#Interview : Naomi Bellina + a #Giveaway

Hey everyone! Wow! This school semester has been insanely busy. So there's the cause for my 2 posts a weeks as opposed to what had been five to six. Anyways, welcome to the newest interview! Let's all give a big round of applause to Naomi Bellina!

Naomi lives in sunny Florida with the love of her life and a magical calico cat. She writes for various fiction and non-fiction markets but is drawn to romance because her characters insist on canoodling and falling in love. So she lets them. Her interests include dancing, motorcycle riding, drumming and creating healthy meals. She takes the opportunity to play whenever possible. Her motto:  Never pass up the opportunity to have an adventure!   

Visit her at http://www.naomibellina.com/

1. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
That answer changes depending on the seasons but right now I'd like to be somewhere cold with great fall colors, a fireplace and a hot tub. Maybe Colorado or Montana. It's still warm in Florida and it's hard to get in the holiday mood when we're all sweating. I've always wanted to visit Austria and Switzerland, during their winter season.

2. How did you get the idea for your newest book?
A lot of Don't Say No comes from my own experience working in a spa. I was also a mystery shopper so I decided to combine the two jobs. My mystery shopping wasn't nearly as fun as Amber's assignment, though.

3. If you were stuck on a deserted island, would you rather have with you a book, a banjo, a pineapple or a cinnamon scented candle with you? How would you use it?
A banjo. Once I read the book it would be done but it would take me a long time to learn to play the banjo. I'd give mini concerts for the wildlife critters.

4. What character that you’ve brought to life is most relatable to you?
I can really relate to Amber in this book, even though I'm older. I remember those years, trying to figure out what the heck I wanted to do with my life. Amber has a pretty good plan, more so than I did. She's just having trouble getting it together and picked the wrong, butthead boyfriend. I did that once or twice too!

5. How has music impacted your writing and who’s your favorite artist/ song? 
Another thing that changes all the time. I really like classic rock but I recently heard a great idea to keep me motivated when writing. Find a movie that resonates with my book and listen to the soundtrack. I've been jamming to a few songs from Guardians of the Galaxy and dancing to songs from Rio 2.

6. Do you have a favorite quote? I’m personally a fan of pretty words—especially poems. 
I have a whole file of quotes! Nice to hear someone else likes them. Here's one of my favs, to get us in the mood for the holidays:  We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  ~Thornton Wilder

7. What’s a book you’d totally recommend and possibly swear on your life is the greatest book ever written?
The dictionary. Ha! Can you tell I have a hard time picking favorites? I've read way too many to chose just one. Seriously, I love looking through a dictionary and finding all kinds of strange words. A Thesaurus is a great to browse through also and I use both a lot when writing.

8. What’s a favorite food that come from your part of the world (or is more commonly known there)? For example, I’d say chicken fried steak because, well, Texas.
I recently ate star fruit, picked right from a tree. They have an odd flavor, hard to describe. When you cut them, the sections are really shaped like a star. Oh, and you haven't lived until you've eaten a juicy, sweet orange fresh from a local grove or slurped down a glass of really fresh OJ.  Now I'm hungry.

9. Do you have a snacking while reading food that you’d care to share?
No, I never share my snacking food. Oh, you mean share what KIND of food.  :-)  I love pan-cooked popcorn. It's kind of a pain to make and stinks up the house but it tastes soooo good with melted butter and salt drizzled all over. Now I'm really hungry.

10. Anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you so much for having me here today. I love sharing with readers and am always happy to answer questions. I hope everyone has a joyous holiday season. Remember to read lots of books!

Make sure y'all check out her newest book!

Heart's Desire Press:  http://heartsdesirepress.com/dontsayno.html

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1q1GqUt

The cute blurb: 

Happy accidents or how not to scream when crap happens

Have you ever had your life on track and were cruising along real nice when suddenly, wham! Something comes and bitch-slaps you upside the head and everything changes. Most of us have had this happen, at least once or twice. Sometimes the end result is great, sometimes not so much but staying flexible and adjusting to changes makes life a whole lot easier. It's really awesome when we can look back at one of those slaps and say, "Oh wow, that actually worked out pretty well." Yep, sometimes Fate has better plans than we do. To quote Joseph Campbell, "We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us." 

In Don't Say No, Amber is all set to go to college, and then open her own business with her boyfriend Randy. He gets them both kicked out of school and her plans fizzle out like a dud firecracker. Amber quickly comes up with Plan B. One of the reasons I love the character of Amber so much is because she doesn't let a major setback get her down. Even when Plan B gets shot down she keeps going, adapting to some major changes and making them work out for the best.

How about you? Ever have something happen that seemed liked the worst but turned out good in the end? Thanks so much for reading.  

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