Today we are very excited to welcome author Amy K. Nichols to the blog for an interview!
Welcome Amy!
1. Did you always know you wanted
to be a writer or did you want to be something else?
I’ve been
making up stories for as long as I can remember. When I was old enough to form
letters, I began writing them down and adding my own illustrations. (My mom
still has some of those!) Throughout the years, various career options have caught
my eye. Professional musician. Medieval paleographer. Doctor. Forensic document
examiner. Recently, I’ve been tempted to learn cybersecurity and become a professional
hacker. Long story short: I’m insatiably curious, and when I see fascinating or
shiny things, I want to chase them all down their various
paths. At the end of the day, though, I always come back to writing. Storytelling
just fits who I am as a creative person.
2. How long does it take you to
write a book from start to finish?
It depends on the project and the deadline. One of the first things
I tried when I made the decision to pursue writing was the 3-Day Novel Contest.
It takes place over Labor Day weekend each year, and participants attempt to
write a novel (a novella, really) in just three days (Friday midnight to Monday
midnight). It’s insane. And so much fun. That first year, I won third place,
which confirmed two things: writing is what I’m supposed to be doing, and when
necessary, I can do it fast. That being said, I spent years learning how to
write a good story and getting one ready for submission. Now That You’re Here took me about five years from concept to
publication. Then I was on deadline for the second book, and wrote it in about
eight months. So it really varies.
3. How do you come up with themes
for your stories?
It might sound strange, but I feel
like the stories and their themes choose me. I never set out to write a story
about XYZ. Instead, it usually happens like this: I’m doing something mundane,
like sweeping my floor or drying my hair, and suddenly there’s a voice in my
head and a scene playing out like a movie in my mind. The other day it happened
while I was icing a cake. It’s random and weird. Sometimes it happens at inconvenient
times, like when I’m driving or having dinner with my family. I keep notebooks
and the notepad app on my phone handy at all times. Once that voice shows up, I
listen to it for a while to get a sense of who the character is and what kind
of story they’re telling. Then when I sit down to write, it becomes a kind of
collaboration between the voice and the ideas the story sparks in my brain.
4. Do you have a schedule of when
you write?
I have two school-age children.
Their school hours are my writing hours. As soon as they’re off to school, the
work window opens and the clock starts ticking. Some days, I’m really good
about getting writing done. Other days, I’m not. A schedule definitely helps,
as do deadlines. A little pressure goes a long way. My goal is always to be
available for my kids when they’re home from school, so sometimes if I’ve
squandered the school hours, I’ll work after they go to bed. When a deadline is
looming, all bets are off. I hide away in my writing cave until the work is
done. They’re pretty patient with me when it comes to those pressured times,
though, and my husband is super supportive. But yeah, a schedule and routine
definitely help.
5. How are you able to balance other
aspects of your life with your writing?
The longer I live, the more I think
balance is a myth. Nothing ever works out evenly for me when it comes to making
time for both life and writing. I tend to see it as more like a fluctuating pie
chart. Some days, writing takes up a big slice of the pie. Other days, it’s
marketing tasks related to writing. Many days, my responsibilities to my family
gobble up most of the pie. I make a lot of lists to keep track of priorities
and deadlines, and the alarm clock on my phone helps me remember where I need
to be when. (Yes, I’ve been so deep into writing, I’ve forgotten to pick up my
kids from school.) Balance, though? I’ve yet to achieve balance.
6. What elements do you think make
a great story line?
Personally, I think a great story
comes down to character. I have to be emotionally invested enough in the
protagonist (or at least one of the main characters) to care what happens;
otherwise, the book falls flat. A story can have the craziest, twistiest roller
coaster of a plot, but if I don’t have some connection to the characters, then
. . . [shrug].
7. What was the hardest thing about
writing a book?
Writing a book requires a sacrifice
not only of time but also of emotional and mental energy. For me, it becomes a
completely immersive experience. When I finish a draft, I feel drained. Empty.
Like I’ve poured all of myself into the characters and story. That’s the exciting
part, but also the hard part. It takes time for me to recover from writing a
book. I have to learn how to function in the real world again. It’s kind of how
I imagine Danny feels after jumping parallel universes.
8. How many books have you written so
far? Do you have a favorite?
I’ve completed drafts for six
different manuscripts. The fourth manuscript I finished became the first
published book. The fifth became the second. Choosing a favorite book is a bit
like asking which of my children I love best. Each story is unique and
connected not only to the time in my life that I wrote it but also to the
person I was when I wrote it. So I can’t really choose. Maybe my next book will be my favorite one of
all.
9. Do you have a favorite
character?
From the Duplexity series, my
favorite character to write and discover has to be Danny from the second book, While You Were Gone. In the first book, Now That You’re Here, we only got a
sense of who he might be based on what the other characters thought of him, and
they didn’t like him. No one did. He was a loser, a loner, and a bully. So I
found it really interesting to put him in an environment where he suddenly has
the love and friendship he’d been missing in the other world, and then watch
who he became as a result. His story arc moved me to tears. It was a hugely
rewarding experience, and a good reminder that most of the time bullies are
operating from a place of hurt. Writing Danny’s story was a lesson in
compassion.
10. Where do you write?
I have a comfy office, where I used
to do most of my writing, but when we got a puppy, I moved to the kitchen table,
where I could keep an eye on him (he likes to eat socks) and let him outside. I
like the mobility of working on a laptop. When it’s nice out, sometimes I sit
on the patio. When it’s crunch time and deadlines are approaching, I usually
retreat to my office, where I’m less likely to be interrupted.
11. When deciding on how to
publish, what directed you to the route you took?
From the start, my dream was to one
day sign with an agent and publish with a New York publishing house. So I gave
it a try, and it worked. My backup plan, though, if the book didn’t sell, was
to publish it on my own.
12. Have you gotten feedback from
family about your book(s)? What do they think?
One of my favorite moments after Now That You’re Here came out was when
my mom called to tell me my dad had spent the last two days doing nothing but reading.
When he finished, he wrote me a long email saying how much he’d enjoyed it and
how proud he was of me. My dad is what you might call a reluctant reader, so
just knowing he’d invested that kind of time into reading my book was amazing.
13. What kinds of things do you
like to do outside of writing?
I’m insatiably curious. In high
school, I made a list of things to do before I die. After surviving a very scary
situation in my early twenties that I didn’t think I’d survive, I pulled that
list out and starting working my way through it. I’ve learned welding, fencing,
painting, glass blowing. I’ve traveled. I enjoy live music as often as I can.
Lately, I’ve been exploring ceramics and I’m learning karate. My husband bought
me a ukulele for my birthday and I’m having loads of fun with it. Many of these
things I do alongside my family. For example, I learn how to play the songs my
daughter likes, and she sings along. Life is very much about exploring, I
think, and learning new things keeps me growing.
14. What advice would you give to
someone who wants to start writing?
Two things: 1) you learn to write
by writing, so the sooner you start, the better you’ll get; and 2) finish what
you start, even if you think it’s bad. You can’t revise a blank page.
16. What is your favorite book? Favorite
author? Do you have an author that inspired/inspires you to write?
I have so many favorite books and
authors, I can’t possibly narrow it down to one. A few of my favorite books are
The Book Thief, Love Medicine, The Outsiders,
The Name of the Wind, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Martian Chronicles. See? If I don’t
stop, I’ll just keep naming titles. Some of the authors who’ve inspired me
include Neil Gaiman, Louise Erdrich, Andrew Smith, Ron Carlson, Jewell Parker
Rhodes, James Sallis, Michael Ondaatje, Ray Bradbury, Theodore Sturgeon. . . . Again,
I could just keep going.
17. Do you have any go-to people
when writing a book that help you with your story lines as well as editing,
beta reading, and such?
I’m in a writing group with a
couple of friends. We call our group The Parking Lot Confessional. We’ve been
on this journey together for a number of years and we have a really good bond. We
keep each other accountable. I’m also mentored by the amazing crime novelist
James Sallis. His guidance and wisdom have been integral to my being where I am
today. I feel very blessed to be surrounded by such incredible people.
18. Are you working on anything
now?
I have a slew of ideas rattling
around in my brain, but recently settled on two separate stories, one science
fiction and one contemporary. I’m gearing up for While You Were Gone to hit shelves on August 4, but I’m also
building the foundation beneath these new stories in hopes they’ll be out in
the world soon, too!
Thanks so much for stopping by today, Amy. It was great having you here!
Amy K. Nichols has been crafting stories for as long as she can remember. She is the author of YA science fiction novel Now That You’re Here, to be published by Knopf December 9, 2014. The follow-up, While You Were Gone, will be published in 2015. She is mentored by award-winning crime novelist James Sallis and lives on the edge of the Sonoran desert with her husband and children. Amy is a member of SCBWI and SFWA, as well as the Class of 2K14 debut authors. Visit her online at http://www.amyknichols.com.
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