I come from a long line of storytellers and songwriters. My late father Bob Montgomery, a songwriter and music publisher with a 60+ year legendary career in music, taught me that you could make a living from words. For me, a story worth telling is one that moves the reader to action. Before I agree to collaborate on a book, the subject must stir me somehow. I've written or contributed to 25 books. I also own a small book publishing company called Lucid House Publishing with Connor Judson Garrett, who is also an award-winning author. We represent a dozen authors in different genres, and virtually all of our titles have won awards. My latest collaboration is THIS PENIS BUSINESS: A Social Activist's Memoir by Georganne Chapin, founding executive director of Intact America, a nonprofit working to end the routine circumcision (a medically unnecessary surgery) of baby boys in the United States. My biggest seller to date is MY ORANGE DUFFEL BAG: A Journey to Radical Change, which has sold/donated almost 100,000 copies. It's Sam Bracken's harrowing story of growing up around mobsters and motorcycle gang members, enduring horrible abuse and ultimately becoming homeless at age 15. He kept his homelessness secret from his high school and wound up getting a full ride scholarship to play football at Georgia Tech. Our graphic memoir was written in diary form and then the second half is self-help. We originally self-published in 2010, and,I co-founded a nonprofit called the Orange Duffel Bag Initiative to do life plan coaching based on the principles in the book that helped Sam transform his life. ODBI has since graduated more than 2000 young people and our evidence-based program has helped homeless, high poverty and foster care youth ages 14-24 stay in school and complete their education. Our book won five national awards for Young Adult Non-Fiction and Self Help. It also won two international awards for Best Designed Book, beating out 4,000 entrants from 14 countries. In WHY DON'T THEY JUST GET A JOB?: One Couple's Mission to End Poverty in their Community, I wrote about one of the best nonprofits in the nation in terms of helping people find and retain jobs—all with no government money. I tell the stories of the people who have been helped by Cincinnati Works. Since we wrote the book, more than 25 communities across the nation have adopted the Phillips' model.