Author: Lucia Matuonto

If you like books and meeting new friends, you’re in luck. The BookFest Spring 2022 takes place on April 2nd and 3rd. The BookFest streams online and is an always free-to-attend two-day event. Day one is dedicated to readers, while day two features content for writers. Mark your calendars every spring and fall. The BookFest Awards honors outstanding books published within the last five years, extending it from three years. Due to lockdowns and social distancing, Desireé Duffy, founder of The BookFest, felt it was important to highlight books that may not have seen the recognition deserved. Duffy says, “The…

By Teresa Xu These are broad questions that I explore in the memoir Beyond the Surface: Empathy, Identity, and Storytelling. I think being human is about experiences—experiences and stories. Stories can’t really be defined into neat, perfectly strict compartments; they are like wisps of air, malleable and intangible, complex and full of undefinable emotions. Stories come in multiple forms. Written, oral, visual, audiovisual—I can’t name them all. This book explores just some of the infinite ways to express stories. Written can include countless types of writing, including an article like this; indeed, I dedicate a chapter to the importance of personal…

A Pilgrims Life Everyone goes through a season of metamorphosis of wanting to distance themselves to figure out who they are in this place. What is their purpose and what is driving them? There are two things that differs in life, which is being driven or a drive. Who drives you, and that is the question we should ask ourselves?It was an inner journey that I took, but it was an eternal journey including the desire that God had placed inside of me way before I ever knew.The title, “RUINS” holds a great meaning to me personally, not just because…

Learning from Tomorrow to Prepare for what Comes Next Article by Bart W. Édes Over the past couple of years, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended our world. Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine in February has caused another global crisis with major implications for international supply chains, commodity prices, geopolitics, and democracy. The pandemic and Vladimir Putin’s brutal war have taken place during a volatile period of disruptive technological, social, scientific, political, and environmental changes that have left many of us reeling and disoriented. Businesses, governments, and other organizations have had to reformulate their plans and strategies in response to megatrends…

“Jack Rasmussen was born and raised in Northern California, where he played sports. At Archbishop Mitty High School, Jack played baseball, basketball, football, and volleyball in high school. He always had a passion for writing, taking advanced writing classes his senior year while getting involved in student government. He was the media coordinator for his school, creating videos. He loved exploring, traveling, and learning about things quickly as a kid. He has a curious mind that is never satisfied. In middle school, he taught his grandfather sixteen card tricks during one summer and became famous at the senior home, The…

After a secret medical procedure, Martha Nasch complained of symptoms that confounded doctors and resulted in her being institutionalized by her husband … suspiciously after she discovered him having an alleged affair. While committed to the St. Peter State Hospital for the Insane for nearly seven years, Martha Nasch sought spiritual answers to her deepest questions. She felt cursed and haunted but found an explanation for her circumstances that drew the attention of Breatharian gurus for decades to come. In the poem “A Castle,” Martha wrote: “If you knew my agony, your heartaches would not cease. They’d haunt you in your…

Hello author Joann, welcome to BrandEducation! Tell us about yourself.I’m an author and nature lover, who tries to live by the mantra, “if not today, when?” I have two adult children and a husband who supports my writing career. I love family, humor, nature and chocolate. Not always in that order. Where are you from?Originally I’m from rural Nebraska. ( I do mean rural. The nearest Starbucks was 90 miles away in another state!) I grew up and raised my kids all within a 60-mile radius. When we moved to an actual city in the Pacific Northwest, it was a real…

Neptune’s Beard! The emergence of a new hero for a wanting generation AN AUTHOR from the South of the UK is looking forward to the publication of his first novel next month (February 2022). Liam Jenkins, 39, has been preparing for the release of Dylan McFinn & the Sea Serpent’s Fury the first book of a planned series on February 22nd. Dylan McFinn is a 12-year-old living deep under the Pacific Ocean in the ancient sunken fishing village of Lapatia with his sea captain father, annoying little brother and mermaid mother Varuna. For Dylan’s 13th birthday his father takes him on…

There is a well-known ideology that every author’s first work is autobiographical. My feeling is that each subsequent work is also autobiographical in its own way. It’s certainly not intentional, at least it isn’t for me, but taking bits and pieces from my own experiences have created very rich character studies. (It’s curious to note that I didn’t realize this was happening until recently.) While it’s hard to imagine Stephen King having all of those creepy experiences, I strongly believe that something shaped his visualization of the world. Now, when he writes (prolifically!) his characters see things through the lense…

By Rana Bitar, MD, MFA The Long Tale Of Tears And Smiles I started documenting my patients’ stories some twenty-five years ago, I did it to remember them, each for their unique character and courage. Throughout my career, I have seen so many patients; some of them resonated in my consciousness for one reason or another, perhaps because they reminded me of something from my past, or changed my view on something, or helped me understand myself or other people better. Somehow, it did not feel right to let go of some of the stories that altered me. On loose-leaf…