Author Interview with Amy Snyder
Welcome to Amy Snyder on the blog today for a little fun and answering some questions about her books and writing.
Did you ever think you would be unable to finish your first novel?
Of course! My inability to finish that first elusive novel was what inspired me to write UNFINISHED. It’s so daunting writing an entire novel. It was something I really struggled with for years.
How much of yourself do you put into your books?
It depends on the book. In my debut novel, UNFINISHED, I drew a great deal from my own experiences to create this somewhat fictional character who also happens to be a writer. But in my other novels, the characters have very little of me in them.
When you were young, did you ever see writing as a career or full-time profession?
I always hoped writing would be my full-time profession. I still do. I still dream that one day, I will get up every day and my only job will be to write!
Do you have a day job other than being a writer? And do you like it? Does your day job ever get in the way of your writing?
I do have a day job. I work at a library in an Elementary School. I love it. The interaction with children is priceless. It’s fun and I’m surrounded by books all day…but I would still rather be writing.
What do you do in your free time?
My free time is consumed with two things: writing and spending time with my family.
Given the chance to live your life again, what would you change about yourself?
I wouldn’t have been so quick to settle for a day job when I was young and hungry. I wish I took my writing more seriously when I was younger and was more disciplined about it. I could have used the extra practice then and I think I’d be further along in my career now.
How big of a part does music play in creating your “zone”?
Huge. I generally have a playlist for every story I’m working on. It really helps me to shift gears when I’m working on more than one project at once, which is quite often.
Do you need to be in a specific place or room to write, or you can just sit in the middle of a café full of people and write?
I can be anywhere, but it’s best if I’m alone. I tend to talk to myself when I write. I also like to pace around. So while I can write in public, I prefer to be in private.
Have you ever turned a dream or a nightmare into a written piece?
I haven’t taken a specific dream or nightmare but sometimes, when I wake in the morning, I am left with a remnant of something that usually gets written down on a Post-it. I may use a detail or two, but my dreams generally wouldn’t make sense to anybody but me. I’m the only one who might understand the subtext.
What is that dream goal you want to achieve before you die?
It used to be to get published, but since I can cross that one off my Bucket List, I now dream of writing a best-seller!
Nine characters, five stories, one marriage.
Can one writer save them all?
Get Your Copy Today!
Unfinished
By Amy Snyder
Fiery Seas Publishing
Women's Fiction
July 25, 2017
Mirabelle is a writer who just can't finish any of the stories she starts. When her twins leave home for college, they take with them Mirabelle’s sense of identity. As she strives to adjust to her empty nest she is visited by someone unexpected: a character from the very first novel she ever attempted to write.
Characters from all of her unfinished works begin to materialize in her home, in her car, at her job. They talk, yell, and some even throw things at her. Mirabelle can see them, smell them, touch them and though she knows they’re not real, she can’t help but engage them. She created them, after all. They become part of her daily life and she finds herself alternating between hiding them from and sharing them with her almost-always-doting husband, Alex.
Some of Mirabelle’s characters are like good friends, encouraging her to finish something she’s started. Others manipulate her for their own needs and story lines. Good and bad, these characters are part of her and Mirabelle discovers she needs to both fix and finish them before they destroy her life, her sanity, and her marriage.
About the Author:
Amy Snyder began writing when she realized the strange things that happened in her imagination were far more interesting than the things that happened in her real life. After earning her degree in Radio, Television, and Film from Northwestern University, she worked at a financial brokerage house, a nationally published magazine, an advertising agency, and most recently, an elementary school as a Math Tutor, Substitute Teacher, and Library Paraprofessional.
But she’s always been a writer.
Amy lives in Glastonbury, Connecticut with her husband, two teenage children, and two cats. While she has been known to talk out loud to the characters she’s writing, she hasn’t had an actual hallucination…yet.
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