Inside Scoop Live!

”We Need to Talk” by Suzanne Seifert Groves

Suzanne Seifert Groves parlayed her B.A. in English from The University of Texas at Austin into a storied 35-year career in organizational communications, public relations, and marketing. She has served in leadership roles with several large organizations spanning multiple industries including higher education, healthcare, technology and travel and tourism. Her personal affinity for storytelling enabled her to help the executives and organizations she supported make valuable connections with their audiences. With just enough ADD to be dangerous, Groves is known for taking disparate ideas and weaving them into new creative or strategic concepts that have yet to be tried. Over the course of her career, she and the teams she has led have accrued more than 360 regional, national and international awards for communications, marketing and creative excellence from several prestigious programs including NYX MarCom, MarCom, Muse, Hermes, The Conference Board, PR Daily Content Marketing and more.
In 2020, Groves was named a "Top Woman in Communications," one of only nine women to be recognized in the Visionary category, by Ragan Communications/PR Daily in the inaugural year of the award. In 2014, she was named one of 24 "Great Women of Texas" by the Fort Worth Business Press. In addition to her professional career, she has served on numerous advisory boards including the Arlington Public Library, Leadership Arlington, Susan G. Komen of Greater Fort Worth, Alzheimer’s Association of North Central Texas, and as a member of the Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives Inc. Festival and Events Committee. In 2013, she earned her M.A. in History from The University of Texas at Arlington while working full time, and was named a University Scholar (a distinction only given to the top 1% of undergraduate and graduate students). Why history? Groves will tell you the discipline is a true study in leadership, which continued to inform her career as a communications strategist.
An admitted research junkie, Groves spends her time working on family genealogy for herself and for friends (when she’s not writing or editing). With their two children grown, successful, and likely not boomeranging home, she and her husband travel as frequently as possible, though it means leaving behind their two feisty German Shepherd Dogs and their very bossy cat. Of all her excursions, Groves will tell you one of her favorite memories is being dubbed “The Emu Whisperer” while on her honeymoon in Sonoma.
Learn more about Suzanne Seifert Groves and her work at: suzannegroves.com
 
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION:
About We Need to Talk and Suzanne's inspiration for writing the book
Why do people have trouble communicating effectively?
Information is not Communication
Communicating through Social Media
The Key to Effective Communication
What's next for Suzanne Seifert Groves?
 
WE NEED TO TALK
“We need to talk.” Nobody wants to hear it, and no one should ever say it.
So stop! It’s the worst way to begin a serious conversation, especially when you need something from the other person/s – their cooperation, their agreement or commitment, or a change in behavior.
Suzanne Seifert Groves has a 35-year career in organizational communication and here, in straightforward steps, she provides the ‘difficult conversation’ framework you’ve needed your entire career, and for every personal relationship as well.
How many times have you acquiesced, alienated, or just plain pissed off your staff, your clients, your partner, your kids, or your neighbors because you didn’t frame things correctly? We’ve all done it more frequently than we’d like to admit.
Along with the practice exercises, you’re going to want to make this methodology second nature because it will change how you think and speak about issues important to you. When “taken as directed,” the four-step process will transform every important relationship in your life (with no harmful side effects).

”Still, The Sky” by Tom Pearson

Tom Pearson is an artist and poet who works in dance, theater, film, visual art, and multi-media. He is known for his original works for theater, including the long-running, off-Broadway immersive hits THEN SHE FELL and THE GRAND PARADISE and as a founder and co-artistic director of the New York City-based Third Rail Projects and Global Performance Studio. 
Heis the author of two books, THE SANDPIPER'S SPELL and STILL, THE SKY.
Learn more about Tom and his work at https://tompearsonnyc.com/ 
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION
Connecting with Poetry at an Early Age
About Still, The Sky
Featured Artwork
Using different forms of poetry
Reading and interpreting poetry
Feedback on Still, The Sky
What's next for Tom?
STILL, THE SKY - Synopsis
Still, the Sky is a speculative mythology rendered through poetry and art that combines the tales of Icarus and the Minotaur and creates for them a shared coming-of-age through a correspondence of written fragments, artifacts, ecofacts, and ephemera. Fragmented memories, relics, and confessions combine in a labyrinth of fever dreams and meditations which contemplate innocence and experience, war and peace, exile and homecoming, flight and failure, love and loss.
 
 
Photo credits:
Headshot: Tom Pearson Courtesy of the ArtistMic Shot: Tom Pearson Photo by Joshua Dutton-ReaverPapers in the air: Tom Pearson Photo by Laura Bianchi courtesy of the Bogliasco Foundation 
 
 
 

The Mindful Author by Roxanne McCarty-O’Kane

Since 2007 Roxanne McCarty-O'Kane’s unique and multi-award winning method of storytelling has changed the lives of thousands of budding authors, allowing them to bring their messages to life in nonfiction books with structure, connection to the reader and potential profit.
A prolific ghostwriter, author, workshop facilitator, writing mentor and journalist, Roxanne’s presentations are charged with powerful content and tangible tools that remove the mystery from storytelling and ignite a thought-provoking and emotion-evoking theatre within the mind of aspiring authors.
Her book, The Mindful Author, has become a powerful resource for aspiring authors around the world to craft their manuscripts with clarity and a true sense of purpose and passion. 
This knowledge, and so much more, is brought to life through Roxanne’s intimate Ignite & Write workshops and mentorship programs, offering first-time authors the opportunity to navigate their journey to authorship with ease and confidence.
 
As an MC, presenter and speaker, Roxanne’s down to earth, relatable, humorous style engages her audience, inspires their minds and moves them to begin to think laterally about their own stories and how their lived experiences and knowledge journeys can have a greater impact on the world around them.
Learn more about Roxanne McCarty-O'Kane at http://www.roxannewriter.com/
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION
About Roxanne McCarty-O'Kane
About The Mindful Author
Transformation through Authorship and the Phoenix
Using The Mindful Author as a resource
Ghostwriting
The next books in the Ignite & Write series
THE MINDFUL AUTHOR
The Mindful Author is the first book in the Ignite & Write trilogy designed to step you through from your first word to complete book using the Phoenix Phenomenon process.
Within these pages, you'll find your inspiration and become empowered by the strength of your story as Roxanne leads you to transform your fears, roadblocks, and self-doubt into confidence and completion.
It's time to embrace the mindset of an author.
It's time to IGNITE your passion and WRITE your book.
The world is waiting for your message.
 
CONNECT WITH ROXANNE MCCARTY-O’KANE!
WEBSITE: www.roxannewriter.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/roxannewriter/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/roxannewriter/
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75594136-the-mindful-author
 

The Final Steps by Mark M. Bello

As an attorney and civil justice advocate, author Mark M. Bello draws upon over 40 years of courtroom experience in his Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series.
A Michigan native, Mark received his B.A. in English Literature from Oakland University and his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. After working extremely high-profile legal cases, Mark wanted to give the public a front-row glimpse of what victims face when standing up for justice.
Combining his legal experience and passion for justice with a creative writing style, Mark not only brings high-quality legal services to his clients but captivating novels to his readers.
When Mark’s not writing legal and political novels, he writes and posts about fairness and justice in the civil justice system on his website, Legal Examiner and NotFakeNews. In his spare time, Mark enjoys traveling and spending time with his family. Mark and his wife, Tobye, have four children and 9 grandchildren.
Learn more about Mark and his work: https://www.markmbello.com/ 
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION:
Catching up with Mark Bello
About The Final Steps
Branching Out - Writing in new genres and developing new characters.
Reading his work as a reader
What’s next for Mark?
The Final Steps
Summary: Who murdered a popular law professor on a northern Michigan college campus?Judge Rosaline Maxwell is living the good life. Retired from the circuit court bench, she now lives in the home of her dreams, lakefront in scenic Harbor Springs, Michigan. She’s written a fascinating new book and is invited to speak at a local college. But her idyllic existence is rudely interrupted by a call from her best friend, Tyler Guthrie, the college president.A popular law professor has taken his final steps—he is found dead at the bottom of a popular outdoor staircase. The police suspect foul play. There are no witnesses, but key pieces of evidence make Tyler the number one suspect. After his arrest, Rosaline doubts her friend’s innocence but still jumps into the fray, abandoning the law, antagonizing local police, becoming an amateur sleuth with one goal and one goal only: To prove, conclusively, that Tyler Guthrie is innocent of this brutal crime.Along the way, Rosaline receives anonymous death threats, warning her to stay away from the investigation, but the former judge will not be deterred from her quest for the truth. There is no shortage of interesting and quirky suspects as attorney/award-winning author Mark M. Bello keeps you guessing ‘whodunnit’ until the very end.
CONNECT WITH MARK BELLO!
Website: https://www.markmbello.comFacebook: @markmbellobooksTwitter: @markmbelloInstagram: @markmbellobooks
PODCASTS MENTIONED IN THIS INTERVIEW:
Links:
Inside Scoop Podcast – You Have the Right to Remain Silent
Justice Counts Podcast – Pushing Back Against Book Bans

Like Sapphire Blue by Marisa Billions

Marisa Billions is a high school English teacher in Southern California. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Criminology. She is the author of the fiction novels, This Too Shall Pass, Like Sapphire Blue, and Into the Blue Again and is supposed to be working on her upcoming fourth novel. She lives in Southern California with her wife, Stephanie and son Alexander and two Dogs, Max and Bonnie.
Learn more about Marisa and her work at https://authormarisabillions.com/
 
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION:
Catching up with Marisa Billions
Literary Awards and about Like Sapphire Blue
Writing the characters with authenticity and being fearless
Sapphic Novels and LGBTQIA+ Literature 
Growing as a reader and a writer
What's next for Marisa?
 
LIKE SAPPHIRE BLUE
Synopsis:
“Your eyes are amazing. I’ve never seen a blue like that.”Emma Landry is tough, independent, beautiful, and smart. Being an outcast unable to identify with her classmates, she was willing to do whatever it takes to climb her way out of poverty.“What color would you say they are?”Like Sapphire BlueHaving never known a mother’s love, her father “Bear”, raised her on the wrong side of the tracks in a wealthy town.When success beckons, the woman she’s been in love with is, finally, within her grasp. Life is now worth living and loving. That is, until a dark family secret is revealed. A secret tied into the very fabric of who she is, and what she spent a lifetime working to overcome.Faced with a foundation shattering treachery, Emma finds herself at the crossroads. Can she overcome a destiny stronger than death, destitution, and murder, to prove she is more than just her father’s daughter? Or will this new knowledge lead her to destroy the world she’s spent a lifetime building?
 
CONNECT WITH MARISA BILLIONS!
Website: https://authormarisabillions.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authormarisabillions
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormarisabillions/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMarisaBillions

Disrobed by Syl Tang

Syl Tang has been a futurist for 25+ years with an eye towards world events such as natural disasters, geo-political clashes, and economic cycles.
In addition to her book Disrobed, she has written hundreds of articles on the confluence of world events and soft goods for print outlets such as the Financial Times, predicting and documenting occurrences such as the Trump election, the Apple watch and other smart wearables, lab-made diamonds, and the effects of global warming on the South Seas.
As CEO and founder of HipGuide Inc, her work has helped more than 50 companies and governments. In addition to helping them navigate the future, she is behind the launches of some of the most well-known beauty, beverage, automotive and urban development efforts, including revitalizing Detroit and product category changers such as frozen alcohol and mineral makeup.
In 1999 she created the first mobile lifestyle texting product in the market and predicted mobile couponing as it exists today. Her company HipGuide is a case study taught in universities around the world, from Dubai to Nova Scotia to Purdue, through a textbook series with McGraw-Hill.
Her book Disrobed can be found at over 1000+ libraries including Harvard, Oxford, Yale, and the New York Public Library, as well as at all major bookstores including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstone's, and Blackwell's.
Learn more about Syl Tang and her work at: https://linktr.ee/hipguide
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION:
A bit about Syl Tang
Inspiration for writing Disrobed
Clothing and Societal Issues
It's not always about clothing
What's next for Syl Tang?
 
DISROBED: How Clothing Predicts Economic Cycles, Saves Lives, and Determines the Future
AMAZON SUMMARY: We may not often think of our clothes as having a function beyond covering our naked bodies and keeping us a little safer from the elements. But to discount the enormous influence of clothing on anything from economic cycles to the future of water scarcity is to ignore the greater meaning of the garments we put on our backs. Disrobed vividly considers the role that clothing plays in everything from natural disasters to climate change to terrorism to geopolitics to agribusiness. Chapter by chapter, Tang takes the reader on an unusual journey, telling stories and asking questions that most consumers have never considered about their clothing. Why do banker’s wives sell off their clothes and how does that presage a recession? How is clothing linked to ethanol and starvation on the African continent? Could RFID in clothing save the lives of millions of people in earthquakes around the world?
READ OUR REVIEW OF DISROBED!

A Whisper in the Shadows - by Scott MacFadyen

Scott Macfadyen is a Canadian author who loves to spend his time with his wife Tabitha and his dog Carly traveling or off grid where he can work on his writing. Scott spent over 20 years as a chef in restaurants, Pubs and resorts but had always had an interest in writing stories ever since elementary school. In his younger years he was known to write many stories and shared them with his school mates. Scott had a true passion for the escapism of story telling and over the years he had come up with the idea of his first published novella, A Whisper In the Shadows. Scott continues to write and looks forward to bringing you new stories and adventures in the future.
 
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION
Scott's Writing Journey
Writing a novella
A strong female lead and character motivation
On reading and Stephen King
His personal writing escape
Advice for aspiring author
What's next for Scott?
A WHISPER IN THE SHADOWS
"Layla is a devoted mother and wife, but when someone from her past is gunned down and left for dead, she returns to her previous life that her family knows nothing about.Now Layla must keep her secret safe from her family, and find the people who shot the man who rescued her from living on the streets and who turned her into a professional hitwoman.Layla races against time while navigating twists and turns before her dark past catches up to her and her family becomes a target."
 
CONNECT WITH SCOTT MACFADYEN!
Website: https://scottmacbooks.com/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scottymacwrites
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scott.macfadyen.author
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Scott.macfadyen_author/
 

”Slade” A Conversation with Author Robb Grindstaff

In addition to a career as a newspaper editor, publisher, and manager, Robb Grindstaff has written fiction most of his life. The newspaper biz has taken him and his family from Phoenix, Arizona, to small towns in North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin, from seven years in Washington, D.C., to five years in Asia. Born and raised a small-town kid, he’s as comfortable in Tokyo or Tuna, Texas.
The variety of places he’s lived and visited serve as settings for the characters who invade his head.
His novels are probably best classified as contemporary southern lit, and he’s had more than twenty short stories published in a wide array of genres. His articles on the craft of fiction writing have appeared in various writer magazines and websites, and one of his seminars was presented at the Sydney (Australia) Writers Festival. He also has taught writing courses for the Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of Australia, and the Novel-in-Progress writers retreat.
Robb retired from the newspaper business in the summer of 2020 to write and edit fiction full time. He and his wife relocated to the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.
Robb also edits fiction and non-fiction books for authors from around the world. It helps that he’s fluent in five languages: US English, UK English, Canadian English, and Australian English, plus his native language, Texan.
Robb Grindstaff’s books are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, and many other online retailers. They are also available in paperback, e-book, and audiobook.
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION
Robb's writing journey
All about Slade
Writing a story using interviews
The most surprising thing he discovered while writing Slade
Being a fulltime writer, fiction editor and working with other authors
What's next for Robb Grindstaff?
SLADE
Synopsis:
A car crash thirty years earlier left Slade Bennington severely disabled but with a new outlook on life. His book about overcoming trauma becomes a bestseller and a box office hit movie. Slade strikes up an unusual friendship with Schuyler, the six-foot-tall teenage actress who portrays his sister in the movie. She encourages him to continue writing, and his pithy musings about life spur a nationwide following of devotees who study his books like Holy Scriptures.
Slade becomes a counselor to the celebrity in-crowd—the Shaman to the Stars. While thousands adore Slade, others call him a Svengali or Rasputin-like character who controls and manipulates his clients.
One disillusioned fan spends years plotting revenge.
 
CONNECT WITH ROBB GRINDSTAFF!
Robb’s website (Discover Robb’s books and learn about his editing services)
Robb’s Amazon page
A Writer’s Block (Robb’s Substack with tips and discussions on writing and editing)
Robb’s books on Evolved Publishing
Robb on Facebook
Robb on Twitter occasionally
Email: robb(at)robbgrindstaff(dot)com.