#10ThingsYouDidntKnow... About Amanda Cinelli

PHS columnist, Amanda Cinelli, reveals ten unique things you almost definitely, quite possibly, maybe forgot and/or didn't know about her!

1. Let’s start this off with a phobia. I am absolutely terrified of wasps. And moths. And horse-

flies… But mostly wasps! I’m fairly sure this phobia stems from seeing an awful horror movie called candy man as a child. Possibly why I can’t watch horror movies as an adult. But anyway, enough psycho-analyzing myself!

2. I’m left-handed. This puts me in the same boat as 10% of the rest of the world. Do I have awful handwriting? Yes. Am I completely unable to operate a tin opener? Once again, yes. But apparently, along with being super intelligent and creative, left handed people are 72.5% more likely to become millionaires after the age of 30. Okay, so I made that last part up.

3. I studied fashion design for almost two years in university. As a child, if I wasn’t sat reading it was most likely that I was drawing something. I had copy books filled with princesses in fancy ballgowns. I even gave them names, ages and occupations in little hand drawn character boxes. When it came to choosing college courses it was a toss up between design and journalism. Alas, I was not cut out for the fashion world and fate eventually led me back to the safety of the written word!

4. I had a grand total of 11 different jobs before I wrote my first book. As a teen, I worked in a chip shop, in local pubs and had a very brief stint in a department store. After leaving college I had a briefly successful foray up the corporate ladder (I looked great in a headset) before following my heart into childcare and working as a nanny to various families. Mary Poppins eat your heart out!

5. I love everything Harry Potter. Thankfully my husband indulges my fangirl-ness. Our wedding

tables were all named in reference to the books (Dumbledore’s Army, The Whomping Willow

etc.) and part of our honeymoon was to universal studios in Florida to see Hogwarts and drink butterbeer.

6. I need absolute silence to read. Anything less and you better be prepared to receive a death

stare.

7. My absolute favourite romance subgenre to read is historical. It’s almost an addiction, really. I could read about devilish dukes and scandalous lords all day long. Oh and scotsmen. And pirates too! (Told you.)

8. I have an unusual taste in music. I only know this because my husband forced me to get a separate Spotify account when his heavy metal kept being interrupted by Disney soundtracks and Taylor Swift. Depending on mood, my playlists can range from Metallica to Andrea Bocelli to Beyonce!

9. I can only listen to instrumental music when I’m writing. I have the attention span of a ferret so if a song has words I usually end up singing along to the lyrics which leads to snapchatting myself singing along and….you get the picture.

10. I’m the queen of procrastination. I spend hours making pretty spreadsheets to track my word count… then realize its 1am and I haven’t actually written a single word of the book!

Join Amanda in talking about her unique secrets on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Amanda's latest book, The Secret to Marrying Marchesi, is the third in the Secret Heirs of Billionaires series:

Scandal: a secret baby!

Read all about Italian billionaire Rigo Marchesi's secret love child with London actress Nicole Duvalle. The biggest bombshell to hit the Marchesi Group could destroy CEO Rigo's latest business deal. Unless the rumors that the baby scandal will have a fairy-tale ending are true?

This reporter has the inside scoop on their top secret wedding. From Nicole's couture dress to their sizzling clinch outside the honeymoon suite. The chemistry might be real, but the question on everybody's lips is:

Is this a union of convenience, or one of love?

Amanda Cinelli is eternally obsessed with the psyche of the tortured alpha hero and can most often be found procrastinating or hiding from small children. For more information about her and her writing, check out her website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.