Welcome to another week of Author Chat with me. Today’s guest author is primarily an M/M romance author and her books focus on urban fantasy. She has a Bachelor of Arts in a personally designed Creative Writing major from St. Olaf College and is an avid consumer of fiction through film, prose, and video games. Please welcome – Amanda Meuwissen!
Now, let’s chat with Amanda!
ACwA Guest: Amanda Meuwissen
How did you come up with the idea of the current story / series?
Amanda: I love doing prompt challenges, meaning a prompt a day in a given month – though not more than once a year, because it is quite the undertaking! A few years ago, I did Whumptober, using a list of prompts each day in October that had some form of whump, i.e. pain, damage, hurt/comfort sort of stuff for the MC.
One of those was the precursor for what ended up becoming The Tea House, just a little prompt that I actually expanded on for a second day during that Whumtober challenge because I loved it so much. I’ll tease you with the two prompt words I used back then – one was shackled, the other trembling.
I knew I wanted to make it into a longer story at some point, but I didn’t feel it was right for something full-length. Wanting to do something this year for Halloween had me reading back over old prompts, and when I revisited these characters, I knew it was time to make their story into a longer one. Still a short story, which was perfect for me to also record the audiobook, but a nice little snippet of horror for the season.
If your main characters (of the book you are promoting) were being interviewed, how would they introduce themselves?
Amanda: Jaime would have a terrible time. He’s not always good with people, he’s young, not quite twenty and a little introverted, and he has the terrible habit of taking himself and his skills for granted, so he’d probably underplay his worth.
“I’m just… me? I don’t know. I’m Jaime Flores, nineteen, a little good at lots of things but not that great at much. Other than being polite, I guess, which is mainly because of my mom. She passed away recently, and I don’t really know what to do with myself. College seems like such an impossibility. Maybe someday? Like a few classes? But I have no idea toward what type of career. For now, I’m just trying to survive and maybe finally figure myself out.”
Logan would be very cryptic, as is his nature, and not really give too much away, but he’d charm you and smile affably through it all.
“Introduce myself? Of course! You can call me Logan, concierge of The Tea House, and happy to serve all our patrons. I do ask that you be courteous, on time, and respectful of the grounds. The flowers are hearty but treat them kindly or you might be reminded of their thorns. Otherwise, whatever you need, any time, just call. It is my greatest joy in life to welcome people to this house no matter where life might be sending them next.”
What is the one quality you admire the most in each of your MCs.
Amanda: Jaime is a survivor but also generally good-natured despite being given so little to work with in life. It would be understandable if he’d turned out differently, yet he persists as a polite young man who just wants to find his way.
Logan means well and really does try his best, but he doesn’t shy from dirty work when it must be done. I’m most impressed by how cheerful he can remain, however, despite how lonely he is.
How many half-written stories are on your hard-drive and what do you plan to do with them?
Amanda: I feel like the only true answer to that is long peals of laughter. ^_^ Too many to count, though I honestly plan to write most of them at some point. Like I mentioned, I love doing prompt challenges, which will easily give me 30+ ideas to work with each year. Not all of them will become longer shorts or full novels, but many will – and have in the past.
I try to keep a list of the ones I know for sure I want to work on, and if I’m stuck during a current project and need a break for my muse, I’ll dive back into one of those old ideas to shake up my creative juices. Sometimes it means finishing one of those half-finished projects sooner than later, but always it helps get me jazzed about writing again if I’ve started to feel in a slump.
What are you working on next?
Amanda: I am a little crazy because I’m currently in the middle of two vastly different series. My Tales from the Gemstone Kingdoms series, which started with The Prince and the Ice King this August, is set to have its second book, Stitches, out next quarter. The other series, more urban fantasy with shifters and vampires over fairy tales, is Moonlight Prophecies. That first book, By the Red Moonlight, came out last month, and I just had the second book, Blue Moon Rising, accepted by my publisher to add to the queue.
So, currently, I am writing book 3 for Gemstone Kingdoms, and then I’ll swap back to Moonlight. I’ll keep alternating until both series are done. Gemstone is planned for 5 books, and Moonlight for 4. Amidst all that, I am always dabbling in short stories and other potential works.
I’m super excited as well that this month I’ll be releasing new covers for my favorite series of mine, Lovesick, which is a two-parter. The first book, Lovesick Gods, will be out in a couple weeks, and the second, Lovesick Titans, will follow in December. The artwork is beyond compare, and I’m hoping it will draw in some new readers to what is literally my favorite thing I’ve ever written.
So, it’s going to be a busy forever for me because I just can’t stop writing. ^_^
Amanda Meuwissen’s Newest Release
BLURB
Jaime is looking for sanctuary and a new start after escaping his stepfather. With little money to his name, he doubts he can afford the gorgeous bed and breakfast he stumbles upon, surrounded by tea roses inside and out. Then Logan, the handsome young concierge, surprises Jaime with a ‘pay what you can’ policy, and Jaime is instantly smitten.
Little does Jaime know the Tea House is plagued by rumors of monsters and disappearances and is known by another name.
Hollow House.
Buy Links
Giveaway
The Tea House is actually free this week on KU, but one lucky winner can have a complimentary eBook copy (if they haven’t snagged it already) as well as a promo code to download the audiobook for free as well.
About Amanda Meuwissen
Amanda Meuwissen is a bisexual author with a primary focus on M/M romance. As the author of LGBT Fantasy #1 Best Seller, Coming Up for Air, paranormal romance trilogy, The Incubus Saga, and several other titles through various publishers, Amanda regularly attends local comic conventions for fun and to meet with fans, where she will often be seen in costume as one of her favorite fictional characters. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband, John, and their cat, Helga.
I snagged the book on Amazon. Thank you!