Know Your Identity in Christ and Become the Champion You Were Meant to Be
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If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and wondered who you were staring at and why you’re on this earth, you are not alone. What if you looked at your reflection and saw a champion? And what if you could display the qualities of a champion wherever you went, and everyone in the world would stop and listen?
Linda A. Olson, an international bestselling author, tells you how in her newest release, Love Your Story: Let God Define Your Story To Be The Champion You Were Meant To Be.
“Loving your story is what allows you to rise above your circumstances regardless of how painful they are,” Olson writes. “You need to know you are made for something more. You were created to be a champion.”
Olson bounced back from profoundly difficult circumstances in her youth. It wasn’t an overnight transformation; it took weeks, months and years of dedication for her to discover the tools she needed to overcome the obstacles standing in her path.
“Because of my brokenness, it took me a long time to grasp my value and discover the gifts and abilities I had been given,” she explains. “After a lengthy journey to healing, I discovered you don’t have to wait for someone to tell you who you are and what you have to offer. God has already defined your story; it’s a matter of embracing it and being the champion you were called to be.”
Olson’s Love Your Story gives you everything you need—tools, strategies and practical tips—to harness the potential of your greatest power: knowing your identity in Christ.
You will discover:
How to grasp the true gift of reflection, the mirror to see your true self
A simple pathway to your true identity, who you are in Christ
How true champions are created
Strengths you didn’t even know you had
The favor on your life
Practical tools to rise above every challenge and soar
Love Your Story is a must read for anyone who wants to truly understand what it means to be a champion in God’s eyes and how true champions are created. Tucked inside the book are value-added resources, including a coupon toward Wealth Through Stories LIVE, a two-day Story Retreat for those who are serious about finding the wealth in their story. Love Your Story, and the world will listen.
Linda Olson is the go-to story expert who helps authors, speakers and entrepreneurs impact millions with their stories. She is a TEDx speaker, multiple bestselling author and founder of Wealth Through Stories. Her mission is “To Impact a Million People a Year Through Story.” Linda and her husband, Rick, reside in sunny California. They enjoy their two married daughters and their spouses and five adorable grandchildren, who are the best part of their story.
Love Your Story: Let God Define Your Story To Be The Champion You Were Meant To Be Release Date: August 25, 2020 ISBN: 978-0-9819014-4-2 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Claire Downing Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
Gifted Storyteller’s Journey with Parkinson’s and Other Challenges of a Long Life
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When Parkinson’s disease descended like a dense fog on master storyteller John J. Clayton, he was forced to pivot his perspective, change his expectations and write from a place he calls “… both alive and not alive. Like a kind of ghost …”
Parkinson’s Blues: Stories of My Life begins with the arrival of the dark unexpected. In a Monty Python skit, someone in a drab living room complains about being nagged by ques-tions. “I didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition,” he complains. Suddenly Michael Palin, in red 16th century costume, bursts into the room. “Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition!” he shrieks.
Who expects the onset of Parkinson’s? Or cancer? Or stroke? Or the loss of a child? The terrible surprise—the life we didn’t expect—isn’t limited to Parkinson’s. It’s the existential condition of everyone’s life. In fourteen sketches, John J. Clayton links the experience of PD with the experience of childhood sickness, family battles, the struggle to make a good life out of a painful life. The sketches express the hope that we can grow spiritually in the midst of the terrible.
Through 14 eloquent stories — all of which underscore that Clayton’s gift and spirit remain fully intact — Clayton links the onset of Parkinson’s disease with other unexpected, and challenging experiences.
Parkinson’s Blues explores the anticipated pain and unexpected comedy of Parkinson’s in a manner that is deep, graceful and dignified.
Author John J. Clayton has published nine volumes of fiction, both novels and short stories. His collection of interwoven short stories, Minyan, was published in September 2016; his collection Many Seconds into the Future in 2014. Mitzvah Man, his fourth novel, arrived in 2011.
Clayton’s stories have appeared in AGNI, Virginia Quarterly Review, TriQuarterly, Sewanee Review, over twenty times in Commentary, in Notre Dame Review, Missouri Review and The Journal. Two personal essays have been recently published in Jewish Review of Books. His stories have won prizes in O.Henry Prize Stories, Best American Short Stories, and the Pushcart Prize anthology. His Radiance, a collection of stories, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.
Clayton grew up in New York City; received his B.A. at Columbia, his M.A. at NYU and his Ph.D. at Indiana. For much of his career he taught modern literature and fiction writing as professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has also written two books of literary criticism: Saul Bellow: In Defense of Man and Gestures of Healing, a psychological study of the modern novel.
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Sylvia Anthony is truly a “golden girl.” At 91 years young, she remains steadfastly involved with her passion project: Sylvia’s Haven, a Boston area shelter for homeless women and children that she launched in 1987.
Sylvia herself had endured a difficult childhood that included an abusive father and a disinterested mother. Sylvia married young and remained in an abusive marriage until a divorce that left her alone to support her three children. Through her ambition and strength of character, Sylvia persevered, building a life for herself and her kids. After raising her children, Sylvia remarried — still, there was a void. She felt a calling to help young women, and her husband, Rick, encouraged her to follow her heart. Initially designed for homeless pregnant women, her shelter opened on January 25, 1987. Sadly, her husband lost his battle with cancer on March 30 of the same year, telling Sylvia before he died to “go get the girls.” And she’s been giving new hope to young, homeless women ever since.
Hers has been a lifetime woven with tragedy and triumph, but at Sylvia’s core burns a powerful source of courage and tenacity. She shares her remarkable story in Till the End of Time, which chronicles her early days as an unwanted child, born at the onset of the Great Depression; through her turbulent first marriage, which blessed her with three children; to finding love and discovering her divine purpose later in life. The book includes a chapter with testimonials from women who have been helped by Sylvia’s Haven, underscoring the impact of her unwavering dedication to others. Till the End of Time is the ultimate love story, woven with heartwarming memories, inspirational anecdotes and life lessons that will inspire readers to share their own God-given gifts with others.
Author Sylvia Anthony was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame on June 15, 2020. Invited to their museum in Seneca Falls, New York, she drove more than 350 miles for the appointment! Shortly thereafter, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Mar-quis Who’s Who.
A woman of faith, courage, tenacity and love, Sylvia firmly believes that the “golden years” are a time to get busy. As the founder and president of Sylvia’s Haven, a shelter for women and children near Boston, she has helped transform over 1,100 lives in the past three dec-ades. Sylvia refers to her organization as her “magnificent obsession.” Life hasn’t always been easy for Sylvia, but she believes that God not only gives her courage during times of hardship, but also keeps her healthy so that she may realize her dream to open up Sylvia’s Haven locations in all 50 states.
Till the End of Time rose to No.1 in four different categories when it was launched on Ama-zon and has received 5-star reviews.
Till the End of Time Publisher: Efluential ISBN-10: 1517477859 ISBN-13: 978-1517477851 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Joellen Bates Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
How Our Government Really Works—What Every Teenager Should Know
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Whether you’re a student, parent, educator or engaged citizen seeking the truth, You Call This Democracy? How to Fix Our Government and Deliver Power to the People from public policy expert Elizabeth Rusch paves the way for every citizen to not only understand the flaws in our current democracy but to also fix them.
“We think we live in a democracy. One person, one vote. But how democratic is our government really?” Rusch asks. “The hard truth is that political power is not shared equally among all citizens. It shouldn’t matter if you are rich, poor, urban, rural, Democrat, Republican, old or young when you mark your ballot. Your race and gender shouldn’t matter either. But they all do.”
You Call This Democracy? gives an honest view of how our democracy truly functions, who really has the power and why (and how that power impacts politicians and policies) and how we can work together to make our democracy more responsive to the will of the people.
Consider the following:
Presidents can take office without winning the popular vote.
Voting districts are drawn by politicians for their own benefit.
Millions of citizens—young, old, poor, people of color, women—are blocked from voting.
Money wields much more influence than the wishes of ordinary Americans.
You Call This Democracy? offers insightful solutions to undemocratic elements plaguing our government, with inspirational examples of citizens already working to make change. International comparisons, extensive sources and resources prompt readers to dig deeper ― and take action.
Supplementary materials to the book include Rusch’s “50 State Democracy Report Card” (https://www.youcallthis.com/your-state), where people can check to see how democracy fares in their state overall and on specific metrics, and how they can strengthen democracy in their state; and a series of short, fun, informative videos on the issues covered in the book, called Flash Course on Democracy, available free at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUOGZlteO6dRY7aQV1uqpddW1C1maGLxP. Additionally, discussion guides and debate questions are available at www.youcallthis.com.
Elizabeth Rusch is the author of 20 award-winning books, and more than 100 magazine and newspaper articles. She is also the creator of the “50 State Democracy Report Card” and the video series Flash Course on Democracy. You Call This Democracy?, an Amazon Bestseller, was featured in the New York Times Book Review and received a starred review from Kirkus, which called it “a riveting must-read.” Rusch and her work have also been featured in The Discovery Channel, Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Think Out Loud, The Wall Street Journal, Teacher magazine, Parenting Magazine and Working Mother, among many others. Rusch has a master’s in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and has served as a Jacob K. Javits Fellow in the U.S. Senate. Visit her at www.elizabethrusch.com, www.youcallthis.com and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUOGZlteO6dRY7aQV1uqpddW1C1maGLxP.
You Call This Democracy? How to Fix Our Government and Deliver Power to the People Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ISBN-10: 0358176921 ISBN-13: 978-0358176923 Available from Amazon.com and wherever books and audiobooks are sold
Trish Stevens Anna Jones Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
Sweet Holiday Romance Will Have Readers Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy
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When quilt shop owner Sophie Davis sorts through a box of books that had been donated to her church, she’s surprised to find a former marine’s journal. Sophie can’t help but peruse the entries, finding herself drawn to the stranger on the pages. As the daughter of a veteran and a seamstress who sews Quilts of Valor, she feels a deep connection to the former soldier who wrote the emotional entries, and she longs to heal his heart.
The man who wrote the journal, former Marine Cole Aaron, battled to find peace after returning to civilian life, and his journal was the conduit toward a truce with his past. Always needing to protect others, Cole now fights fires and is embracing his new life in Pine Hill, Kentucky. When Sophie shows up at the fire hall with his journal, he fears digging up the demons from his past and tells her to trash it.
Their paths continue to intertwine, with both Sophie and Cole volunteering for their community. But it’s hard for Cole to let down his guard, and he doesn’t need anyone’s pity. After all he’s been through in the past, can he find faith in a more hopeful future — one touched by joy?
Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy is the latest sweet romance from Hallmark Publishing author Janice Lynn. A sequel to her first story, Wrapped Up in Christmas, her new installment can also stand alone and is the perfect small-town Christmas romance to warm readers’ hearts during the holiday season.
Janice Lynn is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She strives to write characters who evoke strong emotions and make readers want to go along on their journeys.
Her first sweet romance, Wrapped Up in Christmas, was a bestseller on Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart, Amazon (hit #13 overall in paid fiction in Kindle) and ibooks (hit number #1 paid ebook fiction); was Hallmark Publishing’s first release to hit the USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal’s bestseller lists; and was a finalist in the Bookseller’s Best Award. Janice also writes contemporary Medical Romances for Harlequin, and her books have won numerous awards, including the National Readers’ Choice Award, the Golden Quill for Best Short contemporary Romance and for Best First Book, Romantic Times Magazine’s American Title, and the Holt Medallion Award of Merit.
Janice lives in Tennessee with her Prince Charming, their seven kids, her vivid imagination, an adorable Maltese named Halo who’s the true princess of the house and a bunch of unnamed dust bunnies who took up permanent residence after Janice started her writing career. In addition to writing romance, Janice is a nurse practitioner, a quilter, an exercise queen, a military mama and a member of and an avid supporter of the Quilts of Valor Foundation. Just kidding on the exercise queen.
Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy Publisher: Hallmark Publishing Release Date: October 27, 2020 ISBN-10: 1952210038 ISBN-13: 978-1952210037 Available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com
Trish Stevens Karen Anderson Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
Ordinary People Extraordinary God Shares 17 True Stories of Everyday Heroes
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Children may never learn their names and hear their stories in Sunday school, but there are plenty of “ordinary people” all around us who have accomplished God’s remarkable work in their own individual ways. In Ordinary People Extraordinary God: 17 Personal Stories of Lives Transformed by the Love of God, author Rick Schatz shares inspirational true stories of eve-ryday people who answered God’s call to service.
“Most were not raised in Christian homes but have made a commitment to Christ and are serving him in various ways around the world,” Schatz explains. “Few, if any, would be considered superstars in the eyes of the world, but each of them is serving others in life-changing ways.”
Ordinary People Extraordinary God profiles personal friends and contacts of Schatz’s who have served Jesus in a variety of capacities, such as becoming a hospice nurse later in life, writing books, developing resources to help others in need and serving in churches. The honest accounts don’t hide the flaws and struggles that these servants endured. In fact, it’s through pointing out the insecurities and the ups and downs that Schatz underscores the fact that God can and does use “ordinary people” to reach others with His love and grace. This book also shares that all God needs from His followers is their availability because He will supply everything else that is needed to get His work done.
As readers follow the 17 journeys featured in the book, it is Schatz’s hope that the stories will encourage and challenge people to first seek God and then to serve Him for His glory.
“The goal of the book is to encourage others to seek a personal relationship with God and for those who already have such a personal relationship to dream bigger and reach for the stars in serving Him,” Schatz adds.
Author Rick Schatz earned a BS in chemical engineering and an MBA from Harvard, where he became a Christian during his second year. In addition to a long career as an executive for several major corporations, including as the founder and part-owner of Creative Waterworks, Schatz has been a deacon, elder, Bible teacher and preacher since 1969.
He has also served on the board and leadership teams of On Target prison ministry, Spiritual Counterfeits Project and the John Guest Evangelistic Crusade in Cincinnati.
Schatz officially left the business world in 1990 and served with pureHope ministry as COO and president/CEO from 1990 until 2014. He joined The Prayer Covenant in 2014, where he served as president and currently serves as COO.
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Schatz married his high school sweetheart, Sharon, in 1967. They have three grown sons and 11 grandchildren.
Ordinary People Extraordinary God: 17 Personal Stories of Lives Transformed by the Love of God Publisher: High Bridge Books ISBN-10: 1946615455 ISBN-13: 978-1946615459 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Julia Vaughn Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
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The doors have now opened to a virtual island getaway where you can take in breathtaking underwater views, explore futuristic aquariums, and enjoy five-star accommodations and endless entertainment—all from the COVID-friendly comfort of your own home. There’s just one tiny catch.
The star attractions at this particular resort are the most terrifying prehistoric sharks and sea creatures that ever lived.
Sea Monster Cove (located at www.seamonstercove.com) is the latest creation from The Meg author, Steve Alten. And this time, he’s taking fans of man-eating prehistoric creatures even deeper into his imagination. Sea Monster Cove is a groundbreaking concept of storytelling that will immerse you in every aspect of an adventure like nothing you have ever experienced before. This multifaceted, interactive entertainment platform features an unfolding episodic web series, Where Sea Monsters Roam; heart-pounding aquarium and cage-diving interactions with the nastiest sea creatures on the planet; and an adrenaline-fueling (and quite addictive) video game.
The setting is Maug, a remote island in the Mariana Archipelago where eight years ago, French marine biologist Dr. Maxime Rostand and his team discovered hot mineral water feeding into Maug’s lagoon from somewhere below. When a listing Filipino fishing trawler enters the cove hauling an immense whale in its deep sea net, the scientists discover that the dead beast is actually a pregnant, 60-foot, 50,000-pound undiscovered prehistoric spe-cies of Mako, related to the Black Demon shark. An emergency C-section saves two of her 15 pups (and the future stars of Sea Monster Cove): Snowflake (an albino) and Layla (pure Black Demon). Through a series of events (which will unfold through monthly episodes of Where Sea Monsters Roam), Dr. Rostand discovers the source of the hot mineral water to be a primordial aquifer located two miles beneath the sea floor—its inhabitants dating back 380 million years.
All of the attractions at Sea Monster Cove are created using major-motion-picture-worthy 3D animation. The sharks and sea creatures look and act just like the real thing. And unlike the species housed in typical aquariums, these critters don’t just swim around in serene circles. These beasts know you’re watching them, and some clearly don’t like it.
The subscription-based site (priced well under the cost of a movie ticket) also includes an education center with tons of background information, a private library featuring enhanced versions of Alten’s novels (including curriculum materials for distance learners) and a collec-tion of Alten’s original screenplays. There’s even a PG13 membership option for younger viewers.
And the waters surrounding Sea Monster Cove are anything but stagnant. The designers tweak the animals’ behavioral patterns on a regular basis. Plus, each month a new Prehis-toric Sea Aquarium will open, containing its own menu of super predators that will appear in the web series and video game. The animals will also age from the moment you first encoun-ter them, and you won’t want to miss a single milestone. So come for a visit; stay for a bite—or two. Welcome to Sea Monster Cove!
Sea Monster Cove creator Steve Alten is the NY Times and international best-selling author of 20 thrillers, including The MEG series (with a major motion picture starring Jason Statham and the sequel, MEG-2: The TRENCH, in pre-production). Two more of his series have also been optioned as movies: The LOCH and one other underwater feature, which cannot be announced just yet (but the enhanced version of the novel is featured in the website’s private library). Alten is also the founder and director of the nonprofit Adopt-an-Author teen reading program.
