Designed To Go The Distance

It’s Not About The Creativity. It’s About The Career.

Designed to Go The Distance touches upon many career and lifestyle issues specific to those in creative career fields – cultural topics that are not often talked about or adequately prepared for.

Think of this book more as a late-night barstool or coffeehouse conversation between two creatives. A creative “pep talk” so-to-speak. And just like any pep talk in life, these pages provide a healthy serving of food-for-thought, as well as a few tips along the way, too.

Whether you are a graphic designer, artist, fashion designer, songwriter or a solo entrepreneur - or even a non-creative who needs to understand the mentality and culture more in-depth, Designed to Go The Distance is sure to be an engaging and informative read. 

Chapter 1: Square Pegs in a World of Round Holes
Chapter 2: Introverts, Extroverts, and Creativity
Chapter 3: Getting Comfortable With Risk
Chapter 4: The Inconvenient Nature of Creativity
Chapter 5: Establishing a Philosophy
Chapter 6: Bridging The Creative Divide
Chapter 7: Your Obligation to Non-Conformity
Chapter 8: The Emotional Intelligence Advantage
Chapter 9: The Benefits of Boundaries
Chapter 10: Understanding Comfort Zones
Chapter 11: Understanding Burnout
Chapter 12: Balancing Career and Life
Chapter 13: Handling Criticism Like a Pro
Chapter 14: When Side Projects Just Make Sense
Chapter 15: Depression and The Creative Pro
Chapter 16: The Final Word: Paying it Forward

What Readers Are Saying About The Book:

“Solid advice without any fluff”
“Great coping tips for creative types”
“A must-read for all creative professionals”
“Very interesting information for a non-creative”
“Give to spouses/partners of creatives!”
“Highly recommended”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mitch Dowell is the author of “Designed to Go The Distance: A Survival Guide for the Creative Professional,” and has been involved in visual branding, design and creative marketing for over 20 years.

After having worked for a variety of tech startups during the dot-com and post-dot-com boom, in 2008, Mitch founded Branding Experiences –  a consumer-facing marketing, branding and design company in the Baltimore/DC metro area – spending nearly a decade helping U.S. and Canadian small businesses in a wide range of business sectors leverage a mindset to better make a connection with their target audiences.

Among many marketing disciplines, his primary focus is on the initial, visual branding experience and leads organizations to adopt a more consumer-friendly, outside-looking-in marketing approach.

Mitch is often sought out by mainstream and business media for his expertise on the topics of marketing, branding and design, and is frequently booked for speaking engagements on similar topics.

 

The Stolen Child by Sanjida Kay

Seven years ago you stole my child, now I want her back...

Zoe and Ollie Morley tried for years to have a baby and couldn't. They turned to adoption and their dreams came true when they were approved to adopt a little girl from birth. They named her Evie. In the days that follow Evie’s birth the new parents watch anxiously as their precious daughter struggles – she is battling the severe effects of the drugs her birth mother was addicted to.

Seven years later, the family has moved to Yorkshire and grown in number: a wonderful surprise in the form of baby Ben, conceived naturally against the odds. Ollie is earning good money and Zoe is pursuing her career as an artist. As a working mum it's not easy, but Zoe has an exhibition coming up and her reputation is growing. Life is good.

But then Evie begins to receive letters and gifts. The sender claims to be her birth father. He has been looking for his daughter. And now he’s coming to take her back...

PRAISE FOR STOLEN CHILD:

The Stolen Child captivated me, terrified me and left me deeply moved.

-Holly Seddon

Gut-wrenching... The Stolen Child succeeds as both a fast-paced thriller and a haunting tale of a fragile family.

-Peter Swanson

Beautiful terse writing and the build to the shattering climax is palpable.

-Peter James

This story grips to the very last page as it explores every parent's worst nightmare... I couldn't put it down.

-Amanda Jennings

A gripping and totally unpredictable story.

-Daily Mail

In this chilling story of fragile family bonds and obsessive love the unforgiving West Yorkshire landscape becomes a character in its own right through Sanjida's vivid and atmospheric prose. Just wonderful.

-Nuala Elwood

Haunting and real... Sanjida Kay deftly explores dangerous, unthinkable questions as a mother fights an invisible force for the adopted child who is her own.

-Julia Heaberlin

An excellent piece of work [that] triumphs both as an edge-of-the-seat whodunnit and a psychologically perceptive study of the impact of grief, loss and alienation.

-Irish Sunday Independent

BUY THE BOOK -  Amazon (UK) |  Amazon (US)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sanjida Kay is the author of psychological thrillers, 'Bone by Bone' and ''The Stolen Child', published by Corvus Books. She lives in Bristol with her husband and her daughter.

A Land Divided by K.M. Ashman

1081. William’s bloody conquest is over and Britain is under Norman rule. But one bastion of resistance remains: Wales. A divided land where brother fights brother and kings battle for power. The English use this to further their own ends, and while one king is tempted by an offer he cannot resist, the others wage war over long-forgotten feuds.

Gruffydd ap Cynan, true heir to the kingdom of Gwynedd, is in exile across the sea. When he hears of the betrayal of the Welsh people by the imposter in his throne, Gruffydd unites with Tewdwr, a monarch deposed by the traitors, and they forge an army from the ashes of their kingdoms. But Tewdwr’s wife and daughter—the source of much of the allies’ strength—are a weakness their enemies will exploit.

Betrayal, treachery and war await, but both men know they must fight to the bitter end, when the sundered lands of Wales are drenched...in the blood of kings.

AMAZON LINK

Still Waters by Viveca Sten

On a hot July morning on Sweden’s idyllic vacation island of Sandhamn, a man takes his dog for a walk and makes a gruesome discovery: a body, tangled in fishing net, has washed ashore.

Police detective Thomas Andreasson is the first to arrive on the scene. Before long, he has identified the deceased as Krister Berggren, a bachelor from the mainland who has been missing for months. All signs point to an accident—until another brutalized corpse is found at the local bed-and-breakfast. But this time it is Berggren’s cousin, whom Thomas interviewed in Stockholm just days before.

As the island’s residents reel from the news, Thomas turns to his childhood friend, local lawyer Nora Linde. Together, they attempt to unravel the riddles left behind by these two mysterious outsiders—while trying to make sense of the difficult twists their own lives have taken since the shared summer days of their youth.

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Spotlight: Fifty Shades of Truth by Josef

R+++ rated

Very explicit but it has not been written as a gratuitous sex novel

A very challenging book to read and not in any way for the faint hearted

It is an autobiography, not a novel. And none of what you experienced before will prepare you for this book.

This is a wonderfully entertaining, sometimes humorous, sometimes shocking, sometimes challenging, but always entertaining account of this man’s life. Many other men can only fantasize about what he has experienced. Could the variety and extent of his sexual world really belong to one man? How did he keep this side of his life secret? What trigger­points in his life can explain his behaviour? 

EXCERPT: I asked him whether anyone ever got to this second test and ended up with a negative result.  “Sure, it happens,” he said. “But not often,” he added quickly.  He was an older cop and seemed like a nice guy, and I don’t think he wanted me getting my hopes up.

So for fifteen minutes I prayed.  I prayed to God or whoever runs the show, begging for the result to come back negative.  Losing my driver’s licence would have a great impact on my job and my life.  It wasn’t something I would look forward to trying to explain at all, but I knew I would be able to come up with something if I had to.  I am a very good liar but I didn’t want to go through that.  Every day, everything I did was a lie, and I was already telling too many.  So I prayed, and promised on my soul’s very existence that if I got out of this, I would get in my car, drive home, and never do anything like this again.  I would give up the trannies, the mistresses, the beautiful girls they call prostitutes; I’d give up the whole lot.  The focus and intensity of my prayers was all-consuming.  I felt it through every fibre of my being as I begged the heavens for just this one favour.

The officer returned from the other room and gave me the good news.  The result had come back negative and I was free to go.  The old cop on the front desk was surprised, but I could feel he was happy for me.  We had got on well in our time-killing chat while I waited.  They returned my car keys to me and I left.  I walked back to my car, with relief flooding my body, and rang the tranny girl I had been on my way to see.

“Hi, it’s Josef,” I told her when she answered, “I had a bit of trouble.  I’m running late but I’m still coming,” I blurted out.  “I’m probably about twenty minutes away.  Is it still okay to come and see you?” I asked anxiously. “Of course,” she replied, “That’s fine.  I’ll see you when you get here.”

This all happened without a second thought about God, or the Divine, and without a moment of hesitation or remorse.  Even before I got back to my car I had thrown my prayers into the gutter, and was ready to drive over to see her.  When I got to her apartment I knocked and she let me in. “Hello,” she said, greeting me warmly as she stepped out from behind the door and closed it behind me.  She was wearing a sexy top and knickers, which was standard fare.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  The author is a man who has lived two lives; one ordinary and the other extraordinary. It has not been fabricated, exaggerated, or embellished in any way.  It’s the raw truth and he is not really sure why he wrote it, but his therapist thought it was a good idea.  Writing down his life’s story might simply be a part of the healing process, so he can finally move on with his life and live it like a normal person.  It has been written in a way that tries to depict how the author felt at the time and how he feels now, and he can only use words or terms that make that possible.

Publisher: Fontaine Publishing

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                                 Spotlight hosted by the GreatReads!

‘Letters from My Father’s Murderer’ Kindle Fire Giveaway

Can God heal the deepest wounds and redeem what seems unredeemable? Laurie Coombs experiences God's transforming and redemptive power in her new book, Letters from My Father's Murderer. When her father was murdered, Laurie Coombs and her family sought justice―and found it. Yet, despite the swift punishment of the killer, Laurie found herself increasingly full of pain, bitterness, and anger she couldn’t control. It was the call to love and forgive her father’s murderer that set her, the murderer, and several other inmates on the journey that would truly change their lives forever.

Join Laurie in celebrating the release of Letters from My Father's Murderer by entering to win a Kindle Fire!

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire HD 6
• A copy of Letters from My Father's Murderer

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on July 20th. The winner will be announced July 21st on Laurie's site.

Wildflower by Alexandra Forry

Title: WILDFLOWER

Author Name: ALEXANDRA FORRY

Author Bio: 

Alexandra Forry has an incredible talent for living vicariously through the colorful and intriguing escapades of her strong female characters and successful leading men. Her first book, “Omerta Affair,” based on the true story of mafia boss Tony Torino and his paramour Evelyn Rosenberg has recently been adapted and re-released as “Timeless Endings”–romance fiction. Her latest book, “Wildflower,” is an adventure in coming of age for both a young orphan and her repressed aunt who is trapped in a destructive marriage. It is a beautiful story of life, hope, growth, and triumph and deals with many of the traumas of youth, such as bullying.

Alexandra Forry is familiar with life’s challenges. She was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she lives with her loving grandparents. Alexandra has conquered the limitations of Cerebral Palsy to write exciting and engaging novels. She has completed a number of talks and internet book tours and is a member of the Las Vegas Romance Writers and RWA.

Author Links - 

Website http://alexandraforry.com/ 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alexandra-Forrys-Books/218124628245982 

Twitter https://twitter.com/forryalexandra 

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/pub/alexandra-forry/92/bb1/6a0 

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7191842.Alexandra_Forry 

Amazon http://www.amxczazon.com/Alexandra-Forry/e/B00JBGRIKO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1426998849&sr=8-1

Book Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Release Date: March 4, 2014

Buy Link(s): http://www.amazon.com/Wildflower-Alexandra-Forry-ebook/dp/B00ISEOQ3C/ref=la_B00JBGRIKO_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427488880&sr=1-2

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wildflower-alexandra-forry/1118880156?ean=9781496094704

Book Description:

In this beautiful and moving story of love, growth, and redemption among the stunning red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, Sydney—a teenaged Army orphan—discovers that love knows no bounds and life has many twists and turns of fate. After she is forced to move in with her late mother’s sister Blanche and Blanche’s abusive alcoholic husband Dean, Sidney finds purpose and friendship in Lexy, the daughter of Max Heller the City’s most prominent widower and business magnate. Unknowingly, the girls’ antics awaken Blanche’s lost and suppressed passions and stirs Max’s long-thwarted drive to build a loving and complete family. What emerges is the wonderfully successful Epicurian Café, the brainchild of Blanche and Sydney actively encouraged by Max and Lexy. The Café quickly becomes a center of the community, the start of a new life for Blanche and Sydney, and a chance for Max and Lexy to discover true love and the meaning of commitment. An emotional roller-coaster with its exciting twists and turns, Wildflower is an exhilarating and satisfying read.

Excerpt One:

“Why don’t we open a business? Like a simple sandwich and coffee shop,” Sydney announced with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“A sandwich shop?” Blanche asked, looking surprised and a bit taken aback.

“Yeah, why not?”

While Sydney waited for an answer, Blanche just looked at her, dumbfounded

“Sydney, I would love to open a sandwich shop, but it takes a lot of money--money that we just don’t have.”

“Oh please, Aunt Blanche! I bet you can get a loan from the bank. It will be exciting!” Sydney pleaded.

“I don’t think that your uncle will approve. Sydney I love your idea, truly do! I was taken aback at first, because it has always been a dream of mine to open a little shop of some kind on Main Street,” Blanche said wistfully. ”It costs a lot of money to open up a business, besides I have an offer for a job in Prescott.”

“Pooh on Uncle Dean, and turn down that job. For me, please? You can ask Annette how to open a business--she will know, since she owns her own business.” Sydney said begging her aunt.

“I will think about it, okay, Sydney?” Blanche said making her way to her closet and picking out a dress.

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