A homegrown publication for sports-minded women will make its debut Feb. 24 on magazine stands around the nation.

Dawna Stone, the magazine's creator, expects the first issue of Her Sports to reach 50,000 in circulation.

Readers browsing around 485 Barnes & Noble Booksellers and 200 Books-A-Million stores will find the new magazine on the racks next month. Plans are to expand soon to Borders and Hastings Books, she said.

The magazine focuses on women with active lifestyles and women who participate in sports as a vital part of their daily lives, Stone said.

"The timing seems perfect," she said. "There is such a gap in the market right now."

She gauged the market by looking at large circulation women's sports publications that have failed. Women's Sports & Fitness ceased publication in September 2000. Sports Illustrated Women shut down in 2002.

What makes Her Sports different is its small staff, grass-roots marketing and a business plan that calls for growing circulation slowly by providing stories and information women want to read but are unable to find in other publications, she said.

The premier issue has stories on runner Deena Drossin, Pilates, how mothers fit triathlon training into their schedules and tips from a sports psychologist.

Stone, 35, is Her Sports president and publisher. She and her staff of eight are based in an office in St. Petersburg -- when they are not swimming, running, hiking, snowboarding, surfing, water skiing or participating in other sports.

The magazine is not just the culmination of an idea. It is the epitome of what she believes successful, active women -- like her -- want to read.

"This is not a magazine about how to take two inches off your hips in days," Stone said. "It's not about quick fixes and complicated diets. We write about nutrition as it relates to being healthy. It's about women finding time to be active."

Stone is coupling a passion for fitness and athleticism with strong business acumen with Her Sports.

She graduated with a major in finance from University of California at Berkeley and has an MBA from UCLA. She worked for two years as a financial analyst for Morgan Stanley.