I’d like to welcome Shamayne Olivia Kotfas to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

A few of your favorite summer traditions: celebrating my birthday in August, family weekend getaways with my adult kids and grandkids, road trips to cooler places like the mountains. I live in Texas.

Something summer-related that you’ll never do again: water ski, I’m not as young as I used to be

Favorite summer treat: strawberry shortcake with lots of whipped cream

A summer treat that makes you gag: watermelon

Favorite summer beverage: Iced Tea

A drink that gives you a pickle face: Lemonade

Best summer vacation memory: Trip to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands after graduation with my best friends

A summer vacation disaster that you’d rather forget: Room 217 in Manitou Springs, CO. My husband and I were on a road trip in Colorado. He had a bad back from the drive. We visited The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park then drove to Manitou Springs for the night. Our hotel room had a very uncomfortable lumpy bed, an A/C fan that never shut off, and the sound of water running from a source we couldn’t find. Our night was miserable. As we checked out the next morning, we realized that our room number was the same room number at The Stanley Hotel where Stephen King had been inspired to write The Shining. We wondered if we had brought the ghosts with us when we left The Stanley Hotel.

Best summer vacation ever: Land/Water Cruise in Alaska, but before we left on the cruise we flew to Seattle. When we arrived at our rental for the night, all of my kids and grandkids had flown in from Texas to surprise me for my birthday.

Somewhere where you don’t ever want to return: I don’t have any places that I was so disappointed in that I’d never return. It’s more likely that there are still so many other places that I haven’t seen so I will choose to discover new places or visit familiar comfortable places that bring me joy.

Favorite thing to do on a summer evening: Sit on a patio anywhere and enjoy the warm Texas summer breeze.

Least favorite thing about summer: Mosquitos

The thing that you will most remember about your writing life: It’s a lot harder than I expected but very cathartic

Something in your writing life that you wish you could do over: I was too hard on myself and wish I could have been more compassionate towards myself during the process. It was a learning experience.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Public speaking and putting my life out for the whole world to read. It’s all relative I guess.

Something you chickened out from doing: Karaoke

The funniest thing to happen to you: While visiting Portland, OR one summer, we walked over to the park and rose garden a few blocks away. As we walked along the trail, a woman asked me if nudity was allowed in the parks. Being tourists ourselves we were surprised at the question. As we looked around more closely, we saw cyclists of all ages and sizes with their bikes and completely nude. We had stumbled upon Portland’s Annual Naked Bike Ride.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: I guess in some ways, this same incident felt embarrassing because we were one of the few people in the park wearing clothes.

About Shamayne Olivia:

Shamayne’s transformational journey started with a simple question, “Who am I?”. Her decades-long quest to reclaim her identity led to profound insights and realizations that are the foundation of her business, Shoes That Fit Her Soul, LLC.

Drawing from her vast corporate career and her personal experiences with generational trauma, Shamayne's authentic message guides women on a path towards personal and professional growth by fostering a renewed sense of passion, purpose, and confidence. Her workshop empowers women with the essential tools to get unstuck and move beyond the behaviors and patterns preventing them from realizing their full potential. Her first book explores these intricacies, removing the layers to uncover the fundamental steps needed to recover one's identity and enjoy a more meaningful life.

Shamayne lives in the Texas Hill Country, near Austin, with her husband and their two cats, Wrigley & Ivy. Living nearby are two of her adult children and three grandchildren, fulfilling her love of family time. In her spare time, she enjoys live music, visiting Major League ballparks, and traveling to the western states to experience nature, especially in the mountains, rivers, and national parks. It is there that she reconnects with her soul and discovers new ways to inspire her clients to live authentically.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://ShoesThatFitHerSoul.com

Facebook/Instagram: @shamayneolivia