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Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Amy Vansant, Author of Angeli - The Pirate, the Angel & the Irishman

Today we are interviewing Amy Vansant, author of "Angeli - The Pirate, the Angel & the Irishman."

Describe the plot of your book in a few sentences.
Legendary pirate Anne Bonny is alive and swashbuckling her way through the 21st century, but her stormy romantic life would make Blackbeard pack up ship and move to Kansas. Anne is a Sentinel, a soldier for mankind’s mysterious guardians, the Angeli. Anne will live 1000 years, but in return, she’s required to hunt Perfidia, corrupted Angeli who drain human energy to survive. After losing his corporeal body in battle, Anne’s fellow Sentinel and former lover, Con Carey, now visits her by possessing the bodies of humans. And Anne’s romance with the aloof Arch Angeli Michael has intensified... much to Con’s chagrin. Now this unusual love triangle must work together to defeat Seth, a Perfidian of untold power who threatens to end not only the Angeli, but the world.

Who (age, gender, etc) do you think would most appreciate this book?
Women from 18 to death. Particularly ones with a sense of humor!  I think men would like it too, but I assume the second I mention there is some “romance” they’ll mostly be out.

What inspirations contributed to this book?
It sounds silly, but I had a really elaborate dream that I thought made a good story. As I started to write it, it morphed, because once you start saying a dream out loud it always ends up making next to no sense, but that was the nugget that started Angeli.  The more significant part, was that I'd been a writer for years, a freelancer and the East Coast Editor of Surfer Magazine, but I'd stopped when my web designs business, Vansant Creations (here in Annapolis), took off. This dream reminded me how much I missed writing.

Who was your favorite character to write?
Probably Con the Irishman. He’s the funniest and I have a bit of a crush on him.

How long have you been writing?
Since I could! I still can’t believe I stopped for so long. It was like finding a piece of me I’d lost when I started again.

What is your favorite book?
Oh I have too many to mention - but many by Vonnegut, Salinger, Sedaris and Douglas Coupland.

What genre do you read most frequently?
Non fiction, actually. I’m reading Stiff by Mary Roach all about cadavers right now - it’s awesome.

How do you think you've evolved as a writer since when you first started?
I’d certainly like to think I’ve gotten better! The more you write the more you improve. The change from when I got back to writing 3-4 years ago to now is noticeable. Probably to everyone, definitely to me.


Are there any aspects (e.g. character building, world building) of your writing that you've been practicing?
I don’t set out to practice, but I see weaknesses and try and concentrate more. My strength is dialog so I try and be mindful when I’m describing scenes that the people reading can’t see what is in my head.

As a writer, one would assume English was your favorite class in school. If that was not the case, what was and why?
It was. I have a masters in English and taught English in college for a while back in the day… and I can’t spell and I suck at grammar. So fear for your children.

How do you feel about the increasing popularity of ebooks?
I never thought I’d get into reading on a iPad or Kindle but I recently did and have to say I really love it. It is also nice for authors because you get to keep a much larger percentage of an ebook sale. It is bad for authors I guess since everyone and their brother can flood the market with cheap books.

What are your goals as a writer for the next ten years?
Right now I think I want to have a new book out every 6 months. That might be a tad optimistic. I have my Angeli series for which I’m about to start a second book and I have a new series (romantic comedy) I hope to have the first book out before Christmas. It is called “Slightly Stalky” and is a fictional-ish account of how I stalked and bagged my husband! That will have 3 books, the stalking, the marriage/living, the old age. So it might be a while before I have to do that third book. I also have a mystery I started a while ago I need to finish.

What is the most impactful experience you have had with a fan?
I’ve had people illustrate my tweets for me… And recently people have been posting pictures of my book being read by them.. sitting at the pool, etc. That was really exciting!

Have your family and friends been supportive of your writing?

Absolutely! They have to be because I won’t stop begging them to post reviews.

Is there any aspect of writing you don't like (e.g. editing)?

Editing. I have someone else do that. I’m horrible.

Have you ever had writer's block? If yes, how'd you deal with it? If you have not had writer's block, why do you think you haven't?
If I’m stuck I usually go to sleep thinking about the problem and a solution appears by morning (usually). My only other cure is to just keep trying to write through it, even if I don’t like it - usually it will start to come to me and then I can just go back and erase or tweak what I’d done before.

Do you write with a computer, typewriter, or pen and paper? Why do you use this tool?
Computer. I write and rewrite and correct and correct - it would be a nightmare on a typewriter or paper.

What do you have in mind for your next project?
(See above)

Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book?
It is a lot of laughs, a lot of adventure and mystery and a smattering of romance/sexual tension. I’m not out to be the next Vonnegut or crank out terrible formulaic romances. I’m right in the middle! I think Angeli is a book people can relax and enjoy.

Oh, and I have a collection of humor essays I put together with 26 humorists/comedians called “Moms Are Nuts” - people might like that too!

More Information

Author website: http://www.amyvansant.com/ 
Buy the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983719144
GoodReads page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22551359-angeli---the-pirate-the-angel-the-irishman

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