Guest Post: Astrid Amara.
Please join with me today in welcoming the delightful Astrid Amara to the blog, where she talks about her writing, animals and more. Take it away, Astrid!
*****
1. When and why did you begin writing?
I've been a writer my whole life, since I was a little kid, and I've never wanted to do anything else. Even when I hate a project and dread working on it, I can't help but keep writing. Maybe it's a disease. It's very likely a disease.
2. How do you develop your plots and characters?
I spend a lot of time talking to myself.
No, really.
Actually I spend a lot of time hiking and riding my horse, and during those times I work out my plots and characters. Stories usually start with a setting or premise: Protagonist Joe just inherited a waterslide amusement park. Then I think about the romantic aspect I'm in the mood to write: Joe had his heart broken and has sworn of romance entirely. Until handsome Duke, father of three, gets an all-summer waterslide pass.... And then I figure out what the hell they're going to do for 200+ pages.
Okay I'm sort of over-simplifying things, aren't I? Actually I'm an obsessive plotter. I outline everything. Things get added through the writing, and I don't write in order, but basically the outline gives me the structure I need to make sure everything ties up neatly at the end.
3. What were your feelings when your first novel was accepted/when you first saw the cover of the finished product?
I think the first acceptance was from Loose Id, and I was over the moon. I had submitted my novel to them on a lark - just to see if they'd take it. And when they did I was stunned and excited.
My first cover, however, was from my second submission, this one to Blind Eye Books. I LOVED the cover of The Archer's Heart, which isn't surprising because Blind Eye Books works with its authors to develop a cover they want. My first cover from Loose Id? Honestly, I hated it. I hate most of my covers. But that's ok. It's just a cover.
4. One of my favourite questions to ask and to answer - fantasy casting! You've sold the movie rights to your latest novel and have total creative control on casting. Who do you cast as your leading characters?
Ooh! Good one. Hm. For the Devil Lancer, let me think... how about Nikolaj Coster-Waldau or Alex Pettyfer for Captain Elliott Parrish, and for Cornet Ilyas Kovakin... someone like a young Jake Gyllenhaal? So hard!
5. What genre are you most comfortable writing?
I prefer writing fantasy - because the sky's the limit in terms of creativity. But I also write contemporary and historical fiction for the challenge of it.
6. To someone who has never read your work, how would you describe it?
Hm. How about "either dark gay fantasy with magic and heavy themes or else contemporary humor about homosexual Jews." Does that work? :)
7. Are you working on any books/projects that you would like to share with us?
With The Devil Lancer at last off to the proofreader, I can now work on a few new projects. I've been slowly writing a medical mystery/fantasy piece but I think I may need to put it aside for a bit while I work on this year's Hanukkah romance story. I also have about 3 other projects in the queue, one scifi m/m, another contemporary piece, and a dystopian fantasy.
8. Something a little bit different now--I see on your website that you've got two Italian Greyhounds and a horse. How did you come to own such wonderful pets and do they feature in your work or "help" at all? (By help--pitter-patter of paws on keyboards, pony eating print outs, that sort of thing.)
Indeed, I have THREE Italian Greyhounds, two goats, one horse, and used to have an ex-racer greyhound until he died recently of bone cancer at the tender young age of six. The dogs are NOT helpful with the writing... in fact since getting them I've pretty much had to leave the house in order to write, and the local Starbucks is grateful for the endless hours of my business. I never had small dogs before and didn't realize the incompatibility of laptop vs.lapdog.
Likewise, it's impossible to write with the goats and believe me I've tried. Paper? They eat it. They think it's really funny. Computer? They step on it. And they have like stiletto heels. Not good for laptops.
--I'm sorry... I laughed. I'm just imagining ravenous goats wearing four stiletto heels apiece!
My horse, however, has been a great inspiration. Not only is he the reason I started writing (my "Porn for Ponies campaign" was started to pay for his board) but he gives me a lot of insight into horses, which translates into horses in a lot of my stories (Archer's Heart, Half Pass, and now a whole novel on the cavalry).
I'm an avid animal lover and truly believe their levels of intelligence and communication are far greater than we give them credit for. I'm the kind of person who goes to a crowded party and finds the cat and hangs out with her instead of the people. I'm sure it all affects my writing in some way - makes me weirder? Who knows. But it is a huge part of who I am.
9. Novel to film adaptations (and TV) - which books do you think have made a successful and respectful transition to the screen?
My husband would kill me for saying this since it's the opposite of what he thinks, but I really liked the Lord of the Rings movie series over the books. There were a lot of elements in the novels that were improved upon in the movie, in my opinion. Now I'm going to have to go sleep on the couch tonight for my blasphemy.
10. What's a perfect Saturday night involve for you?
I had one just a few weeks ago. I had a great hike that afternoon with the little hounds, came home, played games on my phone in the goat shed to chill with my goatie ladies, then enjoyed a home cooked meal from my husband, and watched Sherlock in bed with the dogs curled around us eating chocolate and drinking wine - cava. Heaven!
11. What do you do to unwind and relax?
I sleep a lot. Sleeping is a big hobby of mine. Then I like to hang out at the stable and groom or ride my horse with my girlfriends. I also like to sit in the goat shed and read on my phone... the goat shed is my little meditation chamber. Its warm and cozy and smells like sweet hay, and the girls happily munch their alfalfa and then chew cud.
I'm also addicted to the internet so spend countless hours on the couch surfing random things - I love fashion websites, tattoo portfolios. Goodreads. Facebook. You know.
12. What dreams have been realised as a result of your writing?
The biggest of course is my horse. In 2008 my 29 year old horse Angus died, and I didn't have enough money to buy another, or to care for a horse. I was thinking of getting a second job but decided I'd try and submit a novel to Loose Id and one to Blind Eye Books and see what happened.
Here we are, six years and fifteen books later - and I was able to not only buy a wonderful horse but all my writing money goes to his vet bills, his board, his supplements. Horses are not cheap, but I'm grateful every day for my readers who let him be a part of my life. I could never have rescued him without you all.
13. What do you find sexy in your characters?
Confidence, decision-making skills, quick action, dark pasts, and either brooding mystery or flashy charm.
14. What things influence you, ie, mythologies, history, art, music, etc.?
Indian mythology was a big influence obviously on The Archer's Heart, which is roughly based on the Mahabharata. And Aztec beliefs and culture heavily influenced the world I crafted in Irregulars. After reading quite a few books on cavalry and a lot of the Sharpe's series I really wanted to write my own cavalry novel, but since I love fantasy that had to be in The Devil Lancer as well.
For the contemporary books I write, I'm mostly amused by comedy writers and wish I had their quick wit and killer dialogue. That's my writing goal - to get better at comedy in stories.
15. Finally, the question I ask everyone I interview - if you were a plant in the next life, what would you be, and why?
I wish I could say something dramatic like a peony or a bird of paradise, but let's face it: I'm a dandelion. Normal, resilient, and annoying.
Bio: Astrid Amara lives in Bellingham, Washington. She spends her days working as a civil servant, her nights sleeping, and the time in between either writing, riding horses, hiking around with her dogs, or staring at the wall. She has no unusual facial features.
Blog: http://www.astridamara.com/category/our-blog/
Email: astrid@astridamara.com
Site: http://www.astridamara.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amaraastrid
Coming soon: The Devil Lancer
Blurb: Captain Elliott Parrish of Her Majesty’s 17th Lancers cavalry division finds most details about his assignment in the Crimean peninsula insufferable. Rampant cholera, missing supplies, and inept planning start the British war effort against the Russian Czar’s expansion into Turkish territory on poor footing.
What should have been a swift and decisive summer victory soon drags into a harrowing winter campaign, and Elliott must rally disheartened men through sickness, battle, and starvation. But when he is assigned the additional task of spying on a fellow officer, the inscrutable Cornet Ilyas Kovakin, he finds himself disconcerted and fascinated by both the work and the man.
Rumors surround Ilyas Kovakin, the half-Russian officer who reports to none in his division. People say they’ve seen snakes slithering into his tent at night, that he has another face visible only in certain light, and a penchant for violent acts carried out in darkness, alone. But the truth that Elliot soon discovers is much more dangerous then mere superstition.
For Ilyas, his return to Crimea is colored with the horrors of his past.
Once a mercenary, he has made a terrible mistake and inherited horrifying powers that he can barely control. He feels his hold over his humanity slipping away daily, and fears that salvation may already lay beyond him when the cheerful Captain Parrish catches his attention. Among men who hate him and superiors who covet his brutal power, Ilyas finds the young captain’s charming company almost irresistible.
But Ilyas knows that the closer he is drawn to Elliot the more he will endanger them both.
Preorder here
Out now: Sweet and Sour.
Blurb: Miles Piekus thought he and Itai would make a great team, despite the infidelities haunting their past. After all, Itai is smoking hot, they’re both driven entrepreneurs, and they love each other. What else did a person need?
Well, a lot more, apparently, because not only are they no longer passionate, they don’t even share the same passions. Like people, affections change, and Miles wonders if a relationship this broken is truly worth repairing.
Itai’s business launch with his ex-boyfriend isn’t helping. And Miles himself has a new business to grow over a busy few weeks where Thanksgiving and Hanukkah collide to form either the best holiday season ever, or a kosher caterer’s worst nightmare.
But help comes in the unexpected, ruggedly handsome form of Detective Dominic Delbene, a pickle aficionado with his own ghosts, who stakes out the deli to capture a dangerous drug dealer. As Hanukkah’s eight days come to an end, Miles discovers that Nic is not only good with pickling; he’s good at everything.
Buy here.
*****
1. When and why did you begin writing?
I've been a writer my whole life, since I was a little kid, and I've never wanted to do anything else. Even when I hate a project and dread working on it, I can't help but keep writing. Maybe it's a disease. It's very likely a disease.
2. How do you develop your plots and characters?
I spend a lot of time talking to myself.
No, really.
Actually I spend a lot of time hiking and riding my horse, and during those times I work out my plots and characters. Stories usually start with a setting or premise: Protagonist Joe just inherited a waterslide amusement park. Then I think about the romantic aspect I'm in the mood to write: Joe had his heart broken and has sworn of romance entirely. Until handsome Duke, father of three, gets an all-summer waterslide pass.... And then I figure out what the hell they're going to do for 200+ pages.
Okay I'm sort of over-simplifying things, aren't I? Actually I'm an obsessive plotter. I outline everything. Things get added through the writing, and I don't write in order, but basically the outline gives me the structure I need to make sure everything ties up neatly at the end.
3. What were your feelings when your first novel was accepted/when you first saw the cover of the finished product?
I think the first acceptance was from Loose Id, and I was over the moon. I had submitted my novel to them on a lark - just to see if they'd take it. And when they did I was stunned and excited.
My first cover, however, was from my second submission, this one to Blind Eye Books. I LOVED the cover of The Archer's Heart, which isn't surprising because Blind Eye Books works with its authors to develop a cover they want. My first cover from Loose Id? Honestly, I hated it. I hate most of my covers. But that's ok. It's just a cover.
4. One of my favourite questions to ask and to answer - fantasy casting! You've sold the movie rights to your latest novel and have total creative control on casting. Who do you cast as your leading characters?
Ooh! Good one. Hm. For the Devil Lancer, let me think... how about Nikolaj Coster-Waldau or Alex Pettyfer for Captain Elliott Parrish, and for Cornet Ilyas Kovakin... someone like a young Jake Gyllenhaal? So hard!
5. What genre are you most comfortable writing?
I prefer writing fantasy - because the sky's the limit in terms of creativity. But I also write contemporary and historical fiction for the challenge of it.
6. To someone who has never read your work, how would you describe it?
Hm. How about "either dark gay fantasy with magic and heavy themes or else contemporary humor about homosexual Jews." Does that work? :)
7. Are you working on any books/projects that you would like to share with us?
With The Devil Lancer at last off to the proofreader, I can now work on a few new projects. I've been slowly writing a medical mystery/fantasy piece but I think I may need to put it aside for a bit while I work on this year's Hanukkah romance story. I also have about 3 other projects in the queue, one scifi m/m, another contemporary piece, and a dystopian fantasy.
8. Something a little bit different now--I see on your website that you've got two Italian Greyhounds and a horse. How did you come to own such wonderful pets and do they feature in your work or "help" at all? (By help--pitter-patter of paws on keyboards, pony eating print outs, that sort of thing.)
Indeed, I have THREE Italian Greyhounds, two goats, one horse, and used to have an ex-racer greyhound until he died recently of bone cancer at the tender young age of six. The dogs are NOT helpful with the writing... in fact since getting them I've pretty much had to leave the house in order to write, and the local Starbucks is grateful for the endless hours of my business. I never had small dogs before and didn't realize the incompatibility of laptop vs.lapdog.
Likewise, it's impossible to write with the goats and believe me I've tried. Paper? They eat it. They think it's really funny. Computer? They step on it. And they have like stiletto heels. Not good for laptops.
--I'm sorry... I laughed. I'm just imagining ravenous goats wearing four stiletto heels apiece!
My horse, however, has been a great inspiration. Not only is he the reason I started writing (my "Porn for Ponies campaign" was started to pay for his board) but he gives me a lot of insight into horses, which translates into horses in a lot of my stories (Archer's Heart, Half Pass, and now a whole novel on the cavalry).
I'm an avid animal lover and truly believe their levels of intelligence and communication are far greater than we give them credit for. I'm the kind of person who goes to a crowded party and finds the cat and hangs out with her instead of the people. I'm sure it all affects my writing in some way - makes me weirder? Who knows. But it is a huge part of who I am.
9. Novel to film adaptations (and TV) - which books do you think have made a successful and respectful transition to the screen?
My husband would kill me for saying this since it's the opposite of what he thinks, but I really liked the Lord of the Rings movie series over the books. There were a lot of elements in the novels that were improved upon in the movie, in my opinion. Now I'm going to have to go sleep on the couch tonight for my blasphemy.
10. What's a perfect Saturday night involve for you?
I had one just a few weeks ago. I had a great hike that afternoon with the little hounds, came home, played games on my phone in the goat shed to chill with my goatie ladies, then enjoyed a home cooked meal from my husband, and watched Sherlock in bed with the dogs curled around us eating chocolate and drinking wine - cava. Heaven!
11. What do you do to unwind and relax?
I sleep a lot. Sleeping is a big hobby of mine. Then I like to hang out at the stable and groom or ride my horse with my girlfriends. I also like to sit in the goat shed and read on my phone... the goat shed is my little meditation chamber. Its warm and cozy and smells like sweet hay, and the girls happily munch their alfalfa and then chew cud.
I'm also addicted to the internet so spend countless hours on the couch surfing random things - I love fashion websites, tattoo portfolios. Goodreads. Facebook. You know.
12. What dreams have been realised as a result of your writing?
The biggest of course is my horse. In 2008 my 29 year old horse Angus died, and I didn't have enough money to buy another, or to care for a horse. I was thinking of getting a second job but decided I'd try and submit a novel to Loose Id and one to Blind Eye Books and see what happened.
Here we are, six years and fifteen books later - and I was able to not only buy a wonderful horse but all my writing money goes to his vet bills, his board, his supplements. Horses are not cheap, but I'm grateful every day for my readers who let him be a part of my life. I could never have rescued him without you all.
13. What do you find sexy in your characters?
Confidence, decision-making skills, quick action, dark pasts, and either brooding mystery or flashy charm.
14. What things influence you, ie, mythologies, history, art, music, etc.?
Indian mythology was a big influence obviously on The Archer's Heart, which is roughly based on the Mahabharata. And Aztec beliefs and culture heavily influenced the world I crafted in Irregulars. After reading quite a few books on cavalry and a lot of the Sharpe's series I really wanted to write my own cavalry novel, but since I love fantasy that had to be in The Devil Lancer as well.
For the contemporary books I write, I'm mostly amused by comedy writers and wish I had their quick wit and killer dialogue. That's my writing goal - to get better at comedy in stories.
15. Finally, the question I ask everyone I interview - if you were a plant in the next life, what would you be, and why?
I wish I could say something dramatic like a peony or a bird of paradise, but let's face it: I'm a dandelion. Normal, resilient, and annoying.
Bio: Astrid Amara lives in Bellingham, Washington. She spends her days working as a civil servant, her nights sleeping, and the time in between either writing, riding horses, hiking around with her dogs, or staring at the wall. She has no unusual facial features.
Blog: http://www.astridamara.com/category/our-blog/
Email: astrid@astridamara.com
Site: http://www.astridamara.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amaraastrid
Coming soon: The Devil Lancer
Blurb: Captain Elliott Parrish of Her Majesty’s 17th Lancers cavalry division finds most details about his assignment in the Crimean peninsula insufferable. Rampant cholera, missing supplies, and inept planning start the British war effort against the Russian Czar’s expansion into Turkish territory on poor footing.
What should have been a swift and decisive summer victory soon drags into a harrowing winter campaign, and Elliott must rally disheartened men through sickness, battle, and starvation. But when he is assigned the additional task of spying on a fellow officer, the inscrutable Cornet Ilyas Kovakin, he finds himself disconcerted and fascinated by both the work and the man.
Rumors surround Ilyas Kovakin, the half-Russian officer who reports to none in his division. People say they’ve seen snakes slithering into his tent at night, that he has another face visible only in certain light, and a penchant for violent acts carried out in darkness, alone. But the truth that Elliot soon discovers is much more dangerous then mere superstition.
For Ilyas, his return to Crimea is colored with the horrors of his past.
Once a mercenary, he has made a terrible mistake and inherited horrifying powers that he can barely control. He feels his hold over his humanity slipping away daily, and fears that salvation may already lay beyond him when the cheerful Captain Parrish catches his attention. Among men who hate him and superiors who covet his brutal power, Ilyas finds the young captain’s charming company almost irresistible.
But Ilyas knows that the closer he is drawn to Elliot the more he will endanger them both.
Preorder here
Out now: Sweet and Sour.
Blurb: Miles Piekus thought he and Itai would make a great team, despite the infidelities haunting their past. After all, Itai is smoking hot, they’re both driven entrepreneurs, and they love each other. What else did a person need?
Well, a lot more, apparently, because not only are they no longer passionate, they don’t even share the same passions. Like people, affections change, and Miles wonders if a relationship this broken is truly worth repairing.
Itai’s business launch with his ex-boyfriend isn’t helping. And Miles himself has a new business to grow over a busy few weeks where Thanksgiving and Hanukkah collide to form either the best holiday season ever, or a kosher caterer’s worst nightmare.
But help comes in the unexpected, ruggedly handsome form of Detective Dominic Delbene, a pickle aficionado with his own ghosts, who stakes out the deli to capture a dangerous drug dealer. As Hanukkah’s eight days come to an end, Miles discovers that Nic is not only good with pickling; he’s good at everything.
Buy here.