Welcome our newest author to Anaiah Press!
Congratulations on your new release!
Thank you!
Give us a quick one paragraph summary of your latest release.
Christiana Jones finds a pile of letters her grandparents wrote each other during the war. Since she’s unsatisfied with how her dream of living in Huntsville has turned out, and fed up with the shallowness of social media, she decides to try something new—being a pen pal. Her lifelong friend, Tina, suggests she write her cousin Jordan in Louisiana. And with each letter that goes between them, Christiana wonders if she could find a relationship as strong as her grandparents had.
Is this book part of a series, or a stand-alone?
Stand-alone
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a preacher’s kid and have never lived anywhere longer than six years—although my husband and I are hoping we’re settled for a good long while where we are now. I’m outgoing, which I have learned most authors aren’t. I love fun socks and sometimes have pink streaks hidden in my hair. And I married my college sweetheart, who was dating one of my friends when we first met.
What was your first encounter with the writing world?
Eighth grade was the first time I ever realized the stories I made up in my head might actually be published one day. My English teacher was a published author—the first I had ever met in real life. And I decided that if my teacher could be published, I could, too.
Do you have any strange writing habits?
I have discovered that if I want to finish a book, I need to write it all the way through within a few months. Otherwise, little pieces sit in notebooks and word documents, just waiting for my return. Every now and then I do go back and pick them up to finish, but I have a lot more still waiting. My best writing has always happened during Nanowrimo, and this is the fourth book I’ve had published that was written in 30 days or less. (The editing takes a lot longer.)
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I am what people call a plantser. I start with a general idea of where things will go in my story, usually with the beginning and end planned out. Then, I let it happen. My husband always shakes his head when I’m writing along and say, “Huh. I wasn’t expecting that.” He asks how I can’t expect something I’m making up, but I tell him I only create the characters. They’re the ones who decide what happens.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I have a six-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son who keep me hopping. I also craft—everything from sewing and quilting to crochet to painting. I read … a lot (140 books last year alone). And I teach preschool two days a week, too.
How did you come up with the title of your book?
Fun fact: The original title I gave my story was “An Old-School Romance.” And I still like the title. But the more I wrote, the more I discovered that my story wasn’t JUST about the romance. As all my stories do, it had my characters searching out what home meant to them. And when I realized that, I knew I wanted to change it to Writing Home. It epitomizes how they feel about writing each other letters.
Where can readers find you online?
http://abitofanguish.weebly.com
http://www.facebook.com/amyanguishauthor
Learn more about my books at https://www.pinterest.com/msguish/my-books/
And check out the YouTube channel I do with two other authors, Once Upon a Page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEiu-jq-KE-VMIjbtmGLbJA)
Thanks for stopping by today!
Writing Home is available now!
Anaiah Press 