Sit Down with Amy L Peterson
Today I'm grabbing a latte and sitting down with Amy Peterson author of Something Furry Underfoot.
Amy, thanks for joining me today! Let's dive in shall we?
Me: What books/authors have influenced your writing?
Amy: Back when people still wrote books on typewriters, Beverly Cleary was the primary author influencing me; Erma Bombeck was the primary author who influenced me after that.
Me: How did you come up with the title(s)? I came up with a couple of titles, my friends shot them down, and we settled on Something Furry Underfoot.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Amy: My book is a humorous, touching memoir, so it’s about my experiences raising a whole bunch of animals I knew nothing about and how I figured out how to care for and spoil each one. Of course, some readers will think the book is about how all the animals trained me to spoil them.
Me: What books have most influenced your life most? Erma Bombeck’s. I love her wit and always thought it’d be nifty to write like her.
What book are you reading now?
Amy: Detour Trail by Joy V. Smith.
Me: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Amy: Marketing a book takes up all my spare time--which is time after work where I manage a grants program, after taking care of my pets, after trying to pay some attention to my husband, and after an occasional run through the woods to put feeling back into my butt, which I sit on all day.
Me: What are your current projects?
Me: I’ve hired a book promoter to help get the word out about my book. If this book takes off, I’ll work on my next book, which will be about how I tend to get into trouble whenever I travel somewhere: like getting scolded for touching a seahorse in a marine park; getting pulled over by a park ranger for driving too close to the center lane in the dead of winter in Yellowstone National Park; and getting lost while backpacking in Montana.
Me: Do you see writing as a career?
Me: Not unless I get really, really lucky. The thing is, just about anyone can write a book; not many people can do well enough at it to make it a full-time gig.
Me: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Amy: Gosh, I hope not. Do you think I should? Now I’m going to worry about it….
Me: How did you get started with the writing venture?
Amy: I was encouraged by a teacher to enter a Law Day essay contest in grade school and won second place. My prize was $50 and the chance to meet a judge on Law Day. I realized then that writing took a lot of time and the money wasn’t very good. I also realized I didn’t want to be a judge, because the one I met was really grumpy.
Me: Is there anything you find particularly challenging about writing?
Amy: Finding quality time to write is a challenge most days, because when I do sit get down at my computer, that’s when my chatty hubby wants to tell me about the fishing lures he just ordered and what lake he hopes we’ll use them on. Then our two puppies want to go outside, the cat meows for his treats, or the mynah birds need to be tucked into their cages. Most days, I write in half-hour stints, nodding to my husband and going “Uh huh. Oh really?” along the way. I think that has something to do with all the pets I have—I inadvertently nodded and another hamster showed up the next day. We have 7 hamsters.
Me: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Amy: If you have to self-publish and don’t have the money for a book promoter, plan to spend as much time marketing on your own as you did writing your book. And be sure to thank the people like Heather who make the time to help get the word out. This is a great service! Thank you!
Me: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Amy: My goal in writing Something Furry Underfoot was to bring people into my messy, animal-dominated home and show them what it’s like to try to figure out how to care for and spoil each pet, and how each one is special and has different personalities and needs. Besides, where else can you read about a male hedgehog that escaped several times to hook up with our female hedgehog and fathered several litters of baby hedgehogs? Where else can you read about a domestic duck named Bumpkin that out-pecked two dogs and a cat? Where else can you get great advice in the form of tips? Consider Tip #28: It is important (although not easy) to know a boy gerbil from a girl gerbil. I should also mention that some proceeds from Something Furry Underfoot will support animal rescue organizations, so the more books I sell, the more we are all supporting such organizations.
Me: What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?
Amy: One challenge was waiting—waiting for my book converter to convert my books for me; waiting for updates to my web page; waiting for people to review the final draft; and waiting to have the money to pay for marketing I can’t do on my own. I’m a terrible waiter. Probably not a good waitress, either, though I’ve never been one.
Me: What genre do you like writing the most?
Amy: So far, it’s been humorous, touching memoirs. My first book, From Zero to Four Kids in Thirty Seconds, was of that genre and is about becoming a stepmom to four kids. I included a whole bunch of tips for stepmoms in that book and just continued with the idea of including tips when I wrote Something Furry Underfoot. Hopefully, that makes my memoir more useful than the average memoir.
Me: Do you ever experience writer's block?
Amy: I haven’t so far, probably because I write memoirs and am still experiencing new things to write about. For example, after my old loyal dog, Dusty, passed away in August, my husband found a puppy he wanted in Pennsylvania. Now Pennsylvania is a bit of a drive from Michigan, but off we went anyway, and well, one puppy turned into buying two puppies, giving me yet another story to tell. I blog at amylpeterson.com.
Me: Do you write an outline before every book you write?
Amy: Both From Zero to Four Kids in Thirty Seconds and Something Furry Underfoot were chronological for the most part. From Zero to Four Kids in Thirty Seconds is how I blundered my way through meeting my four step kids for the first time, cooked my first dinner for them, avoided and eventually met the Ex, endured the under-rating sport of planning a wedding, and took a humorous, yet horrible family “vacation” in Disney World with my new family and my siblings’ family. Something Furry Underfoot covers 18 years caring for and falling for pets. In writing this book, I just had to figure out the year we got each of our pets, and wrote the chapters in that order. So, I had a general outline for both books based on the general order in which events happened.
Me: Have you ever hated something you wrote?
Amy: I wrote a response to some questions posed for my high school reunion a few years back when I was going through a low point. I regret having filled that out at all because anyone who read it probably would have whispered, “I bet she’s on Prozac.”
Check out some buy links and where Amy hangs out http://hlwampler.wordpress.com/2013/0...
Amy, thanks for joining me today! Let's dive in shall we?
Me: What books/authors have influenced your writing?
Amy: Back when people still wrote books on typewriters, Beverly Cleary was the primary author influencing me; Erma Bombeck was the primary author who influenced me after that.
Me: How did you come up with the title(s)? I came up with a couple of titles, my friends shot them down, and we settled on Something Furry Underfoot.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Amy: My book is a humorous, touching memoir, so it’s about my experiences raising a whole bunch of animals I knew nothing about and how I figured out how to care for and spoil each one. Of course, some readers will think the book is about how all the animals trained me to spoil them.
Me: What books have most influenced your life most? Erma Bombeck’s. I love her wit and always thought it’d be nifty to write like her.
What book are you reading now?
Amy: Detour Trail by Joy V. Smith.
Me: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Amy: Marketing a book takes up all my spare time--which is time after work where I manage a grants program, after taking care of my pets, after trying to pay some attention to my husband, and after an occasional run through the woods to put feeling back into my butt, which I sit on all day.
Me: What are your current projects?
Me: I’ve hired a book promoter to help get the word out about my book. If this book takes off, I’ll work on my next book, which will be about how I tend to get into trouble whenever I travel somewhere: like getting scolded for touching a seahorse in a marine park; getting pulled over by a park ranger for driving too close to the center lane in the dead of winter in Yellowstone National Park; and getting lost while backpacking in Montana.
Me: Do you see writing as a career?
Me: Not unless I get really, really lucky. The thing is, just about anyone can write a book; not many people can do well enough at it to make it a full-time gig.
Me: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Amy: Gosh, I hope not. Do you think I should? Now I’m going to worry about it….
Me: How did you get started with the writing venture?
Amy: I was encouraged by a teacher to enter a Law Day essay contest in grade school and won second place. My prize was $50 and the chance to meet a judge on Law Day. I realized then that writing took a lot of time and the money wasn’t very good. I also realized I didn’t want to be a judge, because the one I met was really grumpy.
Me: Is there anything you find particularly challenging about writing?
Amy: Finding quality time to write is a challenge most days, because when I do sit get down at my computer, that’s when my chatty hubby wants to tell me about the fishing lures he just ordered and what lake he hopes we’ll use them on. Then our two puppies want to go outside, the cat meows for his treats, or the mynah birds need to be tucked into their cages. Most days, I write in half-hour stints, nodding to my husband and going “Uh huh. Oh really?” along the way. I think that has something to do with all the pets I have—I inadvertently nodded and another hamster showed up the next day. We have 7 hamsters.
Me: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Amy: If you have to self-publish and don’t have the money for a book promoter, plan to spend as much time marketing on your own as you did writing your book. And be sure to thank the people like Heather who make the time to help get the word out. This is a great service! Thank you!
Me: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Amy: My goal in writing Something Furry Underfoot was to bring people into my messy, animal-dominated home and show them what it’s like to try to figure out how to care for and spoil each pet, and how each one is special and has different personalities and needs. Besides, where else can you read about a male hedgehog that escaped several times to hook up with our female hedgehog and fathered several litters of baby hedgehogs? Where else can you read about a domestic duck named Bumpkin that out-pecked two dogs and a cat? Where else can you get great advice in the form of tips? Consider Tip #28: It is important (although not easy) to know a boy gerbil from a girl gerbil. I should also mention that some proceeds from Something Furry Underfoot will support animal rescue organizations, so the more books I sell, the more we are all supporting such organizations.
Me: What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?
Amy: One challenge was waiting—waiting for my book converter to convert my books for me; waiting for updates to my web page; waiting for people to review the final draft; and waiting to have the money to pay for marketing I can’t do on my own. I’m a terrible waiter. Probably not a good waitress, either, though I’ve never been one.
Me: What genre do you like writing the most?
Amy: So far, it’s been humorous, touching memoirs. My first book, From Zero to Four Kids in Thirty Seconds, was of that genre and is about becoming a stepmom to four kids. I included a whole bunch of tips for stepmoms in that book and just continued with the idea of including tips when I wrote Something Furry Underfoot. Hopefully, that makes my memoir more useful than the average memoir.
Me: Do you ever experience writer's block?
Amy: I haven’t so far, probably because I write memoirs and am still experiencing new things to write about. For example, after my old loyal dog, Dusty, passed away in August, my husband found a puppy he wanted in Pennsylvania. Now Pennsylvania is a bit of a drive from Michigan, but off we went anyway, and well, one puppy turned into buying two puppies, giving me yet another story to tell. I blog at amylpeterson.com.
Me: Do you write an outline before every book you write?
Amy: Both From Zero to Four Kids in Thirty Seconds and Something Furry Underfoot were chronological for the most part. From Zero to Four Kids in Thirty Seconds is how I blundered my way through meeting my four step kids for the first time, cooked my first dinner for them, avoided and eventually met the Ex, endured the under-rating sport of planning a wedding, and took a humorous, yet horrible family “vacation” in Disney World with my new family and my siblings’ family. Something Furry Underfoot covers 18 years caring for and falling for pets. In writing this book, I just had to figure out the year we got each of our pets, and wrote the chapters in that order. So, I had a general outline for both books based on the general order in which events happened.
Me: Have you ever hated something you wrote?
Amy: I wrote a response to some questions posed for my high school reunion a few years back when I was going through a low point. I regret having filled that out at all because anyone who read it probably would have whispered, “I bet she’s on Prozac.”
Check out some buy links and where Amy hangs out http://hlwampler.wordpress.com/2013/0...
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