I wanted to interview Amanda Green for Amazing Stories because she is not only an author, but an editor, and she wrote a series of articles, The Road to Digital Publication (you can find all the links midway down this page), which were invaluable to me in putting out my first novel last year. I finally talked her into taking some time out of her very busy schedule and sitting down with some questions.
Cedar Sanderson For Amazing Stories Magazine: Why do you write?
Amanda Green: The short answer is because I have to. I know that might sound strange but it’s the truth. For as long as I can remember, I’ve made up stories. First they were to entertain myself and then others. Once I learned how to print, well, the stories in my head were put down on paper. I wrote stories I know now are fanfic about my favorite TV shows as I grew up. When I tried to quit writing, it drove me crazy. I need a creative outlet and writing happens to be it.
ASM: What is important to you about writing?
AG: This is one of those questions that I need to think about. As a writer, what’s important is writing a story readers find entertaining. If they aren’t entertained, they aren’t going to finish the book. That means not only having a compelling plot but also crafting characters the reader can care about. I want to pull the reader into the story, not make them feel like an observer looking in from outside.
ASM: How are you published, and why did you decide to go that route?
AG: My first publication credit is what’s considered a “pro” sale, at least according to SFWA standards. It’s a short story included in the anthology, Better Off Undead, edited by Martin Greenberg and Dan Hoyt. I got lucky there. I was invited to submit to the antho on spec. When Dan accepted the story, it was the confidence boost I needed to keep trying.
AG: Would I go through NRP again? Absolutely. I like the freedom of working with a small press and I appreciate the fact that they take care of cover art, isbns, and all the “business” of publishing so I don’t have to.
Lt. Mackenzie Santos swears she will never take another vacation again as long as she lives. The moment she returns home, two federal agents are there to take her into custody. Then she finds out her partner, Sgt. Patricia Collins, as well as several others are missing. Several of the missing have connections to law enforcement. All are connected to Mac through one important and very secret fact — they are all shapechangers. Has someone finally discovered that the myths and bad Hollywood movies are actually based on fact or is there something else, something more insidious at work?
Mac finds herself in a race against time not only to save her partner and the others but to discover who was behind their disappearances. As she does, she finds herself dealing with Internal Affairs, dirty cops, the Feds and a possible conspiracy within the shapeshifter community that could not only bring their existence to light but cause a civil war between shifters.
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