Tell Your Story – #MVWC Speaker Spotlight with Lawayne Orlando Childrey

The Mountain Valley Writers Conference will feature speakers and presentations that will help provide the tools to writers that are working in the industry or those writers that are seeking to build their own platform for writing success.

Speaker Highlight

Lawayne Orlando Childrey

Lawayne Orlando Childrey is a native of Birmingham, Alabama. His autobiography, Peeling Back the Layers: A Story of Trauma, Grace and Triumph, was selected as one of the top six autobiographies of 2015 by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. In this book Childrey demonstrates how he endured some of the most horrific trauma imaginable, including childhood sexual abuse, depression, a crack cocaine addiction and an HIV diagnosis. He finally found fulfillment through his faith in God’s grace. Reviewers have called Peeling Back the Layers: A Story of Trauma, Grace and Triumph a masterpiece…so personal, so inspiring, so intimate.

Childrey is also the co-author of Self-Publishing & Selling Your Book, a step-by-step manual that explains the entire process from start to successful finish.

In addition, Childrey is also a recipient of the national Edward R. Murrow Award for Journalistic Excellence. He has won numerous Mississippi Associated Press awards for his reporting with Mississippi Public Broadcasting, a statewide affiliate of National Public Radio. In 2014 the Alabama Community College System selected Childrey as its most outstanding alumnus in the institution’s 50-year history. The ACCS awarded a $5,000 scholarship in Childrey’s name to a deserving Alabama high school senior. During the same year, Childrey was named alumnus of the year for Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham. He currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee where he serves on the executive committee of the Nashville Regional HIV Planning Council. He is also an executive board member of The Excell Group, a mentoring program for at risk youth in Pembroke, Illinois.

Childrey is currently in demand as a speaker, inspiring many different kinds of audiences with his incredible story.

He also works as a freelance journalist, national voice over artist and HIV/AIDS advocate.

Lawayne joins the faculty for #MVWC 2017 as an advocate for telling your story. He will facilitate a workshop highlighting the importance of autobiographical storytelling during the 2017 Mountain Valley Writers Conference.

Balancing the Truth of Your Heart with the Exposure to the World

    Everyone has a story to tell and a lesson to teach.

    From a legacy perspective, we tell our stories for ourselves and as a gift to future generations. This presentation highlights some of the many ways telling those stories, both good and bad benefit us all. It also demonstrates how difficulties arise not because we have a story, perhaps a very sad or painful story, but because we become attached to our stories and make them an essential part of our very selves. Telling our stories is not an end in itself, but an attempt to release ourselves from them, to evolve and grow beyond them. We tell our stories to transform ourselves; to learn about our history and tell our experiences to transcend them. During this presentation we will learn to use our stories to make a difference in the world; to broaden our perspective to see further than normal; to act beyond a story that may have imprisoned or enslaved us; to live more of our spiritual and earthly potential.

    Everyone has a story to tell and a lesson to teach.

More about the Speaker

Favorite book: Invisible Life by E. Lynn Harris. This is the first book that I actually saw myself on the pages. I felt like Harris was telling my story and I read it in a day.

Favorite quote: To Thine Own Self Be True
When I was a kid growing up my mom would drill this in my head. However, it wasn’t until I became an adult that I began to fully appreciate its meaning. “Thanks mom and William Shakespeare, I get it.”

Random Fun Fact: I got to hang out and shoot hoops with the world famous Harlem Globetrotters when I was 10 years old.

Where to Connect with the Speaker

Video: http://www.pbs.org/video/2365762197/
Website: www.lawaynechildrey.com
Facebook: Lawayne Orlando Childrey and Lawayne Childrey, Author,
Twitter: @LChildrey
Instagram: lawaynechildrey

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Elevating Mind Power – Denise Oatley Hall in the Spotlight for #MVWC

The Mountain Valley Writers Conference will feature speakers and presentations that will help provide the tools to writers that are working in the industry or those writers that are seeking to build their own platform for writing success.

Speaker Highlight

Denise Oatley Hall

Denise Oatley Hall here. The first thing you should know about me, is I am a combination of artist, scientist, goofball and dreamer. When I was a kid, we lived on a lake. I wanted to build a submarine (no kidding) and paint it with wild colors before I launched it. In junior high, I found out I could make people laugh. (Much to the dismay of my teachers.) No surprise then that I became a professional clown and a children’s entertainer for many years. I am also passionate about going for the gusto in life and helping other people to do the same. Becoming a hypnotist gave me understanding and powerful tools to not only help people create lasting change but also experience belly- busting laughter. These days, I use most of these experiences (no pies in the face) to create one-of-a-kind keynote presentations, shows, retreats and write. Life is good. Oh, and my favorite food is a hot dog.

Denise lives in sunny Safety Harbor, Florida with her dog Sophie.

Denise joins the Mountain Valley Writers Conference to share her secrets of mind power and how to make the most of your subconscious to reach your defined success.

Want to create breakthroughs on demand? Say yes! Your actions are fueled by your beliefs whether positive or negative. Denise’s presentation will show you how to interrupt worn out, ineffective beliefs and replace them with powerful, effective beliefs to achieve your goals. In a fusion of comedy and science, you will hear and see how quickly you can make this can happen in any area of your life.

Power Up Your Mind

    Take away:
    Boost confidence and belief in self and goals
    Breakthrough negative thinking and reset mind
    Increase confidence in self and goals

More about the Speaker

Favorite book: I don’t know how anyone can have one favorite book. But I love Little Women. I read it yearly and love it dearly.

Favorite Quote: Favorite quote? I have so many…but here is one I am fond of. “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old but building the new.” Socrates

One thing I want people to know about me. I am extremely playful and I love to make other people laugh.

Random fun facts: My friends call me Pioneer Woman – ask me why.

Where to Connect with the Speaker

Website: Denis Oatley Hall
Facebook: ChoosePassion

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Make Money Writing – Cindy M Jones in the Speaker Spotlight for #MVWC

The Mountain Valley Writers Conference will feature speakers and presentations that will help provide the tools to writers that are working in the industry or those writers that are seeking to build their own platform for writing success.

Speaker Highlight

Cindy M. Jones

Cindy M. Jones is a writer and consultant specializing in content provision, social media management and marketing for real estate, tourism, and author promotion. Her mission is guiding writers in discovering their goals and unique voice while giving them the tools they need to succeed.

She has appeared in publications such as; The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, The Christian Post, The Writer’s Den, Inspire a Fire, Birmingham Magazine, Birmingham Parent, Birmingham Business Journal and RootsRated. She has founded and facilitated creative writing groups throughout Alabama and Mississippi for all ages.

Cindy enjoys discovering treasures along the Alabama Coastline with her one true love, Bryan, and spending time with their three grown children.

You can make money writing, and Cindy joins the Mountain Valley Writers Conference with the task of providing the tools for creating a living wage providing content. She will challenge attendees to take their words to the next level. Whether you are a blogger, a novelist, or a non-fiction specialist, developing new income avenues and learning new paths to make money writing will give your a stronger foundation for the journey

    Make a Living Writing Content

    Top Points:
    You’ll learn how to:
    Develop a content provision niche
    Find new material
    Approach potential clients
    Market and brand yourself while staying organized.

More about the Speaker

Favorite book: The Bible, I just can’t seem to put it down.

Favorite Quotes: “Start where you are, do what you can, use what you have.” ~ Arthur Ashe

“Don’t despise the day of small beginnings.” ~ Zech 4:10

“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” ~ Oscar Wilde

Random Fun Fact: Inspired by an mysterious encounter nearly 30 years ago, I’m a tea fanatic and owl trinket collector.

Where to Connect with the Speaker

website: Cindy M Jones
Facebook: CindyJonesWrites
Twitter: @ceajones
Pinterest: Cindy M. Jones
Instagram: Cindy M. Jones

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Speaker Spotlight with Williesha Morris at the Mountain Valley Writers Conference

The Mountain Valley Writers Conference will feature speakers and presentations that will help provide the tools to writers that are working in the industry or those writers that are seeking to build their own platform for writing success.

Speaker Highlight

Williesha Morris

With a journalism degree under her belt, Williesha Morris embraces emerging technology and focuses on freelance writing and blogging for both offline and online publications. Her blog, My Freelance Life, was awarded as one of the top blogs for writers in 2015 by The Write Life.com. She’s written for the Huffington Post, XO Jane, Brazen Careerist, Al.com and Birmingham Magazine.

Williesha built a success blog and will bring some of her experiences in the journey to you. Her session: Freelance, Blogging, and Money – Oh, My will provide the tools for developing an income with words.

    • Blogging is still a profitable way of getting your name out there
    • Only requires expertise, not necessarily writing ability (but that helps!)
    • Resources for finding paying gigs that will establish your credibility
    • Queries for several websites that were successful in landing over $1,000

More about the Speaker

Favorite Book: March trilogy by John Lewis because it presented in a beautiful form what the civil rights movement looked like from the inside.

Favorite Quote:”Sometimes we expect more from others, because we would be willing to do that much for them.” – Unknown – Reminds me that sometimes my heart can be too big, but I’d rather err on the side of love.

One thing you want people to know about you: Spent a summer in Australia and interned for the Olympic Committee in Sydney.

Random fun fact: Superhero shows are my weakness.

Where to Connect with the Speaker

Websites:
My Freelance Life
Nerdy Thirty Something

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Mountain Valley Writers Conference – Speaker Highlight – William Thornton

The Mountain Valley Writers Conference will feature speakers and presentations that will help provide the tools to writers that are working in the industry or those writers that are seeking to build their own platform for writing success.

Speaker Highlight

William Thornton

William Thornton is the author of “Set Your Fields on Fire,” which won the 2015 Aspiring Author Contest with WestBow Press and the Parable Group. His comic Christian novel is distributed by HarperCollins. He is a native of Gadsden, Alabama and an award-winning reporter with the Alabama Media Group and AL.com. He has been in journalism for 28 years, with his work appearing in The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times, the (Mobile) Press-Register, The Tuscaloosa News and The Gadsden Times, along with national publications. His previous novels are “Brilliant Disguises” and “The Uncanny Valley.”
He lives in Southside, Alabama with his wife Donna and daughter Sophie.

He writes on classic and contemporary literature, music, movies and pop culture.

Here’s a link to the first chapter of “Set Your Fields on Fire.”

Here’s a link to the book on Amazon.

William will be joining the Mountain Valley Writers Conference as a session leader. He has been learning the ropes of self-promotion and will share all his secrets and special tips for how to market your book without losing all your friends.

Learning Self-Promotion (without Ending up Friendless): You’ve written a book! (or you want to write a book! Or maybe not?) You mean to change the world, one blessed word at a time! But yet, how will they know? You hear about social media, but you’re not at all sure about this whole thing. Does it involve words? Then again, you like the Interwebs, but how much is too much? How can I break the cycle of cat videos, political memes, and get them reading? And what about other media? Does anyone care? Make them!

More about the Speaker

Favorite book: It changes periodically, but always seems to swing back to “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Proves a great book doesn’t have to be long to be important, can be funny but serious, can be lyrical and still tell a story.

Favorite quote: E.L. Doctorow on writing: “It’s like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

One thing to know: It was working as a reporter that convinced Bill he could write a novel. A reporter on a beat can easily turn out two pages a day. Keep that pace up for three months, and you’ve got the first draft of a book.

Fun fact: Because Bill made (what he thought was) an innocuous comment about a 40-year-old movie, the actor William Shatner blocked him on Twitter.

Where to Connect with the Speaker

Website: Brilliant Disguises

Twitter: @billineastala

Facebook: william.thornton.56

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Mountain Valley Writers Conference Tickets