certified Case Manager

“A friend of mine leads a Parkinson’s support group and uses Soul Portrait to get participants to talk more honestly about themselves. I’m amazed at the way your book continues to touch people; and I loved the experience of doing my own Soul Portrait.”
Carole Anderson, MA, writer and water-colorist

Sally Zuck McBain is a retired gerontology specialist whose career as administrator, support group facilitator, and community educator prepared her for the ultimate role as her parents’ health care advocate.

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The Traveler: In the Beginning by Melissa Moye

The Traveler: In the Beginning | Melissa Moye

The Traveler: In the Beginning

Melissa Moye

Pages: 240
ISBN: 978-145750-917-9
List Price: 14.95
Category: Fiction
Available: January 2012
Edition: Perfectbound

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RN Bethany Morgan’s life changes in an instant when the broken and bloodied body of her husband, Marshall, is wheeled past her and into the emergency department trauma bay. As his condition worsens, she struggles with the horrific memories of a monstrous creature that attacked her and killed her brother and sister when she was five years old. Unable to consider life without Marshall, Bethany embarks on a spiritual journey into hell to save his life. When she desperately accepts the help of an angelic being, she is propelled back in time to face the reality of her memories. Who and what they discover in an ancient subterranean cavern forever changes their views on religion and life itself.

Thus begins the first book in the series: The Traveler.

In the forested rolling hills of Wisconsin lives a creature unlike any other on earth. Thirty-five years ago, it killed six innocent young children who were playing in the cemetery one night. Five-year-old Bethany Carr was the only survivor, and she’s locked away the memories of the attack deep inside her fragile mind. Though she is happily married, her daily struggle for normalcy is put to the test when her husband lies fighting for his life in the ICU. As the pieces of her memories burst from Bethany’s mind, she prays for guidance and strength from her Bible, but when her husband welcomes death, she seeks help from another realm.

Desperate to save her husband’s life, Bethany cautiously allows her friend Rose to bring her Ouija board, and they contact the other side. Now, with the portal open, an angelic presence offers help…but for a hefty price. Bethany follows Marshall’s soul into Hell to save him, and together, they return to the dead-land of her nightmares to discover the truth of what she can’t remember.

Bound by honor to repay the angel who helped save Marshall’s life, Bethany and Marshall return to Wisconsin to save other children who have been abducted by the creature.

The secrets they unravel open their eyes to the hidden conspiracies of this world, and propel them forward to fight the eternal enemy.

Melissa Moye has been a registered nurse for 21 years. She works in ICU, and she lives on 10 acres in the beautiful country of North Florida. Armed with an active imagination and a computer, she creates compelling, almost believable stories of ghosts, aliens, and government conspiracies. She lives with her husband of 26 years; together, they enjoy riding their Harleys, exercising, and sitting under the stars at night, looking for UFOs. Melissa’s other hobbies include nature photography, yoga, tai chi, and meditation. Melissa can be contacted at moyemel@aol.com

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Pink Hat’s Adventure with Seagulls, Hats, and Dancing Feet by Pat Kellog Roller

Pink Hat's Adventure with Seagulls, Hats, and Dancing Feet | Pat Kellogg Roller

Pink Hat’s Adventure with Seagulls, Hats, and Dancing Feet

Pat Kellogg Roller

Pages: 34
ISBN: 978-145750-858-5
List Price: 10.00
Category: Children’s Books
Available: January 2012
Edition: Perfectbound

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Will Pink Hat’s “Special Power” save her in THIS Adventure? Pink Hat, a hat who can communicate with all living things is bright, with the full range of emotions of a young child. She loves adventure more than anything. The story begins as Pink Hat, while on a ‘SPICE’ Connection’ adventure walk encounters two seagulls who are so sad they have turned blue. It’s February and the only visitors at the beach are old people and their dogs. They yell at the seagulls; they don’t share their food, and their dogs bark at them. The sad seagulls want to learn how to dance for and with the college kids who come for Spring Break. The kids welcome them, accept them, and feed them junk food. Without thinking, Pink Hat promises to teach the seagulls to dance. As their walk continues, Pink Hat, who now realizes how big the other seagulls are and how badly they misbehave, begins to get really worried. During the ‘SPICE’ Connection’ adventure walk she learns a lot about how our planet works, and she also meets many hats from all over the world at the ‘Go Green’ Hats Convention. Will the hats help her solve her problem? What will Pink Hat need to do herself to get ready to teach the gulls? Will Pink Hat keep her promise? Will the seagulls learn to dance?

Einstein stated, “You can’t solve a problem using the same thinking that created it.” John and his wife, Pat, are both children’s science educators. They both believe that today’s serious problems call for a new kind of thinking and Pat’s main character, Pink Hat, playfully expresses this in ‘Pink Hat’s Adventure with Seagulls, Hats, and Dancing Feet,’ created for elementary school children. The Rollers live in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. They have three children and eight grandchildren. Pat’s awards include: Oklahoma Teacher of the Year, Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, and induction into ECU’s “Educators Hall of Fame” in 2008.

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Pink Hat’s Adventure with Kites by Pat Kellogg Roller

Pink Hat’s Adventure with Kites | Pat Kellogg Roller

Pink Hat’s Adventure with Kites

Pat Kellogg Roller

Pages: 36
ISBN: 978-159858-957-3
List Price: 10.95
Category: Children’s Books
Available: March 2009
Edition: Perfectbound

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Will Pink Hat’s “Special Power” save her in THIS Adventure? Pink Hat, a hat who can communicate with all living things, came to me as a gift from granddaughter Sarah. Pink Hat is bright, with the full range of emotions of a young child. She loves adventures more than anything. Her attitude of “me” over “we” and her lack of knowledge of how planet Earth works could destroy her in this adventure. The story begins as Pink Hat, after watching a seabird riding the big wind currents, decides she will ride on and control a small kite in a big wind! Although she tries again and again and learns something each time, she keeps failing. Tired, hurt and afraid, she wants to quit. But “quit” is not in her nature! So she learns about the energy in earth’s big winds. And, she begins to think, in a new way, about how to solve her problem. Will she be able to fly on and control a kite? Will her attitude change? What does she learn? Did she need her “special power” for this adventure?

Einstein stated,”You can’t solve a problem by using the same thinking that created it.” Award winning, veteran children’s science teacher Pat Roller believes today’s serious problems call for a new kind of thinking. and her main character, Pink Hat, playfully expresses this in Pink Hat’s Adventure with Kites, created for elementary school children. Roller lives with her husband in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. They have three children and eight grandchildren. Her awards include: Oklahoma Teacher of the Year, Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, and induction into ECU’s “Educators Hall Of Fame” 2008.

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Curing America’s Ill-Health By Reversing Our Widespread Magnesium Deficiency by Kelly Kindig, PhD, HHP

Curing America's Ill-Health By Reversing Our Widespread Magnesium Deficiency | Kelly Kindig, PhD, HHP (James Kelly Kindig)

Curing America’s Ill-Health By Reversing Our Widespread Magnesium Deficiency

Kelly Kindig, PhD, HHP (James Kelly Kindig)

Pages: 128
ISBN: 978-145750-787-8
List Price: 14.95
Category: Nonfiction
Available: February 2012
Edition: Perfectbound

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The latest government study shows a staggering 68% of Americans do not consume the recommended daily intake of magnesium. Heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, depression and obesity are a few of the more-than forty diseases attributable to suboptimal magnesium consumption. There are numerous reasons why magnesium intake is so low. Substantial amounts of magnesium are removed from food by the food processing industry, but the magnesium is not replaced.

The agriculture industry over the past century has employed fertilizers (PKN) which produce lush and verdant plants; unfortunately this fertilizer combination inhibits the plant’s uptake of magnesium.

Doctors do not apprise patients of their low magnesium stores because there is no widely-accepted test for measuring cellular magnesium.

Supplementation to restore magnesium levels is difficult since many magnesium compounds are laxatives.

The book suggests both dietary and transdermal means to the reader for restoring cellular magnesium.

A national “Champion” to rectify this magnesium-deficient condition is sought, and the role of the Champion is described.

“Kelly Kindig is a serious scientist who has applied his discipline to organizing and articulating the near miraculous, very low-cost, medical benefits of magnesium which have heretofore been hiding in plain sight”.
Robert Horton, Chairman, Alchemix Corporation, Carefree, AZ.

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Restoring Sanctuary by T. Pitt Green

RESTORING SANCTUARY | T. Pitt Green (Teresa Hartnett)

RESTORING SANCTUARY

T. Pitt Green

$9.99 / e-Book
ISBN: 9781457507182

Pages: 224
ISBN: 978-160844-690-2
List Price: 14.00
Category: Inspirational
Available: August 2010
Edition: Perfectbound

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“Impatience with the long-suffering nature of all grief is not uniquely Catholic. The criticism is that survivors, and others who grieve, cling to an isolating distinction too long. Yet, like all people who suffer, we are, after taking all the right steps, still helpless to bestow healing on ourselves. We all need to be saved.”
T. Pitt Green

In this short work about fierce faith, Green has crafted an unflinching and charming memoir to showcase the true dimensions of a scourge within the Roman Catholic Church from which most people still recoil. Doing so, she lays a cornerstone for healing and reconciliation badly needed in order to free Catholics to thrive with single-minded spiritedness in the discipleship to which they have been called. Her work challenges prevailing assumptions about the motives and psychological life sentence imposed on survivors, reminding readers that healing and forgiveness really do exist – on none other than God’s terms. Her message is surprisingly inspiring for all Catholics, and in particular for Catholic priests.

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Optimizing Book Cover Copy for SEO

Optimizing Book Cover Copy for SEO

In our experience, authors think more about their book cover design than they do their book marketing cover copy. While it’s true that a great cover design helps your book sell – the reality is that in the world of the ‘dot com’ bookstore, your book’s cover copy is at least (if not more) important. Great book marketing cover copy must also be great SEO copy.

SEO stands for ‘search engine optimization’ and generally means the methods used to make a search engine (like Bing or Google) find website content, understand that content, and then list the content in search results. The goal of SEO is to get content ranked higher (meaning closer to the #1 position) in search results. Many of the methods used to write good SEO website content apply to writing book cover copy. Why? Because in many ways Amazon and B&N or any ‘dot com’ bookstore act just like a search engine. When someone comes to the site, they search for something – an author, a topic, a genre. And it is the book cover copy that will ‘tell’ these sites exactly what is between the covers.

More often than not the book marketing copy that will be used on Barnes&Noble. com, Amazon.com and all the other ‘dot com’ bookstores is the cover copy. It’s a potential customer’s first introduction to the book – and it should be a great experience for the reader. Below is a quick outline of my thoughts on how an author self publishing their book can create a strong back cover.

Book back cover copy / book marketing copy quicklist

The tag line must be prominent and compelling. A tag line must be compelling to the reader. Communicate clearly to readers why they want to buy the book. To make a tag line good SEO, make sure the keyword or key phrase is included. If the book title is well crafted (and is set up as good SEO – see my article here on book title SEO) try and take the opportunity to give readers additional information. A great question to ask is if the tag line addresses the core reason potential readers want to buy the book. Remember, readers buy books (including fiction titles) from self published authors for the simple reason that the book fills a ‘need’ in their lives. Most authors who are self publishing DON’T have name recognition to drive sales.

Readers won’t really read all the back cover copy. At least not at first. I can’t remember when I last read an entire back cover (or book marketing copy) if I wasn’t quickly engaged – usually by the tag line. Copy should be short and direct – often the hardest part of writing a book is creating a good synopsis, but it’s truly a critical exercise. Get the most important details (or ‘hooks’ if it’s a fiction title) on the cover – and leave the redundant details alone. In a fiction title, often what ISN’T said is just as important as what IS. If it’s non-fiction, often a bulleted lists communicate better.

Keep it simple and attractive. Nothing makes a book’s back cover LESS effective than a busy and complex design. At most add an author photo – but really only if it adds to the message the cover is trying to communicate. The back cover should be a showcase for communicating the primary messages to readers – not a showcase for author egos. Remember that complexity equals confusion. Remember that readers have very short attention spans – and if they must work to just understand the message, they are gone. In the retail world covers might get one second to grab attention… on the web it’s slightly more (since they’ve gone to the effort of finding the book) but not much. This doesn’t really apply in the SEO part of the web – except for the fact that the exercise of keeping  copy short and sweet will benefit a book’s ‘searchability’ to a tremendous degree.

Keep the important ‘stuff’ on the top. If there is a list, if there is  something important to say in a call-out or box, if the bio / photo is critical – then put it on the right side of the cover. This applies to tag lines, bulleted lists, benefit statements, etc. In addition to placing these things on the top and right, be sure to effectively ‘prioritize’ messages – what do readers need to see and read first?

Keep benefit statements clear and concise. The tag line, the lists, the book marketing copy – all of it should work together to communicate very clearly what the reader will get when they buy the book. Readers typically buy fiction books to create an ‘experience’ and purchase non-fiction to solve a problem. If the cover copy doesn’t begin to create the experience or clearly identify how to solve their problem, it won’t garner a customer.

SEO begins (and ends) with cover copy. Keywords or key phrases should be liberally used in book marketing copy. This helps Google and other search engines understand what the book is about… as well as the search systems at the dot com bookstores. Using keywords and phrases also reinforces to the reader the main thrust of the book.

Give readers additional ways to find out more. Every author should have a web site or at least a blog/ Facebook / Twitter account… preferably all of the above. Make sure book cover copy includes the web address. Maybe the reader wants more information before making a purchase – give them a way to reach out and discover how much they need what only this specific book can offer.

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