Bob is an old saloon singer who, as Bobby Brookes, recorded for RCA Victor and Capital back in the day. Kaye has trouble carrying a tune in a bucket.

Nevertheless, after they met at a recording studio on 42nd Street (yes, that 42nd Street), they teamed up as Brooker and O’Dougherty and began a decades-long collaboration on a variety of theater, film, TV and video projects, performing, writing, directing, managing, and producing.

Football is for Lovers (which can be found at http://www.footballforlovers.com) marks Bob and Kaye’s debut as book authors.

Q: Welcome to Beyond the Books, Bob and Kaye.  Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

A:  Although we’ve been writing performance-oriented stuff – like scripts and songs and skits – for many years, this is the only book we’ve had published.

Q: What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?

A: This book – Football is for Lovers – is not only the first we’ve had published.  It’s the first we’ve ever written.  But it’s been so much fun; you can bet it won’t be our last.  In fact, we’re already at work on our second.

Q: For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?

A:  When we decided to write Football is for Lovers, it was really not about finding a publisher.  One week, we were getting ready to go into a studio to complete work on a new album Bob was recording.  The next week, we were in a local hospital with Bob recovering from a stroke.  His left side – including his left vocal chord – was paralyzed.  Hmmmm.  Time to reinvent ourselves, yes?  So, since we’d been writing as a team for years – although mostly for the stage – we decided to convert ourselves into authors.  Once we’d gotten the book underway, we just went online and found ourselves a publisher.

Q: How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?

A:  We were about to say, since we didn’t look for a publisher, we were never rejected.  But heaven knows, we had our share of hard knocks when we were writing for the stage.  Probably the worst was when we had written a musical, Harlem Sweet, based on the works of the Poet Laureate of Harlem, Langston Hughes.  Since Langston wrote by walking through Harlem and listening to the people, much of his poetry was really conversation.  And since he was very much involved with music, his poetry also translated well into songs.

We saw his work as a musical waiting to happen.  It required a lot of research – which was a joy – but it did take years to complete. Still, it was worth it and, when it was finished, the executor of the Langston Hughes Estate loved it.  He told us he couldn’t wait for our off-Broadway debut.  Now, although we had obtained rights to the works before we started on the project, there turned out to be additional legal issues that had to be resolved.  Only problem was, the lawyer for the theatre group who was producing our musical and the lawyer for the Hughes Estate hated each other’s guts.

Still, the executor was completely on our side, and told us not to worry even though he had not yet gotten the final papers to sign.  So we began auditions in a little theatre on Forty-Second Street.  It was the most glorious blue-sky October day you could imagine when we got the call from our lawyer: the estate executor – a man in his fifties – had suddenly dropped dead.  The ensuing legal hassle put an end to the production.  So.  Maybe you can see why we didn’t try to find a publisher for our book.  After that experience, keeping things in our own hands always seems like a good idea.

Q: When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?

A:  We chose Mill City Press because, after researching possibilities online, we decided they offered the most bang for the buck.  And we haven’t been disappointed.  As we said, we’ve begun work on our second book – also non-fiction humor – He’s Not the Guy (God Didn’t Do It!), and we intend to work with Mill City once again.

Q: How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

A: Actually, the biggest thrill was when we began writing for the stage.  Hearing actors saying the lines we had written, bringing our characters to life, was pretty awesome.  But – holding that first physical copy of Football is for Lovers had us grinning big time, too.  Like they say in that beer commercial: it’s all good!

Q: What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

A: We set up a website, studied the whole site optimization thing, wrote promotional articles . . . and kept thinking how great it would be if we could just write and have someone else do the selling.

Q: If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?

A: No.  We were set on the self-publishing route from the beginning.  We wanted to get going, not wait for someone to ‘choose’ us.

Q: Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?

A:  We’re still working on our second book, He’s Not the Guy (God Didn’t Do It!). Of course, Football is for Lovers is certainly about two subjects we have a real feeling for – love and football.   But the opportunity to put our ideas – in fact, our ideology – down on paper is a pretty exciting thing.  And since our ideology extends beyond football, we figure we’ll be writing for a long, long time.  The love part?  Well, that pretty much is our ideology . . .

Q: Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up?  What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?

A:  Writing a book and selling a book are two different things.  Writing has always been almost as natural as breathing.  Marketing . . . well, we might have been better served if we’d taken a few marketing courses . . .

Q: What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?

A:  Our biggest accomplishment since becoming published has nothing to do with our book.  Since Bob’s stroke, besides our writing goals, we’ve been into the walking and talking thing.  Bob’s making it around the track at the local football field, using his left hand on the computer keyboard (well, at least the shift key for capitals), and almost being able to carry a tune again have been our greatest accomplishments.  We do like to drink to that!  Often!

Q: If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

A:  Well, of course, we did choose another profession.  So this already is the ‘other profession.’   Although, to some degree, they both involve writing of one kind or another.  So if it could be neither of those, that is, writing for the stage or writing a book . . .  I guess we’d just find another form of writing.  Political commentary comes to mind . . . The questions that, to us, scream to be asked by TV interviewers, but aren’t, just about drive us around the bend . . .

Q: Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?

A:  Funny.  It just occurred to us.  In the end, it keeps coming back to the words.  Writing has always been . . . well, what we do.  Stringing words together.  Giving them to actors to speak.  Putting them down on paper.  And for Bob, for most of his life, singing them.  So for us it would always be a combination of whatever we were up to at the moment – sports or politics or music – and the words that expressed our beliefs about the current subject of choice.

Q: How do you see yourself in ten years?

A:  Still writing humorous non-fiction.  But by then, we’ll have become well-enough established so that we can just do the writing and leave the marketing to someone else.

Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

A:  It’s so corny we almost hate to say it.  But we will anyway: do what you love.  And that applies to everyone, not just writers.  We’ve been around a long time, and it seems to us that one of the most crucial elements for a joyful life is having a sense of purpose.  Figure out what that purpose is – or maybe it’s more like choosing it . . . In any case, stay with it.  Sorry.  We can’t resist.

Did you by any chance see the Steve Martin movie, The Jerk? Much as we believe in this whole ‘purpose’ thing, it’s hard for us to write down the word without giving a little smirk to Mr. Martin.  In case you haven’t seen the movie, our hero, a country bumpkin, sets out to find his place in the world, armed only with his family’s advice to ‘find his purpose.’   When he hooks up with a tattooed biker chick and discovers the . . . uh . . . joys of the flesh, he believes he has found his purpose.

So don’t worry if it takes you a few tries to get this purpose thing right.  There will probably be distractions along the way.  Enjoy them.

Dorothea Hover-Kramer, Ed.D. RN, CNS, DCEP has been a psychotherapist in private practice for over 30 years and combines her career as a psychologist with a background as a clinical nurse specialist. She co-founded the international Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP), served as its past president and was instrumental in designing and implementing its certification program. She is a designated diplomate in comprehensive energy psychology (DCEP).

Dr. Dorothea is also the author of six books about energy therapies including her most recent, Second Chance at Your Dream (2009), and Healing Touch: a guidebook for practitioners (2002), Creative Energies: integrative energy psychotherapy for self-expression and healing (2002), and Creating Right Relationships: a practical guide to ethics in energy therapies (2007).

Dorothea is especially committed to bringing insights from the field of Energy Psychology to those facing the challenges and opportunities of the second half of life. She wants to help unleash the creative potential in every person and to encourage learning from pain’s lessons to overcome human suffering. Her new book, Second Chance at Your Dream (2009) is filled with over fifty energy-related exercises for accessing creativity and well-being. You can visit Dorothea’s website at www.secondchancedream.com.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Dorothea. Can you tell us whether you are published for the first time or multi-published? Can you give us the title(s) of your book(s)?

Listed in bio above

What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?

Healing Touch: A resource for healthcare professionals (1996, Delmar International)

For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?

I wrote a book of poetry in 1983. I thought was wonderful but ended up paying a vanity press to publish it. After that I self-published poetry and travel books.

How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?

Rejections are hard—I always felt I was rejected. But I kept myself going with energy therapy methods which I have taught since 1989.

When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?

Actually, they chose me because a book on the increasingly known Healing Touch program was needed and they as t healthcare text publishers approached the director of the program about a book. I was the only one t in the group who had written anything, so she chose me for the project.

How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

I jumped up and down and decided to write another book pronto.

What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

Nothing, I assumed people would find the book.

If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?

It would have been interesting to seek a more trade oriented publisher and do more marketing myself.

Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?

Second Chance Dream is my sixth book and I’m working on #7. I think I’ve become more eloquent and my thesaurus is just about worn out. I learned to respect other people’s writing styles and appreciate what a copy editor can do.

Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up?

Don’t try to write the first chapter first. I got so bogged down there and trying to think in a linear way. What kind of mistakes could you have avoided? Writing every thought down as soon as I get the outline for the book clear in my head.

What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?

Co-founding the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology, writing its certification programs and presenting at its conference over the past 11 years.

If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

I always wanted to be soprano or a cello player. Maybe next life.

Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?

Combined it all thank goodness.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

Getting better and wiser and probably still writing.

Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

Keep on practicing. Start with articles, even for the newspaper or letters to the editor. Watch your interest in something build. Nothing is waste because the brain is a hologram.

Kimberly Cheryl is a master public speaker, successful sales person, business owner and author of three novels. In addition to writing her own books, she contributes articles to various magazines and news columns.

After a school career that included years of failed chemistry classes that began too early in the morning, she switched from a pre-med career to one of business administration. She graduated with an MBA and, later, a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice.

Born into a family of readers, Kimberly had never known a time that she wasn’t reading or making up stories. Therefore, after a major life altering auto accident, the need for back surgery, a long recovery period, no respite in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate, she decided to pull out a pencil and notebook and began to write about her experiences and share some of the knowledge she had gained throughout her career.

Kimberly lives happily in Missouri with her amazing husband, two spirited children and a “zoo” of animals including a Newfoundland, three cats and a rabbit. She enjoys traveling, swimming and reading.

For more information please visit www.kimberlycheryl.com/ or www.myshatteredreality.com.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Kimberly. Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

Shattered Reality is my 4th book published.

What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?

Take this Pill and Sell it – a how to book for interviewing, selling, resume writing and breaking into the pharmaceutical sales arena (but can be used for any job interview process).

For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?

I self published with Outskirts press and had a wonderful experience.

How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?

My second book: Escape from the Pharma Drug Cartel wasn’t completely rejected; I was just politely told to rewrite the entire story and had editorial help in how to develop and tell my story so it would be publishable. I am a perfectionist and don’t take criticism well. Although it was well deserved. Actually, after many one on one conferences with the editor, through his help and guidance I was a lot happier with the end product than what I had originally started with and the book won a couple Top Awards for 2007.

Shattered Reality by Kimberly Cheryl can be purchased by clicking here. Leave a comment for Kimberly and you could win a free virtual book tour for yourself or a $50 Amazon gift certificate!

When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?

I had done a lot of online research of self publishing companies, had read good feed back from chat groups of authors and chose Outskirts Press to publish my first 3 books.

How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

It was so exciting the first time, okay every time, the UPS man has arrived at my door with a package containing a book of mine. It is thrilling to see all of your hard work in a finished product with your name on it. It is a huge ego boost and it validates all the late nights I stayed up (causing days with my kids with less sleep to function on) fussing over just the right thought, word or idea.

What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

I sent post cards, flyers and book copies to recruiters and sales organizations, I posted on chat sites, I used my social media sites for promotions, I sent a copy of the book to Indy / independent book stores to review, order and sell. I spoke on radio programs and sent books to my friends to help distribute.

If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?

Not really but I would now like to have a large publishing house pick up my Shattered Reality story for better distribution and marketing. I believe so deeply in our story and the need for change that I would like to be able to do more with it than I have been able to do (although it has out sold all 3 of my other books combined which is a start).

Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?

As an author, I think I have gotten better in my character development, my flow of ideas and my ability to tell a story. I am a very direct person and it is hard to write the way that I speak – short and to the point.

Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?

I’m not sure if I could have sped anything up but in the self publishing world I could have spent more money and had more professional editing done to avoid a few typos along the way. I realize it costs money to make money but when there is a tight budget it makes it harder to do everything you’d like when it comes to writing a book and taking a gamble or not on a huge seller where you will recoup all of your expenses.

What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?

Being able to travel and speak on two very important subjects in my life – affordable and easily accessible health insurance for everyone and the prevention of child sexual assault. I have had the opportunity to speak on radio programs, in from of organizations and students, on TV (Good Morning America and local NBC News). This is the part that I am best at – the personal marketing.

If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

Writing is a hobby. My profession was 18 years in Pharmaceutical specialty sales. I loved sales and was very successful. Today my autoimmune problems have slowed down my life tremendously and I’m not sure if I will ever have a 9-5 again so advocacy is a great opportunity for me.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

As a happy, successful family member, wife and mother. Enjoying all that life has to offer.

Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

If you have a story and want to write, don’t wait, take the opportunity to put your ideas and words onto paper and self publish or produce an ebook to start and go from there. You may find you have more skills than you thought possible. (just don’t get upset at the critics – there is one in every crowd and not everyone is going to love your writing. Even the top Best Sellers have critics:) Believe in yourself and go for it!