Time for another interview with a UtopYA Lovely. Please welcome, Mindy Ruiz. I met her at the Nashville airport. Together, we began to melt waiting for the hotel shuttle. As California girls, we weren’t holding up too well in the humidity. Still, her welcoming spirit drew me in, and I immediately felt like I’d known her for years.
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Thanks so much for
hanging out on my blog today.
MR: Ohmigoodness,
thank you for having me! And thanks for having the air conditioner kickin’!
hee-hee. I swear I lost seven pounds of weight and gained seven pounds of
frizzy hair waiting for our hotel shuttle.
Right! Me, too! First, I want to
congratulate you on your Best Debut Novel award for Enchanted Heart at
UtopYA2015. To make it even more special, your best friend was in the audience.
What was your first thought when your name was called?
MR: First thought:
Wait, wha?! No. Freaking. WAY!
I really truly didn’t think they’d called my name. The Best
Debut Novel category was stacked with some seriously awesome books and
writers. I was seated next to the lovely
Delphina, (Best Debut Novel Nominee for her “Unless You Can Be a Unicorn.”) and
ready to squeeze her neck when I saw my name on the screen. My best friend turned and squealed, “That’s
you!!!” Then she pushed me out of my seat. I know I hugged Carol Kunz, slapped Adam Kunz
a high-five, but, truly, nothing processed until I saw Regina Womba, my cover
designer, and Janet Wallace. It all
started clicking and by the time I got on stage well, my Holy Skittles!
(substitute skittles for the other S word) came flying out.
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| Tina Donnelly with Mindy Ruiz & her dear friend |
I loved it. It was such a special moment. So, tell us a little
about Enchanted Heart. Also, any exciting news about The Game of Hearts series?
MR: Enchanted
Heart is about a deck of cards that controls the gambling and gaming in Las
Vegas. Greek gods and a condemned-man-with-a-golden-touch, Midas, oversee the
Cards. When the Queen of Hearts’ hidden daughter, Cassandra, comes back to Las Vegas, she triggers an ancient curse that upsets the balance of power. Cassandra's thrown into an underworld ruled by four powerful families with paranormal powers & her face on a mythological hit list.
Lying, Cheating Heart will be coming out at the end of July.
The final book in The Game of Hearts series will be out at
the end of the year with the title Fatal Heart.
You mentioned the awesome Janet Wallace. How has she (and UtopYA) affected the writer you are today?
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| Mindy with Janet Wallace |
MR: Ohmilord,
that’s like asking how does the sun affect a flower’s growth.
UtopYA (Utopia Con) and Janet have affected
every aspect of my writing career. I
wanted to go to the first UtopYA Con but was terrified of my own shadow. After
watching Myra McEntire’s keynote speech, I swore I’d never miss out on a moment
like that again. The second year of
UtopYA, I went to Nashville and successfully hugged every wall and blended in
with every potted plant I could find. I
was terrified, but I was there meeting amazing people like Janet Wallace, Carol
and Adam Kunz, Misty Provencher, Amy Evans, B.J. Sheldon and K.P. Simmon. I sat in the awards ceremony that year and
said to myself, “I want to be up there. I want to win an award.”
Six weeks before UtopYA Con three, Heather Hildenbrand had
Janet on her call-in as a special guest. One of the crazy-awesome benefits of
the call was a one-on-one hour chat with the Janet Wallace.
I scheduled my call, and my life was changed.
People talk about that tipping point, or the x-factor, Janet,
and Social Deviants were these things to me.
Through the Stand Up classes, which you can still purchase, I was able
to root out all the excuses on why I couldn’t, shouldn’t, or wouldn’t be a
successful author. I found my voice. I found my target audience, and I found a
confidence buried under all the years of negative thoughts and self-talk.
UtopYA and Janet affect every aspect of my life. Each year I see the people, my tribe, at UtopYA (Utopia Con) I’m recharged to take on another year of standing naked in
an Amazon or Barnes and Noble purchase Que. You just don’t find that at other
conventions or in other people.
Amen! So, please share your favorite
inspirational quote and what it means to you.
MR: No one can make you feel inferior without
your consent. ~Eleanor Roosevelt.
I love Eleanor Roosevelt. She’s a lot like my Grandma,
Victoria. Eleanor was tough as nails and
didn’t take shiz from anyone. And yet she had this kind, caring quality toward
people. She was the weak persons’ voice when they couldn’t speak or were too
afraid. I love this quote because I allowed people, insignificant people, to
make me feel inferior my entire life. I
try not to anymore, but words are powerful weapons, and when a really mean
review or a blatant comment about me as a person is floating around the virtual
universe, I hold on to this quote.
What do you think
makes UtopYA, renamed Utopia for its fifth year in 2016, so special?
MR: The people and Janet make this place special. Janet set out to make a convention where book
lovers and authors could come and be together. Hugs and squeals are encouraged
along with awkward fan-girl moments. You celebrate everyone’s victories and
lift as you climb to the next level of success. You may go down to breakfast a
party of one, but by the time you sit down, you’re a party of four.
Not many people find their “one place” on
this earth where EVERYONE is just like them.
Earlier I said my best friend came to Nashville with me this year. I freaking adore this girl; she’s been my
friend through twenty years of really amazing highs and near-fatal lows.
Halfway through the convention she turned, looked at me and said, “This place …
this is how your brain works? These are your people.” It was like she was seeing the real, inside-my-head,
me for the very first time. I’m goofy.
I’m a recovering introvert. I’m crazy awkward. I love playing an active role in
the imaginary worlds that go on in my head, and I go bonkers when others can
see that side. I’m the colorblind dog
who could not only see the rainbow, but had the audacity to talk about the
adventure to those who couldn’t.
Utopia
is where I found other rainbow lovers like me. UtopYA rebranding itself to Utopia, it’s perfect because this convention,
the people involved, this is my little slice of heaven on earth. It’s exactly how I would have imagined a book
lover’s utopia!
I love it. I'm a rainbow lover, too! Please share a photo you loved from UtopYA.
MR: I loved this photo Stacey Marie Brown captured. My best friend is in the lower left and it’s like she’s using the screen to actually see who I am. Her very own looking glass, if you will.
✮✮✮✮✮ Quick Answers ✮✮✮✮✮
Last Movie you saw: Trainwreck (Bethany Lopez and a movie theater that served Daiquiris. I’ll let you imagine the scene.)
Last book you read: Heather Lyons, The Collector Society. Fabulous book!
First job: Courtesy Clerk at Sports Authority.
Gift cards or cash? Cash. Make it rain, baby! Make it rain!!!!
Favorite Vacation Spot: Anywhere with a pretty beach, an umbrella drink, and wifi for my kindle downloads.
More about Mindy
Mindy Ruiz is the author of Utopia Con’s 2015 Best Debut
Novel: ENCHANTED HEART, as well as, LYING, CHEATING HEART in the Game of Hearts
Series. Since her first story about a magical, museum hopping chair in the
fourth grade, she’s loved exploring those things that can not be explained, and
must simply be believed.
Now, Mindy writes paranormal romance guaranteed to make your
heart race. Her stories combine snarky heroines, tormented heroes and buckets
of swoon. Mindy is the lover of a good
romance, the underdog, and all things John Hughes. She spends her free time
chasing after three boys or flirting with her hunky husband. In the quiet
moments, she’s watching fantasy television shows, cheering for the Dallas
Cowboys, or hanging out at the beach with her very large and loud Italian
family.
Mindy lives in a sleepy Beach Town in Southern California
with her toes in the sand and her mind in the clouds.
Social media:
newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bkjTAHPlease visit often for more UtopYA2015 Lovelies (Unofficial) interviews,
the schedule and links to past interviews.
