Inside Scoop Live!

Dr. Calvin James began his creative journey when he was nineteen. He taught himself how to play guitar, started writing music, and founded a record company, Climax Records, Inc. in 2001. He released his first album, “City” in 2004. Around 2011, he took an interest in writing and gradually shifted his focus away from music to writing children’s stories. Once he finished graduate school in 2018, he decided to share all the music and stories he had written and founded Calvin James Creates in 2019. The mission statement of his company is to share children’s stories, novels, and music that promote the values of truth, kindness, friendship, love, and hope. The first two music videos released under the Calvin James Creates brand were “Hurricane” on October 16th, 2020 and “Listless Christmas” on December 4th, 2020. The first children’s book that will be released is “The Colored Water Fountain” on December 1st, 2021.

To learn more about Dr. Calvin James and his works, visit his website at https://calvinjamescreates.com/. 

Topics of Conversation

• Creating a series for children about social issues from a different perspective

THE COLORED WATER FOUNTAIN

In a world that has been remade by a great flood, humans wake to find they are immortal children with no memory of the past. Animals are caretakers of the world; growing old and wise with no knowledge of times before. And yet, some things from the world that was... remain. When Asher and Adeline discover a sign that reads, 'Colored' Water Fountain, they set out on a quest to uncover the meaning.

 CONNECT WITH DR. CALVIN JAMES!

 Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CalvinJamesCreates

 Twitter @CalJamesCreates

 YouTube Channel: Calvin James Creates

 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calvinjamescreates/

 Read the Review of The Colored Water Fountain

Marisa Billions is a high school English teacher and holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Criminology. She is the author of the fiction novel, This Too Shall Pass and is working on her upcoming second novel. Marisa lives in Southern California with her wife, Stephanie and son Alexander and two Boxer Dogs, Max and Ruby.

To learn more about Marisa Billions and her work, visit her website at: https://marisabillions.wordpress.com/

• About This Too Shall Pass

THIS TOO SHALL PASS

Cynical and sardonic Eva Brooks ponders what it would take to be satisfied in life. 

Then reality strikes and it hits hard.

CONNECT WITH MARISA BILLIONS

Website: https://marisabillions.wordpress.com/

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdPpbHj8/

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/authormarisabillions

Instagram: https://Instagram.com/authormarisabillions

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/marisabillions

David Fiensy has a passion for teaching and preaching the Bible and for thinking about and articulating theological ideas.

After graduating from Duke University with a Ph.D. in New Testament, David Fiensy taught for seven years at Kentucky Christian University. He then served a two-year tenure at The Institute for the Study of Christian origins in Germany.  Upon returning to the United States, he accepted a church pastorate for six years and then resumed teaching at Kentucky Christian University. He has participated in seven archaeological excavations and surveys and has otherwise traveled widely in the Mediterranean area and the Middle East.

Now semi-retired, David serves as a speaker and consultant for churches and colleges and is involved in several writing and research projects. David and his wife, Molly, have two daughters and three grandchildren.

To learn more about David and his works, visit his website at https://davidafiensy.com/

Topics of Conversation

• Inspiration behind The Journey

The Journey: Spiritual Growth in Galatians and Philippians

SYNOPSIS:

The purpose of life is not to prosper; it is to develop the soul (Alexander Solzhenitsyn)

The Christian life is not so much walking the line as hitting the road. It is about journeying with God through the adventures of life, climbing the mountains of joy and descending into the valleys of suffering. In this inspiring, accessible, and engaging book, Fiensy draws on his forty years as teacher and pastor to explore Paul's spirituality. He focuses on Paul's autobiographical references in his letters to the Galatians and Philippians.

The Journey teaches us that the Christian's life in the Spirit can benefit from suffering as well as joy, danger as well as peace, and rejection as well as love.

CONNECT WITH DAVID A. FIENSY

Website: https://davidafiensy.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidafiensy

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-fiensy-0614663a/

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads Author Page

Read the Reader Views Book Review of The Journey

Dr. Randy Overbeck is an award-winning educator, author and speaker. As an educator, he served children for four decades in a range of roles captured in his novels, from teacher and coach to principal and superintendent.

His thriller, Leave No Child Behind (2012) and his recent mysteries, the Amazon No. 1 Best Seller, Blood on the Chesapeake, Crimson at Cape May and Scarlet at Crystal River have earned five star reviews and garnered national awards including "Thriller of the Year--ReadersFavorite.com, "Gold Award"—Literary Titan, "Mystery of the Year"—ReadersView.com and "Crowned Heart of Excellence"—InD'Tale Magazine. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Dr. Overbeck is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers' critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Sleuthfest, Killer Nashville and the Midwest Writers Workshop.

When he's not writing or researching his next exciting novel or sharing his presentation, "Things Still Go Bump in the Night," he's spending time with his incredible family of wife, three children (and their spouses) and seven wonderful grandchildren.

For more information about Randy Overbeck and his work, visit his website at https://www.authorrandyoverbeck.com/

• Writing Ghost Stories

All Darrell Henshaw wanted was to enjoy his honeymoon with his beautiful wife, Erin, in the charming town of Crystal River on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida. But his carefully laid plans go sideways when they discover a hidden painting of two young Latino children, which turns out to be haunted. Is Darrell willing to derail their entire honeymoon in this perfect, quiet corner of the world to unravel the mystery of the children's deaths?

Website: https://www.authorrandyoverbeck.com/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/OverbeckRandy/media

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/authorrandyoverbeck

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/authorrandyoverbeck/

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-KOC0LH2GQRSAjwxOFr5rg

Tik Tok @authorrandyo

Omar Harris is a former pharmaceutical General Manager (GSK, Allergan), Intent Consulting and Tympo.io founder, motivational speaker, and bestselling author, with over 20 years' experience building high performance organizations on 4 continents. Having managed multibillion dollar brands and led extensive organizations while working in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and the US, he innovated blueprints for J.E.D.I. Leadership (leading with justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) and servant leadership and 20 Team Performance Acceleration Principles (TPAPs) that can be applied by leaders at all levels of professional experience.

To learn more about Omar Harris and his work, visit his website at https://omarlharris.com.

• Motivation for developing his leadership series.

Synopsis: From the Bestselling Author of The Servant Leader’s Manifesto with 20+ years of global pharmaceutical executive experience comes the most crucial and compelling business book of the year.

Business Must Be More…

There are dark forces at work breeding separation, disunity, disengagement, and denying their role in maintaining a status quo rife with injustices and inequities that keep them in power and everyone else subjugated.

But there is an equally and opposite force for good pushing back. Leaders who understand that business must be more by creating culture where injustices are mitigated, inequities are eradicated, diversity is highly prized, and inclusion is the norm.

These leaders wield the principles of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (J.E.D.I.) in order to achieve the true purpose of corporations – increased value for employees, customers, communities, the environment and shareholders.

Website: https://www.omarlharris.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/strengthsleader

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/omarlharris

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omarlharris/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/omarl.harris/

Read Our Review of Be a J.E.D.I. Leader, Not a Boss

Charlene Wheeless is the founder of her namesake firm Charlene Wheeless LLC.  She is a renowned business and communications professional, author, speaker, and executive and life empowerment advisor. Additionally, she is the senior advisor for equity and justice at APCO Worldwide, a global advocacy and communications consultancy.

Wheeless is the chairman of the board of trustees for the Page Society and the HCA Virginia Reston Hospital and serves on other industry and community boards. She has received numerous awards for communications and leadership excellence throughout her career, including being named to the PR Week Global Power Book for most influential professionals in Public Relations and The Network Journal’s Most Influential Black Women in Business. Many business, industry, and lifestyle publications have featured Wheeless for her expertise and as a contributing writer.

Before launching her consultancy and following a four-year health crisis, Wheeless retired from corporate America as the principal vice president of global corporate affairs for Bechtel Corporation, a $40B global firm. In her words, “Cancer changed me; so I changed my world.”

To learn more about Charlene and her work, visit her website at CharleneWheeless.Biz

• Three books in one: part memoir, a cautionary tale, and part of how to create the life you want. Reclaiming Your Career and Your Life with Purpose, Passion, and Unapologetic Authenticity. 

SYNOPSIS: YOU ARE ENOUGH! draws from Wheeless’s experiences climbing the corporate ladder and battling breast cancer to illustrate life lessons for others. Personal recollections are used to illustrate that Black women not only have to contend with a glass ceiling, but also a concrete wall that makes it impossible to even see what lies on the other side, much less determine how to get there. While acknowledging that there's no single path around that wall, Wheeless shares advice on how she navigated the route herself. For Wheeless, this means busting up stereotypes, breaking down barriers, and flat-out refusing to be ignored, pigeonholed, or forgotten.

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Read our review of You Are Enough!

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 8 grandchildren.

To learn more about Mark Bello and his books visit his website at markmbello.com

Topics of Conversation

• Writing about the immigration issue

Betrayal at the Border

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER DISCOUNT THROUGH OCTOBER 11, 2021

In Betrayal at the Border, attorney Zachary Blake returns to tackle two cases that strike at the heart of our nation's contentious immigration debate.

Two unique immigrant families, two uniquely dangerous consequences of America’s dysfunctional immigration system. Enter Zachary Blake, superstar lawyer.

Website: https://www.markmbello.com

 Mark’s books can be found on his website, Amazon, Goodreads, and all other online retailers. The books are available for reader, in print, or as audiobooks.

Read Our Review of Betrayal at the Border

Stuart Z. Goldstein was one of the longest serving PR Spokespersons on Wall Street.  As Managing Director of Corporate Communications & Public Affairs for the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) in New York, the largest trade clearing house ($5 trillion daily) and central securities depository in the world.  

 “Goldstein surely was the highest profile corporate communications executive in the securities services industry,” according to Global Custodian magazine.  “In a position where few survive more than 5 years and one CEO, Goldstein managed four times the average tenure, and served three successive CEOs.”

Prior to this, he was a spokesperson for American Express and led National Public Affairs at Citicorp. Earlier he served as a State Ombudsman in New Jersey and as Legislative Affairs director for the NJ Public Advocate. 

Mr. Goldstein has co-authored 2 books in plain English explaining the inner workings of U.S. Capital Markets.  He has published numerous articles in PR trade magazines and was a contributing author to Public Affairs in an Era of Change.  His by-lined articles on public policy issues have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Times, the Star Ledger, Trenton Times, Global Financial Markets magazine and many trade journals. 

He graduated from The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) with a B.A. in English and earned his M.A. in American Government from Rutgers University.   During college, he wrote for the Trenton Times newspaper and helped lead the effort in NJ to lower the voting age to 18 and ratify the 26th Amendment. 

He lectures on crisis communications and media relations.  He has also served on the graduate school advisory board in Corporate Communications at Fairleigh Dickinson University and was a founding member of the Corporate Communications Institute at Baruch College. 

Connect with Stuart Z. Goldstein and learn more about him and his works on Facebook and LinkedIn.

• Moe Fields and Growing Up During the Depression

Moe Fields (aka Murray Goldman), is a gripping narrative about a father's fighting spirit and determination to save his family and inspire his sons to succeed.

Goldstein applies his gift of storytelling to bring us the story of Moe Fields, growing up during the Great Depression - from his teens as a Golden Gloves boxer, to his career as a Bootleg fighter in Brooklyn for money, to being a WWII sailor whose most prideful moment was singled out by FDR, to overcoming prejudice and building one of the large plumbing businesses in New Jersey.

When a health crisis hits Moe, and later, a drunk driver causes a horrific car accident, crippling his wife, they are both left to deal with a lifetime of disabilities. But Moe digs deep to turn tragedy into triumph.

We all have our Moe Fields. This treasure of a book is a poignant and thought-provoking memoir that captures the enduring power of role models in our lives.

Goldstein has written a life-affirming story that's hard to put down-and hard not to talk about.

At a time when we need heroes, this book celebrates the strength of family, faith-and the enduring legacy we leave our children.

CONNECT WITH STUART Z. GOLDSTEIN!

Facebook

LinkedIn

Read the Reader Views 5-Star Book Review!

Bineta Ngom was born in Senegal, West Africa, in 1964. She grew up without her father, who died when she was a little over four years old, and was raised by her mother, who taught her how to appreciate life and serve people in need, even when the family was enduring hardship.

Bineta came to America in 1994 to pursuit her dream, to give her children the opportunity she never had as a child, and to empower the global community by sharing her stories and by working with parents to raise philanthropic children, which she believes is part of the solution for the problems we have in our school environments. Bineta thinks children value what their parents’ value. She never stops learning and always strive to be the best role model for her children.

She decided to write her book “Becoming an Angel of Change” to share her stories with the world to inspire parents, immigrants and women to make positive change within themselves, their homes, and their workplaces, as well as their communities. Bineta currently lives in Los Angeles with her four children.

For more information about Bineta Gom visit her website at binetangom.com

-What is an Angel of Change?

-Early Experiences in Senegal, West Africa

-Immigrating to the U.S.

-Passion for Philanthropy

-The Family Bridge Foundation

-What's next for Bineta?

Part memoir, part inspiration and self-help, Becoming an Angel of Change is a collection of stories detailing the author’s journey of exploring her life’s purpose: helping others in need. From her beginnings as an eight-year-old philanthropist in Senegal, to her adult life establishing outreach programs in the United States, through Bineta’s journey readers will be inspired to discover their own strengths, uniqueness, and purpose.

Website

Paulette Boudrot earned a BS in Education from Bridgewater State University, an MA in French Language and Literature from Middlebury College in Vermont, and a diploma in Twentieth-Century French Literature from the Sorbonne, University of Paris as a Fulbright Scholar. Paulette taught French and ESL in elementary schools, colleges, and universities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. During the 1980s, she transitioned from education to administration at the French Cultural Services at the French Consulate in Boston. In 1995, she founded PLJ Administrative & Business Solutions, outsourcing administration and project management for small to medium sized companies. The French government honored her as a Chevalier in the Order of Academic Palms in 2010. Paulette is an active member of Rotary International, the Boston/Strasbourg Sister City Association, the Sandwich Arts Alliance and the Société Francophone de Cape Cod. She currently resides on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Boston, My Blissful Winter is her debut literary translation.

For more information about Paulette Boudrot, visit her website at http://www.pauletteboudrot.com.

Translating a Book

Working with the Author during the translation

Literal vs. Literary Translation

The publishing journey

What's next for Paulette Boudrot?

"Dear friends,

The American-English translation of my book "Boston, un hiver si court" has just been released as "Boston My Blissful Winter, Memories of the 1980s", by PRA Publishing. We owe it to Paulette Boudrot, who did a remarkable job giving us an attentive, precise, elegant and faithful version. I thank her very sincerely. I would also like to thank the publisher, Lucinda Clark and editor, Ellen Albanese, who, despite the health crisis we are all experiencing, have managed to meet publication deadlines.

Over time, the 1980s emerged as happy and fruitful years. Peace and prosperity prevailed in Boston. The large number of students attending its universities brought enthusiasm and joy to this human-scaled city where it was a pleasure to live.

The centennial of the Statue of Liberty, the bicentennial of the Revolution of 1789, and the visit of the French President gave me many opportunities to celebrate the French and Franco-American friendship. These occasions also allowed me to discover the strength of the Bostonians, attached to their traditions, but tolerant, reasonable, and daring, always ready to protect Freedom and especially their own freedom. I have had the pleasure of meeting exceptional people, some noted in my book and to whom it is dedicated. "

Alain Briottet