Interview with Michele Wahlder, Author of the Self-help Book Alphatudes



Michele Wahlder is a certified life coach, career counselor, licensed psychotherapist, motivational speaker and gratitude enthusiast. She is the founder of Life Possibilities, LLC, a company that guides people to become the highest vision they hold for themselves in their lives, careers and relationships through the vehicles of coaching, seminars and books. Wahlder is devoted to helping her clients discover their strengths, passions and purpose so that their outer lives authentically reflect their hearts’ desires. She holds an MS in Counseling and Development from Texas Woman’s University and a BA in Communications from Tulane University. Wahlder has worked with numerous organizations, including Match.com, The Nielsen Company, Lucent Technologies and Girls, Inc., to improve individual performance and organizational effectiveness.

Honored as the Global Spokesperson for Bayer’s Global MS Campaign, Wahlder is an experienced and dynamic media guest who has appeared in numerous print, radio, and television outlets including WFAA-TV’s Good Morning Texas, KDAF-TV’s The 33 News, CBS and CNN Radio. She has served as a contributing expert for publications such as Fitness magazine, Dallas Morning News, Texas Jewish Post, and Dallas Child.

Wahlder lives in Dallas, Texas, with her fiancé Michael, “bonus daughter” Zoe and Portuguese water dog Moses.

Welcome to The Writer's Life, Michele. Can you please tell us about your book and why you wrote it?

Answer: Alphatudes: The Alphabet of Gratitude, uses the structure of the alphabet, to provide 26 spiritual solutions to help individuals develop a perspective of gratitude to better cope with the challenges of life. It offers a rare combination of uplifting and beautiful illustrations, quotes, narratives, affirmations and prayers to give the reader an experience of gratitude rather than just a theoretical overview. Alphatudes will help readers:

• Heighten their awareness and appreciation of life’s daily gifts
• Attract opportunities with a positive mind-set
• Surmount life’s challenges with a healthy reservoir of gratitude
• Find the hidden blessings in difficult situations
• Free themselves from worry, negativity and resentment


My hope in creating Alphatudes: The Alphabet of Gratitude was to provide an easy-to-implement, effective means of helping others find the wellspring of optimism, serenity and prosperity that comes from the simple practice of gratitude. The ability to sustain a positive outlook on life is a beneficial by-product of the practice of gratitude.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced writing it?

Answer: I wanted to write the book with spiritual terms that were accessible to people of all religious backgrounds and faiths. At times, it was difficult to try and find spiritual terms and wording that I thought everyone could relate to.

Do you have a press kit and what do you include in it? Does this press kit appear online and, if so, can you provide a link to where we can see it?

Answer: My website www.alphatudes.com has my photo, a list of interviews/appearances, my bio and media contacts. A full press kit is available upon request.

Have you either spoken to groups of people about your book or appeared on radio or TV? What are your upcoming plans for doing so?

Answer: Yes, I have been interviewed by numerous television programs and radio shows. I have more upcoming interviews scheduled. You can hear and see many of the interviews at www.lifepossibilities.com.

Do you have an agent and, if so, would you mind sharing who he/is is? If not, have you ever had an agent or do you even feel it’s necessary to have one?

Answer: I did not have an agent. However, I do have a fantastic book sales and marketing company – The Cadence Group.

Did you, your agent or publisher prepare a media blitz before the book came out and would you like to tell us about it?



Answer: We had the sales, marketing and publicity plan in place before Alphatudes ever went to the printer. To publish effectively, we had to take every aspect of the publishing process in to consideration and plan, and budget, accordingly. We were pitching long-lead magazines four months prior to publication and started online optimization, reviews, print media, and social media one month prior to publication. All of these will be ongoing for several months. We also started booking an author tour six weeks prior to publication and have five events in the Dallas area booked for March and April.

Do you plan subsequent books?

Answer: I am considering writing a series of Alphatudes: The Alphabet of Gratitude books in the future. I haven’t chosen the specific names of the books in the series yet.

Thank you for your interview, Michele. Would you like to tell my readers where they can find you on the web and how everyone can buy your book?

Answer:
Readers can find more information about me, my books, life coaching and speaking engagements on my websites:

www.alphatudes.com
www.lifepossibilities.com

Alphatudes: The Alphabet of Gratitude is available for purchase on my website www.alphatudes.com/store or directly through the following national outlets:

BARNES & NOBLE
AMAZON.COM
BORDERS
BUY DIRECT


Readers can also get connected with me through social sites:

Connect with me on Facebook
Become a fan of Alphatudes on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Let’s link up on LinkedIn
Connect with me on Plaxo
View my YouTube Channel

1 comment:

  1. Cheryl,

    The Alphatudes book launch was so busy that I'm just now getting a chance to respond to all the bloggers on the blog tour.

    Thank you so much for interviewing me about Alphatudes. It was such a fun book to write and I've been overjoyed by the response we've received at book signings and on the blog tour. Thanks for being a part of it!

    I'll be posting a link to the interview on the book website soon. http://alphatudes.com

    With gratitude,
    Michele

    ReplyDelete

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