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John Malnor

Award winning self-published author and certified book coach

About This Coach

John Malnor has a lifetime of experiences as a global business leader, startup mentor, leadership coach, award winning writer, builder, motorcyclist and musician. He is the founder of Guided Mastery LLC and Stony Lake Press LLC, author of Killers Keepers, Scars of Justice and Forced Freedom (to be published) – all crime fiction. John helps clients to design their life, their way. As a Write Practice Certified Book Coach, John partners with writers to improve their process and build the habits which lead to beginning – and finishing – great stories. He has spoken at corporate, community and university events on topics including business innovation, leading high-performance teams, designing your life, a graduate school commencement and a recent panel discussion on how design thinking impacts healthcare.

Services

One-Off Coaching Call - 30 min

Writing a book is a dream many share, but it is a difficult challenge; having someone to talk to can help to focus your efforts, create a clear direction and a reasonable plan to get there. A one-off call is best applied when you are stuck on a specific story element or are unclear about next steps.

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Book Plan Critique

A book plan can help to create an exciting vision for your book. It can save you time by providing critical pathfinding and help in celebration as you pass key milestones. We will work together, using a structure proven through years of use at the Write Practice, to create a plan for your story that will increase your odds of success to finish your first draft as the beginning of a great story. Our time together will be scheduled based upon your needs, usually taking 2-3 hours in 45 minute working sessions.

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Weekly/Monthly Book Coaching

Add this service to get an enhanced level of coaching to complete your draft or revision during the Write Practice 100 Day Book program, or separately to have regular accountability, direction and celebration of your progress. The rate will vary depending on the level of engagement which bests fit your process and needs, but I find three months is the minimum effective commitment to make real progress on your book.

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Manuscript Critique

Having someone provide an objective review of your manuscript can help you see it in a new way - uncovering new possibilities. Our manuscript review includes; key story elements, plot, point of view, key scene breakdowns, story arc, comps, and a summary of recommendations to take the story to the next level. A manuscript critique is a deep dive, including reading your manuscript multiple times and creating a working plan, helping to see the work within the story architecture to understand the strengths and identify choices to make and revisions to write to strengthen the story. Turnaround time depends upon my schedule - and is generally one to three weeks.

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Portfolio

Killers Keepers by John S Malnor

Crime Fiction

Casey Thomas was a young engineering student when he met Katie, the woman who transformed his life. Her death leaves him drifting in a current that pulls him into a confrontation with a serial rapist, whose family now wants revenge. The easy thing would be to leave. To put the conflict behind him. Katie would never back down, so he fights back. But his enemy is a crime family - not just one man. Over his head and struggling to survive, new friends step in to help. With their lives in danger, Casey discovers a dark side of himself that threatens to turn him into someone he doesn't want to be.

Scars of Justice by John S Malnor

Crime Fiction

The idyllic coastal life is disrupted when a hurricane ravages a community center, a friend is lost at sea and a local woman is taken by human traffickers. Casey Thomas begins his day helping fix the roof of a community center and ends up neck deep in the slave trade. Soon his life and the lives of others hang in the balance, while his sense of loyalty and a compelling need for justice push him to the edge.

Ghost Tears (to be published) by John S Malnor

Middle Grade Fantasy

Charlie Daniels is your average middle school boy. Then he meets a girl. A dead girl. When 11-year-old Charlie Daniels finds a treehouse in the woods with his best friend Harper, he doesn't expect a girl he meets to be an evil ghost who poisons him with a ghost tear that transforms him into a half-ghost. Ghost Tears is a Middle-Grade Fantasy about friendship, adapting to change, and finding a way to fight with courage and kindness. Set in a Chicago suburb in current times, Charlie learns the powers and limitations of being a half-ghost - including remaining almost twelve years old forever. When the ghost kidnaps Harper, Charlie must solve a decades-old murder and help two old friends reconcile, or lose Harper forever.

Reviews

Eileen

Developmental Editing/Book Coaching