An Interview with Amanda Linnemeyer
Amanda Linnemeyer was born and raised in Portland, Oregon but now considers herself a Texan after spending most of her adulthood in San Antonio. She attended Brigham Young University and graduated Cum Laude with an English degree and emphasis in creative writing (though she never managed to make it through the waitlist for Brandon Sanderson’s class). She and her physician husband have two incredible daughters who are polar opposites of each other and are living in Florida as an Air Force family.
Amanda is repped by Jess Taylor with Martin-Newens Literary Management.
What inspired you to start writing this book?
The first hint of this story (as with most of what I’ve written) came from a dream I had. In the dream, I was an assassin, and my ‘hit’ got interrupted by another agent from my same organization, and she said she’d been told to stop me from succeeding. When I woke up, I started pondering why any spy/clandestine organization would ever give their operatives opposing orders, and that eventually led to this story! I’d previously wanted to write something with characters who were some form of cupids (like the bow and arrow cupids lol), and I was able to incorporate that into this story as well … just without the bow and arrows.
Tell us the story of your book’s current title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?
I always, always write better when my story has a title. I feel like the right title can be enough to draw readers in all by itself if compelling enough! Sometimes I start with the title (like my current WIP), and twice I’ve changed it after the fact (I did that with the first two stories I wrote). This one I settled on as I was drafting the original outline.
If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?
When I wrote this book, I hadn’t yet started writing to playlists (at this point I’m usually editing one book, writing another, and outlining a third … or a few), so I had to think really hard about this question! The soundtrack for this one would have to be VERY eclectic though, with different genres for each of the MC’s many fractured personalities. I think it would be a good mix of EDM/house music (Nothing Left by Twin Diplomacy for sure!) as well as The Search by NF, the rock cover of The Fate of Ophelia by Our Last Night, and some songs by Sleep Token. But I’d also need some fun songs mixed in that have a vibe more akin to How It’s Done from K-Pop Demon Hunters.
What books are you reading (for research or comfort) as you continue the writing process?
In my opinion, reading is THE most single important thing you can do to keep improving as a writer. Reading for research (and comp titles) is essential, but so is reading for fun! Inspiration has struck many times when I’ve been reading for pleasure. Right now, I’m reading several different books, but my favorite of them is Isles of the Emberdark. Anything Brandon Sanderson is an automatic buy for me, and this one has not disappointed so far! My WIP is a folklore-inspired YA horror, so my next read is going to be The Eyes are the Best Part and I’m absurdly excited to start that one.
What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?
I have had a lot of very random jobs, though I’d say being an author is my only true profession unless you count being a parent. I’ve been everything from a nanny to a seed packager to a dog walker! One of my most fun jobs was working for Ancestry as an archival digitization specialist (a fancy title for pretty straightforward tasks once I’d completed the training).
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
I’ve always had a very overactive imagination, and even as a child I wrote little stories in my notebooks at home. But long before I ever knew I wanted to write professionally, I found joy and escapism in reading. As I got older, I dreamed of being able to write stories that would bring that same joy to others. But for a long time, I was too afraid of pursuing it; I’ve never been good at dealing with rejection. Once I had my first daughter, though, I knew I wanted to be able to tell her to pursue her dreams as she grew older … and I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. So, I wrote my first book. And eventually I wrote my second. And then third. And now I’m working on my twelfth!
As far as authors that I want to emulate, I want to be like Brandon Sanderson, both with his writing style as well as putting out several books every year. I want to write across age ranges (and genres, to some degree), which is something he has perfected by this point. I also absolutely adore the writing of Marissa Meyer, Alix E. Harrow, Sara Hashem, Sabaa Tahir, Leigh Bardugo, and so many others!
Where is your favorite place to write?
I almost always write sitting on my bed with my wedge pillow behind me and my pup curled up next to me. I’ve tried writing at a desk or sitting on the couch, and it just doesn’t work for me.
What advice would you give your past self at the start of your writing journey?
Don’t let the rejections bog you down, and never give up. Stories you love will be hated by others, and books you hated will be someone else’s favorite. Keeping that in mind, there’s no need to let the rejections make you feel like you’re not good enough. It’s all subjective! Just keep writing and reading, and you’ll get better as you put in the work. You’ll find those people who love your stories. You are good enough to do this, so long as you never give up.
What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?
Good books make you feel things. For this specific book, I hope readers feel like it’s okay to be themselves, that they don’t need to try and remake themselves to please others. Fitting in is overrated; it’s much more fun to be weird.
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