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“Jeff Leisawitz burns with a mission— to inspire writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers, entre’preneurs (and everyone else) to amp up their creativity, heal their hearts and shine in the world.” Jeff is an award-winning musician/ producer, a critically acclaimed author and internationally distributed filmmaker who has devoted his life to creativity. As the guy behind Electron Love Theory, Jeff fused interviews with Seattle’s WTO demonstrators into electronic music, garnering more than a quarter million downloads worldwide. Jeff has released five studio albums and has landed thousands of music placements in film, TV and multimedia for clients like HBO, MTV, Discovery, Microsoft, NBC and many others. As the founding writer for Seattle’s taste-making alternative rock station 107.7 The End, he chronicled the alternative grunge scene in the 90s. After training as a Life Coach and practicing NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Re-Patterning) Jeff landed a gig as an adjunct faculty member at Pacific Lutheran University— teaching college students to rock. (Seriously) When creative businesses, schools and organizations like Brown Paper Tickets, Tacoma School of the Arts, Gage Academy of Art, Northwest Film Forum and others need to amp up the creativity, Jeff leads workshops and events to fire up the creative spirit and empower people to tap into their true potential. Jeff is available for workshops and speaking gigs in the Seattle metro area and select cities across the country. “Not F*ing Around— the No Bullsh*t Guide for Getting Your Creative Dreams Off the Ground” is Jeff’s very first book. Say it. Ask it. Bring it. Jeff wants to hear from you. This is Jeff Leisawitz and this is his True North Story® If you would like to connect with Jeff visit him @

Since making her debut in 2010, K.Flay has spun fearlessly detailed lyrics that show the bright and dark of the world in her head. For her second full-length Every Where Is Some Where, the L.A.-based alt-pop/hip-hop artist pushed deeper into introspection while adding an element of political commentary. The result is her most deliberate and dynamic work yet, a thrillingly vital album that channels the frenzy and anxieties of today’s world. The follow-up to her 2016 EP Crush Me—whose lead single “Blood in the Cut” hit the top 5 on Alternative radio—Every Where Is Some Where amps up its defiant spirit with a densely textured yet gritty sound. “After Life as a Dog I was listening to so much late-’90s/early-’00s rock,” says K.Flay, aka Kristine Flaherty, referring to her 2014 full-length debut. “I was absorbing the energy of people like Karen O, Shirley Manson, and Emily Haines and feeling totally inspired by it, so there’s lots more live guitar, bass, and drums on this record.” Working with producers like Mike Elizondo (Twenty One Pilots, Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, Skylar Grey) and Tommy English (BØRNS, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Ladyhawke), K.Flay deftly infused the album with the same raw intensity she’s revealed in touring with such artists as Passion Pit, Icona Pop, Awolnation, and Theophilus London. An inimitable lyricist who names novelist Marilynne Robinson among her inspirations, K.Flay also brought a literary sensibility to the making of Every Where Is Some Where. The album’s title, for instance, aims to “capture the flexibility of meaning, the way we fashion our own narratives,” according to Flaherty. “As a songwriter, that’s my main enterprise—looking at the events in my life and engaging in a constant framing and reframing of those events,” she says. “Experience is subjective. We get to decide what’s devastating, what’s beautiful, and what we do next. In the books of our lives, we are both protagonist and narrator. And narrators have incredible power.” On the lead single from Every Where Is Some Where, K.Flay explores the power of lucid self-acceptance and del

Scott Washburn can’t remember a time when he didn’t want to be an astronaut. “I wanted to serve my country in some form or fashion, so I started looking around. I first looked at becoming a pilot. However, I wore glasses back then and at the time – 1999 – the services allowed Lasik but NASA didn’t. I didn’t want to get Lasik and then eventually give myself a long term disqualification. I looked everywhere and I actually didn’t think about submarines very much,” he says. “I got a postcard in the mail one day that said, ‘Hey, would you like to serve your country and use your engineering skills to be a submarine officer?’ I thought, that actually sounds pretty cool. At the time there had never been a submariner astronaut before. I thought, this is a great analog because you’ve got this confined isolated environment experience and that would translate really well to being an astronaut on a shuttle or a space station. I signed up in 1999, and in 2000 NASA picked up their first ever submariner astronaut. Scott’s time in the Navy with submarines was a natural first step for a career in aviation.  “I was really passionate about the space industry and I had this great nuclear background so I ended up getting into radiation effects, which I thought was a great way to merge my nuclear and aerospace backgrounds.” But just being a submariner, or a pilot is not all that is required to become an astronaut.  “NASA is looking for a broad set of skills,” Scott says. “Getting to that point has been a lifelong ambition of mine and I have been building up my skill set along the way. One is your primary career – [NASA] wants people who are good at their jobs and have some relation to space or exploration. There are additional skills that help you stand out too. I went and learned how to scuba dive, and got my private pilot’s license, and did all these other things to build up my resume so I would be interesting to them as an astronaut candidate.” And in 2016, Scott made it to the finalist selection group, beating out nearly 18,300 other applicants and landing among the top 50 candidates to potentially go into space.“NASA takes all their applicants and filter down to 300-500 peop

Betty J. Eadie, author of the international bestseller Embraced By The Light, had the most eminent, prominent and extensive near-death experience ever recorded. She has written several books in an effort to share with others what she was shown in the spirit world about God and man’s existence, the meaning of life and what awaits all in the after life. Betty has given countless speaking events, lectures, radio and television appearances and interviews across America and abroad informing others that death need not be feared, the exquisite beauty of the spirit world, meeting Jesus, reuniting with deceased loved ones and the most important message of God’s unconditional love: that all are here to learn to “love one another.” In November of 1973, at the age of 31, Betty J. Eadie died following routine surgery. After undergoing what has been called “the most profound and detailed near-death experience ever recorded.” Her spirit separated from her body and she traveled home to check on her family who were unaware of her presence. She then traveled through a tunnel of blackness to a being of light whom she recognized as the Savior of our world, Jesus Christ. Betty was then sent to view various aspects of what she calls our “heavenly home.” She walked through a beautiful garden, was shown the creation of this world, experienced a “life-review” and then was told she must return to earth–and why. Betty was then returned to her physical body with a life-changing message for all who will listen. For 19 years, Betty shared the knowledge and message of her NDE with family, friends and small groups while continuing to practice all that she was taught during her experience. Eventually she began speaking publicly to larger groups, one of which was the International Association of Near-Death Studies (IANDS) as well as various grief groups and church gatherings. In 1987, Betty began writing her experience in pamphlet form to share with her cancer patients. Her efforts were brought to a halt when her father became ill and Betty became his sole caregiver. Then, in 1991, after the death of her father, she was prompted to pick up her writing again. However, this time she was “shown” how to finish the manuscript in book form. The result was the astonishing book, Embrac

Lauren (0100) & Emily (0025) are the co-founders of The BRANDED Collective.  Lauren and Emily started their company in 2012 to help survivors of trafficking in Nashville, TN. They provide job training and employment for survivors through the creation of beautiful jewelry.  Their hope is that each of our employees will be inspired to rediscover the dreams she has lost and be motivated to go forth and pursue them. Emily and Lauren raised $10,000 in startup funds through word of mouth and social media marketing, and are involved in every aspect of creative direction, product development and financial management.  The BRANDED Collective employs survivors of human trafficking from Nashville-based non-profit End Slavery Tennessee. The women work with local artisans to design and handcraft the jewelry collection. 25% of the profits go to the rescue, restoration and employment of survivors of the human trafficking and sexual slavery trade. When you receive your item from the BRANDED Collective, you are BRANDED. Each piece contains a unique number that represents one of the millions trapped in the nightmare of trafficking. BRANDED: To mark with a branding iron. Any mark of disgrace, stigma, shame. Many victims of human trafficking are BRANDED; their captors physically mark them with a number or symbol. The process is often violent: a forced tattoo, a burn or knife cut.   COLLECTIVE: Something done by people acting as a group. Shared by all members of the group. A cooperative enterprise. If you have purchased a BRANDED product, you are part of our BRANDED family. BRANDED is a collective of abolitionists working together to affect change.   Once you make a purchase, you can register your number and share a message of hope with survivors who make the cuffs. Please tell BRANDED what

Chad Littlefield, M.Ed., is the co-founder and CEO of We!™ (www.weand.me) and author of the Pocket Guide to Facilitating Human Connections. Leaders call Chad when a lack of trust is getting in the way of results at their organization. His passion and energy for connecting people becomes immediately apparent when working with him. Chad has shared his energy through designing and delivering programs for conferences, technology startups, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and the public sector as well as on the stage at TEDx. As a speaker and professional facilitator, Chad designs fun, challenging, and engaging experiences and tools that connect people to people, break down communication barriers, and increase trust and employee engagement. He has worked as an instructor at Penn State University teaching the art and science of team development and dialogue facilitation. Chad is also the creator of We! Connect Cards™ which are now being used to create conversations that matter within organizations in over 50 countries around the world and on 6 of the 7 continents. (Free deck if you live in Antarctica.) Some of Chad’s key clients include TEDx, JetBlue Airways, Conscious Capitalism, Starbucks, Cigna, United Way, Typeform, Goodwill, and dozens more. Work is also Chad’s play because he is passionate about what he does. However, when he is really playing, he can be found in a cave, on a mountain bike, underwater with a SCUBA tank on his back, or traveling the world with his wife. His personal mission is to create moments worth remembering for people. Chad is currently headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina, yet travels all over to “meet clients where they are at” – literally and figuratively. Will Wise, M.Ed., is the co–founder of We!™ (www.weand.me), a consulting practice where leaders call when a lack of trust is getting in the way of results in their organization. He is the author of Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations that Matter and has been asking powerful questions for over two decades as a corporate development consultant, non-traditional school principal, university instructor, adventure guide and facilitator for team development.

Christopher Kelly was born in Sacramento, California and graduated from of the University of California at Berkeley in 1981. Mr. Kelly worked for nearly twenty years in the television industry mainly on the West coast where he served as a director and partner in several local TV stations in Seattle and Sacramento. He is as the former chairman of Chyron Corporation (now ChyronHego, ticker: chyr) and a retired television executive. Chris has always had a lifelong passion for military history, with many of his family members having fought in previous American wars including one, Stephen Van Rensselaer of New York, who led an ill-fated invasion of Canada. It was only natural that his love and passion would manifest itself into a book and this in case several books. America Invades: How America has invaded or been “militarily involved with” nearly every country on Earth, which he co-authored, with Stuart Laycock, was their first book. Italy Invades: How Italians Conquered the World, by Kelly/Laycock was published in 2015. This book covers Italian Invasions in a broad sense including the Romans invading Iraq, the explorations of Columbus, Mussolini’s misadventures, Italian-Americans serving in WW2, and Italian peacekeepers serving around the globe. Mr. Kelly also edited a memoir about the outbreak of World War I that was written by his great grandfather, Thomas Tileston Wells. It was published as An Adventure in 1914 in November 2016. Chris and Stuart recently published their 4th book, America Invaded: A State by State Guide to Fighting on American Soil which will treat the waves of invasions that shaped the USA on a state by state basis. Italy Invades…Il popolo che ha conquistato il mondo was also translated into Italian and published by Polistampa in the summer of 2017. Mr. Kelly is married and has three children, currently residing in both London and Seattle. This is Christopher Kelly and this is his True North Story®. If you would like to learn more about Chris and his incredible books, please visit his main site www.americainvades.com and follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Please also follow, like & subscribe to True North Story®  on the following social platforms

Justin Young sounds utterly natural when he plays, as if his extraordinary saxophone talent never needed formal training. But those mellifluous lines of soulful notes come through years of study, training and commitment to his love of music, as well as a constant desire to move forward. Young grew up in a musical household just minutes from downtown Detroit, where his father, Jim Young, led a band called Kaleidoscope, that often times would rehearse in the family’s livingroom. “I was growing up seeing and hearing drummers, keyboardists and vocalists…hearing how all the sounds meshed together. “It was always in the back of my mind and in my blood, plus Detroit was so eclectic at the time, you know, everything from R&B and Pop to Top 40 and Motown – just a melting pot of different sounds, and I was absorbing it all,” Young muses. That fertile environment, both at home and all around him in Detroit, gave Young a world-class musical education. He picked up drums in elementary school and started hearing the music that would inform his life and work: saxophonists Maceo Parker, Lenny Pickett and Gerald Albright, along with superstar pop, funk and jazz acts like Earth, Wind and Fire, Boney James, The Gap Band, Herbie Hancock, the Commodores and Michael Jackson. Then his father suggested that he try the saxophone, and a few months later, Young was playing Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” in a 4th grade talent show. Having found his true musical love, Young practiced three to five hours a day and began playing in his father’s bands as a teenager, performing his first professional gig at a wedding when he was 16. As Young prepared for college, his father encouraged Young to pursue his dreams of becoming a premier saxophonist, but with one caveat, have a backup plan. So, Young enrolled in the mechanical engineering program at Michigan State University and used his musical talents to pay for his college education. “I put myself through college by playing regular gigs,” he said. “I was playing 20, 30 gigs a month and that’s really where I honed my skills as a player and a performer and was really making it a show.” Young became a major draw at Detroit area venues such as Signature Gr

Brooks Gibbs is an award winning social skills educator and public speaker. He has addressed thousands of different audiences with his powerful strategies for conflict resolution and a special emphasis on emotional resilience and the “Golden Rule.” Brooks is an elite, multi-platform, communicator whose messages have reached millions through a skillful balance of both wit and wisdom. Brooks has an amazing gift, powered by an incredible message. He has currently spoken at over 2000 different “live events” for schools, churches and various youth leadership organizations. This is Brooks Gibbs and this is his True North Story®. If you would like to connect more with Brooks, please visit his sites @ www.brooksgibbs.com and follow him on Twitter, Facebook, & @ YouTube. Please also follow, like & subscribe to True North Story®  on the following social platforms Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, SoundCloud, iTunes, GooglePlay & YouTube. ▶︎Learn. Love. Listen. Live. Your True North Story® #SomethingForEveryone #PurpleLOVE 💜💜💜 Purchase Brooks Gibbs’ book HERE:

Bob Glouberman left his corporate law practice on September 15, 1995 realizing that “L.A. Law” had lied to him about what it was like to be a lawyer. He began an acting career, much to the chagrin of his parents, who had put him through four years of college at Stanford University and three years of UCLA Law School. Bob has appeared in nearly 100 films, T.V. shows and dozens of commercials and voice-over spots. Bob holds the distinction of having appeared in the Best Film of the Year (“The Artist”) and the Worst Film of the Year (“Dirty Love”).   Bob spoke the first uttered word in the Oscar winning film “The Artist”,  yet none of this puts a dent in the guilt.  He is also a co-founder of a company called Fantastic Race, a “scavenger hunt” type company for grown-ups.  In 1996, Bob met lovely psychotherapist Stefanie Klein and successfully duped her into marrying him three years later. On November 23, 2002, the couple was blessed with a daughter, Lexey Evan Glouberman. Bob is currently saving up for his daughter’s much needed future therapy. The Gloubermans live in Beverlywood, California with their chihuahua who “rage defecates” and their pit-bull mix who eats her own feces.   Even though he once broke his elbow and nose in an air guitar incident, his one regret is that he is not someone else. He is Bob Glouberman and he is FOR HIRE and this is his True North Story® Please also follow, like & subscribe to True North Story®  on the following social platforms Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, SoundCloud, iTunes, GooglePlay & YouTu

Sharyl Attkisson is a five-time Emmy Award winner and recipient of the Edward R. Murrow award for investigative reporting. She is the host and anchor of Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson a new broadcast that debuts this fall on the network of stations in the Sinclair Broadcast Group. Full Measure will focus on investigative and accountability reporting, unique in today’s media by a dedication to pursuing, “Untouchable Subjects through Fearless Reporting.” Attkisson authored the New York Times bestseller “Stonewalled” and her most recent book which was just released titled, “The Smear” and offering an in depth look at how political operatives and “fake news” control what you see, what you think and ultimately how you vote. Sharyl was a correspondent and anchor at CBS News, PBS, CNN and in local news for thirty years. In 2013, she received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism for her reporting on “The Business of Congress,” which included an undercover investigation into fundraising by Republican freshmen. She received two other Emmy nominations in 2013 for “Benghazi: Dying for Security” and “Green Energy Going Red.” Additionally, Attkisson received a 2013 Daytime Emmy Award as part of the CBS Sunday Morning team’s entry for Outstanding Morning Program for her report: “Washington Lobbying: K-Street Behind Closed Doors.” In September 2012, Sharyl received the Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism and the RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Investigative Reporting for the “Gunwalker: Fast and Furious” story. Attkisson received an Investigative Emmy Award in 2009 for her exclusive investigations into TARP and the bank bailout. She received an Investigative Emmy Award in 2002 for her series of exclusive reports about mismanagement at the Red Cross. Previously, Attkisson hosted a medical news magazine on PBS called “HealthWeek,” anchored for CNN, and reported at several local news stations. She is a graduate of the University of Florida School of Journalism and Communications. This is Sharyl Attkisson and this is her True North Story®.

I’ve never been comfortable with self promotion. I’m even uncomfortable writing in the first person. Maybe it’s a midwestern thing, maybe it’s just in my DNA. But this website? In my name? Run by me? Promoting my writing? I guess it’s always going to feel weird. My grandmother hammered into me the danger of getting a big head — this despite the fact that I’m already 7 ⅝ hat size, which is close to balloon and/or pumpkin proportions. (Or was that her point?) A few years ago, at one of those television critics association meetings in Pasadena, where in my emergency role as co-show runner of the Fox television series Alcatraz I was to be trotted out to face the press and promote the show, my reputation preceded me: those executives at Fox and Warner Bros. who know me from my previous incarnation as a t.v. creator were in continuous contact to ensure I’d attend (in the past I sent my mentor, Bill Sackheim, telling everyone I was too busy writing the next episode to take time out to talk about it). Happily, the critics had no interest in me. Their focus was on J.J. Abrams, whose production company developed the show and who is deservedly an entertainment superstar.  And seems to enjoy it. I just don’t, sorry.  The end, full stop. Unfortunately, in the age of social networks and the culture of personality, of fetish and spectacle, an aversion to self promotion is professional suicide. So here we are. My history, in a nutshell: ten movie credits, a modicum of uncredited scriptwriting, some television series that didn’t last, some pilots that didn’t sell, just enough unproduced original film and t.v. work to push me to finish the novel I intended to write when I stumbled out of Stanford with a degree in economics and more creative writing under the tutalege of Chuck Kinder than was probably healthy. Well, not exactly the novel I intended to write then. That one is still in a box, unfinished. UCLA film school sent me to an alternate universe. Hard Copy was my first produced series. Pacific Heights was my first produced film. My feature directorial debut, Where’s Marlowe? was distributed by Paramount Classics, much to their chagrin. You can look the rest up

Ryan is a marketing executive, social media influencer and CEO of Ryanintheus LLC which offers Marketing and Influencer services. In April 2017 he was named the 20th most retweeted marketer in the world and is a nationally award winning content marketer. As a former VP at a top 5 B2B marketing agency in the US, and SVP of the highest ranked PR agency in the world, he has built and managed integrated marketing teams of 50+ people resulting in successful partnerships with globally recognized brands-Amazon, Google, Microsoft, HTC and SAP. Capitalizing on his nine years of Social Media expertise, Ryan created “Social Media for the C-Suite”, a training program for time-poor business executives on how to become “thought leaders” and “influencers”. The program covers social media best practices, engagement strategies, content development, and growth strategies. Ryan has partnered with Marketing and PR agencies to coach executives from leading companies: Microsoft, Verizon Wireless and SAP’s Fieldglass. Raised in a low socio-economic neighborhood of Perth, Western Australia, Ryan has always been driven to help others. This trait inspired him to found Seattle based nonprofit, Team Up For Nonprofits. The organization utilized music benefits and social influencers to raise funds and awareness for deserving nonprofits, while creating an accessible environment for young professionals to experience philanthropy. For his charitable efforts with Team Up, Ryan was recognized by the Huffington Post in their article; “39 Inspiring Men and Their Passion for Charity”. Notable brands have sought to partner with Ryan as an influencer. In March 2017 he traveled to and toured London to promote the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s new direct Seattle to London route. In February Ryan interviewed Hugh Jackman in NYC for the release of “Logan” a 21st Century Fox film.  He has also worked with Uber and Lib Tech. Highlighting his passion for travel and new experiences, Ryan creates mindful content for his social media audiences, Twitter (170K), Instagram (15K), Facebook (8K), LinkedIn (5.4K.) This is Ryan Hodgson and this is his True North Story®.

I was first exposed to and influenced by John Gregory Brown’s incredible writing after reading a book review for his first novel, Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery. I can remember going to a local bookstore the very day it was released, I believe it may have been Borders, but please don’t quote me as it has been over twenty years ago now and for the record…yes, there used to be huge stores with nothing but aisle after aisle of amazing literary goodness just waiting to be be discovered. All the dreams and characters, all the life experiences and ultimately all the stories one could ever imagine in one central location, ripe for the picking. I remember picking up John’s book in hardcover, feeling its weight in my hands, a glorious golden brown dust jacket complete with an image of a cemetery mausoleum emblazoned across the cover, the crisp white pages and neatly printed block lettering beckoning for me to dive right in! I abstained in that moment, but when I arrived home later that day, I voraciously began reading John’s story and was instantly hooked, the decadent, lyrical prose John used to so eloquently weave together his thoughts and sentences becoming a seminal moment for me personally. Just as John recollects and remembers in our podcast, the first book that inspired him to want to become a writer, so too has John Gregory Brown helped me “cross the Rubicon” into the territory of aspiring writing and Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery was the book he used to do it. Thank you John. I will be forever grateful for your willingness to set the bar of expectation so incredibly high anyone who aspires to craft, weave and share stories with others, both narratively and visually. You are the master! John Gregory Brown is an exceptionally talented writer, an extremely grateful individual and most importantly our friend. Tama and I are beyond blessed to have spent some time with John delving into and sharing his wonderful insights about life, love, family and yes of course…writing too! This is John Gregory Brown’s True North Story® and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Fiber Artist Leanna Leithauser-Lesley is an avid needlepointer compelled by the power of jazz music, the drama of photography and the intention to raise the awareness of needlepoint to an art form. Leithauser-Lesley is preoccupied with the idea of weaving together the quiet, methodical ways of needlepointing with the often unrestrained methods of jazz while capturing the emotion of the photograph she prefers to stitch. Rejecting the shortcuts associated with technology, she chooses to rely on her training as a visual artist to paint the canvas with yarn, using a photograph as her still life. Each piece stitched is a unique freehand homage to the musician she decides to needlepoint. Jazz, an American art form, is the product of a cultural collaboration and a universal language of tolerance and freedom. Leithauser-Lesley’s heartfelt exhibition “Textures of Jazz, Threads of Change” reveals the story of lives profoundly lived and layered with experience. Ray Charles (without glasses)   Langston Hughes, Coleman Hawkins, Joe Williams Jimi Hendrix and Nina Simone  Art Blakey, Jimi Hendrix and Billie Holiday, Django Reinhardt

Six-piece band Delta Rae hails from Durham, NC. Liz Hopkins and Brittany Holljes front the robust group with sultry harmonies rounded out by Holljes’ brothers Eric (vocals, piano) and Ian (vocals, guitar) as well as Mike McKee (drums) and Grant Emerson (bass). The band chose their moniker from a mythical story the Holljes siblings’ mother wrote about a Southern girl of the same name who summons the Greek gods to earth. Headlining over 100 shows each year and a regular on the festival circuit since forming in 2009, Delta Rae’s larger-than-life performances have earned coveted spots at Bonnaroo, Tortuga Music Festival, Austin City Limits, Hangout Fest, VOODOO and Lollapalooza. They have received national attention with features in NPR, Washington Post and New York Times in addition to multiple late night performances and inclusion in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. Now signed to Big Machine Label Group’s imprint The Valory Music Co., Delta Rae will bring their intriguing sound to Country radio with their new single, “A Long And Happy Life.” The band will also hit the road this summer for a 50-date headline tour. This is Delta Rae and this is their True North Story® If you would like to connect with Delta Rae, please visit www.deltarae.com and follow the band on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Please also follow, like & subscribe to True North Story® on the following social platforms Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, SoundCloud, iTunes,

John Hart is the author of five New York Times bestsellers, The King of Lies, Down River, The Last Child, Iron House and, most recently, Redemption Road. The only author in history to win the best novel Edgar Award for consecutive novels, Hart has also won the Barry Award, the Southern Independent Bookseller’s Award for Fiction, the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award and the North Carolina Award for Literature. With over two million copies in print, his novels have been translated into thirty languages and can be found in over seventy countries.  John was born in Durham, North Carolina to a young surgeon and French teacher who quit teaching to raise her children. His parents divorced, yet, as he attests, his childhood was remarkably carefree. “My favorite memory of childhood is a five hundred acre farm where my friends and I would have adventures and get lost for days,” he reflects. After high school, he attended Davidson College, just north of Charlotte, which he describes as a “marvelous school.” He studied French literature and briefly lived in Paris and London. Upon returning home to North Carolina, he settled in Rowan County, where his first two novels are set, and on which the fictional Raven County is based. He earned graduate degrees in accounting and law where, after days of slogging through course work, he would find release through writing. A former banker, stockbroker and criminal defense attorney, Hart now writes full-time. “I admire those who are able to write at four in the morning and still function in the real world,” he states. “After two failed attempts, I decided that I lacked that particular talent.” Shortly after the birth of his first child, John left his law practice to take a stab at chasing the dream of writing novels for a living. He spent nearly a year in a carrel at the Rowan County Public Library. The result was his debut bestseller, The King of Lies. John Hart has three great passions: his family, his writing, and the protection of open spaces. He lives in Virginia with his wife and two daughters, and just completed writing his sixth novel, The Hush which is a sequel to his third novel, The Last Child and is set for release on Fe

Mark W. Schaefer is a globally-recognized speaker, educator, business consultant, and author who blogs at {grow} — one of the top marketing blogs of the world. Mark has worked in global sales, PR, and marketing positions for 30 years and now provides consulting services as Executive Director of U.S.-based Schaefer Marketing Solutions.  He specializes in marketing strategy and social media workshops and clients include both start-ups and global brands such as Adidas, Johnson & Johnson, Dell, Pfizer, The U.S. Air Force, and the UK government. Mark has advanced degrees in marketing and organizational development and holds seven patents. He is a faculty member of the graduate studies program at Rutgers University and is the author of many best-selling marketing books: Social Media Explained, Return On Influence, Born to Blog, The Content Code, KNOWN, and The Tao of Twitter, the best-selling book on Twitter in the world. Return On Influence was named to the elite “Top Academic Titles” of the year by the American Library Association, which declared it an “essential” and

Deborah Crombie was born in Dallas and grew up in Richardson, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas, second child of Charlie and Mary Darden. Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Dozier, a retired teacher, taught her to read at the tender age of four. After a rather checkered educational career, which included dropping out of high school at sixteen, she graduated from Austin College in Sherman, Texas, with a degree in biology. She then worked in advertising and newspapers, and attended the Rice University Publishing Program. A post-university trip to England, however, cemented a life-long passion for Britain, and she later immigrated to the UK with her first husband, Peter Crombie, a Scot, living first in Edinburgh, Scotland, and then in Chester, England. After returning to live in Dallas, a trip to Yorkshire inspired her first Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid/Sergeant Gemma James novel. A Share in Death [Scribner, 1993], was subsequently given Agatha and Macavity nominations for Best First Novel of 1993. The fifth novel, Dreaming of the Bones (Scribner 1997), a New York Times Notable Book for 1997, was short-listed by Mystery Writers of America for the 1997 Edgar Award for Best Novel, won the Macavity award for Best Novel, and was voted by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association as one of the hundred best mysteries of the century. Her subsequent novels have been received with critical acclaim and are widely read internationally, particularly in Germany. In 2009, Where Memories Lie won the Macacity Award for Best Novel. In 2010, Necessary as Blood received a Macavity nomination for Best Novel. Crombie’s novels are published in North America, Japan, Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Spain, Romania, Greece, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and numerous other countries all around the world. Deborah’s latest novel in the series, Garden of Lamentations, was published in February, 2017, by William Morrow. A list of ALL of Deborah’s books can be found HERE. Although she travels to England several times a year, Crombie lives in McKinney, Texas, an historic town north of Dallas, sharing a circa 1905 Texas Craftsman bungalow with her husband, Rick Wilson, two German shepherds (

Greg Iles was born in Germany in 1960, where his father ran the US Embassy Medical Clinic during the height of the Cold War. He spent his youth in Natchez, Mississippi, and graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1983. While attending Ole Miss, Greg lived in the cabin where William Faulkner and his brothers listened to countless stories told by “Mammy Callie,” their beloved nanny, who had been born a slave. Greg wrote his first novel, “Spandau Phoenix”  in 1993, a thriller about Nazi war criminal Rudolf Hess, which became the first of thirteen New York Times bestsellers. Greg’s 15, soon to be 16 novels have been made into films, translated into more than twenty languages, and published in more than thirty-five countries worldwide. His latest effort, “Mississippi Blood,” dropping March 21st, 2017 continues the epic trilogy of Penn Cage, protagonist of The Quiet Game, Turning Angel, and New York Times #1 bestsellers The Devil’s Punchbowl, Natchez Burning and The Bone Tree. Visit this link for a complete listing of all of Greg’s novels.  Greg is also a member of the legendary lit-rock group, “The Rock Bottom Remainders.” Like bandmate Stephen King, Greg returned to the musical stage after recovering from his injuries, following a horrific car accident where he nearly lost his life, rejoining the band for their final two shows in Los Angeles in 2012. A nonfiction memoir by the band, titled, “Hard Listening,” was published recently and contains a short story Greg wrote as an homage to King. Greg lives in Natchez, Mississippi, with his wife, Caroline and has two children, both of whom aspire to literary and cinematic greatness. This is Greg Iles and this is his True North Story®. If you would like to connect with Greg, please visit his main website