16 Sep
0

I Shipped! – in draft form though it may be

Posted by nudgestrategist in Author, Books

Yep, the first draft of my book shipped to the first two reviewers. Pile of BooksAnd by “shipped” I mean emailed AND actually mailed hard copy. Woot!

It is junky. I’m embarrassed. But, it is out of my hands.

You know what the best part about it is?

I’m having some great ideas right now!

It’s a great reminder to get your product in the hands of someone else before truly creating the final product. Sure, they will have a lot of feedback for you, but something happens in your own brain as well. It gets freed up and remembers the intent and purpose behind what you were trying to create. It creates an entirely new set of ideas to make the draft better.

Scary though it may be, and a bit humbling, it will be worth it.

Now the re-writes begin!

Want to be informed when it comes out at the end of February? Sign up here!

24 Mar
0

Villager Shantal – Author and Model

Posted by nudgestrategist in Author
Image of a woman

Website: http://www.shantalhiatt.com/www.shantalhiatt.com/Welcome.html

Blog: http://www.shantalhiatt.blogspot.com/

Shantal spent years as a model and then realized she could turn her experiences, with a twist of fiction, into a novel! She’s anxious to get the word out about it and we are here to help.Image of a woman

You can find the novel, called Agency, at the following links:

Welcome to Nudge Village Shantal!

23 Oct
0

Villager Bryan – Author and Speaker

Posted by nudgestrategist in Author, Blogging, Innovation, Mobile Apps
Photo of Bryan Alexander

Bryan Alexander

Author, Professor, Blogger, Consultant, Digital Storytelling Expert

Website: http://bryanalexander.org/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/BryanAlexander

Book: http://www.amazon.com/New-Digital-Storytelling-Creating-Narratives/dp/0313387494

 

Photo of Bryan Alexander

We are excited to welcome Bryan Alexander into Nudge Village! He is a professor, author, blogger – ok, you read it above!

He’s quite the visionary thinker and has some great thoughts to share on digital storytelling. I (Chief Nudger speaking here) get to see him in a workshop in November and have just purchased his book.

As with other villagers, sometimes it is best to use what someone has already written up about them.

Here’s what others have said:

http://bryanalexander.org/about-bryan-alexander/

Take a look at his thoughts on mobile:

Welcome to Nudge Village Bryan!

10 Jan
1

Villager Michael – New Author

Posted by nudgestrategist in Author, Nudge Blog
Book cover of Reflections of Darkness and Light

Michael Fath – guitarist, author, martial artistBook cover of Reflections of Darkness and Light

Main Website: http://www.michaelfath.com

Michael Fath is a serial entrepreneur, or better yet, a serial creative. He’s made his fame and fortune in the world of guitar playing and teaching martial arts, but he now shares the beautiful thoughts of his mind through a new novel and poetry.

New novel on Amazon: The Girls of Yesterday

Book of poems on Amazon: Reflections of Darkness and Light:What are the books about? “The Girls of Yesterday” is a testimonial, in general, to women’s intuition, intelligence; and, in particular, the “Southern coming of age” story of a brother and sister’s shared and profound love for each other growing up.

Jesse, the main character, headed to college in the deeper south to play basketball, feels great separation anxiety from Loretta, his one year younger sibling who all through their life exhibited physical, mental and even spiritual skills beyond the norm. Their love is unique in that Jesse always looks to Loretta for intuitive guidance, while she never fails to acknowledge her older brother’s gifted sense of right and wrong.
Another important theme in “Girls” is the development of an endearing friendship with Jesse and Jess, a multi-talented young black football sensation, that brings to their relationship his racial perspective of growing up in the rural south, as opposed to Jesse’s more sheltered childhood, and together they formulate maybe the very best of educations possible; that of two intense souls being truthful while loving each other.
These themes play constantly; with laughter, sorrow, horror, tragedy, and romance found in abundance, and infused throughout with this story’s main and other very colorful characters, finishing with an integrated and surprise conclusion!

“Reflections of Darkness and Light” is novelist Michael André Fath’s debut volume of verse. These 51 poems transcend the gamut of human emotion and experience, whether physical, mental or spiritual, and sometimes everything, wrapped into a single offering. The splendor of daughters, our Chesapeake Bay’s sheer majesty, the sublime brilliance of sport and luminosity of music, etc., are included themes giving way to those feelings of grandeur; with even the devoted care of one’s 1950’s Chevrolet, and the intoxicating visual seduction of a simple sundress!

Yet to counterbalance while being faithful to the more somber and tragic aspects of life, entries also portray the loneliness of being a single father, sibling and parent loss, fall from grace, a beloved pet’s transition, a Marine Vietnam veteran’s catharsis and much more.

These will hopefully, at the very least, entice reflection and appreciation of surviving life’s numerous and many times seemingly insurmountable and impossible challenges.

Michael is now working on his second novel – “The Village Squires – Tales of Mayhem and Revenge.”

Welcome to Nudge Village Michael!

09 Dec
0

Book Review – Through Some Miracle Not Yet Clear to Me

Posted by nudgestrategist in Author, Books
Book cover of Through Some Miracle Not Yet Clear to Me

One of our villagers, Vincent Musaalo, wrote a book about his years growing up in Uganda. We highlighted him at Nudge Village over a week ago. Check out his highlight later! Book cover of Through Some Miracle Not Yet Clear to Me

Since we are trying to experience as many of the products/services we can from villagers, we bought the book!

Wow! Our Chief Nudger, Rebecca, knew Vincent in college and was surprised by many of the stories. Yes, she knew that his father had died, but not that he had been murdered by people working for the Idi Amid regime. Yes, she knew that life was hard, but didn’t know that every Ugandan had to suspect even close friends of turning them in if their own lives were threatened.

Vincent shares quite a few interesting experiences in this book – being part of a crowd that was gunned down by Idi Amid soliders, working early mornings in the fields to grow food before going to school, and miraculously being spared from being taken away with other boys his age to a squad of soliders forcing prior captives to randomly identify people to carry away/kill.

Mixed into his story are all of the miraculous events that occured along the way – spotting the Italian Embassy on the way home from doing laundry at the hotel and where that led him, opportunities his hard working mother prayed for that led Vincent out of his country village and to the United States, and being spared after collapsing on a street in Rome after a long journey.

We all have a life story, but not sure if it compares to the experiences Vincent shared in his book. Still, we should all write ours down.

But, in the meantime, take the time to read this book (a two hour read) and you’ll gain a greater understanding of what was happening in Uganda in the 1960s and 70s, how opportunities and faith are still alive even under a dictatorship, and an immense sense of gratitude for freedom and personal miracles.

Book is available on Amazon.