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The Hollywood Unicorn
Christine Birch’s The Hollywood Unicorn is an inspiring blend of memoir and corporate survival guide, particularly tailored to women of color navigating the labyrinth of high-stakes business environments. Birch weaves her personal narrative—rooted in resilience and unapologetic ambition—with practical advice, offering readers a toolkit for thriving in spaces that often seem designed to hold them back. From mastering your “zone of genius” to wielding the “wheel of blame” with finesse, the book brims with strategies aimed at empowerment and professional triumph.
What struck me first was the candidness of Birch’s storytelling. She doesn’t sugarcoat her experiences. For instance, the chapter on “Bringing Grit on the Journey” paints a raw and vivid picture of her struggles and triumphs in Hollywood. Her description of navigating corporate America as a woman of color was not only relatable but also inspiring.
I also loved her concept of the “business alter ego” introduced in Lesson #3. Birch explains how crafting an empowered, professional persona helped her overcome bias and navigate the challenges of corporate culture. She shows us how to balance authenticity with the calculated strength required in professional settings. This section is a game-changer for anyone looking to claim their space unapologetically.
The Hollywood Unicorn is a must-read for women of color in the corporate world, but its wisdom extends far beyond its intended audience. If you’re a professional looking to navigate power dynamics with confidence or simply someone who loves stories of grit and innovation, this book will resonate. Christine Birch’s voice is equal parts relatable and formidable—like getting advice from a fiercely supportive friend who’s seen it all and still dares to dream bigger.
Pages: 80 | ASIN : B0DMXGZRJX
Survival and the Will to Live
The Edge of Life follows two individuals fleeing Seattle who manage to find love once more as they navigate the myriad of dangers accompanying an asteroid that threatens Earth. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
The main idea came from reading online about Vivos xPoint in South Dakota. It’s a decommissioned military base with underground bunkers that they sell as “cabins.” During the early days of the pandemic, they sold like hotcakes. I thought they looked interesting and read more on their website about how the location was intentional, too far from an important city to be a target of a nuclear attack, away from the tectonic activity of the Ring of Fire, and beyond the Yellowstone blast zone. It was somewhere safe.
This made me decide that a global catastrophe would send my characters on a cross-country road trip as society crumbled around them.
What was your approach to writing the interactions between your characters?
I wanted it to be believable that in the face of danger, Kat and Ryan could find the good in themselves, each other, and the world, despite the chaos. I wanted to include simple moments that were sweet and intimate, so they could get to know one another and be vulnerable.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Friendship
Acceptance
Survival and the will to live
Beauty
Courage
Love
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
I am doing the final line edits for the sequel to The Edge of Life: Love and Survival During the Apocalypse, called Aftermath: Into the Unknown. It takes place three years after the first story and is another road trip to Vita xTerra (my fictional bunker based on the real one). The FMC is looking for her uncle who was a minor character in the first book. It will be published December 19th, 2024.
The third book in the series (Love and Survival #3) is in the planning stage and will take place a few years after Aftermath and is set in the bunker city. The characters in the first two books will be featured, though they will not be the main focus.
I have two additional books being published in 2025, the third and final installment in my Train Hoppers series for April and an all-new sports romance, Racing Towards Destiny (series name: Love on Track) about a woman who abandons her old life, moves to Europe, and takes a job working with professional motorcycle racers on the MotoGP circuit.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Warned that a planet-killing asteroid is on a collision course with Earth, acquaintances Kat and Ryan join forces in an effort to survive. Mere hours before impact, they race toward the safety of Ryan’s inherited South Dakota bunker, encountering chaos. A last-ditch effort to nuke the asteroid only manages to fragment it into chunks causing multiple strikes.
Earthquakes, fire, and volcanic ashfall assail Kat and Ryan, who turn to each other for solace. Kat finds someone kind who values her differences and Ryan finds himself falling for Kat’s pluck and quick-thinking. Though jaded, they learn to trust and rely on one another.
Attempting to survive the onslaught of their new world, Kat and Ryan must reach the bunker before imminent food shortages and catastrophic climate change cause society to further unravel.
The Edge of Life shows that survival can include falling in love. With steamy romance and non-stop action, this is one thrilling apocalypse road trip you shouldn’t miss.
Different Frame of Mind
Gigglet the Happy Little Piglet Goes to School follows a giggly young piglet as she goes through her day at school and back home. What was the inspiration for your story?
Let me first preface this by saying (this is going to sound a bit crazy, because well, it is…)!
I had been feeling really burnt out and uninspired in my day to day. I was missing the creative side of my life and wanting to do something, ANYTHING that would get me excited about SOMETHING! I felt the super joyful, happy-go-lucky me I’ve always been, slowly starting to slip away.
I went to bed with a heavy heart one night, asking the heavens above for a change. I was dreading facing another day of zero creativity and no inspiration, and I just felt lost. Then something crazy happened…
The next morning I woke up in a different frame of mind. I was hopeful and feeling positive and not dreading the day at all! I went to work, I was checking my emails and saw a spam email that said “Lit Gadget” in the subject line. My mind read the word as “Gigglet”. I did a double take, looked at the word once again and laughed out loud at myself! “Silly Amber, that doesn’t say Gigglet, it says Lit Gadget” LOL! 😂
I wrote the word Gigglet at the top of my notepad I had sitting in front of me, and then the story of “Gigglet The Happy Little Piglet” just came gushing out of my pen! I couldn’t control it, I couldn’t write fast enough, it was as if the story was writing itself! Once I was done writing, I read through everything and realized, OMG! I’M GIGGLET! I’m the happiest little piglet in all the land!
I guess I just needed a reminder about who I really am to the core of my being and a reminder that I can really do anything I allow myself to do, just as long as I don’t get in my own way. (Crazy, right? Can’t say I didn’t warn you, LOL!)
The art in this book is fantastic Gigglet is so expressive and draws in young readers. What was the art collaboration process like with Nifty Illustrations?
I’m so happy you asked this question! There aren’t enough words or enough hours in the day to describe how amazing and incredible it has been partnering with Nifty Illustrations. We are so in sync! The illustrations are everything I asked for and soooo much more! My partnership with Nifty Illustrations will be lifelong! I feel truly thankful and so very blessed that someone gets me and my visions, loves to explore and is open to all the creative possibilities! We have a true partnership! No idea is a bad one and we are simply free to imagine and create to our hearts content! Oh it’s such a joyful and beautiful thing, more than I could have asked for!
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
You will notice that from an educational perspective, Gigglet is creating and is being joyful while doing it. She is expressing herself in ways that make her happy. I also wanted to be sure to depict what a day at preschool or kindergarten might feel like to young kids. Whether Gigglet is writing, painting, dancing, etc. she is doing it from a place of joy, fun and love.
Do you have more stories planned for Gigglet, and if so, when can your fans expect the next story to be available?
I do! In fact, there is a spoiler alert on my new website http://www.ambkidsbooks.com for book #3 in the series coming out in Q1-Q2 2024. There is also a hint on my website in the World of Gigglet tab for book #4 as well! I have approx 8 Gigglet books lined up for publication at this time. I’m so excited for the world to meet Gigglet’s family and friends, and to go on many more super fun adventures with the happiest little piglet in all the land! 😊 🐷
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Their Love For Each Other
Battlegrounds follows a shipping captain and former slave who become involved in the abolitionist cause during the Civil War, working against the Confederacy. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
As to inspiration, you might say I was curious for where I lived near Vancouver BC, there were hardly any black people living there other than Hogan’s Alley a black enclave in Vancouver’s downtown area (later torn down for an expressway). American history, especially the Civil War era before, during and after came to my attention in an American History course I took at UBC (University of British Columbia).
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Well the major national themes were the issue of slavery, then abolitionism followed by succession of Southern States leading to civil war. Others were more localized such as racism in Boston not only in the white society (burning of the black church, the violent protests etc) but the black as well as demonstrated in the funeral gathering in warehouse #3. Finally on a personal level the effects of racism on John Saxton and Virginia as they struggled to clarify their love for each other despite the opposition from her parents and his high society mother.
What kind of research did you do for this novel to ensure you captured the essence of the story’s theme?
Ah research, research! For every hour writing there was 2 hours of research or more. 14 years ago when I wrote the four books which later became the MATARI series, the internet was more honest, more reliable than it is today. Because of my geog/hst majors at UBC and a 21 year teaching career in High School Social Studies, I was able to find the material I needed to embellish a story that would educate as well as entertain the reader. Later on I added pictures of various sorts to bring the characters, the settings and the book’s plot to life. In doing so, it gave the reader a better sense of the story. Along with thousands of notes scribbled down after watching historical TV shows, reading books, hearing a certain word worthy phrase or late at night getting an idea, I persevered but only after double checking the veracity of the information.
Can you tell us where the book goes and where we’ll see the characters in the next book?
As thousands of books of hist/fic are published anew each year around the world, very few really make an impact or become a commercial success because of it. Famous hist/fict authors such as Ken Follett and Wilbur Smith have an advantage after writing many books that became best sellers. But they too had to start from scratch as I have done. Right now BATTLEGROUNDS is selling but slowly. As a writer I’m not in the same class as the aforementioned titans. Therefore the pictures etc. Hopefully have come to my rescue as well as my characters both real and fictional. In the next book THE DIE GAME, the characters remain the same, both good and evil as war descends upon them in all its fury. Here the tension escalates as characters we love die, or are horribly wounded or driven mad. War is all hell as Gen Sherman once said and thus Book 2 is living proof of that.
I did 2 tours of the South to meet the descendants of slaves, visit plantations of note, take photos, visit museums, battlefields, cities etc. relevant to the novels, and to clarify my internet research as to its accuracy.
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A supporting cast of unforgettable characters are caught up in a web of murder, dark secrets and political intrigue. Arrayed against them are two arch villains Horatio Garrow and his hapless henchman Harley Blackstone.
Saxton and his beautiful black bride Virginia survive a dangerous milieu of Confederate espionage, high treason and the siege of Fort Sumter all brought to the fore by one man…..President Abraham Lincoln.
LITERARY TITAN 