This Week’s Author: Amanda Marin

Book Spotlight:

About The Author:

When Amanda was a child, her father traveled frequently for business, always bringing back a book as a present for her. Whether she was getting lost in the pages of a tale about faraway knights, girls with supernatural powers, or kindly giants, she was quickly hooked on stories.

Nowadays, Amanda writes books of her own. She is a USA Today bestselling author and works in scholarly publishing. Her favorite things include Starbucks lattes, lazy summer afternoons at the beach, and stories with characters that make you go “awww.” She lives in New England with her family and furbaby, Snickers the Poodle.

Stay in touch!

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amarinwrites/
• Newsletter: https://bit.ly/AMarinNews
• BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amanda-marin

Interview With Amanda Marin:

Tell us about the books you’ve published so far. Can you tell us about some of your upcoming novels?

Yes! Young adult fiction holds a special place in my heart. I got really into reading YA almost ten years ago while experiencing some major health issues. YA quickly became my go-to comfort read at the time, and as I recovered, I started to dabble in writing it. It took a couple of tries to get right, but I stuck with it. Eventually, I churned out a draft of my first novel to get published: North to Nara, a YA dystopian romance.

North to Nara grew into a trilogy (the Crimson Sash series), and it’ll always hold a special place in my heart! “North” (as I call it for short) is a forbidden love story that reinvents the Hester-Dimmesdale romance from The Scarlet Letter against a backdrop of modern social issues. I like to think that it has a positive, deeper meaning beyond the surface-level story of the two sweet, beautiful main characters who only want the chance to love each other.

Being a sucker for retellings, I also write fairy tales and mashups with a twist. The heroines in my Happily Other After short story series choose endings other than their originally crafted Prince Charming. I’ll be adding another story to that collection in early 2023. In the meantime, I have two mythology-based academy stories out (or coming out soon!) in anthologies in 2022. I love putting a modern spin on old stories!

What was the moment you knew you wanted to be an author?

Tough question … but mostly because the answer is SO simple! I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Even as a kid, I loved reading and writing stories. I was an early reader, and I used to walk around with notebooks and journals from the time I could write. To me, there’s nothing better than becoming immersed in a story—books are my cure-all when I’m sad and my happy place when times are good.

What are some things you do to overcome doubts about your writing?

I usually find comfort in knowing that other authors have experienced the same sorts of doubts. Imposter syndrome, lackluster reviews, rejections from agents and publishers—all the greatest writers have faced these … as have my own writer pals. There’s comfort in knowing you’re not alone in your struggles!

Have any actual life experiences reflected in your writing?

Absolutely! Without pointing fingers, I will say that some of the guys in my Cinderella story, “Another Midnight,” have a similarity or two to one or more of my exes (shhhh—don’t tell!). Plus, I have lived with PTSD for many years. I drew on some of my treatment/coping experiences in my novel Sky to Sea, which is a sequel to North to Nara. I wish I could say that I could dance, paint, or foretell the future like the muses and seers in my Mythic Academy series … maybe someday if I cross my fingers and keep practicing!

Who was your easiest character to write about and why? What was your hardest and why?

Another great question … My hardest character to write was Micah, the cinnamon-roll hero in my Crimson Sash books. He’s SO good and selfless, especially at the beginning of the trilogy. Writing him made me much more aware that kindness matters in real life as much as a novel! I learned from him even while I invented him, I guess. The easiest to write was Corisande, a siren who falls for her intended victim, in my upcoming novella A Song of Salt and Secrets. She’s shy, awkward, well-meaning, and a bit nervous all the time. I can relate! LOL 🙂

Contact me at nikkiereads@starsbooksandtea.com if you’d like to be featured here!