Ask the Author: Amanda Eyre Ward
Answered Questions (25)
Amanda Eyre Ward
I wanted to write about an estranged family who could find each other again. I loved the idea of forcing them into close proximity on a cruise ship!
Amanda Eyre Ward
I read all the time, and all the books I read make me excited to work. I also dream of all my characters, and every morning I can't wait to dive back into their stories to see where they end up.
Amanda Eyre Ward
I have started two novels and I'm dreaming of both, not sure which one to finish first! One is a mystery about mothers in Austin and one is a comedy about a wedding at the Ice Hotel in Sweden.
Amanda Eyre Ward
Treat your work seriously. Be ambitious and proud of every sentence. Have lunch with other writers. Create a beautiful space to work and defend your writing time ruthlessly. (I also go to motels to work!)
Amanda Eyre Ward
Ah, I love it so much. I love waking up, pouring a cup of coffee, and heading into my small office, where I can dream. It's just the absolute best.
Amanda Eyre Ward
That was a crazy day! I actually have a dream actress to play Charlotte but I don't want to say because I'm scared it won't come true! I promise I will keep you posted!
Amanda Eyre Ward
Thank you! Yes, I traveled to all the places where the Perkins go on the Splendido Marveloso. It was the best summer.
Amanda Eyre Ward
I wanted to write a book about JOY, so I wrote The Jetsetters. It was fun to write a comedy, and I'd love to do it again. The best comedy comes from real human emotions, I think.
Amanda Eyre Ward
Thank you! A lot of Sleep Toward Heaven was inspired by my move to Texas. So much of the culture here seemed different to me. I was also amazed when I heard about the women on death row, and I wanted to explore their lives. (I was a librarian, so the character of Celia had a lot in common with me!)
Amanda Eyre Ward
To value the time you put toward your work. Tell everyone you need time alone, make a beautiful space to write, and give yourself a goal that's reasonable...one page, one sentence. Then feel proud.
Amanda Eyre Ward
I believe that we can work through our childhood problems to find joy...and I wanted to tell the story of a family who were able to do just this.
Amanda Eyre Ward
I actually took my two sons on a Mediterranean cruise to research the book! It was a magical summer.
Amanda Eyre Ward
Yes! I started a book before the quarantine. I'm excited to get back to it, but with three kids at home, it's slow going. We are safe and healhty, and I am reading a ton to try to stay calm.
Amanda Eyre Ward
I would LOVE to! I really want to see if Cord and Giovanni get married...
Amanda Eyre Ward
I loved the idea of writing about an estranged family who would be forced to come together again. Trapping all the characters together on a ten-day cruise from Athens, Greece to Barcelona, Spain seemed like a great way to do it--and I had never been on a cruise and was dying to see if they really served nachos 24 hours a day.
Amanda Eyre Ward
Yes, I think about the children fleeing violence and starvation every day. They are still needing safety and shelter, more now that when I was researching THE SAME SKY. I visited shelters for unaccompanied minors along the Texas and California borders and interviewed children to research the book. Then I spent time at a high school in Austin that had many undocumented students. I even sneaked into the high school prom!
Amanda Eyre Ward
Hello from Austin, TX! THE JETSETTERS is partially set in Rome, though through a tourist's eyes. Maybe you'd enjoy this one! Thanks, Amanda
Amanda Eyre Ward
I have a whole book in my head when I begin, but it's NEVER the book that results! I begin with scenes written on index cards. I arrange the cards in a 3-act structure, pinpointing key scenes, then choose a card every morning and go into my "office" (it's a closet) to write. I let my mind go wherever it wants, and often by the end of the writing day, the scene has changed and taken me somewhere new...so I have to toss many of the cards and begin again. This ILLUSION of a plan keeps me going, but it's really just a stack of cards!
I love my UK friends and readers and hope to come over soon to celebrate THE JETSETTERS! Thanks for spreading the word about my books.
I love my UK friends and readers and hope to come over soon to celebrate THE JETSETTERS! Thanks for spreading the word about my books.
Amanda Eyre Ward
The hardest part for me in writing THE JETSETTERS was being kind to my fragile characters. I had to write many drafts of the book, trying to be kinder and kinder to them. On the surface, they have so much, but they also need to learn to connect with each other and take care of themselves. I think my hardest struggle was with Regan. Like me, the is a mom of young children, and I had the tendency to want to make fun of her for some reason, but she slowly came to life for me, and I was so happy to see where she ended up.
Amanda Eyre Ward
To be honest, Cord is inspired by my struggles with drinking. I was newly sober when I took my boys on a Mediterranean cruise to research the book (though I did not succumb to the fruit cocktails, like Cord does)! I've now been sober for almost 4 years, and write about it in my next book, which is a nonfiction book called THE SOBER LUSH (out in June). Getting sober is the hardest and best thing I've ever done.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more