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Best selling memoir authors Marlayna Glynn Brown and Shawn Inmon join BookGoodies podcast host Deborah Carney to discuss the differences between Memoir, Autobiography and Biography and how memoirists decide what and how to write. Great listen for anyone that enjoys reading memoirs, writing memoirs or is thinking about writing one. This is part one of a planned series about writing memoirs.

About Marlayna:
Marlayna Glynn Brown is a best-selling American author, award-winning photographer, screenwriter and yogi. Immediately upon publication in 2012 Marlayna’s first memoir, Overlay: A Tale of One Girl’s Life in 1970s Las Vegas, became and remains one of the highest rated author memoirs on Amazon. Overlay won a finalist award in the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

Marlayna’s life credits, BA in Literature and MS in Human Services have enhanced her remarkable gift in observing and recording humanity. Her memoirist writing credits include Overlay: A Tale of One Girl’s Life in 1970s Las Vegas, City of Angeles, Big as All Hell and Half of Texas, The Trilogy: Memoirs of Marlayna Glynn Brown, One Day The Invitations Will Stop Arriving, Lovers, Liars and Lotharios, and Rest In Places: My Father’s Post-Life Journey Around The World. Her articles have been featured on PBS Next Avenue, Elephant Journal and The Good Men Project.

Marlayna’s instructional works include The Nomadic Memoir Series: Memoir Writing Tips for Authors, and Best Selling Award Winning Promotion and Marketing Tips for Authors.
Her short film, People That do Something, is based on a chapter from Overlay and can be viewed on Marlayna’s Youtube channel.

Marlayna’s Website (be prepared – autoplays music)
Facebook
All her books on Amazon

About Shawn:
Shawn Inmon hails from Mossyrock, Washington–the setting for his first two full-length books, Feels Like the First Time and Both Sides Now. Both of those are available as audiobooks, as well as print and eBook. By day he works in real estate with a side of public speaking; prior to that, he has DJed, sold stuff that you definitely wanted, cooked your hamburgers, fished for crabs, bought for department stores, and done business consulting. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Dawn. He is a father of five, grandfather of five and best pal of two chocolate labs named Hershey and Sadie and a slightly insane cat named Buddha.

Facebook
Shawn’s website
Newsletter signup
All his books on Amazon

Did you give this a listen?? Let us know what you thought in the comments and post any questions you have about Memoirs and Memoir writing for the next podcast.

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Author Sonia Pressman Fuentes joins BookGoodies hosts Deborah Carney and Karen Garcia to discuss writing, publishing and a lot of history.

What inspired you to write your memoir?
Several things inspired me to write my memoir. First, I was born in Berlin, Germany, of Polish Jewish parents, fled the Nazi regime with my parents, and came to the US, where I became a founder of the second wave of the women’s movement.  Second, I played a historic role at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in interpreting the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which, among other things, prohibited employment discrimination based on sex. Third, I was a founder of NOW (National Organization for Women). And, finally, my parents were born in Piltz, a village in Poland, and lived a lifestyle that was gone and I wanted to preserve the record of their lives and mine.

Eat First—You Don’t Know What They’ll Give You, The Adventures of an Immigrant Family and Their Feminist Daughter
Tell us about your book:
It is the story, told with humor, of my parents’ lives and my own.  The book begins with my parents’ marriage in Piltz, the village in Poland where they were both born, and goes on to their lives and my own in Germany, Belgium, and the US.  The book discusses my becoming a lawyer in 1957, when 3% of the law school graduates in this country were women, my career and marriage, and my becoming a founder of NOW.  It ends with my returning to Germany in 1978 as an “American specialist” on the women’s rights movement in the US for the then-US Information Agency.
[Read more…]

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Author Alana Nicole Sholar joins BookGoodies podcast host Deborah Carney to talk about books, writing and current projects.

Alana Nicole Sholar was born as Alan in KY in 1961, and by the age of eight realized something was ‘wrong.’ He spent most of his life on some of Kentucky’s now-famous thoroughbred farms (and even trained to become a jockey), while hiding, and running from, the secret within.

Determined to hide the struggle within, Alan is a fast driving, hard drinking, pill popping guitar player with a sex addiction that leads to multiple partner encounters and the consequences. Alan struggled with his difference well into his mid-30’s before he became aware there were others like him and began the journey to become Alana. She thought ‘coming-out’ to her family would be the most difficult task she’d ever have to face in life. She was wrong.

Sholar pulls no punches as she shares a very frank and honest portrayal of a bittersweet journey of struggle with gender identity, sexuality, self-acceptance, and love.

We each face life’s challenges. Although the challenges may differ, Alana’s story is a wonderfully uplifting and encouraging resource for anyone traveling their own journey of self-discovery – and everyone is on the path of discovering ‘self.’

Alana Nicole Sholar was born as Alan in 1961 as part of a close-knit, church-going family who lived and worked on several now-famous thoroughbred horse farms in the central region of Kentucky, the Bluegrass state.

One of Alan’s earliest childhood memories is putting on his mother’s clothes (as shown on the cover of Hung in the Middle) and discovering not only that it felt good, but it just seemed right. With no understanding of why it seemed right, this experience sent Alan into years of hiding how he felt from everyone—including self-denial. After all, in that place—rural central Kentucky—and at that time—1960’s—this was not something to be talked about, let alone admitted, ever.

Alan, like most middle-class Americans, held blue-collar jobs including construction, over-the-road truck driver, and in a factory. Alan’s name was legally changed in 2005—one of the first steps in the journey toward becoming, and accepting, Alana Nicole.

Alana still lives in the same small town of Versailles in central Kentucky—even after coming out by writing her book, Hung in the Middle: A Journey of Gender Discovery. She is married, has one son, and a granddaughter.

Website(s)
Author Home Page Link
Link To Buy Book On Amazon
Link to Book on Barnes and Noble
Link to Book for sale via other sites

Find Us On Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alana-Nicole-Sholar/324753497602075
https://twitter.com/Alana_Sholar
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5934434.Alana_Nicole_Sholar
http://www.hunginthemiddle.com/press/

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Thanks to GeekCast.fm for hosting our podcasts! Please also visit NightFire Publications for books published by Deborah and Friends.

Other sites you may want to visit:
Awesome Gang
Author Marketing Club