Becoming Parents Podcast

IN HER WORDS:

I'm a queer Scifi Fiction author. My first book was published in 2015. Since, my writing has weathered divorce, disability diagnosis, an awful political climate, and a parent's death. And yet, my writing is stronger than ever!

BIO:

V. S. Holmes is an international bestselling author. She created the REFORGED series and the NEL BENTLY BOOKS. Smoke and Rain, the first book in her fantasy quartet, won New Apple Literary's Excellence in Independent Publishing Award in 2015.

In addition, she has published short fiction in several anthologies. When not writing, she works as a contract archaeologist doing throughout the northeastern U.S.

She lives in a Tiny House with her spouse, a fellow archaeologist, their not-so-tiny dog, and owns too many books for such a small abode. As a disabled and queer human, she works as an advocate and educator for representation in SFF worlds.

www.vsholmes.com

Nikoleta Morales is back for round 2 as the interviewer!   

First of all, she attended the Oscars in 2020 just prior to quarantine with a made-for-her dress and more confidence! YAY!! Did meeting Tom Hanks make her sick? We'll never know for sure.   She also has a book coming out the fall of 2020 titled "My Life Is A Movie You Don't Want To Miss" and I LOVE the title! Very fitting if you've listened to her first interview.  

FIRST INTERVIEW: https://youtu.be/P8S3tc2qPIs  

Today Nikoleta interviewed me and we discussed essential workers, stimulus, grief, and how to stay positive in tough situations. I loved being interviewed on my podcast!   

FIND NIKOLETA HERE: https://cdn.filestackcontent.com/z3RS93Q7STiz41wn1ANg?nikoleta.morales%3Ftext%2Fhtml  

WELCOME TO THE COACHING SERIES:  

When I wrote my book I did “Bare it all” - emotionally I was raw, vulnerable and the story was difficult to share but it was important for me to do it. I realized that I am only one story and that everyone has an equally amazing story to share. The podcast was born and for me, it was a way for my guests to “write a book in an hour” - to share their story in a condensed amount of time while being extremely raw, vulnerable, and genuine. It was an opportunity for the audience to feel less alone and build tools to cope with their own struggles.  

The coaching calls were a result of a suggestion from one of my guests. Not only am I physically The Naked Podcaster, but it’s my turn again to be emotionally naked so the listeners could know what it would be like to work with my guests.  This process wouldn’t work unless I was a good fit for the coaching call and I was really willing to open up. 

These interviews are scary as listeners get real insight into my life.   It’s worth it because I’ve gotten to know my podcast guests and how outstanding they are. 100% of entrepreneurs birth their business from their struggle, and it’s a gift to show how they have turned their trials around to help others.   

I’m looking forward to sharing their skills with you and connecting who they are in a different way.  

Enjoy the journey and remember to be kind to yourselves.  

CONNECT WITH ME!  

Nikoleta Morales is back for round 2 as the interviewer!   

First of all, she attended the Oscars in 2020 just prior to quarantine with a made-for-her dress and more confidence! YAY!! Did meeting Tom Hanks make her sick? We'll never know for sure.   She also has a book coming out the fall of 2020 titled "My Life Is A Movie You Don't Want To Miss" and I LOVE the title! Very fitting if you've listened to her first interview.  

FIRST INTERVIEW: https://youtu.be/P8S3tc2qPIs  

Today Nikoleta interviewed me and we discussed essential workers, stimulus, grief, and how to stay positive in tough situations. I loved being interviewed on my podcast!   

FIND NIKOLETA HERE: https://cdn.filestackcontent.com/z3RS93Q7STiz41wn1ANg?nikoleta.morales%3Ftext%2Fhtml  

WELCOME TO THE COACHING SERIES:  

When I wrote my book I did “Bare it all” - emotionally I was raw, vulnerable and the story was difficult to share but it was important for me to do it. I realized that I am only one story and that everyone has an equally amazing story to share. The podcast was born and for me, it was a way for my guests to “write a book in an hour” - to share their story in a condensed amount of time while being extremely raw, vulnerable, and genuine. It was an opportunity for the audience to feel less alone and build tools to cope with their own struggles.  

The coaching calls were a result of a suggestion from one of my guests. Not only am I physically The Naked Podcaster, but it’s my turn again to be emotionally naked so the listeners could know what it would be like to work with my guests.  This process wouldn’t work unless I was a good fit for the coaching call and I was really willing to open up. 

These interviews are scary as listeners get real insight into my life.   It’s worth it because I’ve gotten to know my podcast guests and how outstanding they are. 100% of entrepreneurs birth their business from their struggle, and it’s a gift to show how they have turned their trials around to help others.   

I’m looking forward to sharing their skills with you and connecting who they are in a different way.  

Enjoy the journey and remember to be kind to yourselves.  

CONNECT WITH ME!  

I've been following Julio and Kate from TacoBoutUsMariscals as beacons of hope for my family who wants to live full-time in an RV. I was excited to find out how they did it, are still doing it, despite work changing during COVID-19 and Kate's health. With a hysterectomy, then another surgery, then another diagnosis I wasn't sure how they navigated life!

IN THEIR WORDS: We are Julio (33) and Kate Mariscal (33) from TacoBoutUsMariscals. We are a family of 6 including our 4 children ages: 12, 10, 7, and 4. In addition, we have 2 dogs and a cat. In June of 2018, Julio applied for a traveling surgical tech job, as he was tired of decreasing benefits and PTO at the hospital he had worked and loved.

We always talked about Kate working as a traveling nurse, but didn’t realize the ability for Julio to travel as well. He was on medical leave from the Air Force, Kate was on summer break (she worked as a school nurse) and the timing seemed perfect. He quickly started applying for travel jobs and was offered a position in York, Maine. We had two weeks to the day to get everything aligned so we could go. We quickly found out that housing would be more than his weekly pay due to increased tourism, so we bought our first travel trailer and were on our way.

We fell in love. It was beautiful, we met amazing people, even after 5 weeks the kids felt at home in our tiny space (~170sqft) and were fighting/arguing less than ever before. Julio stayed to finish his contract while Kate and the kids returned for school. It was overwhelming, it took more time to acclimate back to our big house than it did for the camper. We missed it.

Julio returned and over the next few months, we decided we wanted to travel full time. During this time, Kate was suffering more and more from her Endometriosis. She had a second surgery, this time removing the rest of her reproductive organs, and was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis and underwent a second round of pelvic floor physical therapy. Even after all of this she was in immense pain daily and could not get through a partial day at work. It was becoming apparent that Kate would no longer be able to work full time and traveling was not only appealing but a necessary move.

By April we bought a bus and found a company to convert it into a motorhome (skoolie). We put our house up for sale, and we were selling off all of our belongings. On June 7th we were back in Maine and on our first stop of full time traveling life. It hasn’t always been peaches and cream — RV life is trialing ... especially in a 22ft TT,

Kate’s in menopause and struggling with hot flashes, depression, and loss of identity, homeschooling, the bus still isn’t finished after 9 months, there’s a learning curve to RV life and maintenance... the list goes on. However, as stressful as this life maybe we are extremely happy with our decision and love the memories that we are making with our children.

FIND THEM HERE:

@tacoboutusmariscals on IG and FB

I've been following Julio and Kate from TacoBoutUsMariscals as beacons of hope for my family who wants to live full-time in an RV. I was excited to find out how they did it, are still doing it, despite work changing during COVID-19 and Kate's health. With a hysterectomy, then another surgery, then another diagnosis I wasn't sure how they navigated life!

IN THEIR WORDS: We are Julio (33) and Kate Mariscal (33) from TacoBoutUsMariscals. We are a family of 6 including our 4 children ages: 12, 10, 7, and 4. In addition, we have 2 dogs and a cat. In June of 2018, Julio applied for a traveling surgical tech job, as he was tired of decreasing benefits and PTO at the hospital he had worked and loved.

We always talked about Kate working as a traveling nurse, but didn’t realize the ability for Julio to travel as well. He was on medical leave from the Air Force, Kate was on summer break (she worked as a school nurse) and the timing seemed perfect. He quickly started applying for travel jobs and was offered a position in York, Maine. We had two weeks to the day to get everything aligned so we could go. We quickly found out that housing would be more than his weekly pay due to increased tourism, so we bought our first travel trailer and were on our way.

We fell in love. It was beautiful, we met amazing people, even after 5 weeks the kids felt at home in our tiny space (~170sqft) and were fighting/arguing less than ever before. Julio stayed to finish his contract while Kate and the kids returned for school. It was overwhelming, it took more time to acclimate back to our big house than it did for the camper. We missed it.

Julio returned and over the next few months, we decided we wanted to travel full time. During this time, Kate was suffering more and more from her Endometriosis. She had a second surgery, this time removing the rest of her reproductive organs, and was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis and underwent a second round of pelvic floor physical therapy. Even after all of this she was in immense pain daily and could not get through a partial day at work. It was becoming apparent that Kate would no longer be able to work full time and traveling was not only appealing but a necessary move.

By April we bought a bus and found a company to convert it into a motorhome (skoolie). We put our house up for sale, and we were selling off all of our belongings. On June 7th we were back in Maine and on our first stop of full time traveling life. It hasn’t always been peaches and cream — RV life is trialing ... especially in a 22ft TT,

Kate’s in menopause and struggling with hot flashes, depression, and loss of identity, homeschooling, the bus still isn’t finished after 9 months, there’s a learning curve to RV life and maintenance... the list goes on. However, as stressful as this life maybe we are extremely happy with our decision and love the memories that we are making with our children.

FIND THEM HERE:

@tacoboutusmariscals on IG and FB

I may not understand how social media marketing works, but Travis certainly does! Listen to all the tips and tricks he shares - not just about my account but YOURS! I followed his advice and stopped using a scheduling tool. Yes, it's a bit more effort but OMG he was correct - it changed my visibility tremendously!  

In our first interview we discussed: 1999 - Battled being 300 pounds at 6 foot in high school 2009 - Battled buying house a wrong time, getting married to young, and losing it all 2019 - Journey of being a PAPA and Entrepreneur full-time    

First interview:   https://youtu.be/PaptYYAzjhk

Website - https://www.realtimeoutsource.com/

I may not understand how social media marketing works, but Travis certainly does! Listen to all the tips and tricks he shares - not just about my account but YOURS! I followed his advice and stopped using a scheduling tool. Yes, it's a bit more effort but OMG he was correct - it changed my visibility tremendously!  

In our first interview we discussed: 1999 - Battled being 300 pounds at 6 foot in high school 2009 - Battled buying house a wrong time, getting married to young, and losing it all 2019 - Journey of being a PAPA and Entrepreneur full-time    

First interview:   https://youtu.be/PaptYYAzjhk

Website - https://www.realtimeoutsource.com/

Olivia and I discuss the challenges with COVID-19 and quarantine.  

* How to date if you’re single

Our first interview: https://youtu.be/MURuW7XvTlg

FIND HER HERE:  

Her book: