Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing?
I started writing as a preteen. As a voracious reader and constant daydreamer, it was inevitable that I’d want to tell my own stories. I never finished any of my young ideas, though, always moving on to the next fun concept without concluding a plot. It was years of reading, enjoying videos games, TV, and my favorite movies, that eventually taught me the nuances of storytelling to finish something and get into good writing habits. While I have been published since 2012, it was a few years ago when I first participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) that I really committed to writing every day and never lost that momentum. I started writing self-insertion, like many writers, but as I matured, coming to accept certain things about myself and improving my craft, nothing I published was anything like that. I gravitated toward M/M because those are the characters I relate to, and those are the stories that whisper to me and demand to be told.
Can you tell us about your new release? What inspired you to write it?
My newest release – Public Enemy, Undercover Lover – was actually two ideas that I didn’t think could exist on their own and decided to try combining into a single narrative. It was hard work, but I’m glad I did it. The newest of the books I’m promoting today as part of my backlog would be After Vertigo, which is my second time writing a sort of enemies to lovers superhero story. Unlike my first, which is my Lovesick series, where it really is enemies to lovers, this is more a thief with a heart of gold and a would-be hero, who blackmails the thief to help him deal with actual villains around the city. As a lifelong Marvel and DC fan, my love of superhero stories comes from that, but I’d say largely DC lately, particularly the CW shows and my love of the Flash has some nods in this. I actually have a tattoo dedicated to the Flash and my favorite villain of his, Captain Cold.
Did you learn anything from writing your book? What was it?
I learn something from writing every book, sometimes from research when I’m looking into topics that I have less first-hand knowledge about, or just what it makes me realize about myself. Since I’m promoting an array of books today, I think I’ll answer this one with Lovesick Gods. It’s the first book in a two-part series and takes a very serious look at bipolar depression and trauma, through the lens of a superhero story. I didn’t realize until very late in the initial writing process how much I was using the story as personal therapy, and how much it honestly helped me to get over my own rock bottom while dealing with being bipolar. Sometimes, as writers, we actively seek that type of thing. Sometimes, it seeks us.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
It feels cliché and I always say this, but it seriously is the most important thing – write every day. Once you get into that habit, you won’t believe how much easier it is to stay in a writing mindset and come up with more and exciting ideas to write about. I also live by the great quote from Sir Terry Pratchett that the first draft is just you telling yourself the story. Get it down, get it written, then when you can go back and edit and worry about making it something more polished.
Do you have a favourite character and/or book you’ve written? Who, what and why?
I have to mention Lovesick again. When people ask me what my favorite book is, it’s always that one, because it’s so dear to me, so visceral, and I love the messages and the characters. That said, my favorite character has to be Sasha Kelly from my Incubus Saga series. I didn’t include that with this promo run, but it was my first big publication, which turned into a trilogy. Sasha is the incubus the series is named for, gorgeous, flawed, and loveable. He always puts on a brave face, puts others ahead of himself, sometimes to a fault, and can be so tragic that you just want to hug him, while he’s smiling (or singing) through his tears. He’s trying to live in two worlds, both as a human hunter of evil fae, being part fae himself. He’s been ostracised from his own people but takes it in stride and wants more than anything to find love the way his parents once did.
*What are your writing and personal goals for 2020 and beyond?
Keep the momentum going, which lately for me has been producing about two books a year. I have so many ideas and more come to me every day. I never want to stop. As soon as I have one book in process with a publisher, I’m both editing the next, while also writing the next after that. A big goal, however, is to write another series. I’ve just finished the first draft on book one of a planned trilogy, which I am really excited to continue.
When is your next book coming out, and what’s it about?
My next release isn’t set in stone yet, finishing final galley edits with Dreamspinner now, but I hope will release later this year – Their Dark Reflections. It’s my second vampire-focused novel, but the first was Young Adult, so I’m really excited for this. Vampires were a big part of growing up for me, just one of my favorite things, from a love of Dracula, to Forever Knight, Kindred the Embraced (and Vampire the Masquerade for that matter), as well as Buffy in all iterations, and much more. The fact that I don’t have an adult vampire novel out yet is pretty crazy! I love adding both humanity to a vampire while also letting them keep their bite. It’s a dark romance to be sure, about deceit and conspiracies and finding love against all odds, and I’m hoping it will capture a lot of vampire-lover hearts.
*What are you working on at present? Would you like to share a snippet?
So many things! But since I just finished that first draft for the start of my next trilogy, I’ll share that. Each book will be capable of standing on its own, but in the same universe, with definite nods to each other. This first one is The Prince and the Ice King. Here’s the opening scene:
Reardon shivered with such a bone-deep chill, he thought he would never be warm again, even while hugging the thick furs of his winter cloak around him.
Ice clung to the castle walls outside, but also inside, keeping the temperature bracing and spreading from the corners of the chamber like mold. The deeper Reardon went, the less tolerable the cold became, like being dropped to the bottom of a frozen lake with no hope of surfacing.
Here the walls were not merely dusted with ice, they were coated, covered, practically made of it, and so were the ceiling and floor. The décor looked as though it might have been beautiful once, elegant and exquisitely made, but it was all distorted now, faded tapestries and furniture, impossible to tell their original colors.
As Reardon continued, he stopped and shivered for a different reason.
There were frozen remains against the wall.
No, not remains like a pile of bones, but a full, undecayed corpse, with its mouth wide open in a preserved scream.
“That was the last outsider who found his way to my door,” a low, resonant voice rumbled through the chamber, making Reardon shiver harder. “He tried to break into my castle, to steal from me, before stumbling across the same threshold where you stand now.”
A powerful arm struck out and smashed the body into broken chunks—all clear, like ice, not red and bloody as Reardon had feared. But still, he believed that had been a man once, shattered now.
Dead.
He dared not move to face where the brief glimpse of a bestial hand had come from, but it had to be behind him. He could feel breath like an icy wind on his neck that made his skin prickle.
“And what did you come here for? Hmm? To slay me?”
“If I have to,” Reardon answered, because that had indeed been his intention when he made his way to the Frozen Kingdom—to end this once and for all.
“Try it then,” the voice said, “but be warned, if your skin touches me, you will end up just like he did.”
Reardon spun, reaching for his sword, but while the monster he expected did indeed tower over him—a great, jagged creature made of ice, with angular features, clawed hands and feet that crunched into the floor, fangs as clear as ice themselves, and its head lengthening upward into what appeared like an icy crown—the eyes made him pause.
Because those eyes, crystal clear and sparkling blue, held intelligence and curiosity that something otherwise out of a nightmare had no right to, entirely human.
Blue eyes in a sea of white.
Just like Barclay’s prophecy.
Do you get emails asking why characters didn’t get together and whether you’re going to write more about them?
Not why characters didn’t get together. If I’m writing M/M, they are always going to get together. I can handle bittersweet endings, but I mostly need them to be happy. Side characters usually get to be happy for me too. But as for emails and messages about wanting more of characters – all the time, whether from old series or my standalones. It’s flattering and heart-warming, and always makes me stop to think if I would WANT to write more for those characters. Usually, I have their story to tell and that’s it, but you never know. I certainly always want to hear which of my stories and characters readers want more of, and if there is enough outcry, I may be persuaded.
If you were able to quit your day job and write full time, would you, and why/why not?
I’m planning to. I have been for a long time, it was always the dream, because nothing fulfils me like writing, but at last, within the next year, that is the goal. It’s been a long time coming. I want to be able to focus more on the promotion side and my brand. I always make time to write, but general real life and having a day job makes more than that difficult at times. I want to dedicate more time to fans, to keeping organized with my website and social presence, without having to lose any of my writing time. Finally getting to do this full-time will allow for that, and I can’t imagine anything better.
Amanda Meuwissen is a bisexual and happily married 35-year-old geek. Primarily an M/M romance author with a focus on urban fantasy, she has a Bachelor of Arts in a personally designed Creative Writing major from St. Olaf College and is an avid consumer of fiction through film, prose, and video games. Amanda lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her husband, John, and their cat, Helga.
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BACKLIST TOUR
BOOK 1
It’s not easy being someone’s fairy tale.
Book Title: Coming Up for Air
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Tiferet Design
Length: 66736 words / 191 pages
Release Date: April 30, 2019
Genre/s: Romance / Gay / Paranormal / Urban Fantasy / Merman / Shifter / Crime / Mystery
Trope/s: not what he seems, thief with a heart of gold, friends to lovers, fated love
It is a standalone story.
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Blurb
Leigh Hurley is making a name for himself among thieves and criminals, even if it isn’t the life he would’ve chosen. He shouldn’t have screwed over the Moretti brothers, though. It landed him in the river with weights on his feet. But somehow he’s escaped certain death. The last thing he remembers before waking on the riverbank is a beautiful face and a soft kiss.
Then, Tolomeo turns up naked at Leigh’s apartment.
Tolly comes from a race of killers—merfolk who drown humans for fun. But Tolly is different, and when he sees a human in trouble, he offers a kiss, granting the man the ability to breathe underwater… and himself the ability to walk on land, at least until the next full moon. The ancient laws state that if he is given a vow of love by the one he kissed, he will be able to keep his legs. If not, he will be put to death when he returns to the water.
But love is not something Leigh offers easily… and Tolly has a secret of his own.
BOOK 2
What’s the value of love?
Book Title: A Model Escort
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Bree Archer; Design by Paul Richmond
Length: 60686 words / 225 pages
Release Date: March 5, 2019
Genre/s: Contemporary Romance / Gay
Trope/s: shy protagonist, pretty woman, friends to lovers, abusive ex,
male escort, May-December Romance
It is a standalone story.
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Blurb
Shy data scientist Owen Quinn is brilliant at predictive models but clueless at romance. Fortunately, a new career allows him to start over hundreds of miles from the ex he would rather forget. But the opportunity might go to waste since this isn’t the kind of problem he knows how to solve. The truth is, he’s terrible at making the first move and wishes a connection didn’t have to revolve around sex.
Cal Mercer works for the Nick of Time Escort Service. He’s picky about his clients and has never accepted a regular who is looking for companionship over sex—but can the right client change his mind? And can real feelings develop while money is changing hands? Owen and Cal might get to the root of their true feelings… if their pasts don’t interfere.
BOOK 3
Love is easy once you learn the steps.
Book Title: Interpretive Hearts
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza
Length: 50692 words / 197 pages
Release Date: November 19, 2019
Genre/s: Contemporary Romance / Gay
Trope/s: friends to lovers, May-December Romance, living with disability, neighbors
It is a standalone story.
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Blurb
In the competitive world of dance, Teddy was a flawless performer and hardass choreographer who students feared and admired in equal measure. But hip surgery ended the glamour and drama, and now Teddy is recovering at his beach house, lost and listless.
Until he meets Finn, his neighbor, who is too perfect, gorgeous, and kind to exist—but very ill timed. In a seaside town as small as theirs, they can’t avoid each other, especially since Finn is also Teddy’s new physical therapist. But Teddy isn’t the man he used to be, and though Finn flirts shamelessly with him, Teddy can’t believe a has-been dancer is worthy of someone so young and full of life.
Finn’s sunny smile is also hiding heartache. Pursuing Teddy challenges both his professionalism and his self-preservation, but if he can convince Teddy to trust him, maybe they both can heal.
BOOK 4
Heroes aren’t born, they’re made – sometimes reluctantly.
Book Title: After Vertigo
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Tiferet Design
Length: 66422 words / 194 pages
Release Date: December 10, 2019
Genre/s: Gay / Paranormal Romance / Science Fiction / Urban Fantasy / Superheroes
Trope/s: frenemies to lovers, social awkward protagonist, 40-year-old virgin,
antihero, save the world, thief with a heart of gold
It is a standalone story.
Buy Links
Dreamspinner | DPS Publications | Amazon
Blurb
In a flash, the world changed. A solar flare—later dubbed Vertigo—activated the DNA of more than half the world’s people, granting them special abilities. Brilliant scientist Benjamin Krane might be Powerless, but his inventions are the only thing giving the police a fighting chance against super-powered evil. Ben doesn’t have much of a life beyond work, and when he gets wind of a robbery one evening, he decides to test his newest invention personally….
A thief, rogue, and shameless flirt, Grey Miller—aka the Streak—likes shiny things, but he doesn’t hurt people. When Ben catches him—and proposes they team up against the real bad guys—Grey doesn’t know whether it’s the offer or the man he can’t resist. But one thing’s for sure—they’re an ideal match in more ways than one.
With a psychotic supervillain’s catastrophic plan moving forward and everyone he cares about in danger, now might not be the best time for Ben to give in to Grey’s seduction, no matter how tempting. Grey is a man of secrets, and if Ben wants a future with him, he’ll have to learn to trust Grey—and himself.
BOOK 5
Heroes aren’t meant to act like their villains—or fall in love with them.
Book Title: Lovesick Gods
Publisher: Self
Cover Artist: Mario Hernandez, Design by Veronika Dolnikova
Length: 106609 words / 313 pages
Release Date: October 1, 2017
Genre/s: Bisexual / Urban Fantasy / Dark Romance / Superheroes
Trope/s: enemies to lovers, corrupted hero, redeemable villain, living with bipolar disorder, thief with a heart of gold
This is part 1 of a 2-part series.
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Blurb
The elements touch everyone on Earth—Fire, Water, even Light—but every so often someone becomes more attuned to their elemental leaning and develops true power. When an evil Elemental known as Thanatos arrived in Olympus City, it saw the rise of its first hero—Zeus. But the death toll caused by defeating Thanatos changed Zeus, who by day is young detective Danny Grant.
It’s been six months since Thanatos terrorized the city at the start of Lovesick Gods. Danny should be used to his duty behind the mask, but the recent past haunts him. His girlfriend left him, he snaps at the barest provocation, his life feels empty—he needs an outlet, any outlet to pull him out of his depression.
Enter notorious thief Malcolm Cho, the Ice Elemental Prometheus. There was a time when Danny welcomed a fight with Cho, filled with colorful banter and casual flirtations that were a relief compared to Thanatos. Even as a criminal, Cho had recognized the threat Thanatos posed and promised to help Danny stop him, but the day Danny needed Cho, he never showed. Cho was the reason so many people died that day—including Danny’s mother.
Danny decides to teach the man a lesson and fan the fire of their attraction into something more. At worst, he’ll get some no-strings-attached sex out of the deal and finally blow off steam; at best, he’ll get Cho to fall in love with him and then break his heart to spite him.
Danny doesn’t expect to fall for Cho in the process, and he certainly can’t predict the much darker threat on the horizon.
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I discovered Amanda a couple months ago. I have 4 bookmarked to read. She has such a varied genres I’m sure I’ll be hooked in no time!