Amanda Stevens is an award-winning author and has published over forty Romantic Suspense novels. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writer of America and International Thriller Writers. The Dollmaker is Ms. Stevens’s thriller debut.
E. I. Can you share with us some of the toughest experiences you had to go through to get published?
Amanda Stevens: My experience is probably a little different than most writers. I actually got published fairly quickly...I sold the first book I ever wrote. That was back in the eighties when genre fiction, especially romantic suspense, was exploding. Editors needed a lot of books quickly, and my manuscript was actually picked from a slush pile. I didn’t have an agent, had absolutely no contacts in the business and didn’t belong to any professional organizations. I just decided one day to write a book. I sold my second one almost as easily as the first, and then bam! I hit a brick wall. Proposal after proposal kept getting turned down and I quickly amassed a very thick rejection folder. It took me four years to sell another book, and I’d say for the next four or five years, my publishing success was pretty spotty. Then I sold a manuscript to Harlequin Intrigue, and everything just took off. I think I’ve published around forty books with them. When my agent started shopping around The Dollmaker, we quickly learned that I’d been pigeon-holed in romantic suspense. I was a romantic-suspense writer and that’s what editors wanted from me. However, when the book sold to MIRA, my editor made it clear from the start that I was to write the story the way I wanted to write it. I believe her exact words were, “Don’t be afraid to go dark.” Music to my ears! Now the challenge is to get readers to accept me as a thriller writer. I’m hoping The Dollmaker will convince them.
E. I. Do your characters come from people that you know?
Amanda Stevens: Not really. Real-life situations can be inspirational, but I don’t like basing characters on real people because I tend to see that person in my head rather than the character. I won’t even use the names of people I know really well for the same reason.
E. I. Can you share with us some of the toughest experiences you had to go through to get published?
Amanda Stevens: My experience is probably a little different than most writers. I actually got published fairly quickly...I sold the first book I ever wrote. That was back in the eighties when genre fiction, especially romantic suspense, was exploding. Editors needed a lot of books quickly, and my manuscript was actually picked from a slush pile. I didn’t have an agent, had absolutely no contacts in the business and didn’t belong to any professional organizations. I just decided one day to write a book. I sold my second one almost as easily as the first, and then bam! I hit a brick wall. Proposal after proposal kept getting turned down and I quickly amassed a very thick rejection folder. It took me four years to sell another book, and I’d say for the next four or five years, my publishing success was pretty spotty. Then I sold a manuscript to Harlequin Intrigue, and everything just took off. I think I’ve published around forty books with them. When my agent started shopping around The Dollmaker, we quickly learned that I’d been pigeon-holed in romantic suspense. I was a romantic-suspense writer and that’s what editors wanted from me. However, when the book sold to MIRA, my editor made it clear from the start that I was to write the story the way I wanted to write it. I believe her exact words were, “Don’t be afraid to go dark.” Music to my ears! Now the challenge is to get readers to accept me as a thriller writer. I’m hoping The Dollmaker will convince them.
E. I. Do your characters come from people that you know?
Amanda Stevens: Not really. Real-life situations can be inspirational, but I don’t like basing characters on real people because I tend to see that person in my head rather than the character. I won’t even use the names of people I know really well for the same reason.
To learn more about Amanda Stevens, visit her at:
Website: http://www.amandastevens.com/
Blog: http://www.amandastevens.com/blog.html
Myspace: http://myspace.com/amandastevensbooks
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