Mark McNease

From the Guided Autobiography Summit Page.

I will be presenting on December 13 on Professional Growth.

Transformative Storytelling: How GAB Empowers Personal & Professional Growth

Our panel at the Hoboken Library was a hit with the audience. Panelists included Annamaria Alfieri, Tom Coffey, Peggy Ehrhart, Gerri Lewis, and moderator Mark McNease. The topic was Writing A Series: Getting It Started and Keeping It Going. Among the subjects discussed were continuity, outlining (or not), and where to begin.

MEET THE PANEL

Annamaria Alfieri writes the Vera and Tolliver stories, which are set in British East Africa and explore the evils of colonialism. It began with Strange Gods, 1911, The Idol of Mombasa , 1912, The Blasphemers 1913.  The fourth book in the series, A Death on the Lord’s Day, was released in 2024.  The Richmond Times-Dispatch praised the series as having “the flair of Isak Dinesen and Beryl Markham, the cunning of Agatha Christie and Elspeth Huxley.”

Another client book finished!

Seven Summers a Cabana Boy – A. Sacco

A. Sacco delves into the deep recesses of mind and memory to share anecdotes from the best job he ever had. Indelible memories and unforgettable characters—with all the mores and folkways—are chronologically recalled from events taking place more than 50 years ago.

A native New Yorker, A. Sacco worked for 32 years as a Sales Representative in the insurance and related financial services business. He also served as New York City Human Rights Commissioner for 8 years. He was a member of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Police and Community Relations. Retired, he now lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

MEET THE PANEL

Annamaria Alfieri writes the Vera and Tolliver stories, which are set in British East Africa and explore the evils of colonialism. It began with Strange Gods, 1911, The Idol of Mombasa , 1912, The Blasphemers 1913.  The fourth book in the series, A Death on the Lord’s Day, was released in 2024.  The Richmond Times-Dispatch praised the series as having “the flair of Isak Dinesen and Beryl Markham, the cunning of Agatha Christie and Elspeth Huxley.”

Tom Coffey grew up on Staten Island. His first novel, The Serpent Club, was published in 1999 by Pocket Books and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. His second novel, Miami Twilight, came out two years later. In 2008, Toby Press published Blood Alley, which also earned a starred PW review. In 2015, the independent Oak Tree Press published Bright Morning Star.

In 2023, Coffey signed a three-book deal with Level Best Books. Public Morals is the first novel in The Devine Trilogy, which is named after the family at its center. The series examines the arc of law enforcement in New York from the 1980s to the present. The second book, Special Victim, will be released in late November.

Workshops are currently 2 hours via Zoom unless marked ‘in person’
All times are eastern (New Jersey) – 2 Hours 

Have a good holiday season everyone! Look for an updated workshop schedule in January.

Fiction Writing Essentials
Self-Publishing with KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)
Guided Autobiography

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One of the most rewarding things about working with people to publish their books is that I’m helping them achieve a goal. In this case, a mother’s desire to publish her daughter’s poetry. It was a labor of love for her, and I was able to help her bring it to fruition. Keep reading to understand why it matters to her, and why I feel privileged to help birth this gift from a mother to her beloved but challenged adult child.

The Wildflowers Within Her Heart

Tara Elizabeth Benedetti has written poetry since she was a young girl. Tara wrote a poem when she was 10 years old, in the 5th grade, and it was published when she was 12, in the 7th grade.

The poem “My Windows” was published in the 1993 Edition of the book “Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans.”

Tara was encouraged by her teachers beginning in the 5th grade, and it was always pointed out that she had a profound and rich imagination – the part that can’t be taught.

Tara graduated from Summit High School, in Summit, New Jersey. She obtained a B.A. Degree in Creative Writing and Photo Journalism, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts. She has a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickenson University in Madison, New Jersey.

Tara was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was 28 years old, while teaching English in Boston. It has been 16 ½ years of a struggle for Tara. She is now 44 years old. All of her poetry was written before Tara was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Lambertville, NJ, is my favorite town! It’s only about 20 minutes from our little house in the woods, and it’s America’s Halloween capital. For years now the neighbors on Union Street and elsewhere have made somewhat of a competition (okay, maybe a HUGE competition) out of decorating their houses for Halloween. People come from miles around the stroll along, or drive slowly past, the extravagant displays. The street itself is closed off on Halloween night and thousands of people gather for the festivities. It’s a must-see if you’re in the area.