An Interview with Marlene Caroselli: Author, Speaker & Trainer
Sylvia: Welcome Marlene. Please give our readers a brief introduction of yourself and a little about your book.
Marlene: Hello Sylvia, my name is Dr. Marlene Caroselli and I am an author, keynote speaker and corporate trainer. I’ve published over 60 books, including Hiring and Firing, The Critical Thinking Tool Kit, and Principled Persuasion, named a Director’s Choice by Doubleday Book Club.
The wanderlust bug bit me shortly after I graduated from college. I spent a year in Europe and returned to this wonderful country to teach. After 14 years in a high school classroom, the bug bit again. I headed to the West Coast (my sister was filming in Europe at the time and her Santa Monica apartment was empty). I did temporary work, fully intending to return to Rochester, NY, where my teaching job was waiting. But, the songs of California’s sirens were too beautiful to resist. When my “temporary” boss offered me a full-time job in property management, I accepted. I spent three years managing two high-rise buildings, one of which had a university that occupied 90,000 square feet on the ninth floor. The dean, having learned about my teaching background, offered me a teaching position. This led to work in corporations and to book writing. Other than not ever having found a husband, I have no regret about all the “bug bites” my life contains.
Sylvia: What inspired you to write your first book?
Marlene: I was teaching a communications course at National University in Los Angeles and one day 
realized my curriculum would make a darn good book. I wrote that book: it was chosen a Main Selection by Doubleday Book Club. My writing career was launched. For the next 20 years, I averaged three books a year.
Sylvia: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Marlene: My first book was non-fiction. As such, it contained hundreds of messages I want readers to grasp. The main one would be that one’s viewpoint/passion must be presented in a way that grasps the reader’s attention.
Sylvia: Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book?
Marlene: Jesus, Jonas, and Janus: The Leadership Triumvirate is a compilation of tips, tools, and techniques to help leaders demonstrate principled behaviors, to learn from nature and to explore their own creativity.
Sylvia: How did you come up with the idea for your book?
Marlene: The book was based on a speech of the same title I had given years ago.
Sylvia: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Marlene: You’ve heard it before. Write every day. Read every day. And remain open to the wonders of the world.
Sylvia: What marketing techniques have you used to sell your books and which ones have been most successful?
Marlene: My most successful technique was speaking at a conference. I had hundreds of requests subsequently from people who wanted to buy the book, which was aligned with the conference theme.
Sylvia: Why should we buy your book?
Marlene: My latest book is titled Jesus, Jonas, and Janus: The Leadership Triumvirate. If you want to grow in your knowledge of how to effect positive change, you should buy this book (available on Kindle and Nook). It offers uncountable lessons for motivating others via ethics, nature, and creativity.
Sylvia: Is there a special place that you prefer to write?
Marlene: My office. My desk faces a large print by Ramon Santiago, a local artist. And my computer’s iTunes program provides the perfect musical background. Windows allow me to see what delights or horrors nature is presenting on a given day.
Sylvia: Ahhh, nice! What projects are you currently working on?
Marlene: I’m doing a lot of blogs and articles for online publications. I’m also completing a book about motivation.
Sylvia: Motivation! Something we all need! Please let me know when that book is done. What is your POWER WORD?
Marlene: I didn’t have a power word until I read your questions. But I can label one now: “frog.” Frog has power when considered in the context of Mark Twain’s exhortation regarding procrastination: “If you have to swallow a frog, don’t stare at it too long!”
Sylvia: Interesting! Never thought of ‘frog’ as a power word. Do you ever experience ‘writer’s block?’
Marlene: Readers who wish to be writers often ask me about writer’s block. I don’t believe it exists. If we are alive, our brain is working. And if it’s working, it will find the words we need for our writing projects.
Sylvia: What was the best writing-related advice you ever received?
Marlene: I once heard a famous writer say if the idea for a book is still tickling your brain after six months, that’s a book you should write. It’s hard, when we have dozens of book-ideas, to choose the one to bring to fruition, but the six-month criterion has been useful for me.
Sylvia: It’s been a pleasure. Thank you for your story. How can readers contact you?
Marlene: Certainly, and thank you!
Sylvia Browder is CEO of Specialty Home Services LLC, a Home Improvement Company; a Small Business Consultant at Browder Consulting Group, a startup consultancy firm to help women with startup assistance, marketing, website and graphic design work and other support services. In addition, she has co-authored several published books; publisher of ‘Sylvia Browder’s Blog for Women Entrepreneurs’ a lifestyle blog; and publisher of ShopSpendBlack.com Business Directory & Blog platform created to help consumers find black owned businesses in a searchable format. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband of 30 years; 5 adult children and 5 grandchildren; church; friends and motorcycle riding.
