Inspirational 9
Above are three covers for the author's journal. I helped her with the cover designs.
And this is her introduction to the journal:
"The year 2020 threw many of us for a loop. I felt blessed to make it to 2021. When a new year dawned, I felt a responsibility to live life to the fullest. Not just for myself, but for those who didn’t make it. More than anything, I felt it was time to do things differently.
"I started the new year by creating a vision board, something I’d heard a great deal about but had never actually tried. I hung it where I could see it every day. It helped to have a visual of where I am headed, but it wasn’t enough. That’s when I decided to get more intentional with my journaling.
"In addition to reviewing the vision board regularly, I started to write down what actions I took each day that fed into the vision I outlined for myself. I came up with my group of F Words:
"Faith - Family - Fitness - Full Steam Ahead (work/large projects) - Feed My Soul (creative outlet) - Financial - Frolics (fun).
"Each day I aim to do something that fills each of these buckets. The end goal - a balanced life.
"This worked wonders to help me stay focused and hold myself accountable. Over time it occurred to me that others may benefit from this same system. As a result, I’ve created this 90-day journal for you.
"I hope it serves you as well it serves me."
—Nadia Gilkes
Van Garde Imagery is a first-class organization. Dan and Darlene Swanson, the proprietors of the establishment, are masters of their craft. During 2022 and 2023 they worked with Greenspan and Atkins Publishing (Two Sisters Writing and Publishing) assisting in the design and publication of two books for us. The first, A Valiant Battle: A Journey with Schizophrenia, and the second, Markers on the Way to God, were beautifully designed. Their major contributions included exterior jacket design, interior layout design, printing on the spine of the books and type-setting the books prior to publication. All the work was done in an excellent fashion. For cover and interior layout design, we met with them by Zoom to choose pictures for the front cover, font size and type, placement of testimonials on the back, and photos of the authors on the back flap. During this process they listened attentively and transformed our thoughts into outstanding graphics. All the work was completed in a timely fashion. Both Dan and Darlene are engaging and easy to work with. They offered suggestions that always improved the final product. They were efficient and provided well thought-out critiques and ideas. Without reservation, we highly recommend Van Garde Imagery to authors, especially those who are first-time authors, who want their book published with excellence and care.
Wendel L. Miser
James S. Mise
James S. Mise
April 28, 2023
