aUthor-William edwin Baxter.
Chapter 5.
Protege Author and Recorded Artist
In the couple of years, I have published over 75 e-books (a lot which are also in paperback editions) and recorded a couple of Digital Music Albums. This was prompted when I nearly died of a Massive Pulmonary Embolism in the Summer of 2016 and survived through Divine Intervention. I realized how short life was and commenced embarking on a couple of bucket list projects. One was to publish a lot of my Award Winning Toastmasters Stories into children's books, and the other was to have my Christmas Carol which I wrote entitled: "Bethlehem! Oh Bethlehem!" published. I killed two birds with one stone with the publication of my book, "W.E.B. Tales," in May of 2018. In November of 2018, my Christmas Carol was recorded through CD Baby along with three other popular Christmas Carols in the public domain, and ended up in the CD Bay Music Store. However, I could not have done any of this, or learned to do any of this alone, not without a mentor.
Fellow Toastmasters and honored guests:
In June of 2015, a year before my attack, I made my first appearance on "The Story Project" which is a Radio Show here in the Pikes Peak Region. This is when I met James Devine for the first time, who was also telling one of his life stories on the show. He learned that I was a member of Toastmasters International. Shortly later he joined Toastmasters Club 555 , The Colorado Springs Toastmasters" which I am a member of. James Divine was already an accomplished speaker. His story on "The Story Project" inspired a lot of people. During that time, the show was also broadcasted on Public TV as well as KRCC - 91.5 FM. The couple of years James was in Club 555, he excelled a lot. He had served a term as Vice President of Public Relations, was a Division Champion of Humorous Speech and later, he was later an Area Champion of International Speech. In addition to his Toastmasters Success, he was also a published author and recorded artist. James is a High School Band Director, Teacher, and accomplished musician. Like myself, he is a published author and recorded artist which I wouldn't be if it wasn't for him.
In early 2018, I had put together all the stories for my first e-book, "W.E.B. Tales," but I didn't know where to send it or how about getting it published. Later, I learned about something fairly new, e-books. I sought help from a couple of people I knew who were authors, and James Devine told me about Kindle Direct Publishing which is a self publisher affiliated with Amazon. He showed me how to prepare a manuscript for publication, and he helped me to set up my account with KDP, and taught me how to submit my manuscripts. Later he taught me how to submit manuscripts for paperback editions.
My Christmas Carol Lyrics was published in "W.E.B. Tales" meaning the song was now a published song and copyrighted. However, no one but knew the tune, so it needed to be recorded. James Divine told me abut CD Baby where he had recorded his records. In November 2018, he helped me set up and account with CD Baby and helped me record my carol and three other Christmas Carols with studio recording equipment in his home and then, he taught me how to submit my recordings to CD Baby. Today, I have recordings in the CD Baby Store, the Amazon Music Store, and on Spotify App and You Tube.
I have a few disabilities, and without James Devine's help, a lot of this would have been very difficult for me. If anyone or any organization needs a guest speaker or mentor, I would strongly recommend James Devine. I hope a lot of you who have heard or read this will agree. I hope this illustrates the importance of a good Mentor-ship Program in Toastmasters International, and the benefits it would provide for its members.