Guest Post: Advice I Ignored: Stories and Wisdom From a Formerly Depressed Teen by Ruby Walker

 

The first book about teenage depression written by a teenager!

A self-help book for people who hate help. And themselves.

Book Details:

        Paperback: 169 pages

        Publisher: Ruby Walker (September 5, 2019)

        Language: English

        ISBN-10: 1733478973

        ISBN-13: 978-1733478977

        Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches

Advice I Ignored: Stories and Wisdom from a Formerly Depressed Teen

When Ruby Walker was 15 going on 16, she went from a numb, silent, miserable high school dropout to a joyous loudmouth in one year flat. Advice I Ignored answers the question everyone's been asking her since: What happened?

Full of stories, honest advice, fierce hope, and over 100 hand-inked illustrations, Advice I Ignored is an important resource for teens suffering from depression (which has reached epidemic proportions), parents who have one, and educators who want to help. Applicable for adults suffering too!

TALKING POINTS

●     4 tips on how to gain a sense of free will and finally start taking showers again

●     Self-talk: 3 ways to stop bullying yourself and learn how to start talking to yourself like you talk to your friends

●     7 steps to stop the hate and treat yourself right

●     Opening up about sexual abuse/trauma

●     Advice for parents whose teens are suffering from depression

●     For parents and educators - signs to look for that a teen needs help, and what to do

●     Advice on how to start exercising to fix your brain chemistry

●     The importance of planning: making lots of small goals = accomplishing a big goal

●     4 lies your trauma is telling you and why you must not believe them

●     4 ways to find some quiet, make friends with boredom, and give yourself a break

●     Art and writing as a creative outlet for coping with depression

IMPORTANT DATES:

●     April is Stress Awareness Month

●     April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

●     April is Counseling Awareness Month

●     May is Mental Health Awareness Month

●     September is Suicide Prevention Month

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ruby Walker is an 18-year-old college student, artist and writer. Ruby grew up in Austin, moved down to Buda (TX), dropped out of high school, earned herself full tuition to a private university, and is currently studying art at Trinity University in San Antonio. Advice I Ignored: Stories and Wisdom from a Formerly Depressed Teen is the only book on teenage mental health actually written by a teenager.

Author’s Website: https://rubywalker.com/

Author’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/rubyirl

 

Why’d you draw that? A behind-the-scenes look into teen author Ruby Walker’s illustration process.

 

#1.

This illustration is from chapter six, which is all about creativity! For me, being creative is how I tell the world, “I’m here, I’m important, and I’m not going to fade away into nothing.” When I think about that kind of defiant energy, my mind immediately jumps to this Walt Whitman quote:

"I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,

 I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world."

 

 

The illustration formed naturally out of that idea - the catharsis of shouting so loud, you don’t care who hears.

Guest Post & Giveaway: Steele City Blues by Karen Greco

Steele City Blues

Hell’s Belle Series

Book 3

Karen Greco

Genre: urban fantasy/paranormal romance

Date of Publication: January 3, 2017

Word Count: 98,000

Formats available: epub, mobi, pdf

Cover Artist: Robin Ludwig

Book Description:

Blood Ops leader Dr. O is chained in the bowels of Steele City, the state’s maximum security prison, and the clock is ticking for Nina and Frankie to bust him out.

Now that supernatural creatures are out of the closet, Providence is descending into an Apocalyptic wasteland. With the abrupt shut down Blood Ops, Nina and Frankie are on their own to save Dr. O and the other supernatural prisoners from certain death. Not knowing where Demon Mayor Bertrand’s loyalties lie, they are forced to rely on some questionable allies to battle Leila, a powerful vampire/witch hybrid hell bent on creating an indestructible supernatural army. She also happens to be Nina’s mom.

Alliances are tested and relationships fractured as Nina and her band of supernatural crime fighting misfits are pushed to the breaking point.

Amazon

A (Virtual) Tour through Hell’s Belle’s Providence

The city of Providence, RI is as much of a character in the Hell’s Belle books as Nina, Frankie, Babe, etc. Some of the places are figments of my imagination, but a number of them really do exist! Here’s a virtual walking tour of these locations.

Nina’s factory apartment

The apartment Nina lives in in Hell’s Belle is located in the Olneyville section in Providence. This is the old manufacturing hub in the state, with beautiful old factory buildings circling the main street. While the Olneyville that Nina inhabits is run down and desolate, the area is experiencing a bit of a resurgence with artist friendly policies that are turning these old gems into live/work spaces for creatives.

Venda Ravioli

A quick walk (or motorcycle ride) from Olneyville is Federal Hill, Providence’s Little Italy. This is where Nina and Max have coffee and we are introduced to Bertrand for the first time. Venda is a real place, it exists, and it’s something of an institution! You can buy prepared foods, fresh pasta, pastries and coffees. Go hungry, leave stuffed.

Biltmore Hotel

When I was growing up, the Biltmore was to Providence what the Plaza Hotel was to NYC. Over the years, a number of large hotel chains as well as charming boutique hotels have upped the competition for tourist and event dollars, but this Art Deco gem still cuts a striking appearance. In the Hell’s Belle world, this is ground zero for the city’s poltergeist problem, and serves as our demon mayor’s office away from City Hall (which is, in actuality, right across the street).

The Tunnel

The big battle in Tainted Blood happens in the long abandoned East Side Railroad Tunnel. When I was yound, the tunnel was easily accessible - some silly “no trespassing” signs were going to keep out a bunch of creative college kids eager to party. During the era of underground raves, this was a key spot for artsy-grunge parties. After a particularly rowdy party, tunnel was finally sealed over. But its legacy endures!

Babe’s On the Sunnyside

Lets head on over to Fox Point, where Babe’s On the Sunnyside still exists in the Hell’s Belle world. Babe’s was a real watering hole when I was growing up. The kind of neighborhood bar that served cheap beer and the only “small plates” served were the pickled eggs. The original proprietor was an old boxing trainer, and old pictures of fighters adorned the walls. I recently saw the place described as “an old punk rock hangout.” And I am not sure that moniker is entirely accurate, not for the Babe’s I knew from my younger days, nor from the Babe’s the exists in the Hell’s Belle world. It was a good, old fashioned bar where as long as you didn’t cause any problems, you were welcome. And that’s what Hell’s Belle Babe’s continues to be.

About the Author:

Karen Greco is originally from Rhode Island and loves hot wieners from New York System, but can't stand coffee milk. She studied playwriting in college (and won an award or two). After not writing plays for a long time, a life-long obsession with exorcists and Dracula drew her to urban fantasy, where she decapitates characters with impunity. Steele City Blues is the third book in the Hell’s Belle series, after Hell’s Belle (the first) and Tainted Blood (number two). She writes contemporary romance for a small press under the pen-name Jillian Sterling, and has a day job in entertainment publicity.

http://www.karengrecoauthor.com/

http://karengreco.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/karenThegreco

https://www.facebook.com/hellsbellebykarengreco

https://www.goodreads.com/karengreco

Tour giveaway

 10 copies of the book in Kindle or Epub format.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post & Giveaway: The King of Evil by Josh Stricklin

The King of Evil

Josh Stricklin

Genre: Horror, Occult, Voodoo

Publisher: Silver Leaf Books

Date of Publication: September 1

ISBN: 978-1609751753

Number of pages: 334

Word Count: 80,000

Cover Artist: Paul Tynes

Book Description:

After a horrific accident, graphic artist Jack Simmons and his wife, Cindy, have lost all sense of a normal life. With their marriage in pieces, their only hope in setting things back is by starting over. The two pack their lives in boxes and migrate to the Big Easy. Upon arrival, Jack and Cindy fall into the jobs of their dreams. The new start they were hoping for seemed to have been waiting for them in New Orleans, after all. But something followed them. Something Evil.

Jack is commissioned to create the artwork for a graphic novel about a voodoo king, The King of Evil. As Jack works diligently to create a masterpiece, drawing the images back and forth between paper and his computer, he starts seeing things. Images of his King appear in the corners of his vision. They spring up just as Jack falls asleep. Always only inches out of plain sight.

The King grows more powerful, and soon he unleashes his power on Jack, Cindy, and the people in their lives. The King slowly destroys everyone around them, showing the newly rekindled couple what it's like to be evil for evil's sake. Jack and Cindy will need help from the King's past victims to stop him.

The King of Evil is a heart-pounding, supernatural thriller. Its vibrant characters and intense action is certain to keep its audience reading well into the night.

About the Author:

Josh Stricklin is an American author and musician with degrees in English literature and advertising from the University of Southern Mississippi. His first novel, Those Who Are Left, is available online and in person. The King of Evil is his first terrifying novel with Silver Leaf Books. He's currently hard at work finishing his first series…or more likely reading comic books and wearing a Seahawks jersey.

http://www.thegreenroses.com

https://twitter.com/ExplosionAction

https://www.instagram.com/explosionaction/