Check Out Ramanda Hicks’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ramanda Hicks

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Writing played a role in my life from a very young age. My wother was and still is, an avid consumer of books. It was common for books to be given as gifts, in our family. In elementary school, I was extrememly shy and reading became an escape for me; an opportunity to explore places that otherwise seemed unreachable. I was priviledged to have teachers early on take notice of the gift I had. They encouraged me at every opportunity to complete extra credit assignments that would give me the opportunity practice writing. As I continued into high school and early adult years, my writing and vocabulary were tools to make life, make more sense. However, although I wrote amazing things that surprised even myself – they did not feel purposeful. one day, I lost my notebook with all of my original manuscripts in it for several new pieces I had written, never to be seen again. Completely devastated and feeling as though I had lost a piece of my soul, I stopped writing for several years, because at the time, it just felt like too big of a risk.

Fast forward to my life as a mature adult, I had to pray and ask God to help me write again. My commitment was that I would use this precious gift to help other people and to serve God. Over the course of about six or seven years, I went through a grueling proces of shifting my creative purpose., often writing on random pieces of paper, jurnals, envelopes – whatever I could get my hands on whenever inspiration would hit me. I collected my literary children one-by-one and rebuilt my family.

While I was working on rebuilding poetry, my actual family was falling apart. Afer over a decade of marriage, it was time to move in a different direction, one which I neither wanted nor was prepared for. This season of grief was when I began to journal in a totally different way than I ever had before. I felt deeply that God wanted me to share the raw esperience of what I observed, so that others could understand how he was yet present. So, I joiurnaled for a solid year and during this time, new poetry was birthed. The next year, I was led to type it up and prepare for publishing.

This is where things got tricky. Let’s be clear – I was absolutley terrified to share the extent of my family’s troubles. But, the more I wrote, the more it became visible to me that surviving this devastating blow, was not just about me. The first publisher that I worked with was an independent local publisher. They were nice enough, but never seemed to have time to walk me through the necessary steps of what I needed to do next. The second publisher, made some suggestions and I continued massaging the manuscript. Feelings of frustration crept around every corner as I contemplated giving up altogether. That’s when someone in my professional network connected me with a referral, which led to my first book, “Peaces: Poetry & Prose”, being published. This publisher was full-service and walked me patiently step-by-step through the process. There were many things I had to learn along the way and it was definitely worth it!

About three or four years later, I had my second body of work ready to publish with the same publisher. However, there were seemingly endless obstacles in my life that contributed to over a year of setbacks. So, I prated and asked God what I was supposed to do now? That’s all I had to do was ask and the answer was very simple – “publish it myself”. Summer of 2024, “Little Peaces: Poetry and Prose” was born! What ‘s really ironic, is that during this same season I underwent a radical surgery that would no longer allow me to bear any more children. Yet, here I was birthing more “book babies” anyway!

Today, I continue writing with purpose in every poem. I am committed to motivate, encourage and uplift (ME&U) with my gift of words. I speak at varioius events with poetry and often find myself ministering, too. Thou my work can touch men as well, much of my work is primarily geared toward women. Lastly, I founded the Write Peace Writers Worshop, which offers a wide variety of work sessions targeting different elements of the writing and publishing process, making it a lot less scary for those interested in becoming published authors.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Some of the biggest struggles I faced were actually internal. Fear was my foe and writing a humble ally. It took decades of my life to understand how fear of failure, not being enough, fear of intellectual property theft, and worst of all shame – had all kept me trapped in a place that thousands of other people were waiting for me to break free of. I finally understood that my story ws not for everyone – but it was defintely for SOMEONE.

Other struggles I faced were financial and timing. Publishing a book and working a full-time job with a family, are not easy to juggle alone. Going through a credible publisher for your book is quite an investment. There are other costs that should be researched and carefully considered when projecting your budget for the project. Timing the various stages involved with the realease, is equally important. While some deadline are flexible, there are others which timing is critcal to ensure proper filing, artwork, editing, etc, all come together seamlessly in the end to avoid costly extensions of your project.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My professional background is broad and spans sectors in finance, higher education and non-profit work. However, I am most proud of the work I have done as a creative connector. Somehow, I was given the gift of connecting people to each other and resources. This gift has helped open doors not only for myself, but for countless others, to find meaningful collabarations or discussions. As a writer, I am often quick to listen to the needs of others – even the unspoken needs. Compassionate listening allows me to help others tell their stories, or untagle the thoughts they would like to capture on paper.

I believe what sets me apart from others, is that I don’t just write for the sake of exercising the gift. I always pray before I write and ask that the right words be given to me, so they would accomplish the purpose they were destined for. If I don’t receive the words at that time, I simply don’t write. My friends jokingly call me “The Preaching Poet”, because many times I go to share poetry, God often give me a specific word for that group or individual, completely outside of the poetry I planned to share. Preaching has never been my goa, but time and time again I have witnessed how the poetry God blessed me with, speaks to others on a deeply powerful and spiritual level. That is something that I alone, am not worthy of doing.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Taking risks is part of the human living experience. Risks present themselves and it our duty is to anyalze them carefully and decide how to respond responsibly in a way that promotes a greater outcome than anticipated. Admittedly, I am not the biggest risk taker because public failure is not my forte’.

Nevertheless, one of the biggest risks in my life choosing to seek out my biological father. I had never known my father and as I continued developing a family of my own, at the time it seemed prudent to find paternal grandparents. Many years of searching and scouring the internet, led me to a man and his wife living less than 30 minutes from me. We communicated and agreed to meet. Every level of anxiety you can image, I experience it. At the risk of denial, betrayal and complete rejection, I came face to face with a strange man wearing part of my facial features. Many explanations and apologies were given for not knowing about me. We parted ways and I never saw him again. It wasn’t the happy ending I had hoped for, but it provided the fair opportunity for a relationship I feel was deserved.

Pricing:

• Peaces: Poetry & Prose – $20 (signed)
• Little Peaces: Poetry & Prose $15 (signed)
• Write Peace Writers Workshop – Starts at $300
• Creative Coaching – Starts at $100

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.iamramanda.com
• Facebook: Ramanda’s Peaces
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramandahicks