Stories to Tell

Stories to Tell Ep 11: Guest Ken Ball Shares About His Dream to Visit Every Country in the World. He Discusses Some of His Favorite Experiences to Date, His Next 10 Country Trip and How He Hopes to Inspire Others to Follow Their Dreams

We sit down with an inspiring man whose dream is to visit all 197 countries around the world. Ken is 71 years old who unfortunately has a significant vision impairment. But it doesn’t slow him down. His commitment to travel means so much more than just his next trip. He purposefully keeps his mind and body in shape so that he can continue his quest to see all of the countries in the worl. Ken shares some of his favorite travel experiences to date and what the difference is between and tourist and a traveler and how traveling opens up so many more opportunities to have meaningful experiences. He shares travel tips and inspiring words that will hopefully encourage others to follow their passions as well. If you love to travel, admire determination or just enjoy a great story, this is a fun journey not to miss.

Stories to Tell Ep 10: Dita Dow Discusses What Inspires Her Short Stories, a Supernatural Encounter She Experienced and a Passion for Archaeology

I truly enjoyed my conversation with Dita Dow. She starts off talking about her love for archaeology and what she saw and experienced while on a recent trip to Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. Dita then relates a truly remarkable story about a supernatural experience she had while walking her dog in the petroglyph monument area in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is one of the most interesting stories I have ever heard and truly something amazing to hear. She finishes up the podcast talking about the books she has written and where she finds inspiration for her stories. She also shares why she likes to publish her wonderful stories in the short story format.  To find out more about Dita:  https://www.ditadow.com/ New release on Amazon: The Haunting Feast of All Hallows Eve: A Tale of Magic and Mystery: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D5W41P3R/

Stories to Tell Ep 9 - Guest Carolyn Meyer Talks About Reinventing Herself Later in Life and How That Has Led to Solo Shows in Albuquerque and Performances with The Moth Around the World

Carolyn Meyer is truly an inspiration. She talks about reinventing herself in her 80's and how it all started with going to an improvisational class in Albuquerque New Mexico. This experience led her to start telling stories in front of audiences and then to having the confidence to take her story telling to new levels by putting on solo performances. She has also performed with The Moth many times around the world telling a story of what it is like to online date in your 80's. Her story called Don't Call Me Young Lady is also part of The Moths compilation book The Moth Presents: A Point of Beauty: True Stories of Holding On and Letting Go.  She is a remarkable story teller with an amazing sense of humor.

Stories to Tell Ep 8 - Guest Jim Tritten Talks About Becoming a Naval Aviator, Putting Together the Remarkable Book Holes in our Hearts and Exploring His Creative Process for Becoming an Award Winning Writer

Jim talks about becoming a Naval Aviator including what it is like to land and take off from aircraft carriers. He also talks about one of this proudest accomplishments for how he helped lead an effort to put together a book that became Holes In Our Hearts. He talks about the military members that had their own Stories to Tell and how the process of writing helped in their healing. Jim is a prolific author and has won seventy-seven awards to date. We talked about his creative process and he encourages other authors with tips on how to get started and keep improving their own writing skills. Jim also talks about his son and daughter receiving the Papal Blessing by the Pope in Rome.  Jim retired after a forty-four-year career with the Department of Defense, including duty as a carrier-based naval aviator. He holds advanced degrees from the University of Southern California and formerly served as a faculty member and National Security Affairs department chair at the Naval Postgraduate School. Dr. Tritten’s publications have won him seventy-seven writing awards, including the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award from the Navy League of the U.S., the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) Writer of the Year and the Parris Award [https://www.southwestwriters.com/parris-award/] from SouthWest Writers (SWW) – both of these in 2023. He has published thirteen books and over four hundred chapters, short stories, essays, articles, and government technical reports. Jim was a frequent speaker at many military, arms control, and international conferences and has seen his work translated into Russian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Title: Holes in Our Hearts: An Anthology of New Mexican Military Related Stories and Poetry Publisher: Independently published (May 29, 2023) “Introduction” “Adjusting to New Realities” “Thank you for your service” This collection of prose and poetry was gathered and created by SouthWest Writers and funded through a grant from the State of New Mexico Arts Agency. These stories were written and contributed by New Mexican Veterans, their family members and caregivers including: Rosa Armijo-Pemble, Joseph Badal, Rebecca Black, Steve Borbas, E. Joe Brown, Laurel Burnett, Sherri Burr, Ivan Calhoun, John J. Candelaria, Judy Castleberry, Brenda Cole, Brinn Colenda, Joshua Colenda, Mark Fleisher, Paul David Gonzales, Linda G. Harris, M. Elder Hays, A. Michael Hibner, Carl Hitchens, KE Hopkins, James Houston and Molly Houston, Carol Kreis, Caroline A. LeBlanc, Jacqueline Murray Loring, Butch Maki, Elaine Carson Montague, Sam Moorman, Evelyn Neil, Thomas Neiman, C.L. Nemeth, Paula Nixon, Harper O’Connor, Jeffrey Otis, Donna Pedace, W. Howard Plunkett, Léonie Rosenstiel, Earl W. Rugen, Lynne Sebastian, Barb Simmons, Ted Spitzmiller, Dale Swetnam, Jasmine Tritten, Jim Tritten, Lawrence Trujillo, Vicki Turpen, KL Wagoner, Regina Washington, Dan Wetmore, Ben White, Josephine White, J. Allen Whitt, Circe Olson Woessner, Norbert Wood, Kay Yoest.

Stories to Tell Ep 7 - Guest Sonja Dewing Talks About Her Books, Her Publishing Company, an Amazing Adventure in the Amazon and the Exciting World of Roller Derby

Sonja Dewing is a multi award winning and best selling author. She is the: *  CEO, Plot Duckies Publishing * Founder, Women's Thriller Writers Association [https://womensthrillerwriters.com/] * Podcast: The 5 Minute Author [https://womensthrillerwriters.com/blog-2/] Her books include Thrillhers, the exciting Idol Maker series which includes Toy of the Gods, Gamble of the Gods, Castoffs of the Gods and Relic of the Gods and many more. In this episode we get to talk about her unique publishing company that focuses on books that have strong female characters, how its creation came about and why it is important to her. We also hear about her amazing trip where she put all aside to take a 7 week adventure to Costa Rica, Panama and Peru and about her time in the Amazon jungle. The last story is about how she got outside her comfort zone to try something completely new - roller derby - and absolutely fall in love with it. I think you will really enjoy Sonja Dewing's Stories to Tell.