Meet Stacey E. Haught | Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stacey E. Haught and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stacey E., do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
“I allow myself to take time off to rest to heal to show love and respect to my body, soul, and mind.”

Giving myself permission to rest is a big thing. For as long as I can remember, being in motion was a sign of success, and rest was only for when you pushed your body to the limit. Giving myself permission to rest has actually helped me become more creatively successful. In those restful periods, I have allowed myself to dream. However, it’s not something that comes easily. It’s definitely a practice I am learning to love.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I always knew I wanted to do something creative with my life, and I think the journey in which life has taken me to get to where I am has been the most creative adventure I could have ever asked for. Since I was little I wanted to be an actress, a dream that still has a little spark in my soul. My father always showed that you could literally be a jack of all trades, and never settle for one job title, being a gospel singer, and a ringmaster for a circus, I let my imagination soar. When I graduated from high school, I immediately pursued acting in the only way I knew. Local community theatre. I joined any classes I could, and because of my history in drama, I had done some stuff in my local church and met a family that had some ties with the theatre I was studying at. One thing led to the other, and I was asked if I would be interested in applying for an open position. I got the job and was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to train under a world-class trained dancer, and musical theatre teacher, and given my first class. Musical Theatre for Munchkins. I worked for 9 years and before I left to get married; I had 10 classes and had moved up to be a respected instructor. I returned a few years later to work for four more years before I retired completely from performing arts, and though I didn’t know what I know now, I thought my career life was over. The life of instructing students in the art of performing on the stage and screen had been all I had known for most of my life, and it was all I thought I was born for. I slipped into a pretty dark place. Then COVID-19 placed us all in the same position. Lockdown. My husband turned to me and told me I needed to do something with what was happening around me, and harness it, instead of it driving me deeper into the dark waiting room. Now writing had always been something I had dabbled in. Writing scripts, writing short stories, but I had never written long-form stories. I was just an avid reader. But with a new computer in my hand, I began writing stories. In 2020 I wrote 5 full-length stories and turned them into 5 full-length manuscripts, and in 2021 I sold my first novel “Good Hope.” in 2021 I met the team at eGlobal and after an extensive interview began to write for the world of episodic romantic fiction under the penname Anastasia O’Hare where I’ve written 4 full-length romantic fiction novels, and published one more of my backlogs “Power” landing me in just three years having published 6 novels. If I hadn’t gone on the adventure, trusting the process and the journey. If I would have never learned how to tell stories, and what makes a good story interesting I would have never been able to trust myself as an author. Am I where I want to be with mountains of success? No. But is my journey over yet? Nope. It’s just getting good.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, depends on where you want to go. But let’s say my bestie visits and we go to the most magical place on earth and we don’t want to spend an arm and a leg to have fun. Here’s what we will do! We will take ourselves to Disney Springs. There are lots of fun things to do at Disney Springs, no doubt. But we are here for food and vibes. First, we are going to go to Amoretti’s and watch some expensive desserts being made. Before we walk through the World of Disney and shop with our eyes only. Just using the store as an AC break on our way to the Basin to wash our hands with their sugar scrubs for free. Then, once our hands are softer than a newborn baby lamb, we will walk over to the marketplace where we will shop the art and smell the candles. Leaving the Marketplace, we will go to pin traders to see what new pins are in stock before going to Goofy’s Candy Co. To watch more candy and dessert be made. Once we are done drooling over the delicious desserts, we will hop a boat over to the Boardwalk, where we will finally settle on spending money on food somewhere. Then, taking the boat back to Disney Springs, we will share a soft Wetzel pretzel while we listen to the live music and watch the people dancing to the music before calling it a night.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are a lot of people I think I could put in this category. People who fill these categories of my life, and they shift and change as I think they should. As you grow who you need change and move and become different people. Saying that I would have to shout out Jamie Howard at Wild Souls Healing in Palatka, Florida. Jamie’s primary mission is to reunite women to their own sovereignty. Something we don’t really here that often. We hear words like ‘agency’ or ‘independence’, but we don’t hear the word sovereignty. So what is sovereignty? its supreme power or authority over one’s self. Jamie’s passion is to help women harness their own supreme power, or authority over their own lives, dreams, passions, and, more importantly. Themselves. Shedding off years of trauma in the process. I met Jamie when I took a position as her Social Media Manager and instantly knew that this was work that I could get behind. Being someone with a story of her sovereignty being taken from her, I know firsthand that Jamie’s work isn’t only powerful. It’s vital to the female existence.

Website: https://authorstaceyehaught.weebly.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stacey.e.haught/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.stacey.e.haught/

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@staceyehaughtauthor https://www.wildsoulshealing.com/