Today we are interviewing Christine Amsden, author of Knot of Souls. But first, here's a little bit about the author.
Welcome Christine!
Christine Amsden is the author of nine award-winning fantasy and science fiction novels, including the Cassie Scot Series.
Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but Christine believes great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. She writes primarily about people, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
In addition to writing, Christine is a freelance editor and political activist. Disability advocacy is of particular interest to her; she has a rare genetic eye condition called Stargardt Macular Degeneration and has been legally blind since the age of eighteen. In her free time, she enjoys role playing, board games, and a good cup of tea. She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband and two kids.
Author Links
Website ➜https://christineamsden.com/wordpress/
X ➜ http://www.x.com/christineamsden
Facebook ➜https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Amsden-Author-Page/127673027288664?ref=hl
I've been writing since I was about eight years old. I remember my mom finding an old manual typewriter in her parents' basement and letting me play with it -- I loved the satisfying click of each key, and even to this day, I have a loud, clicky keyboard. (It's a good thing I write alone in my basement!) Through the years, I did consider a lot of other jobs ... really everything from nun to astronaut. I switched majors so often in college it took me six years to graduate (with two degrees). The one constant? Writing.
Can you share the most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career?
When I published my first novel back in 2007, I did a bunch of in-person signings. (That's the sort of thing we did in 2007.) Anyway, the book was a paranormal mystery about a woman who could predict the future ... but not change it ... and it never occurred to me for a minute that the most frequently asked question I'd receive was, "Is this a true story?"
In case it's not clear, the newest book ... about a Fae and a human sharing the same body ... is also not a true story. :)
What was the biggest challenge you faced in your journey to becoming an author?
When I was sixteen, I was diagnosed with Stargardts, sometimes called juvenile macular degeneration, and told I would lose my central vision. And I did ... mostly during my freshman year of college. Now, writing itself is not a particular problem. Magnification exists. Text-to-speech exists. I'm even a heck of an editor, with all my accommodations in place. No, the real challenge is isolation. I can't drive, so it's hard to attend workshops and conferences and conventions. I can't see faces, so it's hard to connect with people when I do attend workshops and conferences and conventions. At one point, I tried using a white cane to signal my problem (I don't really need it in brightly-lit spaces and on even floors), but I miscalculated badly. I hoped people would introduce and re-introduce themselves when we met, but instead ... well, after a friend introduced me to some of her friends and left us there to chat (while she ran off to do her own thing), the group turned their backs to me and excluded me entirely from the conversation. Classic cut direct. Now, I rarely use the white cane, even when it's dark, because the true biggest challenge of having a disability is not the disability -- it's the attitude and perceptions of other people.
What is the main empowering lesson you want your readers to take away after finishing your book?
That very different people can find a way to work together, and even become friends.
What is the one habit you believe contributed the most to you becoming a great writer?
Writing every day! (Or, well, almost every day. No reason to be a drill sergeant about this.)
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a
movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of
people, what would that be?
I want real, reliable public transit in the United States. I've got an obvious personal stake here (see above), but it's not just for me ... it's for people who are struggling to make ends meet. I've volunteered in a homeless shelter before; most of the people there have cars because all across the US, it's easier to live without a home than without a car. Meanwhile, creating a public infrastructure for transportation reduces environmental impact and would allow us to reclaim vast swaths of ugly urban area (parking lots). I'm also a fan of the ten-minute city, and think public transit is the key to connecting these walkable communities to one another and to outside services.
Thanks so much for having me!
About the Book
Two souls, one body …
When Joy wakes up in an alley, she knows three things: she was brutally murdered, she has somehow come back to life … and she is not alone. She’s been possessed by an inhuman presence, a being that has taken over her dying body. That being is powerful, in pain, and on the run from entities more dangerous than he is.
Shade, a Fae prince on the run, didn’t mean to share the body he jumped into. Desperate and afraid, accused of a murder he didn’t commit, he only sought a place to hide—but if he leaves Joy now, he faces discovery and a fate worse than death.
Forced to work together to solve multiple murders, including her own, Joy and Shade discover hidden strengths and an unlikely friendship. Yet as their souls become increasingly intertwined, they realize their true danger might come from each other … and if they don’t find a way to untangle the knot their souls have become, then even the truth won’t set them free.
Knot of Souls is a stand-alone buddy love fantasy that forces two very different beings to work together … and come out stronger on the other side.
Knot of Souls is available at Amazon.
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