November 7, 2023 • 47 mins
Rosa Sophia - Managing Editor of Mobile Electronics Magazine for 12-volt aftermarket car audio. She holds an AS in Psychology, a BS in Communication and Media Studies, a degree in Automotive Business Management/Automotive Technology and is pursuing a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing.
She has been published in Philadelphia Stories Magazine, Writer's Foundry Review, and others, and was the recipient of the 2023 Christopher F. Kelly Award for Poetry for her poem, "Villanelle at 37."
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She has been published in Philadelphia Stories Magazine, Writer's Foundry Review, and others, and was the recipient of the 2023 Christopher F. Kelly Award for Poetry for her poem, "Villanelle at 37."
Winning Business Radio is broadcast live Mondays at 4PM ET.
Winning Business TV Show is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).
Winning Business Radio Show is broadcast on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com).
Winning Business Radio Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/winning-business-radio--3075598/support.
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(00:21):
W FOURCY Radio. Churchill said,those who failed to learn from history are
condemned to repeat it. Kevin helenn believes that certainly applies to business.
Welcome to Winning Business Radio here atW four CY Radio. That's W four
(00:44):
cy dot com and now your host, Kevin Helena, thank you for joining
in today. I am Kevin Hallanand and welcome back to Winning Business TV
and Radio on W four CY.We're streaming live on talkfour tv dot com
in addition to Facebook and that's atWinning Business Radio as well as we're available
(01:07):
in podcasts after the show on manyother platforms including YouTube, iHeartRadio, Spotify,
Apple, pretty much wherever you listento your favorite podcasts. The mission
of Winning Business radio and TV,as regular listeners and viewers know, is
to offer insights and advice to helppeople avoid the mistakes of others, to
learn best practices, the how tos, the what toos, the what not
(01:30):
toos, to be challenged, andcertainly to be inspired by the successes of
others. But you know, virtuallyevery successful person I've ever talked to has
had some form of failure in theirlives and careers. So, like I
say, every week, while weall have to get our knees skinned,
once in a while, I'm drivento keep those scrapes from needing major surgery.
Let's endeavor to learn from history sowe don't repeat it. Today.
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My guest is Rosa Sophia, Managingeditor of Mobile Electronics Magazine. Here's your
bio. Rosa Sophia is the managingdirector of Mobile Electronics Magazine, the nation's
number one resource for the twelve volteaftermarket car audio industry. I can talk.
Rosa holds an associate's degree in psychology, a bachelor's degree in Communication and
Media Studies, a degree in AutomotiveBusiness Management and Automotive Technology, and as
(02:16):
a candidate for Masters in fine artsin creative writing. Her automotive themed poems
have been published in Philadelphia Stories Magazine, Writers, Foundry Review, and others.
She's the recipient of the twenty twentythree Christopher F. Kelly Award for
Poetry sponsored by the Academy of AmericanPoets, for her poem villanel At thirty
(02:38):
seven. Rosa lives in Palm Bay, Florida. Rosa, Welcome to Winning
Business, TV and radio. Thanksfor being here. Thank you for having
me. I appreciate it. Soyou live in Palm Bay, yep.
Where'd you grow up in Florida orelsewhere in Pennsylvania? Pennsylvania? How did
you make it to Florida? Icame here to visit, and I liked
(02:58):
it. So I went home andquit my job and drove here. What
were you doing at the time.I was working night shift in a grocery
store, stocking shelves. Uh career, career role right there. Nothing nothing
against those guys, but uh,I mean I liked it. I enjoyed
it. Actually. So we're inPennsylvania, and tell us about you know
(03:21):
a little bit about that town orcity and what it was like to grow
up there. And I grew upin the country in the woods. Everything
was kind of far away. Itwas around the Philadelphia area, so yep.
I spent a lot of time outsideand under cars, over cars and
under cars. What were your earlyinterests? Well, I was interested in
(03:45):
cars from a young age. WhenI was a kid, I used to
build model cars in my bedroom duringthe summer, and I had, you
know, the little matchbox cars.As I got older, I just was
more interested in how they were andI was a little afraid of them.
So I thought the best way toovercome your fear is torand it so that
(04:08):
was what made me pursue automotive school. That's awesome. So you and I
know, you know that my wifeand I WI and I were Rosenos.
My wife were in England recently andwe went to a motor museum which I'll
tell you about I see you next. But it was really cool some of
these really classic cars and they wereall in mint condition. Because the owner
(04:30):
of the museum who's passed on andnow has passed it to family, they've
really maintained these vehicles. I'll showyou pictures. So it wasn't in the
cots hole. Yes, have youbeen there? I was I did.
I didn't go in there. Iwas in front of the building and I
didn't have enough time, and Ithought, gosh, if only born on
the water. Yeah, it's reallycool, really cool. So I'll show
(04:51):
you pictures places. That's my favoritetown in the cots Hole. That's so
cool. Yeah, I recommend thattrip to anybody. So you got a
degree in psychology? What motivated that? Actually I didn't actually finish that degree,
okay, So what ended up happeningwas that I'm not very good with
my math skills and I really wantedto help people, so I didn't want
(05:14):
to pursue psychology. But by thetime I hit these bath classes, I
couldn't pass them. So I woundup transferring those credits to my automotive degree.
And I do remember when I whenI when I enrolled, the gentleman
said to me, I don't thinkwe've ever had anyone come into the automotive
(05:35):
program from a psychology degree. Sobut it helps in everything, like he
you know, he said, well, you go into you know, work
in a dealership and you deal withcustomers, You're going to be using those
skills, so it all intertwines.So what made you choose that automotive degree.
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I love working on cars, andto be honest, it's a good
way to avoid the math, exceptexcept for the automotive math, which is
an essential part of it and thatI really enjoyed because I have a very
visual mind, So I while Ican't understand algebra, I could understand calculating
cylinder bore because I could see theengine block in front of me, so
(06:19):
it made more sense to me.And how did you get into cars?
I was just interested, but youknow, I didn't really I didn't really
grow up around anyone who got meinterested in it. But I did discover
when I got older and I reunitedwith my father because I didn't see him
for fifteen years, and then Ifound out that he was working on,
(06:42):
you know, his own vehicles,and he built an engine lift like in
his garage himself because he was aconstruction worker, so he installed steel beams
in his shed. And then Iwhen I met him and realized how much
we had in common, I thought, wow, it must be genetic.
(07:03):
And what made you choose Lincoln Tech? And I want you to talk about
You said you were on the raceteam. I want to talk about that.
Oh yeah, Lincoln Tech. Yeah, it was just close to me.
At the time. I was livingin Palm Beach County and the campus
isn't there anymore, but it wasin Mangonia Park and it was convenient.
And yeah, and the race team, it was short lived. I didn't
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have a whole lot of support,unfortunately. Our original goal was to get
the car to the to the trackof Palm Beach International, which unfortunately that
racetrack just closed recently. Wow.Yeah, I spent a lot of time
with that racetracks. It's sad.So what were your responsibilities on the team?
Well, like I said, itwas short lived, but I did
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see I was taking off riffins atone point. Yeah, so that was
fun. That's cool. Yeah.So you're one of the few women that
I know who can rebuild an engine, who can do since what do you
call it? Cylinder or calculating cylinderbar? I don't even know what that
(08:13):
would look like. What are someof the automotive projects that you've been involved
in or undertaken? Little or big? So I did work in a garage
for a short time, but becauseI have trigeminal neuralgia, I couldn't do
it for very long, but Ilike to work on my own stuff.
So I did work on my truckengine and I did much of the overhauling
(08:37):
work myself until I realized I hadto get the actual engine block to a
machinist. So that was a sortof a bummer to discover. But that
is a different skill set machining thatmost people would, I think, would
farm that out. And we willget to your ailment in a little bit.
(08:58):
I do want to get people hearabout that because there's a way that
they can help out. When didyou know you were good at writing?
When did I know that I wasgood at it? I don't know.
I just always enjoyed it. Andthat's a skill that really you have to
work on, like anything else.I think talent comes to you, but
(09:20):
then you have to Like any craft, you have to keep working on it.
So I think, really my confidencein my work has built from the
MFA program that I've been in.But I've always loved writing. And what
are some of the subjects you've writtenabout? And I imagine you started writing
when you were young. Yeah,as soon as I could, I was
(09:43):
writing. I write fiction, poetry, memoir. I wrote a book on
Florida history that was published by theHistory Press. So I touch on a
lot of different subjects. We're goingto talk about that too. Uh.
You decided to major in communications.That was because of writing. Yeah,
(10:07):
actually not really. That was justkind of a stepping stone degree because I
didn't really know what I wanted todo at the time. But ironically I
got a lot out of it interms of like critical thinking classes. I
think I took a class on that, and I remember thinking, why don't
I have to take a class onthis? I know how to think critically.
(10:28):
But but then I got into itand I realized there was a lot
of stuff that I didn't that Ididn't know. Yeah, terminology I wasn't
aware of. And then when Ithought more on it, I learned a
lot from it. By the way, those that are wondering what that sound
is cat, oh you can hear? Oh dear? I was hoping no
(10:50):
if I was fine, it's notbothering me. I just wanted the audience
to be aware of it. Yeah, why should the cat be excluded from
the radio? Yeah? She hasto be on top of me at all
times. So sorry, both thattotally fine. So you're pursuing your MFA
Masters of Fine Arts. What motivatedthat? That's a lot of undertaking,
(11:13):
right, Yes, I started thatin twenty eighteen, and I live quite
a distance from the school, soit's taking me a long time. And
I have my thesis manuscript is ready, and that's a book of automotive themed
poems. Very cool, very cool. I might ask you to read one.
(11:33):
Oh okay, well think about that. The break's quick, but we're
not there yet, but think aboutit during the break, and I want
to read. I hope I pronouncedthe the when you get the award for
villain l villain. Oh that's correct. Yeah, okay, I'm going to
read that one before the end becauseI want you to comment on it.
Tell us where you know, what, the motivation is, the background,
(11:54):
et cetera. So when will youWhen do you expect to finish up?
I will be defending my thesis infall of twenty twenty four. Very cool.
And for others that might be pursuingthat type of a degree and you're
working full time, you're very busy, you're doing other things. You're into
a lot of different areas. What'sthe workload like on say a daily,
(12:16):
weekly, monthly basis. Well,it's hard, I mean, you know,
but I think it's hard to saywhat's the workload. It's a lot,
But I think the important thing isbalance and discipline and knowing, you
know, knowing when you have tojust get something done. And like I
(12:39):
don't get to sit down and watcha movie very often. I guess you're
not missing a lot. I likemovies, but you're not missing a lot.
Yeah. Yeah, So what weresome of the jobs you started with
MEA magazine? MEA is the MobileElectronics Association in the magazine, and we'll
get into that shortly. But whatwere some of the jobs you had prior
(13:01):
to twenty fourteen. Well, Iworked at the grocery store stocking shelves.
My first job was in a momand pop deli in Pennsylvania and I worked
for quite a while. Ye andI also worked in libraries for about five
years or so, and alls involveda lot of customer service and helping people,
(13:30):
which I really like to do.So it doesn't really so much matter
the venue. You know, it'slike if I can if I can help
somebody out, I'm happy. That'sawesome. And I know disclaimer, I
know Rosa fairly well, and thatis so true about you. All Right,
we're going to take our first breakright here. This breaks about a
minute long, so sit tight everybody. We'll be back with Rosa Sophia in
(13:52):
just a minute. You're listening toWinning Business Radio with Helen on W four
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(14:56):
Here once again, it's Kevin Helena. Welcome back. We are back
with Rosa Sophia, managing editor ofMobile Electronics magazine. So start out by
telling the audience, the viewers andlisteners. What is MEA? What is
(15:16):
the Mobile Electronics Association? So webring knowledge and information to the mobile electronics
industry, which is all after market, after market automotive installations, car audio
safety equipment, that sort of thing, lighting as well, and the magazine
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is bringing knowledge and information to thosebusinesses. And your role as managing editor
describe that I write and edit articlesthat we get in and I write and
compile them as well. Cool,that's not a job. I've always said.
You've been with MEA since twenty fourteen. Talk about how you got connected
(16:04):
with the MAA and what other thingsyou've done you've been associated with the magazine.
I know you you're you're very activeat the conferences and shows, the
knowledge fest they call them knowledge fustshows. Talk about your growing responsibilities and
how you got to be managing editor. Yeah. So I was freelancing the
(16:27):
year that I started, and Iwas a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association,
and someone who was writing for MobileElectronics Magazine at the time was leaving
a position, and so I appliedand I got the job. I think
in when I was initially interviewed myautomotive background helped, I think a little
(16:52):
bit. I'm sure well that inyour qualifications and your skill sets. So
you started out, what did wereyour responsibilities managing editor from the get go?
No, I can't remember what yearI took that. It was actually
at the beginning of COVID. Iwasn't managing editor until something like that.
(17:17):
Yeah, So, but before that, I was twenty or so something like
that. Yeah. Yeah, Beforethat I was pretty much editing and writing
here and there, mostly our retailnews section, which is a smaller section.
So then I started taking on moreresponsibility. So what skills I think
everybody probably understands proofreading, But whatskills does an editor need to have?
(17:41):
Well? A lot, I meanthat's yeah. So I think big picture,
when you're working with somebody else's work, you have to be able to
help them refine it without changing theirvoice, which is really important. I
guess that's really to me. Ithink the key thing how do you and
(18:06):
specifically so maybe we can give adviceto others that might be wanting to go
down that road. How did youstart to make a living at writing?
You know, even though it maynot have been full time, How did
you start to well, first,when did you realize and how did you
realize you wanted to make a livingout of writing and being in the editorial
world. What was your first entryinto that. Well, I knew I
(18:29):
wanted to do it from the timeI was little, and I told my
mother when I was a little kidthat I wanted to stay in bed and
write all day when I grew up. So, Yeague, if you can
get it, Yeah, and honestly, I can do that now if I
want so. But beyond that,it was just a matter of doing research
and putting myself around in the rightcircumstances, and then joining the Editorial Freelancers
(18:55):
Association, which is a very goodorganization for anybody who wants to edit,
proofread, copyright goes right, orwriting of any kind freelance work. That's
a good place to start. Soyou've written a lot, You've written poems,
You've written a couple of novels.I know. One of those novels
is Meet Me in the Garden.Tell us about that. That was twenty
(19:17):
fifteen. Yeah, that was likea I guess I write kind of outside
of genre, so it's been it'sbeen called a sort of paranormal thriller.
It's been called a paranormal romance,but it was set in Palm Beach County,
(19:40):
so so it's a Florida novel,okay. And that's that was published
to Limitless Publishing. Is that available? Yes? It is. Yeah,
it's on Amazon. All of myin the Garden Okay. Cool? And
talk about a couple of other books, or as many as you like.
We have plenty of time. Well, I think the one I'm most proud
of is the Florida history book,which is called Village of North Palm Beach
(20:03):
a History, and it is aniche, you know, northern Palm Beach
County. But I really enjoyed doingall the interviews for that book and compiling
everything and talking to people hearing theirstories, which is what I do with
the magazine too. I get totell people and hear their stories, which
is what I really love about thiskind of work. Let's see what advice
(20:30):
would you have for other authors.There's probably a lot you could say here,
take your time who want to writeeither business fiction nonfiction. You know,
maybe there's specific genre advice, maybethere's not. I don't know.
My biggest piece of advice is goand be around people who know more than
you do, which can be hardbecause, especially with the Internet and everything,
(20:56):
we can feel first we can feelisolated and not really realize that.
Then we can think maybe we've founda community online, but really mean nothing
beats going and finding a solid community. And I will always recommend that writers
try to find a writer's conference.There are a lot of them, and
(21:18):
many of them offer financial aid.So what really helped me was Writers in
Paradise at Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg. That was such a phenomenal one week
program with like workshops and craft talks, and at places like that you meet
lifelong friends who are willing to lookat your writing, and then you go
(21:41):
back and forth and then you alwayshave that support, which is really really
important. No, this is notwhere you go and say I got the
script idea. No, yeah,you have to. The biggest thing about
wanting to improve your craft is thatyou have to and I think this goes
for almost anything. You have tobe willing to see your mistakes and take
constructive criticism because that's how we grow. I think in anything that's excellent advice.
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So you're the recipient of the twentytwenty twenty three Christopher F. Kelly
Award for Poetry, sponsored by theAcademy of American Poets. How did did
you submit for that? Talk aboutthe process, and then we'll talk about
the poem. Yes, congratulations,by the way, thank you. Yeah,
that is a university prize. Ibelieve it's it's open to many different
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schools across the country. So Iwon for Florida International University. And every
year I submit, And the processis you never know because contests there's a
final judge and they're they're they they'rereading for what they enjoy. So if
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I learned, because I used totake it more personally, but I learned,
if I get rejected from a contest, it doesn't mean my work is
baad. It just means that judgedidn't necessarily connect with the peace. That's
really good. Yeah, all right, I have this somewhere. Oh did
I not pull it up? Holdon compelling radio? You're in TV when
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you can't find them? Oh?There it is? Okay, So this
is villainel at thirty seven, andI'm going to do my best to read
it. All right. I missedthe womb of that magic house, walking
its gardens, a lush labyrinth ofgreen, always here in a dream,
running my hands along warm wooden walls, memorizing moments, abiding ancestors who call
(23:41):
long distance from the in between.I yearn for the fruit. I can
still taste the gooseberries growing down bythe fence, smelling the Forcythia Queen Anne's
lace the pine. When I pressmy nose to the trees. I missed
the womb of that magic house,walking its gardens, a lush labyrinth of
green. Then up to the upthe path to your porch. Please say
(24:02):
I can stay. I hear you, grandmother, your laughter like daffodils in
bloom. Every year older, Ilinger held fast to our home, memorizing
moments, abiding ancestors who call longdistance from the in between. It's been
so long since I walked through thedoor, saw the plants hanging from them
from the macroma cords. Remember afternoonlight shows, Remember afternoon light shows from
(24:26):
chandelier beads. I missed the wombof that magic house, walking its garden,
a lush labyrinth of green. Indreams, I yearn for the path
under my feet. You smile likemorning glories before your death as you ask
what's next. My fingers pressed gentlyagainst your palm, memorizing moments, abiding
ancestors who call long distance from thein between. You felt a pain in
(24:48):
your ribs, an empty ache,a hunger for summer, for sacred space.
When it came to age, you'dforgotten yours, your essence. Gazing
out a bright bay window, Imissed the womb of that magic house,
walking its garden, a lush labyrinthof green, memorizing moments, abiding ancestors
who call long distance from the inbetween. Wow, nice job. So
(25:14):
tell us about that. Well,my grandmother was really special to me.
We were very close, and shedied in twenty twenty one, so she
was ninety six. Wow. Yeahtysix. And what inspired you is maybe
an obvious answer, maybe not soobvious. What inspired you to write it?
And who were you writing for?Who? That's a good question,
(25:40):
and it's actually a question we oftenask in poetry classes because, to be
honest, sometimes we know that thepeople who are reading our poems are other
poets. But primarily in the beginning, I wrote it for myself. But
we often find that in poetry,even when we write something deeply personal,
(26:02):
it connects someone else can connect withit because we all share so many similar
experiences. Yeah, I did connectwith it. That's why I wanted to
read it. And I forgive mefor not doing as good a job as
as a professional reader. But youdid beautifully. Thank you. That's been
published in Sentienced Literary Literary Journal,right yep, and then you submitted it
(26:25):
for the prize and one awesome.What are some other poems that you've run
and what written? Excuse me andwhat inspired you to write them? Well,
a lot of it is grief related, and my automotive poems are especially
related to that. And I findtalking about for some reason, talking about
(26:45):
automotive parts and working on cars.For me, it was a good avenue
to talk about more delicate subjects.So I do have another poem that was
called take this Transmission instance, andI read some comments or reviewers comments on
(27:06):
those it was they were they werereally good. Thank you. Yeah,
that was about my father. ButI use this transmission, this old dusty
transmission that I that was found inhis shed after he died, as a
way of talking about the grief experience. So I'd like you to read that
one after the break, if youwouldn't mind doing that, Okay, So,
(27:26):
but I wanted to talk about acouple of things before we got there,
And this is just a fun one. You enjoy collecting and working on
antique and vintage typewriters, And onyour website there's some images and you describe
some of the work you do there. It just sounds like a fun endeavor.
How'd you get into that? Andand uh, maybe talk about one
or two of the more fun projects. Well, I've always been around typewriters.
(27:49):
My mother had one and I learnedto type on one. So it
probably helps that we didn't have awhole lot of money growing up because we
couldn't afford a compute right away.So I and then growing up, I
just you know, I remember wehad a green screen word processor one time.
(28:11):
And then when it came time forme to have to go buy a
computer, I walked into a BestBuy and I was just like, you
know, there are all these signsthat said gaming, go on this,
do that, and I thought,I just want one that has a word
processor. So for me, it'sI'm attracted by the simplicity of it,
and I find that there are otherpeople who are as well. So if
(28:32):
I find a machine that I canrefurbish, and if it finds a good
home and someone appreciates it. That'scool. So you ended up selling those
Yeah, I've sold a couple,but it's still a growing process. That's
cool. That's cool. All right, we're going to take our final break
right here. I want you toread that transmission poem if you would.
(28:55):
When we came back, we willbe right back with Rosa Sophia. You're
listening to Winning Business Radio with KevinHelene on W four CY Radio. That's
W four cy dot com. Don'tgo away. More helpful information is coming
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now back to winning business radio withKevin Helene, presenting exciting topics and expert
guests with one goal in mind tohelp you succeed in business. Here once
(30:02):
again, it's Kevin helenet. Weare back with Rossa Sophia, Managing editor
of Mobile Electronics Magazine, part ofthe Mobile Electronics Association Rose. It's fund
having this conversation. Share with usthe poem, give us the title and
(30:23):
go ahead, all right, sureit's called Take this transmission for instance,
I have no vehicle for this Teighteen four speed transmission Dana Model three hundred
transfer case. This transmission sat inmy father's shed after his four wheeler crushed
him in the Pennsylvania woods, satin the dark after helicopter carried him off
(30:48):
the mountain, waited in silence asmy father felt comatose. This transmission ignored
by my stepmother as she sold andgave away my father's tool. Couldn't be
compelled when my family pulled the plug, couldn't be reconciled when I never flew
to his funeral, left in hisshed for eight additional years. Now,
(31:10):
it doesn't fit anywhere. This transmissioncollecting dust after he died, couldn't be
lifted in the rainstorm by my brother. Mark in the mud two handed couldn't
be budged by thought, ingenuity,or reason. Two hundred and forty pounds
of cast iron needed. My cousinbarry chains a trailer. This transmission came
(31:33):
to me with loosened bolts, dirtinside. After my cousin inspected it closely,
put it in neutral, gave meadvice I can't remember on shifting gears,
and together we stabbed a perfect circlein my new car's rear fender.
This transmission hung from a thick chainlike a locket, A reminder, a
(31:55):
note as if to say, thisdoesn't fit anywhere. Driven to twelve hundred
miles to Florida in the back ofmy new car, this transmission now dangles
in my garage, where I twirlit like a locket. After I dragged
it from the trunk of my newcar, crashed it into my knee and
scraped my skin, slammed my wrist. The next day, it's swollen and
(32:19):
gray, arm, scraped, elbowbruised, dragged the hulking metal on the
fender, added marks to my perfectcircle. Extra dings, A reminder,
a note as if to say,take this transmission for instance. Now it
doesn't fit anywhere. Wow, Iwish I could give you a better round
(32:42):
of claws than just me. Thatwas outstanding. Thank you sounds deeply personal.
It sounds like you're talking about griefand loss. But it was probably
really beneficial to write now. Ohyeah, absolutely, And I'll ask this
again. I think I know thisanswer, But who was that written for?
(33:06):
I think one can relate to itif they've lost someone. And that's
what I found initially when I startedwriting these poems. I thought people aren't
going to understand this, that theydon't understand cars. But but what I
discovered actually is that as long asthe emotion was there, it came through.
And some of my readers told methey didn't really have to understand what
(33:30):
some of the car parts were.They could they could relate to it anyway.
Agreed, totally agreed. That wasbeautiful, Really was thank you.
So there's this character named Torque.Ah who's that let's talk about you?
Tell me, let's talk about torkWho's talk That's me? So the way
(33:52):
you describe Torque on your website isan alter ego. Yes, somewhat,
I don't know that I forget thewords you used somewhat Smith, there's some
q uh so where did talk?Uh? What's the genesis of Torque?
And tell us about her? Well, when I first went to automotive school,
I had a really good buddy.He's actually my mom's age. His
(34:15):
name is Steve Higgins and uh,shout out to Steve, Yeah, shout
out. I'll have to send thisto him. But yeah, So he
he's like a father to me.And my father had had his accident kind
of around the time we met.So he went with me to orientation.
(34:36):
He went with me to the schoolwhen I enrolled, and he said to
me, Uh, Rosie, youcan't go in there without a nickname.
You gotta have a nickname. Soso he called me torqu and I adopted
it. And Torque has a website, yes, which is what ww dot
(34:57):
Torque's garage dot com. That's allone word awesome, so one if you
put that in the crawl, peoplemight want to visit that. Uh.
And there there's a reference to takeyou back to backwords. Let's see what
is it backwards wo r ds?What's your other site? That is a
blog site that I have that Idon't it's I keep it up there,
(35:20):
but I have not written a blogin a while. Okay, I just
got a very real kick out ofthe the what you turn on the word
backwards? Right? Yeah? Butwriter, that's it. So Torqu's garage,
you'll see some of uh Rosa's work. You'll you'll get her background.
The other website that people should beaware of is dash mag that's the magazine
(35:45):
that Rosa is the managing editor of. Uh. If you are interested in
the twelve vault industry or just tosee her work, check that out.
That's me eh m a g dotcom. That's easy. And I always
like to ask people, we're goingto spend some time here, what do
you do when you're not working?We call it the back of the business
card, right the front of thebusiness card, says managing editor. The
(36:08):
back of the business card. You'reinvolved in a lot of things, or
you were. I think you're stillinvolved, but you were on the board.
Whether you were or are not asimportant as the work. Seminole Wars
Foundation. Tell the audiences, thelistening and viewing audiences about that foundation.
(36:28):
Yeah. So I'm actually the presidentnow, and what we do is we
educate. We do educational outreach andwe publish scholarly materials on the Seminole Wars
in Florida. And it's important becauseunfortunately it's not taught as much in schools
and it was a really big conflictin the US. So it's an important
(36:54):
part of American history and if youwant to learn more about it, you
can go to Seminole Wars dot U, s Seminoles s C M I N
Oil Wars dot US in a ina you know, in one or two
minutes. I know that is goingto do it disservice, But just to
create some interest. Why is itimportant and what should people what? What
(37:17):
would you want people to know aboutthat that period in US history in Florida.
Well, I think the most importantthing is that it I have a
friend, a historian who is book. He compared to the Vietnam War because
it was at the time very unpopular. Much of the United States military,
(37:42):
all the branches were fighting in Floridaagainst the Seminoles. It was also the
it was where the trail of tearsreally started, okay, which is really
important to know. And so theSeminoles were pushed out and tried they tried
to send them to the Oklahoma territory. The other important thing is that it
(38:06):
was mainly due to slavery. Escapedslaves were fleeing into Florida, and when
Spain was in control, they wouldallow them to come and live free.
I think it was, and I'mnot I can't remember exactly, but I'm
pretty sure it was. If theyserved, they're military, they could be
(38:28):
free. And then of course theywere intermarrying with the seminoles. So when
the United States government wanted to gettheir slaves back, that was when they
went to Florida. And there's there'squote, there's quoted material that backs that
up. I just think it's kindof interesting that before that they they had
no interest because they said, it'sjust a swamp, and we don't it's
(38:50):
gross, we don't want to godown there, And now everybody lives here
dirty. You also volunteer with theI'm going to try this locks of Hatchie
Battlefield Preservation. I used to.Yes, that's another small organization. I
don't volunteer with them anymore, butthe Seminal Wars Foundation does support all of
those organizations. So any any nonprofitin the state of Florida that does reenactments
(39:15):
or seminal wars history. We supportthat, so we do. We do
work with them quite a bit.Let's see, Oh, what is it.
So you were the archivist. Whatdoes an archivist do? Yeah,
so it's just basically keeping records.I did that when when I worked at
(39:37):
the North Palm Beach Library. Thatwas how I wound up getting involved in
Florida history. I was the villagehistorian for the town of North Palm Beach
and what I was doing was puttingtheir archives online so that they were easily
accessible. So it's it's record keepingall kinds of different records outside of books
(39:59):
and photos. It seems to meit takes a passion, it takes a
certain person to do that. You'vegot to have a desire to preserve that
information, right, definitely, definitely. And You've worked with a couple of
different libraries, North Palm Beach aswell as Martin County YEP Martin County Library
System, and then I volunteered forthe or Vigsburg Public Library in Pennsylvania.
(40:20):
Oh cool, cool, all right, I wanted you to You mentioned your
your disease. I think it's adisease, yes, that you're battling since
you were young trigeminal neuralgia. Tellpeople what that is. When they go
online, they're going to see someimages of you. And I see you,
you know, when I see youthree or four times a year,
(40:42):
I see you with like a awrap around your hair head scarf. So
tell us about that disease, whatit is, how you've you know,
I'm not trying to make this terriblething. I want people to be aware
of it, and yet you've beenable to accomplish in spite of it,
quite frankly, because it's debilitating,talk about it. Yeah, So what
it is is there's a compression inon my trigeminal nerve in my brain that
(41:07):
sends pain signals to my face.And the nerve comes up like this on
three branches. And when I wasyounger, it only went into my forehead,
but since then it's graduated and Ihad it my whole life, but
I wasn't diagnosed thil I was twentyseven. Well, and then once I
(41:29):
figured out that scarves helped, Istarted covering my head because it definitely any
breeze or wind or anything touching myface can cause pain. Long air,
yes, and yeah, and Honestly, when I get really bad pain attacks,
I can feel all of my hairlike I can I have pain in
(41:49):
the individual hairs. It's very strange. So, yeah, most people want
to keep their hair. Maybe you'rereally you know, when you're in that,
you sort of wonder it would itbe better if I didn't have any.
And it's not as uncommon as itsounds. I mean probably nobody's or
very few people, especially in thisaudience. I've heard that heard of that
(42:12):
ailment, but it's not as uncommonas one would think. Right, that's
right, And I think a lotof times it's probably misdiagnosed because it's hard.
For one thing, it's hard tocommunicate when you're in that much pain,
and so and I mean initially theyto do with me, so it
took a little bit to get thediagnosis. Yeah, my face hurts,
(42:36):
my hair hurts. Well, that'syou know who, Yeah, takes it
seriously. Right, Is there away that people could, you know,
if they're if they're even one ortwo or three or four that are so
inclined to help. Is there aplace to give fifty bucks, five bucks,
whatever it might be. Yes,I highly recommend checking out the I
think it's called the Facial Pain Association. I believe they're based in Gainesville,
(42:59):
flower To and they do research intothis. There's not a lot of research
being done, but they're doing it, so it's really great. Cool.
All right, just a few morequestions. What's in the future for you?
So you're gonna get your MFA,what do you want to do?
(43:21):
I want to keep doing what I'mdoing. I love my job, so
which sometimes surprises people because I knowthey think generally if you're getting a degree,
that you're going to have some otherthing to do. I might simply
expand maybe do writers residencies where Imight you know, teach a class or
something, or maybe do readings.Poetry readings I do have. I will
(43:46):
be a featured poet next year inSaint Augustine. They're having the Saint Augustine
Poet Poet Fest is having a specialevent, so I'm going to be a
featured poet November of twenty twenty four. So I'd love to do more stuff,
but I do love my job,so I'm happy where I am.
(44:08):
That's so who in the listening andviewing audiences should reach out to you?
And why? Well, I don'tknow if any of this interests you,
you want to talk about writing orif I'm always happy to help anyone who's
interested in learning more about writing,editing or anything like that. And obviously
(44:32):
Chris and Richard would give us ahard time if we didn't say. And
if you're hearing this and you're inthe twelve old industry and not a member
of MAA game on you, you'remissing a lot. And if you don't
attend knowledge vests on a regular basis, you're missing a lot. Yeah,
Mobile Mobile Dash Electronics dot Com.Yeah, And I will add to that
(44:55):
too that I love going to theKnowledge Fest show is because everybody I meet
loves their job just as much asI do. And it's really fulfilling to
be in an environment where people areliking what they do, almost to the
point that you sometimes forget your working, which is fabulous. And also,
if anyone in the audience is inthe mobile electronics industry, I'm always looking
(45:21):
for content for the magazine, Soplease reach out Awesome and Roses contact information
we'll come across across the scroll onemore time, I'm sure as the best
way to reach out, And justso you can hear some of this inside
stuff audiences. You know, I'veknown Rosa for a number of years through
what are called knowledge fest. Thoseare the shows that are that happened four
(45:45):
times a year. I've been aspeaker on sales content for a number of
years and that's where I've gotten toknow those folks and Rose in particular.
So listen. Thank you so muchfor being here. I know you're busy.
It's been really great having here.Thanks for taking the time. Thank
you. This has been a lotof fun cool. I'm glad and thanks
everybody for watching and listening. Thisis a show about business, and particularly
(46:07):
this was a creative about a creativebusiness perhaps and sometimes business challenges. If
you've got concerns, perhaps about thegrowth of your company, feel free to
reach out to me on Facebook orLinkedIn at Winning Business Radio or drop me
a note. One of my manyemail addresses is Kevin at Winning Businessradio dot
com. Our company is Winning Incorporated. We're part of Sandler Training. We
(46:30):
always say we developed sales teams intohigh achievers and sales leaders into true coaches
and mentors. Hey we're not rightfor everybody, but maybe we should have
a conversation. Thank you to ourproducer and engineer one thank you one for
another job well done. Be sureto join us next week, that's Monday,
October sixteenth. We'll do it allover again. Until then, this
(46:50):
is Kevin helen In. You've beenlistening to Winning Business Radio with your host,
Kevin Helenan. If you missed anypart of this episode, the post
is available on Talk for Podcasting andiHeartRadio. For more information and questions,
go to Winning Business Radio dot comor check us out on social media.
Tune in again next week and everyMonday at four pm Eastern Time to listen
(47:14):
live to Winning Business Radio on Wfour CY Radio W four cy dot com.
Until then, let's succeed where othershave failed and win in business with
Kevin Haleanan and Winning Business Radio
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(00:21):
W FOURCY Radio. Churchill said,those who failed to learn from history are
condemned to repeat it. Kevin helenn believes that certainly applies to business.
Welcome to Winning Business Radio here atW four CY Radio. That's W four
(00:44):
cy dot com and now your host, Kevin Helena, thank you for joining
in today. I am Kevin Hallanand and welcome back to Winning Business TV
and Radio on W four CY.We're streaming live on talkfour tv dot com
in addition to Facebook and that's atWinning Business Radio as well as we're available
(01:07):
in podcasts after the show on manyother platforms including YouTube, iHeartRadio, Spotify,
Apple, pretty much wherever you listento your favorite podcasts. The mission
of Winning Business radio and TV,as regular listeners and viewers know, is
to offer insights and advice to helppeople avoid the mistakes of others, to
learn best practices, the how tos, the what toos, the what not
(01:30):
toos, to be challenged, andcertainly to be inspired by the successes of
others. But you know, virtuallyevery successful person I've ever talked to has
had some form of failure in theirlives and careers. So, like I
say, every week, while weall have to get our knees skinned,
once in a while, I'm drivento keep those scrapes from needing major surgery.
Let's endeavor to learn from history sowe don't repeat it. Today.
(01:52):
My guest is Rosa Sophia, Managingeditor of Mobile Electronics Magazine. Here's your
bio. Rosa Sophia is the managingdirector of Mobile Electronics Magazine, the nation's
number one resource for the twelve volteaftermarket car audio industry. I can talk.
Rosa holds an associate's degree in psychology, a bachelor's degree in Communication and
Media Studies, a degree in AutomotiveBusiness Management and Automotive Technology, and as
(02:16):
a candidate for Masters in fine artsin creative writing. Her automotive themed poems
have been published in Philadelphia Stories Magazine, Writers, Foundry Review, and others.
She's the recipient of the twenty twentythree Christopher F. Kelly Award for
Poetry sponsored by the Academy of AmericanPoets, for her poem villanel At thirty
(02:38):
seven. Rosa lives in Palm Bay, Florida. Rosa, Welcome to Winning
Business, TV and radio. Thanksfor being here. Thank you for having
me. I appreciate it. Soyou live in Palm Bay, yep.
Where'd you grow up in Florida orelsewhere in Pennsylvania? Pennsylvania? How did
you make it to Florida? Icame here to visit, and I liked
(02:58):
it. So I went home andquit my job and drove here. What
were you doing at the time.I was working night shift in a grocery
store, stocking shelves. Uh career, career role right there. Nothing nothing
against those guys, but uh,I mean I liked it. I enjoyed
it. Actually. So we're inPennsylvania, and tell us about you know
(03:21):
a little bit about that town orcity and what it was like to grow
up there. And I grew upin the country in the woods. Everything
was kind of far away. Itwas around the Philadelphia area, so yep.
I spent a lot of time outsideand under cars, over cars and
under cars. What were your earlyinterests? Well, I was interested in
(03:45):
cars from a young age. WhenI was a kid, I used to
build model cars in my bedroom duringthe summer, and I had, you
know, the little matchbox cars.As I got older, I just was
more interested in how they were andI was a little afraid of them.
So I thought the best way toovercome your fear is torand it so that
(04:08):
was what made me pursue automotive school. That's awesome. So you and I
know, you know that my wifeand I WI and I were Rosenos.
My wife were in England recently andwe went to a motor museum which I'll
tell you about I see you next. But it was really cool some of
these really classic cars and they wereall in mint condition. Because the owner
(04:30):
of the museum who's passed on andnow has passed it to family, they've
really maintained these vehicles. I'll showyou pictures. So it wasn't in the
cots hole. Yes, have youbeen there? I was I did.
I didn't go in there. Iwas in front of the building and I
didn't have enough time, and Ithought, gosh, if only born on
the water. Yeah, it's reallycool, really cool. So I'll show
(04:51):
you pictures places. That's my favoritetown in the cots Hole. That's so
cool. Yeah, I recommend thattrip to anybody. So you got a
degree in psychology? What motivated that? Actually I didn't actually finish that degree,
okay, So what ended up happeningwas that I'm not very good with
my math skills and I really wantedto help people, so I didn't want
(05:14):
to pursue psychology. But by thetime I hit these bath classes, I
couldn't pass them. So I woundup transferring those credits to my automotive degree.
And I do remember when I whenI when I enrolled, the gentleman
said to me, I don't thinkwe've ever had anyone come into the automotive
(05:35):
program from a psychology degree. Sobut it helps in everything, like he
you know, he said, well, you go into you know, work
in a dealership and you deal withcustomers, You're going to be using those
skills, so it all intertwines.So what made you choose that automotive degree.
(05:56):
I love working on cars, andto be honest, it's a good
way to avoid the math, exceptexcept for the automotive math, which is
an essential part of it and thatI really enjoyed because I have a very
visual mind, So I while Ican't understand algebra, I could understand calculating
cylinder bore because I could see theengine block in front of me, so
(06:19):
it made more sense to me.And how did you get into cars?
I was just interested, but youknow, I didn't really I didn't really
grow up around anyone who got meinterested in it. But I did discover
when I got older and I reunitedwith my father because I didn't see him
for fifteen years, and then Ifound out that he was working on,
(06:42):
you know, his own vehicles,and he built an engine lift like in
his garage himself because he was aconstruction worker, so he installed steel beams
in his shed. And then Iwhen I met him and realized how much
we had in common, I thought, wow, it must be genetic.
(07:03):
And what made you choose Lincoln Tech? And I want you to talk about
You said you were on the raceteam. I want to talk about that.
Oh yeah, Lincoln Tech. Yeah, it was just close to me.
At the time. I was livingin Palm Beach County and the campus
isn't there anymore, but it wasin Mangonia Park and it was convenient.
And yeah, and the race team, it was short lived. I didn't
(07:27):
have a whole lot of support,unfortunately. Our original goal was to get
the car to the to the trackof Palm Beach International, which unfortunately that
racetrack just closed recently. Wow.Yeah, I spent a lot of time
with that racetracks. It's sad.So what were your responsibilities on the team?
Well, like I said, itwas short lived, but I did
(07:51):
see I was taking off riffins atone point. Yeah, so that was
fun. That's cool. Yeah.So you're one of the few women that
I know who can rebuild an engine, who can do since what do you
call it? Cylinder or calculating cylinderbar? I don't even know what that
(08:13):
would look like. What are someof the automotive projects that you've been involved
in or undertaken? Little or big? So I did work in a garage
for a short time, but becauseI have trigeminal neuralgia, I couldn't do
it for very long, but Ilike to work on my own stuff.
So I did work on my truckengine and I did much of the overhauling
(08:37):
work myself until I realized I hadto get the actual engine block to a
machinist. So that was a sortof a bummer to discover. But that
is a different skill set machining thatmost people would, I think, would
farm that out. And we willget to your ailment in a little bit.
(08:58):
I do want to get people hearabout that because there's a way that
they can help out. When didyou know you were good at writing?
When did I know that I wasgood at it? I don't know.
I just always enjoyed it. Andthat's a skill that really you have to
work on, like anything else.I think talent comes to you, but
(09:20):
then you have to Like any craft, you have to keep working on it.
So I think, really my confidencein my work has built from the
MFA program that I've been in.But I've always loved writing. And what
are some of the subjects you've writtenabout? And I imagine you started writing
when you were young. Yeah,as soon as I could, I was
(09:43):
writing. I write fiction, poetry, memoir. I wrote a book on
Florida history that was published by theHistory Press. So I touch on a
lot of different subjects. We're goingto talk about that too. Uh.
You decided to major in communications.That was because of writing. Yeah,
(10:07):
actually not really. That was justkind of a stepping stone degree because I
didn't really know what I wanted todo at the time. But ironically I
got a lot out of it interms of like critical thinking classes. I
think I took a class on that, and I remember thinking, why don't
I have to take a class onthis? I know how to think critically.
(10:28):
But but then I got into itand I realized there was a lot
of stuff that I didn't that Ididn't know. Yeah, terminology I wasn't
aware of. And then when Ithought more on it, I learned a
lot from it. By the way, those that are wondering what that sound
is cat, oh you can hear? Oh dear? I was hoping no
(10:50):
if I was fine, it's notbothering me. I just wanted the audience
to be aware of it. Yeah, why should the cat be excluded from
the radio? Yeah? She hasto be on top of me at all
times. So sorry, both thattotally fine. So you're pursuing your MFA
Masters of Fine Arts. What motivatedthat? That's a lot of undertaking,
(11:13):
right, Yes, I started thatin twenty eighteen, and I live quite
a distance from the school, soit's taking me a long time. And
I have my thesis manuscript is ready, and that's a book of automotive themed
poems. Very cool, very cool. I might ask you to read one.
(11:33):
Oh okay, well think about that. The break's quick, but we're
not there yet, but think aboutit during the break, and I want
to read. I hope I pronouncedthe the when you get the award for
villain l villain. Oh that's correct. Yeah, okay, I'm going to
read that one before the end becauseI want you to comment on it.
Tell us where you know, what, the motivation is, the background,
(11:54):
et cetera. So when will youWhen do you expect to finish up?
I will be defending my thesis infall of twenty twenty four. Very cool.
And for others that might be pursuingthat type of a degree and you're
working full time, you're very busy, you're doing other things. You're into
a lot of different areas. What'sthe workload like on say a daily,
(12:16):
weekly, monthly basis. Well,it's hard, I mean, you know,
but I think it's hard to saywhat's the workload. It's a lot,
But I think the important thing isbalance and discipline and knowing, you
know, knowing when you have tojust get something done. And like I
(12:39):
don't get to sit down and watcha movie very often. I guess you're
not missing a lot. I likemovies, but you're not missing a lot.
Yeah. Yeah, So what weresome of the jobs you started with
MEA magazine? MEA is the MobileElectronics Association in the magazine, and we'll
get into that shortly. But whatwere some of the jobs you had prior
(13:01):
to twenty fourteen. Well, Iworked at the grocery store stocking shelves.
My first job was in a momand pop deli in Pennsylvania and I worked
for quite a while. Ye andI also worked in libraries for about five
years or so, and alls involveda lot of customer service and helping people,
(13:30):
which I really like to do.So it doesn't really so much matter
the venue. You know, it'slike if I can if I can help
somebody out, I'm happy. That'sawesome. And I know disclaimer, I
know Rosa fairly well, and thatis so true about you. All Right,
we're going to take our first breakright here. This breaks about a
minute long, so sit tight everybody. We'll be back with Rosa Sophia in
(13:52):
just a minute. You're listening toWinning Business Radio with Helen on W four
CY Radio. That's W four cydot com. Don't go away. More
helpful information is coming right up righthere on Winning Business Radio. Have you
(14:13):
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advertising now. And now back toWinning Business Radio with Kevin helenan presenting exciting
topics and expert guests with one goalin mind to help you succeed in business.
(14:56):
Here once again, it's Kevin Helena. Welcome back. We are back
with Rosa Sophia, managing editor ofMobile Electronics magazine. So start out by
telling the audience, the viewers andlisteners. What is MEA? What is
(15:16):
the Mobile Electronics Association? So webring knowledge and information to the mobile electronics
industry, which is all after market, after market automotive installations, car audio
safety equipment, that sort of thing, lighting as well, and the magazine
(15:41):
is bringing knowledge and information to thosebusinesses. And your role as managing editor
describe that I write and edit articlesthat we get in and I write and
compile them as well. Cool,that's not a job. I've always said.
You've been with MEA since twenty fourteen. Talk about how you got connected
(16:04):
with the MAA and what other thingsyou've done you've been associated with the magazine.
I know you you're you're very activeat the conferences and shows, the
knowledge fest they call them knowledge fustshows. Talk about your growing responsibilities and
how you got to be managing editor. Yeah. So I was freelancing the
(16:27):
year that I started, and Iwas a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association,
and someone who was writing for MobileElectronics Magazine at the time was leaving
a position, and so I appliedand I got the job. I think
in when I was initially interviewed myautomotive background helped, I think a little
(16:52):
bit. I'm sure well that inyour qualifications and your skill sets. So
you started out, what did wereyour responsibilities managing editor from the get go?
No, I can't remember what yearI took that. It was actually
at the beginning of COVID. Iwasn't managing editor until something like that.
(17:17):
Yeah, So, but before that, I was twenty or so something like
that. Yeah. Yeah, Beforethat I was pretty much editing and writing
here and there, mostly our retailnews section, which is a smaller section.
So then I started taking on moreresponsibility. So what skills I think
everybody probably understands proofreading, But whatskills does an editor need to have?
(17:41):
Well? A lot, I meanthat's yeah. So I think big picture,
when you're working with somebody else's work, you have to be able to
help them refine it without changing theirvoice, which is really important. I
guess that's really to me. Ithink the key thing how do you and
(18:06):
specifically so maybe we can give adviceto others that might be wanting to go
down that road. How did youstart to make a living at writing?
You know, even though it maynot have been full time, How did
you start to well, first,when did you realize and how did you
realize you wanted to make a livingout of writing and being in the editorial
world. What was your first entryinto that. Well, I knew I
(18:29):
wanted to do it from the timeI was little, and I told my
mother when I was a little kidthat I wanted to stay in bed and
write all day when I grew up. So, Yeague, if you can
get it, Yeah, and honestly, I can do that now if I
want so. But beyond that,it was just a matter of doing research
and putting myself around in the rightcircumstances, and then joining the Editorial Freelancers
(18:55):
Association, which is a very goodorganization for anybody who wants to edit,
proofread, copyright goes right, orwriting of any kind freelance work. That's
a good place to start. Soyou've written a lot, You've written poems,
You've written a couple of novels.I know. One of those novels
is Meet Me in the Garden.Tell us about that. That was twenty
(19:17):
fifteen. Yeah, that was likea I guess I write kind of outside
of genre, so it's been it'sbeen called a sort of paranormal thriller.
It's been called a paranormal romance,but it was set in Palm Beach County,
(19:40):
so so it's a Florida novel,okay. And that's that was published
to Limitless Publishing. Is that available? Yes? It is. Yeah,
it's on Amazon. All of myin the Garden Okay. Cool? And
talk about a couple of other books, or as many as you like.
We have plenty of time. Well, I think the one I'm most proud
of is the Florida history book,which is called Village of North Palm Beach
(20:03):
a History, and it is aniche, you know, northern Palm Beach
County. But I really enjoyed doingall the interviews for that book and compiling
everything and talking to people hearing theirstories, which is what I do with
the magazine too. I get totell people and hear their stories, which
is what I really love about thiskind of work. Let's see what advice
(20:30):
would you have for other authors.There's probably a lot you could say here,
take your time who want to writeeither business fiction nonfiction. You know,
maybe there's specific genre advice, maybethere's not. I don't know.
My biggest piece of advice is goand be around people who know more than
you do, which can be hardbecause, especially with the Internet and everything,
(20:56):
we can feel first we can feelisolated and not really realize that.
Then we can think maybe we've founda community online, but really mean nothing
beats going and finding a solid community. And I will always recommend that writers
try to find a writer's conference.There are a lot of them, and
(21:18):
many of them offer financial aid.So what really helped me was Writers in
Paradise at Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg. That was such a phenomenal one week
program with like workshops and craft talks, and at places like that you meet
lifelong friends who are willing to lookat your writing, and then you go
(21:41):
back and forth and then you alwayshave that support, which is really really
important. No, this is notwhere you go and say I got the
script idea. No, yeah,you have to. The biggest thing about
wanting to improve your craft is thatyou have to and I think this goes
for almost anything. You have tobe willing to see your mistakes and take
constructive criticism because that's how we grow. I think in anything that's excellent advice.
(22:07):
So you're the recipient of the twentytwenty twenty three Christopher F. Kelly
Award for Poetry, sponsored by theAcademy of American Poets. How did did
you submit for that? Talk aboutthe process, and then we'll talk about
the poem. Yes, congratulations,by the way, thank you. Yeah,
that is a university prize. Ibelieve it's it's open to many different
(22:30):
schools across the country. So Iwon for Florida International University. And every
year I submit, And the processis you never know because contests there's a
final judge and they're they're they they'rereading for what they enjoy. So if
(22:53):
I learned, because I used totake it more personally, but I learned,
if I get rejected from a contest, it doesn't mean my work is
baad. It just means that judgedidn't necessarily connect with the peace. That's
really good. Yeah, all right, I have this somewhere. Oh did
I not pull it up? Holdon compelling radio? You're in TV when
(23:17):
you can't find them? Oh?There it is? Okay, So this
is villainel at thirty seven, andI'm going to do my best to read
it. All right. I missedthe womb of that magic house, walking
its gardens, a lush labyrinth ofgreen, always here in a dream,
running my hands along warm wooden walls, memorizing moments, abiding ancestors who call
(23:41):
long distance from the in between.I yearn for the fruit. I can
still taste the gooseberries growing down bythe fence, smelling the Forcythia Queen Anne's
lace the pine. When I pressmy nose to the trees. I missed
the womb of that magic house,walking its gardens, a lush labyrinth of
green. Then up to the upthe path to your porch. Please say
(24:02):
I can stay. I hear you, grandmother, your laughter like daffodils in
bloom. Every year older, Ilinger held fast to our home, memorizing
moments, abiding ancestors who call longdistance from the in between. It's been
so long since I walked through thedoor, saw the plants hanging from them
from the macroma cords. Remember afternoonlight shows, Remember afternoon light shows from
(24:26):
chandelier beads. I missed the wombof that magic house, walking its garden,
a lush labyrinth of green. Indreams, I yearn for the path
under my feet. You smile likemorning glories before your death as you ask
what's next. My fingers pressed gentlyagainst your palm, memorizing moments, abiding
ancestors who call long distance from thein between. You felt a pain in
(24:48):
your ribs, an empty ache,a hunger for summer, for sacred space.
When it came to age, you'dforgotten yours, your essence. Gazing
out a bright bay window, Imissed the womb of that magic house,
walking its garden, a lush labyrinthof green, memorizing moments, abiding ancestors
who call long distance from the inbetween. Wow, nice job. So
(25:14):
tell us about that. Well,my grandmother was really special to me.
We were very close, and shedied in twenty twenty one, so she
was ninety six. Wow. Yeahtysix. And what inspired you is maybe
an obvious answer, maybe not soobvious. What inspired you to write it?
And who were you writing for?Who? That's a good question,
(25:40):
and it's actually a question we oftenask in poetry classes because, to be
honest, sometimes we know that thepeople who are reading our poems are other
poets. But primarily in the beginning, I wrote it for myself. But
we often find that in poetry,even when we write something deeply personal,
(26:02):
it connects someone else can connect withit because we all share so many similar
experiences. Yeah, I did connectwith it. That's why I wanted to
read it. And I forgive mefor not doing as good a job as
as a professional reader. But youdid beautifully. Thank you. That's been
published in Sentienced Literary Literary Journal,right yep, and then you submitted it
(26:25):
for the prize and one awesome.What are some other poems that you've run
and what written? Excuse me andwhat inspired you to write them? Well,
a lot of it is grief related, and my automotive poems are especially
related to that. And I findtalking about for some reason, talking about
(26:45):
automotive parts and working on cars.For me, it was a good avenue
to talk about more delicate subjects.So I do have another poem that was
called take this Transmission instance, andI read some comments or reviewers comments on
(27:06):
those it was they were they werereally good. Thank you. Yeah,
that was about my father. ButI use this transmission, this old dusty
transmission that I that was found inhis shed after he died, as a
way of talking about the grief experience. So I'd like you to read that
one after the break, if youwouldn't mind doing that, Okay, So,
(27:26):
but I wanted to talk about acouple of things before we got there,
And this is just a fun one. You enjoy collecting and working on
antique and vintage typewriters, And onyour website there's some images and you describe
some of the work you do there. It just sounds like a fun endeavor.
How'd you get into that? Andand uh, maybe talk about one
or two of the more fun projects. Well, I've always been around typewriters.
(27:49):
My mother had one and I learnedto type on one. So it
probably helps that we didn't have awhole lot of money growing up because we
couldn't afford a compute right away.So I and then growing up, I
just you know, I remember wehad a green screen word processor one time.
(28:11):
And then when it came time forme to have to go buy a
computer, I walked into a BestBuy and I was just like, you
know, there are all these signsthat said gaming, go on this,
do that, and I thought,I just want one that has a word
processor. So for me, it'sI'm attracted by the simplicity of it,
and I find that there are otherpeople who are as well. So if
(28:32):
I find a machine that I canrefurbish, and if it finds a good
home and someone appreciates it. That'scool. So you ended up selling those
Yeah, I've sold a couple,but it's still a growing process. That's
cool. That's cool. All right, we're going to take our final break
right here. I want you toread that transmission poem if you would.
(28:55):
When we came back, we willbe right back with Rosa Sophia. You're
listening to Winning Business Radio with KevinHelene on W four CY Radio. That's
W four cy dot com. Don'tgo away. More helpful information is coming
right up right here on Winning BusinessRadio. The yp dot com website is
(29:18):
your local search engine. If you'relooking for a good restaurant, it can
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YP local search can help you findit. So go to YP dot com
or download the app to search local, find local, and save local and
now back to winning business radio withKevin Helene, presenting exciting topics and expert
guests with one goal in mind tohelp you succeed in business. Here once
(30:02):
again, it's Kevin helenet. Weare back with Rossa Sophia, Managing editor
of Mobile Electronics Magazine, part ofthe Mobile Electronics Association Rose. It's fund
having this conversation. Share with usthe poem, give us the title and
(30:23):
go ahead, all right, sureit's called Take this transmission for instance,
I have no vehicle for this Teighteen four speed transmission Dana Model three hundred
transfer case. This transmission sat inmy father's shed after his four wheeler crushed
him in the Pennsylvania woods, satin the dark after helicopter carried him off
(30:48):
the mountain, waited in silence asmy father felt comatose. This transmission ignored
by my stepmother as she sold andgave away my father's tool. Couldn't be
compelled when my family pulled the plug, couldn't be reconciled when I never flew
to his funeral, left in hisshed for eight additional years. Now,
(31:10):
it doesn't fit anywhere. This transmissioncollecting dust after he died, couldn't be
lifted in the rainstorm by my brother. Mark in the mud two handed couldn't
be budged by thought, ingenuity,or reason. Two hundred and forty pounds
of cast iron needed. My cousinbarry chains a trailer. This transmission came
(31:33):
to me with loosened bolts, dirtinside. After my cousin inspected it closely,
put it in neutral, gave meadvice I can't remember on shifting gears,
and together we stabbed a perfect circlein my new car's rear fender.
This transmission hung from a thick chainlike a locket, A reminder, a
(31:55):
note as if to say, thisdoesn't fit anywhere. Driven to twelve hundred
miles to Florida in the back ofmy new car, this transmission now dangles
in my garage, where I twirlit like a locket. After I dragged
it from the trunk of my newcar, crashed it into my knee and
scraped my skin, slammed my wrist. The next day, it's swollen and
(32:19):
gray, arm, scraped, elbowbruised, dragged the hulking metal on the
fender, added marks to my perfectcircle. Extra dings, A reminder,
a note as if to say,take this transmission for instance. Now it
doesn't fit anywhere. Wow, Iwish I could give you a better round
(32:42):
of claws than just me. Thatwas outstanding. Thank you sounds deeply personal.
It sounds like you're talking about griefand loss. But it was probably
really beneficial to write now. Ohyeah, absolutely, And I'll ask this
again. I think I know thisanswer, But who was that written for?
(33:06):
I think one can relate to itif they've lost someone. And that's
what I found initially when I startedwriting these poems. I thought people aren't
going to understand this, that theydon't understand cars. But but what I
discovered actually is that as long asthe emotion was there, it came through.
And some of my readers told methey didn't really have to understand what
(33:30):
some of the car parts were.They could they could relate to it anyway.
Agreed, totally agreed. That wasbeautiful, Really was thank you.
So there's this character named Torque.Ah who's that let's talk about you?
Tell me, let's talk about torkWho's talk That's me? So the way
(33:52):
you describe Torque on your website isan alter ego. Yes, somewhat,
I don't know that I forget thewords you used somewhat Smith, there's some
q uh so where did talk?Uh? What's the genesis of Torque?
And tell us about her? Well, when I first went to automotive school,
I had a really good buddy.He's actually my mom's age. His
(34:15):
name is Steve Higgins and uh,shout out to Steve, Yeah, shout
out. I'll have to send thisto him. But yeah, So he
he's like a father to me.And my father had had his accident kind
of around the time we met.So he went with me to orientation.
(34:36):
He went with me to the schoolwhen I enrolled, and he said to
me, Uh, Rosie, youcan't go in there without a nickname.
You gotta have a nickname. Soso he called me torqu and I adopted
it. And Torque has a website, yes, which is what ww dot
(34:57):
Torque's garage dot com. That's allone word awesome, so one if you
put that in the crawl, peoplemight want to visit that. Uh.
And there there's a reference to takeyou back to backwords. Let's see what
is it backwards wo r ds?What's your other site? That is a
blog site that I have that Idon't it's I keep it up there,
(35:20):
but I have not written a blogin a while. Okay, I just
got a very real kick out ofthe the what you turn on the word
backwards? Right? Yeah? Butwriter, that's it. So Torqu's garage,
you'll see some of uh Rosa's work. You'll you'll get her background.
The other website that people should beaware of is dash mag that's the magazine
(35:45):
that Rosa is the managing editor of. Uh. If you are interested in
the twelve vault industry or just tosee her work, check that out.
That's me eh m a g dotcom. That's easy. And I always
like to ask people, we're goingto spend some time here, what do
you do when you're not working?We call it the back of the business
card, right the front of thebusiness card, says managing editor. The
(36:08):
back of the business card. You'reinvolved in a lot of things, or
you were. I think you're stillinvolved, but you were on the board.
Whether you were or are not asimportant as the work. Seminole Wars
Foundation. Tell the audiences, thelistening and viewing audiences about that foundation.
(36:28):
Yeah. So I'm actually the presidentnow, and what we do is we
educate. We do educational outreach andwe publish scholarly materials on the Seminole Wars
in Florida. And it's important becauseunfortunately it's not taught as much in schools
and it was a really big conflictin the US. So it's an important
(36:54):
part of American history and if youwant to learn more about it, you
can go to Seminole Wars dot U, s Seminoles s C M I N
Oil Wars dot US in a ina you know, in one or two
minutes. I know that is goingto do it disservice, But just to
create some interest. Why is itimportant and what should people what? What
(37:17):
would you want people to know aboutthat that period in US history in Florida.
Well, I think the most importantthing is that it I have a
friend, a historian who is book. He compared to the Vietnam War because
it was at the time very unpopular. Much of the United States military,
(37:42):
all the branches were fighting in Floridaagainst the Seminoles. It was also the
it was where the trail of tearsreally started, okay, which is really
important to know. And so theSeminoles were pushed out and tried they tried
to send them to the Oklahoma territory. The other important thing is that it
(38:06):
was mainly due to slavery. Escapedslaves were fleeing into Florida, and when
Spain was in control, they wouldallow them to come and live free.
I think it was, and I'mnot I can't remember exactly, but I'm
pretty sure it was. If theyserved, they're military, they could be
(38:28):
free. And then of course theywere intermarrying with the seminoles. So when
the United States government wanted to gettheir slaves back, that was when they
went to Florida. And there's there'squote, there's quoted material that backs that
up. I just think it's kindof interesting that before that they they had
no interest because they said, it'sjust a swamp, and we don't it's
(38:50):
gross, we don't want to godown there, And now everybody lives here
dirty. You also volunteer with theI'm going to try this locks of Hatchie
Battlefield Preservation. I used to.Yes, that's another small organization. I
don't volunteer with them anymore, butthe Seminal Wars Foundation does support all of
those organizations. So any any nonprofitin the state of Florida that does reenactments
(39:15):
or seminal wars history. We supportthat, so we do. We do
work with them quite a bit.Let's see, Oh, what is it.
So you were the archivist. Whatdoes an archivist do? Yeah,
so it's just basically keeping records.I did that when when I worked at
(39:37):
the North Palm Beach Library. Thatwas how I wound up getting involved in
Florida history. I was the villagehistorian for the town of North Palm Beach
and what I was doing was puttingtheir archives online so that they were easily
accessible. So it's it's record keepingall kinds of different records outside of books
(39:59):
and photos. It seems to meit takes a passion, it takes a
certain person to do that. You'vegot to have a desire to preserve that
information, right, definitely, definitely. And You've worked with a couple of
different libraries, North Palm Beach aswell as Martin County YEP Martin County Library
System, and then I volunteered forthe or Vigsburg Public Library in Pennsylvania.
(40:20):
Oh cool, cool, all right, I wanted you to You mentioned your
your disease. I think it's adisease, yes, that you're battling since
you were young trigeminal neuralgia. Tellpeople what that is. When they go
online, they're going to see someimages of you. And I see you,
you know, when I see youthree or four times a year,
(40:42):
I see you with like a awrap around your hair head scarf. So
tell us about that disease, whatit is, how you've you know,
I'm not trying to make this terriblething. I want people to be aware
of it, and yet you've beenable to accomplish in spite of it,
quite frankly, because it's debilitating,talk about it. Yeah, So what
it is is there's a compression inon my trigeminal nerve in my brain that
(41:07):
sends pain signals to my face.And the nerve comes up like this on
three branches. And when I wasyounger, it only went into my forehead,
but since then it's graduated and Ihad it my whole life, but
I wasn't diagnosed thil I was twentyseven. Well, and then once I
(41:29):
figured out that scarves helped, Istarted covering my head because it definitely any
breeze or wind or anything touching myface can cause pain. Long air,
yes, and yeah, and Honestly, when I get really bad pain attacks,
I can feel all of my hairlike I can I have pain in
(41:49):
the individual hairs. It's very strange. So, yeah, most people want
to keep their hair. Maybe you'rereally you know, when you're in that,
you sort of wonder it would itbe better if I didn't have any.
And it's not as uncommon as itsounds. I mean probably nobody's or
very few people, especially in thisaudience. I've heard that heard of that
(42:12):
ailment, but it's not as uncommonas one would think. Right, that's
right, And I think a lotof times it's probably misdiagnosed because it's hard.
For one thing, it's hard tocommunicate when you're in that much pain,
and so and I mean initially theyto do with me, so it
took a little bit to get thediagnosis. Yeah, my face hurts,
(42:36):
my hair hurts. Well, that'syou know who, Yeah, takes it
seriously. Right, Is there away that people could, you know,
if they're if they're even one ortwo or three or four that are so
inclined to help. Is there aplace to give fifty bucks, five bucks,
whatever it might be. Yes,I highly recommend checking out the I
think it's called the Facial Pain Association. I believe they're based in Gainesville,
(42:59):
flower To and they do research intothis. There's not a lot of research
being done, but they're doing it, so it's really great. Cool.
All right, just a few morequestions. What's in the future for you?
So you're gonna get your MFA,what do you want to do?
(43:21):
I want to keep doing what I'mdoing. I love my job, so
which sometimes surprises people because I knowthey think generally if you're getting a degree,
that you're going to have some otherthing to do. I might simply
expand maybe do writers residencies where Imight you know, teach a class or
something, or maybe do readings.Poetry readings I do have. I will
(43:46):
be a featured poet next year inSaint Augustine. They're having the Saint Augustine
Poet Poet Fest is having a specialevent, so I'm going to be a
featured poet November of twenty twenty four. So I'd love to do more stuff,
but I do love my job,so I'm happy where I am.
(44:08):
That's so who in the listening andviewing audiences should reach out to you?
And why? Well, I don'tknow if any of this interests you,
you want to talk about writing orif I'm always happy to help anyone who's
interested in learning more about writing,editing or anything like that. And obviously
(44:32):
Chris and Richard would give us ahard time if we didn't say. And
if you're hearing this and you're inthe twelve old industry and not a member
of MAA game on you, you'remissing a lot. And if you don't
attend knowledge vests on a regular basis, you're missing a lot. Yeah,
Mobile Mobile Dash Electronics dot Com.Yeah, And I will add to that
(44:55):
too that I love going to theKnowledge Fest show is because everybody I meet
loves their job just as much asI do. And it's really fulfilling to
be in an environment where people areliking what they do, almost to the
point that you sometimes forget your working, which is fabulous. And also,
if anyone in the audience is inthe mobile electronics industry, I'm always looking
(45:21):
for content for the magazine, Soplease reach out Awesome and Roses contact information
we'll come across across the scroll onemore time, I'm sure as the best
way to reach out, And justso you can hear some of this inside
stuff audiences. You know, I'veknown Rosa for a number of years through
what are called knowledge fest. Thoseare the shows that are that happened four
(45:45):
times a year. I've been aspeaker on sales content for a number of
years and that's where I've gotten toknow those folks and Rose in particular.
So listen. Thank you so muchfor being here. I know you're busy.
It's been really great having here.Thanks for taking the time. Thank
you. This has been a lotof fun cool. I'm glad and thanks
everybody for watching and listening. Thisis a show about business, and particularly
(46:07):
this was a creative about a creativebusiness perhaps and sometimes business challenges. If
you've got concerns, perhaps about thegrowth of your company, feel free to
reach out to me on Facebook orLinkedIn at Winning Business Radio or drop me
a note. One of my manyemail addresses is Kevin at Winning Businessradio dot
com. Our company is Winning Incorporated. We're part of Sandler Training. We
(46:30):
always say we developed sales teams intohigh achievers and sales leaders into true coaches
and mentors. Hey we're not rightfor everybody, but maybe we should have
a conversation. Thank you to ourproducer and engineer one thank you one for
another job well done. Be sureto join us next week, that's Monday,
October sixteenth. We'll do it allover again. Until then, this
(46:50):
is Kevin helen In. You've beenlistening to Winning Business Radio with your host,
Kevin Helenan. If you missed anypart of this episode, the post
is available on Talk for Podcasting andiHeartRadio. For more information and questions,
go to Winning Business Radio dot comor check us out on social media.
Tune in again next week and everyMonday at four pm Eastern Time to listen
(47:14):
live to Winning Business Radio on Wfour CY Radio W four cy dot com.
Until then, let's succeed where othershave failed and win in business with
Kevin Haleanan and Winning Business Radio
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