Fontana Pharmacy - A launching pad for J'can authors

Fontana Pharmacy is known as the place with something for everyone, providing for as well as supporting Jamaicans.

"Fontana is Jamaica's pharmacy and as we grow, so does Jamaica. It has always been our family's mission to provide the best for our fellow Jamaicans, as we try to live up to our four core principles - service, respect, family and community. Building relationships with our local entrepreneurs in all areas is important to us. Serving as a launching pad for creative ideas is yet another way for Fontana to proudly support and help to uplift Jamaicans," noted Kevin O'Brien Chang, director at Fontana Pharmacy.

In recent years, several authors have officially started their writing journeys with Fontana Pharmacy, launching their works across the company's six locations, sharing their stories, wisdom and experiences. We sat down with Tanya Lee, Rachel Christian, Naomi Garrick, Kamila McDonald, Nicole McLaren-Campbell and the most recent, Veronica Campbell-Brown, to get insights about their new careers as authors and starting the journey with Fontana Pharmacy.

Nicole McLaren-Campbell, founder and CEO, AIM Educational Services, author of 'Make it Count: Tips to Unlocking Your Vision'

Make it Count: Tips on Unlocking Your Vision is an inspirational empowerment manual to motivate readers to unlock their potential. It forced me to step out of my comfort zone, practise what I preached, and confront my own fears of being inadequate and not knowing how things would work out. I remind my readers that 'successful people aren't born that way, and that with the right toolkit, they can all do what successful people do.' My book tackles the five areas I believe are key aspects of life; fear, the courage to ask for what you want, tuning into your purpose, procrastination, and staying motivated. It's been out for over a year and is still selling out. This is one of the reasons I choose Fontana to launch my book. Not only is Fontana Pharmacy a brand that I resonate with - everything you need to run your life well, you can get it from Fontana; and Make it Count is a winning lifestyle guide, but Fontana has islandwide distribution! My next book will be out by November 15.

Rachael Christian, certified health coach, author of 'Reset: Living Lean Clean & Loving It'

Reset: Living Lean Clean & Loving It is a how-to guide dedicated to the idea that all goals in life, including, but not limited to, weight loss, can be better realised by first achieving optimal health. It is a real-life account of how I was able to embark on a journey towards optimal health and it demonstrates the coaching techniques which I use to successfully help my clients to do the same.

Becoming a new author has been very rewarding for me. My message has reached a much wider audience, thanks to Fontana, which has helped me to further realise my passion of wanting to help others who feel as disempowered as I once did. I chose Fontana Pharmacy to launch my book because they offer a pleasant shopping experience in all their locations islandwide, and I wanted my book associated with that warm, friendly and efficient atmosphere. Also, Fontana is invested in the success of young Jamaican authors, as demonstrated by their commitment to the distribution of their material across Jamaica.

Veronica Campbell-Brown, Olympian, author of 'Inside Out: Activate the Power Within You'

In Inside Out: Activate The Power Within You, I share my powerful message of love, mental toughness and purpose fulfilment. My sole objective in writing this book is to help each reader activate the power within. Through spiritually supported encouragement and positive stimuli, you are sure to feel energised and ready to climb to new heights in your life. You will get a deeper sense of the power of love and how it positively impacts everything, learning how the power of your mind's mental state can bring successes or failures. You will ascertain how gratifying it is to achieve purpose fulfilment and fully understand that you can become the person God created you to be. Inside Out is now my second inspirational book, and it is my desire to continue sharing with others and positively impact as many lives as possible. As Jamaica's leading pharmacy chain with over 50 years in operation, I chose Fontana to launch Inside Out because I felt confident in the company's ability to provide quality and effective service; and with its many locations, it was a great opportunity for my book to be accessible islandwide.

Naomi Garrick, personal branding coach and founder, Garrick Communications, author of 'A PR Chick's Guide: 8 Steps to Building Your Personal Brand Workbook & Mini Guide'

A PR Chick's Guide: 8 Steps to Building Your Personal Brand Workbook is a step-by-step guide to using your unique brand to stand out from the crowd and elevate your personal and professional development. This workbook provides you with the necessary tools to discover, develop and enhance your unique brand, ultimately to raise your professional profile and get the recognition you deserve. Personal branding is simple, it's YOU! It's the way in which you present yourself to the world, both on and offline. At the end of the day, it's your reputation; and reputation matters. From conceptualising to writing, layout design, printing and self-publishing - it has all been an amazing experience. I am humbled every time a stranger approaches me to share how they have been positively impacted by the book. Writing this book has led to so many other amazing opportunities, from speaking engagements to workshops, and I am truly grateful for this platform to inspire and impact the lives of others in a positive way. Kudos to the Fontana team for believing in and supporting Jamaican authors and entrepreneurs. Look out for more books from the PR Chick, coming to a Fontana near you!

Tanya Lee, VP Marketing, Sportsmax, author of 'The Winner Within: Lessons from Sports about Accomplishing Anything'

The Winner Within takes you through the winning mindset of the world's top athletes, giving insight on how they became winners, and illustrating some of the techniques employed on their journey, with a view of motivating anyone hoping to achieve their dreams. It's been such a fulfilling experience knowing my first book was so well received by readers. I've enjoyed receiving favourable feedback, which tells me I made the right decision in embracing this new journey! Fontana was the perfect choice for launching my book because they support local authors and house everything under one roof, which makes them the ideal, high-traffic location for anyone to see and purchase my book!

Kamila McDonald, certified lifestyle and fitness coach, author of 'Wake Up and Live: A Mind, Body Spirit Approach to Lifestyle Change'

Wake Up and Live is a total mind-body-spirit approach to lifestyle change. This book chronicles my own journey and really empowers people to become active participants in their overall health and well-being. I share insights about my philosophy that 'a healthy, physical lifestyle cannot begin without a sound emotional and spiritual foundation.' It's a six-week journey where we discuss in detail, various themes, from recipes to relationships to managing our thoughts and feelings towards creating positive, holistic change in our lives. I felt alone and fearful when I was going through my own health and fitness struggles, but I knew that my journey had some purpose behind it - to be a positive part of others' journeys! It's truly been an incredible experience, connecting with my readers through this book! Distributing in Fontana Pharmacy was really a no-brainer, especially after seeing how much support they've given to Jamaican entrepreneurs over the years. I want my reach for my readers to be the entire island and I can't think of any other brand better than Fontana to support and assist me in that. It's not easy being a self-published author, and I am so grateful for them working with me and supporting me through the entire process and doing their part in making sure that Jamaica can 'Wake Up and Live!'