Friday, October 19, 2012

Conquering Fear – One Step at a Time

by Karen Cino


Fear. Ha. I’m not afraid of anything. Who am I kidding. I have a fear of the ocean. When I see the waves down at the Jersey Shore, and the bigger waves at Rockaway Beach, it scares me tremendously.

This past summer, I spent most weekdays down at South Beach in Staten Island. Now for those of you that aren’t familiar with the beaches at Staten Island, the only surfboard you would be riding is the toy kind. South Beach is on the bay side of the Atlantic Ocean. Across the water are Seagate (Coney Island), Hoffman Island and Shore Road. Very rarely do you see waves except for a major storm. Otherwise the water is calm, like sitting on a lake.

The beginning of the summer, I would stroll down to the water, just wetting my toes. But as the summer continued and the heat becoming more intense, I took a couple of steps in, well…up to my ankles giving me an inch or two of water to splash myself with.

I’d sit and watch, instead of doing my revisions, everyone enjoying the ocean, while I sat in my beach chair drinking Gatorade trying to keep cool. I sat there day after day wanting to conquer my fear of the ocean instead of walking down to the sprinkler to cool off.

Then one day, it just happened. A man and his toddler daughter went kayaking. I watched the toddler who had to be around five years old run down to the waters edge and jump right into the water. That’s when I knew it was time for me to venture down. I walked into the water, just up to my thighs. I dunked up to my shoulders and proudly walked out of the water with a wet bathing suit. I’m on the right road. Hopefully next summer, I have the courage to take those first steps from the start.

Now here I am afraid of the water, and I set my books, Roses and The Boardwalk around summer and the beach. One thing both my heroines did was overcome their fears. My take is fear is something we let stand in our way. The best way to get over fear is to stand up to it and take it one step at a time.



Karen Cino is an author, poet and former journalist. She’d been writing since she was 14 years old. She started her career by writing poetry, short stories and articles for her high school newspaper and the Staten Island Register. After reading Jackie Collin’s LOVERS AND GAMBLERS, she knew she found her niche, writing women’s fiction. Her daily walk down at the boardwalk is what gets her muse going. It clears her mind and helps her find realistic plot ideas and characters. Karen loves writing about local places that people can relate to. Her debut novel Roses was released in April 2012 and The Boardwalk, July 2012. Coming in February and April 2013 is her Mystical Wonders Series. Karen is a single mom living in Staten Island, with her two adult children, Michael and Nicole, and three cats. Visit her at www.karencino.com and www.karencinobooks.blogspot.com.

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