And this latest author I’m getting to know quite well, since she’s a huge part of the BWN family. She’s an awesome woman who’s been nothing but encouraging to other authors that I can see. (Hell, she even helped to translate my drivel into english for your enjoyment.) An amazing lady who somehow manages to shove several different hats on her head, I give you guys Amanda!

Bio:

Amanda Meuwissen is the author of The Incubus Saga and The Collector. Amanda also serves as COO and Managing Editor for BigWorldNetwork.com. She oversees editing and series selection, and is featured as a narrator for several BWN series. Amanda lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her husband, John, and their cats, Helga and Sasha (no connection to the incubus of the same name).

Blurb:

The Incubus Saga – Book 3: Sidhe
Nathan returns from the Veil a changed man. The consequences of his time with Malak, the dark sidhe king, and the deal made to free him may be more than he can bear. The weakening of the Veil and new enemies foretell of a greater battle still ahead. With Nathan’s brother Jim now an Awakened changeling, and Nathan’s role in Malak’s plans finally revealed, Nathan’s love for fae hunter and incubus, Sasha Kelly, may not be enough to save him after all.

Social media and website links:

http://bigworldnetwork.com/site/series/incubus (Series at BigWorldNetwork)

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6831429.Amanda_Meuwissen (Goodreads)

https://twitter.com/MissSuperCube (Twitter)

http://crimsondomingo.tumblr.com (Tumblr)

http://pinterest.com/crimsondomingo (Pinterest)

https://www.facebook.com/TheIncubusSaga (Series Facebook Fan Page)

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAmandaMeuwissen (Author Facebook Fan Page)

1. What do you do to keep your spirits up through a bad review?

Honestly, nothing works for me but time. I can have 70 Five Stars and only 4 One Stars and those few One’s will stick with me until the next Four or Five comes around, or until I’ve had some distance from it. But even if it ruins my day (week, month) the important things I focus on are 1) what about the review can I use to actually improve, 2) what is purely opinion that plenty of other people disagree with the reviewer on, and 3) are they just being a jerk. If the last one is true, the review should be disregarded outright.

2. What has been your greatest inspiration for writing your story?

I was first inspired to write The Incubus Saga by a web comic about a teenage boy with an incubus imaginary friend. I couldn’t get my own idea out of me at the time, though, and let it sit. Then one day, while watching an episode of the TV show Supernatural, the idea for my incubus character, Sasha Kelly, just…came to me, fully formed. The rest of the story fell into place with my love of fae lore and male relationships. What’s kept me inspired from start to finish, however, is definitely the fans. I’ve had an amazing group of readers with me from the story’s onset to now, especially when those fans have commented during the serialized run on BigWorldNetwork.com, which greatly shaped parts of the story as I wrote it.

3. Are there any people you feel need a shout out for supporting you?

Lisa Macklem, who wrote her own stories in my world back when I was first creating this, and allowed me to take some of those scenes and rework them into the canon story. Stephanie Cargile, who both inspired the character of Ula and also was a huge part of my initial writing process. Iain Wilde, who allowed me to immortalize him as the character Iain. Paul aka Kouken, for letting me take and reshape his character, Solrin. Meagan Hedin as my associate editor. Mario Hernandez for designing all three of the books in the series so beautifully. And my husband John, for seeing me through this to the end, and even occasionally letting me manhandle him to work out the logistics of a scene.

4. Has self-publishing taught you any lessons that you feel will help you in life?

This series is my baby, and it definitely took a village to raise it. This is where I give one extra shout-out to Jim McGovern, CEO of BigWorldNetwork, because I never could have published alone. Big name publishers aren’t appealing to work with, but I knew I couldn’t self-publish either, because I don’t have the patience or talent for cover design or typesetting. BWN gave me the opportunity to promote my work ahead of time by running it serialized first, then did all the hard work I could never have done alone. Not having to worry about the complicated parts of actually formatting my books has allowed me to write more and promote, and that is where we as authors need to spend the majority of our time.

And last, What’s your favorite color?

Cerulean. It was always my favorite Crayola crayon in elementary school. I even have a tattoo that color of a key over my heart.