How Not to Fall in Love/ Of All the Nonsense

Have you ever stumbled across something great, like an underground band, a talented aspiring artist, etc, and just thought to yourself "Wow. He/she is going to take the world by storm!" or "How can the world not now about this?" Upon discovering Zabrina's blog, How Not to Fall in Love, I was struck with that amazing feeling. As lame as this is going to sound, it's almost like knowing someone just before they make it big. Because trust me, this gal's going to make it. When I contacted her about doing a featured post, she was so crazy sweet and excited! That made me even more excited to do the post! I came up with ten questions (obviously I suck at interviews, so I apologize beforehand!) so that we could get to know Zabrina a little better.

1. The obvious question- how do you find inspiration to keep on coming up with these wonderful topics? How do you keep the well from running dry?

My inspiration comes from my own boy problems and those of others. In one of my previous posts, I shared a portion of my journal. But, I also have my best friend. We’ll talk for hours about what we’ve done wrong in the past and how to avoid making the same mistakes in our present/future. I even get inspiration from my mom. I’m learning that we’ve all been there. We’ve fallen for the wrong person or at the wrong time. There are so many circumstances to cover, I feel like I don’t have enough time to get to them all. And sometimes, the nicest people in the world tell me about their guy problems (in the comments section or by email) and I usually dedicate an entire blog post to that specific problem—like a Q & A. So, the well hopefully isn’t going to run dry anytime soon!


2. Imagine your blog is turned into a TV talk show. What song is playing during the opening credits?

This is a really unique question! Is it a daytime talk show or a late night show? No matter what, I think it would be an original song that I composed myself.


3. What's new in your music world right now? What songs are on constant replay?

Not too many things are new. I’m not ready to let a new artist into my life. Haha.

I’m constantly replaying soft, easy going songs from the soothing voice of Corinne Bailey Rae. And I very recently discovered Stef Lang’s “Straitjacket”. Now that I think about it, I enjoy songs with themes of self-discovery, going against the grain of what society says is popular, and just speaking the truth. Straitjacket’s opening lyrics are: “I don’t like the way I look when I’m standing beside you. This isn’t me. I’m not happy. Can you feel too?”

Those lyrics fall right along with what my blog is about.


4. You just found out you're adopted! Which two Hollywood stars (past or present) do you pray are your parents?

I couldn’t pick just two stars! Couldn’t all of Hollywood raise me? It takes a village to raise a child, they say. But, on second thought, I don’t know if Hollywood is the very best place to grow up. Their track record with kids isn’t looking too good…


5. If you could live any day over (with no consequences) what would it be? Sorry for the unoriginality of this question, by the way.

I have my fair share of regrets, but as of right now, I can’t think of any part of my life that I would do over. Everything I’ve done has led me to this point, and though my life isn’t perfect, I understand why I’m here. And I’m on the right path. But, there are plenty of days I would live over without changing anything. I would just sit back and enjoy it!


6. Who are you closest to?

God. My family. And my best friend, who is basically my sister.


7. What is your favorite blog to read? (No pressure to say Laughing With Broken Eyes, haha)

I love Laughing With Broken Eyes so much, you have no idea! My other favorites are Zenhabits.com and StevePavlina.com.

Those two blogs are dedicated to personal development, which I love. They cover a wide variety of topics. You can always find what you need to hear. They’ve changed my life in a very short amount of time, simply by challenging me with new concepts.


8. Is there anything you're just aching to tell the millions and millions of people reading this?

Yes, of course I’d like to say something to the millions!

1. Isn’t Amber beautiful?

2. Check out my blog whenever you have relationship problems. I love answering questions from the comments section and bouncing ideas back and forth!

9. How is your adult fiction novel coming along? I'm itching to hear more about it. Here's some butter: You are a talented lady! So what should we expect from you?
Ooh! You read my FAQ section! I’m so grateful.

I’m in a love/hate relationship with that novel. I know how it’s supposed to go, but it’s very character-driven, so it keeps changing the plot without my consent. I’m sure you and many other bloggers have your own love/hate relationship with your own writing. Just like millions of other artists, I’m very critical of my work. I’m learning as I go.

Still want to know more about the actual book? Well, I’ll give you a few, vague facts:

1. It doesn’t take place in the United States.

2. The narration is not in first person.

3. It takes place in the present.

4. Right now, it’s looking a tad like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Gossip Girl meet The Chronicles of Narnia with the themes of How Not To Fall In Love. In no way can I compare my humble, little, itty, bitty, original writing to that of these tremendous authors, but those elements are what I’m influenced by.

5. It’s not fantasy. It doesn't involve any magic. The things that happen in my novel could actually happen in real life. Maybe. Yeah, probably.


10. Perhaps the most important question of all: How on EARTH are you able to design the complex, complex drawings that accompany your posts? :)


Oh, they take hours upon hours to make. I spend weeks making each and every one!
In all seriousness—if you really want to know—I use the Paint program on my laptop. And then I draw stick figures saying all sorts of things with all sorts of expressions. Very simple, but it gets a picture in every post!

Thank you Zabrina! Isn't she too sweet? :)



I also wanted to say a special thank you to Allie, Of All the Nonsense, for making me her very first featured blogger! Sniff-- I'm just so darn proud! I was having a pretty boring, on the brink of woe-is-me kind of day, and this dear just emailed me with a tizzy of compliments and the wonderful opportunity to be featured on her darling, darling blog! This gal is going to rule the blogging community before we know it.

Be sure to head over to her blog!

Thank you so much, also, for the lovely, lovely comments on my last post. I know I say this a lot, and I struggle with trying NOT to sound insincere, although conveying emotions over typed words is a struggle, but the feedback I get from each and every one of you.. It humbles me. Me, the fidgety, awkward, plain jane gal... Sometimes I don't feel worthy of all the sunshine you guys pour on me. But I love it!

So thank you once again to Zabrina, Allie, and everyone who takes the time out of their day to read my slice of the web, leave their comments, and brighten my day.

Love Always,
Amber Rose.

So much love! :)

"I wish I could give each and every one of you flowers!"

(PS: I look a bit like a t-rex in the first picture, but I couldn't resist posting it!)