Gina Briganti is an author, Holistic Health Consultant, and Reiki teacher (Reiki is a relaxation technique), currently in private practice. She lives with her family, a special soul who masquerades as a dog, another who masquerades as a cat, and the beautiful desert. She is enjoying writing several new books and being inspired.
Please share some of the best memories of your childhood.
I have so many favorite childhood memories, but one of my favorites is going fishing with my dad and brothers at Redondo Beach. We left early in the morning. I would bundle up to keep warm and then play in the sand on the beach. It was a great place for an imaginative child to make up stories. Some of those beach trips were exceptional if we bought crabs and took them home to make a stuffed crab. My dad and I would sit for hours, shelling the crab meat, and then we would make the filling. My dad’s stuffed crab recipe is the best I have ever tasted. I can revisit those memories vividly when I eat crab.
About your education?
Education is one of the parts of my life I grew into. I graduated from high school only because of the bond I had with my mother, who asked me to hang in there, even if I didn’t understand the value of a high school diploma. Following high school, I went to work, met a man, got married…you know the story. Then the magic started to happen for me when my oldest child was two years old. I knew I needed to make healthy food taste good, for her, and for myself. I was already a great cook, but my food was not healthy. I started to study nutrition informally, and them when I could, I returned to school and earned my BASc in nutrition. Soon after I earned my degree, I met my Reiki master teacher; she changed my life in more wonderful ways than I can count. I studied Reiki with her, became a master teacher also, and then combined it with nutrition.
What is your biggest source of inspiration in life?
What inspires me is the thrill of discovery. There is so much to do, learn, and enjoy in life that every day is an adventure.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced? How did you overcome it?
I think maturing into an adult was the biggest challenge I have faced. My two children, who are quite different in their personalities from each other, and from me, helped ground me into becoming an adult. I was twenty-one when my oldest was born. I overcame the challenge of slow maturing by doing what I thought needed to be done so that my children could have a good life.
Which of your work has been published so far? Would you like to share a synopsis of your work?
I have published two books so far; the first is a self-help workbook called Keep It Simple: Permission to Illuminate Your Life Easily, Effortlessly, & Joyfully designed to bring the reader to greater levels of happiness, self-confidence, and self-love. I publish monthly exercises for the workbook on my blog www.ginabriganti.com.
My second publication is a paranormal romance, which isn’t as different as you might think, from the workbook. The Dreaming is about two people who share their dreams and have good lives that are made better when they bring each of their natural gifts to each other’s lives.
My third book, Desert Sunrise, will be out on September 20th and will continue the story that started in The Dreaming, with two more people coming into their natural gifts. Lucy is a food critic with a romantic streak miles wide. Stan is a ranch foreman who doesn’t think about happily ever after or the magic in everyday people. They’re both in for a lot of surprises.
What are your forthcoming writings?
I am working on an anthology with H.M. Clarke and Melissa Barker-Simpson, where all of the stories feature fantasy romances. My story is part of the Natural Gifts series and is about Velvet and Saunders. What makes the story particularly interesting is that Velvet is a mermaid who lives in The Dreaming. My first two books in the series involve visits to The Dreaming, so seeing a story set inside The Dreaming has been a lot of fun to discover.
What genres do you write in and why?
I write non-fiction self-help because that is where my career started. I trained in nutrition and I loved what happened when I worked with people. I wanted to continue that level of help and provide a resource they could work with on their own.
I am a huge fan of romance, and though I’ve only published paranormal romances so far, I have contemporary romances in my idea files. I love romance. I love watching couples fall in love and discover new things about themselves while they do.
How do you plan, schedule and monitor your writing commitments?
I keep a lot of notes so I can meet my commitments and have time to write new stories. Some weeks I focus on my blog posts, and on other weeks, I focus on my works in progress. I do a little something for all of the different parts of my career all week long.
Your zodiac/ sun sign?
Astrology is one of my interests, so I can give you a bit more than my Western sun sign. My sun sign is Scorpio, my moon is in Aries, and my rising sign is Leo. I assure you this makes for an interesting mix.
Your favorite food?
Healthy salad dressings make a world of difference in enticing me to eat big, healthy, beautiful salads. Without the tasty dressings, usually made with fresh ginger, garlic, herbs, and extra-virgin olive oil, I don’t have as much fun with the salad.
What comes to your mind when you think of India?
When I think of India, I think of diversity in lifestyles and all the amazing Indian food I’ve eaten in my lifetime. I have learned to make some of the dishes, and I am adding new ones to my table. I love Indian food so much that my main characters from The Dreaming, Dana, and Joe, visit an Indian restaurant on their first date.
The last line of your autobiography would be…
There will always be more to say…
You can find Gina Briganti on the Internet, and she would love to see you there to talk about books, food, health, things that make us smile, or whatever else life brings us.
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