Hayes, Gail M.

PERSONAL: Married. Education: Canterbury University, B.S., M.A., and Ph.D.

ADDRESSES: Home—Durham, NC. Office—Hayes Consulting, P.O. Box 71017, Durham, NC 27722-1017. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer, consultant, minister, columnist, and motivational speaker. Hayes Consulting, Durham, NC, owner and consultant. European Executive Women's Forum, founder and director. Write It! Speak It! Live It! Writers Workshop and Proclaim! Christian Communicators Gathering, director. Joshua Publishing, acquisitions officer. Has served on boards of directors and executive councils of numerous American and European organizations. Has worked as a law enforcement officer in Chapel Hill, NC.

MEMBER: Advanced Writers and Speakers Network, International Speakers Network, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

WRITINGS:

Daughters of the King: Finding Victory through Your God-Given Personal Style, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to books, including God Allows U-Turns: A Woman's Journey: True Stories of Hope and Healing, edited by Allison Gappa Bottke and Cheryll Hutchings, Barbour Publishing (Uhrichsville, OH), 2002.

Author of online column, "In the Royal Court."

SIDELIGHTS: Gail M. Hayes is an author, columnist, and ordained minister, as well as a business consultant and motivational speaker. As an owner and consultant in her own business, Hayes Consulting, Hayes works with businesses to help create an atmosphere of contentment in the workplace, leading to increased employee satisfaction and productivity. She is a frequent guest on television and radio programs, and works with new and upcoming writers as the director of several writers' and communicators' workshops. She lived for many years in the Far East and Europe, where she honed her ability to relate to the needs and desires of a diverse clientele. Her motivational speaking sessions mix inspiration, professional guidance, and Christian understanding to help people realize their purpose and act on unfulfilled dreams.

Much of Hayes's writing has a religious message interlocked with the motivational element. In Daughters of the King: Finding Victory through Your God-Given Personal Style she uses stories of Biblical women to help readers identify and live their own individual style. Hayes outlines seven such styles, including the Jaunty Esprit, characterized as "down-to-earth and casual"; the Sensual Exotic, who combines a sensuous spirit with organizational ability; the Elegant Flamboyant, who combines charisma, strength of personality, and the ability to assume authority and responsibility; and the Creative Poetic, whose personal style is marked by joyful spontaneity and deep creativity. Hayes provides profiles of notable women from the Bible whose own personal styles mirror those explicated in the book. "Chapters summarize how women of each type live, worship, work, dress and interact with family," noted a Publishers Weekly contributor. Hayes also includes several tidbits of personal advice for her readers while dispensing fashion advice and offering detailed guidance on clothing and how women can shake off their negative self-images and improve their appearance.

Hayes "has written an engaging and original book targeted at Christian women" in which piety does not require solemnity and in which self-affirmation is a critical part of successfully daily life. The book helps inspire women to "journey on the path of self-discovery and embrace their stylish Christian identity," commented Jacqueline B. Glass in Black Issues Book Review.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, July-August, 2005, Jacqueline B. Glass, review of Daughters of the King: Finding Victory through Your God-Given Personal Style, p. 53.

Library Journal, May 1, 2005, Graham Christian, review of Daughters of the King, p. 90.

Publishers Weekly, April 11, 2005, review of Daughters of the King, p. 50.

ONLINE

Christian Author's Network, http://www.christianauthorsnetwork.com/ (October 18, 2005), "Gail Hayes: Helping Women Find Identity and Purpose," biography of Gail Hayes.

Daughters of the King Web site, http://www.daughtersoftheking.org/ (October 18, 2005), biography of Gail Hayes.

Gail Hayes Home Page, http://www.drgailhayes.com (October 18, 2005).