The Jessica Reino Episode
It was my pleasure to have a conversation with Jessica Reino, author of Food Allergies: The Ultimate Teen Guide (It Happened to Me) and editor at Pandamoon Publishing. Since I am a licensed mental health counselor by day and podcaster by night, I am fascinated by the science behind food allergies and how they may impact our mental health, behaviors and emotional states. Jessica, having lived through her childhood with undiagnosed food allergies, tells her story of eventually being properly diagnosed, the way she changed her diet to eliminate reactions and how it changed her life. Jessica also gives out some great advice for seeking treatment and some online resources to visit to gather more information on food allergies and the possible impact on someone’s life.
Since Jessica is also an editor, we dove into what being an editor is like, something I’ve always wanted to know. How do you critique someone’s ideas, someone’s labor of love and do so in a constructive manner? That fascinates me. Thankfully Jessica is a pro so I got the inside scoop of how it is done. Jessica edits for Pandamoon and if you like reading you should check them out, they are putting out some great work.
If you’re interested in learning more about Jessica make sure to follow her on Twitter @JNRlitauthor and check out her website at www.jessicareino.me.
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The Dana Faletti Episode
Dana Faletti is the author of the Whisper series, a trilogy including the YA novels, Whisper
I sat down with Dana to talk about her writing methods, her productivity tips, her publication stories (she’s both self-published and worked with a publisher) and how to pronounce our names…rhyme it with spaghetti.
Dana is extremely insightful and was a delight to talk to on the podcast. You can hear in her voice how much she cares about her characters, how much she cares about her craft and how important her message in the Whisper series is for teenagers.
This was Dana’s first podcast too…and she nailed it. It’s the first of many I’m sure as she will continue to be sought after to discuss her works and her future works.
To find out more about Dana, check out her website www.danafaletti.com, her Amazon Author page or hit her up on Twitter at @danafaletti. To stay up to date on her upcoming novel, “Beautiful Secret” make sure to check out Pandamoon Publishing too!
p.s. After the podcast Dana tweeted out that she enjoyed coming on the podcast and that I was the best podcast host ever…a joke we referenced during the episode. When I replied on Twitter saying I was at least was the best Italian podcast host with a name similar to hers, she hit me back with this:
Awesome right? 🙂
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The Joe Kelly Episode
Spider-Man. X-Men. Daredevil (my boy!). Deadpool. Batman. Superman. Wonder Woman. These are just a handful of the characters and series Joe Kelly has worked on during his illustrious career as a writer, creator, producer and overall story teller. Joe’s one-fourth of the man power behind Man Of Action Entertainment and between them they are responsible for the creation of Ben 10 for Cartoon Network. The Ben 10 property has made over $4.5 billion in retail and is coming back in the next year for more adventures.
Joe’s creator owned titles (or co-creator) are some of the best graphic novels and comics ever written. “I Kill Giants” is a book I recommend to everyone, comic book fan or not. It’s a beautiful tale of a girl working through trauma and loss and every time I read it I walk a way more thankful for everyone who is in my life. It’s simply brilliant. It’s a book that I have purchased multiple times for multiple people, whether for enjoyment purposes or to help them cope with something they are struggling with in their own lives. It’s a must read for any parent, teacher, school counselor, therapist or human being. You can grab a revised edition on Amazon.
And don’t just take my word for it, take Hollywood’s word. “I Kill Giants” is coming to the big screen. Treehouse Pictures picked it up and Chris Columbus (Harry Potter, Goonies, Home Alone) is producing with Anders Walter (Oscar award winner for “Helium”) directing. Joe talks about his love of this story, his passion for bringing it to the big screen (Joe wrote the adaptation) and when we should expect more information about being able to see it theaters.
We also go down memory lane and talk about his work on his creator owned Steampunk series (co-created with Chris Bachalo), his early run on Deadpool for Marvel Comics (an Omnibus edition is now available that collects Joe’s entire 33 issue run, plus other goodies!) and we talk about his creator owned Four Eyes series which is currently shipping the start of Volume 2 (Volume 1 is available in TPB).
As you can see, Joe Kelly has been a busy man. I’ve been a fan since his run on X-Men and Deadpool in 1997 and have been reading everything he puts out since. Then I come to find out that he’s not only a busy man, but a genuinely good man who would take the time out of his schedule to talk to me about productivity, creativity and all the mumbo jumbo I like to ask people about. Not only that, but he likes talking about that stuff too, so hearing his thoughts on getting things done and taking time for creativity was a bonus. I had a lot of fun talking to Joe and hearing his passion for creating characters and stories. He’s also a funny dude, so he had me cracking up a lot.
Here are some upcoming titles Joe worked on that you can pick up in your local comic book shop. Issue number one of Four Eyes: Hearts of Fire is out as well as Spider-Man/Deadpool #1. Also make sure to check out his IMDB page to see everything he’s worked on…it’s a ton. You can also follow Joe on Twitter @JoeKellyMOA and at http://manofaction.tv.
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The Don Wettrick Episode
Our education system needs a jumpstart and I recently spoke to the guy who’s giving it the kick it needs. Don Wettrick is the Innovation Specialist at Noblesville High School near Indianapolis, IN. The fact that Noblesville has a position with the title Innovation Specialist is amazing in itself and Don makes sure he delivers on his promise of innovating the classroom. He recently earned the Indiana’s honor for Innovator of the Year and is an international speaker and author.
Within the first 5 minutes talking to Don I could tell his passion for teaching and breaking up the status quo is at an all time high. His words and ideas are inspirational and it’s easy to see why middle schoolers and high schoolers take notice and become engaged in his classroom.
I’m sure you’re going to want to learn more about Don after you listen to the podcast. So here goes; check him out on Twitter, www.theinnovationteacher.com, watch his class’s YouTube videos and read his book, “Pure Genius: Building a Culture of Innovation and Taking 20% Time to the Next Level”.
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The Art Jones Episode
Leadership. Courage. Branding. Meaning. Inspiration. These are the words I would use to describe what Art Jones brings to the table. Before meeting Art for our discussion, I found myself reading through his work and becoming fascinated with how he is able to speak so eloquently on the topic of branding. Since I’m not one who understands branding and marketing easily, I was interested in having him come on the podcast to give me an inside look at how his brain wraps around these concepts and ideas.
Along the way Art segues from speaking of branding to finding meaning in business, finding meaning in life, confronting regrets, and how he finds his muse. Art is a guy who makes the complex easily understandable. He’s a profound thinker and you will walk away thinking about branding in a much different way than you did before. In fact, I bet you walk away thinking about life in a much different way than you did before.
Art’s goal is to lead businesses to discover and accept the true meaning of their work so consumers get the most genuine and honest representation of their products and service. Art offers some sage advice in this episode, so listen up. If you’d like to learn more about Art, feel free to contact him at taostandingout.com, www.artjones.tv or on Twitter at @ArtJones.
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Mindsoak via June 23, 2014
Last night I opened up a notebook I hadn’t opened in over a year. I have ton’s of notebooks, most unfinished/unused, filled with a variety of notes for projects, stories and ideas I’ve been working on. I’m starting a mind dump routine at night so I pulled out a half used Moleskine and began.
As I started flipping through the pages I was rewarded with all my ideas from the past. The good and the bad. But it was amazing to be reading myself from the past. As I was flipping through I found my initial notes about Mindsoak, when the idea came alive in my head. At the time I just jotted it down and moved on. I had too much on my plate at the time. But as soon as my plate cleared up and I felt rested enough to start another project, I found myself coming back to the idea of starting Mindsoak.
Anyway, here are my initial notes from June 23, 2014:
I find myself imaging where the author is when she is writing the article. What her mood is. What time of day she is writing. And what kind of coffee she is drinking.
I want to feel connected to the writer, more than just through their written words of an article or blog post. I want to hear her story. The stories of when they feel most alive. The stories of their creative space. Their greatest joys and their greatest challenges. We need to know what makes them human.
That’s what Mindsoak would be. The stories behind the writers.
So sit back, listen to their stories and let your mind soak.
I wish I could remember the author and article which led me down this path of thinking. Why did I want to learn more about her? Just because of her words? Did the article impact me that much? It must have, but I have no recollection. I obviously wanted to connect on some level with her as a human being. I wanted to see how her words fit in to the fabric that was her life.
Since I left the piece unedited and it was scribbled notes, it’s pretty funny to see how I changed from a singular author (she/her) to all potential authors (they/them). I guess Mindsoak wouldn’t be that interesting if it only revolved around one person. (Whoa…wait a minute. That might be fascinating as a branch of Mindsoak…to check in with the same person for a specific period of time to learn/enjoy/struggle with them on their journey. Hmmm….come here Moleskine….I need to write that down.)
I also love how I started with the idea of writers of articles. Again, it must have been someone fascinating I was reading. But now Mindsoak is simply anyone I find fascinating. From blogs, to articles, to Twitter, to my cousin’s friends I meet at his wedding, to someone down the street.
I also cringed at the “soaking of the mind” analogy. I chuckled at myself that I would use something so sappy. “Oh what a sap I was back then,” I thought. And then I realized I basically use the same sentiment on my About page. I’m sappy…what can I say?
The moral of the story is, I don’t know, I guess there isn’t one. Wait, yes there is. Journal. Like mad. And all you men out there (yes I’m being sexist) who are rolling their eyes about journaling…I’m not talking “Dear Diary”. I’m talking about migration of thought in to action. Just getting the idea down on paper keeps it brewing in your head. You work on it while not even focusing on it. Your subconscious starts to fill in the gaps.
So give it a try. And maybe you too can eventually make fun of your past self.
Bonus time. My first idea for a logo. I’m an unapologetic comic book geek, so everything starts with a word balloon:
