Christine Amsden is the author of nine award-winning fantasy and science fiction novels, including the Cassie Scot Series.
Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but Christine believes great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. She writes primarily about people, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
In addition to writing, Christine is a freelance editor and political activist. Disability advocacy is of particular interest to her; she has a rare genetic eye condition called Stargardt Macular Degeneration and has been legally blind since the age of eighteen. In her free time, she enjoys role playing, board games, and a good cup of tea. She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband and two kids.
Author Links
Website ➜https://christineamsden.com/wordpress/
X ➜ http://www.x.com/christineamsden
Facebook ➜https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Amsden-Author-Page/127673027288664?ref=hl
Can you tell us how you got started writing fiction?
I've been writing since I was a little girl! The first story I remember writing, about Cabbage Patch Dolls going to Mars, was written on an old manual typewriter my mom found in her parents' basement. I remember the way the keys felt, how you had to press each letter hard and it made a satisfying click. I still have a clicky keyboard, now that I think about it. Good thing I work from home!
Describe your writing process. Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write?
I don't believe in either plotting or pantsing. I've tried both extremes, of course. When I start writing with no plan, I falter quickly, then abandon the project or return to the drawing board. Which is preferable to the other extreme ... I once forced myself to write an entire novel based on an outline (after buying into the notion that this is how professional authors write quickly), and the resulting manuscript was this dead thing. I don't know how else to explain it, but it was utterly devoid of life, of the spark that makes my stories good, and of the characters that define my style.
Over twenty years of trial and error, I've found a middle ground between these two extremes, one that involves weeks or months of planning but only the roughest of possible outlines. Most of what I'm doing with this time is getting to know my characters, maybe writing some backstory scenes to help understand what brought them to the first page. I do like to have an idea where the ending is headed, although I can and do change my mind. I did with Knot of Souls!
I usually write from my basement office, historically in the morning, but as my kids get older (one year left before I'm an empty nester) I've begun shifting to the afternoon.
Can you tell us about your most recent release?
Knot of Souls is about two very different souls, trapped in the same body, forced by circumstance to work together. It's a mystery and a fantasy and above all else, a story of deep and abiding friendship.
How did you get the idea for the book?
The idea for Knot of Souls came at the end of 2020, after a year of working social media for two state senate campaigns. Politics is always fraught, but in the midst of a global pandemic, trolls were out in force, leaving me wondering how two opposite sides could ever come together on anything. In November, I sat down at my computer, stared at a blank cursor for a minute, and typed out three words:
Write something happy.
Joy got a name before she got a plot!
Now, it's hard to write something you don't feel, and I didn't feel happy at the time, but I did manage hopeful. The key hope I wanted to ignite? That two very different beings at cross-purposes can find a way to work together, and even become close.
Of all your characters, which one is your favorite? Why?
You want me to pick a favorite child? *gasp*
Seriously, though, I don't have one. In Knot of Souls, in particular, I needed to love both Joy and Shade equally for the plot to work, and I think I managed it. We've got Shade, powerful but afraid to trust, and Joy, trusting but in need of claiming power. Together, they're magic.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing your book?
Nailing the ending. I rewrote the back half, then kept fiddling with it to get the emotions right. I think the hard work paid off, but that's about all I can say without getting into spoilers. I do have some details in my author's note at the end, after you've read the book.
What projects are you currently working on?
My next project is called The Spaces in Between (working title), and it’s my first attempt at a young adult book, although I confess to having chosen the young adult genre situationally. The thing is, I lost my central vision between the ages of sixteen and eighteen (especially when I was eighteen), and my main character is going through the same thing. Stargardts can affect children as young as ten, and it can take as long as the mid-thirties to culminate, but in my life, in my lived experience, it happened fairly rapidly and mostly over the course of a single year. The book is still fantasy, despite drawing on some real experiences.
What advice would you offer to new or aspiring fiction authors?
Write because you love it. The more joy you have in your process, the less the world's opinions can get you down.
Thanks for having me!
When Joy wakes up in an alley, she knows three things: she was brutally murdered, she has somehow come back to life … and she is not alone. She’s been possessed by an inhuman presence, a being that has taken over her dying body. That being is powerful, in pain, and on the run from entities more dangerous than he is.
Shade, a Fae prince on the run, didn’t mean to share the body he jumped into. Desperate and afraid, accused of a murder he didn’t commit, he only sought a place to hide—but if he leaves Joy now, he faces discovery and a fate worse than death.
Forced to work together to solve multiple murders, including her own, Joy and Shade discover hidden strengths and an unlikely friendship. Yet as their souls become increasingly intertwined, they realize their true danger might come from each other … and if they don’t find a way to untangle the knot their souls have become, then even the truth won’t set them free.
Knot of Souls is a stand-alone buddy love fantasy that forces two very different beings to work together … and come out stronger on the other side.
Knot of Souls is available at Amazon.
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