Monica Fike

Digital Media Native

Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

I started my career in TV production at Fox News over 13 years ago. After two years of climbing the ladder from PA to AP, I moved on to become a web editor at ABC News. There I initiated ABC's involvement in social media and proudly watched our followers soar across Facebook and Twitter. I am passionate about writing and digital media, and I strive to not only share engaging content with audiences around the world, but to create moving stories, as well. I hope you enjoy my links!

Monica Fike

Digital Media Native

Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

What to Expect When You’re... Still Not Expecting
While some women may share their birth stories, I wanted to share our fertility story. Instead, I relied heavily on the physical support of my husband, family and friends, all for whom I am extremely grateful. With each setback along this grueling and at times never-ending journey, I would begin the story over and over again in my head, but I never got around to completing it.
The Huffington Post
I thought having a baby when I was 'ready' would be easy. I was wrong
After spending most of my younger life, particularly my 20s, drunkenly barhopping and blissfully kissing my way through Manhattan, I thought I would easily be able to conceive a child when I was ready. Like a lot of women, I spent many of those years being terrified that it would be too easy to conceive one when I wasn’t ready.
The Guardian
Julie Powell: A Success Story Bloggers Love to Hate On
The food world is abuzz today as the highly anticipated movie " Julie & Julia " opens across the nation's theaters. It's a tale of the self-proclaimed "renegade foodie" Julie Powell, whose blog-turned-novel follows her misadventures cooking Julia Child 's recipes in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."
ABC News
Michael Phelps' Post-Olympics Year: Bad Boy or Bad Luck?
It's been a year and five days since Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal in the Water Cube at the 2008 Beijing Olympics , breaking Mark Spitz's previous record of seven golds and winning millions of dollars in endorsements in the meantime. But while Phelps may have immeasurable talent mixed with a bit of luck in the pool, he has proven over the past year that he does not have much of that on land.
ABC News
Imperfect Potter Is More Believable Potter
Harry Potter is about to start his fifth year at Hogwarts School, but it's been nearly eight years since the original cast and crew started filming the first movie. With age and experience, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" brings a more powerful and convincing set of characters than any of its predecessors.
ABC News
The 30-Mile Dive: Part 2
Do you know that feeling you get after a life-altering event — one so thrilling and challenging and exciting and powerful — that all you can do is try to relive it? It’s been over 48 hours since we docked the Sea Watch back in Long Beach and I’ve googled every variation of “ 30-mile dive ” and “ Scott Cassell ” I could think of.
Mona's Apple
From Los Angeles to Carmel: Your Guide to Driving Up the Pacific Coast Highway
I’ve shared the following itinerary/email with countless friends driving up the coast of California (most recently Janet Lawler , author and keeper of the blog The Screenwriting Life ), and I felt it was time to formalize my recommendations in a searchable post here. The article I published on campsites in Southern California has attracted a lot of readers, so maybe I’ll have the same luck with this one.
Wine + Quill
Best Places for a First Date in New York
Mona’s Apple is a little over three years old now, and while I can barely count the amount of dates I’ve had since inception on two hands, I’ve eaten in enough restaurants to know what’s suitable for a first date and what’s not. A first date spot needs to be casually romantic, but not too cheesy. It needs to be crowded enough so the silence between conversations isn’t deafening, but it can’t be so happening that you’re screaming at each other over the dining room din.
Mona's Apple
O'Donnell Leaving 'The View'
ABC has been unable to come to a contractual agreement with Rosie O'Donnell. As a result, her hosting duties on "The View" will come to an end mid-June. "They wanted me three years, I wanted one year, and it just didn't work," said O'Donnell on today's show. or maybe because of it -- O'Donnell was good business for ABC, owned by the Walt Disney Co.
ABC News
The Apple’s Final (Best) Chapter
Before I relay this story to you, I preclude it with this note. This is my final post to Mona’s Apple. After reading, you will perhaps understand why. I am in the process of coming up with a new blog/site for the next page in my life. The Apple was defined by a certain period/era that faded once I moved to Los Angeles.
Mona's Apple
Brittany Murphy's death: Natural causes or something more?
(ABC News) - In what was probably her final public event on December 3, Brittany Murphy walked the red carpet, looking thin but gushing about her family and looking forward to the new year. According to "Access Hollywood," the actress, attending a boutique opening in Los Angeles, said she was looking forward to 2010.
WHAS11.com
Top 10 Super Foods for Super Bowl Sunday
While the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints are revving up their engines for this Sunday's Super Bowl, party planners and cooks nationwide are revving up their menus -- along with their ovens and BBQs -- for their own Super Bowl Sunday feasts. Last year, bloggers , foodies and newspapers around the nation heralded the Bacon Explosion as the hottest recipe for your Super Bowl party .
ABC News

About

Monica Fike

If you are looking for an enthusiastic team player who is passionate about innovation through digital storytelling, and who has nearly a decade of experience in writing, editing and social media, then please contact me.

A customer once told me while I was waiting tables one summer in California that I had the "elegance and sophistication of an east coast girl, but the energy of a west coast girl.” Those words have always stuck with me, and I'd like to believe the man's words are somewhat true.

I live in Southern California with my husband, our 16-month-old son and two loving, but mischievous pets. I'm a devoted Wahoo (CLAS '01) and swimmer, an aspiring author and a lover of all things @APStylebook.

Thanks for dropping by!