Author Interview: Amy C Blake

Today, I have the privilege to introduce you to another one of my Mantle Rock Publishing sister authors. I personally feel anyone with the name Amy is worth getting to know, don't you? Ha! Seriously, though, we're in for a fun interview. Amy Blake writes in two different genres, but today she's talking fantasy with us. 

Amy B, I'm so impressed. You're homeschooling four children. How on earth do you have time to be an author, too?

Thanks, Amy! It’s a juggling act, just as it is for every author with work and family responsibilities. When my kids were little I had to schedule writing time during the kids’ nap/quiet time. In the chauffer-mom stage, I’ve learned to take my laptop or notebook to their various lessons, practices, and classes. It’s a matter of intentionally integrating writing time into my family’s schedule. It doesn’t work flawlessly, but I certainly accomplish more by carving out the time than I would by waiting for those perfect writing moments that so rarely come.

I am in the nap/quiet time stage now, so I can understand that completely.
Have you always wanted to be an author or is that something that came in recent years?

I’ve always loved to read, but I never imagined myself as someone who could be an author until after I graduated from college. Then I immersed myself in learning how to write and just kept plugging away until I achieved my dreams of publication.

I've read the first book in your On the Brink series. Whitewashed wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it definitely kept me turning the pages the whole time and wanting to know more. What gave you the idea to set the mystery at a college? 

Whitewashed is very loosely based on an embezzlement incident that occurred at my own alma mater. I exaggerated events and ramped up the danger for Patience at Verity College, but my own school’s experience with embezzlement was the inspiration for the book. The other two novels in this suspense trilogy, Colorblind and Tie-Dyed, follow Patience’s friends Christy and Nat on their own perilous college and internship adventures. 

I know you also write a YA fantasy series. Can you tell us a little more about that? Is it set in the real world or a completely fictional one?

My Levi Prince YA Christian fantasy series is about a homeschooled pastor’s son who goes to summer camp at Camp Classic on Castle Island, a fictional island in the middle of Lake Superior. Unknown to most of the campers, the far northern cliff of Castle Island is the connecting point with Terracaelum, a realm populated with mythical creatures that is invisible except when the drawbridge is lowered. The Trojan Horse Traitor, The Fall of Thor’s Hammer, and my newest release The Fay’s Apprentice follow Levi on consecutive summers beginning when he’s thirteen. Each novel plays off of a story from ancient civilizations—Greek, Norse, British, and Roman (in the fourth book that I’m currently writing).  

That sounds fascinating. I'll have to check them out.
Since you write two different genres, I'm curious. Do you have a favorite genre? Which do you find easier to write?

That’s a tough question. When I’m reading or writing suspense, I’ll probably tell you that it’s my favorite genre. But when I’m reading or writing YA fantasy, I’ll probably tell you YA fantasy is.

One last question. Can you leave us with a fun fact that very few people know about you?

Lots of people don’t know that I met my husband in Argumentation class at college. We debated against each other, and the class said I won while the teacher said he won. To this day we still disagree on who was the winner of that argument.

It's not everyone who says they got together by arguing! That's so neat. Thanks for sharing such neat tidbits, and spending time with us today, Amy B.

If you'd like to know more about Amy Blake or her books, keep reading.

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The Fay's Apprentice (Levi Prince, book 3)

On Levi’s third summer at Camp Classic, he’s torn between two responsibilities. On the one hand, his parents expect him to watch over his little sister Abby, who has no clue their summer camp is a haven for mythical creatures. On the other hand, Mr. Dominic wants him to train at Fort Terra, a full day’s hike away from his sister, because of Levi’s previous encounters with the demon sorcerer Deceptor. Although he enjoys training with his friends, Levi finds life at Fort Terra difficult thanks to the ongoing tension between him and Hunter and the stress of having his former kidnapper Regin as his chaperone. When the woman Regin claims to be the evil sorceress Anna appears, Levi faces a whole new challenge.

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Award-winning author Amy C. Blake is a pastor’s wife and homeschooling mother of four. She has an M.A. in English from Mississippi College and has written articles, devotionals, and short stories for a number of publications. She’s also writing two series for the Christian market, her Levi Prince YA fantasy series and her On the Brink Christian suspense trilogy. Whitewashed, Colorblind, and Tie-Dyed , featuring three homeschooled girls on the brink of adulthood…and danger, are available in paperback and Kindle. The Trojan Horse Traitor, The Fall of Thor’s Hammer , and The Fay’s Apprentice, about homeschooled pastor’s kid Levi Prince and his adventures in Terracaelum, are also available in paperback and Kindle. She’d love for you to visit her website at amycblake.com.