Dahlynn McKowen is a busy woman. She is CEO and Publisher of Publishing Syndicate, a publishing house based in Northern California. The company has upwards of 25 book contracts going at any one time with emerging and exciting authors. Since selling her first feature article in 1987, Dahlynn has sold/had published over 2,000 works including business features and travel articles. Her integrity and reputation is such that she has also ghostwritten for a former U.S. president, more than two dozen Fortune 100 and 500 corporate founders and CEOs and a few California governors. Dahlynn has been referred to by Chicken Soup for the Soul founders as one of their most trusted coauthors, having worked a decade with series creators Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen and their staffs. She, along with her husband Ken, coauthored Chicken Soup for the Fisherman’s Soul and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrating Brothers and Sisters. Dahlynn also coauthored, along with Canfield and Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul in Menopause and Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneur’s Soul, working closely with the nation’s top entrepreneurs/founders from companies such as Monster.com, Curves, Famous Dave’s, Cookie Lee Incorporated, Jelly Belly, Celestial Seasonings, Zelda Wisdom, eWomenNetwork, Jazzercise and Dippin’ Dots. Dahlynn has also ghost-created and edited too many Chicken Soup titles to list. She has also spoken all over the country and has given hundreds of media interviews regarding her writing career. Taking what they learned during their ten years as coauthors, consultants and editors for Chicken Soup, in October 2012, the McKowens launched their own anthology series: Not Your Mother’s Book…[subtitle]. The first book released is Not Your Mother’s Book…On Being a Woman, with Not Your Mother’s Book…On Being a Stupid Kid and Not Your Mother’s Book…On Dogs set to release by the end of the year. A new anthology for a new century, the series does not accept stories that are sad, sappy or preachy, and they will never use death-and-dying stories. For submission guidelines: www.PublishingSyndicate.com. The McKowens are also noted travel freelancers and authors. In 2007, their title Best of California’s Missions, Mansions and Museums: Bringing the Golden State’s Past Alive for Today’s Travelers (Wilderness Press) took home Publisher’s Marketing Association’s prestigious Benjamin Franklin Award as the best independently published travel guide in the country. They also author winery-destination books, including The Wine-Oh! Guide to California’s Sierra Foothills and Wine Wherever: In California’s Mid-Coast & Inland Regions. Currently, a Wine Wherever book is under production for California’s Paso Roble wine region, as well as the development of a destination television show by the same name. True to her entrepreneurial spirit, when Dahlynn purchased an iPhone in early 2010, she became intrigued with the marketing potential of smart devices and how an app could augment the Wine Wherever wine-book series and show. She also created the popular Wine Wherever iPhone app, which includes 2,000 wineries in five different states. The app has been featured extensively in the media, including Sunset magazine. NOTE: NAME PRONUNCIATION: Dahlynn = da-Lin (accent on the L) McKowen = mc-Q-in (accent on the Q) Publishing Syndicate PO Box 607 Orangevale, CA 95662 www.PublishingSyndicate.com

Mark Victor Hansen is an American inspirational and motivational speaker, trainer and author. He is best known as the founder and co-creator of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book series. Mark Victor Hansen was born to Danish immigrants, Una and Paul Hansen. He grew up in Waukegan, Illinois. He graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1970 with a B.A. in speech communications. Along with business partner, Jack Canfield , Hansen is best known for creating what Time magazine called “the publishing phenomenon of the decade”. Chicken Soup for the Soul books are one of the most successful publishing franchises in the world today, with more than 500 million books sold internationally and more than 100 licensed products. The name “Chicken Soup” was chosen because of the use of chicken soup as a home remedy for the sick. The first Chicken Soup book, published by Health Communications, Inc., sold more than 2 million copies. There are now over 500 million copies in print and in 54 languages worldwide. In 2005 he co-wrote, along with Robert Allen, the book "Cracking the Millionaire Code" in which he highlights several self-made millionaires such as Bob Circosta, Michael Dell, Bill Gates, Alexander Graham Bell, Oprah Winfrey, and others, using them as examples of how to build wealth.