Check out this author spotlight for Amanda Muratoff!
You can find all her links furthest down the page, and don’t forget to check out her books!
1. Hi! Welcome to my humble blog of all things bookish! I would like for us to start by getting to know you. Give us a short bio, please!
Hi! I’m Amanda, and I am a writer and an artist. I used to work in the film/television industry as a 3D Artist, but I didn’t return to the industry after having my son, Nathan, in 2018. I still paint and do other artisty things, but my main focus now is the series I write with my friend and coauthor, Kayla Hansen. We published the first book in 2019 and never looked back.
2. To get to know you just a little bit better, I’d like to ask you some this or that questions. Answer 5 of these and explain why you chose this or that, or maybe an entirely different alternative!
Winter, spring, summer or autumn? Summer, hands down. I love the heat. My body (I swear) just doesn’t know how to keep itself warm, so in other seasons I’m constantly cold. Though, to be fair, I’m often cold in summer, too, since the hubby likes to make it summer’s winter inside with the AC.
Cat or dog? Dog. I mean, I have a cat and I love her, but… I miss my dog, Penny. She was the sweetest german shepherd you can imagine, and she passed away at thirteen years old. One day, I’d like to have another dog. They just add so much to life, you know?
Tea or coffee? This is often where I find myself the odd one out, as I don’t drink either. Crazy, right? I have a three year old waking me up at 6am, but caffeine doesn’t work for me so I don’t bother drinking coffee. Tea is nice, in the right moment, but for the most part I’m super boring and just drink water all day.
Plotter or pantser? Definitely a plotter. I gotta do my best to guide these characters, or they run away with the story. Corin, for example, was supposed to be a one-chapter side character in book 5. Then everything changed and he ended up on the cover of book 5… and book 7.
Standalone or series? Book or ebook? Audiobook! I’m a narrator, and I’m working on book 3 of our series right now, but I just love to listen to books! As a busy mom, I hardly have time to sit down and read anything, so I listen. While I clean, cook, drive, or while I’m getting tattooed… It’s the best.
3. When you look for books to read, what trope or type of story will always catch your attention?
I’m a sucker for soulmates. Not insta-love, but the kind that you can’t deny. That no one else can get in the way of. I love that, especially if one is an anti-hero.
4. What do you write? Tell us about your current projects and the latest happenings!
I write romantic high fantasy. Original world, races, and magic system. Though, it’s not even called magic. We call it the “Art”, and our world is unique in that there are no dwarves or elves or trolls. Everything is new, except humans of course. And dragons. You can’t have fantasy without dragons, can you? We have ten books published, with three more coming. The main series is broken into trilogies and a quadrilogy. Each has their own set of main characters, but they overlap and intertwine. You see them in different books, and some of the same events from different perspectives. They grow together, find each other, and realize their fates are directly entwined. Kind of like the avengers… just with swords and castles.
5. What is your most recent release? Give us a short presentation, cover, and a link for where to buy it!
My most recent release is Axiom of the Queen’s Arrow, book 10 in the Pantracia Chronicles. Though, I recommend reading the first 9 books before this one, of course. I can’t give a full presentation, as spoilers, but we see some crucial moments in this book and really epic scenes. It’s one of the best, and we loved writing it!
6. What real-life inspiration do you draw from, and what are your primary fictional sources of inspiration (books, authors, films, music, etc.)? Name a few!
I get inspiration from everywhere! Though most of it for this series comes from our original tellings of these stories, which happened 10-15 years ago, depending on which character. They’ve existed for so long. We started Pantracia by doing text-based role playing when we were teens, and while the characters have evolved a TON over the years, their inspiration remains true to our original vision.
7. What is your writing routine? If you have one, give us the run-down!
We usually work set times together, and we sit in google docs at the same time, with discord running for voice, and we write over top of each other. We usually each “control” set characters in the chapters/books, and that gives dialogue a very authentic feel as it’s truly two people talking. We write the entire book this way, and then edit in the same fashion.
8. If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice as you started out on the path to becoming an author, what would it be?
Oh, jeez. I’d tell myself to slow down. Not the writing, but the other stuff. The rush to get them out. Enjoy the process and do it right the first time.
9. Last but not least: where can we find you? Drop those links!
https://www.facebook.com/PantraciaChronicles
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KXVHSLQ?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tukn
