Mary Fran Bontempo

MARY FRAN BONTEMPO is a speaker, author, and humorist who teaches women to control their most powerful influence: Self-Talk. Author of The Woman's Book of Dirty Words, and Not Ready for Granny Panties—The 11 Commandments for Avoiding Granny Panties, Mary Fran proves small changes in self-talk yield big life changes, allowing women to be positive, productive and vital in a rapidly changing world.

A Huffington Post contributor, regular columnist for Women's Voices Magazine and Best Kept Self, a site for the self-care of entrepreneurs, Mary Fran inspires and motivates audiences to tame the negative self-talk beast, while reminding them to grab their share of joy along the way.

We all face life's struggles. Mary Fran's included a perfect storm of events: a crashing economy which threatened her family business, the loss of her newspaper jobs due to the internet, turning 50, and most devastating, a son battling heroin addiction. She found that her "self-talk" during challenging times proved a powerful enemy, sabotaging her at every turn. Eventually, she tackled her destructive self-talk with wisdom and wit, helping her survive and ultimately thrive.

Mary Fran believes that once women learn to master their self-talk, they become more productive, confident, motivated and happier—moving themselves towards personal and professional success.

Mary Fran created the blog, Not Ready for Granny Panties to remind women of the need for joy. Through her connection with readers, she discovered the common ground women share. Two books and a career as a powerful, inspiring and entertaining speaker have followed, and her humorous take on life serves to strengthen the bond between Mary Fran and her audience.

Mary Fran's work has been honored by the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop and Humor Press, among others. Mary Fran finds that her message resonates with women of all ages. A frequent radio guest and speaker, audiences delight in her empowering, delightful presentations.