[00:00:00] Ellington Brown: Welcome to SpeakUP! International with Rita Burke and Elton Brown! Today we have Peta-Gay Nash she is going to be reading an excerpt from her children's book, Bushyhead and with that, the floor is yours!

[00:00:27] Peta-Gaye Nash: Sometimes Miranda May was teased at school because of her bushy hair. You can't be a princess. said Amanda, whose hair was blonde and straight. Princesses don't have wild and crazy hair. This made Miranda May very sad. Some princesses have bushy heads, said her mother. I want a different type of hair, said Miranda May.

Just be glad you have hair, said her father from the kitchen where he was cooking dinner. Sometimes Miranda May didn't like her hair because it took a long time to comb out the tangles. It also hurt a lot. Ouch, ouch, ouch! She screamed as her mother tried to comb it. I have too much hair, cried Miranda May.

Be glad you have hair, her father called out as he sat reading the newspaper. Sometimes Miranda May's hair wouldn't do what she wanted it to do. It curled in different directions. Some people told her to braid it. Others told her to straighten it. Blow dry it, mold it, roll it, and control it. Be happy with your hair the way it is, said her dad, and be glad you have hair.

I'd love to give you some of my hair, daddy, but I can't, said Miranda May, kissing her dad on his bald head.

[00:01:51] Rita Burke: That was divine. I have a little secret I like to be read to, so thanks, Peter Gay. 

[00:02:00] Peta-Gaye Nash: Oh, my pleasure!

[00:02:03] Rita Burke: You just heard the voice of Peter Gay Nash, who is a multi genre writer. She's known for captivating storytelling, vivid characters, and insight into the human experience.

Peter Gay hosts the podcast Heart to Art. She was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and has been in Ontario for over 20 years, Peter Gaye draws in separation from the tapestry, the rich tapestry of the Caribbean, her mixed race heritage, and the immigrant experience. Now, as we say on SpeakUP! International, we prefer if our guests tell their own stories, and so I welcome Peter Gaye Nash to tell her story.

Welcome to SpeakUP! International! 

[00:02:54] Peta-Gaye Nash: Thank you for having me. Such an honor. So my story. I've been writing and journaling as a child. It's something that I've always done. And, um, the children's books came out of having children and wanting to spread messages. You know, your children teach you so much. It, uh, writing children's literature was not my first love, admittedly, but children do teach us so much.

And I wanted to share these messages, uh, for other families from my children's books. So bushy head is just one of them, the latest one, but it's one that I'm passionate about because having children with very curly hair, I never wanted them to feel that they had to adhere to some other, um, beauty standard.

That's that's set by, as we know, colonial standards, I wanted them to be proud of who they are and the hair that's growing out of their head. I just thought. I have to do this. I have to do this, not just for my children, but for other children, you know, because I went through it as a child as well. The straightening, you know, I just being a little girl and having my hair set in rollers, um, wanting to swim.

And my mom's saying, but I just did your hair and it taking two hours. What a lack of freedom. And for what? For a standard and, you know, it's funny, one of my daughters even said to me, mom, it made me so sad. This was a long time ago, by the way, it made me so sad when you were going on a job interview in Canada and you told me that you had to straighten your hair.

And I said, Yes, I did it because 

[00:04:49] Rita Burke: I hear that. I hear that loud and clear here. Here becomes a focal point for many of our conversations, whether it's intentional or not. But I want to slip back to how you describe yourself in your bio, you describe yourself as a multi genre writer. Talk to us. Talk to us about what that means to you, please.

I'm a multi genre writer because I just love writing in general, and it started with journaling. Then it went on to short stories. I, I love the short story genre. Um, I always wanted to write a novel, but I haven't done that yet. You know, I, it's my short attention span, but, um, I love poetry. I discovered poetry or rediscovered poetry in 2020 during the pandemic under lockdown when I took some courses and I thought, I really love this.

I love the play with words that I can do with poetry. And then of course the children's literature. So, I write because I love the written word, not just confined to one thing.

[00:06:06] Ellington Brown: You write children's books and you write adult fiction. So, which one came first? Was it the children's book or was it the adult um, fiction and which came first and why? 

[00:06:25] Peta-Gaye Nash: The adult fiction came first because before I had children, I had no idea what that world of, of writing for children was about or even what children were about.

Um, I was, I'm passionate about the short story that definitely came first when I had children. That's when I thought, Whoa! Messages of crossing the streets safely. Uh, that book is called S. E. Wants an Education. Um, then there was Bushy Head. There's another one called, um, Where is Meadows Manors? Because Meadows is my youngest daughter.

And one day she just woke up and was really grumpy. And I thought there's a great message here. Um, but my, my love is definitely short fiction for adults and now that my kids are older, no longer children, I've gone back to it and it's been so satisfying.

[00:07:24] Rita Burke: Do you know, we live in a world that's layered, layered is the hierarchy. There's a system called the class system that we, I don't hear much about anymore, but I know it still exists. Why don't you talk to us about your experience and observations with this thing called CLASS, and I don't mean a classroom? I mean class.

Please. 

[00:07:52] Peta-Gaye Nash: So, to be not so politically correct, of course it still exists, not just in this country, but in the Caribbean as well. And I write a lot about that in my adult fiction, because it definitely influences the way that people Uh, interact with each other. Have you ever noticed when someone perceives you as not having any money?

Or not being important the way that they talk to you is so different than when you do have money, or you do drive up in that expensive car, or you are very well put together the way that we interact with each other is is so much like this, but that's a superficial part. You know, there is a deeper part of opportunities not being available to people.

Who, for lack of a better word, come from the lower class or just who are not, I'm not using politically correct terms here because if I tried to, I would just totally lose my, my train of consciousness. But this is something that I observed in Jamaica and I always used to wonder, well, what makes it so? As a young child, this is before learning about our history or, you know, why I was driving around Kingston in a car.

And there were other children begging on the streets. Now, some people would never be bothered by things like that, but I think it's just, this is who I was, um, very sensitive. And it used to bother me a lot. Uh, it would be so different if everyone got equal opportunities. But you know, there's class system within class system within class system.

There's class system in, you know, with the Jamaican whites with, there's just so many different levels. And that is why I tell my kids, this is why. It's so important to really know yourself, love yourself and be who you are, because maybe we don't, we'll never get to the very top doesn't matter. Are you happy with who you are?

Are you happy with the education that you have strived for? Are you happy with the person that you're turning out to be with your, with your job, your hobbies, your friendships? Because once you love yourself and my gosh, I did not know this until what truly meant to love yourself until I hit my fifties, you know, once you are happy with you, it doesn't matter who you're speaking to or what they think of you because people will always think something of you.

But if you are happy with you. And satisfied with the person that you are growing into, then you don't have to worry about other people's, uh, values or opinions. Or the hierarchy that they've set for themselves and are trying to slot you into that becomes less important.

[00:11:07] Ellington Brown: I wanna talk a little bit about your accomplishments.

One of many, 

[00:11:14] Peta-Gaye Nash: Your two kind. 

[00:11:15] Ellington Brown: You've written , you've written many books, children's books I, I'd, I'd like to know what was your first children's book? 

[00:11:25] Peta-Gaye Nash: Oh, my first children's book was a book called Don't Take Raja to School. And this book came out of Me moving to Canada with two young girls, age three and six.

You can imagine the trauma of that. And my little three year old Jade had this tiger that her aunt had given her. And she took the tiger everywhere. And she kept asking, can I take Roger to school? He makes all the monsters go away. She didn't go anywhere without Roger. And I couldn't take the harassment as we say in Jamaica.

And I said, all right, fine. Take him to school. And then she came home and I said, but be careful, don't lose him. She came home that day, devastated. Raja was gone. We had looked everywhere. There was no Raja. Now, every year at the school, there was a carnival and there was a stuffy room where you could donate every year, second grade, third, fourth, fifth.

We went to that stuffy room looking for Raja. Raja was never there. Finally now, Jade is about to graduate and she goes to the stuffy room one last time. No Raja. And she realizes that, okay, my childhood stuffed tiger is gone. Oh, she used to believe he came alive at night, actually, and fought the the the monsters under the bed.

So he was really an important part of our, our, you know, lives at the time. Anyway, as she is about to go home, she sees a woman walking down the hall. And she says to her friends. That looks just like a stuffed animal that I had, but let me just backtrack that when she lost Roger, I wrote the story, but shoved it at the back of my closet because it had no ending.

I thought, well, this is not a really a good story. It's about losing your prized possession, and it doesn't really have an ending. So I forgot about it all those years. And then her friend said, go and ask her, go and ask the woman, make me this Raja, went up to the woman. And she said, that looks just like a stuffed animal I lost when I was in kindergarten or first grade.

And the woman said, I just found him on the floor. Here he is. And that was Roger looking terrible, not new at all. One eye was missing, but he was back. And by then, you know, there was cell phones and she called me. Guess what? I have Roger. And there was the end of the story. It was about not giving up, never losing hope.

It was about perseverance. It was also about listening to your parents and not taking your prized possessions to school. But that was my first story. And, you know, there's some things I wish that was different about it. Like I wish the illustrations were different. Um, but meaning that they don't really represent us as a family.

It was done by someone here, um, Jade is, is white in the book, we're not, but apart from all those things, the message in that story was just amazing. And we have Roger with us today, and when I go on school visits, I take him!

[00:14:56] Rita Burke: Two questions. How long was Roger missing for?

[00:15:01] Peta-Gaye Nash: Years? So she went to that school. I think it was in first grade. She lost him in first grade, found him in sixth grade. 

[00:15:08] Rita Burke: Oh, yeah, quite a few years, huh? But I'm glad she found him. And here is my next question. I know that you are also a host of a podcast. I want you to tell us about the impetus for that podcast. And what is it about? 

[00:15:28] Peta-Gaye Nash: Heart to Art is a new initiative put on by Saga Arts Hub, the Mississauga Arts Council, where I'm the host, to elevate other creatives.

It is about not just elevating them, but giving them a voice, especially when they need it. If they are not mainstream writers, artists, it's about hoping that they managed to monetize some of their works just by getting their voice out there. And it's delving deeper into the artistic journey because all artists, well, all people really, but artists have a journey, a creative journey, and some of them have overcome a great deal just to be able to do their art.

You know, one person on the podcast was an artist recognized, taught by the great Barrington Watson in Jamaica, and she was hit by a car in Canada, got a concussion, and had to relearn how to paint. I mean, what an amazing journey. Another, um, Jamaican, She lost her husband to Alzheimer's, but it was the journey that she was on where she had to be his caretaker, but she entered the world of Alzheimer's as opposed to getting angry and irritated or saying, you said that already, you know, such a great book.

But she entered that world and really showed us how it's done if you're living with someone, you know, in that position. Amazing! Another author from England overcame horrific child abuse to get her memoir out. You know, and she explained that journey, changing the names, how, you know, a lot of her family didn't even realize that all this trauma existed.

Canada was her escape. So it's about giving creatives this platform to share their story and to advise. The listeners, you know, how did I do it? How did I accomplish with so many blocks in the way? Or how did I navigate this journey? So that's what Heart to Art is all about. Going deeper into the stories of artists.

[00:17:54] Ellington Brown: Tell us about the award that you won in 2022? 

[00:17:59] Peta-Gaye Nash: So that was the Marty Awards. I'm so proud of that from the Mississauga Arts Council. I submitted Bushy Head as well as some stories from Told You Stories, which is adult short fiction. And it feels so great to be recognized by your peers. Or, or other creatives.

It just gives you a lift. And when that happened, when I got the nomination, I was going through a really tough period in my life. Um, a really tough period. I was feeling, you know, every day I was feeling down. I didn't know what direction to go in. COVID had changed so much and getting that nomination and getting that win validated my course.

It validated me as a writer and I thought, Okay, you can't stop. You cannot give up. Doesn't matter what your day job is or what's going on in your life. You have this thing that needs to be expressed. I know, I know, you know what I'm talking about, Rita. Um, you, you have this thing in your soul. Your soul is growing.

I don't even know how to say it, but you could be down, things could be happening. But you have this artistic expression that when you sit down and find the time to give it, you know, make it tangible, your soul grows, you grow, your life gets a bit broader, your world becomes larger. You feel expansive as opposed to the alternative, which is feeling bitter and small, And that you are here on earth.

You know, you have a goal, but you don't do it because you just can't muster up the strength. 

[00:20:13] Rita Burke: And for some people mustering up that strength takes. A mighty lot of energy and internal drive. So this is going to help me segue now into your blogs. You've blogged about personal groups. Talk to us about some of those themes or topics that you're particularly interested in, please.

[00:20:41] Peta-Gaye Nash: Well, first of all, I never muster up that strength on my own. It's just never, um, it's just not possible. I'm so lucky. I have a supportive family and this doesn't even go to just my, my husband and children. They're very supportive, but this is my parents, my sisters, my, my girlfriends, my family doctor, because I think that's so important when you get those down days that you have a whole team working with you.

Um, My blogs. Okay. So I'm really not that consistent with the blogging. I need to do more, but I think it's probably because I'm afraid of revealing too much and I should not be afraid of doing that anymore because there's so many people who struggle. Um, with issues of anxiety or depression or, or, um, just overcoming.

So I really need to get back to that. And these are the issues that the blog usually tackle, um, tackle because, you know, or, or the type of person that you make a mistake. And the whole world falls apart. You know people like that. I used to be one of them. And, you know, these things, these fears can really cripple you if you let them.

And I think I have an important message to give to young people because life will always come at you with some really hard stuff sometimes. And sometimes you alone can't muster up that internal drive and courage. You need to reach out to others. Yes. 

[00:22:22] Ellington Brown: How does your Caribbean heritage influence your writing?

[00:22:29] Peta-Gaye Nash: I love my Caribbean heritage because everything about me is Jamaican, right? I, I might have lived here for many years, but that is my core. And I am, the, the Caribbean influences me with the cast of characters that come from the Caribbean. Not to say that other cultures don't have this cast of characters, but we're a small society.

We know a lot of people. We're not just big city people living a life of a number. You are so intimately connected with all kinds of people. And my parents used to talk a lot. Especially when they were in a good mood as a very young child, I would hear them talking to their friends, to each other. And then as I got older, to me, and I used to listen to them and you know how it is, you're sitting around, they're having a couple of drinks and they start to share stories, crazy stories.

Oh, you heard this one shot his wife. This one did this, this one just had an affair with the neighbor and you, you know, all these people. So you're, as a child, I would just. spy on them actually when they were having When they were supposed, when I was supposed to be sleeping and I'd been looking at all the people watching the body language, um, you know, if you have a very talkative family, my aunts, my grandparents, I think it might be just a thing, you know, you get together and you, you chat, you chat people business and, and in this way, it has inspired my characters a lot.

You know, um, I think it is harder for me to get into the psyche of North Americans. Even when they do share a lot, it's sometimes difficult to know or think about, okay, what kind of childhood did this person have? You know, I want to ask a lot of questions, but of course you don't, if you don't know the person that well, but to really craft a good character, you need to listen.

You need to have their backstory. Even if that doesn't come out in the story that you've written, but you need to know about them. What drives them? What are their fears? Uh, what do they look forward to in life and what affected them as a child to make them turn out the way they are today? 

[00:25:06] Rita Burke: You know, when you were talking about kind of being the fly on the wall, when your parents were having their little conversations, it reminded me of something my grandchild said to me, my granddaughter told me when she was about seven or eight, she said, granny, I have big ears.

And what she was saying to me is I listen into conversations. I know more than you think I know. I have, that's the only way she could describe it. She said, I have big ears. And to me that captured the essence of what she was trying to tell me very, very easily. But I need to know, and I want for you to tell our audience, who or what would you say to me?

have contributed to the person that you are today? Who or what has made you what you are today? 

[00:26:00] Peta-Gaye Nash: Every single person I've ever had contact with, whether it was positive or negative, um, I have learned so much and I feel I've overcome so much because I think I'm a very sensitive person. So anything negative that was said to me as a child, I unfortunately let that dictate my path And so, so anyone that was in my life, whether they were intentionally, um, unintentionally, I should say causing harm or not, it has affected me.

But one thing that has really, really changed me, because I think, okay, let me, let me go back to coming from the Caribbean. Especially the time that I grew up in Jamaica, which was in the 70s, and a time of political unrest. You know, when I looked at, when I watched the Bob Marley movie, and I saw all the soldiers with guns, and heard all those gunshots, I thought to myself, oh yes, oh yes.

This is why I'm the way I am. This is why, you know, my kids will scare me for fun. And I'll let out this blood curdling scream and someone will be like, What? Why? Um, all of these things have caused some kind of trauma, right? So I think that living through that time did affect me. And, It made me fearful of the world.

So this fear would come out in some very strange ways. For example, I would get an email from an unknown person or a phone call. And my first reaction, which I realized is not everyone's reaction is to immediately. Who is this from? You know, and then it gives, it gives rise to all these feelings of discomfort, discomfort and avoidance, and then I'd want to procrastinate, not read the email, not take the phone call, just different things like that.

Um, and one day someone, I got a life coach during 2020 and I had to get a life coach because I said to her, why is it that I say that I love writing and I do love writing? But I can't write, and I don't have a lack of stories. I have stories every day. I don't have that kind of writer's block. I have a million stories, but I can't get them down.

And she went through this whole process of how I feel when I'm about to write. Or exercise, by the way, because it's the same thing. It's discomfort, right? The thing is hard. You have to put your, you have to put some brain power into it. Why could I not do it, especially because, you know, I say, well, I love exercise.

I love going to the gym. How come I couldn't go to the gym or sit down and write? And so she had me go through this thing where I talk about how I feel when I think about doing those things. And a whole host of negative feelings came up and she goes, well, what are you thinking now? Tell me your thoughts that are causing you to feel this way.

And the thoughts were, I'm going to fail at this thing. No one is going to care about what I'm writing. The gym is going to be too hard. It's too cold outside and a thousand of excuses and negative thoughts and she goes, this is why you feel that the way you do. So why would you now do the things that you say you want to do if you have all these thoughts running through your mind and making you feel bad.

You have to change that. You have to change those thoughts. 

[00:30:02] Ellington Brown: Wow. Amazing. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. I want to go back to something that you said earlier about, you know, listening to your parents as they've had a couple of drinks now and the tongues are now starting to, you know, wag a little bit and you're grabbing hold of all of these stories.

I remember the situations that were very similar to yours. My parents friends, they would be in the kitchen and they would, you know, talk and all of a sudden you hear about, you know, someone getting shot, just like you said, or someone's having an affair with someone's spouse. And what they would do is they would start spelling the words.

They wouldn't say the words for fear that I would, or one of my brothers would hear them. Well, what they didn't know is I had a pencil and piece of paper and they spelled the word out, I'd write it down. And then later on, I'd go look it up in the dictionary to find out exactly what that word, what that word mean.

So I still was able to find out exactly what they were talking about, uh, even though they were call themselves being very cryptic. How do you see yourself, uh, in terms of your goals and aspirations, what do you want to achieve in the immediate future through your writing? 

[00:31:39] Peta-Gaye Nash: Oh, I am ready to tackle a novel or another book of short stories.

I am, I've spent this past year promoting my book. Latest adult book, the collection of short stories. It's been fantastic. I've had launches in New York, in Kingston, Jamaica, um, here in Mississauga. But I, I had some good advice from a friend and she said, you know, you don't recognize your achievements and you just run to the next thing.

And you just poo poo what you've done and you don't give anything enough time. And I thought, okay, noted. So I, I decided to give 2024, um, uh, that time to, to promote, to market and to read, uh, do readings of Told Ya. 2025 now, it's going to be back to writing. I'm excited, but I'm also feeling a little bit like the first day at the gym or the first day in first grade.

You know, I feel that trepidation because I know the process is long. There is no immediate gratification here, except the gratification of, okay, I did what I said I would do, but the journey is long, just like starting a business or a weight loss goal or anything that's worthwhile in life.

[00:33:14] Rita Burke: You know, you talked about your friend saying to you about not stopping long enough with anything.

I'm not sure if that's the advice that you would consider to be the best piece of advice you'd ever been given, but I'm gonna ask you one of our signature questions. What would you say is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

[00:33:38] Peta-Gaye Nash: Ooh, I, I have, oh, I've been given so much advice, but for, for any aspiring writer.

Uh, or anyone who wants to do something, you need to surround yourself with that community. That is so important. Writing is much less solitary than we think it is. Aspiring writers need to join writing groups. They need to follow writers on Instagram. They need to follow publishers. They need to follow, um, book awards companies or people, you know, they need to start groups of their own.

It is so important to know that. You are not alone in this and that there is support, but you have to get to know the people in your tribe. We have many different tribes, but if that's what you want, you need the people from that tribe. And following along with that is have no jealousy or competition with other people in your tribe.

You have to be able to to ban that what we in the Caribbean call band. I mean, ban your bad mind, ban your bad mind. Um, if you have it, you know, and, and if you do have it, it's going to take some work because again, it starts with the thoughts. You have to be able to give gratitude for those people and to be kind to yourself in this journey.

Because it's a long journey and you might be applauding one winner of a prize or someone who has just completed a book, but you have to be able to applaud them, learn from them, because your turn is going to come and you will want people to applaud you and celebrate you on your journey. So be willing to do that for others. 

[00:35:34] Rita Burke: Community of writers and you become cheerleaders for each other. You become each other's backscratch. Did you know there was a situation in Toronto, a group in Toronto, that was called the Scratch Back Club, where they scratch not literally, but they support each other.

So I hear you saying that. Now, picture with me, Peter Gay, that you are addressing a graduating class of students. And they're indicating, they're expressing that they want to get involved with writing. What three tips would you offer them about getting involved with writing?

[00:36:21] Peta-Gaye Nash: When people, when I used to ask people that and they would tell me just write, it would feel so dismissive because I would be thinking, well, I want to, but I can't.

Well, the number one thing is to find out, find out what your blocks are. Okay, because that's what you have to overcome. Sometimes we think, well, especially as people of color, we have to overcome the world, you know, we have to overcome systemic racism. Maybe, but before you do all that, you have to overcome yourself.

You have to figure out your own mind. You have to figure out what makes you tick or, you know, what prevents you from moving forward. That is the first step because you can have all the right systems in place. But if you yourself don't have the right mindset, and the belief in yourself, then you're not going to take advantage of any of the systems that are put in place for you anyway.

So my advice is learn about yourself, learn about yourself, care about your educational journey. No one else is going to care as much as you will care about you. You have to do it for you. Surround. The second piece of advice, as I said, surround yourself with the community that you want to aspire to being a part of.

And then the third thing is learn gratitude for all the people in that community. If you don't have that aspect. You're gonna be like harboring those bad feelings and bad feelings will keep you stuck and blocked. You have to be open to the gifts that are around you that most of us never see because we are maybe too busy trying so hard.

And the fourth thing, yeah, you have to write. You still have to write if you want to be a writer, you have to get out that journal, you know, there is a book called the artist's way where she recommends morning pages. It never worked for me because I don't like mornings, but, you know, if they have to be night pages or afternoon pages or a journal or poetry or whatever it is, and it doesn't matter who sees it.

You're doing it. Something good will come out of it. Eventually, if, you know, You are brave enough to put in the work. You have to put in the work. You have to! And it's the same with anything. And I liken it to To the same old stuff I've been saying, going to the gym or exercising, you have to put in the work.

Starting a business, you have to put in the work. Writing a book, you have to put in the work.

[00:39:19] Rita Burke: So we're talking with Peter Gay Nash, who is an author and she lives in Mississauga, Brampton. Now, tell us, What three words do you think the people in your tribe would use to describe you?

[00:39:38] Peta-Gaye Nash: Good words, right?

[00:39:40] Rita Burke: It's entirely up to you. Yes, I'm hoping so.

[00:39:45] Peta-Gaye Nash: Um, determined, resilient, uh, hates cooking.

I think they would say I'm determined, I'm resilient, and I am compassionate. I think that's what they would say. Yes. 

[00:40:16] Rita Burke: I would concur. 

[00:40:17] Peta-Gaye Nash: Thank you. Thank you! 

[00:40:20] Ellington Brown: Well, I want to thank you so much for spending time with Rita and I. We have learned so much about you this afternoon. A little bit about your background and your origins and your literary career.

We got a chance to talk about what influenced your writing, which happened to be Caribbean. A little bit about your goals and aspirations. And all of these things that we found out about you are, well, complicated, but they all make up who you are. And I am sure that our audience will thoroughly enjoy listening to you.

And I wish you all the best in your literary journeys in the future. 

[00:41:15] Peta-Gaye Nash: Thank you so much. It was a pleasure to be with you today. And, uh, you ask such insightful questions. Very, very grateful to you both Elton and Rita. Thank you! 

[00:41:28] Ellington Brown: Thank you for listening to SpeakUP! International. If you wish to contact Ms. Peta. Gay Nash, please be prepared to submit your name, your email address, and the reason why you wish to contact Ms. Nash at petagayenash.com. 

Ms. Nash has other social media accounts you can use to connect to, her that will be listed in the description section on Spotify and other social media platforms. 

Are you interested in the opportunity to be interviewed and have your cause promoted by SpeakUP! International? We invite you to connect to us, sending a message that includes your name, company, or organization name, the valuable service you offer to your community and your email address to info@speakuppodcast.ca. 

Worried about your confidence as an interviewee? Don't fret! SpeakUP! International can provide you with the necessary training so you shine during an interview! To receive training information and a 10% discount about the SpeakUP!, International's Podcast Interviewee Trainee Program, email us at info@speakuppodcast.ca. 

You can also reach us using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. 

To connect to our podcast, use Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform and search for SpeakUP! International. 

You can find our podcasts using our web address using https://www.speakuppodcast.ca/. Our logo has the woman with her finger pointing up, mouth open speaking UP! 

By joining Patrion, we can offer you an exclusive opportunity. To become an integral part of the continued success of our podcast. Your financial support will enable us to cover the cost associated with producing high quality content, such as equipment upgrades hosting fees and professional editing services. 

As a member of our Patreon group, you will gain access to a range of exciting benefits! We are working on providing you early access to new episodes and the opportunity to suggest topics or guests. For us to enhance the overall listening experience. For all of our dedicated followers. Help us help you! https://www.patreon.com/speakupinternational 

At SpeakUP! International, we aim to inspire to inform, and to educate!