What are some of your favorite childhood memories?
Traveling the world. I’ve been blessed enough to spend my life traveling to many places, learning new languages, and experiencing different cultures.
Did you enjoy reading as a child?
I didn’t. I know that sounds terrible to say as an author, but my love for reading came as a teen. I was the little girl outside in the dress playing in the mud with the animals, singing, dancing, and doing everything active I could do that did not cause me to sit still.
How is living in Europe different from living in North America? What are some little things that one experiences on a day-to-day basis?
The whole way of living is different. I can only speak for Italy, England, and the US in this, but all 3 places differ a lot. Day to day things like transportation. I prefer public transportation in England over Italy or the states. I prefer cooking and doing my laundry in the states but prefer the food in Italy. Those are just to name a few.
Why did you choose to write under the username VioletBlue?
I wrote professionally for a choice-based story app for younger people and thought VioletBlue was catchy. But it was also available for a username. When I became an author, I decided I needed to have V.B Emanuele to reflect more of my real self. Valentina Emanuele. VioletBlue was just for fun.
What challenges did you face while writing your first online novel, The Veil?
The biggest challenge was wondering if people would read my work when I announced I was leaving that app. I had a huge following on there. Thankfully, I did have over-18 readers who followed me over to the new site. I was not on either of them for long. Once I had success with The Veil and Just Business, I thought it was time to leave and publish. I did not want to be confined to online writing and it was only a holding place while I prepped my work for publishing.
How is releasing online novels different from publishing paperbacks?
Oh, publishing is much more peaceful! You don’t have people messaging you every five seconds demanding more chapters and sending you actual death threats. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of people are nice. Unfortunately, there were a huge group of online readers who used to send me death threats on both the choice-based app and Wattpad when I had a family emergency and couldn’t update immediately, left them on cliffhangers, or didn’t make my stories go the way they wanted them to. It was pretty scary. I still have some screenshots from those days. I left the app in 2019 and Wattpad in early 2020, so I’ve been away for a couple of years now.
When was the first time you participated in a fitness challenge?
I have competed in fitness challenges since I was a teenager. I am 43 now.
Which book took the longest time to write in The Veil Trilogy?
Book 2, Unveiled (so far). I wanted Unveiled to shine bright and come out of the gates strong. So many times, sequels can be hard to top the first. Book 3 (The Veiling) will be out February 14, 2023, so I‘ve only outlined that one so far. My management team wants it written by December 31, 2022. I have to wrap it all up so I hope it will be easy.
Which actor inspired the character of Chance Hardwin in "Hollywood Comes Home"?
Personality: He’s a well-known British actor I met when I lived in England, and Chance is very loosely based on his personality when we were younger. We became very close friends and still talk to this day. I’m tight-lipped about any muses and inspiration because the people behind the inspiration have real lives. While he knows about Chance and thinks it’s amazing, I want to be respectful of his privacy. Looks: Chance’s visual muse is a 30-year-old, retired model who is not someone I know.
What is the best age to write your first book?
I don’t think there is an age minimum. I wrote my first play at age 7. There are many children who write books and I think if it’s inside them, they should do it at any age.
What are some good cooking hacks for people that don't cook?
Meet someone who does cook, and show up at their house for dinner or look up “simple 30-minute meals” on something like Pinterest then meal prep a week in advance.
Why should you read a book that is not overhyped?
The best way I can describe it is, sometimes we go to little hole-in-the-wall restaurants (hidden gems), and they turn out to be the most authentic and amazing place we’ve ever eaten. So, we keep going back and we tell all our friends and so on. Books are the same way. I’ve found many new favorites by supporting under-hyped books.
What are some books that expand our minds?
I think every book expands the mind in some way. It depends on what you get out of it when you read it.
What books are you writing currently, or plan to write in the future?
Tryst, The Veiling, Rovati Family. They’re all dark romance (Billionaire or Mafia) novels. I do have a few genre hopping books coming out in the future as well. 2023 will be full of surprises.
How has your experience working with AllAuthor been?
Love it so far! I think it’s a great database. A lot of people have found me this way and I’ve found some others!
