Published Book Yields Public Speaking Opportunities

My husband, R.J. and I are quite excited to have our book, "Together in the Dream" published. But, as writers, our work has just begun. After all, no money can be made from all our efforts if no one knows about our book, or buys it!

As actors, we have no problem "selling ourselves" to the public. The good news on that front lies in all the social media sites that allow us to promote our new book. That is exactly what has kept us busy for the last week. Facebook posts, Linked In notices, emails, phone calls, etc., are the first focus for promotion.

Beyond that, we are seeking to book speaking engagements, and not just to tell people we wrote a book, and that it's a fun read. Within the pages of "Together in the Dream" are, we believe, motivational and inspiring moments. Our current lives, as basically self-employed entrepreneurs, would not be a reality if we hadn't experienced the first steps toward those goals through our careers at Walt Disney World. In speaking to large groups, be they students or business people, we hope to spread the word, in our own unique way, that believing is doing.

So, bottom line: if you know of a group who'd like to book us as public speakers, please contact me through my email: srogren@gmail.com to discuss details and fee. We're as excited about this aspect of our "published" lives as we were about getting this book out there. We hope to share our stories and pursuits to inspire others.

Blog Re-Launch for "Together in the Dream"

My last post, way back in March, explained how my husband and I were co-authoring a book that would be released in the fall.  Well, now, the release is official and I will be busy promoting the book as well as returning to this blog with a new purpose, and lots of posts!

The book, released by Theme Park Press, is titled, "Together in the Dream".  The subtitle vividly describes our subject matter: "The Unique Careers of a Husband and Wife in the Early Decades of Walt Disney World".  We wrote alternating chapters about our "lives at Disney", choosing to highlight the positive, amusing and, ultimately, life-changing stories from our individual experiences. It was great fun to write this volume together, and we hope our readers enjoy it.

We were also thrilled, and humbled, that a Disney Legend, Alice Davis, wrote the foreword for the book.  (Alice's Disney career involved designing costumes for the Disney Parks' attractions.)  She said that, while reading excerpts, she "giggled with enjoyment and delight".  Those words meant so much to us, since she lived those early days as well, as did her husband, one of Disney's animation giants, Marc Davis.

In upcoming blogs, I'll give you some detail about the process we used to write "Together in the Dream", and how it all came together in the first place.  We'd been approached several times in years past, to do a book like this, but it was Theme Park Press and its publisher, Bob McLain, who convinced us that we had finally found the perfect venue in which to release our work.

So!  Please go to themeparkpress.com to read about our book, and to order it directly from them. You can also peruse their other titles on theme park subjects and memoirs, including our friend, Pam Turlow's, book "The Cotton Candy Road Trip",  It is a publisher with lots of unique stories available. The cover looks like this:

I hope you enjoy it, and, please send me any feedback, comments, etc.  AND, if you know of a group who would like to host R.J. and me for a speaking engagement, please contact me via e-mail at: srogren@gmail.com for information on scheduling and pricing.

Enjoy the read!