Dr. Linda Marie Hodo,

Author of, Only In My Dreams, Dreaming/Sonando, A Note From the Principal, Our Well of Stories, Mama Lynn, Still Dreaming, Out of My Dream and Into My Life (coming soon) Godly Woman, Relationship Coach, Motivation Speaker, Educational Administrator of 20+ years, Mother and Phenomenal Friend to many.

   Serving as a relationship coach was birthed from a sincere desire to understand what it takes to maintain a healthy and satisfying relationship and the thinking of a man.  Not just one man but men in general. So many times, women ask their friends, “What was he thinking?” or “Did he miss the class in school that taught men how to be a man and how to treat a lady?” 

          My partner and I could not wrap our brains around the fact that the guys that we were dating at that time in our lives, did some of the craziest things. Things that left us puzzled with no way to put the pieces together.  We realized that as women, we could not put the pieces together because men held many of the pieces in their hands.  Consequently, the puzzle remained incomplete, broken and unfixed.  Pieces to our relationship puzzle were here, there and everywhere.  Between our men friends, and us somebody needed to go to class.  As far as we were concerned, it wasn’t us ladies.  It’s the men that needed to go to class.  Yea, the men.  Since we weren’t accepting students in our Kindergarten class for men, we decided that what was really needed in today’s society is a college level course for men, “How to build a better brother”, taught by us of course.  After all, we know what women want. We know what we want.  We know what our friends want and we know what most women talk about. 

          As we wrestled with ideas for our class, “How to build a better brother”, we knew that men would not come to our class, especially if we claimed that men were the problem.  If you talk to any man, he will tell you that men are not the problem but women are the problem.  That’s the Mars and Venus thing or the Waffles and Spaghetti syndrome taking over. 

          As a result of being women that desired to be in an exclusive satisfying personal relationship, we changed the direction of our class and the syllabus to, “The Problems Men Have with Women in Personal Relationships”. Since we view ourselves as intelligent women, we know that there is only one way to understand why men do what they do and think they way that they think.  And that is to ask a man.  Michael Baisden would undoubtedly agree with us on this point.  His book, “Never Satisfied: How and Why Men Cheat”, states on the back cover that women want to hear the absolute truth”.  Not only do women want the absolute truth about men and to understand their thoughts, we also want to unlock the secrets from other satisfied couples so that we can be enjoy a satisfying personal relationships with men.  

          Our first step was to ask men across the nation to tell us the top ten problems that they have experienced with women in personal relationships.  Then we asked the women the same question.  And now, we have the inside scoop from a man’s perspectives as well as the women’s.  Our goal is share, through training/workshops and speaking engagements the secrets of healthy and satisfying relationships that we have gleaned. We desire for many more people to benefit from those that are doing well in relationships.

          Professionally, I am an educational administrator for over 20 years.  I work with middle school age children in Norwalk California.  I’ve worked in the South Bay area all of my teaching professions.  I am a graduate of LaVerne University earning my doctorate in Educational Leadership in 1998. Prior to attending Laverne, I earned my masters degree from Cal State Dominguez Hills in and my Bachelor degree from Azusa Pacific University in 1983.  My childhood memories of high school vividly resonates each time I past the “10” more commonly known as Centennial High School in Compton, Calif.  Yes, I am from Compton and good can come from Compton.  I did!

          My work in ministry is at the New Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church were I have been a member for about 30 years under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Lonnie Dawson who celebrate 45 of faithful service not only to the church community by the community at large.  New Mt. Calvary is known all over the nation for our work building an effective Sunday School/Bible Study program.  My niche and gift is teaching, training public speaking and acting  I have served as an usher, a choir member, and a Sunday school teacher. I am most proud of the class that I’ve developed and taught to the young girls between the ages of 12-21 called, “Women of Excellence”, a 12 week course patterned after the preparation that Ester experienced to be presented to the king.  This course taught the girls God’s expectations and biblical principals of them as young Christian women.

          My hobbies are experiencing adventure, traveling, reading sometimes, and working with the youth.  I also enjoy water sports.  I think that I am a dare-devil or maybe adventurous is a better word. I can be humorous at times.  Oh, yes. I am a party planner or event planner for the sophisticated folks out there and lastly, I enjoy match making and creating romantic escapes for all the married folks in the world.

          My passion is writing and engaging the reader into the world that I’ve created with words.  Pick up my book and books to come and fall into my world.  I’ll do my best to keep you engaged.

Passionately Yours,  Linda McDaniel, Ed.D