Women's National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter

WNBA-SF Chapter

  • Home
  • About
    • WNBA SF Chapter Emphasizes Diversity in Bylaws
      • San Francisco Chapter Bylaws
    • Women’s National Book Association
    • WNBA Award 2023 Interview
  • Join or Renew
  • Benefits of Membership
    • WNBA SF Chapter Board Members
  • 2025 Calendar
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Archives for Admin

Featured Member Interview – Debra Eckerling

By Admin

Goal-strategist, Debra Eckerling, joins us today, sharing her experiences with helping people achieve their goals, her thoughts on writing, and news about her new book, 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting.

You’ve been coaching people for many years now. Did you, when you were younger, imagine that you would be working in the field? 

(DE): I always believed that whatever I did in life, I wanted to have an impact. 

It amuses me that I ended up in the world of nonfiction: I write business/inspirational books, host podcasts, and offer workshops and consulting for individuals, teams, and organizations on goal-setting simplified, networking, and book proposal development. 

Growing up, I was very into creative writing. I even took a screenwriting class when I still lived in the Chicago suburbs. I have also done NaNoWriMo – National Novel-Writing Month – a few times. 

I got my freelance writing break less than a week after I wrote that first screenplay. Nonfiction/interviews/slice-of-life writing just came naturally to me, so I went with it. I ended up in the right place.  

What is something unexpected you learned as you began to coach people? 

(DE): More than anything people need cheerleaders – a community of supporters. I actually learned this when I began running writing groups, focused on setting and achieving goals. People would come in and be like, “No one in my family understands my desire to be a writer. You get me.” Can you imagine not getting encouragement to pursue what you are passionate about?

My business background is communications and project management. As I led these groups, people would come up to me and say, “You’re good at this, can you help me write my book. I have been trying to get it done for years.”  We did it in three months. Or “You’re good at this, will you speak at my event?” That’s how my career evolved from creating this group that I loved to developing a system to help people set the foundation for their goals.

A little encouragement – along with practical advice – can go a long way! 

Sometimes all people need is a little encouragement and support, someone who tells them that if they focus and set aside time to work on the things they love, they can do it!

What is one common question you get during your sessions and what is your answer? 

(DE): A very common question is: “How do I find the time to work toward my goals?” It’s more about prioritizing your goals and gifting yourself the time. This is especially important with writing projects, where there is usually not an immediate benefit. 

The whole point is to set goals that set you up for success. 

Look at your schedule, find pockets of time where you are available, and put those in as appointments in your calendar. One week you may have an hour total goal-time, another week you may have three. Little bits of time add up. 

Treat those appointments with yourself with the same respect as you would a meeting with someone else. Now, if something comes up and you have to move an appointment, that’s fine. Just don’t delete them. After goal-time, make a note about what you accomplished. That way, when you feel things are taking forever, you have a reminder of your progress to keep you motivated and moving forward.

You also write in the Jewish Journal and run a podcast on cooking in your spare time. What is one of your favorite topics that you’ve written about? 

(DE): I am a former non-cook, so the fact that I am a food writer and podcaster amuses me. I have met some amazing chefs, but I also love when I get to interview non-chefs on my food podcast, “Taste Buds with Deb.” I have interviewed authors, actors, executives, philanthropists, and community leaders. It’s a lot of fun! And many of these awesome people – chefs and others – ended up also being interviewed for 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting.

In your About Me section on your website, it mentions that you initially were an event planner at Barnes and Noble, before you shifted more into coaching and helping people with goal planning. Your most recent book event was also at another Barnes and Noble. How does it feel to have your career circle back to the same place where it started?

(DE): It’s really cool to have gone from arranging events for other people to being the featured author. It’s a beautiful, satisfying callback.

Whereas back in the day, I definitely imagined my own book signings, I probably thought it would be for novel-writing, rather than non-fiction. Things do work out the way they are supposed to. 

I was interviewed the other day and one of the co-hosts remarked that, even though I talk about goals a lot, I am still very enthusiastic. I say, when you love what you do, it shows. And, conversely, when you do not love what you do, it really shows. Why not love what you do?

Can you tell us a little more about your new book?

(DE): The secret to success is there is no one secret. For 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting, I interviewed achievers in business, tech, food, entertainment, and creative realms, including WNBASF president Brenda Knight, to get their best tip, along with an example and/or anecdote. The result: a menu of inspiration and advice designed to help busy professionals create the life they desire.

While the book can be read straight through, it’s organized so people can go to a specific section and get help/direction, whether it’s focus, well-being, action, networking, communication, productivity, or leadership and teamwork. They can also read through the contents, find a “secret” that resonates with them, and try it out. 

The idea is to try out these secrets, see how they fit into your life, and do more of the things that help you achieve your goals. 

What is the most unexpected response you have had to your book?

(DE): I think it came from me. As I wrote the book – I did 60 interviews, maybe 10 via email, the rest via Zoom – I pieced it together by section. I then wrote the intro, section openers, appendices, etc. The first time I read it cover to cover is when I received the galley for my review. I was surprised and delighted at how well everything flowed together. 

I have gotten that response from others, as well. This review says it all: 

“While I totally think 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting and Goal-Getting is a book that can be picked up and put down, I couldn’t put it down! I kept wanting to know one more nugget, one more idea! The fascinating thing about Deb Eckerling’s new book is that not only is it a guidebook that provides concrete, actionable steps for achieving one’s goals, but it also provides these actionable steps from a diverse set of accomplished individuals. And it is in this diversity of talent that you have an opportunity to find what clicks for you! Deb’s ability to bring together this wide variety of thought leaders across so many different disciplines makes for a truly informative and engaging read.”

—Beth Ricanati, MD, award-winning author of Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs

I am very proud and blessed to be able to bring so many awesome people together – Did I mention they are all 1st degree connections? people I know or intros from friends? – and share their advice with those who need a helping hand to create the life/business/career they want.  

Learn more at 52SecretsBook.com and learn more about me at TheDEBMethod.com/bookswithdeb!

Debra Eckerling is a goal strategist speaker, corporate consultant, and workshop leader who works tirelessly to help people achieve their goals. She has spoken on TEDx, VON3, DWEN, Innovation Women, Engaging Virtual Meetings Conference, and more, and is the host of #GoalChat, #GoalChatLive show, and The DEB Show podcast. 

Featured Member Interview – Clare Simons

By Admin

Clare Simons was the press person and gatekeeper to the stories of the terminally ill patient-plaintiffs defending Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act at the U.S. Supreme Court, and worked for passage of assisted dying laws in several states. She is a member of PEN International, the Women’s National Book Association and a former cohort at the Pinewood Table in Portland, Oregon and the Ocean Beach Writers Collective in San Diego.

What led you to becoming a writer?

(CS): My erudite English mother who read poetry to me at bedtime and my ex-boxer Slovak dad whose talent as a street-smart raconteur won him a trophy for Throwing the Bull, taught me to love the musicality of language and a rockin’ good story. I learned early the power of a library card that made me a citizen of the civilized world — for which I will always be grateful.

In my twenties, I studied method acting and sense memory with a famous teacher in Manhattan and learned scene structure reading plays by Chekov, Ibsen, O’Neil and Tennessee Williams. Becoming immersed in the emotions of the words and the silences that opened between them, made the drama come alive. Short stories by Flannery O’Connor, Dorothy Parker, Truman Capote, and Raymond Carver revealed the craft behind the work. Like Emily Dickenson, I love to tell a story…but tell it slant.

A lot of your writing centers around personal events from your life. How do you choose which topics to write about?

(CS): I think in pictures and feel sounds. Stories reveal themselves and lead me down roads with detours, potholes, dead ends and make me wish I didn’t care about following them to the end. On good days, my best lyric writing has color, music, and style and emerges fully formed like the glorious birth of Aphrodite. Most writing days, I’m a dog circling its bed, marking territory and trying to align my paws with the magnetic field of the earth.

Do you have a favorite work that you’ve written?

(CS): My first published story, The Greatest, won a writing competition and was included in the anthology An Ear to the Ground: Presenting Writers from 2 Coasts by Cune Press. I mailed a copy of the book to Muhummad Ali and requested an autograph. His wife read my braided essay about heroes and boxing and liked that it was written by a woman. She asked permission to post it on Ali’s website, where it appeared along with works by Joyce Carol Oats and Norman Mailer. I’d hit the bigtime — or so I thought. Thirty-years later this early work shows, I already had a “voice” on the page and was beginning to find my footing as a creative nonfiction author.

Can you tell me more about your memoir?

(CS): To Be Here Is Immense, my 80,000 word hybrid memoir is a big sexy epic, a heroine’s journey into the netherworld and a coming-out-of-the-tomb opus. I never knew how much love was available to me until the love of my life died, and another great love, my guru, Mata Amritanandamayi, Amma the hugging saint, called to say she was praying for my mental strength. The question of how to live another day began the retracing of my spiritual path — exploring everything I thought was true. A lifetime of reading and rituals went up in smoke, along with my husband’s body and burnt in the fire of transformation. What I found amazed me.

Were there any obstacles you had while writing your memoir?

(CS): If I’d known creating this book was going to be so hard, I would have taken up knitting. Early drafts went through coaches and critique groups who suggested I begin with my childhood stories. Those drafts are in a file box in my storage area, along with receipts for chiropractic adjustments, nutritional supplements, and acupuncture. The manuscript I am submitting to agents and publishers never would have come into being without my patient readers and friends who endured rants and muddled drafts and the unflinching support of my editor, the muse and poet Judyth Hill.

Lastly, what is something you have learned about yourself when working on the memoir?

(CS): Anyone who has been humbled by the death of a loved one…lost and found their balance somewhere between faith and doubt, learned to live with half-truths, cries in the night, blessed blue jays, jasmine tea and reality TV, and been called brave, resilient, the mother of reinvention, knows this tenuous territory of mourning. Mine is a seekers and skeptics story, a prayer for the road; for all who limp, lurch, tip toe, stagger down the path of imperfection, may we all cross paths, someone on the road to Elsewhere. My aim is to transport readers across time zones, off the map, behind the veil, beyond the void and into the mystery. For those who tend to grapple with ineffable, marvel at the sacred and mundane, may you find a refuge in this story and remember to believe in the healing power of love.

Simons has been widely published, her essays about Amma, India’s hugging saint, appeared in Parabola and Spirituality & Health, her essay, “The Greatest,” appeared on the official Muhammad Ali website alongside works by Joyce Carol Oats and Norman Mailer. Her work has also appeared on Anti-Heroine Chic, bioStories, Change Seven, Faith Hope & Fiction, Manifest Station, Persimmon Tree, Story Sanctum and The Write Launch websites. Publication of her memoir is forthcoming.

June 5 – Free Lunch N Learn: How to Work With a Literary Agent

By Admin

How to Work With a Literary Agent

Thursday, June 5 at 12 – 1pm PDT

A FREE Virtual Event

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

Are you looking for a literary agent? Have you sent out your query only to receive a polite rejection letter wishing you well on your publishing journey?

Here’s the reason: Literary agents are overwhelmed. Some receive 1500+ queries a month. But there’s an even bigger reason as to why you are not getting the traction you want.

Agent Andy Ross will share his expertise and explain the secrets behind his decades-long successes in championing the work of his clients. He will demystify the reality behind the art of obtaining a literary agent in our current publishing landscape.

If achieving literary representation for your manuscript is your goal, let Andy guide you with his insights and advice to receive a “yes” from the agent of your dreams! Andy will share what agents respond to positively, what topics are currently popular in the market, the quickest way to get agents to stop in their tracks, the one thing to absolutely not do if you are serious about getting a literary agent and much more.

We hope to see you there!

Meet the Agent:

Andy Ross opened his literary agency in January 2008. Before that, he was the owner for 30 years of the legendary Cody’s Books in Berkeley. The agency represents books in a wide range of subjects including narrative non-fiction, science, journalism, history, religion,  children’s books, young adult, middle grade, literary and commercial fiction, and cooking. However, he is eager to represent projects in most genres as long as the subject or its treatment is smart, original, and will appeal to a wide readership. In non-fiction, he looks for writing with a strong voice and robust narrative arc by authors with the authority to write about their subject. For literary, commercial, and children’s fiction, he has only one requirement– simple, but ineffable–that the writing reveals the terrain of that vast and unexplored country, the human heart.

 

Sorry. This form is no longer available.

Featured Member Interview – Debbie Hartung

By Admin

Debbie Hartung is a San Francisco, California writer and artist who enjoys traveling and live music.

What began as your motivation to write your memoir, The Factory of Maladies: Seven Days on a San Francisco Psych Ward?

(DH): The Factory of Maladies began as a stream-of-consciousness journal that I began writing after I was released from the psychiatric ward. I was experiencing intense PTSD and it was only when I began to experience relief from my symptoms; initially, my memoir was written simply for my own healing. I spent seven years journaling; in the beginning, the more I wrote, the greater the PTSD flashbacks became, due to the triggering nature of my experience. Channeling this trauma into my journal proved to be one of the greatest assets of my writing style and eventually, it also became the ultimate catharsis.

Awareness about one’s mental health and how one can help themselves has been more publicly discussed in the past decade, though it is still a work in progress. In what ways do you think that mental illness treatment still needs to be improved?

(DH): I believe that there have been many improvements in the overall treatment of mental illness, yet there are a  myriad of ways in which our current public funded treatment for mental illness can be improved. For example, I feel that adequate funding for psychiatric wards, increased staff (many of the staff I encountered during my institutionalization were exhausted and clearly overworked), and appropriate training to deal with patients who cannot always advocate for themselves. For example, a few years prior to my institutionalization, I was admitted to the same hospital for an issue with my ovaries. While there, I was given heated blankets, fluffy pillows, clean hospital gowns, round-the-clock care from knowledgeable and compassionate staff, and morphine for my intense physical pain. This was in stark contrast to my tenure of the psych ward, where I slept on a dirty bed with threadbare blankets and a pancake-thin pillow in a freezing room. I wore the same pair of scrubs for days on end and I received the bare minimum of care. I truly believe that patients suffering from a mental illness deserve to be treated with the same amount of compassion, care, dignity, and kindness as any other medical condition.

What is something you learned about yourself as you were writing this memoir?

(DH): I learned that although sharing my story can be scary and uncomfortable, being vulnerable is actually a form of strength.

Were there any obstacles you had while writing this? 

(DH): The most challenging aspect of writing The Factory of Maladies was on an emotional level, as I confronted the memoires that haunted me on a daily basis.

Out of this experience, what is something you hope others take away from your story?

(DH): The message that I hope for my readers is: a sense of hope. Although my story may seem bleak in the beginning, it is also relatable on many levels. Most people have struggled with mental health challenges to varying degrees and it is easy to feel trapped in a downward spiral. However, the fact that I am alive and that I was able to write a memoir while recovering from a brain injury sustained during my suicide attempt, means that I have overcome adversity – and so can the reader.

And lastly, do you have any other writing projects you have planned for the future?

(DH): I am currently working on a novel and a book of short stories that I hope to share with the world soon.

The Factory of Maladies is her literary debut, chronicling her healing crisis on a psychiatric ward.

Featured Member Interview – Jonica Tramposch

By Admin

Jonica Tramposch is originally from the Pacific Northwest and is a nomad by nature, although she has been based in Orlando for several years at this point (which boggles her mind). 

As someone who loves to travel, is this reflected in your writing projects?

(JT): Very much so. Location and nature are always characters for me. Traits from people and cultures around the world also weave in. I don’t think of it as write what you know as much as write what you love. I love the markers within different cultures and have been an immigrant myself, where visas and embassies are part of normal conversation. I’m polishing a book now that takes place on four continents and has characters from 9 countries.

What inspires you to write?

(JT): Life. I think eternity would be overkill, but I could easily keep myself entertained for a few hundred years.

What have you written about before? Do you have a favorite project?

(JT): For a year I ran and wrote an online monthly subscription service. Those stories focused on little moments that happen in daily life. Feelings of connectedness are real treasures, and it can be as simple as an inside joke. A whole story may build up to that priceless interchange. 

As for a favorite project, I told a local, true story onstage for a Story District project in Washington, DC, which was then turned into a short film. To say that people putting energy and love into a story I wrote was an honor is a drastic understatement. Then seeing myself being interpreted as a character on screen, responding to my unique name, was just short of an identity crisis. Catalog that under things you don’t see coming.

What is your favorite genre(s) to read and write in?

(JT): I studied literature in college, until I realized that I was being trained to critique instead of create. I also got sick of reading books by men who had weak female characters with no more depth than the shape of their breasts. When I complained about this, my male classmates told me I was wrong. I wasn’t. I stopped reading fiction and became a scientist instead. Now, far more female writers are published in a range of genres. I identify with many of their characters. They feel authentic and truthful, told from a range of perspectives. I love that.

How have your experiences influenced you as a writer?

(JT): “You’re not normal.” That’s been said to me enough times for me to at least play with the idea that I experience life in ways many others don’t. Through writing and photography, my goal is to share what I experience. Life is a collection of possibilities, and stories are the chronicles of what characters decide to go after.

Jonica has bachelor’s degrees from the University of Washington in Comparative History of Ideas and Astronomy/Physics, and master’s degrees from Paul Sabatier III in Toulouse, France and the Lulea Institute of Technology in Kiruna, Sweden. Her day job is in the space industry. She used to be a personal trainer. Hobbies include languages, flamenco, surfing, hiking, photography, singing (she has a karaoke stage name), and yoga. Honestly, just about everything interests her.

May 22 – Free Lunch N Learn: How to Write a Query Letter with Michael Larsen

By Admin

How to Write a Query Letter with Michael Larsen

Thursday, May 22 at 12 – 1pm PDT

A FREE Virtual Event

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

 

Your query letter can be an essential step in writing your book and building your career. Your letter gives you the chance to distill your goals as a writer. One reason why now is the best time to be a writer is that you have more options for publishing your book than ever. Even if you self-publish, writing a query letter will enable you to plan your success.

In this Lunch N Learn, Mike Larsen will share how to convince agents and editors to see your work. Also included in this session is early access to “Setting Your Goals”–a 1250-word excerpt from Mike’s book in progress—Writing Success Guaranteed: 9 Superpowers for Making a Living and Changing the World. You and Mike will co-create this lunch with a fun, interactive discussion by volunteering to discuss your goals and how you will write about them in your letter.

 

Meet the Presenter:

Michael LarsenMike Larsen is an author coach who loves helping writers reach their goals by adding value to their readers’ lives. Mike and his late wife Elizabeth Pomada worked in publishing in New York before moving to San Francisco in 1970 and starting Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents in 1972. They were charter members of the Association of Authors Representatives, and sold hundreds of books to more than 100 publishers and imprints, before they stopped seeking new clients.

The agency’s bestsellers include A World Full of Strangers by Cynthia Freeman; The Complete Guide to Disco Dancing by Karen Lustgarten; and Get Anyone to Do Anything and Never Be Lied to Again by David Lieberman. After Cherie Carter-Scott appeared on Oprah, If Life is a Game, These Are the Rules shot to the top of the New York Times list. The book has sold 5 million copies and was published in more than forty countries. First published in 1980, Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives, an international bestseller, continues to sell.

Mike’s books include How to Write a Book Proposal, 5th Edition, by Jody Rein with Michael Larsen (previous editions by Mike sold more than 100,000 copies); How to Get a Literary Agent, now in its third edition; and Guerrilla Marketing for Writers: 100 Weapons for Selling Your Work, coauthored with Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, and David Hancock, now in its second edition. Mike’s next book, Writing Success Guaranteed: 9 Superpowers for Making a Living and Changing the World, is in progress.

 

Sorry. This form is no longer available.

Featured Member Interview – Scott J. Sallinger

By Admin

As a dedicated writer, Scott Sallinger has a deep interest in personal growth and human behavior. He studied psychology in college and completed a transformative three-year program at MTT, where he coached students in personal development. He has shared his insights in his book, numerous articles, and a series of how-to videos focused on creating a home with purpose and meaning.

What led you to becoming a writer?

(SJS): Writing has always been a way for me to process my own experiences and understand the world around me. My journey started with my hands—building, designing, and creating—but over time, I realized that every space I worked on was also a reflection of the person living in it. In helping my clients shape their home environment, I started to see parallels in my own life. The way we hold onto things, the way our environment either supports or hinders us, it all became deeply personal. Writing is not just about sharing what I learn; it is about documenting my evolution and the insights I gained by seeing my reflection in others.

How do you explore human behavior through your writing?

(SJS): I explore human behavior the same way I explore spaces, by looking at what’s beneath the surface. Our homes are more than walls and furniture; they are mirrors of our inner world. Through my writing, I examine the ways we interact with our environment and how those choices reveal our fears, aspirations, and beliefs. As I work with clients, I see patterns in how they struggle to let go, how they create comfort zones that keep them stuck, and how small changes can lead to big transformations. In understanding them, I understood myself better, and my writing became a way to share these discoveries.

What is a common question you get about creating a meaningful home space, and what is your answer?

(SJS): A common question I get is, “What should I start on first?” I love this question because it opens the door to real change. My answer: start with countertops, corners, and closets—clear space to create space! Are you holding onto things from the past that no longer serve you? Avoiding those piles of papers on your countertop? Keeping clothes and shoes you haven’t worn in years? Corners often become clutter traps, collecting dust and distractions. Letting go isn’t just about tidying up—it’s about making room for what truly matters. Start by clearing and organizing these key areas, and you’ll immediately feel a shift in your space and mindset.

What is something unexpected you learned while helping people design their homes?

(SJS): One of the most unexpected lessons I’ve learned is that home design is not really about the home—it’s about the person. I used to think my job was about creating functional, beautiful spaces, but I quickly realized I was helping people work through their own stories, just as I was working through mine. Some clients held onto furniture because it represented a version of themselves they weren’t ready to let go of. Others struggled to create order in their space because they were in transition and unsure of their next step. I saw myself in all of them. I recognized my own attachment to the past, my own resistance to change. Helping others find clarity in their space helped me find clarity in my own life.

What topics do you usually delve into when writing?

(SJS): I write about the intersection of home design and personal growth—how our spaces mirror our emotions, our mindset, and our beliefs. But at its core, my writing is about transformation. I explore themes of letting go, reshaping our environment to support our future, and using home as a tool for self-discovery. My own journey has been one of constant reinvention, and I use my experiences, as well as those of my clients, to illustrate how we can all create spaces—and lives—that reflect who we truly are.

Where did your interest in personal growth and human behavior come from?

(SJS): It came from my own need to understand myself. I’ve always been fascinated by why people do what they do, but it wasn’t until I started working with clients that I saw my own patterns reflected back at me. I studied psychology, coached others, but the real lessons came from experience, seeing firsthand how our homes and our inner worlds are connected. I went through my own transitions, from rebuilding after financial struggles to navigating major life changes, and in each chapter, my home reflected what I was going through. That realization fueled my desire to help others make the same connection and to find home in themselves.

Today, Scott is a Home Life Consultant and owns a San Francisco-based business specializing in built-in cabinetry for both historical homes and contemporary spaces. He applies the Home Life Design process with each client to ensure every project meets their unique needs and lifestyle.

May 8 – Free Lunch N Learn: Podcasting for Authors

By Admin

Podcasting for Authors

Thursday, May 8 at 12 – 1pm PDT

A FREE Virtual Event

Unable to attend? No worries. Register anyway and receive the replay!

 

Podcasting for Authors Panel

Join WNBA-San Francisco for a fun and informative panel on podcasting. 

One of the best ways to share your voice – and spread the word about your work – is through podcasting, as a host and a guest. For this panel WNBA-SF networking ambassador Debra Eckerling, who hosts two podcasts and is frequent guest, will be joined by media strategist Stacia Crawford, Stay Ready Media; author, podcaster, and anti-caterer Chef Rossi; and rock radio Hall of Famer, playwright, and author Dayna Steele, who hosts two podcasts.

During this Lunch N Learn, you will learn about:

  • The different types of podcasts 
  • The value of hosting and guesting
  • How to find the right opportunities
  • How to present yourself as a valuable guest
  • And more!

Whether you host, guest, want to do more of both, or are podcast-curious, there’s something for you to discover! Join us and bring a friend!

Meet the Panel:

Moderator Debra Eckerling, WNBA-SF’s networking ambassador, is an award winning author and podcaster. A goal strategist and the creator of the D*E*B METHOD® for Goal-Setting Simplified, Debra  offers personal and professional planning, book proposal development. She is host of the GoalChat and Taste Buds with Deb podcasts, and author of Your Goal Guide and 52 Secrets for Goal-Setting & Goal-Getting. Note: Stacia, Dayna, Rossi – as well as WNBA-SF president Brenday Knight and events manager Kate Neff, all spill secrets in Deb’s new book. 52SecretsBook.com

Stacia Crawford is an award-winning PR and media strategist with more than 35 years of experience as a television news producer. She helps authors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders share their messages on TV, radio, and magazines so they can increase their authority, influence, and income. StayReadyMedia.com.

 

 

 

Chef Rossi is the director, owner, and executive chef of “The Raging Skillet,” a cutting-edge catering company known for breaking any and all rules. She penned the memoirs, The Raging Skillet and The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews, and has also written two full-length plays, a number of one-act comedies, and a one-woman stage adaptation of The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews. She hosts the Raging and Eating podcast. TheRagingSkillet.com.

 

 

Dayna Steele is the host of the #survivingalzheimers podcast for caregivers, friends, and families of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and a new podcast, Off Their Rockers, for women 50+ still rocking this world! She is also a rock radio Hall of Famer and the playwright and star of the award-winning play The Woman in the Mirror, based on her best-selling book Surviving Alzheimer’s with Friends, Facebook, and a really big glass of Wine. DaynaSteele.com

 

Sorry. This form is no longer available.

Lessons from Nita Sweeney

By Admin

by Nita Sweeney and Ellie Bozmarova

Nita Sweeney is a longtime meditator and published author of four books: You Should Be Writing, Depression Hates a Moving Target, Make Every Move A Meditation, and A Daily Dose of Now. Sweeney’s books are infused with her personal experiences of life, depression, running, writing, and mindfulness. 

“It felt like I had struggled and struggled and struggled to be published and be an author for almost 20 years,” Sweeney said. Her first three books were published by Mango Books and acquired by Brenda Knight. 

In a conversation with Nita, who is gregarious, introspective, and talks in stories, she revealed the relationship that sparked her mindfulness-infused writing. It started in the early 90s when she discovered Natalie Goldberg’s book, Writing Down the Bones. At the time, Sweeney was a lawyer with untreated depression. Goldberg is most known for her series of books about writing as Zen practice. 

Goldberg’s writing practice, a timed- writing exercise, helped Sweeney regain her footing in the world. It also led her to meet Goldberg in the desert of Taos, New Mexico. A fateful turn of events fueled by writing practice found Sweeney moving to Taos with her husband and working as Goldberg’s workshop assistant. She worked alongside Goldberg for nine years.

Lessons from Natalie Goldberg (and her teacher, Katagiri Roshi)

  1. Continue under all circumstances. Yes, even after the latest rejection.
  2. Don’t be tossed away. In life and in writing. Go back to the writing, go back to the sitting, the walking or running. Do what you’re going to do. And, if you find success, don’t get tossed away amid the hoopla. 
  3. Make positive effort for the good. Even if it’s just brushing your teeth. Let your intention be to do what is good. 

Nita’s Writing Routine

Each morning Monday through Friday, Sweeney and her husband attend an online zazen session hosted by One River Zen and meditate. 

After, Sweeney goes to one of her rotating workplaces. She’s renting an office now, but also enjoys writing in coffee houses, community rooms, and libraries. 

She turns her phone off. 

She puts the phone in a drawer and locks the drawer.

She puts the key to the phone drawer in a different locking drawer, and then locks both.

This is necessary, she says, because it gives her hoops to jump through to get to the phone. Distractions are dangerous for writers who can open their email and spend two hours of writing time shopping for shoes, as I’m sure none of us can relate to.

She also uses the app, Freedom, which blocks social media and any website the user wishes to block.

She tries not to look at email until the end of the day, but it’s a work in progress, she admits. 

“If I can get to the manuscript first thing in the day, that is the best,” she says. 

She uses writing practice when feeling stuck emotionally or in a project. The simple timed practice provides space for intense emotions to flow through her. It also helps her writing. “Writing practice puts me in the present moment of that time, that scene,” she says. 

Though her routine is steady, Sweeney is a binge-writer. Her ideal writing environment is 6-8 hours in a day in a hotel room. Her schedule varies if she’s writing a book or not. 

When she’s not writing, she loves running with her yellow lab, Scarlet, and spending time with her husband. She wants to get back into running marathons. 

“People think that the teacher can give them something. But the thing they’re wanting, they have to find inside themselves. The teacher is a reflection, an example, a mentor, but ultimately you have to find it in yourself,” Sweeney says.

Nita Sweeney’s Advice for WNBA’s BOOKTALK Audience

“Figure out who you are. There are things that work for someone like Natalie Goldberg that will not work for you. Or me. It’s great to try all the things. But when somebody stands on the stage and says, “Just do this,” they’re saying that because they’ve figured out techniques and tools that work for the way their brain is wired or the particular trauma they have had in their life. Sometimes students think there’s something wrong with them because they can’t “just do it”. Find some kind of a meditation practice where it’s beyond the books, the classes. Move your body. Use the three main tools: writing practice, meditation, and movement.”

Learn more about Nita Sweeney’s work and workshops at nitasweeney.com, sign up for Nita’s newsletter, and learn more about Natalie Goldberg’s writing practice.

Featured Member Interview – Karen Wang Diggs

By Admin

From cooking to helping women entrepreneurs succeed, Karen Wang Diggs explores the nature of being an Asian woman in today’s world.

As an Asian woman, how did your background play into this book being born?

(KWD): I was inspired to write this book by my aunt, who was part of the last generation of Chinese women who suffered from the terrible custom of foot-binding.

Unfortunately, she passed away when I was young, and I never had the chance to ask her about her life and to fully understand the suffering that she endured.

What did your writing process look like for this book? Is there anything you would’ve done differently?

(KWD): Because I wanted the book out by March 2025, in time for Women’s History, I had to stay focused and prioritize it.

I got the book deal from Mango Publishing in August of 2024 (with the support of Brenda Knight) and had to submit the manuscript by October in order for the editing and formatting to take place in time to get it to the printers. I would have liked to have had more time, but having said that, I am at my best when there is a deadline.

What new perspectives and messages do you hope readers gain from reading The Book of Awesome Asian Women?

(KWD): I hope readers will be well inspired by all the awesome Asian women in the book, from the past and present, and have a fresh understanding that Asian women have always been incredibly resilient, strong, and creative. I also hope that my book will help to erase the stale and offensive stereotyping of Asian women as being either docile and submissive OR dragon ladies out to beguile and dominate. 

What inspires you as a reader and writer? What brings you to write books?

(KWD): As a child, books were my refuge. As a teenager who suffered from clinical depression, books were my refuge. And as an adult who has overcome a lot of emotional trauma and stress, books are my refuge.

My home is surrounded by books, and I am constantly reading. After so many years of reading, the desire to write naturally arose, and I am humbled that I am now a published author.

Women’s history is often overlooked, though it has been brought up more recently and your book is another addition to changing that. What was your experience researching this topic?

(KWD): I was shocked and surprised to learn about many of the women I researched. While reading scholarly papers, news articles, or blogs, I felt that my own life had been deeply affected and enriched by meeting these women, from centuries ago, such as Empress Wu Zetian or Queen Himiko, to women who are superstars today, such as Awkafina and Sandra Oh.

Aside from being an author, what did your upbringing look like? You’re also a nutritionist and chef. How do you think your experiences have influenced you?

(KWD): My aunt and mother were the two most influential women in my life. Sadly, my aunt stayed behind when we immigrated to the US from Hong Kong. My mother raised six children, mostly on her own, and I genuinely marvel at her strength and resilience. The one thing about my Mom was that she was a bad cook! So, we siblings had to fend for ourselves. And that was the impetus that ignited my interest and passion for cooking and nutrition. Being a chef (which is still a male-dominated profession) opened my eyes to the systemic gender bias in the workplace, and being a nutritionist made me understand that women are usually the ones who are most concerned about feeding their families and taking care of everyone’s health. Everything is intertwined, and I feel a strong desire to be part of the positive social movement that highlights the incredible contribution that girls and women have had on behalf of all humanity.

As an awesome Asian writer, do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Keep reading and keep writing! If you want to get published, be focused and write about a topic that you feel passionate about.

 

Karen is a classically trained chef, microbiome nutritionist, author, and expert fermenter. She specializes in helping women entrepreneurs thrive through The Gut-Brain Protocol. She is also passionate about sharing delicious recipes promoting health and well-being and lives by the motto: “Food is our most intimate and profound connection with Nature.”

 

 

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Get the latest blog posts and news. Sign up here.

Join or Renew


Mailing Address
WNBA-SF Chapter
4061 E. Castro Valley Blvd.
Castro Valley, Ca
94552-4840

Topics

Contact Us

Contact Us
Click Here 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025• WNBA-SF Chapter | AskMePc-Webdesign