Meet A.M. Manay…

Hello, bloggers!!

I am pleased to welcome a very special guest today… RRBC’s “SPOTLIGHT” Author, A.M. Manay! This lady, Anne Margaret, is a super supportive member of our book club. She’s always eager to host others and shower them with support. She is so deserving of this hot seat and I do hope you’ll help me promote/support/celebrate this amazing author.

So, as always, please enjoy………

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“The Mommy Novelist” by A.M. Manay

One of my primary roles in life is being mother to a 6-year-old boy.  Parenthood changes a person.  In my case, that parenthood was also particularly hard-won.  We adopted our son as a newborn after battling infertility.  I am especially grateful for my child and acutely conscious of my good fortune.  I suspect strongly that my mommyhood has influenced me both as a reader and as a writer, and it certainly served as the “push” to get me to start writing again.

We decided from the start that I would stay at home with our son.  I didn’t want to miss anything, and my chronic illness (Lupus) makes full-time work outside the home a dicey proposition, anyway.  But motherhood to a small child can be isolating, even boring.  When you spend all your time talking to a 2-year-old, you start to feel like your mind is turning to mush.  When this feeling began to depress me, I turned to writing.  Suddenly, my mental wheels were turning, and I had an emotional, artistic, and intellectual outlet.  Would I have rediscovered this passion were I still working a normal job?  I doubt it.

Having a child has also affected my taste in reading.  For example, I could not get through Hunger Games.  I could tell it was a great book, but I could not handle the idea of all those kids killing each other.  As soon as Rue was introduced, all I could think was, “I bet she dies first.  Nope.  Noooope.  Nopey, nope, nope.”  I can handle a kid being in some danger in a book, but with a new baby in the house and in my heart, I needed some confidence that things would turn out okay.  This has pretty much become a “no dead kids rule” as far as my “to be read” list is concerned.

This distaste for dead children carries over into my own work.  I made November turn 18 in the first few chapters of She Dies at the End (November Snow Book 1) because I didn’t want her to be going through all that drama as a child.  I made sure that Carlos, the only child in the book, though very much traumatized by the villain, is protected by all the other “good guy” characters.  (Spoiler alert— he doesn’t die.)  Even that was pushing my limits.  I know kids die in real life all the time.  I simply do not need to face that in my escapist fiction.

How does your parenthood or non-parenthood affect your own work or tastes?  I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

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About the Author

In addition to her work as an indie author of paranormal new adult fantasy, A.M. Manay is a former inner-city chemistry teacher, a singer, a yoga enthusiast, and a mother through domestic open adoption. She has a passion for increasing diversity in popular culture and for strong heroines who stand up for themselves, make their own decisions, and don’t depend on romance as their reason for being.

Author Links for A.M. Manay

Website: http://www.ammanay.net
Blog: http://ammanaywrites.blogspot.com/
email: author@ammanay.net
Facebook: facebook.com/ammanaywrites
Twitter: @ammanay
 Instagram: instagram.com/a.m.manay

Fan email list  November’s News:  http://eepurl.com/bzCa9r

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Amazon

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Thank you so much for joining me today and helping show Anne Margaret the support she deserves! Please continue that support by visiting her other “SPOTLIGHT” Author Blog Tour Hosts! Don’t forget to check out her awesome November Snow Series!

Until next time………… Happy Reading & Reviewing!!