Sonia Marsh - Gutsy Living

Gutsy Book Buzz

April 5, 2012 by Sonia Marsh

Here’s my “Gutsy Book Buzz” what’s yours?

LISTEN TO SONIA’S PODCAST ON GUTSY BOOK BUZZ

Book Flap Cover: Freeways to Flip-Flops: A Family’s Gutsy Living on a Tropical Island

What do you do when life in sunny Southern California starts to seem plastic, materialistic and just plain hellish?

For Sonia and Duke Marsh, the answer was to sell their worldly goods and move to an unspoiled, simpler life with their three sons in Belize, Central America, a third-world country without all the comforts and distractions of life in the developed world.

Sonia hopes the move will bring her shattered family back together. She feels her sons slipping away from her, and her overworked husband never has time for her or the boys.

Instead, things begin to go wrong immediately. The home they initially rented isn’t available, so the family is forced to take up residence in a primitive, bug-infested shack. Duke’s telecommuting plans prove impractical because of unreliable Internet access, and he loses his job. Middle son Alec – always a conscientious, polite, tractable child – misses his friends and has trouble adjusting. As the days turn into months, Sonia finds herself questioning the family’s decision to move on a nearly daily basis.

This is the story of one family’s search for paradise. In this memoir, Sonia chronicles a year of defeats, fears and setbacks – and also the ultimate triumph of seeing once-frayed family ties grow back stronger from shared challenges and misfortunes. For Sonia, paradise turned out not to be a place, but an appreciation of life’s simple pleasures – a close-knit family and three well-adjusted sons with a global outlook on life.

I wish to thank my wonderful Editor: Eve Gumpel

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PLEASE VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE MARCH “MY GUTSY STORY”

The winner will be announced on April 12th. Winner gets to pick their prize from our 13 sponsors.

Good Luck to all of you. Your stories are amazing and inspiring. Please share these stories with friends and fellow writers and bloggers by clicking on the SHARE links below.

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Want to know more about building your author platform and marketing tips I’m using? Please read my guest post on Kathy Pooler’s blog.

“My Gutsy Story” by JoAnn Abraham

April 2, 2012 by Sonia Marsh

For as long as I can remember, my life was constrained by my fear of heights. I was paralyzed by escalators, and in a shopping center would regularly have to ask strangers if I could hold on to them as we went down. Open staircases were impossible. Boat ramps, even though I love to sail, were a horror.

Then I was invited to the wedding of a friend’s child. Picture a large yacht floating in a pristine bay. That’s where I was. The yacht had been hired by the bride’s family for the afternoon. It was dream-like. People were swimming and generally having a wonderful time getting to know the other guests. I had the wonderful good fortune of finding a seat next to the groom’s grandmother, Mary. Within minutes, it was clear that, although she had suffered her share of sorrow, she managed to see every glass 3/4 full. I was having such fun talking with her about her adventures that I didn’t even notice that a small power boat had come along side. It was offering parasailing to the guests. For those who have never seen a parasail, a person is put in a harness that is attached to a long rope. The other end of the rope is on the speed boat. As soon as the person is secure in the harness the boat takes off, the parachute fills with air, and the person is flying high over the water.

People started to line up, and one after another, they flew. I sat with Mary, averting my eyes from the entire scene. Near the end of the afternoon, someone asked if I wanted a ride. I was about to say no when Mary said, “Why don’t you, Dear. You’ll love it. I did it for my 80th birthday.”

I was stunned. I was sure she’d help me say no. Instead, she egged me on. And because I was more afraid of losing her respect than I was of parasailing, I did it.

I got into the harness, shaking like a leaf. I told the driver that I’d never done it before and that I was seriously afraid of heights. That’s when he gunned the motor, and up I went.

In fairness, I must admit that the view was beautiful. But I was terrified. The boat driver had dunked the prior parasailers. They all came up laughing, but even the thought make me want to throw up. So I asked him not to. The good news is that he didn’t. I also had a shorter ride than anyone else, because when the rope extended to its fullest, I said quite loudly, “Can I go home now?” Thank goodness, he heard me. I have no idea how, given the vroom of the motor and the whoosh of the wind. I only know I was extremely grateful to land safely back on the yacht..

Upon my return, Mary congratulated me. It was small comfort. However, it convinced me that I had to find a way to manage my fear.

Several months later I was talking with a friend who is a psychiatrist. She said she had a patient with an issue so easy to resolve that my friend almost didn’t want to charge her. The patient was afraid of driving over a bridge. Why is it so simple to fix, I asked. She said it only required simple phobia therapy, which, if done correctly, can remove the phobia in three sessions.

I almost stopped breathing. Three sessions and I no longer would be paralyzed by escalators, by ramps, by open staircases, by ladders?

I have no idea why I’d never heard of it before, but it worked. After my first session, my homework was to practice going up and down an empty escalator. After the second session, i had to find a boat ramp and negotiate that myself. After the third, I climbed a high ladder.

I’m not going to say I never give heights a thought. I do. Then I realize how relieved I am, and I thank Mary once again for pushing me to learn how to control my fear.

JoAnn Abraham Bio

JoAnn Abraham has been writing since she was quite young. As an adult, she’s edited a biweekly community newspaper, and wrote many of the articles in it. She has also written for business, bridal, and lifestyle magazines. For more than 15 years she was a marketing manager for one of the country’s largest non-profits. She also is a motivational speaker. You can contact JoAnn on Facebook.

Sonia Marsh Says

I truly admire JoAnn, and hope that her story will help others who suffer from a fear of heights, escalators, boat ramps and more. I asked JoAnn to send me a photo of her, and love what she decided to do for us:

“You know how I wrote that I used to have to ” borrow” people to help me get on an escalator? Well, this time I “borrowed” a very nice man who was sitting near the escalator and asked him to take a photo of me going down all by myself.”
So, here’s your photo!

Thanks JoAnn, that’s very special.

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PLEASE VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE MARCH “MY GUTSY STORY”

The winner will be announced on April 12th. Winner gets to pick their prize from our 13 sponsors.

Good Luck to all of you. Your stories are amazing and inspiring. Please share these stories with friends and fellow writers and bloggers by clicking on the SHARE links below.

***

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

Interested in learning about my platform-building and marketing ideas, please visit Kathy Pooler’s blog where I am guest-posting.

Please share the “My Gutsy Story” series with others on Twitter using the #MyGutsyStory. Thank you.

Please Vote for Your Favorite March 2012 “My Gutsy Story”

March 29, 2012 by Sonia Marsh

From March 29th until April 11th midnight, PST, you can vote for your favorite March 2012, “My Gutsy Story.”

To VOTE, please go to the poll on the right side of this post. You will find it on the sidebar listing the names of all 4 “My Gutsy Story,” authors.

Here are the 4 stories. Only ONE vote per person.

1). Pat Yeager

2). Jennifer Hemmeyer

3). Carla King

4). Stacia Duvall

The winner will be announced on April 12th. Winner gets to pick their prize from our 13 sponsors.

Good Luck to all of you. Your stories are amazing and inspiring. Please share these stories with friends and fellow writers and bloggers by clicking on the SHARE links below.

***

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

Please share the “My Gutsy Story” series with others on Twitter using the #MyGutsyStory. Thank you.

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LISTEN TO PODCAST NEWS FROM SONIA MARSH

PODCAST CLICK HERE

“My Gutsy Story” by Stacia Duvall

March 26, 2012 by Sonia Marsh

Twenty Push-Ups

There is a modern-day fairytale that begins like this:

Once upon a time in the midst of raising children, a lovely lady who had grown a bit complacent was surprised one day when her mate of many years said I don’t love you anymore. When the last child went off to college, he was with someone who made him feel younger and she was alone.

It was the first time she had lived alone. She ate cereal for dinner on occasion. She let the house get messy. She played her kind of music loudly. She slept in the middle of her king-sized bed. She chose when and where and why and how without consulting anyone.

In the quiet of that empty nest she remembered being 22. She could not recall exactly why she thought he was the one. She could recollect that when college ended and careers began, marriage seemed like the next logical step. She remembered being caught up in a gale of love that had swept in on the wind of fear. Everyone was being selected, one by one. Would she be the person nobody picked?

And suddenly, years later, it had happened. She was not picked and now she was alone.

This was not what she expected when she was young and raising her family and being supportive and living on the assumption that the future would be spent with the person to whom she had vowed her forever.

After time spent wallowing, she decided one day to call upon her remaining strength. She decided that from now on, she needed to do a couple of push-ups and try something new each day. Before long, she could do twenty push-ups and she had traveled by herself to a place a thousand miles away.

She found herself doing things she had never done before, like asking for help and making people worry and undoing another button on her blouse. She felt amazingly strong.

After some time, she started liking the idea of spending the rest of her life with a person she had recently come to know.

Herself.

One day after she realized that how she felt about herself could be called love, a handsome man rode in and tried to “woo” her. He tried and tried but she doubted there was space in herself to love another now that she so loved herself. She was afraid she might go back to where she had been when she was left by her husband.

But the handsome man was patient. He treated her with kindness and consideration unlike anything she had known before, which caused her to consider him differently. She could see in him quality and value. And she noticed that she smiled more and that her eyes seemed brighter when they were together.

One day as they danced, she told him she loved him. The words popped from her mouth before she had time to think of their meaning. And she knew for a fact there was space in herself to love another.

And the amazingly strong woman could see that whatever way the wind blew and whatever moment of the far-off future she was in, she would not be afraid. For she loved herself.

So she vowed that from that day forward she would be true and loving and faithful.

To herself.

And she felt happy, content, and at peace with that prospect.

Stacia Duvall ocean sailboat — Stacia Duvall's photography "Ocean Sailboat"

Stacia Duvall’s Bio

Stacia Duvall’s Gutsy story is not a story of extreme bravery or challenge but is instead the story of how an ordinary woman chose to become amazing and strong, albeit in her own way. She blogs at http://winsomebella.wordpress.com where she shares photographs of extraordinary views and writes about moments that give her pause, the joy of place, the growth of change and the beauty of the commonplace. When not writing or taking pictures, she is a granny who nannies, a yoga devotee, a far-flung traveler and always at the ready for a bike ride in the Rockies.

Stacia Duvall ocean — Stacia Duvall Photography "Ocean"

Sonia Marsh Says:

After reading Stacia Duvall’s, “My Gutsy Story,” I realize her talents go far beyond her photography and her ability to connect with her reader.

Stacia, your story about the breaking up of a marriage, and the process of finding out who you are, and falling in love with “you” before you can love someone else, is so inspiring. So many of us struggle with finding out who we are, and then falling in love with that person.

Stacia has a skill of sharing a story of simple joy through her words and her photography on her blog.

Please leave your questions and comments to Stacia below. I know she will reply.

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story”?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here. We now have 14 Sponsors, including the latest, Dave, The Podcast Guy, if you wish to learn how to make your own podcasts.

Please share the “My Gutsy Story” series with others on Twitter using the #MyGutsyStory. Thank you.

COME BACK TO VOTE for your favorite March 2012, “My Gutsy Story” starts March 29th through April 11th. The winner will be announced on Thursday, April 12th.

Want to be part of the “Gutsy” Indie-Publishing Community?

March 22, 2012 by Sonia Marsh

When I woke up this morning, I found this quote by Seth Godin, thanks to my blogger friend Miss Footloose.

“Guts is the willingness to lose. To be proven wrong, or to fail.”

This was the perfect quote to get me to confess.

Six years ago, I made a stupid mistake; I told everyone I was writing a book.

I started everything backwards. I took a class on how to write a book proposal and made fun of something the teacher said. “It can take six years to write your first book.”

“You’re kidding,” I said. “How can it take that long to write a book? There must be something wrong with the writer.”

Now almost seven years later, I get it; I realize how naïve I was back then.

Throughout those seven years, I’ve gone through many stages of learning the craft and business of writing, and there’s always more to learn. Here is my list.

Taking writing classes at my local university
Attending writers’ conferences
Volunteering at writer related events and/or associations
Joining critique groups
Blogging and joining blogger groups online
Working with 3 editors: story structure, copy/line editor, proofreader
Consulting with book shepherds, PR experts, editors
Pitching to agents and editors
Hiring a web designer/tech guys
Learning about social media, PR, podcasting, video
Reading and accumulating information
Networking and promoting daily
Submitting to online magazines and communities
Learning about the ever-changing publishing industry

And now, because of all the wonderful stories writers are submitting through the “My Gutsy Story” series, I’m in the process of setting up a publishing company. Once the paperwork goes through, I shall announce the name and a small online celebration.

The first “My Gutsy Story” mini-anthology with 14 authors contributing is now ready for you to download if you click on the “My Books” above, or the “My Gutsy Story” cover on the right sidebar, and yes, that’s me sitting on a palm tree trunk in Belize. (The mini-anthology is being sold for 99 cents.)

So here’s what I’d like to propose, and I’d like some feedback.

Let’s form a community of “Gutsy Writers” who want to go the indie route.

If you fit into one of the following categories, you’re in the right place.

You’ve submitted to agents and editors and been rejected.
You want to be in charge
You’re tired of waiting
You have the entrepreneurial spirit
You plan on speaking to groups about your brand/book
You’re ready to go
You’re Gutsy

Would you be interested in joining a FB group for indie-publishers? This would be a group for those who are starting out and want to learn more, and for others to share what they know, or are discovering along the road towards publication. We would discuss information we’ve gathered on indie-publishing: How to start your own publishing business? How to find the right people for editing, cover design, layout, marketing, PR and other helpful links from “experts” we’ve found through our research? LarryJacobson and Carla King, both contributors to the “My Gutsy Story” contest have a ton of knowledge on indie-publishing, and are both extremely successful authors.

This would be an interactive open Facebook group where we:

Coach and encourage one another
Offer tips and helpful articles and links
Links to contacts in the book business we recommend
Have discussions: the more the merrier.

What should we call our group?

Gutsy Indie Publishers?

Share your ideas in the comment section below

Finally, on a more personal note, During the filming of The Down Home Alien Blues I was lucky enough to have two professional photographers and a make-up artist take photos for my upcoming travel memoir: Freeways to Flip-Flops: Our Year of Gutsy Living”

These are my two favorite photos. I’d like you to vote on your favorite:

Sonia Author Photo Turquoise — Sonia Marsh

Make-up artist : Coco Covarrubias

Photographer: Erik Fischer

Make-up artist : Coco Covarrubias

Photographer: Kira Robles

Let me know your thoughts on a FB group for indie publishers, and whether this would be helpful to you. I’m always open to suggestions, and please share with your friends who can join in the conversation.

Thanks for all you help.

Sonia