Helping writers fulfill their dreams and bring their projects to market.
A manuscript often needs considerably more work, a change in focus, tighter editing and/or a complete content revision before it can be presented to the publishing community. New York literary agent Karen Gantz and book writing coach Dr. Joyce Starr provide a basket of book coaching services, including coaching assistance on manuscripts, book proposals and pitch letters.
Recent Book Coaching Projects
Shirley Blaier Stein – Autism Mom
Shirley Blaier-Stein is the mother of an autistic child. When her son Dan was first diagnosed, she felt totally isolated and alone – as if cast into another world. Her book offers a method of empowerment and spiritual healing for parents of autistic children. As the author explains, “A parent is the child’s channel to the world, enabling him or her to connect and communicate with us. When the parent learns how to recognize and maintain this channel, true healing begins.” To assist with their child’s healing, parents should ideally undertake a process of self-healing. Shirley Blaier Stein offers uplifting alternative approaches, including: How to open yourself to different ways of thinking in order to understand your child better and to penetrate his/her world; how to understand the mind-body connection in order to help your child heal; and how to awaken your intuition in your new role as an autism parent. The author is an attorney, autism activist and the founder of Autism Parents Community – where parents connect both on-line and in person. Shirley also offers natural healing and self-awareness classes. Before her son was diagnosed with autism, she worked as an attorney practicing intellectual property law in New York City.
Nurse Barb – Barbara Dehn, RN – Hot Guide to A Cool Menopause
A humorous yet approachable guide to menopause for women who are overwhelmed, desperate or simply want more information. Featuring stories from women who confront the challenges of menopause, nurse Barb Dehn makes sense of the hormonal roller coaster. A guest lecturer at Stanford, Nurse Barb is author of Your Personal Guides to Health – booklets used by over 3.5 million women. While receiving patients in her Silicon Valley practice, she appears regularly on CBS-TV in San Francisco, with a broadcast version of her blog: Nurse Barb’s Daily Dose (NurseBarb.com).
Admiral William Owens, America & China in the Same Boat
Admiral William (Bill) Owens, former Vice Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Jimmy Carter, is the highest ranking US military officer currently residing in China. His phenomenal success in forgoing secret talks between senior American and Chinese military on the one hand, and powerful economists on the other, is the untold story of American/Chinese relations in the early 21st Century. A naval commander who spent five years of his life under water, Admiral Owens warns about a looming tsunami of distrust between the United States and China. “Unless we recognize what is happening, and find an understanding with China and its senior leaders, especially in national security issues, I am convinced that the future will be difficult for us, and that the legacy we leave our children will be worse,” he explains in this forward-looking work. The author has a transparent agenda: To mend military, economic and strategic fault lines before they implode into an earthquake beyond repair. In a new Pew Global Attitudes survey, 15 of 22 nations surveyed say that China either will either replace or has already replaced America.
Linda Rendleman, Women Like Us: Illuminating the World – Real Strategies. Real Stories.
This is the second in the Women Like Us book series. The objective: to share women’s stories and strategies for creating a better world. Women are creating change, enlightening others and making a difference, whether through a major philanthropic initiative or one person at a time; across the street or across the world. Women are contributing in compelling ways, utilizing their feminine strengths, uniqueness and their passion for giving back. This book features women who pursued their passion for contributing to the greater good. They stepped forward to support and encourage others worldwide to live their best and most empowered lives. Their stories are shared in their own voice. However, we also hear from women who make a difference at home and in their communities, on a more personal scale. Linda shares stories of her life as a Midwestern girl searching for her own passions and claiming her personal path. Linda attended 15 different schools by the time she was 14 years old. Through childhood experiences, she developed her own life strategy of never giving up and living her life with no regrets. Her reflections as a cancer survivor and single mom – and her passion for mentoring, inspiring and encouraging others – sets the tone for the reader.
Arthur Samuels – Old Flames (A Coming of Age Novel)
A coming of age book and a period piece from the 1940’s, Old Flames vividly captures a wealthy Jewish family’s efforts to remove themselves from their heritage – a vanishing chapter of American Jewish history. Gus’s experience at an elite Christian boarding school leaves him wounded both physically and psychologically. His love interest, Leigh, provides romantic tension that keeps the reader glued to the pages. The title Old Flames is a double entendre: his relationship with Leigh and his military experiences as a decorated Flamethrower during the Second World War. Gus volunteers to serve in the Marines before finishing college, competes for the right to perform one of the most dangerous tasks and confronts the horrors of war during his experiences on the Pacific Front. Arthur Samuels III was born and raised in New York City (BA Vassar College, MA Fordham University, MEd Columbia University). He has taught history in private schools for over twenty years.
Mike Turpin – Destiny Doesn’t Make House Calls
At various stages of his life, Mike Turpin was a Tulsa World paperboy, Colgate-Palmolive soap salesman, Sears Santa Claus, Steak & Ale waiter, forklift operator, Attorney General of Oklahoma and Democratic candidate for Governor of Oklahoma. He’s currently a practicing lawyer, sought-after public speaker and the award winning co-host of Flashpoint, an NBC television affiliate program. This book resonates with lessons for life and uplifting vignettes that readers won’t forget. Mike Turpin believes, “If you don’t take it personally, don’t take it at all.” “When you take a fall, take a bow.” A must-have gift book for daughters and sons, parents will eagerly browse through the pages. One of Oklahoma’s best known living citizens, Mike has spoken at service clubs, political gatherings, high schools, college commencements and events in every one of Oklahoma’s 77 counties. His current clients include AT&T, Dupont, General Motors, Chesapeake Energy, Legal Shield, Pfizer and many others.
Carrie White – An Apple for the Teacher (A Detective Novel)
“The message on my office voice mail early Monday morning made me stop short: ‘Dr. St. Claire. Hi. This is Cynthia Neville. Well, um, I was wondering if I could come talk to you sometime soon? I’ve got a problem…My number is 624-5555. Thanks so much.’ Cynthia was dead. How could she be calling me?” Thus begins Carrie White’s “chick-lit” novel, An Apple for the Teacher. Cynthia drowned in a wading pool on campus early Saturday morning. Alcohol is found in her bloodstream, although the student didn’t drink. The book’s main character, Dr. Nan St. Clair, is a young English professor at an esteemed university. She is funny, smart, earnest, and irreverently reverent. Struggling with doing what is morally correct, she often finds that the “the rules” don’t cover the situations she encounters. Although she prays a great deal – for guidance, for wisdom, for a date – she doesn’t always receive an answer. Carrie White is a published author and associate professor at Regent University, Virginia and recipient of a Fulbright Teaching Exchange Scholarship to teach in Slovakia. Her published works include: Running Naked Through the Streets, Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, 2009, focusing on her teaching experience in Slovakia, and both Reading More of Roddy Doyle, Glasnevin Press, 2012, and Reading Roddy Doyle, Syracuse University Press, 2003.