Monday, April 09, 2007

Interview With Amy Wallace

Hi, Amy! Congratulations on the release of Ransom Dreams. Thanks for dropping by.

Thanks for having me over, Madame Prez! I appreciate so much your being a part of this blog tour!

I like to ask questions a little off the "beaten track", so don't say I didn't warn you! LOL
Gracie Ann. What a beautiful name for a character. Does it have a special meaning to you?

Thank you! Gracie and Steven were the only names I ever knew for these characters, and from the start they just fit and felt right. Funny thing I just realized with your question is that both Grace and Steven are among the top picks my husband and I had chosen as baby middle names. We have three girls, so Steven never made it to a birth certificate, but Grace is our second daughter’s middle name.

If you could only have 3 adjectives to describe your heroine, what would they be, and why?

Loyal, yearning, brave. Gracie is who I want to be when I grow up. She’s loyal and loving toward family and friends, she’s so real in her yearning for the life that was stolen from her that I can taste the tears, and she’s also brave in how she chooses to seek and find answers and wrestle things out with God.

Same with your hero.

Passionate, wounded, searching. Steven is a wounded superhero kind of guy. He lives stretched between the strong desire to live life with all he has and yet is terrified of the risks that kind of living requires. But in his searching, he decides to take a chance again with his heart in the same way he rescues kids~ with everything in him.

So many readers, and writers, too, love to hear how book plots are born. What gave you the "gem" of an idea for this book?

The idea for Ransomed Dreams came from a literal dream that was so real it was like a favorite movie I’d watched over and over. Only when I woke up, I knew I’d never seen this “movie” before, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the mom in trouble and the FBI agent with a scarred heart.

You're a wife, mother to 3 daughters (welcome to my nightmare-lol) and you homeschool them, in addition to other activities and being a writer. How do you balance your time?

Some days I don’t! And I’m still working on how to get enough sleep at night, so if anyone has a good tip for how to get more sleep PLEASE send it my way!
Even working with little sleep, a good majority of the time things run well because we all love being a homeschooling family and are used to living on a schedule that works for us as a unit. My kids have been a huge encouragement and even though I get some “I wish you didn’t have to work today” sad eyes, they’re happy I’m doing something I love when I disappear on Saturdays to write. I don’t know that I could write without having them home for school and their support when it’s time for me to go to work.

What living author do you admire the most, and why?

Liz Curtis Higgs would be my most admired living author because she is comfortable in her own skin and just being in her presence makes my soul relax. She’s a joy and an incredible encourager.

Of the deceased authors, whose work do you think most influenced your writing and how?

Would I get kicked out of ACFW if I admitted my literary hero is Snoopy from Peanuts? I really wish I could say some wonderful literary person, but in all honesty I have to say Charles M. Schulz. Mr. Schulz’s “It was a dark and stormy night” literary dog has been my favorite “how to write” teacher in Snoopy’s Guide to the Writing Life.

LOL! What are you working on now?

I’m in over my head with book 3, but I’m enjoying it. The characters are real and I know their story, but this is the point where I’m walking around in a daze with sticky notes on everything but my kids’ foreheads and I wake up at 3 AM with yet another great scene idea. It’s a little tiring, but fun to watch the story come together.

Thanks for dropping by, Amy! Can't wait to read your newest release!

Thanks for having me, Robin!

You can visit Amy's sites at: www.amywallace.com
www.defendersofhope.com

Monday, April 02, 2007

Weekend Off for Visiting With Family


You know, every once in a while, we need to take the time to recharge our creative batteries and take time off to just relax. This past weekend, I did this. I told the ACFW Operating Board I'd be gone all weekend and turned the reins over to the VP--told my agent I'd be out of town--and cleared my weekend schedule with my critique business. Hubby and I took the kids and off we went to spend the weekend with my family. We had a WONDERFUL time visiting and catching up with one another. It's amazing how much more focused my mental creativity is today! For your enjoyment, this is a picture of my family, taken in my mom's backyard. Don't we all look more refreshed? LOL Can you pick me and my hubby and kids outta the group? LOL