Amanda McLain-Young

An Interview with Amanda McLain-Young: Author

Sylvia: Hi Amanda, it is such a pleasure to interview you.  Please give our readers a brief introduction of yourself and a little about your book.

Amanda: Hi Sylvia and thank you. I am Amanda McLain-Young and I’ve moved a lot over the years. From Texas to Mississippi to Louisiana, I finally settled down to marry my soul mate in a beautiful renaissance themed wedding in 2006. We now have two sons. I have a degree in English from the University of New Orleans and have worked in a variety of jobs, including accounting, marketing, physical therapy and sales. I learned something from every job and every place I’ve lived.

 

Sylvia: Wow, I also moved quite a bit in my life and I lived in Louisiana years ago where I attended college. What inspired you to write your first book?

Amanda: I wrote my first book when I was twelve years old. It was a short science fiction story that helped me pass the time during summer vacation. I don’t remember too much of where the ideas came from, but it was the first time I ever finished any of my various artistic projects and helped me to know I was meant to write. My second book was very different. It was the first book of my Spirit of the Wolf series. I wrote “Wolf of the Past” after watching a movie at Halloween that gave me ideas for a story involving werewolves. I didn’t expect it to lead anywhere. Now, that book is the basis for my main series.

 

Sylvia: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Amanda: All things happen for a reason. It’s okay to hope and dream and anything is possible when you have faith and act with a pure heart.

 

Sylvia: Great message, I like that!  Do you have any advice for other writers?

Amanda: Write. Write as much as you can, even if you don’t have a publisher or aren’t ready to self-publish yet. That way, once you have the connections and website or blog or fan page all set up, you can jump right in and grab your readers. Don’t just write one book and wait for it to succeed to write another. You may not be successful until the third or fourth or fifteenth book. But when it does happen, you will have all those other books already available for your fans to find.

 

Sylvia: What marketing techniques have you used to sell your books and which ones have been most successful?

Amanda: With my first book, “Wolf of the Past,” I mainly focused on book signings. I did great on the signings, selling about thirty books at each one, but none of the signings led to any additional sales. With my second book, “Wolf of the Present,” I focused on internet marketing. I worked on my Facebook Fan Page, updated my website, created a blog, cleaned up my twitter account, and did some serious networking with other authors. I had a short increase in sales when my book became available as an eBook. My most recent increase in sales came after I was featured as the book of the day on a website.

 

Sylvia: Why should we buy your book?

Amanda: If you enjoy finding out what happens to characters after the last page, this series is for you. Each book in my Spirit of the Wolf series is a stand alone story, but they are all part of a larger story that incorporates characters from all the earlier books. So once you read “Wolf of the Present” and come to love, hate and relate to the many important characters, you know their stories are not over. You will have the opportunity to get to know each of them more in “Wolf of the Future” and the many other books I have planned for this series. My characters continue to live once the book is done, and they have a lot left to say.

 

Sylvia: Is there a special place that you prefer when you write?

Amanda: I write everywhere, any time, whenever an idea strikes.

 

Sylvia: Love it!  What projects are you currently working on?

Amanda: I am working on “Wolf of the Future,” book 3 in my werewolf series and a fantasy book called “Suriax.” The fantasy book is part of a joint project with my husband.

 

Sylvia: What is your POWER WORD? Why this word?

Amanda: Write. A story unwritten is only a daydream.

 

Sylvia: Why do you write?

Amanda: I love to write and what I want most is to be read and enjoyed. I want to touch readers the way I was touched. Books helped me get through some difficult times in the past. I was able to escape for a bit, learn some coping skills and lift my spirits. I want to be that for someone else. I get inspiration from everything; work, my family, television, books I read. Sometimes it is a movie I love that gives me an idea. I get so caught up with the characters, I think of what happens after the credits roll and the idea shifts into something that works in my stories. Other times it is a movie or book I hated that spurs and idea. I never know where my ideas will come from. I can only be prepared to write them down when they do. Other than that, I am inspired to write and be successful by my family. It is my dream to write full time, so I can stay home with my children. Whenever I have writer’s block, or just don’t feel like typing another word, I think of my kids and work on something to help my writing career become a reality.

 

Sylvia: That’s awesome!  Amanda, thank you for sharing your story!  How can my readers get in touch with you?  

Amanda: You are welcome. Here are a few places you can find me.

• Website: www.wotpast.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wotpast
• Blog: http://wotpast.wordpress.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/wotpast
• Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6655305-a-d-mclain-young
• Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/wotpast
• Email: wotpast@yahoo.com