Passion Project with Cat Margulis

In this interview for the series Success Story, Gabrielle Stone shares her journey to best-selling self-published author, what worked for her and her book, how to make your videos go viral and how to grow a loyal following. 

Gabrielle Stone is no stranger to the world of entertainment. Growing up on set with her legendary scream-queen mother Dee Wallace (Cujo, E.T.), she had days of licking off mommy’s fake blood and watching behind the scenes movie magic. Seeing the world with mom and dad gave her the travel bug at an early age—until Gabrielle experienced a real-life horror when she lost her father suddenly at age seven.  

After many years in the industry herself, Stone transitioned from meaty acting roles to writing and directing. Her award-winning films It Happened Again Last Night and After Emma gained her awards for writing, directing, and acting—but she had a bigger role in life that would soon present itself: freaking badass.  

After the rug was vigorously pulled out from under her when her husband’s affair came to light, she found herself falling into the arms of another man. After a second failed attempt at love and a massive heartbreak, she decided that instead of landing flat on her ass—she’d make a career out of it.   And so came the birth of the book Eat, Pray, #FML, where she shared all the mistakes, all the lessons, and most importantly, how she became a fearless leader from it all.

In this interview for the series Success Story, author K.A. Tucker shares her journey from self-published author to traditionally published and back again, as well as what audiences are craving now, her advice for self-published authors and more.

K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge. She is the internationally bestselling author of more than thirty books, including the Simple Wild, Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, and Say You Still Love Me. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, Publisher's Weekly, Oprah Mag, and First for Women.

In this interview for the series Success Story, Dan Blank shares why your greatest asset in your publishing journey and book marketing strategy is you, and other book launch tips.

Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia, where he helps writers develop their author platforms, connect with readers, and launch their books. He is the author of the book Be the Gateway: A Practical Guide to Sharing Your Creative Work and Engaging an Audience. He has worked with thousands of writers, and amazing organizations who support creative people such as Penguin Random House, Sesame Workshop, Hachette Book Group, Workman Publishing, Abrams Books, Writers House, The Kenyon Review, Writer’s Digest, Library Journal, and many others. You can find Dan at https://WeGrowMedia.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @DanBlank.

In this interview for the series Success Story, Tamara Lush shares what she’s learned from the Wattpad community about marketing and publishing your book, as well as her secrets to writing a great serial novel and how to market your book without giving up your writing time.

Tamara Lush is a Florida-based author and journalist. She’s an RWA Rita finalist, an Amtrak writing fellow and the winner of the George C. Polk award for environmental journalism. She was a reporter with The Associated Press, covering crime, alligators, natural disasters and politics.  Tamara is a fan of vintage pulp fiction book covers, Sinatra-era jazz, 1980s fashion, tropical chill, kombucha, gin, tonic, seashells, iPhones, Art Deco, telenovelas, street art, coconut anything, strong coffee and newspapers. She lives on the Gulf coast with her husband and dog.

In this interview for the series The Future of Content Marketing, host Cat Margulis and guest Kate Bradley Chernis talk about AI-powered content, the theatre of the mind and creating content for an audience of one, plus her secrets to designing a powerful content experience. 

Kate is the Founder & CEO of Lately, which uses AI to generate high-engaging content in your unique brand voice that is customized to target any audience. As a former rock 'n' roll dj, Kate served 20 million listeners as Music Director and on-air host at Sirius/XM. She’s also an award-winning radio producer, engineer and voice talent with 25 years of national broadcast communications, brand-building, sales and marketing expertise. What she learned in radio about the neuroscience of music helps fuel Lately's artificial intelligence. Prior to founding Lately, Kate also owned a marketing agency which got Walmart a 130% ROI, YoY for three years. 

In this interview for the series The Future of Content Marketing, host Cat Margulis and guest Derral Eves talk about YouTube best practices, the future of video and YouTube, and the one thing you need to do to win audiences over.

Derral Eves has been on YouTube since 2005 and has helped generate nearly 89 billion video views. His book The YouTube Formula: How Anyone Can Unlock the Algorithm to Drive Views, Build an Audience, and Grow Revenue is a Wall Street Journal best seller. He was featured on the Forbes list “20 Must Watch YouTube Channels That Will Change Your Business,” alongside Tony Robbins, Marie Forleo, and Gary Vaynerchuk. Derral is founder of Creatus, a marketing and consulting company, and founder of VidSummit, an annual video conference. He is also Executive Producer of “The Chosen,” a series about the life of Jesus Christ and his followers. It is the #1 crowdfunded tv/movie project in history.

Peter Katz is a JUNO Award & Canadian Screen Award-nominated singer-songwriter who has spent the past 15 years touring internationally. To date, his music has been streamed over 5 million times and his music videos have over 20 million views on YouTube. Peter is also one of Canada’s most in-demand speakers and facilitators, being called on to give his highly customized ‘Keynote Concerts’ to hundreds of companies and organizations across various industries, including Bell, Xerox, Royal Lepage and American Express.

In this interview, Peter talks about how he combines music and storytelling, and how he brings story to the stage as a way to lead and impact others. He also shares his approach to storytelling and performance and the audience journey.

Zibby Owens is an author, podcaster, publisher, CEO, and mother of four. She is the founder of Zibby Owens Media, which is known for its award-winning podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, and which includes Zibby Books, a publishing house for fiction and memoir. She is also the author of Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature.

In her interview for The Power of Story, Zibby talks about what it takes to get noticed in a crowded marketplace, and about her own journey to the bookshelf and as a champion of other authors and books. Zibby also shares her keys to telling a story that stands out, and what the audience is craving today.