Amy Bartol


Okay, so I hadn't heard of Amy Bartol until about a month ago.  I am soooooo embarrassed.  Several friends had recommended her Premonition Series to me and I kept meaning to get around to reading it.  I routinely find books that pull me through their pages with lightening speed and I force myself to put it down around 2 a.m when I know I have to get some sleep.  I rarely find a series that consumes my every waking second - to the point that all I wanted to do was find out what was on the next page!  If you haven't read her series, you NEED to.  If you have read it, you NEED to recommend it to ALL of your friends!!  They will thank you for it!  With that said, I'm pleased that Amy let me interview her on my blog today.  

1. What do you look for in the books you read?
I mostly look for romance.  If there is even a hint of it in a book, I'll read that book cover to cover.  I like other books as well that are creative: ones that can transport me to another world as an escape.  I enjoy becoming the character in a story as I read.  Anything short of that is disappointing.


2. Who is your favorite author? Favorite book?
A FAVORITE BOOK?  That's like asking me which book boyfriend I like the most.  I love them all. :)  I could go old school and tell you about my obsession with Diana Gabaldon and the Outlander series, or Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas, or J.K. Rowling (the books I should not have to name) or Markus Zusak's I Am The Messenger, but let me tell you about the newcomers...
There are new authors on the horizon.  Here are some to watch: Charlotte Abel/Enchantment, Shelly Crane/Significance series, Quinn Loftis/Grey Wolves series, Samantha Young/ Fire Spirits series, M. Leighton/ Madly series, Georgia Cates/The Vampire Agape series, Angeline Kace/Vampire Born series, Colleen Hoover/Slammed, Chelsea Fine/The Archers of Avalon series, Tiffany King/The Saving Angels series, and no one should miss Nancy Straight/Destiny series!

3. What is the best part about being an author?
Readers.  I have finally found where I belong.  Growing up, no one I knew liked books like I liked books.  No one else spent all of their money solely on books like me, or hoarded them because I couldn't part with them since I knew I would want to re-read them at least a dozen more times before I could even put them on a shelf.  I found my people after I published.  I found that there are so many readers like me out there and we understand each other.

4. What is the worst part about being an author?
Rejection.  Part of being a creative person inherently means that I'm perfectly flawed.  I find beauty in imperfection.  Some people do not.  I sometimes fail to reach those people.  But, I'm learning every day to fail better.

5. What do you want others to know about you?
I secretly wonder about things all the time.  I wonder if the guy in the car in front of me with his right turn signal on ever actually intended to turn right.  I wonder if the government knows that any plot to overthrow them will have been hatched while waiting in line at the DMV.  I wonder why MIT is working on a non-stick ketchup bottle.  I wonder why we're here and what else is out there in the universe.  I wonder.

Oh, and I sometimes narrate things I want my husband to do.  Like I'll watch him for a second and then I'll say, "Tom, sitting alone at his laptop in the kitchen reading about the debt crisis, suddenly gets an overwhelming urge to change the burned out light bulb in the bathroom."  Sadly, however, it rarely works.

6. What is the last book you read?
The last book that I read was Significance by Shelly Crane.  Thankfully, it only took me a couple of days to read it because it was getting awkward not being able to put it down.  I volunteer to teach language arts on Wednesdays.  I found that I couldn't leave the book at home.  I brought it with me intending to leave it in my car, but after I locked my car and crossed the street, I had to go back across the street and get the book out of the car to take with me into the school.  I put Significance in my purse, but I found I was really distracted while teaching because I had anxiety that someone might take the book from my purse (not take my wallet or my credit cards, but take my Significance book).  Yeah, I'm that kind of crazy about books.  

7. Where do you see yourself in 1, 5 and 10 years?
When I wrote Inescapable, it was with the thought that I wouldn't show it to anyone—that it was just for me to see if I could do it.  I thought that that would be enough.  After I finished it, I found that I wanted more.  I wanted to see what someone else thought of it.  Once I let the story escape from my computer, a need built within me to publish the manuscript.  I still wasn't dreaming big; I thought that maybe just selling a few copies of it would be something, even if it was ephemeral, it would be okay.  That's not what has been happening lately.  Lately, reality is teaching me that I should dream bigger.

So, I don't know what the future holds for me...but, there is this dream I have of slouching down in a red, high-backed theater seat as the house lights darken.  When the movie begins, I'll get goose bumps and my throat will tighten because Inescapable will spill across the screen.  If that happens, I'll know that my dream came true.

8. Who is your favorite Book Blogger?
Answering that question is a little like gathering all of your most intimate friends, the ones who've helped you at your weakest points, and announcing to them which one is the Maid of Honor.  Instead, I would like to thank the ladies at The Book Hookup (who are: Celeste, Ana, Jag, Christina & Amy), Mystmusician, The Library Mouse, Late Bloomer Online, Dark Angel Reader, SupaGurl, and I know there are a ton I haven't mentioned (and when I think of them all I will cringe and carry the guilt around for weeks.)

9. What project are you working on now?
I'm working on the fourth book in the Premonition series entitled Incendiary. 

10. If you could meet anyone (alive or dead) at Starbucks for a cup of White Mocha Latte, who would it be?
I'd like to say God, but I don't know if that's true.  If I had a chance to meet God in a coffee shop, I'd probably sit outside the shop in my car trying to gather up the courage to go in and speak with Him.  I mean, how does one open that conversation?  With a joke?  Say something like, "Phhst, can you believe those crazy Babylonians..."  
 
Thank you, Nancy Straight, for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I'm grateful.  I look forward to meeting you in person!  No, thank you, Amy!  I'm sure you hear it all the time - but you need to write faster and I'm thrilled you agreed to let me interview you!!

You can find Amy:
1. Twitter ID: @Amy_A_Bartol
3. Amy's Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/amyabartol
5. Link to her books on Amazon
6. Link to Amy's blog:   http://www.amyabartol.com

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