Introducing myself
Hello, I’m Amy!
I live in Auckland, New Zealand, and have done for three-quarters of my life. The other quarter was spent in England, where my kids were born. I have three of those, and they’re very cool. I’m a bit demented and thought it would be a good idea to have them a year or so apart. I’m still recovering from that misguided notion but remain convinced that a month in Bora Bora will set me right!
Speaking of travelling, as much as I crave a tropical island escape, you’re far more inclined to find me hankering after snow. We don’t have any of that in Auckland – not a drop! And, although it did snow occasionally in England, I’m still looking for the up-to-your-window sort of snow experience. I come from Viking stock (my grandmother was Swedish), so maybe that’s why I’ve always craved the cold, white stuff. In fact, my husband and I bonded over our love of scarves.
When I’m not writing, you’ll find me... Editing!
Other than that, I’m usually working on all aspects of the book publishing business, from advertising to cover design. My husband and I used to be full-time graphic designers, and we always thought it would be fun to design a book cover one day, not necessarily thinking it would be my book covers! It’s one of the most enjoyable projects we’ve worked on together, though it’s challenging to get just the right look.
Note: Sometimes, I actually step away from my computer, nod at my children, let my dogs lick me, and then fall asleep (but never for long enough!).
If I wasn’t so busy I'd like to... clean my house!
And once that was done, I’d quite fancy reclining in my pergola with a hot chocolate and a furry throw (of course, since this is my fantasy, I’m imagining it’s winter). It would be raining, and I’d put on an audiobook about some period in history and flick through a fresh stack of home decor magazines, getting inspiration for building my dream house one day. The idea of doing nothing isn’t really me because I have a permanently busy brain, but that feels as close to stopping as I think I could possibly get!
I was drawn to historical novels as a young reader.
I loved anything by the Brontë sisters, but I think Jane Austen was my favourite author at that time. It was a toss-up between Pride & Prejudice and Jane Eyre for my favourite book as a tween. As I got older and developed a genuine love of history, I became obsessed with anything to do with Vikings. I fell in love with Bernard Cornwell and Robert Lowe, Giles Kristian, too. But there was always time to fit in the next Diana Gabaldon. Her Outlander series is right up there with CJ Sansom’s and Bernard Cornwell’s as my favourites of all time.
History is my one true love and really informs how I write. I never stop wanting to learn about the past. I always thought I would write The Furyck Saga as an historical series, but I never found a period or place where it fit. Ultimately, I realised that actual history was far too limiting, so I stepped away from reality and entered the wonderful world of fantasy, and that’s when the fun started…