Author Crush Friday: Amy Engel
Glitter girls, you have pressing questions for your favorite authors and we have their answers. Welcome to our weekly segment, Author Crush Fridays.
We love asking questions and we love the answers from some of our favorite authors, including one of our favorites, Amy Engel! If you haven’t picked up the first book, The Book of Ivy, yet, you really should and then you should quickly pick up The Revolution of Ivy (November 3, 2015; Entangled Teen) because you just have to know what happens next! Thank you for talking to us today, Amy! We’re honored!
GLITTER: What is the one thing you can’t live without while writing?
AMY: I have certain preferences while writing, such as I prefer writing with music versus without or I’d rather be sitting in my comfy leather chair than at a desk, but none of those are deal breakers. If I’m in the writing zone, I can do it just about anywhere and under any conditions. If pressed, I would say my Macbook is probably the one thing I can’t live without when it comes to writing. I do write longhand sometimes if I’m out and about and don’t have my computer, but for any substantive writing, my Macbook is essential.
GLITTER: Tell us about your journey to becoming a writer?
AMY: How much time do you have? It’s been sort of a long and convoluted path. I was a super shy kid who loved reading and spent a lot of time fantasizing about growing up and becoming a writer without any clear idea of what that really meant or the hard work involved. I got my undergraduate degree in English, but after graduation my practical side kicked in and I went on to law school. I practiced law for almost ten years and then I had the opportunity to stay home with my kids and I figured I’d use that time to get back into writing in a serious way. I told myself to give it ten years and if, at the end of that time, I wasn’t published, I’d seriously consider going back to work as a lawyer. For the first couple of years, I started writing books that I never finished and basically just horse-assed around. Eventually, I got serious and wrote a YA novel that is now forever trunked. It wasn’t terrible, but it definitely wasn’t great. After that, I had the idea for The Book of Ivy. And I’m hopeful my days of being a lawyer are truly behind me.
GLITTER: In The Revolution of Ivy, what was your favorite/chapter scene to write and why?
AMY: I can’t actually answer this without giving away plot points. What I can say is that I loved writing the epilogue. That was the scene I’d been writing toward since the beginning of the first book and it was really satisfying to get there.
GLITTER: The Revolution of Ivy wraps up this breathtaking series. Is it bittersweet to end Bishop and Ivy’s story and did it end the way you thought it would?
AMY: It is definitely bittersweet to be done with Ivy’s and Bishop’s story. They have been such a big part of my life for the past few years. I love how the story ended, but it’s still difficult to let go of the characters. The story definitely ended the way I thought it would. I always know the beginning of a story and the end; it’s the middle that’s a mystery to me until I write it. Some of the things that happened in the second book definitely surprised me, but the ending wasn’t one of them.
GLITTER: Will we ever see a novella in this world?
AMY: Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not opposed to writing a novella set in the world of IVY, but I don’t have anything lined up at the moment.
GLITTER: What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?
AMY: I understood going into this that not everyone would like my book or my writing. That’s just a given. So I try not to take criticism too personally. Comments that take aim at my writing versus the story itself are probably harder to stomach, but again, that comes with the territory. The best compliment is knowing that people are reading my book. Writers love the act of writing, but they also want people to read their words. And it’s such a huge compliment when someone chooses to spend their time reading mine.
GLITTER: What are you working on now?
AMY: I have an adult novel (Gothic suspense ) called The Roanoke Girls coming out in early 2017, so lately I’ve been working on edits for that book. Once those edits are done, I’m going to begin something new. I have an idea buzzing around in my brain and I can’t wait to get started!
Amy was born in Kansas and after a childhood spent bouncing between countries (Iran, Taiwan) and states (Kansas, California, Missouri, Washington, D.C.), she settled in Kansas City, Missouri where she lives with her husband and two kids. Before devoting myself full time to motherhood and writing, she was a criminal defense attorney, which is not quite as exciting as it looks on TV. When she has a free moment, she can usually be found reading, running, or shoe shopping.
Where You Can Find Her:
Website: http://amyengel.net/
Twitter: @aengelwrites
Editorial Director | Writer | Tweet me @heatherriccio
