Kathy Altaras

Kathy Altaras is the owner of Aquila Media Productions, a small, Indie publishing company specializing in non-fiction media products. A Navy wife of 33 years, Kathy usually referred to herself as a "camp follower"; nevertheless, she had two teaching careers totalling 22 years, settling in with 12th graders and gifted students. When she retired, she became an education consultant, teaching teachers of the gifted and extremely gifted. Kathy likes exotic and remote travel, counting Mongolia, Central and South America, and Africa among her favorite places. An admitted Darwin groupie, she has recently checked off all the places important to Charles Darwin in his life and travels. This includes visiting his home, Down House, outside London, reading some of his personal papers at Cambridge University where she also studied, visiting 8 of the Galapagos Islands, and, most recently, following some of his footsteps in the Falkland Islands. Kathy likes being at sea in rough water.

Nancy Ann Tappe has often described herself as "an ordinary person with an extraordinary talent." Indeed, she is. Nancy was born with a brain trait of inter-connected sensory information. She sees color around all living objects and tastes shape. This brain characteristic is called synesthesia. Today scientists believe synesthesia to be part of the DNA process because it occurs in families. Scientists are competing against each other in 13 countries to be the first to identify the gene associated with this fascinating process. Nancy has devoted her life and teachings to the study of color, consciousness, awareness, and their applications to the human personality.

Kathy and Nancy have been friends for over 35 years. As writing colleagues, Nancy provides the intellectual theory and anecdotal evidence from among her thousands of clients around the world. It does not necessarily happen easily though. Nancy is an abstract thinker and does not like being bound by a linear or logical structure in her presentation style. According to Kathy, starting a writing project with Nancy is like, "entering a beautiful maze blindfolded but optimistic and muddling through until we emerge with a product that can have meaning for many others."

Indigos: The Quiet Storm represents the culmination of Nancy's theory of color and focuses solely on one color in the patterns Nancy sees. For many readers, just the concept of synesthesia alone requires a curious and accepting mind for someone who thinks and reasons using more sensory input than most of us have. And beyond that, to further push the mind to awareness of and acceptance of the new kinds of thinking and behaving that young people have today requires even more latitude from the reader. Eventually, both Nancy and Kathy believe that the value of this book will be validated by the Indigos themselves, as they lead us into the future.

When Nancy asked Kathy if she wanted to resurrect a small Las Vegas corporation and publishing company, she replied, "Absolutely not!" Three years later, she and Nancy have produced 4 new books, and Kathy has completed a variety of other books and media products for other authors. She says publishing is like swimming through peanut butter. Nevertheless, she selects projects with inherent intrinsic value and interest for her, and she will continue to organize and write Nancy Tappe's information as well as assisting other authors with their publishing needs.

For more information about Nancy, check out www.nancyanntappe.com or www.allaboutindigos.com. For further information about Aquila Media Productions, navigate to www.aquilamediaproductions.com.