Advertise on podcast: Bedside Reading's AUTHORS THAT THRIVE

Jessica Mead is the girl next door, your best friend, a passionate educator, and a fearless business woman. As the CEO of Brandlync, a 30 million dollar marketing agency, Jessica also sits on the board of several companies, and is an angel investor – all while homeschooling her two children and traveling the world.  Her mission is to help women all over make more, do more, and live more!”   Jessica speaks with Lou about her book "FIREWORK HUMANS" and how she continues to thrive in her life, her businesses and her passions.

Pamela (Pam) McCord got a late start in writing, but has made up for it with several published novels and at least one more on the way.  A serendipitous conversation with a writer friend launched her literary career, and the fact that she might never have had that particular conversation is enough to make her believe that fate played a hand in sending her down her best path. She’s lived in Southern California most of her life and is thankful to have a loving family and supportive friends.  ​Spending time at home during the COVID pandemic has advanced both Pam's writing and her relationship with her My Cat From Hell TV star, Allie, who manages to exude just enough affection to make her scary feral ways tolerable. Listen to Pamela share her personal story on becoming a writer, her love of writing about ghosts and her writing process with Lou Diamond on Authors That Thrive.

He writes non-fiction as Ian Bull, and nonfiction essays as Donald Ian Bull.  He'll be the first to tell you he has a split personality! He has written five books of fiction as Ian Bull so far -- an action-adventure trilogy, THE QUINTANA ADVENTURES, and two noir romance books under the CALIFORNIA NOIR banner.  As Donald Ian Bull he's written essays about swimming, a TV production guidebook, and he published a book of the early posts from his blog, CaliforniaBull.com. His family is originally from Ontario, Canada. he grew up in San Francisco, graduated from UC Berkeley, worked at KQED in San Francisco, then moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA Film School and stayed for a career in documentaries and reality television. He lives in Studio City with his wife, Robin, and daughter, Lily. Donald loves living in California and telling stories and he takes time to share his on Bedside Reading's Authors That Thrive.

In author Ora Nadrich's stunning new book, Mindfulness and Mysticism, she brings together the practice of Mindfulness with a spiritual understanding of becoming one with a higher consciousness, which can be called God, a supreme being, source, unity consciousness, or oneness. Ora takes the reader into a non-religious experience of mysticism by giving them what she calls "sacred truths", which are universal principles, or divine laws every human being can live by if they choose to be present with the mystery of life. With Mindfulness as the ever-present guiding escort, the greater purpose is to become more present, mindful and aware. The reader will embark upon the path of mystical self-transformation and divine inspiration to awaken to one's highest potential by getting a better understanding of how being in the present moment can raise our states of consciousness so that awakening and self-realization can be achieved. Ora has done a masterful job at bringing the practice of Mindfulness into the real world where we all live that is undeniably user-friendly. She makes it clear that we don't have to be mystics to have a deep, authentic connection to the present moment while at the same time showing that, in truth, we already are mystics in training. Ora's book reveals this truth to us very beautifully, and invites us, if we are willing to mindfully step into the present moment with absolutely no hidden agenda wherein the mystery of a mystical life awaits our arrival. At a time when chaos in our culture is staggeringly upsetting, and millions are sensing there must be something 'more' but have no idea what it is, a book like Mindfulness and Mysticism paves a path beyond confusion. It speaks to the mind as well as to the heart, both explaining the mystical and leading us into it where we can realize a connection to something greater - the divine within us. Ora Nadrich provides a traveler's companion from the delusional maze of a desacralized world, to the calm and inner peace that Mindfulness can offer. Mindfulness and Mysticism is a beautiful road map to assist one's soul on the journey of awakening, self-discovery, and mystical illumination.

Kevin Pereau is a leading digital health expert and author of the The Digital Health Revolution. He spent the early part of his career managing strategy and management consulting firms with a specialty focus on technology. His first health technology company was a consumer health scoring firm who’s mission was to provide longitudinal context around how what we do and how we feel affects who we are. “You can’t manage, what you don’t measure” is something Pereau is fond of saying and for that, you need a scoring system. From there, Pereau founded one of the most influential boutique consulting firms in healthcare. He serves on the advisory boards of LifeData and HealthSaaS and speaks at healthcare conferences where he also moderates panel discussions. Pereau is probably one of the most connected people in healthcare. He has consulted to variety of digital health companies ranging from population health & tele-health solutions, marketplace and consumer transparency tools to predictive analytics engines. He likes to describe the industry as being on the cusp of the most exciting time ever; a world of connected health where sick-care, meets healthcare and data can be shared with any stakeholder in our healthcare value chain. His latest book , IT TAKES A VILLAGE, continues the conversation of digitally connecting healthcare and patients. Listen in as Kevin connects with Lou Diamond in this engaging episode about emerging healthcare tech and Kevin's latest book.

NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious Vivian, a RITA, a Golden Heart, and a Daphne du Maurier, and her books have been translated into 17 languages. As a born storyteller, Darynda grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, certain they went away the better for it. She penned the international bestselling Charley Davidson series and is currently working on several beloved projects, most notably the Sunshine Vicram Mystery Series with St. Martin's Press and the Betwixt and Between Series of paranormal women's fiction. She lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys. Listen in to this engaging conversation as Darynda talks about her latest book Bad Day for Sunshine on Bedside Readings Authors That Thrive.  

S.G. was born in a faraway land of castles, monarchies and fallen dictatorships (aka Hungary). Hollywood movies were forbidden under Soviet oppression during her childhood, but her dad smuggled them anyway, risking his life not for profit but for his children to experience the magic and hope inherent in those stories. Listen in to hear her amazing journey towards becoming an author and learn about her first novel, The Last Lumenian, on Bedside Reading's Authors That Thrive.

Growing up in a village with a population of three hundred and six, there were more books in the local library than people in town. A.M. Caplan used to concoct increasingly elaborate schemes to “borrow” the thriller titles she wasn’t allowed to read. Eventually she gave up her life of crime and went straight, putting all her ill-gotten knowledge to use, resulting in Echoes, Reverberation, and Dead Quiet, the page-turning Echoes Trilogy. Listen to A.M Caplan connect with Lou Diamond on Bedside Reading's Authors That Thrive.

Carole P. Roman is the award-winning author of over fifty children's books. Whether it's pirates, princesses, and spies, or discovering the world around us, her books have enchanted educators, parents, and her diverse audience of children.  She hosts a blog radio program called Indie Authors Roundtable and is one of the founders of the magazine, Indie Author's Monthly.  Her best selling -- The big book of silly jokes for kids now has a sequel...and we’ll chat about it today. She also writes adult books under the name Brit Lunden and she is thriving on all cylinders    Please welcome Carol P. Roman to Bedside Reading's Authors That Thrive.

IVAN OBOLENSKY grew up regaled by tales of his aristocratic and trailblazing ancestors while surrounded by high society. He was inspired at an early age by intrigue, mystery and adventure. He brings his love of storytelling to his writing. Eye of the Moon is his first novel.

Wendy Wilkins is an award winning actress, writer, filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Wendy is honored to have recently become an American citizen having lived here for years via London, originally from Australia. After being a young cop, Wendy became one of the most successful real estate agents in Australia, personally selling over a billion dollars in sales. Her creative passions kept calling her since she put shows on for her grandfather in her garage, when she was a little girl. The joy on his face still resonates with Wendy today. Wendy has won awards on the festival circuit, and been delighted to act in a number of award winning films and TV shows alongside many household names. Wendy also has a number of screenplays in various forms of development.  From acting in award winning films and tv shows to writing screenplays to writing her memoir -- Sex, Love & Cops, which is about her five years as a young cop in Melbourne, Australia where she discovered her first arrest, first love, first murder, cop culture, cops and guns, and a even a #metoo moment. Wendy connects with Lou Diamond on an episode pulled from the Bedside Reading Authors That Thrive podcast.

Raised in Los Angeles, Carla Malden began her career working in motion picture production and development before becoming a screenwriter. Along with her father, Academy Award–winning actor Karl Malden, she coauthored his critically acclaimed memoir, When Do I Start?. More recently, Malden published AfterImage: A Brokenhearted Memoir of A Charmed Life, a fiercely personal account of battling the before and surviving the after of losing her first husband to cancer. Carla’s feature writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, highlighting the marvels and foibles of Southern California and Hollywood. Search Heartache is her first novel. Carla Malden lives in Brentwood with her husband and ten minutes (depending on traffic) from her daughter.