1. Can you please introduce yourself and tell us something about your book "ππΌπΊπ½πΉπΆπ°πΆπ"
Answer - Thank you for inviting me. My name is Amy Rivers and I'm a Colorado-based author and the director for @ncw_writers. My new book Complicit is my fourth novel and the first in a new series called A Legacy of Silence. It's a psychological thriller/suspense novel about a sex trafficking ring happing in a small town in New Mexico. The main character, Kate Medina, is the high school psychologist which lands her in the middle of the drama.
2. When did you get the thoughts of writing this book? i read the book and i loved it, your writing style is commendable. You are amazing.
Answer - Aw,thank you. Sexual assault and interpsonal violence prevention are passions for me, so when I went to write this book, I was really focused on how such a heinous, organized crime could be happening right under the noses of the people in town. Not everyone is guilty, of course, but it would be difficult to pull such a thing off without having a lot of complicity. I'm also a big fan of realistic female protagonists. I wanted to explore Kate's relationship with her sister Tilly, and how that relationship has been shaped by the trauma that each woman has undergone.
3. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
Answer - It really depends on the book. For Complicit, I had a lot of background information due to my former position running a sexual assault service program and the fact that the book takes place inmy hometown. I knew where to look for information. Other books have been a bit more complicated. For instance, if they are set in a place I am not intimately familiar with, I have to do a lot more research about the setting. Luckily, I love to travel and visiting the places I write about is one of my favorite things.
4. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
Answer - The magnitude of domestic human trafficking is always sohcking. We tend to think about trafficking as bringing someone from another country to our own, but the numbers are staggering for trafficking that involves a country's own citizens. America is no exception to this and in order to fight it, we have to acknowledge that it happens.
5. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
Answer - I've done both. My last book All The Broken People was always destined to be a standalone, but Complicit is book one in a series. The decision to create this series was two-fold: 1) I love Kate Medina and want to follow her on all her adventures, and 2) it takes to defeat systemic violence. The idea of wandering into an established trafficking ring and being able to completely obliterate in the course of one book seemed too optimistic to me.
6. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
Answer - When I was in grade school, we wrote books as part of a school-wide project. I got the feel for creating characters and writing a story from start to finish. I also got to create a tangible book (I still have it). I was very lucky to have a school that promoted literacy and creative writing.
7. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
Answer - I do hear from my readers. Because I write about tough topics like violence and addiction, I often hear about how the story resonated with them personally. Those are my favorite emails because even though I write fiction, I love having a positive impact on real people. Helping them understand that they are not alone.
8. How would you express your journey as an Author?
Answer - Despite all the writing I did when I was young, becoming a full-time writer was not even on my radar until fairly recently. Up to that point, most of the writing I had done was either academic or business-related. I'd written short stories and even started a novel or two, but it was always just a hobby. It wasn't until I moved to Colorado that I had the opportunity to really pursue creative writing as a career. Being an author is a lot of work, and there are tons of obstacles and challenges along the way, but I love what I do and I hope to keep doing it for a long time.
9. What other things do you love than this writing?
Answer - Spending time with my family and friends. Reading. Singing. My parents played folk music when I was growing up, so music has always been a huge part of my life. I love to travel. I love to cook. Those are probably the things I spend most of my free time doing.
10. And last, What advice do you have for writers?
Answer - Stick with it. There may be days when you want to throw in the towel, but this career path really requires perseverance and determination. Don't let anyone tell you can't succeed. Keep working. Learn new skills. Hone your craft. And above all, write.
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