Laura Packer Interview: Author of “From Audience to Zeal” (Part Three)

Interview with Laura Packer

“It was so important to me that…that I neither shield my audience from the depth and rigor of what it is to be a good storyteller nor do I present this in such a way that they feel like it’s never attainable, that they can’t reach it.” -Laura

Author and Storyteller Laura S. Packer is the creator of “From Audience to Zeal: The ABCs of Finding, Crafting, and Telling a Great Story.” Part 3: Laura Packer and Sean Buvala discuss the nature of Laura’s new book, coming at the end of 2018. They talk about the invite a reader needs in order to feel comfortable in the conversation of an author’s book. They discuss the nature of how stories are used for bonding people’s lives together in the midst of a real-life lab(rador) in the office. Woof. Part 3 of 8. Learn more at audiencetozeal.com. Preorder a Kindle version at this link now.

You can listen here to part three. To hear more of this great interview, please check your favorite podcast provider and search for “Storyteller.net Amphitheater.” You can also go directly to our hosting site at http://anchor.fm/amphitheater.

A transcript for Part Three is printed below the “listen” link below. Additional transcripts for other issues will be available soon!

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The Benefits of Journal Writing for Kids

“Should I encourage my kids to keep a journal?”


 In these days of too much screen time, a journal can help your kids find some balance in their communication choices. Journal writing is an incredible activity for kids. It’s especially good for young people that have a hard time expressing things orally or those that are reluctant to write as a “school assignment.” Some of the kids also prefer to remain a bit more private, since they are not comfortable saying their feelings out loud. That may be because they feel that their feelings and thoughts are not that important and they should not be shared openly. A journal comes in this scenario to help them find their creative voice. There are many other benefits of journaling. Here are a few: 

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Fun @ Mesa Book Festival 2018

Hey Folks! We (were) at the Mesa Book Festival this weekend, Saturday, December 8th, 2018 in downtown Mesa, Arizona. We’ve got a small handful of new books that will make great gifts for the authors, artists, poets, and storytellers in your life. Sean Buvala shows you two of these new books in this short video. PLUS+ we’ve got a simple and fun craft project for kids (and big kids and bigger kids…all y’all) See you this weekend in Mesa! #mesabookfestival2018 #mbf2018 #mesabookfest2018

 

8-828PM. Cleaning Up at the Mesa Book Festival from Sean Buvala on Vimeo.

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New: You Wake Up One Morning- A Journal for Tweens and PreTeens

Come take a look at this new video for our latest journal for younger authors and creative spirits. Help your tweens break away from screen time to create journals, grids, graphics, and more. They’ll be inspired by more than 50 imaginative quotes about the world they discover when they “wake up one morning.” Fun, creative. Great gifts for the those kids ages 10-13.

Learn more at http://youwakeuponemorning.com.

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New Book: The Storyteller’s List Book

Now available. It’s a journal and a tool! This is a write-in journal for keeping track of your the stories, poems, and spoken-word pieces you have performed.

Build your own resource of the stories you tell as well as where and when you told them. Generous blank pages for each story with simple prompts. In addition, there are many blank pages in the back for keeping track of programs you create. A write-in resource for all storytellers and speakers to keep track of what, when, where, and with whom their stories were shared.

Get one or give one today with this link for our secure online store.

Your local independent bookstore can order a copy for you. Ask them to check their “Ingram” system to order it.

You can get it at the big A book-retailer at this link.

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Give Books as Gifts this Holiday!

cover of you wake up one morning featuring doodles of typical morning items such as a school bus unmade bed shower pancakes cerealGive books as gifts. Use our code “cyberholiday” in the online store at https://smalltoothdog.com/books to save. For the first holiday weekend, this code is worth a 20% saving (!) through November 26th. Percentage changes after that date. Come to get some great books!

showing a collection of book covers from our titles including books for kids, adults and write-in journals. code cyberholiday valid for 20% discount through 26 november 2018

Now! You Wake Up One Morning. . .

cover of you wake up one morning featuring doodles of typical morning items such as a shcool bus unmade bed shower panckakes cerealA prompted journal for creative expression in words and art for kids in the ages (suggested) of 9-13. Get One Here.

You Wake Up One Morning. . .

  • . . .and there’s a tiger in the corner of your room.
  • . . .everything you wish for comes true.
  • . . .you are only 2 inches tall.

What Would YOU do? Create Your Answer in Words and Art!

This journal has dozens of fun prompts all about “waking up one morning” and so many different blank pages just waiting for creative thoughts and art: boxed pages, journal pages, college-ruled, storyboards, graphic-novel style layouts and more!

Choose and Get Started!

Take a look through the prompts and find one that gets your brain-juice flowing. Then find a page that lets you write your thoughts or make your art…whatever you want to do! There are no “right” answers in this journal, no correct way to be creative. Go for it!

Two Styles Available!

You can get the journal in paperback binding or spiral-bound. The spiral-bound uses a sturdy, professional-grade plastic coil binding designed to last. (The spiral-binding is on back order until December 1. Shipments with this binding will be delayed.)

A Great Gift!

Hey Parents, Grandparents and All Caregivers: Give the gift of mind-engaging, screens-down creativity! Take a look at this journal for the growing writer and artist in your world. With plenty of room for self-expression in a size that is backpack-perfect (7×10 inches), you probably have at least one “big kid” somewhere in your life who would love a journal like this.

Compiled by K. Sean Buvala, whose decades of experience in story development, creative expression and on-stage storytelling has taken him throughout the U.S. and Canada. The prompts in this book have been chosen to perfectly fit the fresh “abstract-thinking” mind of the preteen kid.

Also available on Amazon at http://a.co/d/1M0hY13.

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New Journal Book: I Am Ready.

cover of the i am ready journal for spokenword artists and storytellers

New Journal for Creative Writing for Stage and Page!

Your personal tales can have a strong effect on others. Use this lined-journal and the 60 prompts within to discover, create, and preserve new memories that will become stories for your work on the page or on the stage.

Product Details:

  • 60 Simple Prompts to Help You Create Important Stories
  • Use this blank journal as a tool to recall important life stories.
  • Turn those stories into important stories to write or speak.
  • Great for spoken-word performers, poets, authors, and storytellers.
  • Intended for adults and teens who have a passion for writing and story telling.

Extra Bonus Material!

This journal includes an important session on how to create a story from the bits and pieces you might recall when using this book. Your guide to crafting a story is presented by Sean Buvala, whose work in the art of storytelling has spanned 30 years across the U.S. and Canada. His simple formula will help you develop stories that have impact and meaning to you and those who read or hear your stories.

Get the “I Am Ready” journal today and get started on creating powerful personal narratives for personal growth or public performance.

60 intriguing phrase-based prompts to help you create new stories for speaking and writing. A book for writing in. Each prompt includes two pages of lined journal paper for you to form your stories.

Buy in our secure online store at this link.

ISBN: 978-1947408982
ISBN Spiral Bound: 978-19447408999

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Arizona Library Association Conference 2018!

We’re happy to be with you at the #AzLA2018 in Mesa, Arizona! Sean will be teaching his workshop, “Public Speaking for the Terrified,” on Thursday (October 25th) morning.

We have this year’s collectible button, too, but only 100 of them. Come get yours! See us in the vendor hall, space #102, for your “swag bag” with posters, buttons, bookmarks, and our latest catalog sheet. Let’s talk about workshops and services our Arizona-local company can do for you and your clients.

Here’s a recap of Day One:

AND- Bring your business card and sign up to be on our “advanced reader” list for upcoming titles. You know you always wanted to be a book blurb . . .

Cover Reveal: Don’t Throw Me in the Cholla Patch!

cover of the book don't throw me in the cholla patch with yellow lettering for the title. pictured is a tiny bandana wearing woodrat falling backward toward a cholla cactus patch as if he has been flung there. comicalWe’re happy to show you the latest cover design for our next book for kids! Marc Severson’s “Don’t Throw Me in the Cholla Patch!” has been released! Illustrated by Francesco Orazzini, this fun book for older kids features the creatures of the Sonoran desert in a reimagined trickster tale!

As we roll out this book, come visit the web page at chollapatch.com for more information! Add your name to our mailing list on the right-hand side of the page so that we can tell you more about this upcoming work. A book for bigger kids, it features a higher-reading level text and fantastic illustrations that are just a bit quirky.

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