Wyatt-MacKenzie Announces 2015 Spring Roster

We're keeping it in the family for Spring 2015. We have an author with her third Wyatt-MacKenzie book, an author with a new edition of his Wyatt-MacKenzie release, and an incredibly exciting, very creative, full-color title from our very own editor!

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Young Jane Austen: Becoming A Writer by Lisa Pliscou is set for April 2015, filled with timeless illustrations, appearing to be printed on an antique journal.

What was Jane Austen like as a child? What were her formative influences and experiences, her challenges and obstacles, that together set her on the path toward becoming a writer?

Drawing upon a wide array of sources, including Austen’s own books and correspondence, Wyatt-MacKenzie's editor Lisa Pliscou has created a “speculative biography” that, along with 20 charming black-and-white illustrations, offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of young Jane Austen. Also included is a richly detailed, annotated version of the narrative and an overview of Austen’s life, legacy, and the era in which she lived, as well as a timeline of her key childhood events.

Young Jane Austen aims to intrigue anyone interested in Jane Austen, in writing and the creative process, and in the triumph of the artistic spirit.

Here's a peek inside...

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We're releasing a Third Edition of A Better High by Matt Bellace.

Matt has updated and added information to his humorous look at getting naturally high, every day.

Each chapter focuses on a scientifically proven natural high (e.g. laughing, running, helping, loving) and gives funny stories, jokes and exercises for achieving the natural high in your (and especially your teen's) life.

Matt has been a youth motivational speaker and stand-up comedian since 1995. Matt has a Ph.D. in clinical neuropsychology from Drexel University and is a member of the National Speakers Association. His "How to Get High Naturally" program encourages over a hundred thousand students a year to pursue natural highs and make healthy choices. Matt was a recurring comedian on truTV's "The Smoking Gun Presents." His stand up can be heard (and requested) on Sirius XM's Comedy Channels.

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Maria Bailey, author of Mom 3.0 and Power Moms will release Millennial Moms: Defining a New Generation of Moms in March 2015.

In her third title from Wyatt-MacKenzie, Maria Bailey is defining a new generation of mothers by the letter i.

Chapters include topics such as Instagram, iPhone, I can attitude, Inspiration via Pinterest, Instant Gratification, The Why behind i, iFriends: the affect of Facebook, Inclusive Families rather than extended families, and more.

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We look forward to sharing more info with you as these titles develop!

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Making The Twin Connection

In the last week of June, I received a simple email: "Hello Nancy, Our names are Hannah and Cailin Loesch, and we are seventeen-year-old identical twins who wrote a book about our adventures and misadventures in twinhood. Though we have sent our book to other publishers for consideration, we wanted to make sure it found its way into the hands of Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing as well, as we believe that our book could potentially be a good fit for your company. We attached our submission in a Word document."

My due diligence found this "clips reel" on their website — between their entertaining writing and their witty on-screen presence, I was smitten. I responded with my traditional, "I am so impressed ... [advice here]... if you don't land your dream contract with a major publisher, please keep us in mind." And then I held my breath.

Then we spoke on the phone and magic happened. I was so impressed with these two smart young ladies, and their giggles I interpreted to mean they liked me as well. They signed with Wyatt-MacKenzie on July 1st!

We endeavored to get through editing, a photo shoot for the cover with a renowned New York photographer, the design of something totally fun using different-color painted papers for each of their voices, ARCs, proofreading, production, and made October 1 our publication goal... before Hannah and Cailin turn 18 in November. Phew!

Here they are with the ARCs...

And we did it -- 165 full-color pages with over 24 photographs! The book is already selling on BarnesandNoble.com in paperback, and already on Amazon in Kindle (with the paperback to join it, soon).


Here's the back cover copy...

What’s it like to be an identical twin?

Twinhood can be thrilling, frustrating, terrifying, and hilarious—all at the same time! Inspired by seventeen years of daily questions from strangers, teen journalists Hannah and Cailin Loesch are giving the world a peek into their lives as twins.

Going beyond the bond that only identical twins know, Hannah and Cailin hope their stories are inspiring, entertaining, and relatable to all who read them—twins, tweens, teens, parents of twins, and anyone looking for interesting anecdotes written from the perspectives of two very unique, albeit identical, teenagers.

We're celebrating bringing these bright young journalists to the publishing world! We know this won't be the last you'll see of them...

Five Fall 2014 Titles from Wyatt-MacKenzie

Press Release - Sept. 1, 2014 — Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing's Fall 2014 — Time-bending Romance, Life-improving Financial Lessons for Kids, A Journey of Spiritual Awakening, and the Exquisiteness of Twinship

DEBUT NOVEL IS TIME-BENDING AND AUTHOR-TREND-MAKING

Wyatt-MacKenzie joins the Romance Fantasy genre with a time-traveling love story, LEMONGRASS HOPE, the debut novel by reformed corporate litigator Amy Impellizzeri. Jacquelyn Mitchard, NYT bestselling author, describes LEMONGRASS HOPE as “...that fine and fresh thing...a truly new story.” Mitchard describes the author, “Amy Impellizzeri is a bold and tender writer, who makes the impossible feel not only real, but strangely familiar." Kirkus Reviews declares LEMONGRASS HOPE is “A layered, bittersweet romance that questions consequences and explores second chances. ForeWord Reviews, in their Fall 2014 Issue writes: “Time itself is a villain in this unusual tale, yet the possibility of a dream come true remains on the horizon. Realistic portrayals mingle with strange phenomena in this heady mix of contemporary romance and psychic twilight.”

Several artisans participated in a trendy launch of LEMONGRASS HOPE. Jill Donovan, founder of Rustic Cuff — known for creating handcrafted cuffs worn by best-selling authors and celebrities including Emily Giffin, Ree Drummond, Jenna Bush Hager, Britney Spears and Miranda Lambert — made a one-of-a-kind "lemongrass hope cuff." Nalana Lillie who founded Book Scents, known for highly scented candles inspired by books and characters, has created a custom hand-poured "lemongrass hope candle" which is a blend of lemongrass, sage and imported African marula oil — straight out of the novel — known for its time-travel properties, to bring the novel's mystical magic into the readers' homes. Book Club members get the recipe for "Lemongrass: Hope in a Glass" to accompany their discussion questions as well. Visit AmyImpellizzeri.com; http://www.amazon.com/dp/1939288533

WYATT-MACKENZIE AUTHORS RELEASE SECOND BOOKS

Danny Kofke released his second book with Wyatt-MacKenzie on money management — A BRIGHT FINANCIAL FUTURE: Teaching your Kids About Money Pre-K Through College for Lifelong Success is Danny’s follow-up to A SIMPLE BOOK OF FINANCIAL WISDOM (2009).

A BRIGHT FINANCIAL FUTURE is what we all want for our children and this easy-to-follow guide delivers its title's promise with Danny's down-to-earth tips and advice — from chore charts to the magic of compound interest — to use with kids as young as age three all the way up to young adults. Twenty healthy values and habits that lead to financial success, plus budgeting, long-term goals, conversations on college, work, and whether money equals happiness and more — this simple financial wisdom will benefit everyone. Ken Coleman, host of The Dave Ramsey Show Video Channel, author of One Question reviews: “Danny’s engaging style makes this practical and hopeful book a valuable resource families who want to instill wise money habits in their children.” Jim Stovall, author The Millionaire Map reviews: “Danny draws on his experience as a classroom teacher to deliver sound financial principles in a way that will enable kids to learn, and parents to build wealth into a legacy and then a dynasty.” (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1939288630)

The second Wyatt-MacKenzie book with Annie Burnside, FROM ROLE TO SOUL: 15 Steps on the Awakening Journey is a powerful follow-up to SOUL TO SOUL PARENTING (2009). Annie Burnside was called “the Eckhart Tolle of parenting" by Bill Gladstone, agent to Mr. Tolle. In FROM ROLE TO SOUL the author takes it to the next level with her personal reflections on living consciously as a blended being—both human and soul, simultaneously—in everyday life. Annie exemplifies the notion that, "On the awakening journey, we both come to know who we truly are and come to let go of who we truly are not. There is not much more to it than that." Dr. Shefali Tsabary reviews, “FROM ROLE TO SOUL takes us on a journey into authenticity.” Jill Schroder, author of Becoming: Journeying Toward Authenticity, states FROM ROLE TO SOUL “…cuts through the linguistic maze of religion versus spiritual paths right to the chase.” Visit AnnieBurnside.com.   (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1939288576)

BY KIDS, FOR KIDS

Wyatt-MacKenzie has two titles created by kids this fall. THE FINANCIAL ANGEL: What All Kids Should Know About Money was written by 9-year-old Ava Kofke (now 10), who was inspired by watching her dad write his personal finance books. Ava, the Financial Angel, can teach young children about money in simple terms. Kids from ages four to eleven can learn about saving, spending, giving, debit cards and credit cards. Marie-Claire Moreau, author of Suddenly Homeschooling, quickstarthomeschool.com, “What a charming introduction to economics for kids! Ava Kofke’s book literally has the power to begin steering youngsters toward a lifetime of financial literacy. Families, schools and libraries should all be adding this title to the early-childhood section this year!” Jeff Botch, owner of Friday Night Books, fridaynightbooks.com, reviews, “This book gives kids a wonderful introduction to money so they can make wiser decisions throughout their lives. The Financial Angel comes with my highest recommendation.”

THE FINANCIAL ANGEL was illustrated by 15-year-old MacKenzie Cleary who captured the likeness of the author, Ava, in the angel character. MacKenzie is the daughter of the publisher and the namesake of the company along with her brother, Wyatt. (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1939288649)

THE TWIN CONNECTION is a collection of stories by 17-year-old identical twins Hannah and Cailin Loesch, online reporters for Emmy-winning newsmagazine series Teen Kids News and bloggers for Huffington Post Teen. Hannah and Cailin show that twinhood can be thrilling, frustrating, terrifying, and hilarious—all at the same time. Hannah and Cailin hope their stories are inspiring, entertaining and relatable to all who read them. THE TWIN CONNECTION is for twins, tweens, teens, parents of twins . . . and anyone looking for interesting essays written by two very unique teens.

The Loesch twins have covered countless entertainments events including NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice, Vh1’s Do Something Awards, Comedy Central’s Night of Too Many Stars, Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play and NBC's American Comedy Awards, along with movie premieres including  The Croods, Epic, Turbo, and Smurfs 2, and were the youngest reporters to cover the entire eighth season of NBC's America’s Got Talent. Their celebrity interviews include Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Heidi Klum, Howard Stern, Amanda Seyfried, Howie Mandel, Al Roker, Colin Farrell, David Copperfield, Mel B,  Cody Simpson and Eyewitness News and Teen Kids News creator Al Primo. In addition to covering entertainment news, Hannah and Cailin have reported on topics such as The Battle of Gettysburg, autism, and Earth Day. Visit loeschtwins.com. (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1939288762)

WYATT-MACKENZIE AUTHOR IN PBS’ DOCUMENTARY “MAKERS”

Gina Bennett, author of NATIONAL SECURITY MOM (2008), will be one of the women featured on PBS’ MAKERS: Women in War, narrated by Christiane Amanpour, premiering October 21, 2014 at 9PM EST on PBS. In collaboration with PBS, MAKERS announced six new documentaries building on the 2013 film MAKERS: Women Who Make America which tell the stories of women’s contributions to some of the most important moments in the history of our country and the world.

Gina M. Bennett, deemed “CIA Mom” on Oprah, is the counterterrorism analyst who authored the 1993 report that foreshadowed the danger of Osama bin Laden. Bennett's book NATIONAL SECURITY MOM: LESSONS FOR AMERICA (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1932279792) demystifies the scary underworld of terrorism and examines how the age-old practical lessons we teach our children such as “clean up your mess,” “tell the truth,” and “don’t give in to a bully” apply to the covert intelligence approach to national security. Peter Bergen, CNN's national security analyst, reviewed NATIONAL SECURITY MOM: “…opens the door for all Americans to participate in securing our nation in a more meaningful way.” A mother of five, Bennett’s children's book HOW KIDS CAN BE GOOD CITIZENS (2013) takes her simple lessons for America to future generations. (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1939288045)

LEMONGRASS HOPE: A Novel (Oct. 8, 2014) by Amy Impellizzeri; ISBN 978-1-939288-53-0, 304 pages, $14.95, softcover

A BRIGHT FINANCIAL FUTURE: Teaching your Kids About Money Pre-K Through College for Lifelong Success (Sept. 1, 2014) by Danny Kofke; ISBN 978-1-939288-63-9; 206 pages, $15.00, softcover

FROM ROLE TO SOUL: 15 Shifts on the Awakening Journey (Sept. 17, 2014) by Annie Burnside; ISBN 978-1-939288-57-8; 250 pages, $16.00, softcover

THE FINANCIAL ANGEL (Sept. 1, 2014) by Ava Kofke, illustrated by MacKenzie Cleary; ISBN 978-1-939288-64-6; 32 pages, $10.00 full-color, saddle-stitch

THE TWIN CONNECTION (Oct. 1, 2014) by Hannah and Cailin Loesch; ISBN 978-1-939288-76-9; 164 pages, $17.00 full-color softcover with photos

Seventeen Years in Independent Publishing!

Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, Inc. celebrates their 17th year in 2015. Located in Deadwood, Oregon, this award-winning indie and its publisher, Nancy Cleary, have become known for providing an empowered author experience. Wyatt-MacKenzie authors have appeared in TV segments, documentaries, magazine articles, major blogs and newspapers all over the world.