Some of My Favorite Authors and Their Stories
For the skeptic who wants proof
Roland Cochrun, author of The High-Achiever’s Guide to Sex Addiction Recovery
Roland came to me expecting modest results. He figured he might sell two copies of his niche book a month. He’d be fine with that.
Within months, readers were calling him to say his book had done more for their recovery than $60,000 stints in residential treatment. He was selling two copies a day. And nearly $200,000 in program revenue traced directly to book readers — in less than six months.
“Ann told me it was never going to be about book sales,” Roland says. “She was right. It’s about where the book leads your reader.”
For the experienced professional who thinks they can go it alone
Dayna Abraham, author of Calm the Chaos (Simon & Schuster)
Dayna already had an agent. She already had published books. And her proposal still came back rejected.
She spent nearly a year in overwhelm before working with me. What followed was productive tension — I would push, Dayna would push back, and together we excavated what the book was actually trying to say.
The result was a Simon & Schuster deal and a book that’s changing how parents understand their kids.
“That was one of Ann’s superpowers,” Dayna says. “Her ability to let me just talk — and then ask exactly the right question.”
For the author who worries they won’t have the discipline to finish
Bryn Lottig, author of No Child Left Behind
Bryn’s book took eighteen months. There were competing demands — family, business, partnerships — and plenty of moments when it would have been easy to cave.
What held her was the accountability of working with me. On the other side? Industry leaders are now seeking her out for podcast interviews. People who can open her book, have an intelligent conversation, and see her clearly as the expert she is.
“You, Ann, kept me from going down any rabbit holes,” Bryn says. “There was pressure and accountability in the best way.”
For the writer who needs someone to believe in them first
Michael Feeley, author of The Next Act
Michael had a draft in a drawer. He wasn’t sure it was worth finishing. Then I read it and said something simple: This has value. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t feel it.
That was enough. Together we moved it from half-formed memoir to a sharp, purposeful book for professionals navigating career reinvention. Michael is now clear on who he serves and what he offers — and so are his readers.
“I knew it wasn’t about money,” Michael says. “That’s why I trusted Ann.”
For the coach who wants their book to work as a business tool
Oonagh Duncan, author of Fit as F*ck
Oonagh Duncan didn’t just write a book — she built a sales engine. Working with me, she shaped Fit as F*ck into the primer every prospective client needs before they ever get on a call with her. Now she sends it as a bonus during her webinars. Clients arrive already fluent in her approach, her mindset, her methods.
Shorter sales conversations. Better-prepared clients. And testimonials like: I read your book and lost 80 pounds.
“I don’t think we have to hold back information,” Oonagh says. “People will just want more of you.”
For the expert who has been sitting on their book for years
Edith Shiro, Ph.D., author of The Unexpected Gift of Trauma (HarperCollins)
Edith Shiro had been researching and writing about post-traumatic growth for over twenty years. She knew the book needed to exist. She just couldn’t seem to get it done alone.
Working with me over three years, Edith shaped a deeply personal and clinically rigorous book that HarperCollins acquired and published to wide acclaim. The process pushed her, grew her, and ultimately gave form to ideas she’d been carrying for decades.
“Having Ann on your side makes a real difference,” Edith says. “The heart and passion she puts into it — that is what changes everything for an author who wants to write a book.”
For the expert in a polarized field who needs a strategic partner
Mary Barbera, Ph.D., author of Turn Autism Around (Hay House)
Mary Barbera had already written one book that sold 100,000 copies in 17 languages. Her second book needed to be bigger — Hay House bigger. Working with me on the book synopsis, she sharpened her hook, clarified her audience, and positioned herself in one of the most contentious fields in parenting.
Turn Autism Around reached parents of toddlers well before a diagnosis — exactly the window where early intervention changes outcomes. The book became the front door to Mary’s courses, community, and life’s mission.
“I came to Ann as a friend,” Mary says. “And got back a book that’s changing children’s lives.”
For the expert who’s been “almost done” for five years
Vicki Suiter, author of The Profit Bleed
Vicki Suiter had been working on her book for five years before she worked with me. She had the knowledge — decades of it. What she lacked was a way to contain it without overwhelming the reader.
Together, we built a focused, story-driven book for contractors — and a smart bonus strategy that built her list and created an upsell at the same time. Years later, The Profit Bleed still sells consistently every month, generating royalty checks that tell me someone, somewhere, just did something right.
“Speaking is huge,” Vicki says.“And every time someone introduces me, the last thing they say is — and she’s the author of The Profit Bleed.”
For the professional who wants a first step into published authorship
Jill James, author of The Wisdom Collection
Jill James is a business strategist who helps entrepreneurs build companies that actually reflect who they are. She had a full book in her — but when I invited her to contribute a chapter to The Wisdom Collection, she said yes immediately.
The anthology became a launching pad. Jill’s chapter distilled the core of her philosophy, opened doors to new mentees, and confirmed that the bigger book was worth finishing. The Wisdom Collection went on to become an international bestseller.
“When the opportunity came along,” Jill says. “it was a very easy yes. Yes please — and when’s the next one?”
For the practitioner whose methodology is too nuanced for a quick explanation
Catherine Rolt, author of The Pain Paradox
Catherine Rolt spent over forty years in clinical practice before working with me to turn her life’s work into a book. The challenge wasn’t a lack of material — it was capturing a perception so rare, so intuitive, that most wellness practitioners wouldn’t even know where to look.
The Pain Paradox became the front door to her world — a way for readers to determine, on their own terms, whether Catherine was credible, relevant, and the real deal. The book now feeds a layered menu of courses and programs that didn’t exist before it.
“What people want,” Catherine says. “is to be treated with enough respect to be able to get back to choosing. The book gives them that.”
For the busy business owner who thinks a course should come before a book
Jon Corteen, author of The Profit Culture Formula and The Catfish Interview
Jon Corteen is a fast-moving entrepreneur who came to me with one clear goal: become a category authority. He’d been told to build a course first. I helped him see the book had to come first — because the book becomes the marketing for everything that follows.
The Profit Culture Formula is now a recruiting tool, a speaking platform, a course launchpad, and a business differentiator — all at once. It led naturally to a second book, The Catfish Interview, written for an entirely different reader.
“I was way overcomplicating it,” Jon says. “Ann helped me just start — and before I knew it, I had a finished product I was proud of.”
For the author who has already started — but keeps rewriting the same three paragraphs
May Busch, author of How to Advance Your Career Without Playing Politics, Selling Your Soul or Working Yourself into the Ground
May Busch came to me with a booklet. A good one — 100-odd pages with big margins and a solid idea at its core. I called it a pencil sketch. Together we made the oil painting.
What followed was structure, rhythm, and honest feedback. I wasn’t going to let May write something that wasn’t working and just move on. That accountability was the key. Visible went on to become a #1 international bestseller — and opened doors to TV spots, speaking panels, and connections May never anticipated.
“That one decision to engage Ann as my book coach,” May says. “was the key decision that started the whole process moving in the right direction.”
For the entrepreneur who wants to build a community around a book, not just sell one
Cecilia Hilkey & Jason, author of The Perfectly Imperfect Family
Cecilia Hilkey and Jason came to me with something most book coaches rarely see — a large, engaged audience and a vision for a collaborative book that would serve their community of parents and practitioners.
What they needed was someone who could take a roomful of contributors and shape it into something cohesive, beautiful, and worth reading. I did exactly that. The book sold nearly 3,000 copies at launch — at full price — and hit international bestseller status.
“I was just blown away by your process,” Cecilia says. “You took everything we gave you and made it into this beautiful book. The thoughtfulness of the organization, the flow, how it all fit together. Our authors felt taken care of. And so did we.”
For the introvert who has a powerful story but isn’t sure the world needs to hear it
Leonora Found, author of What Three Children Taught Me About Embracing Emotions and Parenting
Leonora Found had spent years as a stay-at-home mother with far more to offer than that role allowed her to show. She had the material, the lived experience, and the writing ability. What she lacked was the confidence that any of it was worth publishing.
Working with me, she shaped her stories into a book that is funny, honest, and deeply human — about what’s happening beneath the hood of motherhood, and why mothers who want to raise emotionally resilient children have to do their own emotional work first.
Since publishing, the introvert who could happily disappear into writing the next book has found herself fielding interview requests, opening new conversations, and building a coaching practice with sharpened focus and new credibility.
“So many people want to write a book,” her daughter told her at the surprise celebration she organized, “but you’ve done it. And look at the doors it’s already opening for you.”