Books, Awards, & Magazines
As a ghostwriter and collaborator, many of the books I have co-authored don’t bear my name. The first few here do, however. Right on the cover or on title or acknowledgment pages.
Beautiful Writers: A Journey of Big Dreams & Messy Manuscripts–with Tricks of the Trade from Bestselling Authors
From the back cover…
Imagine you’re at a dinner party with some of the most successful authors of our time. “Book Mama” and Beautiful Writers Podcast cocreator Linda Sivertsen is the host. As she’s sharing her story of the many hilarious, outrageous, and practical things she did to launch her bestselling writing career, your favorite writers chime in with their own anecdotes, leaving you enlightened and newly inspired. The wisdom in these pages will nourish anyone who dreams of excelling at the art of storytelling.
To view full blurbs & the expanded list of testimonials, see the Beautiful Writers page on Amazon.
“I own every writing book ever written, and Linda Sivertsen has done the near-impossible: given writing itself a personality. There’s a reason we all say yes to coming on her literature podcast–and to being excerpted about our writing processes in this book. I feel like I’m in the very best company. And. Good God, can this woman write! I love Linda’s voice and her honesty. Her stories are cinematic, hilarious, heartfelt, and pitch-perfect—with energy and punch, so often lacking in nonfiction.”
Terry McMillan, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“A page-turning beach read doubling as how-to. Magic.”
Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Beautiful Writers is The Artist’s Way for a new generation . . . it will move many—but to find the mystery and divine in their own creative journeys.”
Tosca Lee, New York Times bestselling author of Iscariot and The Line Between
“I stayed up all night reading Linda’s stories. The fact that her path is landscaped with celebrities, movie stars, gurus, shamans, and astrologers—well, pop some popcorn, you’re in the for an entertaining ride.”
Allison K. Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association
“This is a REALLY good book that will help a LOT of people . . . she’s masterfully interwoven her entertaining publishing stories with our interview excerpts.”
Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of The War of Art
“Linda Sivertsen is someone everyone should know.”
Martha Beck, New York Times bestselling author of The Way of Integrity, an Oprah’s Book Club selection
“Anyone wanting to stoke their creativity will find nuggets of wisdom from many of our great writers and creatives, all wrapped in Linda’s marvelous storytelling.”
Elizabeth Lesser, New York Times bestselling author of Broken Open and Cassandra Speaks
My First Born – Lives Charmed
Lives Charmed: Intimate Conversations with Extraordinary People (HCI, 1998): came to me in a dream. I was a professional dog walker in LA, where my life was a reality show before there was such a thing. I had a front-row seat to some big-time drama—i.e. watching a skyline of fires from a client’s balcony during the riots; taking care of Brandon Lee’s cats the night he was killed on the set of The Crow; getting hired to housesit while clients went to rehab, and being invited to Nicole Brown Simpson’s Gretna Green home just before her death led to the trial of the century.
(Weird fact: Knowing my then-husband and I had lived in several celebrity homes, Kato Kaelin asked me if I thought he should take the guesthouse gig Nicole was offering. “Don’t do it,” I instinctively blurted out. “You tend to get embroiled in the dramas of whomever owns the big house.” Of course, Kato didn’t take my advice.)
My job was blissful, too—exercising in gorgeous gardens and neighborhoods with happy dogs all day–and taking care of mansions. Hello?! With this crash course in success, I saw what worked and what didn’t. And, did I ever see people create incredible good fortune, physical and financial freedom, and spiritually fulfilling lives in this City of Angels. (Not to mention, it was just plain FUN walking the dogs of people like Kirk Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, and Paul Williams.)
PS – I cried when I got my Earth Island award in the mail.
“A life charmed, how appropriate… a story of influences and odds beaten. Jiminy Cricket couldn’t say it any better.”
Jim Huber, CNN
“Lives Charmed is one of the best books I’ve ever read!”
Glenn Meehan, Entertainment Tonight, NBC
“From dog walker to celebrity biographer. I’d say Linda Sivertsen has a charmed life, too!”
Kym Douglas, E!
“Linda Sivertsen’s story is truly a magical one… and her intimate conversations are truly extraordinary.”
Leeza Gibbons, The Leeza Show, NBC
“A charmed life: Ever wonder how some people manage to live such perfect lives? Well, Linda Sivertsen went looking for answers for her new book, Lives Charmed…”
Extra, NBC, in a two-part segment on the book
“My interview with Linda Sivertsen was one of the best I have ever done.”
Arnold Palmer, golf legend
“What Sivertsen’s subjects have in common, surprisingly, is a genuine desire to use their celebrity status for the good of the world at large…”
Mary Alden, The Taos News, NM
Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life
By Linda Sivertsen (me) and Tosh Sivertsen (my then 17-year-old), Simon & Schuster
GG received multiple awards and supportive press (Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Family Circle) as green issues finally became both hot and cool. Get the inside scoop on the biggest issues affecting our planet, with dozens of tips on how to shop, dress, eat, and travel the green way. Included are interviews with teens involved with fun, innovative green causes that show how being environmentally conscious can be a natural part of a teen’s life—and their generation’s contribution to turning things around. It doesn’t matter if you can’t vote or drive. Your efforts—big or small—contribute.
Generation Green was an “Honor Book” for the 2009 Green Earth Book Awards at Salisbury University.
“Every generation thinks they want to change the world. If the latest generation is serious about it, Tosh and Linda provide the blueprint. This book is deep and yet fun and smart and filled with great tips, facts, stories, and interviews. Every school needs to have Generation Green as part of their curriculum!”
Ed Begley, Jr.
Living with Ed, for Discovery’s Planet Green
“This guide is packed with tons of tips for becoming eco-chic…”
Teen Vogue
Your Big Beautiful Book Plan
By Linda Sivertsen (me) and Danielle LaPorte
A book is always more than just a book. Much more. Writing a book could direct the course of your career for the rest of your life. It could lead to infinitely important connections, multiple revenue streams, spin off products, international relations. It could send more business your way. It could pay for a trip to Tahiti or just pay the rent. It could change one person’s life for the better. It could start a revolution. You need a plan. Your Big Beautiful Book Plan features never-before-shared book proposal samples from top authors that landed six-figure advances, attracted top literary agents, and changed lives (both the authors’, and their readers’). This is your behind-the-scenes view into what grabs an agent’s attention, what captivates publishers, and the logic of a book plan that grows your career. And it works–lots of book babies have been birthed via the top publishing houses. Yay!
The Will to Survive: A Mental and Emotional Guide for Law Enforcement Professionals and the People who Love Them
By Dr. Bobby Smith (with Linda Sivertsen)—one of the leading law-enforcement speakers in the world. Bobby was a dedicated Louisiana State Trooper when he was shot in the face and blinded by a wanna-be cop killer.
One of the greatest blessings of my life was being Bobby’s eyes to write. He shared stories I’ll never forget… about how even the most pure-hearted cops struggle to keep their hearts open amidst so much pain. Imagine, you love a neighborhood and move into it with your wife. But on your rounds, you see things no one should, and suddenly the area is no longer a haven in this man’s mind. He comes home from work and his wife, smiling, says: “How was your day, baby?” Does he tell her the truth? If he does, how will she handle his reality? Will she lose her sense of optimism and wonder? If he silences his words and tries to handle his stress alone, it’s to his mental and emotional detriment. Cops have some of the highest suicide, substance abuse, and divorce rates. And sometimes–rarely, statistically–they snap. This book aims to prevent that, and I couldn’t be prouder.
Collaborations
The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success
By Darren Hardy, publisher of SUCCESS magazine
Published by Vanguard Press. I’m in awe of how many people this New York Times bestseller has touched. Based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny, there are no gimmicks, hyperbole, or magic bullets here. Just little, everyday decisions that either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. This easy-to-use, step-by-step operating system allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve your desires.
Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want
By James Ray (with Linda Sivertsen)
Published by Hyperion, this New York Times bestseller capitalized on James’ popularity in the movie The Secret, and as a media darling. Broken up into the Five Pillars of Wealth: Financial, Relational, Intellectual, Physical, and Spiritual, James teaches that without these five pillars, you might be rich, but you’ll never be wealthy. The irony was that several years after we finished this book, James found himself at the lowest, most inharmonious point of his life—the details of which make up a portion of the mess in my upcoming memoir, My Midlife Mess.
Closer Than You Think: The Easy Guide to Connecting with Loved Ones on the Other Side
Do I Look Fat in This? Get Over Your Body and On With Your life
By Rhonda Britten, Dutton
As an Emmy-winning Life Coach on the daytime reality show Starting Over, Rhonda Britten has helped countless women befriend their bodies—first by encouraging them to face and accept what they see in the mirror, and then by empowering them to make healthier decisions about their weight. Too many of us hide our bodies or, even worse, abuse them. We let image control our lives and make decisions for us. Yet, it’s possible to stop seeing our bodies as objects of shame and to find the freedom we need to love ourselves fully. (If you’re new to Rhonda’s work, I suggest starting with Fearless Living. We worked on the proposal for FL together, and the resulting book launched her powerful publishing/TV career, and remains Rhonda’s most popular book.)
Magazine work + more…
To see some of my magazine work (‘specially my cover stories for Balance magazine)
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Travel is magical (this homebody may have become a convert 😜) AND, there’s no place like home. 🐴🐶 Excited to see my #WriteIn gals today at 3pm. (My sister LOVED hosting in my absence—thanks for making her feel so welcomed, BWGers.) PS. For all who followed my first UK trip goings-on, it was a blast sharing highlights with you. I’m not sure where we’ll go next, but your enthusiasm, recommendations, and good cheer were 💯lovely. ☺️
I love us. 🥰
#community #bookmamamusings #horsemama #beautifulwritersgroup #backtowork 📚😎
It cracks me up that one of my ride-or-dies in this life, @benindi, is so down to earth and humble that I only find out the coolest s#it about his ancestors when I accidentally stumble upon them—like riding our bikes by this park sign! (Or occasionally, he lets me interview him, and I do so much research that he can’t help but fill in the blanks.)
So, here Larry & I were, riding blind through London streets (ha), searching for the British Museum, when I saw street signs with a familiar name (Russell) and this park sign, having no idea we were in an area so steeped in Lord Robin’s history. (He didn’t mention it at dinner the other night and most of our texts these days are about how he can help save more Alpine Wild horses from sla#ughter. #Angel.)
Larry and I had to stop for a game of cards (I beat him 2-1, a rare feat!), and Robin told me the Park was designed in the 18th century by a landscape architect named Pepton, who created so many of the beautiful deer parks in England. With a little research, I could tell Robin something he didn’t know: Virginia Woolf set many of the scenes of her novel “Night and Day” (1919) in Russell Square! I also just found a random pic of the book I first interviewed him for, #LivesCharmed, published in Indonesia, which I never knew. As far as I remember, Mama didn’t get any royalties on that one! I’d better call my agent. Ha.
Life is amazing. I’ve got to get out more. xo
#VirginiaWoolf #RussellSquare #London #BookMamaMusings #GinRummy #friendsarelife
I’m back to work on Monday, so I’ll share a few last England travel spots I think you’ll love this weekend. First up, KEW Gardens, @kewgardens. 🌸 OMG. Have you been to this 18th-century marvel? If you read @elizabeth_gilbert_writer’s “The Signature of All Things,” you’ll remember Kew as a key location, where Alma Whittaker first falls in love with botany (the Herbarium alone holds over seven million plant specimens from around the world). The out-of-this-world beauty here gave me further insight into my friend Robin’s (@benindi, see previous post) lifelong ecological passion and commitment. His ancestors were part of the creation & restoration at Kew. Imagine being raised with this kind of awareness, access, and care. 🙏🌲
Here are then-and-now pics of the Palm House (under construction in 1847) and a walkway in 1890 where folks PROMENADED then and still do. (Thanks to #Bridgerton, I know that term and am always telling Larry to promenade with me.😂🎩👒.)
Needless to say, the nature lover in Larry & me lost our minds here. Of course, I took off my shoes and walked much of the land in bare feet for added energy. #Earthing 👣🌱
If you go, plan to make a day of it. There’s so much to see (and feel) you won’t want to leave. And seeing how spring has sprung and the crowds weren’t yet too much, I’d recommend late April and into May. 💚
PS. I’ll post more of the amazing trees at Kew in my stories and feed soon for breathing breaks. 🌳
PSS. Palm House & promenade pic © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew | © Ellen McHale/RBG Kew 🍀
#Kew #Kewgardens #treeheaven #livescharmed #thesignatureofallthings
Linda Sivertsen
Author 🌿 Beautiful Writers Podcast & Book! 🎧FSC Ambassador🌲
Carmel & Virtual Writing Retreats📚
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