Today we’d like to introduce you to Felicia Moore.
Felicia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have been writing things since I was a child. It is my primary passion. Writing for me began as an outlet that enabled me to escape the realities of everything I was surrounded by. Growing up in the ghetto was not easy, being raised by a single mother was not easy. We struggled a lot, I saw her struggle. We had to endure many trials, and even as a young girl, I knew what I was seeing was hard life; hard living. It wasn’t always hard, but it was definitely more hard than easy. So, my life gave me a lot of content. There was no one I could really talk to, so I began to write. The more I wrote, the more I escaped. I would write about my feelings and just imaginary things. As I grew older, I realized I had an affinity for making words rhyme, I also became weirdly obsessed with dictionaries and searching for new words to rhyme. Eventually, I realized I wanted to share my gift of writing with the world. So about three years ago, I was inspired by my son to write a children’s book series, which lead me to where I am today. With my very first publication being a children’s super hero series. The first title in that series is called “Hurricane Harvey Ruins the Party,” which I was inspired to write after my son and I made it through Hurricane Harvey; our first-ever hurricane. My love for writing has also inspired me to start a nonprofit and perform spoken word. I also teach and I am a licensed realtor. Real estate has always been a dream of mine as well, and education is my passion since I believe education saved my life. I see myself as jack of all trades. I believe I can do anything I put my mind to. However, I am working towards being a full-time Entrepreneur, who writes amazing stories, helps people achieve their real estate goals and one who helps youth discover and refine their gift of writing.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Wow, it has not been a smooth road. Nothing in my life is easy. I think the easiest thing for me is actually writing. But the journey to becoming a published author, a licensed realtor, and a nonprofit owner has been very rocky. Due largely in part to my lack of knowledge in every field, and how to actually break into them. I would have to say that not having any connections at all was one of my major roadblocks. It is true what they say, “It’s not what you know its who you know.” It was difficult securing a publisher; I had to do my research and submit manuscripts. I also dealt with some rejection, even to the point of my original illustrator dropping my project because she no longer saw it as a priority. So halfway through my book, my publisher had to secure another illustrator. Talk about a struggle. It was tough for me to wrap my head around having two sets of illustrations in my book, but it was a pill I had to swallow. And it’s always humbling dealing with people who don’t believe in your vision. But hey, life goes on! It has also been hard to find financial resources to support my dreams, however where there is a will there’s a way. Essentially I had to learn how find resources so the internet has become a dear friend of mine! In terms of real estate just being new to Houston has been my major hurdle. Making the connections, and building relationships in this great city is something that requires time and dedication. The dedication I have; however I am still learning how to make the time.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I have many things that I do. I do not have an isolated business that specializes in one area. I am a licensed sales agent, with Ross and Marshall Realtors. Where we specialize in all things real estate; from things including but not limited to property management, commercial, and local real estate sales, purchases, and leasing. I am also a writer who is currently working on a children’s book series entitled “The Adventures of DJ the Big Head Boy Genius.” I recently released my first title in this series entitled ” Hurricane Harvey Ruins the Party,” which tells the story of a young boy who braved the storm with the help of a very special friend. I consider myself an author who does not isolate herself to a specific genre of writing because I write about life and the experiences of life which are broad and diverse. I am a spoken word artist who performs locally and sometimes abroad spitting (performing) original pieces at poetry shows and open mics. I also am in the process of finalizing the paperwork for my nonprofit organization. Epiphany Ink. which will empower young writers to discover and refine their gift of writing through mentorship, education, and kinesthetic application programs.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was shy and introverted. I called myself weird a lot for lack of a better word. However, the truth is I was just simply traumatized. I was very quiet and afraid to talk, more of an observant person. Someone who was afraid of being seen and heard. I was smart but also struggled with dyslexia which I was unaware of until my 3rd year of college. I mean I always knew I struggled with letters and numbers staying in place and reading without somehow skipping a few lines; or reading the end of the sentence first. But I did not now know what I was dealing with. I was and still am a very laid back and nonchalant person. I was a daydreamer who would lose hours to fantasies about traveling the world and living a better life. I was interested in everything as a kid, everything intrigued me. But what intrigued me the most was writing, animals; and houses. I loved to write; and I loved houses. I grew up in the government housing projects of Waco, TX so I didn’t see many nice houses in my local neighborhood but when we traveled outside of it I saw really big houses, that made me wonder what they looked like inside, how they felt, how much did they cost, would I ever have one, and etc. I secretly wanted to be a zookeeper as a kid because I loved animals and we always had some sort of pet in my house growing up. I was also very playful, clumsy and unique (awkward lol). The absolute best part of my childhood was playing with my cousins outside in our neighborhood. We played all kinds of games, hide and seek, freeze tag, mother may I, red light green light, ding dong ditch, etc. We raced bare foot in the middle of the street and played “throw em up beat em up;” and a game we made up called “pig me!” When would stay out until the street lights came on, just being kids, just being free!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.freestylefelicia.com
- Phone: 832-745-3193
- Email: info@freestylefelicia.com
- Instagram: @yass_felicia
- Facebook: Felicia.Moore
- Twitter: @Frstyl_Felicia
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