Six American Road Trips Inspired by Classic Literary Novels

Best-Selling Author Jon Gordon To Release New Book Titled "The Hard Hat for Kids" On October 9

A followup to his recently released titled “The Power of a Postive Team” bestselling author, Jon Gordon will release on October 9, “The Hard Hat for Kids.” Despite the book written for kids, this inspiring story has lessons that can be appreciated by everyone. The book's "10 Ways to be a Great Teammate" and the "We before Me" philosophies are the core of the book, engaging young readers and presenting practical insights and life-changing lessons that help children…and adults…understand the power of cooperation, friendship and selfless teamwork.

 The story follows "Mickey," a talented basketball lover who has always dreamed about playing on her school's team.  On the first day of practice, she learns of a special award given to the best teammate – and soon discovers that there is a big difference between being the best player and being the best teammate.  What follows is a story about selflessness, hard work and compassion, and a clear lesson about putting the team first.

The inspiration for "The Hard Hat for Kids" (and "The Hard Hat") is based on Cornell University's lacrosse team and their captain, George Boiardi – grandson of the famed pasta icon Chef Boy-ar-dee.  George was a star on the team, and exemplified being a good teammate and leader at a very young age.  Tragically, George passed away on Cornell's Schoellkopf field while playing lacrosse at age 22, but his legacy lives on in the hearts of those who knew him – family, friends, teammates and generations of students that have come after him.  Loyal and selfless, George led by example.

Says Gordon, "The core of my work has been to develop positive leaders and this has evolved naturally into helping build great teams. I think my books resonate because every one of us has to overcome adversity and challenges, and through great leadership and teamwork we ultimately define ourselves and how we individually and collectively achieve success."  He adds, "I kept hearing from parents and coaches that teenagers and college students are more self-absorbed than ever, and don't know how to be a great team member. I believe if we can start teaching these principles when they are young we can change things for the better."

Says Gordon, "The core of my work has been to develop positive leaders and this has evolved naturally into helping build great teams. I think my books resonate because every one of us has to overcome adversity and challenges, and through great leadership and teamwork we ultimately define ourselves and how we individually and collectively achieve success."  He adds, "I kept hearing from parents and coaches that teenagers and college students are more self-absorbed than ever, and don't know how to be a great team member. I believe if we can start teaching these principles when they are young we can change things for the better."

 The book was co-written with school psychologist Lauren Gallagher and illustrated by Korey Scott.  One hundred percent of the authors' proceeds from the book will go to the Mario St. George Boiardi Foundation, which provides financial assistance to elementary and high school students who seek enriching extracurricular activities, and makes grants to organizations that provide those opportunities (https://www.boiardifoundation.org/).

Says Gordon, "The core of my work has been to develop positive leaders and this has evolved naturally into helping build great teams. I think my books resonate because every one of us has to overcome adversity and challenges, and through great leadership and teamwork we ultimately define ourselves and how we individually and collectively achieve success."  He adds, "I kept hearing from parents and coaches that teenagers and college students are more self-absorbed than ever, and don't know how to be a great team member. I believe if we can start teaching these principles when they are young we can change things for the better."

About Jon Gordon

Jon Gordon is a best-selling author, motivational coach and motivational speaker.  His books and talks have inspired readers and audiences around the world. His principles have been put to the test by numerous Fortune 500 companies, professional and college sports teams, school districts, hospitals, and non-profits. He is the author of 16 books including six best-sellers: "The Energy Bus," "The Carpenter," "Training Camp," "You Win in the Locker Room First," "The Power of Positive Leadership," and "The Power of a Positive Team." Jon and his tips have been featured on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, The Golf Channel, Fox and Friends and in numerous magazines and newspapers. His clients include The Los Angeles Dodgers, The Atlanta Falcons, Campbell Soup, Dell, Publix, Southwest Airlines, LA Rams, Miami Heat, Pittsburgh Pirates, BB&T Bank, Clemson Football, Northwestern Mutual, Bayer, West Point Academy, and more. Jon is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a Masters in Teaching from Emory University. He and his training/consulting company are passionate about developing positive leaders, organizations and teams.

You can learn more about on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube

Source: Jon Gordon

Women Fiction Author to Debut "Shopfiction"

Women's fiction author Riley Costello recently announced her new patent-pending reading experience format: Shopfiction™.

Waiting at Hayden's, a novel that deals with the complicated nature of timing in modern-day relationships, will be the first book that allows readers to shop the characters' outfits. It will provides links (in the digital version) and web addresses (in print) to take readers to video highlights where they can watch key scenes unfold, as well as to photos of the characters wearing the clothing described in the text. The author has primarily featured brands such as Winston White and Van De Vort that were started by other female entrepreneurs.

Costello has also included filmed scenes from the book, which readers can enjoy by visiting her website. These video highlights provide another way for readers to get to know the characters and in many cases, relive a scene they just read.

"I write love stories with strong female characters and decided to use technology to reach and engage readers in a new, exciting and fun manner," commented Costello.

About the Book

From a fresh new voice in women’s fiction comes a page-turning, relatable love story about the complicated nature of timing in modern-day relationships.

Childhood best friends Charli Anderson and Jack Logan fall madly in love during college and can’t imagine a life apart. But when they land dream opportunities on opposite ends of the country following graduation, they are forced to make a heart-wrenching pact. In the hope of one day restarting their love story, they set a date to reunite in five years at their favorite restaurant.

Restaurant owner Gianna Hayden is thirty-seven, single, and one bad date away from giving up on finding the right guy when she meets Peter Clark on a dating website. Attractive, kind, and driven he is exactly what she thought she was looking for. But as the day of Charli and Jack’s reservation approaches, Gianna finds herself reflecting on the kind of passionate love her former customers once had and begins to question her bond with Peter. 

These two riveting stories converge on the night of the fateful reunion. Gianna, Charli, and Jack are all forced to make difficult choices as they struggle to follow their hearts, and ultimately each must decide where their true feelings lie before time runs out.

Available online on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, OverDrive,  Kobo, Playster, 24symbols, bibliotheca.

About Riley Costello

Riley Costello, an Oregon native, graduated with a degree in psychology from Santa Clara University. But like most things in her life, Costello didn’t do it like everyone else. After her freshman year, she took a year off to move to Charleston, South Carolina, in the hopes that the setting of many of Nicholas Sparks’ books would inspire her to write a love story of her own, Waiting at Hayden’s.
 
Working on the book post graduation was rewarding, but Costello found it a solitary effort so began collaborating with other creatives to produce her blog, Sincerely, Riley. Photos feature fashions that readers can shop and blog posts address many of the frustrations her generation faces in today’s dating world. It only seemed natural for Costello to then apply that same strategy to publishing her book. 
 
She remembers watching Sex and the City and wishing she could buy Carrie Bradshaw’s outfits. Thanks to filmed highlights from her novel, readers of Waiting at Hayden’s will be able to do what Costello could not—shop the characters’ clothes through links in the digital versions and web addresses in the print. 
 
Being the innovator that she is, the ideas keep coming and Costello is already many drafts in on her next novel, Map of Us which she plans to release in the same way.

Connect with her: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Amazon Author Page

10 Ways to Organize Your Books Your Way

If your bookshelf is overflowing with books, it may be time to get rid of some you haven’t cracked opened in years or that are collecting dust. Reorganizing your book collection can seem daunting, depending on the size. However, if you find a method that works for you, you’ll be able to find your classic favorites in no time.

Consider the purpose for your organization, the genres you have, and how you want your book collection to look. Whether it’s to redecorate or just to declutter, use one of these 10 ways to organize your books to find the style that’s right for you.

Post Credt: Wayfair

18 Iconic Book Covers and Their Stories

Have you ever stopped to think about how your favorite book cover art was conceptualized? There’s a lot that goes into creating a book cover and how the design is discovered. First, the cover designer is commissioned by the publisher or editor, not the author as some might think. Then, the designer collaborates with the marketing/sales team to develop a concept that is marketable. From there, the designer presents “roughs” to the sales team until a consensus is reached on the direction. This is the process by which some of the most iconic book covers to date were built, and it sometimes starts two years before the book is even published.

This infographic from Invaluable shares some of the most famous book covers we’ve all grown to love and how each designer brought those visions to life. See if you can spot some of your favorites!

Low Stress Self-Editing Techniques that Guarantee Success

Self-editing can be difficult. It can be tough to objectively go through your writing and find its weaknesses. To successfully self-edit you must eliminate your crutches and bad habits, prioritize clarity and readability, get help from a friend, and remember to go easy on yourself. Editing, especially self-editing, can be stressful and that’s not good for your wellness. Use these techniques to successfully self-edit while keeping your stress levels low.

Eliminate crutches and bad habits

It’s easy to accumulate a few bad writing habits, but it’s important that you identify and correct them, especially when self-editing. Let’s go over some common bad writing habits. One thing to watch out for is commonly misused words, such as nonplussed and bemused. Try to use these kinds of words as little as possible. Even if you know how to use them correctly, there’s a good chance your reader does not and may think you are misusing them. In a similar vein, be very cautious when using metaphors. So many of them are overused and cliche enough that they will take away from the point your making. Metaphors are also commonly misused and mixed up so minimize their use and implement them carefully or you will appear amateurish. Try and track your crutches and bad habits so that you can eliminate them from your writing. Doing this will make your editing easier and less stressful in the future.

Write with clarity and aim for readability

One of your main priorities should be to write clearly and concisely. It’s tempting to bust out the thesaurus and jam your sentences full of complicated words, but resist giving in. “Write with your audience’s understanding in mind. Your goal is communication, not to show off your intelligence and vocabulary. Even when you are tackling a complex subject your goal should be to explain it simply,” recommends Jeff Stewart, writer at Assignment Help. A lot of the time when we talk about readability we are talking about the difference between Latinate and Germanic words. Using Latinate words can make your writing piece sound academic or clinical, so unless that is your goal, try to minimize the amount you use. An example is the Latinate word consume versus the Germanic word eat. The latter is a good deal more approachable and sounds like something you would commonly hear, while the former sounds like something out of a research paper.

Use a partner

It really helps to get a fresh pair of eyes when editing. Have a friend look over your work; it is guaranteed they will spot things you have missed. You want your writing to be easily readable without the reasons and explanations you have in your head. You won’t be there to explain your reasoning to the reader, so you want to have someone else read your work to find these sections that need explaining, and rewrite them with better clarity.

Proofreading and editing matter

Here are some resources to help you with your editing process:

#1) State Of Writing & Grammar Checker: Use these helpful guides to ensure your grammar is polished. They take a lot of the stress and work out of self-editing.

#2) Via Writing & StudyDemic: These are useful writing guides that will help take some of the stress out of your work.

#3) PaperFellows & OXEssays: Nobody enjoys proofreading. Use these handy proofreading tools to self-edit your work, suggested by Huffington Post.

#4) Cite It In: Use these helpful resource to make sure you are using citations correctly.

#5) Academized & UKWritings: You can turn to these online writing communities for help and advice with your writing projects.

#6) My Writing Way & Academadvisor: These are interesting and informative writing blogs where you can learn more about your craft.

Go easy on yourself

Self-editing will require that you focus on your deficits and short-comings, but don’t let it stress you out. Just try to see this process as a way to improve your craft and remember to keep in mind all the positive things you did with the piece. Even the best writers make mistakes, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Remember to watch out for bad habits you have accumulated, aim for clarity and readability, and use an editing partner. Follow these techniques to successfully self-edit while minimizing stress.

About Grace Carter

Grace Carter is a business writer at Resume Writing Service, there she edits CVs and cover letters. Also, Grace is a proofreader at Revieweal, website that reviews online writing services.