Mina Faraway is the author of inspiring, loving, happy, healing books intended to reach the right people at the right time and offer hope and joy in difficult times. She’s also the author of the popular series of Relax & Puzzle puzzle books, plus self-help books on money, finances, investing, motivation and positive mind-set. She also has stories on Amazon’s Kindle Vella serial platform, but her personal favorites are her romantic-comedy novels. You can find and connect with her social media accounts at https://linktr.ee/minafaraway. Sign up for free weekly romance puzzles at https://bookhip.com/ZVVKCTR
What do you write about?
I’m a motivational writer and romance novelist, plus I love puzzles and games. I figured why not marry everything I love into one big Happily-Ever-After with a positive, romance-themed puzzle book? I designed it with beautiful backgrounds to help readers relax and reduce their stress levels.
What makes you happiest?
The world can be an ugly place, so I find bliss in writing inspiring, loving, happy and healing books that reach the right people and bring hope and joy in difficult times.
When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?
Since childhood, but I have repeatedly given up on it for long periods of time as life pressures or well-meaning people around me discouraged me from writing. I wish now I’d listened to that inner voice that told me that writing was my purpose. Lesson learned! We all have a purpose. Our first job is to discover that purpose. Our second job is to do everything we can related to that purpose and, most importantly, to enjoy the journey while fulfilling that purpose. If you listen to your inner voice and only your inner voice, everything will always work out for you.
Have you always enjoyed writing?
Yes! I have a foot planted firmly on both the left-brain and right-brain side of writing. I’ve written everything from children’s books to training manuals and instructions, to copy and product pages, to non-fiction and fiction novels, and now puzzle books. Naturally, the creative projects feed my soul, but the technical writing projects pay the bills. I have to balance the two.
Do you find it hard to share your work?
Sharing your work is like exposing parts of your heart and soul to total strangers, so it can be both terrifying and exhilarating. Putting those parts of you in public forums, then trying to find others who will enjoy it, is the hardest part of bringing to life any piece of yourself, be it writing, music, art, or other medium. Those who thrive are the ones who are able to do it successfully and tune out the critics.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I set my life up to be a digital nomad, able to work anywhere, as long as I had an internet connection. I wanted to experience new locations and pick up other languages and cultures. But, as life would have it, things didn’t turn work out that way. It’s still nice to know that I still can at any time though!
How do you write?
I have so many projects going at one time that I have three screens and need a fourth, so I’d have to say my desktop computer is my main method of writing. However, there are those stories or ideas that come to you at the oddest moments, be it while cooking, cleaning, driving, folding laundry, that I have an entire novel written on my phone. I’m trying to find the time to transfer it into book form and publish. That day is not today, ha.
What do you hope people will take away from your book?
Pure enjoyment. A few moments here and there to relax, have fun, and enjoy the moment is what I’m hoping to give people with the Relax & Puzzle series. Doing the puzzles with someone else can be even more fun. My children and I like to do the puzzles on opposing pages at the same time, or laugh while tripping over each other on the same page. It brings us closer and gets our noses out of our screens!
What is your work schedule like when you are writing?
Like most people pursuing their creative outlets, I work during the day, so my writing time occurs between 11 pm -3 am. I get some sleep, though never enough, then get up and go to work, day after day. I’m such a night owl though, I can get a lot done in a short time at night. Someday, I hope to be able to write full-time, but for now, I have a good balance between the two.
Do you have anything specific you’d like to tell your readers?
This puzzle book series is for YOU, and I hope it’s as fun for you to do as it was for me to design. It’s intended to surround you with love, romance, joy, hope, beauty, and fun. The added benefit is that it helps you exercise your brain and keep your memory sharp too!
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