In 2010, Kansas-native and Chartered Financial Consultant Amy Rose Herrick headed off for a new home in the Virgin Islands, a journey that allowed her to change locales but simultaneously maintain her stateside consultant practice. In the ensuing years, she has taken the opportunity to nourish her passion for teaching and writing. She has published several books, available in digital and print formats, on a wide range of topics that all touch on her personal experiences and expertise.
Herrick spoke with the Hownikan about her background, her day-today work and the inspiration for her published works.
What Potawatomi family are you from?
“Josette Juneau is my recorded ancestor; however there were a lot of marriages through the years in the Juneau lineage with other founding Potawatomi families too.”
You’re originally from the Topeka area, but now reside in the U.S. Virgin Islands. What prompted that move?
“The short version is God gave my Pastor Varney a prophecy of some specific changes to come in my life in Sunday morning services on January 2, 2010. Randy, my spouse and I just looked at each other. It sounded like we were going to be living on a beach by the end of the year. This sounded really outlandish with our roots firmly in landlocked Kansas. We had nothing like that experience happen to us ever before. “Was he talking to us? God laughed. He was talking to us. Within six months unexplainable things were happening. I flew alone thousands of miles away to an island I had never stepped foot on to talk to a man I had never met about buying his tiny mutual fund practice.
“The seller had been praying for a buyer in December 2009. By the end of 2010, we had sold or given away absolutely everything including our house. We moved here with only five shipped pallets of our old life that included my office, 12 suitcases, four children plus our family van. Even the family dog flew in.
“My assistant DeAnn is still with me operating out of her home office in Kansas. We know we are supposed to be here. It sounds so unbelievable, but it is all absolutely true. I still often gaze out at the view and repeat ‘I live in the Virgin Islands…’”
Your books’ subjects run the gamut, from poetry and photography to financial advice. Why such a wide range of topics? 
“My professional skills developed over 30 years in the financial services field. I invest on an ongoing basis an enormous amount of time in higher levels of learning of simple to complex financial concepts.
“I see the same problems repeated over and over in the comprehensive financial planning services I provide to clients in eighteen states and the Virgin Islands. The financial topic-related books are a way to educate the public on a larger scale, enabling readers to make wise informed choices. I authored financial advice articles and columns in the past making these books a natural way to share my professional knowledge with others.
“I love to teach. These books enable me to enhance the long term value of my group educational presentation services too.
“The British Virgin Island sailing book with haiku poetry and pictures was the result of two wonderful short trips sailing the nearby BVIs with a local couple on their catamaran. It was a dream come true, twice! Haiku style poetry was easy to capture a small impression of the experience tied to a picture solidifying a memory. When I showed it to someone on a Word document after I had written the financial books, they encouraged me to put it in print, so there it is. Is sailing into some tropical isles one of your dreams too? Then enjoy this title wherever you are.”
What brought about the writing for your book “25 Questions to Ask Before Remarriage”?
“I started with “25 Questions: Knowing Your Life Partner”. The feedback indicated a need for one focused on remarriage issues. That led to a request for a book focused on issues faced by those marrying later in life after retirement. One title became three because of the feedback I received on the first one.”
You’re a certified financial consultant, or ChFC. What got you interested in writing on subject that may not be directly connected to that profession?
“I have been a writer for years. There are some short stories published several years ago in Kansas you don’t see in these titles. I don’t feel that I have to limit my writing to one genre. I am a very creative person using this opportunity to write about what interests me. For now, I have over 100 titles on financial subjects I want to put down to share. Yes, over 100!There are many more books to come planned. Like you, there are only so many hours in my day.”
If you would like to learn more about Amy Rose Herrick, visit her author and public speaking website at www.MoneyWithAmy.com. For CPN members, Herrick is offering a limited time, 25 percent discount on digital downloads of her work from www.SmashWords.com. To access the discount codes or request an autographed print edition of one of her works email info@moneywithamy.com
To learn more about Herrick’s securities and financial consulting work, visit www.AmyRoseHerrick.com.