An interview with Amanda Pillar, author of Graced

What is the inspiration behind your latest release?
I love reading urban fantasy and I grew up enjoying the vampire genre as a teenager; Anne Rice, LJ Smith, Buffy…I wanted to write a story that I wanted to read. But the genre had become ‘clichéd’; so I had to write something new, something a little different. To do that, I made a new world, a new race, and tried to make my monsters relatable.

Tell us about your writing journey/how you got published?
I wrote Graced in the middle of working full time, finishing off a Masters degree and having a crazy busy life in general. Once the book was finished, I sent it off to my beta readers who provided me some amazing feedback. (Never underestimate the wonder of beta readers, even if you disagree with what they say, it all helps!) Once I’d made all the changes, I sent it off to an agent (who became my agent) and then the book was sold some months later. 

What is your writing routine?
Unfortunately, there isn’t one. I work full time in a pretty hectic job, and I do karate, and editing and…you get the picture. So I snatch the little time I can between tasks.

Share a writing quote/motto about writing.
In order to be a writer, you need to simply write.
It may sound like common sense, but the only way to get better at your craft is to put words to paper.

What is the one piece of advice about writing that has stuck with you?
When I was in year 9, I was told by an English teacher at school (not mine at the time), that a novel starts with a single sentence. I went home that night, thought about what that single sentence could be, and began writing my first novel.

That simple statement made something that seemed so very unreachable very attainable.
 
What are you reading at the moment or what’s the last book you read and what did you like/not like?
I am reading the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer at the moment. It was recommended to me by a friend, and I’m really enjoying it. A Young Adult tale set in a futuristic world with cyborgs, androids and humans, who are at odds with those living on the Lunar colony. It cleverly talks about racism and humanity in a way that sends the messages without being preachy.

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Graced Blurb

City Guard Elle Brown has one goal in life: to protect her kid sister, Emmie. Falling in love–and with a werewolf at that–was never part of the deal.

Life, however, doesn't always go to plan, and when Elle meets Clay, everything she thought about her world is thrown into turmoil. Everything, that is, but protecting Emmie, who is Graced with teal-colored eyes and an unknown power that could change their very existence. But being different is dangerous in their home city of Pinton, and it's Elle's very own differences that capture the attention of the Honorable Dante Kipling, a vampire with a bone-deep fascination for a special type of human.

Dante is convinced that humans with eye colors other than brown are unique, but he has no proof. The answers may exist in the enigmatic hazel eyes of Elle Brown, and he's determined to uncover their secrets no matter the cost...or the lives lost.

Purchase Links:

Amazon (Kindle)

Amazon UK (Kindle)

Barnes and Noble (Nook devices)

Google Play (All devices except Kindle)

iBooks Store (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac)

Kobo (All devices except Kindle)

Amanda Pillar

Amanda Pillar is an award-winning editor and author who lives in Victoria, Australia, with her husband and two cats, Saxon and Lilith. Amanda has had numerous short stories published and is working on her eighth fiction anthology. Graced is her first novel. By day, she works as an archaeologist travelling around Australia.

Social links to be listed:

www.twitter.com/amanda­_pillar

www.amandapillar.com

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