Author Matthew Pallamary discussed shamanic practices and ceremonies in the jungle, including the use of psychedelic plant medicines like ayahuasca. He detailed a 10-day program he does in the jungle that involves a cleansing diet and various visionary plants. "Your perception gets more refined. It gets very clear. You start having telepathic experiences. And you really feel like you become a part of the jungle," he said of the experience. Highlighting the importance of altering one's perception to gain new perspectives and understandings, he noted that insights from ayahuasca can be similar to what is gleaned from some types of therapy.

You discover who you are by going into your shadow and integrating those parts of yourself that you have denied, he remarked, adding that every time you bring these parts back to yourself, you're bringing in the energy that you've had to use to keep various traumas in place, and as a result of this, energy becomes more available to you and your awareness expands. The center of the universe is located between one's eyes, he declared, and this represents the shift from personality-centered to essence-centered awareness. Pallamary also talked about his fiction writing process and how the art of storytelling is a form of magic-- the word 'spelling' actually comes from the notion of casting a spell, he pointed out.

Moderator: SBWC faculty member, Marla Miller works with writers on the road to publication, and beyond. Her popular SBWC workshop, Hooking Readers, covers both crafting and marketing tips.

Brook Ashley, is the author of Dare Wright and The Lonely Doll, which features more than four hundred of Dare’s own photographs and an array of other illustrations. Brook Ashley tells Dare’s story as no one else can, as she was Dare’s goddaughter, lifelong friend, and guardian during her final years. She grew up in Wright’s magical New York universe of Edith and The Bears. A former child actress, Brook is a Realtor and a magazine writer in Santa Barbara, CA.

Bee Bloeser, is the author of Vaccines & Bayonets: Fighting Smallpox in Africa amid Tribalism, Terror, and the Cold War. With wide-eyed ideals and two young children, Bee eagerly followed her husband to Africa, where he helped eradicate smallpox, in the 1970s. What she encountered there deepened her love for Africa, while it eroded her naïveté. Bloeser now lives in California and is building a speaking career in the wake of the publication of her book.

Hendrika de Vries is the author of the award-winning memoir When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew. She was a child in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam when girls were to be housewives and mothers. When her father was deported to a POW camp in Germany, and her mother joined the Resistance, she learned to become an empowered woman. She’s a retired Jungian-oriented therapist who used dreams and intuitive imagination to facilitate recovery.

Yvette Keller the author of the Douglas Adams’ London Guide from Herb Lester Associates. Her short fiction leans toward SF/Fantasy at an extravagantly relaxed angle. You can find her work in literary magazines such as Enheduanna, Imitation Fruit Literary Magazine, and The Santa Barbara Literary Journal. For fun, Yvette time travels in self-made historical costumes, and performs in short-form improv and live storytelling shows.

Podcasts & Audiobooks with Lois Phillips, Yvette Keller, Claudia Dunn, and Matthew J. Pallamary

Audiobooks and podcasts are a fast-growing area of publishing. Join this team for an insightful seminar on how to accomplish the goals of getting your book