- What is your “day” job if you are not a full time author?
Hello and a big thank you for having me here today. I’m a massage therapist at my day job, which means I talk to a lot of people. And that means plenty of story ideas. People tell me all kinds of things and while I never betray private information, I do use a lot of what I hear in my books. I’m especially interested in the details of what people do at their jobs. You know, the behind the scenes stuff.
- If you wrote a book about your life what would the title be?
She Believed She Could So She Did, With a Sense of Humor. The first part of that title someone else said, but I added the second part. I absolutely believe in keeping a sense of humor, no matter what. I also believe that if you want something badly, you need to have faith in yourself and keep moving forward.
- What is the hardest thing about being an author?
I’m always battling time and trying to find enough of it to write. Since I do have a day job and like most people, family responsibilities, it’s difficult to put the time aside to write. And marketing. Let’s not forget that. I enjoy many aspects of promoting my books and myself but again, finding the time is tough. Right now, I’m starting a new series in an unusual sub-genre and hoping that readers will like it. *bites nails* It’s smarter to write in a standard, popular genre but I have to do what my heart tells me and like I said earlier, keep moving forward. I know I will find the right audience for my new series eventually.
- What is the best thing about being an author?
Having a weird imagination. I love my weird imagination! When I’m in a stressful or painful situation, I pretend like I’m writing about it and ask myself, “what would be the weirdest thing that could happen right now?” Then I get distracted and I relax. Let me tell you, this technique came in mighty handy this crazy year between being out of work for two months, trying to safely restart my business, having a lot of stressed-out people to deal with, watching my mother-in-law get sick and die, and trying to deal with my own fear and uncertainty about what’s going on in the world. Lots of stress and pain, but I’m still mostly sane because I managed to use my writer brain to take some of the agony out of all these situations and to see the humor, or at least the possibility of humor. Or at the very least, to find some positive element or learn a lesson to make life better.
- Have you ever been star struck by meeting one of your favorite authors? If so who was it?
I have to say no. I haven’t met that many authors or other famous people. I would sure like to and Charlaine Harris is on the top of my list these days. I’m fan-crushing on her.
- What book changed your life?
My life is changing daily. I read a lot of self-help and motivational books and they all change me a bit. Right now I’m reading You Are a Badass and You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero. She has a delightful sense of humor and is down-to-Earth and realistic about ways to improve life. And since I’m writing about a badass demon bounty hunter, I think these are the perfect books for me to read. Bet you’ll enjoy them too!
- What were some of your favorite books growing up?
The Secret Garden, Are You There God It’s Me Margaret, Harriet the Spy. I read a lot of books when I was young and I’m so glad. It’s given me the desire to be a writer. If I could do any one thing to make the world better it would be to ensure that everyone learns to read and is given access to a variety of books.
- What books are currently in your to be read pile?
The Charlaine Harris Lily Bard series, How to Be a Badass at Making Money, Florida Man by Mike Baron, Why Bother by Jennifer Louden, Beyond Dead by Jordaina Sydney Robinson, Martinis with the Devil by A.A. Chamberlynn. Among many more!
- Which do you prefer ebooks, print, or audio books?
I usually read ebooks in bed so I don’t have the light on to bother my honey. I read print books in the bathtub because water and ebooks don’t mix. I’m not a big fan of audio books; I like to hear my own voice in my head. Except on long car trips. Then audio books are a necessity.
- If you could live inside the world of a book or series which world would it be and why?
I kind of always pretend like I’m living in the current book and/or series I’m reading, at least for a little while. But honestly, I enjoy my own life a lot so I always come back to it. I loved the True Blood television series but haven’t made it to the book series yet. It’s on my list! I loved all the different types of creatures and how the humans had to adjust to live with them. I hope the book series is as fabulous as the show. Oh, and of course, how cool would it be to live in a place with so many hot guys! (Shhhh! Don’t tell my man. I love my own hot guy but a girl gets to dream a little, right?)
Thank you so much for having me here today. This has been one crap-tastic year for many of us, so I hope my books give everyone a place to escape for a while and also faith that the future will be brighter. Thanks also for buying books and supporting authors. You rock, and stay badass always! *mwah*
Who Let the Demon Out?
Badass Demon Bounty Hunters
Book One
Naomi Bellina
Genre: Darkly Funny Urban Fantasy,
Comedy, Humor, UF
Date of Publication: 8/21/2020
ASIN: B089NFXVFT
Number of pages: 156
Word Count: 43,443
Tagline: How hard can it be to send an escaped demon back to hell?
Book Description:
Not only is her suicide attempt thwarted by a stranger, but when she comes back from the dead, Sable is tasked by Lucifer to find and return to hell a demon she let loose. If she doesn't, she'll be sent to the darkest level of the afterlife when she dies.
The woman Jack pulled from a running car is obviously disturbed and her story about Lucifer and demons is bullshit. But she has the name of a dead man written on her arm and Jack wants to know why.
Since it's Jack's fault she's in this mess and his skills from a background in the security business are useful, Sable recruits him for her find-the-demon mission, which turns out to be all kinds of difficult. Not only can demons inhabit human bodies, they have other nasty tricks up their sleeves, like incinerating objects and people who get in their way.
It also turns out the inhabitants of hell lie and that things on Earth are not what they appear. Nor are things in her own world, Sable discovers, as she battles to complete her mission before time runs out and it's impossible to send the demon back.
Excerpt:
One minute I was
surrounded by white light and the scent of lavender. The next minute I was on
my back in the dirt with a guy straddling me and pounding my chest.
“You awake? You
alive? Shit.”
Hard to see much
in the dark, but the full moon shining through the oak trees showed me his
brown eyes, open wide and filled with fear.
“You’re alive.
Jeez, woman.” He took his hands away and leaned back on his heels.
He smelled like
garlic and motor oil, and he needed to get the hell off of me because a violent
churning in my stomach meant ...
“Move.” I shoved
him and rolled to my side.
He did, fast
enough to get out of the way while I hurled the contents of my stomach onto the
ground. I made my way to my hands and knees and retched a little more.
“Here.” The guy
tapped my shoulder. “Water.”
I took the
bottle he offered, rinsed and spit, then drank. A chunk of something went down
my throat and I almost puked again. Rinse, spit, rinse, spit. Hope he didn’t want
the bottle back.
A loud pop like
a gunshot and a flash of light to my left made me swivel my head and instantly
regret the move as my gut reacted by gurgling another warning.
The man looked
in that direction too. “What was that? Are you alone out here?” he asked.
“As far as I
know. Did you see something?”
“I don’t know.”
He assumed a fighting stance, legs slightly spread, hands curled in fists at
his side, then turned in a slow circle, studying the woods around us.
We both stayed
silent for a moment as he continued to scan the area. I pulled in deep breaths,
trying to convince my gut to settle down.
“An animal,” the
man said and turned back to me. “Are you all right?”
No. Duh. He’d
just pulled me out of a running car filled with carbon monoxide.
“Why the hell
did you do that?” I asked.
“Do what?”
“Stick your nose
in my business.” I stood, wobbled a little, but I could stay upright and
possibly walk.
“You about died.
I saved you,” he said.
“I about died
because I wanted to.” I moved toward my car. “Pretty damn obvious, dude. What
are you doing out here in these woods anyway?”
I’d chosen this
parking area that accessed a hiking trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North
Carolina because no one came here at night. No one was supposed to, anyway.
It would have
been easier to fill up a garage with carbon monoxide, but I lived in an
apartment and didn’t have one. I thought about using a friend’s place or
renting a storage unit, but that meant someone would be in for a super-crappy
day when they found my dead body in the morning. I didn’t want to be the cause
of someone having a super-crappy day.
“I come here
between calls,” he said. “You need to get medical attention.”
I walked back to
my car, and he didn’t follow, which was good because I was likely to punch him.
It’d taken every ounce of courage I could muster to set this up, and he’d
ruined it. Now my car had holes in the exhaust system and floor, my stomach was
about to turn inside out and my head hurt like a son of a bitch.
And I was still
alive.
“Get the hell
out of here and leave me alone.” I reached my car and leaned on it. He’d turned
off the ignition and left the door open, but it still stank like poison.
“I’ll take you
to the hospital. Come on.” He gestured with his hand.
I reached into
the glove box, pulled out the Glock 19 I’d stolen/borrowed from my dad in case
I needed a plan B (Dad had a buttload of firearms; he’d never miss this one),
and pointed it at the guy. My arm shook, but I held it steady enough. “I said
get out of here. Now.”
He raised his
hands. “Okay. Take it easy. I’m going. You can keep the water.”
His hands
remained in the air as he backed up slowly. Good. He wasn’t an idiot hero type.
Just a knight in a stained T-shirt instead of shining armor, trying to rescue
the girl. Except this girl didn’t need rescuing.
I didn’t lower
the gun until the red glow of his truck taillights disappeared. When I did let
my arm fall, it shook. I sat back down in the car. Okay, no biggie. Shut the
doors, crank it up, finish the job. I could do it. That was the only way. Who
was I kidding? There was no plan B. I totally couldn’t put a gun in my mouth.
The knight wouldn’t come back again and stop me. Would he?
An owl hooted,
and the wind blew a scent of wet leaves my way, the smell of strolls with
Jasper, the world’s weirdest cat, who liked to go for walks on a leash in the
woods.
“Step out of the
car, would you please?”
Holy crap! I
about broke my neck swiveling toward a voice that came from the entrance to the
parking area. A man stood far enough away I couldn’t see him clearly, just an
outline. I slid all the way inside, shut my car door and locked it. He stepped
closer.
Not the same
dude that screwed up my plan. This guy was tall, blond, wearing tight black
jeans and a long-sleeve black shirt. I didn’t see another vehicle. Where the
hell did he come from?
“Get away. I’m
calling the police,” I yelled through the closed window. I reached for my
phone. Oh yeah. I didn’t have a phone. Since I’d planned to die that night, I’d
canceled my contract and told my carrier to stick their overpriced rates up
their butts.
One of the best
moments I’d had while preparing for my death.
About the Author:
Naomi Bellina lives in sunny Florida with the love of her life and the world's chattiest cat. Her interests include dancing, motorcycle riding, drumming and eavesdropping on strangers’ conversations for plot ideas. She used to worry about the battles between her cheery disposition and her dark imagination, but now they’re best friends and drink coffee and write books together. Her motto: Never pass up the opportunity to have an adventure!
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Thank you for having me here today!
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