Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacey E Haught.
Hi Stacey E, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born into a family of eccentric storytellers. My grandfather was a travel-log cinematographer for National Geographic. It was back in the day when we didn’t have easy access to see other parts of the world. He and my grandmother would travel primarily to Europe, and film restaurant reviews and resort stays. They were responsible for capturing the narrative of the locals, and making it appealing for the tourists. When they needed to capture more up-close storylines, they would film in my hometown on a local soundstage, and of course, when they needed a little girl who would accept payment in chocolate, they would call on me. I was already used to being in the spotlight. My father was a pretty popular Southern Gospel singer, and Ring Master for a Circus starring the Flying Wallendas. So when I was told to perform. I didn’t ask questions. I understood it. It was comforting to me. It made sense. My parents had sold our home when I was four years old to take to the road full time singing in churches and joining the Circus circuit. It was a lot of change. Movement. It was a lot of chaos at times. But the performance at the center stage was when everything seemed to quiet down.
Because of the uniqueness of my upbringing, I didn’t know much about the outside world. The world I was exposed to oftentimes was created purely out of my imagination. The only steadfast relationship I had was that of my family. So when most people my age were graduating high school and moving off to college in pursuit of their careers and dreams. I stayed still. It wasn’t that I was unsure of what I wanted. It was that I had no idea how to go from where I was to what I wanted.
It wasn’t until my brother had introduced me to one of his friends that I found an avenue to pursue my own version of storytelling. Looking back on it. I don’t know why it came as such a surprise to everyone that I wanted to pursue acting specifically for film and television. I was practically a nepo baby, in a sense. I was born into performing. But I had to fight to prove to everyone around me that I had what it took to even take acting classes. I remember sitting at a steakhouse with my brother’s friend, who was a SAG/AFTRA actress. She told me that the best way and easiest way to start taking classes was to get into some sort of movement class. It was easier to sell taking a Jazz class to my parents than it was the film acting class that happened right after. I was never one to lie to my parents. I was almost obnoxiously honest. But I really wanted to take this acting class. So for the first couple weeks, I worked up to taking the film class. The studio I studied at had an offer to take any class you wanted to try for free. That was my in. I still remember the feeling when I sat in that class.
I eventually was able to take it full-time. Before I knew it was I was teaching a small little drama class at a local church for their youth group, and one of the kids in that group’s mom was the receptionist at the studio I was taking classes at. The film acting instructor booked a full-time gig in NYC. The mom suggested me to Jolie who was in charge of the studio. What none of us knew was she had asked the instructor if they had any recommendations for anyone who could take over the class. She had said. Me.
That was the beginning of one of the best times of my life. You see, I thought I had wanted to be an actress. But what I was really born to be was an instructor. I blossomed when my students understood the magic of unlocking their own potential wasn’t in some magical equation. It was simply in them believing the story they were born to tell. That one class turned into four, that turned into six, and eventually nine. I was the youngest female director to direct a main-stage show, and before I said my final goodbye, I had taught for over fourteen years.
That studio became my family. My safe place. They taught me to value my worth and to invest in me first. They taught me to fight for equality, and more importantly, what equality meant.
If it weren’t for my husband’s injury, I don’t think I would have ever left the Studio, and some days I wonder what life would look like. I know it definitely wouldn’t have led me down the path of writing six, almost seven novels. Of discovering a whole new career in the middle of the pandemic and finding my voice again. I know I wouldn’t have had to fully rely on my talent.
I thought I was done when I left the studio. It was all I really knew, and therefore, it was all I thought I was good at. For four years, I sat stagnant. During the pandemic, it was like everything I had ever feared became technicolor and I couldn’t run from it. I couldn’t hide from it. Literally in the middle of the night, during one of the worst panic attacks I had ever had in my life, my husband started asking me questions. One of which was “What do you want to do?” In a blind fury, I said, “I want to write.” You see, I had been shoving this need to write. This desire to write away. I had told myself I wasn’t good enough. That was just because I was a storyteller. A creative. Didn’t mean I was a writer. My husband bought me a computer the next day and told me to write, and I never stopped.
I wrote eight manuscripts in two months and published my first novel, “Good Hope” in November 2021. I became editor-in-chief of an online magazine, writing equitable stories. I joined the team of an LA-based entertainment magazine and started lending my voice to a myriad of bylines. I joined an e-novel publishing firm and was trained to be an editor as well as an author. I have now published Eight novels, with my ninth in progress currently.
There have been so many times when I wish I could have changed the path my life would have taken. Creating isn’t cheap and isn’t lucrative. But to be honest, I wouldn’t have changed anything. My entire life has led me to create, regardless of whether it’s being in front of a camera, behind a camera, in a studio, on a main stage, or writing a novel. I was born to create, and create is what I do.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t think life is supposed to be a smooth road. Think about it. How boring would life be if everything was smooth and predictable? We would never learn anything if our life was truly a straight and narrow path.
For me. All of my stories reflect some portion of the twists and turns that the path of life has taken me down. The twists and turns are where we learn. It’s where we experience life. It is when we come in contact with those people who make us question everything. Trust in ourselves more. Grow in determination. Build those callouses on our skin that make us tougher. More resistant. It’s when we encounter those magical moments that make us blossom into who we were meant to be.
Rocky terrains always make the most interesting of people. Struggles always make us more appreciative of what we have. So be bold enough to take the road less traveled. It’s worth it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am most proud of my pursuit of writing. I have always been a chronically sick person. Suffering from migraines since I was eight years old. But it was never just migraines. There was always something underlining. The medication would work for a while and then it would stop working. Just recently, I discovered I was missing a pretty large portion of my left frontal lobe. Your left frontal lobe is responsible for creating. It’s the epicenter of everything: words and imagination. So to be missing a pretty large chunk of that and to have always been a creator is pretty hard to cope with a piece of information. Not to mention that the reason I’m getting my headaches is when that portion of my brain becomes overwhelmed with pressure and has a seizure in a sense. Do you know what I discovered creates pressure? Using that portion of my brain! Reading, working on the computer… “Any kind of strain.” But will I put down the proverbial pen? Nope. I think it’s what sets me apart from others beyond the whole missing millimeters of brain, is how I write in the genres I write in. I like to look at stories and ask “What if?” and see where that line of questioning takes me. For example, my first novel is about werewolves. But. I asked myself, “What if they weren’t really werewolves? What if they were sociopaths who had convinced themselves that they were these shape-shifting creatures, and what if it all started from this one man who vied for power and control? What if these men had unknowingly joined a cult and had been led to believe that they had soulmates and in order to unlock their soulmate’s true potential, they had to sacrifice them? What if this was all the sick and twisted motivation of a serial killer cult? and it was discovered by the next victim. Who is a widow and because of her heartbreak, she isn’t easy to fall in love. What if the more they uncover, the more they discover that everything has always been connected?”
That same type of story building is how I approach every single story I write, from contemporary romance to fantasy. I like letting the story tell itself. Especially that first draft.
Being an author in general should set you apart from others.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
In, the middle of 2023, I had decided to take up a new story. I had, in a sense, put down storytelling. My health was growing frustrating. I wasn’t able to easily meet deadlines. I had a previous editor reach out to me and ask to add me to her website and in that conversation; she encouraged me to pursue self-publishing. I’ve always been one to say yes to opportunities, and I was craving something that would make me feel like I had a purpose. I reached out instantly to my mom and asked her if she would be open to being my “alpha” reader. I needed someone to be honest with me and tell me if I was on the right track. She immediately said yes. My parents have never been ones to be biased. Especially around things creative. They’ve almost been, in a sense my most honest critics. It was that October that my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I was automatically terrified. For many reasons. The implications of the C word infect every single inch of not only the person who is fighting it, but who loves the person fighting it. My mom, in the midst of every single infusion, recovery, or down day, never once told me that she couldn’t read my chapters. In fact, she was the one who would tell me she needed more chapters. She was pushing me to not stop, even when I wasn’t sure if finishing this project was even worth it. It became a distraction, something to look forward to. It became something that connected us above and beyond the fight she was fighting.
My mom became the main motivator to stay on task. She became the one who helped me drown out the self-deprecating voice that nagged me to stop. Fingers crossed, the beta readers loved the finished project as much as she does.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://authorstaceyehaught.weebly.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stacey.e.haught/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.stacey.e.haught/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-haught-b85812227/
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Hope-Stacey-Haught/dp/1800741383/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VOV2M0EZJMFQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.xaUnIyWw0taY2zMTEyaiow.aoG8LahK-2Zu9D3ZITNzEQFx1m_8Yf6nUgzbtB93bKs&dib_tag=se&keywords=Good+Hope+Stacey+E+Haught&qid=1714144730&sprefix=good+hope+stacey+e+haught%2Caps%2C131&sr=8-1
