Determination

Scarlett Swims and Other Amazing First-Time Adventures!

Leave a Comment / Author, Beauty, Celebrate, Determination, dogs, dreams, freedom, hairdresser, Humor, Inspirational, Journey, Love, Mentor, middle-age, Miracle, passion, Thank you, Visual /

The first time for anything is usually both a rush of anxiety and exhilaration. This past month I was blessed with many first adventures!

First, I had the privilege to meet and study under Hank Phillippi Ryan, A USA Today best-selling author, multiple Emmy winner, and most recently author of 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝑾𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅 – if you enjoy a heart-pounding thriller this book should be your next escape!

Also, this past June, I had the opportunity to debut in two publications. First, as a guest blogger with The Plaid Horse, a premier North American equestrian magazine both in print and on-line. The article called, Just say, Yes! Click to Read, is a story with a message to inspire others; take a chance at any age!


My article, The Nightmare Beach Ride, appeared in On the Bit magazine, The article is a true story about an overzealous equestrian (me) on a dream-beach-vacation ride turned almost disaster. Although humorous, the underlying message is to educate those seeking an adventuresome horsey-vacation.

To add to the excitement, Misty Adamson, editor and innovator of On the Bit, published an extensive bio/review on my novel Spurred to Justice, followed with a YouTube discussion. We would love readers to follow the link and join in! Thank you, Adamson Equestrian. Click on any underlined item to Link!

And if you love horses or need a gift for an equine lover consider a subscription to either of these publications.

On a personal note, June was fulfilled with a surprise visit from my daughter at the bay! And Scarlett, her four legged pal was in heaven. With my daughter’s coaching – Scarlett SWIMS for the very first-time!
I am ready for a revolutionary July! Wishing you a month filled with family, fun and some adventures of your own!

Try something for the first time: a new haircut at Rubee Z Salon, a new hobby or anything you have dreamed of but been afraid to try!

Alicia

If you haven’t read one of my books or articles dive in for the FIRST TIME and write a review! I would love to hear from you. aliciastephensmartin.com

An adventure of four women who reunite in friendship through their love of horses. Look for the coming sequel soon!

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A Beautiful Snowstorm

Leave a Comment / Author, Beauty, Celebrate, Determination, enduranceHardship endurance women history, Finding Hope in a Bad Haircut During a Winter Freeze, freedom, Humor, Inspirational, Journey, Miracle, passion, Publish /

A few years back, I hated snow days. I loathed that crack in the sidewalk. The one I hit every time I shoveled. The shovel would come to a sudden stop and the metal handle would slam into my belly with such force I coughed up a few choice swear words. The day was all about extra work and a loss of income; shoveling, plowing, and most of all rescheduling my clients. But my priorities have changed since I published my first novel. A snow day is a perfect day to write. No more excuses after a year of hard knocks.

My second novel is ready. A novel about an over-the-hill hairdresser.  But, I hit a snowstorm. A crack in the sidewalk. The majority of agents I researched today are young and wrinkle free, not to mention calling for teen fiction. Really? What about us second-time-around writers and readers. Dried up?

I don’t think so. Today, I completed two short stories and a novel. As life moves along,  so must I. Never give up. It’s only a crack in the walk. It’s a beautiful day!

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Why Can’t I Be More Like Hetty?

Leave a Comment / America, Determination, dreams, enduranceHardship endurance women history, Women History /

“Hetty” Green (November 21, 1834 – July 3, 1916), was the richest woman in America during the Gilded Age. She was a single woman working a fortune amidst a sea of men – her nickname, Witch of Wall Street.

 

Why can’t I be more like Hetty. When it comes to money, I never have enough. For that reason, anger stirs in the pit of my stomach when I think about the sugary green stuff. Like a sweet layer of whip cream on a strawberry torte, it teases at me only to land on my hips, leaving me nothing except an empty bowl and a decreased bank account after I am forced to purchase the latest diet products and exercise DVDs. After reading Demi Stevens’s blog this morning, I believe my disdain is misdirected.

 

I was born in the middle and unlike my two sisters I have buttery fingers. Enticed by the iced confections in life, I have no patience. The oven takes too long to preheat, all while I am standing in the crumb-infested kitchen with the oozing batter dripping from my spoon and the thick aroma of vanilla and sprinkles dancing in the air. Not to mention, the left over Cool Whip lingering on my lip because I stole a lick. I break, to hell with watching the delicacy rise and swirl. I drive straight to the bakery, tossing my hard work into the yard for the birds.

 

This recipe for money I have followed for fifty-years. The sweet confections suck me in. I have enjoyed life; vacations, scuba lessons, horses, knitting, spinning, farming, and a host of critters – not to mention I am self-employed (a sure way to devour the money.) This desire has left a bad taste. I am back in the kitchen-my bun in the oven taking twice as long to plump up again.

 

Somehow, God always takes care of me. I am healthy and can work, able to do extra baking and kneading. Unfortunately, this burns me up, I’m over-cooked and my cookie jar always short of that perfect dozen.

 

Can I be more like Hetty? Hetty, it is said, was a miser; never turning on the heat and wearing the same black outfits. Whether true or not, the fact is I don’t respect how hard I worked for the ingredients. The sweetness calls me. I have no willpower. I let go before the jar is full. It’s not the money that angers me, but the calories living on my hips – the bills in my basket, the cost of my impatience. I need to be more creative, more patient. Build my cupboards before its too late. Because had I been a little less sugar- dependent, I would be living a sweeter life today.

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The Write Village

1 Comment / Author, Determination, enduranceHardship endurance women history, hairdresser, Inspirational, Journey, Mentor, passion, Publish, thought provoking /

 

The African proverb, “It Takes a Village,” speaks to many aspects of our lives—the writing life included.  I discovered building alone was not easy. We need neighbors. Before I erected my own village, my journals were locked behind doors—suffering from rejection and fear.

I began to see constructive patterns of those who boldly paved roads around me. They had a similar foundation. So, I began the literary journey to build a village I call Write.

My mother laid the first stone. In Write, my mother lives on Main Street, adjacent to the church. Her door is always open to fill me with homemade pie… and red wine to energize my body. But when I must rekindle my soul, she points to the steeple and advises, “Every village needs a church. It’s neighbors and faith that will send you angels to guide you.”

My village of Write has a school with teachers, from the very first professor who red lined my every word to doctors and nurses who rebuild my creations today. The library houses lots of books with advice including, 101 Ways to Get Published, Writer’s Market, and Writing with Soft Hands. The shelves are lined in classics by Atwood and Twain to awaken the soul… and Harlequin romances to stir the bones.

At the village conference center, the best authors and mentors come to speak. I have autographed copies of their books, signed with encouragement like “Never give up,” or “Persist at all cost.” I visit the Write Salon after days of edits. My stylist conditions, massaging my creative brains. At the Writing Gym on Mondays I exercise with my aspiring peeps and ponder all the ways to pen “his chiseled jaw,” or “her beating heart.”The village newspaper employs agents and publishers who read my queries… and if I get lucky send one-word critiques.

My church is growing, with new angels every day, like Demi Stevens; her Year of the Book process was a road map to success that introduced me to an inspirational woman, Debbie Herbert, best-selling author, and 2017 RITA finalist, who shrouded me in incentive.

“It takes a village.” We share a path, and our community builds me up when I am adverb-tired, genre-lost, or POV perplexed. Together we survive.

This is a partial version of my story, The Write Village. I hope it inspires you.

Alicia Stephens Martin author of Spurred to Justice to be released summer, 2018.

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