Good morning! Today, I am putting on my interviewer hat again and chatting with author Amber Skye Forbes. She’s here to tell me all about her new release, her writing process, and more! Check out what she had to say…
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became a writer.
I am a college student attending Augusta State University for middle Education with a primary concentration in English–although I think I’ll mostly tutor and edit. I’ve always known I wanted to be a writer ever since I was in second grade. I just enjoyed the act of writing and creation. There was something powerful about it, especially because when you’re little, you have little control over anything. So it was great that I could have control over something.
2. You are getting ready to release a new book. Tell us about it and what inspired you to write it.
When Amelia discovers witch blood in her family, she joins a convent to cleanse the taint from her blood. But when she learns that redemption isn’t possible, she unites with the dangerously attractive priest, Oliver Cromwell, to fight for a place in Paradise.
When Stars Die isn’t your typical forbidden love paranormal romance. For one thing, Amelia doesn’t suddenly fall in love with Oliver. He’s her best friend, and so she’s known him for a bit. And even though she’s had feelings for him for quite some time, that whole falling in love thing doesn’t occur quite the way readers will expect. As for what inspired me, I can’t even begin to pinpoint it. I just know that I’ve always wanted to write a story involving convents and cathedrals and warped religions, and I was always fascinated with witches. I wanted to create an entire system out of witches, like why certain people were witches and others weren’t. I was so fascinated with the Salem Witch Trials at the beginning of starting The Stars Trilogy years ago. I also had a nightmare involving Amelia, but she was much more sadistic than she is now. It was just an amalgam of things that inspired When Stars Die.
3. Tell us a bit about your writing process. What kind of schedule do you keep, and do you have anything special you do to get into the writing zone?
My writing process mostly consists of outlining the entire novel before I begin drafting it, that way there is no excuse for having writer’s block. And I don’t necessarily have a schedule. I write when I can. I am a college student and do have another job, and I also do ballet, so I have to work my writing around these things. And I do. I manage just fine. As for doing anything special, I don’t. I just start writing.
5. What’s the first book you remember reading?
The first book I remember reading was one of The Magic Treehouse books by Mary Pope Osborne. That book was what got me into reading, when before I wasn’t that interested in it. I actually fell in love with writing first before reading.
6. What’s one of the most helpful bits of advice you’ve come across/received since you started writing?
One of the most helpful bits of advice I’ve come across is not to listen to the supposed writing advice or wisdom being spouted off. Learn the basics, yes, but if you want to create something extraordinary, don’t listen to what anyone else says. I just can’t remember who said that though.
7. What character would you most like to meet in real life?
I would love to meet Gemma Doyle from Libba Bray’s A Great and Terrible Beauty. She’s sarcastic and snarky but also sensitive and loyal.
8. Name one book you wish you’d written and why.
I don’t really wish that I would have written any other book but my own because I am me and am very much different from authors who have written some of my favorite books. Take The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, for example. I could wish that I would have written it, but it wouldn’t be the book that it is today because I am different from Mr. Green, and so TFIOS as we know it would be vastly different. So I am very much happy to have written When Stars Die. I wouldn’t want to write any other books but the books that come from my own mind.
9. How do you promote your work?
Thus far, I have promoted my work using Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, and Tumblr–by connecting with others as a person and not spam promoting. I am now going to start using Goodreads, and I also use some publicity services since I can afford them–like using services to help me with my cover reveal. I’ve sent out ARCs, too, for When Stars Die. I also do book giveaways. I buy the books with my own money and send them off to the winners. Lately I’ve been wanting to do a book trailer, too, and I’m hoping my fiancé can help me with that. AEC Stellar also has a social media publicity team for me too that will shortly be helping me out, but I also take so much pride in my book that I am very happy to do a lot myself too. So I am doing my best to come up with creative ways to get the word out there about When Stars Die.
10. Besides your upcoming release, what else have you got planned for your readers?
Well, I wrote a YA contemporary lit short story for an upcoming anthology my publisher is putting together for publicity services. I can’t wait for readers to devour that. I’m also working on the sequel for When Stars Die titled When Stars Rise. I also have a sick lit/contemporary fantasy in the works that is on pause but will be picked back up once the semester ends–or once I finish with When Stars Rise re-writes. I am also outlining a YA contemporary lit novel–sick lit too–so I have a lot in the works.
About Amber
Amber Skye Forbes is a dancing writer who prefers pointe shoes over street shoes, leotards over skirts, and ballet buns over hairstyles. She loves striped tights and bows and will edit your face with a Sharpie if she doesn’t like your attitude. She lives in Augusta, Georgia where she writes dark fiction that will one day put her in a psychiatric ward…again. But she doesn’t care because her cat is a super hero who will break her out.
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