Strange how a book can reunite friends from long ago. After the Columbia, SC newspaper, The State, ran a story about me, I received an email through the link on my website. "I think you are my best friend's sister," the subject line stated. The message was polite: "Please forgive my contacting you electronically. Read More
Amy's Blog: Born to Write
ASJA Conference Underscores the Importance of Meeting in Person
April 29, 2013
Old friends, new friends, Facebook friends, Goodreads friends...I am beginning to think I know the whole world! Last Thursday, as a panelist at the annual conference of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), I was surprised by the number of familiar faces in the audience at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan. Read More
Where Do Characters Come From?
April 12, 2013
"Are the characters in your novel based on real people?" I am asked this nearly every day. My late mother-in-law is the inspiration for the character, Jackie a.k.a. Miss Dreamsville, and my husband inspired the character of her son, Jude, at age 11. Everyone else is invented. Where on earth do these characters Read More
Writing Tip: Crafting a Speech
April 4, 2013
My Dad is a retired marketing executive at General Electric, and he used to tell me that a good speech is constructed of three parts: "First, tell the audience what you're going to say. Second, say it. Third, tell them what you just said." When he gave me this advice for the first time, Read More
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On Being Labeled a "Woman" Author
March 25, 2013
I've noticed that Wikipedia has decided to put my Wiki bio in four separate categories. The first is "1958 births." Well, thanks a lot Wikipedia! (Just kidding - the year of my birth is all over the Internet anyway, thanks to Contemporary Authors and other sources.) The second category is "Living people." Well, that's always Read More