Featured Interview With Amy Spade
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in a small town in western PA where we all say “yinz” and “crick” and you can’t tell the difference between “rule” and “roll” unless there is context. I was unusual and weird and maybe didn’t fit in so well, but I found friends and we all fit in with each other.
I live now in the vicinity of State College, Pennsylvania, where I did not go to college, but migrated to after marriage. I love it here. It’s like living in a young city, and there’s always something going on. Husband and I have four cats that we adopted: Coal, Shadow, Jinx, and Shiloh. I don’t dress them up or call them my babies or anything, but I do talk to them like they’re my friends (ask them what they’d like to eat or if they would like to proof my manuscript), so that might qualify me as half-crazy cat lady, or maybe full-on crazy. I’m okay with that.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I loved reading and being read to. My mother would read to me every night, even when I was old enough to read books by myself (I truly believe you are never to old to be read to). I was probably around seven or eight when I got crazy obsessed with Baby Sitter’s Club. My parents would give my sister and me a little cash to buy the latest book at the mall bookstore every few months, and we’d finish it by nightfall.
I didn’t write too much until well into my twenties. Most of my high school and college studies consisted of research writing, so I really believed I hated writing. BUT, I always put myself to sleep at night by writing stories in my head. I thought that was normal for everyone until I told my husband about it. He was like, “Uhhh, I’ve never done that. Ever.” I started writing fiction shortly thereafter.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love Curtis Sittenfeld and Laura Moriarty. Their writing style and attention to detail and back-story is amazing. Jerry Spinelli and Sarah Dessen are my favorite middle-grade/young adult authors. I’ve been reading both of them for forever; in fact, I love their work even more as an adult. Julia Quinn, author of a gazillion romances, writes the best and funniest dialogue. Love her, and I imagine her to be hilarious. All of these authors inspire me.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
I love writing coming-of-age stories. I felt like my own, personal coming-of-age story happened in college during 9/11. It was a lot for me to process as college freshman. I remember staring at the television in complete shock, knowing very deep within me that life was never going to be the same again. Reflecting on that time gave me the idea to write a girl’s coming-of-age story while she was in college, rather than high school, because I believe we never really stop “coming-of-age”. The story of Claire in Summer Unbroken is fiction, but inspired by the wide range of emotions I (and my friends) felt back then.
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