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About the Contributors

WILLIAM D. BUSHNELL is a professional book reviewer with more than 400 reviews published. His reviews have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, including Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Independent Publisher, Maine Times, The Sun newspapers, Civil War News, World War II, and the Maine Sunday Telegram. He also teaches a class on book reviewing at the University of Southern Maine. He lives on an island off Maine.

SALVATORE CAPUTO is a freelance writer and editor. A 21-year veteran of newspapers, he edits and copy-edits manuscripts for Five Star Publications and contributes to a number of magazines, newspapers and websites. He also co- authored The Insiders' Guide to Phoenix (Falcon Publishing) and has contributed to the MusicHound: The Essential Album Guide (Visible Ink Press) series. He lives in Tempe, Arizona, with his wife and four kids.

LARRY CARLSON has been a full-time instructor in the Department of Mass Communication at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos since 1985. He teaches broadcast courses in news writing, management and commercial/promotional writing, as well as introductory classes in advertising and public relations. He is a national member of the Radio Television News Directors Association. An award-winning educator, broadcaster and newspaper writer, Carlson has more than two decades of experience in media work. He began his career as a sportscaster for Austin's KVET/KASE Radio and served as a Texas correspondent for NBC Radio, CBS Radio and Associated Press Radio Network. He later worked as editor of two magazines and was the first Sports Information Director for the University of Texas at San Antonio. Carlson created print ads that have appeared in Newsweek and Sports Illustrated and wrote marketing copy and feature articles for the San Antonio Express-News. Carlson, a San Antonio native, lives in the Alamo City with his wife, Jodie.

ROBERT COLBERT is a content developer with AccessArizona.com, a Web portal site produced in Phoenix, Arizona, and webmaster for POWER92 radio. He graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. He has spent more than five years working in various retail companies, handling management and promotional responsibilities.

CHARLENE COSTANZO holds a B.A. in Philosophy from St. Bonaventure University and has published articles in McCall's, Ebony, New York Alive, St. Anthony Messenger, Liguorian and Marriage Encounter. As a freelance writer, Charlene also wrote reports and advertising materials for various businesses. She also worked as press secretary for three successful re-elections campaigns for a U.S.congressman. From 1984-1989 she co-owned a gift store, Tisket a Tasket. During that time she received The New Careerist Award from the Business Professional Women's Association. In her chapter, Charlene shares from her marketing experience with Tisket a Tasket as well as from promoting her book, The Twelve Gifts of Birth, which she self-published after 20 rejections from established publishers. Within its first year, the book sold over 250,000 copies and won several awards, including Best Book from Arizona Book Publishing Association. Charlene believes in following your heart and encourages others to do the same. At the time of publication on this book, she and her husband are living in a motor home and traveling throughout the U.S. They are not only promoting The Twelve Gifts of Birth but are bringing its inspirational message to children in schools and shelters throughout the country.

LARRY FOX is founder and president of fox.content, inc., an Internet marketing service for publishers. He has been in the book business for 30 years, with stints in retail and at Prentice Hall, Ziff-Davis Press, and John Wiley & Sons. Larry has been involved in computers since 1980, when he bought a Sinclair ZX-80. He has advanced degrees in English, creative writing, and anthropology. These days when he is not glued to the screen, he enjoys spending time with his kids, bird watching, and teaching his African Grey Parrot the poems of Gary Snyder.

KERRY LEPAGE, ABC, is the owner of Momentum Marketing. She has spent the past five years as an independent consultant specializing in marketing plans, project management and business development. Before she formed her own company, Kerry's marketing career included eleven years of experience in both public and private sectors for small and large companies, and on both the agency and client side of the marketing relationship. Kerry earned her BA in Communications from ASU and her Masters in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. She is actively involved with the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the Arizona Production Association, and served on the board of Women in Communications, Inc. (WICI) for eight years. Kerry's work has earned her several awards, including a national Clarion Award from WICI and a Silver Quill from IABC. She has also earned professional accreditation from IABC, a designation given to applicants who pass an extensive exam and portfolio review of their communication- management experience.

A native of Brisbane, Australia, ALF NUCIFORA graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He furthered his formal education in the United States, attending the Harvard Business School, where he earned his MBA and graduated with honors. Alf began working for two Fortune 500 companies. He then made the move to the advertising business and later advanced into agency management. Currently, he serves as principal of a marketing-consulting firm. His column, Shoestring Marketing, is syndicated in more than forty business publications throughout the United States. In addition, he presents more than 100 speeches and seminars a year to Fortune 500 companies, organizations, and associations across the country and abroad. His new book, The Best of Shoestring Marketing, is devoted to marketing practice for small- to medium-sized businesses.

SUZI PROKELL began her career working for one of the top public relations and marketing firms in the country. Within six months, she began handling media relations for international health and fitness guru Susan Powter. Ms. Prokell's publicity skills helped launch "The Susan Powter Show" show in an unprecedented 200-plus markets nationwide. After launching the show, Ms. Prokell resigned from her position to open Prokell Publicity, Inc. (www.prokell.com). Based in the Dallas area, she has conducted more than 100 national media tours, placing clients everywhere from "Today," "CBS This Morning" and "Larry King Live" to USA Today, Entrepreneur, The Washington Post and even the cover of Time. Ms. Prokell holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Texas A&M University and has written articles for Today's Dallas Woman, Study Breaks, and Home Office Computing. Additionally, Ms. Prokell has appeared in The Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Dallas Morning News, Attache, Income Opportunities, Redbook, Parents, Woman's Day, USA Today, and on Fox Television.

JOE SABAH is the author and creator of the system How to Get On Radio Talk Shows All Across America Without Leaving Your Home or Office, a book, audio seminar, and database of 850 shows that interview guests by telephone.

CAROL STARR of Starr Gift Baskets has been working in the gift-basket field for ten years. After eight years in print, her book, The How Tos of Gift Baskets (published by Green Falls Investment Corporation), continues to be a major resource for people seeking to start their own gift-basket businesses, having sold about 40,000 copies. She is currently at work on another book and on developing new gift items.

JOAN STEWART is a media-relations speaker, trainer and consultant. She publishes The Publicity Hound, a bimonthly subscription newsletter featuring tips, tricks and tools for free (or really cheap) publicity. She teaches companies, non-profit organizations and government agencies about how to use the media to self-promote and position themselves as experts. Stewart has 22 years of experience in the newspaper business as a reporter and editor. Most recently, she was editor of The Business Journal in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For more publicity tips, visit her website at www.publicityhound.com.

Since 1987, VICKIE SULLIVAN, founder and president of Sullivan Speaker Services Inc. has created six-figure revenue streams for her clients using public/professional speaking as a marketing tool. As an agent and market strategist, Vickie has worked with hundreds of speakers to penetrate a wide variety of markets ranging from church groups to international meetings. Vickie is the author of two audiotape series, "Get Those Bookings" and "Springboard Marketing." She speaks nationally on using public speaking as a marketing tool and on speaking industry trends. Her work has been featured in The Arizona Republic and Home Office Computing. More information about the speaking industry and speaking opportunities can be found at www.sullivanspeaker.com.

BOBBIE THOMAS is the host and executive producer of "Bobbie Thomas Total Talk," a news and public affairs program on WELE (AM 1380) in Ormond Beach, Florida. She moved to the Daytona area from California in 1991, working on a number of television projects for the American Cancer Society. "Total Talk" has been on the air since 1995 and is now available around the world at www.totaltalk.net. Join her there live for questions, feedback and e-mail every weekday morning from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Eastern time.

JESS TODTFELD has produced segments for television on topics ranging from news and politics to cooking and hair care. He currently works as an Associate Producer, booking and producing celebrity segments for Fox News Channel in New York.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan, SARAH EDEN WALLACE has worked for 15 years in advertising, book publishing and journalism. After a stint as an editor at a publisher of materials for gifted children, she moved to Phoenix New Times for five years and then to The Arizona Republic, where she launched and edited that newspaper's Healthy Living section. While editing a section of Phoenix Magazine for three years, she also wrote freelance articles on health, travel, and business for a variety of regional and national magazines. A 20-year resident of Phoenix, Arizona, Wallace is currently managing editor of Gentle Path Press.

MARY WESTHEIMER has participated in every facet of publishing. During the past decade, she has shared the keys to effective writing, publishing and marketing with thousands of people, while serving as executive director of the Arizona Authors' Association, internal vice president and a founding member of the Arizona Book Publishing Association, a two-term board member of the Publishers Marketing Association, president of Via Press, a journalism and copywriting instructor, and a workshop and seminar facilitator. A former freelance writer and a contributing editor for America West Airlines Magazine for eight years, Mary has more than 350 credits in publications including Columbia Journalism Review, USA Today and Publishers Weekly. She has written, edited, critiqued, contributed to, or published more than twenty books, including 1001 Ways to Market Your Books (Open Horizons), The Lifetime Encyclopedia of Letters (Prentice-Hall), and The Writers Encyclopedia (Writer's Digest). Mary's additional background in bookstore management and sales gives her an invaluable perspective on the publishing industry. In 1994, Mary was appointed president of BookZone, one of the oldest and best-known Internet book sites and the Web's largest publisher community.

ISBN 978-1-877749-36-2
$ 19.95
Published by Five Star Publications, Inc.

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