Hello everyone, welcome to Stories and Stanza. Please join me in welcoming today's guest speaker, Melissa Entzminger.

She is an acclaimed public speaker and dedicated the last 15 years to guiding professionals in crafting and delivering powerful, unforgettable presentations. With a Master's in Communication and 5 years as a college professor, she infuses her workshops and coaching sessions with a mix of proven strategies and engaging, interactive learning. Many of her clients initially feel daunted by assembling their speeches, terrified of freezing up and being judged or rejected in those moments of silence. Her offers are designed to fast-track your success, equipping you with the confidence to conquer your fear of public speaking, mesmerize your audience, and significantly boost your influence as a communicator. She works with an incredible roster of clients, ranging from executives to Senators and State Representatives. Her celebrated e-book is “7 Easy Steps to Kick Your Public Speaking Nerves to the Curb”, sharing the actionable strategies she used to overcome her speaking anxiety and now helps thousands of others. After all, mastery in public speaking offers a competitive edge in any scenario.

Sharing her details if you wish to reach out to her.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaentzminger/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075493194228
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/takingyourstage/
• Link to E-book: https://beautiful-art-42260.myflodesk.com/uxmri1sq3d
• Link to book a free 20-minute assessment on speech: https://tidycal.com/takingyourstagee

Please join me in welcoming Patti Miller for today's episode. She is joining us today to discuss her book "Writing True Stories".

She is the author of ten books, including the award-winning The Mind of a Thief, the critically acclaimed Ransacking Paris, The Joy of High Places, and True Friends. The Mind of a Thief was longlisted for the Stella Prize and the Nita Kibble Prize, shortlisted for the WA Premier's Prize for Non-Fiction, winner of the NSW Premier's Prize for History and on the syllabus for English for the VCE in Victoria. She is widely published in literary magazines and national newspapers. She is also a teacher of memoir and nonfiction and has offered workshops for over 30 years in Australia, Paris, Bali, Fiji, and London. Over 65 of Patti Miller's writing students have been commercially published. She currently teaches at the Faber Academy, Sydney and London.

Writing True Stories is essential for anyone wanting to write a memoir or explore the wider territory of creative nonfiction. It provides practical guidance and inspiration on a vast array of writing topics, including how to access memories, find a narrative voice, build a vivid world on the page, create structure, use research and face the difficulties and pitfalls of truth-telling. This book introduces and develops key writing skills and strategies and then challenges more experienced writers to extend their knowledge and practice of the genre into literary nonfiction, true crime, biography, personal essay, and travel and sojourn writing. Whether you want to write your own autobiography, investigate a wide-ranging political issue or bring to life an intriguing history, this book will be your guide. This second edition encompasses over five years of updated study in the field of life writing with entirely new material on journal and diary writing, the ethics of writing true stories and extended material on creative nonfiction, including biography and new journalism, plus brand new extracts from key writers such as Joan Didion, Janet Malcolm, Zadie Smith and many others.

Stories and Stanza is a montage of inspiring real-life stories.

I started this series, 'Fail With Me,' on my podcast to talk about failure in life and building resilience. So far in this series, I have spoken with therapists, behaviourists, writers, and educators and have felt enriched by their lives, knowledge, and attitudes. However, I must say that speaking with today's guest had such a strong impact on me. As someone who has experienced the loss of her son, faced homelessness for a period of time, underwent the angst of separation and then lost sense and control of the dominant side of her body because of a stroke, her story told me that life didn't fail her but her undeniable spirit defeated failure.

Before we start today's episode, I want to say a few words about our guest. Her journey is a testament to how strong a person can truly be. I started this series, 'Fail With Me', to talk about failure in life and building resilience. So far in this series, I have spoken with therapists, behaviourists, writers and educators - to be enriched by their life, knowledge and attitude towards life. However, I must say that speaking with Alma had such a strong impact on me. As someone who has experienced the loss of her son, faced homelessness for a period of time, underwent the angst of separation and then lost sense and control of the dominant side of her body because of a stroke, her story told me that life didn't fail her but her undeniable spirit defeated failure. Please join me in welcoming Alma Thomas for today's episode.

Today, we have Alice Rizzi, a psychologist and mindfulness coach from New York, as our guest.

She creates courses and programs that help people experience more joy, peace, and freedom in their everyday lives. Alice believes mindfulness is a superpower and is on a mission to educate as many people as possible about the benefits they can experience when they make it a daily practice. She believes that more mindful individuals will contribute to more peaceful and loving communities where we can all thrive.

Today's episode is very special, as I do not host this one. I requested my long-time friend Ananya to take over as co-chair to have this chat with Alice. Ananya has promised to come back from time to time to help me accommodate guests from the US, especially from the East, as the time overlap with Australia is a little challenging.

Feel free to reach out to Alice through social media:

• Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/DrAliceRizzi/
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/dralicerizzi

Please join me in welcoming Brooke Bownes for today's episode. She is an accredited trauma coach, therapist and global No.1 bestselling author. She works with ambitious women who struggle with feeling stuck and want to get unstuck and heal those inner child wounds, find their power and confidence and release their trauma so they can go for their goals.

She is passionate about this as she once felt powerless and scared to show up in the world as herself. She then started working on her mindset, discovered who she was and loved the feeling of inner contentment and confidence. She went from being scared to speaking on stage. She had an abusive relationship growing up with a narcissistic mother and moved on to two abusive relationships. She has been homeless, I brought up 4 children single-handedly, and she has a unique way of understanding people where they are and helping them to find their power. She discovered how to rewire her mind and regulate her nervous system, release her trauma so I could achieve the dreams she wanted to achieve, and now I help people do the same by helping them. She now lives in a beautiful house with her husband and runs a successful business whilst having fun on adventures in her campervan.

Please find her details below:

• UK Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09DX7PB11
• US Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DX7PB11
• Email: brooke@brookebownes.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-bownes-the-breakthrough-queen-b17815116/

Welcome to a new episode of Stories and Stanza. Please join me in welcoming Lisa Darcy, 'In Author's Chair', for today's episode.

Born in Melbourne, Lisa spent her youth moving around due to her father’s role in the Royal Australian Air Force, including four years living in Malaysia. The family moved back to Brisbane, Australia, where Lisa finished high school and studied journalism at university. After completing her degree, she relocated to Sydney, where she worked as an Acquisitions Editor at publishing house Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (HBJ) and then as a journalist with Australian Consolidated Press, writing for Practical Parenting and Bride to Be. Lisa published several novels with Allen & Unwin, Australia, and her seventh novel, Lily’s Little Flower Shop, was published by Bloodhound Books UK in 2021, followed by My Big Greek Holiday and Should You Keep A Secret? in 2022. A creative writing teacher, Lisa also presents workshops and has been on panels and facilitated workshops at RWA conferences, GenreCon, Sydney Writers’ Festival and many regional and international writers’ festivals, including Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad, India. The Pact is Lisa’s eighth book.

I hope you like the episode. If you are interested in 'The Pact' please find the link below.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Pact-Lisa-Darcy/dp/B0CZM6FT7D/

Please join me in welcoming Zeenat Ahmed-Peto as the guest for today's episode.

Zeenat Ahmed-Peto is a cognitive hypnotherapist who supports sensitive mid-life professionals to heal from burnout and helps them improve their boundaries. Her clients are often overwhelmed with responsibilities and have habits of people-pleasing, leaving their needs last on the list. They work together on building self-esteem and self-love, creating healthy boundaries so they can be kinder to themselves, and creating positive relationships at work and home.

Zeenat helps her clients identify how they experience stress and the core reasons for it, which can range from fear of public speaking to imposter syndrome and anxiety in all areas of life. She works in partnership with her clients to make their dreams an attainable reality and, each day, more joyful.

Zeenat is the author of ‘Too Kind: A Survival Guide for Sensitive Souls’ which is available on Amazon:

• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Too-Kind-Survival-Guide-Sensitive/dp/B0D2B4KDZ5/
• https://zeenatahmedpeto.com/

Today, we have the privilege of welcoming Jaime Stanford as our guest speaker.

She was raised in the picturesque Warwickshire county in the UK, where she enjoyed a simple rural life of homegrown produce and collecting fresh eggs every morning. She pursued education in Media Studies and Film Studies and transitioned into a career in Social Media. In 2019, she relocated from the countryside to the Shakespeare town of Stratford Upon Avon with her three daughters. Here, she discovered a passion for writing, particularly in the realm of erotic and sensual poetry, which led to the publication of her first book, "Meet Me at the Crossroads" in 2021. Subsequently, in 2023, she released a second book, "The Monoku Collection," which showcases a captivating array of micro poetry from various poets. S

She is actively engaged in the writing community on Twitter, providing numerous poetry prompts and hosting learn & write podcasts.

• Meet Me at the Crossroads: A collection of Sensual and Erotic Micro poetry https://amzn.eu/d/3CZYiiZ
• Erotic Fantasies The Monoku Collection: A Collection of Erotic and Sensual Monoku Poetry https://amzn.eu/d/cpm2v3L