Nina Marie shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Nina, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
September has been filled with a lot of wins that has certainly left me feeling proud. My recent book, Unexpectedly Yours, can now be found in 2nd and Charles locations in Colorado! On top of that, Unexpectedly Yours had some more book sales on Amazon and pages read on Kindle Unlimited which is also very exciting. I did also have the opportunity to offer my first published book, Rosalynn: A Past Life Romance for free on Kindle and not only did readers snatch it up, but I also made a few sales there too! Which was very cool.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Nina Marie and I’m a local indie romance author. I have published four books in the last year: The Rosalynn Series, based on a past life romance, derived from my one of my own past life regressions; and Unexpectedly Yours, which is a best friends to lovers romance where we get to watch two people rediscover themselves and their relationship. I never really planned on being a writer, let alone one who writes romance novels! However, I’ve found deep healing in doing so. Writing romance has become quite empowering in connecting with my Divine Feminine. I realized that I had really suppressed myself for years due to societal expectations or fear of being judged. Now, I try to incorporate romance in everything that I do. From how I love others to how I love myself.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who to be, I was someone with a large imagination. Anything seemed possible. I could go anywhere or do anything. I remember I was having a conversation with someone when I was in high school about the way I wanted something to go and I was told sarcastically, “Boy, you sure have some imagination,” and it crushed me. At the time I took it to mean that it was time to grow up and quit thinking that I could do anything other than what was “normal”. And even then, my self-esteem being that of pond scum, I didn’t think I could do much at all. It took me a really long time to heal from childhood trauma and to realize that I was worthy of great things. But even still, I had this idea of what was and was not appropriate. I grew up in a Christian household and the thought of writing romance would have been incredibly embarrassing. But then I wrote my first book-which is a romance novel. And I WAS embarrassed. I would blush when I would write spicy scenes, hoping no one was going to read what I was writing over my shoulder. I was so scared that I was going to be judged for it. Now here I am a year later and that woman who was so scared, taught that sex was dirty and wrong, is now happily writing spicy scenes and smiling and giggling while doing so. I took my power back.
When did you last change your mind about something important?
Well, I’m always changing my mind! But the biggest one happened to be a pretty big mistake. I was working on my recent WIP. It’s a story about a woman who goes through some pretty severe trauma, but heals and finds love at the end of her dark and dreary tunnel. When I first started writing it, I wanted to bounce back and forth, one chapter being the past, then one chapter being the present, until I could merge the two stories into one. And that seemed like a great idea until I decided that the story had too much whip lash and I didn’t think that my readers would enjoy the back and forth. So I sat down and rearranged my formatting. But once I did that, I struggled to write more. I struggled with writing her past because it was so dark. I fell out of love with my story- which is a big deal. If you don’t love what you’re writing, your readers aren’t going to love it either. So for months I could not write. I wasn’t motivated to do it. I didn’t know what to write. Then one day, I decided to set it to the side and start writing something different- an entirely different story. But when I started writing that story, all of a sudden I wanted to work on my original piece. But I still didn’t know what to write. So I stopped writing again. Then one night I was laying in bed and I started thinking about my WIP. I came up with an idea for a title and tag lines. Then the following day, I told myself, I was going back to its original format. And after I rearranged it back to how it was, I was able to write again. Easily. So I literally wasted months of time second guessing myself, but I’m glad I changed my mind…again!
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
For the most part, yes. I have AUDHD and I have been working really hard on not masking. The person you see in my socials is me, entirely. But the person you might see in real life, might be a little bit more shy, trying to keep herself from embarrassing herself…UNTIL I’m comfortable around you. Then you’ll experience every terrible joke, loud laugh, and clumsy step.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I believe for the first time in my life I’m doing what I was born to do and not what I’ve been told to do. I think that my whole life I’ve always done what was expected of me. Working 9-5, making sure I have insurance, not working from home, never taking time off. I’ve worked so many jobs and have been miserable through most of them. I just never really fit in anywhere. Through writing I have found community. For the most part, writing comes easily to me. I let my imagination run. I get to live in my own little world while I write. And for once, I feel happy doing it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://authorninamarie.square.site
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_ninamarie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorninamarie
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Unexpectedly-Yours-Nina-Marie-ebook/dp/B0F855LG28
