Ten Things You Might Not Care to Know About Amanda: (but she'll tell you anyway)

1. Amanda began writing reluctantly (when the voices wouldn't stop telling their stories until she agreed to write them down!) Now she loves it, and she spends all of her free time thinking of make-believe worlds and trying to bring them to life. Her mom is also an author (she writes under the name Liberty Blake), so you could say that writing is in her genes!
2. Amanda loves to have her world revolve around her children (though she can't remember when she officially became a taxi driver!)
3. Amanda's first work of fiction was published by a NY publisher when she was in seventh grade, as part of the "Young Authors of America" contest. The story was titled, "They Called it Dare Mountain." She actually wrote the story in sixth grade and her teacher entered it in the contest. She got "the call" from NY while she was in math class in 7th grade (and when she got called to the office for the phone call, she thought she was in trouble for her overdue library books...) When she got her author copies in the mail, she knew the joy of being a published author. She didn't mind getting the fan mail from students across the country, either!
4. Besides writing, Amanda works as a preschool teacher and also has a small birthday party/event business, where the main focus is "make-your-own-stuffed-animals." Kids bring the stuffed animals to life with various character traits, such as loyalty, kindness, manners, and more--super fun!
5. Amanda is a little too addicted to baked goods (gluten-free), peanut M&Ms (and her most recent favorite--Snickers Peanut Butter Squared...Seriously--who is the evil genius who invented that?), and other yummies. She wishes she could be addicted to broccoli and spinach instead.
6. Amanda has the best friends in the entire universe. She learned in high school that quality was so much more important than quantity.
7. Amanda's favorite shows (currently) are Grey's Anatomy (though she spends a whole lot of time yelling at the TV), Madam Secretary, and This Is Us. She also enjoys reruns of Friends - that show never gets old, and she was overjoyed when her children became obsessed with it, too. She also could watch Sex and the City reruns anytime. Can't forget Buffy, which she discovered years after it went off the air. Her family watched the series together over the course of a year. (Now they all love Joss Whedon!)
8. Amanda is a sucker for any romantic comedy. She also enjoys a good superhero movie. She doesn't like graphic, realistic, bloody violence.
9. Amanda is a natural redhead, but never heard the term "ginger" until last year. (She heard plenty of references to "Carrot Top," though!) None of her children were born with red hair, but her firstborn nephew was (even though her sister is not a redhead)!
10. Amanda's first published works were YA, but her first written projects (pre-publication) were adult romance. She loves writing both, and hopes to eventually work time into her schedule to go back to writing some YA. For now she is loving Healing Springs and wishes it were real so she could live there. Not only is it a place filled with hot, kind, compassionate men, but who wouldn't want a Miss Molly to advise them? ☺
11. Yeah, she said "ten things," but Amanda doesn't always follow the rules. (Some may call her a bit of a rebel; she prefers "free spirit.") Amanda loves to hear from readers, and hopes you'll take the time to contact her!