The Morning Glory Project

Gail Warner is the dreamer and founder of Pine Manor, a unique retreat center in the mountains above Lake Elsinore, CA. Gail’s vision along with her invitational and collaborative style has allowed people from all walks of life to deepen their connection with self and others in this sacred space. Gail has created a welcoming space for the inner journey of self-awareness as well as walking the same path herself.

How does a guy go from being a kid who made money for sex to being a sought-after teacher of writing and a successful author? That’s the story David Henry Sterry is here to tell on The Morning Glory Project. He is the author of 16 books, including his memoir, Chicken: Self-Portrait of a Man for Rent, along with Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, & Rent Boys, and The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published. Two of his books are currently being made into films.

Francine Falk-Allen survived polio and six months of hospitalization at age three, emerging with a lifetime-paralyzed leg she has learned to love for its seemingly indomitable will to support her active life. She is also a breast cancer survivor and had many “childhood” illnesses which are now preventable by vaccines. Francine’s memoir, Not a Poster Child: Living Well with a Disability—A Memoir has won gold and silver medals and has been included on several lists of best books of 2018. She was named one of “25 Women Making a Difference in 2019” by Conversations Magazine.

Martha Alderson is known among writers as The Plot Whisperer for her multiple books on the craft. But along the way she discovered that the writers and other creative people (and perhaps especially women) must face their own inner obstacles to creating their art and each must travel their own hero’s journey to create her art. Having undertaken the journey herself to write her historical novel, Parallel Lives, A Love Story, Martha came to better understand her own struggles and brokenness in a new light. She shares the hope for overcoming these obstacles with others in her latest book, Boundless Creativity: A Spiritual Workbook for Overcoming Self-Doubt, Emotional Traps, and Other Creative Blocks.

Angela Washington, co-producer and social media wizard for The Morning Glory Project, has an elderly mom who struggles with dementia in a nursing care facility and a son on the front lines as a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like so many others during this surreal time, she has moments of heartache and horror as well as moments of joy, hope, and inspiration that renew her spirit. This episode is a conversation about the hard and the soft living side-by-side.

Having experienced gun violence in her own family, Hollye Dexter is a dedicated activist for gun reform, using her voice and her writing to advocate for change. With Women Against Gun Violence, she has lobbied for stronger gun laws both locally and in DC, meeting with members of Congress, speaking at City Hall as well as at rallies, in schools, churches and temples. Her work as an activist has been covered on NPR, PBS, The BBC, Al Jazeera. L.A. Times and Rolling Stone. Hollye is the author of the memoir, Fire Season: My Journey from Ruin to Redemption and co-edited the anthology Dancing At the Shame Prom. She has written extensively about gun violence and feminism, her essays being featured in anthologies, and her articles at Maria Shriver’s Architects of Change, Writer’s Digest, The Feminist Wire, Scary Mommy and others.

Happily retired from he 35-year career in the dynamic and fascinating world of organ transplantation, Amy believed her retirement years would be devoted to family life and writing the next books in her murder mystery series. In an unexpected turn, called by the crucial issues of the country, the planet, and her community she found herself running for, and winning a seat on her local City Council. It’s a steep learning curve, but she’s climbing it.

Amy Ferris is an author, screenwriter, and playwright and co-founder of Women of Our Words. Amy has become a widely-regarded maven of what she calls “Gracebook”, with her Post Coffee/Pre Wine posts in which she can as easily excoriate politicians for acts of despicable cruelty as she can wax adoringly about one or another fellow human for an act of kindness and generosity.

She is the author of a memoir, Marrying George Clooney: Confessions of a Midlife Crisis, and has edited and co-edited the anthologies: Dancing at the Shame Prom, with Hollye Dexter, and Shades of Blue: Writers on Depression, Suicide, and the Blues, a collection inspired after the death of Robin Williams. Her latest book, co-written with Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons and Justice Simmons, Old School Love: And Why it Works, is story of enduring love in all its forms and in all its messiness.

Grant Faulkner is a champion for writers of all ages and all things storytelling. He is the Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the co-founder of 100 Word Story. He has published two books on writing, Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo, and Brave the Page, a teen writing guide, in addition to a collection of 100-word stories, Fissures, and Nothing Short of 100: Selected Tales from 100 Word Story. His short story collection, All the Comfort Sin Can Provide is forthcoming from Black Lawrence Press in 2021. Grant is also the co-host of the podcast Write-minded. Follow him on Twitter at @grantfaulkner and on Instagram at @grantfaulkner.

In her spellbinding, bestselling memoir, Not By Accident: Reconstructing a Careless Life, Samantha Dunn tells of her horrific injury when her horse inadvertently trampled her, nearly cutting off her leg, severing bones, vital muscles, and veins. Her physical recovery was not the only healing she required. The accident illuminated that Sam had long been leading a life full of risk-taking and injury to both her body and her heart. Here’s the story about how Samantha got back on the horse, literally and figuratively, healing her psychic wounds and broken relationships along with her body.