Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit: STARRING AMANDA ASHBY!

Amanda Ashby is visiting with her newest book, FAIRY BAD DAY.

About the Book:

It’s going to be a fairy bad day...

First, my rightful designation of dragon slayer is STOLEN right out from under me by Curtis Green. Sure, he’s really cute, but that doesn’t give him an excuse.

On top of that, I am assigned to slay fairies. I know what you’re thinking—how hard could it be, right? Wrong! These menacing beasts with their tiny hipster clothes and mocking sarcasm love taunting me. And they won’t STOP!

But the thing that tops my list of stuff to ruin my day? That would be the GIANT KILLER FAIRY that I have to hunt down and slay because I am the only one who can see it. There is someone who can help me. Unfortunately…it’s Curtis.

Our Interview:

KRISTINA: In my book, THE ESPRESSOLOGIST, Jane, a coffee barista, matchmakes people based on their favorite coffee drinks. What’s your favorite coffee drink? (If you don’t like coffee, tell me what your favorite drink in general is. But I am sorry, you’ll never find love. Kidding!)

AMANDA: Hahaha—I like people who call it the way it is!!!! I don’t actually know what my coffee is called—I guess it’s just a long black and have a splash of milk and sugar (because sugar and coffee are SO meant to be together!) We have our own espresso machine, which I love more than life itself. It is just about to die though so I think we’re going to need to get a new one (or throw ourselves off a cliff!)

KRISTINA: When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

AMANDA: Not until I was about 27. The signs were all there from early on but I just never took to the time to piece them all together. I was always an avid reader, English was my best subject and I even went to College and did a Journalism and English degree. In fact, some people could say that I’m a very slow learner! However, I finally did decide it would be cool to write a book and from that moment I never looked back!

KRISTINA: Why do you write MG/YA as opposed to other types of fiction?

AMANDA: I write YA because it just feels right. I’ve done adult fiction as well but it just didn’t resonate as much. Though I must say that I’ve just written my first MG series and that was a LOT tougher than writing YA. I guess it’s that old saying—don’t work with kids! But seriously, by the time I went back to writing YA I was so happy to have a heroine who could sneak out of the house, drive a car and own a cell phone!!!!!

KRISTINA: How do you come up with the names of your characters?

AMANDA: I LOVE naming characters! I just flick through name books and watch lots of TV! I tend to use quite English sounding names for my heroines and geeky names for me heroes. Not sure why!

KRISTINA: Have you ever based one of your characters on someone you know? If so, did that person find out? How did they react?

AMANDA: Well, I didn’t consciously do that but after my first book, You Had Me at Halo came out I suddenly realized that the stepmother in the book was VERY similar to my own stepmother and I swear on something pink and glittery that I had no inkling of what I was doing until it was way too late. I was mortified though thankfully I’m pretty sure she never read the book, though she does have a copy.

KRISTINA: What is the title of the first book you ever wrote?

AMANDA: Love Story! I know, I really pushed the boat out on that one! Mind you, the bad title just reflected how bad the rest of the book was. Thankfully I have purged it from my mind and from under my bed so Love Story by Amanda Ashby will NEVER be coming to a Kindle near you!

KRISTINA: What are you reading right now?

AMANDA: Fly Me to the Moon by Jill Mansell, who is one of my favorite authors and life always becomes a bit better when I’m reading her books!!!

KRISTINA: Are you on twitter? Where can we follow you?

AMANDA: Yes, I love twitter and obviously only ever use it to say wise and profound things with no mention of how many Skittles and muffins that I’ve consumed in any single day!

http://twitter.com/amandaashby

KRISTINA: What are you working on now?

AMANDA: I’ve just finished revisions on the first of my afore mentioned MG books. The series is called SOPHIE’S MIXED-UP MAGIC and book one is Wishful Thinking. It’s about a girl who gets turned into a djinn the day before she starts sixth grade and as you can imagine, chaos ensues!!!!

KRISTINA: Thanks for stopping by Amanda and good luck with the book! Visit Amanda at her Web site.