Amey Zeigler's Blog, page 2

Do I ever use real life experiences for my books?

This is a question a lot of people ask me. Do I use my life for my books. The answer is of course! Now in saying that, I want to be sure that I use MY life, not someone else's, nor do I ever libel anyone in print. I may use a personality trait or a funny way of looking at the world, or perhaps even a way of saying things, but I will never drag a person of my acquaintance into the mud. I do have funny things that happen to me that make great fodder for stories, but things that happen to other people are for other people to tell, not me.

The other side to this question I get a lot is for people who want me to write a story idea they have. I love it that people want to share these ideas. However, I have so many ideas of my own, so many subjects that are near and dear to my heart, so many messages and themes I want to explore, I could never do your story justice. I am not as passionate about your story as you are. You must write that story!

What other questions do you have for authors?

Goodbye 2021, hello 2022!

A new year is a good time to take a look back at the last year and make new goals for the coming. Here's a list of my author recap for 2021:

Published three books—two traditional published one (my first) self-published: August Blues, The Casserole Dish and Swiss Mistletoe and Macarons.
-was invited on two podcasts and one radio show
-Sewed eight quilt tops for charity
-went to my first Storymakers Conference
-was communication specialist for ^ conference
-won two Crowned Hearts of Excellence reviews for August Blues and The Casserole Dish
-earned one 5-star review for Swiss Mistletoe and Macarons from Long and Short Reviews.
-presented my first class at a conference for SMIAH
-went to my first Las Vegas 20booksto50k conference. Met some great writing friends
-won second place for Novella in BBB contest (Summer of Sundaes)
-took 318R from Dave Farland
-took a much needed vacation to Hawaii with the fam
-hit 4,446 on Amazon’s Kindle store with my self-published book The Casserole Dish

Things I'm looking forward to for 2022:
-presenting two classes at Storymakers Conference in May
-presenting two classes at Nebraska Writers Guild conference In April
-Wylder Bride release
-self-publishing a clean Biotech Billionaire trio
-self-publishing Late Bloomer
-Certainly Will Die (Bakers Dozen 2 mystery) publication
-writers retreat in February
(yes that's SIX new books new books for this year!)

Also, two awesome things that happened THIS WEEK:
Drum roll please....
The Swiss Mishap will be translated into Portuguese
AND...
I signed a contract for Wylder Bride to be an audiobook, narrated by Dawson McBride.

What were you proud of for 2021? What are you looking forward to in 2022?

Swiss Mistletoe and Macarons

I love macarons. I think they're the perfect cookie--the texture of a meringue , but with filling. I had to write a Christmas story featuring this delicious cookie.

When our CEO/EIC proposed the idea of writing a series with cookies in the title, I knew just which one I would do. Continuing on the story of Yves and Lainey from The Swiss Mishap, I created another couple who had troubles of their own. Jean-Marc needed a partner for his new show, but his ego had left him without many options. Livi wanted to go to pastry school, but she needed to stand up for herself and take time for herself. I love it when the two protagonists find what they need in each other.

I dedicated this story to my brother, Marc, who is an amazing storyteller. Actually, all of my brothers are great storytellers, but Marc should be a writer. I hope you will check out Swiss Mistletoe and Macarons. It has 4.75 on its ratings on Goodreads.

New Release

One broken woman. One broken house. One broken neighborhood. One casserole dish to fix them all.

The Casserole Dish is a labor of love. It's a women's fiction story with a strong romantic element.

Lisa struggled to find a foothold in her house rehabbing business after a bitter divorce. When she inherits a house, she moves to St. Louis for a fresh start.

Jackson has a wound that keeps him isolated from the world. He's built a wall around his heart. Lisa is good at breaking down walls.

But when gossipy neighbors destroy her peace, Lisa must find a way to heal the cul-de-sac. Will a semi-magical casserole dish mend a broken heart, a broken house and a broken neighborhood?

I wrote this out of my own personal struggles. I poured my heart into this book to create fun, funny and lovable characters.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Summer of Sundaes Nominated for a RONE

This week already has been a good week. I always hate good weeks because you know that a really bad one is coming or you just had one. Actually, I really like good weeks/days. It's the sandbar in the ocean of tribulation.

Okay, I'm trying to be all literary. Maybe it's working, maybe it's not. :)

Anyway, all the good things that happened this week: I got some great reviews and feedback for some of my books. August Blues got a great review from a Bookstagrammer I met. BTW, I love Bookstagrammers! They are my new favorite people. Another one loved The Swiss Mishap. I love it when my books connect with people.

Well, also this week, I got an email saying my novella, The Summer of Sundaes was nominated for a RONE award! This is huge! I will post information on how to vote for this super sweet book. I really do love creating stories that people enjoy!

Are you having a good week or a bad week?

Revelation

I had a revelation this morning. I am not a romance writer. Sure, I love to write about relationships and I love witty banter, but I also love action, adventure, comedy and intrigue. So why not write all of those things too? I get excited about mysteries. I think about funny ways to say things. This is a part of me I want to share with you. So if you're up for a wild ride--romance with so, so much more--then get in, buckle up and come along with me! It's going to be fun!

Summer of Sundaes Release Sept. 11th!

Yay!

Summer of Sundaes is finally out and ready to be shared with the world. I love this book so much. There is a fun "competition" between Brahms and Bailey as she struggles to keep her ice cream shop open.

I spent 8 years of my childhood in Alaska. Most of my formative experiences happened there. I'm so excited to share this unique location with my readers.

Today was also the first day of school for my kids. It's been an incredibly stressful week so far--on day one!

I'm looking forward to Summer of Sundaes Launch party! This Friday Sept. 11 7pm (CT) on YouTube live streaming. Prizes and giveaways. Here's the link:

https://youtu.be/n3YFWGzyFuk

Staying Positive During Difficult Times

Opportunities are found in the darkest corners.

Sometimes we think things aren't going our way and we wonder why. Sometimes when things don't go the way we planned, it's because we need to shift our focus. Let me give you an example.

When the COVID thing started out, I was like, yipee! I have time so sew on some projects I've been putting off. I dragged out my sewing machine, wound some bobbins and started taking off. Well, my machine was being weird. I can't explain it other than to say I had large amounts of unpicking to do with a big frown on my face.

Then I heard about people making masks for hospital workers because there was a shortage. I looked at the very specific and complicated directions and said "I'll cut some for you." And I did a bazillion of those. But then I had this feeling: I should make masks not for the healthcare workers (there were more than plenty of more expert seamstresses working on those) but for the people in my neighborhood. I didn't want to make them for free, for fear that people would either 1) not want to take something for nothing 2) resell them. So I decided to make them for a donation for our local food bank. Win-win! People don't feel guilty for getting something for nothing, I could sew for a non-profit I believe in and the food bank won, too. So the first weekend of April, I posted a Facebook post on my neighborhood page and crazy happened! I got 100 requests right out of the door. The next 100 trickled in. Then people started reopening and people wanted masks to go back to work. The last 100 came helter skelter. I sewed about 10 masks a day for over a month. I ended up donating over $1100 to the local food bank. Now it wasn't much, not even a drop in the bucket, but I felt like I had purpose, could help other people and serve. And sewing got me through those darkest days.

I guess the message is: when things don't seem to being going just right, take a moment, step back and listen to your heart. Is there something else you're supposed to be doing to serve? Second message: opportunities to serve abound in a crisis. It took me two weeks to wrap my head around everything--my kids were also home-schooling, a task that fell largely to me and I was also trying to write. Third message: There is always something we can do to help. If we can learn to listen, watch and be aware, we can find opportunities to serve and help us to stop thinking about ourselves.

What ways has this pandemic changed your life? In what ways have you been able to serve or has someone served you? What advice would you give after living through several months of a pandemic?

Know what I've got planned for 2020?

I like to write out goals every January, but by February, I've already forgotten them. Not this year. My family has a giant white board upstairs and we've written goals for our family as well as individuals. Know what I've got planned for 2020?

We made goals in four areas: physical, intellectual, social and spiritual (recognizing that we are dual beings).

For my writing goals, I couldn't decide where to put them and decided on intellectual since I learn so much while I write.

My 2020 goal is to submit three manuscripts to publication.

Why did I chose this?

Well, goals need to be independent of other's choices. Notice I didn't say three pieces accepted, hahah! Because really, that's out of my control. What I can work on is getting them ready to the best of my abilities and send them off to the world.

I'm turning in my first one this week. It's based on an idea from my publisher to write short "beach read" love stories having something to do with ice cream.

Well, when my daughter was almost twelve, we went to Alaska to visit my parents who were visiting some old friends there. (I used to live in AK when I was younger). While we were there, my dad wanted to go fishing in Seward, a small town at the mouth of Resurrection Bay. The scenery was classic Alaska--glacier blue water, stunning mountains jutting from the water, black pebble beaches, frolicking sea otters, majestic eagles, and lazy sea lions. One night, we went to the ice cream shop there and had ice cream. When my publisher issued a call for ice cream stories, I was like, I know exactly where I'm going to set this story. And I've loved it. So be on the lookout for #1 MS for this year Summer of Sundaes.

PS I also submitted some last year. August Blues finished the first round of edits this month. Should be out this year!

Winner for Best New Adult Contmporary Romance

So the results came in from the Swoony, a reader's choice award for best clean romances from 2019. I was so honored to find out that The Swiss Mishap won the Best New Adult category. I am speechless! I've loved writing this book. I poured my little soul into it. It's based on a life-changing experience of living in Switzerland. Anyway, had to share my joy with all of you! Thank you if you voted!