Ask the Author: Amaryllis Lanza
Answered Questions (7)
Amaryllis Lanza
"What's the worst thing you might ever admit to your kids?" Katherine asked, conspiratorially, as they watched the children run up and down the soccer pitch.
"That they're dead," Hannah replied, while slicing up more wedges of blood oranges for after practice.
"That they're dead," Hannah replied, while slicing up more wedges of blood oranges for after practice.
Amaryllis Lanza
I don't. It's very frustrating and I struggle through those days when I can't write one thing (fiction) by forcing myself to write another (non-fiction). I treat my creative writing a little bit like wine. I let it age. I decant it, and I let the story breathe until it's ready to be drunk. Sometimes it leaves me with a hangover, but that's all part of the fun.
Amaryllis Lanza
It's a pleasure and a privilege to be able to work on something you've made up from scratch. These characters take on a life of their own, and they become very opinionated companions. I enjoy that dialogue with my characters very much.
Amaryllis Lanza
Never, ever give up. Never throw away a draft that you're not entirely happy with. Just keep chipping away at it, or let it rest in your mind. Eventually, you will find the right way to deliver the story so that it appeals to others. But do write for yourself. It has to please you first, because you'll be spending far more time in this fictional world than anyone else.
Amaryllis Lanza
I'm still working on Mariana and Will's adventures in the continuing Billionaire Spy series. Though each book can stand on its own, and has a satisfying ending, I've got lots of trouble planned for this couple.
Amaryllis Lanza
I think I'm inspired to write every day—and I have been nearly all my life—because it's a great way to process a whole host of abstract and complex feelings and experiences. Some days it can be harder to write than others. Sometimes the day is all about editing and polishing up the work. But if I can put down a few words, then there's something to celebrate.
Amaryllis Lanza
This series actually came to me ten years ago, during a time of contemplation after a big life change.
I wrote the raw draft in a long stream of scenes that made up two oversized-books. Then, I put those two books aside for a while and I worked on other things, but kept coming back to Will and Mariana.
These two characters, their friends and their world, had burrowed their way into my mind and my heart. I hope they'll find a place in yours too.
I wrote the raw draft in a long stream of scenes that made up two oversized-books. Then, I put those two books aside for a while and I worked on other things, but kept coming back to Will and Mariana.
These two characters, their friends and their world, had burrowed their way into my mind and my heart. I hope they'll find a place in yours too.
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