Amanda Linehan's Blog, page 4

Yes. You Should Write That Thing You Want To Write.

Hey! You know that thing you’ve been wanting to write? You should write it.

But who are you to write a story, a memoir, or a self-help book? You’re you, and if you have the urge then it’s for you to write.

Well, but maybe, if anyone found out I was writing something, they would criticize or judge me for it, because, you know, who am I? I’m not a writer, well, except for that writing I did during school… and those few poems I wrote in my twenties… and I tried blogging, but only lasted a few posts… and there was that one year I attempted NaNoWriMo…

You don’t have to “be anyone” to start writing. The only thing you have to have is the urge to do it.

You know that memoir you’ve been wanting to write? You should do it. What’s that you say? Maybe your life isn’t exciting enough? Maybe it’ll be boring. Or maybe it won’t be boring at all, but way too revealing? You should do it anyway. If it’s calling out to you, there’s a reason.

You know that romance novel you’ve been wanting to write? Maybe it’s even a “spicy” romance novel? You should write it. What’s that you say? A lot of people think that romance is a silly genre and isn’t “serious” literature, but it does sound like a lot of fun and you have had this idea brewing… Well, so what? I think we’ve got all the “serious” we can handle in the world right about now, and, you never know, you might just have fun and learn something (and other people may really enjoy it too!)

I once wrote a story about a ghost who needs coaching because he can’t scare anyone, so I wouldn’t worry about anything being too “silly.” (It’s also free.)

You know that short story you’ve been wanting to write. You should write it. What’s that you say? Maybe it’ll be too much work and maybe you’re not really worthy of writing down your characters’ stories. As I heard a friend say to another friend recently, those characters chose you to speak to. They want you to tell their story. It’s yours to tell. And, again, you might just enjoy yourself.

You know that non-fiction book you’d like to write? On that topic you really have an interest in and where you feel like you have something to teach? Yeah, that one. You should write it. What’s that you say? It might not be good enough. Maybe you’re delusional thinking that you could help other people with it. Maybe people will challenge your qualifications for writing it. Listen, I’m gonna bet that plenty of “delusional” people wrote a non-fiction book on a topic they really cared about and helped people with it. Maybe being “delusional” isn’t so bad.

I mean, I once wrote a book called Productivity For INFPs. You can’t be any worse than me.

But, seriously, you should write that thing you’ve been wanting to write.

Because no one else will…

Amanda Linehan is a multi-genre fiction writer and indie author. She has published 13 titles since 2012. Get a free, exclusive short story, The Sommer House, when you sign up for her fiction newsletter. 

5 Minute Fiction: Tuesday

Author’s Note: If you picked up a copy of my short story, Fixer Upper (offered exclusively to newsletter subscribers), last year you might recognize this one because I included it as a bonus story. It popped into my head recently and I thought this was a good one to post here.

The little worm inched its way through the soil, feeling the pulse of life through its tube body. Though it didn’t know anything about the pulse of life. To the worm, it was just a Tuesday. But, even that, it didn’t know.

The soil was moist, but not wet, and the worm scrunched its body up and then elongated it as it moved, though it didn’t have anything in particular to do. The soil was particularly tasty that day, although, frankly, it was tasty everyday.

Unbeknownst to the worm, it lived in the garden tended by Jill. Jill would come out to her garden behind her house and tend to the flowers and shrubs and fruits and vegetables and herbs. Anything that would grow in this particular climate. She wasn’t picky.

She’d come outside with a shovel, or maybe just a little spade, and maybe the garden hose too, and dig and plant and water and just generally enjoy being outside and being in the dirt. Kind of like the worm.

The worm would feel the vibrations of her footsteps and her voice, though it didn’t really care. It was just Tuesday after all, and he didn’t know Jill from Carissa, Jill’s neighbor a couple doors down who also liked to garden. Nor did it have any concept of human beings.

Sometimes the worm would get scooped up in Jill’s spade or shovel, and find itself still in the soil but moving, and not just moving with its body. A few seconds later it would be in another spot in the garden, though it didn’t know that, because it was in the same soil.

Sometimes its small tube head would pop up above the surface of the soil, and look around, if you will. But because it didn’t have eyes, it didn’t see much. But that’s okay, it was just a Tuesday, and eventually the worm would go underground again, leaving Jill up top with her spade and her garden hose and the sunshine.

Jill knew that worms were very good for her garden. Although she wasn’t particularly fond of picking them up or touching them in any way—they were a little too slimy and weird—she loved them from afar. Just as any gardener loves the things that make their gardens grow. Sometimes she’d see the worm poke its head out of the soil or see it in the soil she had just shoveled out of the ground. Not that she knew it was the worm, there were so many of them.

Sometimes her husband would dig around in the garden a little to find a few worms that he could use as bait while fishing. He’d take their son and daughter to the stream a few minutes walk from their house to fish for a little while. He never took the worm though. Well, not this Tuesday anyways, but maybe next Tuesday.

The worm inched its way through the soil, still, not knowing the danger it might be in, but not caring either. There was no danger in the worm’s world. There was soil, and movement, and moisture until there wasn’t. And, hell, it was only Tuesday, but even that the worm didn’t know.

The End

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Amanda Linehan is a multi-genre fiction writer and indie author. She has published 13 titles since 2012. Get a free, exclusive short story, The Sommer House, when you sign up for her fiction newsletter. For more stories like “Tuesday” check out her Writing On The Walls series.

3 Questions With An INFP: Ritu Kaushal

3 Questions With An INFP is a short interview designed to share the unique voices of individual INFPs and see how similar, and different, we all are.

And now I present: 

Ritu Kaushal

How did you find out you were INFP?

I’ve always been interested in understanding both myself and the people around me better. I first came across Myers Briggs in an online article. Over the years, I gradually learned about the different personality types through my own research. I was almost 100% sure that I was an INFP even before I took the official test many years later. The test only confirmed what I already felt.

Understanding that I am an INFP personality type has helped me get a lot more comfortable in my skin. Now, I can see how valid it is to “feel my way through something” because that’s the way I naturally approach the world.

What do you create?

I am a writer. So, the primary way in which I create is through words. My book The Empath’s Journey talks about my own experiments with living life as a sensitive person. I also blog about sensitivity on my website Walking through Transitions. As someone who grew up being called “too sensitive,” writing about the fact that 1 in 5 people in the world have a biological trait that makes them more sensitive to stimulation has felt like coming full circle.

I am also deeply interested in dreamwork. I have been working with my dreams based on principles from depth psychology for years now. One of my more recent creations is a workshop on how working with our dreams connects sensitives to our intuition.

Like other artistic people (I think of myself as an artiste on a bigger level), I also have a love for many different art forms. I like to paint and do mixed media. I also enjoy photography. But my first love is dance, and I trained as an Odissi dancer (a classical Indian form) for many years when I lived in India.

What do you enjoy?

I enjoy anything to do with creativity. I love music, dance, and movies. I also have a deep interest in history. This year, I watched Ken Burns’ 10-part Jazz docuseries. It combines the history of jazz as an art form with the history of America, so it checked off both my love for music and my love of history.

Lately, I have been watching a lot of documentaries. While some were sad, it’s felt so good to watch some that felt even more inspiring than any feel-good movie you could ever watch. It’s amazing to see how much real progress has been made, even say, in the last 50 years, such as with women’s rights.

At a time when the outer world seems to be going crazy, it’s been very helpful to find hope and meaning in the past. It’s also been good to understand a little more that ALL progress comes with pushbacks. That helps put things into perspective.  

Tell us a little about yourself.

I write about sensitivity, creativity and dreamwork. So, if you’re interested in any of those topics, you might enjoy my work. And here’s my “Official Bio:”

Ritu Kaushal is the author of the book The Empath’s Journey, which TEDx Speaker
Andy Mort calls “a fascinating insight into the life of a highly sensitive person.” Ritu is a
silver medal awardee at the Rex Karamveer Chakra Awards, co-presented by the United
Nations in India and given to people creating social impact through their work. She blogs
about sensitivity on her website, Walking through Transitions, where she publishes the
popular The Highly Sensitive Creative newsletter. Ritu has been a featured speaker at
global forums like The Shift Network and her writing has been featured on Sensitive
Evolution, Tiny Buddha, and Elephant Journal, amongst others.

Connect with Ritu on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

That wraps up this edition of 3 Questions With An INFP. Stay tuned for more!

Amanda Linehan is the author of Productivity For INFPs. She is a multi-genre fiction writer, indie author and INFP, who has published five novels and has been read in 113 countries. Amanda was a speaker at the INF Summit in February 2020. Get her free Productivity For INFPs Mini-Course when you sign up for the For INFPs newsletter.

5 Things You Probably Don’t Know About My Novel, Uncover

Today, January 26, 2022, is the ten-year anniversary of self-publishing my first novel, a book called Uncover. I can’t believe it’s been that long.

Self-publishing is an interesting journey. There’s always lots to learn, there are ups and downs, there are surprises, there are wins and losses. There’s absolutely no other place I’d rather be.

In honor of this anniversary, I wanted to tell you some behind-the-scenes things about Uncover, which is a YA thriller. Coming up with these took me on a trip down memory lane and I had fun reminiscing.

So, here are 5 things you probably don’t know about Uncover.

It’s based on the first novel I ever wrote (during NaNoWriMo 2009).

In late October 2009, I made the decision to tackle my first NaNoWriMo. I had no notes, no outlines, and no clue, but I did have an idea, which on November 1, 2009, I got to writing.

I did in fact hit 50,000 words that month (barely) and I had a complete first draft of a novel, which, when I began to read it back in order to revise it, I realized wasn’t salvageable. I decided to chalk that one up to practice and begin a new one.

I took some of the characters and some basic ideas from the plot and wrote a contemporary YA thriller, and it turned out much better. It was a lot simpler in many ways and it was also a bit shorter. And now, I had my second novel under my belt.

It was influenced by old Christopher Pike YA horror/thrillers.

When I was a pre-teen/teenager in the 90s, I loved reading Christopher Pike books and I read a lot of them. If you’re about my age and enjoyed reading when you were young there’s a good chance you read some Christopher Pike too.

The basic idea was teens in peril having to figure something out to save themselves or their friends or both. There were often interesting philosophical/metaphysical/spiritual ideas that would permeate the story, and, of course, lots of teen stuff. And in many cases, there were supernatural elements.

When I sat down to write Uncover, these were the books I had in mind. They were the model that I was using to write my own book, and, looking back, I think it was good to have some sort of a blueprint in mind, something to direct my thoughts and ideas.

The school the characters attend is very much based on my high school.

My high school was an interesting place. It was an old building and had been added onto over the years to accommodate a growing population so it had a cobbled-together feel with very distinct areas inside the building.

When I saw my characters in their own high school, they were walking down the hallways and entering the classrooms of my school, the way that I remembered them.

I guess it would be natural for me to do this. Number one, my high school was a place I had known well, but, number two, it also had a certain feel to me that seemed right for this book. Almost a labyrinthine quality to it, which matched the vibe of the journey my characters go on.

When I wrote it, I had never been in the woods at night. (But now I have.)

The premise of Uncover is that a group of teens get lost in the woods overnight. I really enjoyed writing the scenes in the woods, what with all of the nature around them, but when it got dark, I had to use my imagination.

I played in the woods a lot as a kid, so I was very well acquainted with forests. But I had never been in at nighttime and so when I wrote those scenes in the book, I had to really ask myself ‘what would it be like?’ Especially when it came to light sources, or lack thereof. How much could they see? How difficult would it be for them to move around?

Since then, I have been in the woods at night. I like to camp, but I’ve also been hiking where we did the last bit in the dark. So now I know, but when I initially wrote Uncover, I had to try and figure it out.

I wrote it in 500 word chunks.

At the time, I was a pretty new writer and I wanted to keep up a consistent writing practice. 500 words was a decent chunk to get done in a day, and I could do that during my lunch hour at work.

I probably didn’t write every single day, but I wrote on most days, and after a while, those 500-word sessions really added up. It was an easy system for me to keep up with and soon enough I had a finished rough draft.

I’m glad I operated with a ‘keep it simple’ mindset. It felt reasonable to me and, ultimately, allowed me to keep going all the way to the end.

And there you have it: 5 things you probably didn’t know about Uncover. Like I said, it was fun to write this list and I would imagine there’s a least one tidbit here that both writers and non-writers alike can take away.

In honor of this anniversary, I’ve dropped the price of the Uncover ebook to 99 cents (on all retailers, there’s a variety of them) and I’m also selling signed paperbacks ($15) and signed bookplates ($5) through Friday, January 28th in my Ko-fi store. If you’re interested in a good dose of suspense, grab a copy of Uncover now.

Amanda Linehan is a multi-genre fiction writer and indie author. She has published 13 titles since 2012. Get a free, exclusive short story, The Sommer House, when you sign up for her fiction newsletter. She also loves fizzy water and you can help her with that by buying her a club soda over on Ko-fi. She really appreciates your support.

5 Minute Fiction: A Chilling Visitor

It was going to be a White Christmas. The snow was about a foot and a half deep. There was no way it was going to melt within two days time.

Melanie opened the front door to her house and stepped outside into the crisp-smelling air with her son Tyler, both of them bundled in hats and coats and gloves. They were going to make a snowman.

Tyler ran down to the edge of their lawn near the sidewalk declaring that this is where the snowman would live. It could waved and talk to the neighbors that way, he explained, and Melanie smiled and agreed.

An hour later they had a damn fine snowman (she used the word awesome with Tyler) and proceeded to give it a carrot nose, two multi-colored super balls for eyes (which gave the snowman a slightly crazed look) and wrapped a scarf around it’s neck.

Tyler was excited about their creation but was even more excited to go inside and drink some hot chocolate now that their work was done. Melanie waved to Derrick, their next door neighbor who had sons of his own, and she and Tyler went into the house.

Later that night as Melanie sipped more hot chocolate (this time with a little bourbon mixed in) she looked out her window at her and Tyler’s awesome snow—.

She looked a little closer out the window. Hadn’t the snowman been closer to the sidewalk?

She put her drink down, got up from the couch and stuck her face right up to the window. She could feel the cold air from outside on her face and silently reminded herself that she probably needed to replace these windows. But for right now, she could have sworn that snowman was built closer to the sidewalk.

She glanced at her drink and wondered had she added a little more bourbon than she thought.

A couple hours later, she headed up to bed, Tyler long asleep. She undressed, put on pajama bottoms and a tank top, and just out of curiosity looked out her bedroom window.

The snowman seemed to be even closer to the house, and what’s more, it’s face seemed to be turning to face Melanie. She closed her eyes and shook her head a little, just to get the weird thoughts out of her head, but she went to bed uneasy. They must have been a little further up from the sidewalk than she had realized.

A few hours later Melanie awoke suddenly from a deep sleep with a feeling of foreboding and a desperate need to look out the window. She didn’t want to, but she had to.

She threw the covers off of her and felt the shock of cold air. Sitting up on the side of the bed, she stared toward the window for a ten or fifteen seconds, gathering her courage. Finally, she got up and walked to the window.

The snowman was halfway up the yard and looking directly at her, its super ball eyes seeming to bulge right out of its cold face. It didn’t have a mouth, but it was smiling at her. She could feel it.

That was the last straw. She was going for the shovel.

* * *

The next morning, Melanie yawned and got herself out of bed having slept peacefully the second half of the night. She found Tyler downstairs watching TV and looking slightly disappointed.

“Mom, our snowman isn’t there anymore,” Tyler said, looking up at her as she descended the stairs.

Melanie put on a look of surprise and disappointment.

“It’s not?”

“Nope. Go look.”

She looked out the window knowing exactly what she would see. Just then, the doorbell rang. It was Derrick, from next door.

“Hey,” he said, as she opened the door, Tyler right behind her. “I just wanted to apologize, I think Muffin (that was Derrick’s family’s mastiff) may have gotten to your snowman when we let her out this morning. Although, I could have sworn you guys built that thing down by the sidewalk.”

Melanie told Derrick it was nothing to worry about, and let Tyler know that sometimes these things just happen.

When she closed the front door again and Tyler had gone back to the TV, she put her hand in the pocket of her robe and enclosed it around two multi-colored super ball eyes.

Enjoyed this story? Feel free to “buy me a club soda” over on Ko-fi. All support is voluntary and appreciated. Thank you!

Amanda Linehan is a multi-genre fiction writer and indie author. She has published 13 titles since 2012. Get a free, exclusive short story, The Sommer House, when you sign up for her fiction newsletter. For more stories like “A Chilling Visitor” check out her Writing On The Walls series.

3 Questions With An INFP: Emily Perkins

3 Questions With An INFP is a short interview designed to share the unique voices of individual INFPs and see how similar, and different, we all are.

And now I present: 

Emily Perkins

1. How did you find out you were INFP?

I have taken Meyers-Briggs tests at different points in my life, but it wasn’t until I got connected to Jacob Nordby and Lauren Sapala that I came away with truly digging into the meaning for me. I knew that what they were talking about resonated with me, so I took a free, online test. I wanted to better understand how I fit into the framework in which they spoke. They had more to say about INFJs, and so I was a little disappointed and took longer to grasp the superpowers in being an INFP. The more I learn about and connect with other INFPs, the more I appreciate my INFP-ness.

I had taken various personality tests or career aptitude tests when I was younger. They seemed fleeting in how they were able to help or provide on-going understanding. The results weren’t really explained or used to any great degree and were soon forgotten. I did find the printed results of one personality test from years ago in which I tested as an ISFP. My guess is that I was trying very hard to do things the way I thought I was “supposed” to and shut down my feelings. No wonder I didn’t get very much from the test.

2. What do you create?

I create heart-felt messages for texts/emails/notes, birthday and other cards, bookmarks, calligraphy, hand-stitched embroidery projects, bracelets, a loving, grounded emotional center for my house – people and pets (at least I do my best), running/walking/hiking/biking routes for me, my kids, and my dog, a friendly presence in our neighborhood, Pilates workouts and stretching sequences, a welcoming space to show up and honor individual bodies and have some fun doing Pilates and movement, stories, and collections of insights, awarenesses, and memories.

3. What do you enjoy?

I enjoy so much! Beauty in little moments, being outside in nature whether that is in my backyard, on the foothills trails behind my neighborhood, or way up in the mountains by a still mountain lake or softly gurgling stream, daydreaming, writing, creating, reading, a good night’s rest, a warm drink in the morning, moving my body and feeling the strength and vitality – walking, running, dancing, stretching, and karate, unscheduled days, connecting on deep or spiritual levels with other people, and hugs and closeness with my partner, littles, and pets.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Emily Perkins, warrior, healer, writer, lover of life, deep feeler, daydreamer.

Emily grew up in the Rocky Mountains, loving being an athlete and feeling strong in her body, getting creative in her writing, drawing, or embroidery, and loving the family dogs and cats. After several moves taking her across the country, to both the east and west coasts and a few stops in the middle, those core truths remain, plus now more family to love, more hobbies to enjoy, and new mountains to explore. Emily grounds as a healer and movement educator specializing in Pilates and energy practices. Ever the eclectic INFP, Emily embraces each day learning, growing, being, and loving. Her latest adventure, launching her website theEmilyPerkins.com, is coming soon…or soon-ish.

That wraps up this edition of 3 Questions With An INFP. Stay tuned for more!

Amanda Linehan is the author of Productivity For INFPs. She is a multi-genre fiction writer, indie author and INFP, who has published five novels and has been read in 113 countries. Amanda was a speaker at the INF Summit in February 2020. Get her free Productivity For INFPs Mini-Course when you sign up for the For INFPs newsletter.

3 Questions With An INFP: Nita Sweeney

3 Questions With An INFP is a short interview designed to share the unique voices of individual INFPs and see how similar, and different, we all are.

And now I present: 

Nita Sweeney

1. How did you find out you were INFP?

In the late 1980s, when I was in law school, the partner of a classmate asked some of us to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI.) She was writing about learning styles in her doctoral work and linking that to MBTI results. She typed me as an ISFP.

I had tested 50-50 for “iNtuitive” and “Sensing,” but the doctoral candidate thought I was more “S.”

“I can see you measuring exactly ¼ cup of flour for a recipe,” she said. I didn’t cook then and don’t now, but I did like things to be precise. No matter how many times I take any form of the MBTI, I score nearly 50-50 on my “iNtuitive” and “Sensing.”

A few years later, the Bar Association Journal offered a mini-MBTI. I’ve always loved studying personality types. I asked others in the small law firm where I was a partner to take the test. Personality types didn’t interest them. They had work to do. But I persisted.

One by one, the results came in. ISTJ. ENTJ. ISFJ. INTJ. ESTP. ESTJ. After each of the 12 people in our office tested, only one of the legal secretaries and I tested as INFPs. While I remembered having been typed ISFP before, the INFP description felt more accurate then and still does today.

I’d always felt different from other lawyers. From the first day of law school, sitting in Greg Travalio’s contracts class, listening to my classmates recite the facts of the case, it seemed I had been dropped into an alien world. For three years of law school and ten of legal practice, that feeling never left. I could do the research and come up with the same answers as the other lawyers, but it took longer and I found the answers through a more circuitous route.

Eventually, a major depressive episode forced me to rethink my career. I’d been successful, finding my way by focusing on research and writing, but the magazine article test confirmed what I already knew. I was a unicorn in a stable full of horses much more suited to their tasks.

Now, as an INFP writer who lives with chronic depression—which came first the depression or my attempts to mold my INFP-ness into a non-INFP world—I accept my need to muddle around in something before I find the flow others seem to easily access. That time-consuming process didn’t work well when I was living and dying by the billable hour. I secretly wrote off hours of billable time and spent more hours at the office because the work took me twice as long as my “STJ” colleagues. I still struggle with some of my INFP characteristics, but I no longer find it necessary to hide my process.

2. What do you create?

I turn decaf coffee into books about mental health, running, meditation, and writing. I blog, write guest posts, edit other people’s blogs, and coach the occasional writer. I’ve written ten books, published two, and have many more in mind. I just need to access a bit more extraverted thinking and get things done!

I’m also a meditation leader and I “create” guided meditations to help others find mindfulness in everyday activities including exercise. I’ve begun to record selfie videos in which I discuss running as meditation for mental health and well-being.

3. What do you enjoy?

In addition to spending time with my husband, and our yellow Labrador retriever, Scarlet, I love to run. I’m slow and unapologetic. Ten hours alone in the woods is bliss—except when it’s not.

I also love the sound of words and the shape of sentences. “Having” written is also bliss. I especially enjoy using my writing skills to share mental health and wellness tips with others.

And, I love unicorns and Hello Kitty.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Nita Sweeney is the award-winning wellness author of the running and mental health memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink and co-creator of the writing journal, You Should Be Writing: A Journal of Inspiration & Instruction to Keep Your Pen Moving. A long-time meditator, mental health advocate, ultramarathoner, and former assistant to writing practice originator Natalie Goldberg, Nita founded Mind, Mood, and Movement to support well-being through meditation, exercise, and writing practice, and The Writer’s Mind, to share using writing practice to produce publishable work. Nita also publishes the writing resource newsletter, Write Now Columbus. She lives in central Ohio with her husband, Ed, and their yellow Labrador retriever, Scarlet. Download your free copy of Nita’s eBook Three Ways to Heal Your Mind here or on her website.

https://linktr.ee/nitasweeney

Website: https://nitasweeney.com/

Free eBook: https://aw151390.aweb.page/p/db9d058a-8ace-4125-ad16-9e6bfad60bce

Newsletter: https://aw151390.aweb.page/p/c2deb8f9-2953-4cad-8cfe-8b6e89b912f4

Wellness Group: https://facebook.com/groups/mindmoodandmovement/

Writing Practice Group: https://facebook.com/groups/thewritersmind/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nitasweeney/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/nitasweeneyauthor/

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nitasweeney/

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/nitasweeney/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/nitasweeney/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCucD_U0uPtRTHvyryeU2_1Q

Medium: https://medium.com/@nitasweeney

That wraps up this edition of 3 Questions With An INFP. Stay tuned for more!

Amanda Linehan is the author of Productivity For INFPs. She is a multi-genre fiction writer, indie author and INFP, who has published five novels and has been read in 113 countries. Amanda was a speaker at the INF Summit in February 2020. Get her free Productivity For INFPs Mini-Course when you sign up for the For INFPs newsletter.

3 Questions With An INFP: S.K. Lamont

3 Questions With An INFP is a short interview designed to share the unique voices of individual INFPs and see how similar, and different, we all are.

And now I present: 

S.K. Lamont

1. How did you find out you were INFP?

About seven years ago, an INFJ friend of mine asked if I had ever taken the Myers-Briggs test. I hadn’t, and was pleasantly surprised to discover I was an INFP. I really resonate with being an INFP and have enjoyed learning all about my type. It’s helped me to get comfortable with who I am and to embrace all my quirks.

2. What do you create?

Primarily, I’m a fantasy writer—I love getting lost in other worlds and stepping fully into my imagination. Being creative is very healing for me—it’s like medicine for my soul. I have many creative interests: earthen clay—I love the sensory experience of throwing on my pottery wheel and hand building. I also enjoy the detail of working in miniature with polymer clay, beads and found objects. I like playing around with colored pencils and love blending and shading. I also dabble in acrylics. Recently, I’ve taken up calligraphy and I’m teaching myself mapmaking, which I hope to incorporate into my books, eventually.

In the future, I plan to create a Creative Warrior Circle with meditations, workshops, and community to encourage other creatives to tune into their own inner voice and walk out their gifts.

3. What do you enjoy?

I enjoy creativity, imagination and art. I also love dance and movement—I have a Nia practice which is a blend of martial arts, dance arts and healing arts. I also love to meditate and journal, and I especially enjoy spending time in nature—I feel very connected to the natural elements and to plants and animals. As a mom, I enjoy spending time with my kids, playing games, reading stories and cuddles. I love books and movies and have an insatiable appetite for personal development.

Tell us a little about yourself.

S.K. Lamont lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina with her husband, six children and her horde of quirky animals who provide much inspiration for her fantasy adventures. She spends her days writing, making art and inspiring others to live their dreams.

You can find her online at https://sklamont.com and on social media at Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

Currently, she is working on getting her book ‘The Girl of Souls & Shadows’ published—feel free to add it to your Goodreads bookshelf.

That wraps up this edition of 3 Questions With An INFP. Stay tuned for more!

Amanda Linehan is the author of Productivity For INFPs. She is a multi-genre fiction writer, indie author and INFP, who has published five novels and has been read in 113 countries. Amanda was a speaker at the INF Summit in February 2020. Get her free Productivity For INFPs Mini-Course when you sign up for the For INFPs newsletter.

5 Minute Fiction: Blood and Kibble

Author’s Note: I like cats and I like vampires and it’s almost Halloween, so here you go. This one I originally published in my fiction newsletter in 2018, but I thought about it recently and thought it would be a fun one to post on the blog.

Also, the title says it all. This story is meant to be read in about 5 minutes. Enjoy.

“That’s, like, the third one this week,” Woman said, crinkling her nose as she looked at my latest kill – a sparrow. She would never notice the two puncture holes in its breast or that it had no blood in its body.

“Garlic’s always been a good hunter,” Man said, bringing Woman a pair of rubber gloves. “Maybe we should keep him indoors more.”

My ears shot up.

“And listen to him meow all day and all night. I don’t think so. Where is he anyway?”

I was in my favorite stalking spot. The bushes on the left-hand side of the backyard, where there was just enough cover to keep me hidden and just enough open space for me to see everything.

“He likes to hang out in those bushes over there,” Man said and pointed.

Dammit! They were on to me. It was time to be cute. I crawled out from my spot and meowed as I walked in the direction of my companions.

“There he is!” Woman exclaimed. “Hey buddy!”

She squatted down on the back porch and extended a hand to me, and I picked up my speed a little bit. When I reached her, I gave her hand an obligatory sniff then rubbed my head all over it and eventually all over her knees.

“You’ve been hunting today, haven’t you?” she said, swooping me up into her arms and nuzzling me with her head.

“He’s a fierce little thing for seven and a half pounds,” Man said, rubbing me on my head. I purred.

Woman put me down and I hurried off into the yard, while she continued disposing of my prey.

And then I heard it.

The sound of Man grabbing the kibble bag and re-filling my food bowl. I took off for the back door.

“Here he comes,” Woman said and Man appeared at the back door to let me in.

“Too bad he never eats those little critters he kills or we wouldn’t have to feed him at all,” Man said and headed out of the kitchen, while I dug in to some fresh kibble.

There was just something about the crunch. You couldn’t beat it.

Woman walked in the back door a couple minutes later, and I had had my fill of kibble. I slinked out the door before it closed and heard Woman say from behind me, “Well, there he goes again.”

The air was fresh and my stomach was full and it was time for a little fence perching and then maybe a nap. I headed for the empty bird bath, and when I reached it I hopped up, then hopped again onto the top of the fence where I had a view of the whole neighborhood, not to mention several large trees. I watched.

I had just had fresh blood so there was no need to hunt right now, but a little window shopping never hurt anyone. The birds flitted about and chirped and went about their business but kept a wary eye on me. My eyes began to close, so I stood up, hopped down onto the bird bath and back onto the grass.

I was in the exact spot where it had happened. That night was still clear in my mind.

I had been perched on top of the fence that late spring night and the horizon was still blue-green. A few birds perched in one of the nearby trees and I lay in wait, observing and scheming. Then I saw one take off from the tree, flying through the twilight. Or so I thought.

In hindsight, it’s completely understandable that I took this creature to be a bird. Small body, wings. But it wasn’t until I had pounced and knocked this creature out of the sky that I realized this wasn’t a bird at all.

Down on the grass next to the bird bath, I examined this strange creature. It did indeed have a small dark body, but it also had tiny ears, not unlike mine, and wings that spanned a large distance.

Either way, it still looked tasty. I dug my teeth into its flesh, the creature having already died, and ate.

I was right. It was tasty.

When I was done I left my kill by the bird bath, having no idea of the transformation that was about to take place. The effects were subtle that night. A little tingling, an odd ringing in my ears and a thirst despite the fact that I had just eaten. It wasn’t until my next hunt that I realized something very strange had happened.

A few days later, by my favorite bushes, I had a mouse between my paws. As I was about to dig in, I felt a strange sensation in my mouth. When I bit down, only two teeth appeared to break the skin. Two new teeth. And I was no longer hungry, but thirsty.

A few drops of blood hit my tongue, and it was as if I had never eaten a small creature before. It was as delicious as my beloved kibble, though in a very different way. Rich, silky, nourishing. I drank until there was no more to drink and when I was done the mouse had only two very small puncture wounds in its body and my two new teeth seemed to recede.

It was a new day.

“Garlic!” Man was yelling from inside the house through the screened in back porch door, as I was still getting used to the invigoration of fresh blood. “Dinner!” And the sound of kibble hitting the food bowl filled my ears.

Though my thirst had been satisfied, it would never replace the savory crunch of my regular meals.

As I ran into the house, Man holding the screen door for me, he was none the wiser of my transformation. Nor was woman.

“Hey buddy!” she said as she saw me scamper into the kitchen. “Have you been hunting today?”

She had no idea.

Amanda Linehan is a multi-genre fiction writer and indie author. She has published 13 titles since 2012. Get a free, exclusive short story, The Sommer House, when you sign up for her fiction newsletter.

New Fiction Release: The Beach House

Just a quick announcement to let you know that I have a new fiction release called The Beach House: A Short Tale of Horror.

The story is about 100 pages long and is about a couple who rents a beach house only to find that something extremely disturbing is happening inside the closet. It’s filled with a lot of supernatural suspense and has a humorous vibe to it too. Also, very little to no gore.

Check out the short video (~5 min.) above to hear a little about the process of writing The Beach House, which was unique.

Alrighty, The Beach House is available in ebook and paperback at a variety of retailers. Get your copy here.

If you enjoy The Beach House it would be awesome if you could leave a short review with your honest impressions on your retailer of choice. I appreciate it!

Amanda Linehan is a multi-genre fiction writer and indie author. She has published 13 titles since 2012. Get a free, exclusive short story, The Sommer House, when you sign up for her fiction newsletter.