How is working with my team different from a traditional publishing company? 

“People won’t think that I am smart enough to write a book unless an actual publishing company picks it up.” This is what I thought back in ‘16 when I wrote my first book. I still see this subconscious story running within writers today.  

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Whether it’s low confidence (like myself back then) or a sense of overwhelm re: The editing, formatting, ISBN choice, cover design, marketing and distribution, 

Writers want a publishing company to (this is about to get real)

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Validate them, nay, to permit them to BE the writer they are. After 7 years in the publishing game as an author, 2 books, 1 Bestseller, 3 years as a writing and marketing coach to 31 clients, and working with different companies,

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One thing has become very clear to me (and I wish I would’ve known this in ‘16): 

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You DON’T need a publishing company to serve a growing audience with a bestselling book. 

You *are* smart enough (right now) to write the book. Am I saying that you are done growing? That you know ALL that there is to know about your subject matter? NO WAY! (Where’s the fun in that?! )

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For this reason, I’ve partnered with a phenomenal Literary Service Provider and Multimedia Artist to create a new *Prosperous Writer* package that creates the ideal experience for you as an author. 

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Are you ready to co-create your bestselling book and build a sustainable brand that is still serving your growing audience on book number 3 while maintaining complete control of your book, and without giving up any time with your kids? Then hop on a call with me and let’s explore a potential partnership. 

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Even if a partnership is not in our future, I assure you that this one exploration call will leave you with more clarity, confidence, and resources! 

McDonalds not serving breakfast all day and straws causing premature lip wrinkles are two things that kind of break my heart.
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The thing that REALLY breaks my heart though is this:
The writers who could write the most healing and helpful books in the world often come from some sort of religious background AND
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With this type of background comes some HEAVILY limiting beliefs that lead to some of these impactful books never being written. Some of these limiting beliefs are:
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Others’ needs are more important than my own need/want of the joy of writing. (The first shall be last, and the last shall be first…)
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It’s much more pious of me to shrink back and play small and let others applaud my ‘humility’(while I quietly die a lil’ more inside along with my book idea from 7 years ago).
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It’s self-centered of me to envision a publishing company actually wanting to work with one as talented, driven and caring as me.(Who the hell–I mean, h-e-double-hockey-sticks– do I think I am?!)
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It’s greedy to want to monetize my book. (You can’t serve 2 masters, yo. The less you have, the better Christian you are.)
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My ambition is sinful and prideful, and it must not be trusted, nor celebrated. (You know–like that King with all the concubines, the temple and the Dad with the voyeurism issue?)
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It’s egotistical of me to learn how to properly promote my book. (Good writing speaks for itself, right? If God wants my book to serve others, they’ll find it, right? #HaveThineOwnWayLord)
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26 partnerships-with-different-authors later, my heart warms with joy at the healing and helpful books that I have had the honor of being a part of. AND one of the most pivotal steps these authors took toward their book goals was rewiring their brains away from the above beliefs.
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Do you want to make ‘22 the year where you look at your desk

and see your published book with an amazon bestseller sticker on it?
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Do you feel that one or some of the above beliefs are holding you back from this?

If so, perhaps 1 my coaching spots is for you, friend.
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With great accountability, creative inspiration, and guidance I can help you in completing your book while also learning to market and sell it through a publisher or self-publishing, even if you feel like those in your church wont understand your book-writing dreams , while still making time for your kids, and without having to take off any time from work.

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If you are ready to take action toward your goal, hop over to my calendly link and let’s arrange a zoom sesh.
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Even if we’re not meant to work together, this [FREE] exploration call will help you to find more clarity and resources toward your book goal.
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WriteBoldly

Don’t make your book a booty call. 

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Don’t be texting it, ‘U up?’, at 11pm. 

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Don’t only show up when you wanna get some. 

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When you say,  “I can only write when I feel it.”

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Or, “I can only write when inspiration strikes”., you are making your book *solely* about your pleasure. You are making your book a booty call.

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Instead of being in a committed relationship  where you honor your commitments and show up *even when* you don’t feel like it, your book becomes merely a friend w/ benefits.  

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As Steven Pressfield says, “Amateurs wait for inspiration to strike, Professionals create inspiration.”

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The secret behind one book serving readers and another not is that the first was done by an author who *chose* to show up and write even if they did not feel like it. (This matters way more than ones ability to write well.)

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When we make writing more about our fickle feelings and less about those that we are called to serve, we simply fail to serve. 

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(Sure, if writing is only a therapeutic process for you, then text as many eggplants and tacos as you want. ;P )But, if you have an idea that you know would serve others,and you want to also monetize it, don’t make that book a booty call!

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Your book wants to be exclusive with you. It wants to get lost in conversation with you and stay up way too late. It wants to make you lose focus in meetings, because it’s all you can think about.‘Til published do ye part, it wants you to get to know it inside and out. It wants all of you, you when you’re in the zone and gush out 2 pages in 30-minutes, and you when you trudge through a paragraph in an hour. 

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So, what do you say? Are you ready to take this relationship to the next level? 

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#writeboldly, friend. You are beyond worthy and capable to co-create the life to which you have been called. 

I’ve been running intervals lately on the treadmill to concerts on Netflix.
(Yes, it is as fun as it sounds. )
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One of the many great moments in Beyonce’s Homecoming Coachella special
Happened early on in the show. I’m not referring to the insanely electric, ginormous band, intense choreography, guest appearances, pyrotechnics, her making me ugly cry when she spoke of motherhood, the Maya Angelou voice-over bits, the time she called the band members out and held them to a higher standard of performance, or even when she prayed up the team.
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Granted all of those were phenomenal, but there was another, much more subtle moment that taught me a very important lesson.
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At the start of the show, during the intro of ‘Crazy In Love’, she appears on the top of the risers. She’s 100% in her power as a purposeful performer as the desert crowd explodes with applause.
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Her expression is one of hot, untouchable focus. And then, right before she says ‘Coachella. You ready?” She breaks “character”. Her badass posture loosens (if only for a second) and she even laughs a lil’.

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Her eyes scan the space and she smiles. (I spent more time trying to screengrab a shot on my phone than actually writing this, so we’re gonna use this pic. Watch the first 3 minutes of the show to see it in its fullness though, friend.)
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After working for over two years with over 200 band members in order to forever raise the bar for Coachella concerts, she pauses and smiles. After working tirelessly to “personally select each dancer, every light, the material on the steps, the height of the pyramid, the shape of the pyramid in order to assure that every tiny detail had an intention”, she pauses and smiles.
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Before showing up to serve as the first black woman to headline there, she pauses and smiles. Upon getting ready to dance for nearly 2 hours straight when, less than a year prior, she thought she’d never dance again after the twins’ scary birth, she pauses and smiles.
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As she was at the precipice of crushing a massive goal, she paused and smiled. Perhaps she smiled in gratitude for God showing up as God always does. Perhaps she also smiled in gratitude for herself as a powerful co-creator with the Divine. Perhaps she smiled as she took in the high-vibes of the stage, the audience, and the teammates she had slain with for so long. Perhaps she smiled and laughed at the pure joy and honor of living out her soul’s purpose.
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May we be like Queen Bey and honor the holy ground that is the space between the work that we’ve done toward a goal and actually executing it. It’s pertinent to our sustainability and it’s pertinent to our effectiveness to pause, take it all in and smile.
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Don’t worry, my fellow spiritually-attuned go-getter, this practice will in no way diminish your ability to, ‘see it, want it, stunt, yellow-bone it
dream it, work hard, or grind ’til you own it”.
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In fact, pausing and smiling in the space between will make you more powerful than you’ve ever imagined.

Is everything really spiritual? Can we even categorize some things as ‘secular’ and others as ‘sacred’? Are some books more spiritual than others? Are some people more (or less) spiritual than others? How can this even be measured?
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This question comes up a lot when folks see that I help spiritually-attuned go-getters write, market, and sell their books.
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Over the past 2(ish) years as I got more clear on who I was made to serve in this season, a coach pushed me to describe my target market as ‘spiritually-based high-achievers’.
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To which I responded, ‘No. They are not necessarily spiritually-based writers, but they are most certainly spiritually-attuned’.
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So what exactly is a spiritually-attuned go-getter (SAG)?
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A SAG is one who stands in their power as a co-creator with God and is confidently writing in deep, intentional service to others. They don’t give in to the unhelpful tales of religion that tell us to show the strength of our faith by humbly playing small. They create with holy ambition. This is not the same as the hustle and grind of regular go-getters, because SAGs know that they’re not the only ones showing up to play.
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God is moving in and through the divine idea of the book within and they’re present to and curious about this. This presence and curiosity is the headspace from which they craft the life-changing experience of their book.
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Does being a SAG have anything to do with a certain religious idealogy?
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Nope. I have served writers all across the theological spectrum. I even had an amazing visit the other day with a writer who used to be an ‘evangelical’ but would now don the label of ‘atheist. His frequency, heart and subject matter were beyond captivating. While he wouldn’t label his book as ‘spiritual’ or (God forbid ;P ) ‘religious’, his existential ponderings re: destiny will surely serve folks on a deep, dare I say, ‘spiritual’ level–and that’s some action that I want in on!
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When I’m checking it to see if a writer and I are a good match, it’s way less about the book’s topic and WAY more about their frequency as one who is showing up to serve others.
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I’ve been so blessed to work w/ insanely talented authors around such healing topics as learning to forgive ones abuser and recover from child abuse, helping entrepreneurs find their calm in a chaotic world, exploring the Christian ministry in the Drag community, helping churches to establish programs to serve opioid addicts through harm reduction, helping women to stand in their power by loving their bodies more, and helping spiritual mavericks to live courageously authentic.
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So….is every book spiritual? It depends. In my opinion, it depends on the motive and frequency of the author and the character-trait they seek to develop within the reader.

I’ve been in love with labyrinths since I was 14. My sister and I got to travel to the Chartres cathedral (this pic) and I learned of ole’ french monks who would sometimes crawl it in their spiritual searching.
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Perhaps I loved them because they allowed my high-energy self to move while I pray, or because the picture of crawling monks was highly amusing. Regardless, when I walked my first as a teen, I was hooked. You ever been on one?
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They’ve been around in various cultures since before 430BC and have meant different things over time.
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Greek mythology used to confuse and trap monsters, demons and imps with them. (Really.)
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Then, like many things, other religions borrowed from Greek mythology, and in parts of Crete, priests would dance the labyrinth’s path ‘til they reached an ‘ecstatic state’ by the divine center.
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To no surprise, after all this time, the labyrinth is now giving me a new message .
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At its center, I see the source of divine connection and inspiration AND it also has held the most harmful, the lowest of low energies (you know, like imps, demons and monsters).
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This is the same for writers when we are tapping into the Divine within. In that same space where we find our ability to be deeply creative, we can find past pain that has been locked away.
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As we release the words that want to come through us, something else seems to also find its way out. Something else also WANTS to come out.
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Just as the book idea finally felt safe and heard to come out of us…. so does our pain, our grudges, and our wounds.
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Our book doesn’t even have to be related to the subject of our pain, but it seems time and time again, that they’re both being held in the same space…the same divine center.
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The writers who dare to go deep in order to write well, always seem to find AND heal a wound through the book creation process.
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I’ve had writing clients who’ve left unfulfilling jobs, unhealthy marriages, committed to a move they’d been putting off for years, had sweaty-palm conversations with loved ones that were decades overdue because the book-writing process led them to truly go within and listen.
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Both of my books led me to feel and heal things that I “forgot” to heal decades ago. Releasing the book within permeates and enhances every part of our lives
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….even parts that we thought would never be enhanced. It’s as if our power to create beauty and meaning, resides in the same space as our deepest wounds.
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A writing client recently told me that before we began working together, she had been (metaphorically) flatlining for 20 years and just thought that that was how life was meant to be.
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She thought that that was all there was.
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She shared that since she had been accomplishing her writing goals with me, she is finally living the challenging, and fulfilling life that she was meant to.
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When you choose to release the book within you, get ready.
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For if you’re willing to stay the path through all the turns, at times dancing like a Cretan priest, other times crawling like a French Monk, and instead of running from the monstrous pain that you find in the Divine center, you sit with it, you will find that you do not sit alone.
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God sits with you…perhaps God even holds you.
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Being cradled by God, you sit with the demons and the imps of your pain and feel it at its depths.
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You feel it through cries, through cussing, through pounding your fists on the cold, cathedral floor. And by you letting yourself feel the negative energy, you move it. Emotions are energy in motion that needs to be moved….needs to be released.
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In our not running from the monstrous pain and allowing God to cradle us as we sincerely feel it, divine alchemy takes place. The matter of our pain is transmuted into wisdom, love and power for good. Not only for our good but for the good of others too.
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In our cradling in the divine center….we see darkness turned into light.
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In the divine center, we see that God is always at work for good.
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In the divine center…we see that what broke our heart to pieces then,
Might bring us to wholeness now.
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In the divine center….we begin to see that there could possibly even be a gift from our pain.
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In the divine center….we feel that not only can we handle staring the monstrous pain in its face, but one day,
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We could be grateful for it.
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In the labyrinth of your book-writing journey, you won’t only return with a completed book, you’ll also return from a breakthrough.
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Write bravely, friend. You are beyond capable and worthy to co-create the life to which you’ve been called.

Something that slows down every writer is something we call ‘perfectionism’.

“Ideally, I’d like to get it done quicker, but I’m just a perfectionist.” I used to say. I would then await my pat on the back for having higher standards than others in the room.

Maybe even in my imagination, this humblebrag would lead to an Allan Rickman-type in metal-mesh-armor knighting me for my utter commitment to the oxford comma.

“Hear ye, hear ye,” He would proclaim while raising his helmet, “We dub thee Meg, daughter of Dena, for her service as a perfectionist. Her fearless act of moving at a snail’s pace has enhanced our lives greatly. Our village will be forever grateful for the book that she never finished.”

And as the iron of his blade hit my shoulders, I’d feel a punch in my gut. I knew what was really going on here. I wasn’t being a perfectionist because of my “admirably high standards”.

I was mislabeling my fear of rejection, my fear of being alone, as ‘perfectionism’. The book was never finished because I was too worried about impressing or appeasing others. In my mind, the book had to do the impossible and be something that would be enjoyed by ALL.

For as long as I can remember, I feared being alone. (I seriously just found a journal of mine from 2008, that said this.) I hated the thought of being left out, yet all of the words that wanted to come out of me when I perched at the keys were those that would not be likable by some as they rocked the boat too much.

If they didn’t like my book, this would mean that they would no longer like me. If they didn’t like me, they would leave me. If they left me, then I would be alone.

So I smiled, appeased everyone, and went along my way not writing the book. The crazy thing about ideas within though is that once we notice them and give them a lil’ bit of airtime, they get greedy and gradually get louder and louder. They want to be created so badly–especially if they are going to serve others.

And that’s exactly what happened. The boat-rocking book idea got too loud to ignore. It forced me to own my fear of loneliness in order to serve those I was called to serve well.

Amy Poehler has this great line, “Great people do things before they’re ready. They do things before they know they can do it. Doing what you’re afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that — that’s what life is.”

I did something of which I was very afraid in order to serve others well. And while the boat-rocking book was rejected by some (very), it served some folks too and hit the Amazon Bestseller status. My fear of rejection has subsided because I’m now keenly aware of who I was made to serve, and their opinions of the books are all that matters. Best of all, I now get the joy of being a writing coach to amazing writers.

If you’ve been dreaming of writing a book, it would be my honor to partner with you.

With great accountability and creative direction, I can help you to crush this goal in six months or less, even if you’re afraid of what others will think, while still being a present parent and without the self-depleting regret of putting it off for another five-ten years.

If you’re ready to complete your book, click here and let’s explore what next step would be the most helpful, friend. I have 3 coaching spots left between now and the end of March so let’s get to it!

I get why Britney shaved her head.

Why ‘FUCK!’’ is chiseled into the bathroom 

Stall by a kid with dark eyeliner and emo bangs?

This I now understand.

Sometimes, Allie chooses Lon, and Noah

Is left with his beard in the boat with the birds.

Frequently, the Anakins succumb to the dark side or the hot

British villain blows everything up right before the credits.

Not all whistleblowers get to be played by Nicole Kidman. 

Only the good DO die young and

The wicked get to sleep in.

Usually, she’s faking it. (She is.)

In many cases, he never calls.

Always, they care *way* less than you think.

Frankly, my dear, they don’t give a damn 

….like at all. 

Denial

Projection

Repression

Escapism 

Sooth for a bit, BUT only 

until you’re reminded of how 

Often, the underdog is left in a pasture 

Watching a well-intended family drive away.

Repeatedly, justice doesn’t prevail.

Time and time again, handsome incompetence climbs the ladder

Fastest.

Ordinarily, smiles of lies are 

flashed to keep up with appearances. 

Continually, money talks…the loudest.

Commonly, everyone but your cat has an angle (and the verdict’s still out on her).

Regularly, you blame your parents, but they can’t get all the credit. 

Generally, they *are*  all judging you and your outfit. 

Oft, *that’s* exactly what she meant. 

Never, do you say the right thing in the moment,

nor, do you bite your tongue when you should. 

Rarely, does the cutting of the slack take place.

And seldom, is the compliment that you crave …said.

So what do you do? 

You pick up an umbrella and beat the shit out of a car.

And after the sweats, the tears, and the projectile 

cusswords  …

Your shaky, cut-up hand drops the umbrella.

The jaded rage and pain that was once within

Are now dents on metal.

You breathe into the space that they left…

How will you fill it?

Will you self-source the love that you long for from others? 

Will grace for those who hurt you, for yourself for hurting

Others take up residency?

Will ambition to create the life you want,

regardless of the choices of others live there?

Will the courage to fight for justice emerge from there?

Will you compassionately hold space for other’s pain there?

Will the calling out of other’s bullshit resound from there?  

After all, ‘It’s [YOUR NAME], bitch.” 

Garrett and I met while sparring in a martial arts class.

Yep, sweaty, no make-up, and with lots of flirty apologies after I would
Hip-throw him onto the mat (or vice versa). This is him earning his black belt in hapkido.

In hapkido, you’re trained to use the momentum of
Your opponent’s kicks and punches to defend yourself.
The physics of it all is quite amazing.

Their momentum becomes yours. What they meant to hinder you, You use for your success. Even when you would end up falling down on the
Mat, there were proper forms and kicks to take from there.

And you only got better at these the more that you would fall…

The more that you would fail.

You only got better at hapkido the more that you would agree to
Get on the mat and take punches, kicks, and throws.

Why do I share this?

Because the same is true for you when you create content and market it.

My first book got turned down by 7 publishers.

I once left Facebook Live rolling w/o knowing it after I signed off and folks watched me eat lunch and saw much more of my jammies than I would’ve preferred.

I’ve been turned down for 9 podcast interviews as part of
Previous marketing plans.

I guested on one show and must’ve bombed so badly that not only did the episode NEVER drop, but the host gave me the silent treatment after the interview.

My first book had 139 errors in it after the official editor reviewed it because I unknowingly used British-English instead of American-English. (Even the notion!)

My online course for my 2nd book didn’t make 2 of the 3 times that it was offered.

The HUGE influencer in my field who I AM IN LOVE WITH (in a non-creepy/professional-kind-of way) agreed to join me on 2 affiliate-marketing adventures, only for both of these ideas not to pan out.

Whether you are just starting to create or market, the question is never if you will fail, it’s when. All of these kicks, punches and throws are there for you to use for your own momentum. They are a necessary part that can propel you toward success.

How will you use the momentum of your failures this week, friend?

You are more powerful than you know.