Amy Walsh

Looking back on childhood memories, they seem to have a golden glow, much like fond ponderings of scenes from favorite childhood books. My parents encouraged reading, drawing, and listening to great music. My brothers were wonderful companions, and we had the freedom to explore nature and even make creative messes in the house. Not having a TV in our home was one of the greatest blessings because I became an avid reader and developed many hobbies and interests.

I began writing stories, songs, and poems at a young age – basically, I was creating as soon as I could write. I always planned to start publishing novels once I retired and had more time, but the COVID-19 quarantine freed up some time earlier than expected. My grandmother had always wanted to see my writing in print; she was starting to fail in health right around that time, and I decided to polish and publish a project while she still had time to appreciate it. Hence, A Misplaced Beauty entered the world. It has been one writing project after another ever since.

I created a series with my middle school students in mind – The Dolls of Mahogany Manor series about a family of dolls who are brought to life and then abandoned in a world where magic has been outlawed. Many of my students were affected socially and emotionally by not having school during the start of the pandemic. I wanted a series that teaches them coping strategies and patterns of healthy thinking in an engaging way.

I will be honest. It is challenging. Lesson planning, grading, and contacting parents happen well beyond the school day. Having my husband retire from his full-time job as a police officer last year also slowed down my writing. When I get home from school, Pat often wants to get out of the house and spend time with me. So grateful for that love, but I have a feeling that most of my writing will be done over the summers when school is not in session and while Pat is sleeping in. However, I am finding ways to write during smaller chunks of time, whereas I used to write only when I had a large block of uninterrupted time.

Not necessarily, unless I need a little energy boost, or I’m fighting a cold and need a congestion buster or immunity booster. But I do have a blog series called Mornings at Character Café, which is basically fan fiction interviews with characters from novels. I always introduce a tea that connects with the character at the end of the interview.

Oh goodness. It’s so hard to pick a favorite. Just like my difficulty in selecting a favorite book – the favorite is often whichever one is in front of me. Sometimes, the dessert makes its way into a book before I get the chance to try it. For example, in Elsie Whitmore, the hero is doing everything he can to woo Elsie into being willing to give up her teaching job to perform in his musical. He googles “world’s most favorite dessert” and then has his housekeeper prepare “Sticky Toffee Pudding. I didn’t try Sticky Toffee Pudding until I went to Scotland months after Elsie Whitmore was published. There, I had it at every restaurant that served it.

Sometimes, I don’t realize an author’s influence until after I’ve written a novel. For example, when one of my friends read A Cursed Enchantment, she told me that Felix reminded her very much of Edmund from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I read George MacDonald, C.S. Lewis, and L.M. Montgomery books over and over as a child, so I’m sure they became a part of my personality. Same with Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew mysteries. In fact, I was thinking earlier today that Trixie Belden’s little brother had similar qualities to the little brother in my novel launching this week, Nellie.

Not always well. I have often had to say no to writing and marketing opportunities. Unfortunately, I’ve also had to decline some impromptu events with family and friends when I was under pressure with approaching deadlines. I have many more storylines and ideas for projects running through my brain than the time to put them on paper.

I have gone on many hikes over West Mountain and explored the West Mountain Sanitarium property before it was demolished, so I had firsthand experience with the novel's 2009 setting. I delighted in my discoveries and used them as details in the novel – from a bed of lilies of the valley to ripples in rock beds on top of the mountain, to wild blueberry bushes… Not long after my grandfather died, I went on a solo quad ride in his honor because he was a great one for going on adventures with snowmobiles and ATVs. I ended up in the potato field that I mentioned in Voices in the Sanitorium, and suddenly, I was surrounded by a swarm of butterflies. It was quite a ‘magical’ experience just because I had never seen so many butterflies of all different shades at one time before. I will never forget that moment, so I wrote about a similar experience in Voices.

My faith influences my motives for writing. I want to use my gifts for God’s glory, not mine. It’s more important for me to help others find healing or reconciliation through my writing than for me to make sales. I also avoid certain topics, themes, and scenes that wouldn’t be God-honoring, even though I probably could grow my audience more easily if I crossed certain boundaries. Being a Christ follower influences the themes I include in my novels. The three projects I am working on now are three very different redemptive tales where faith makes all the difference in lives that are heading in the wrong direction. Of course, I want my characters to be as authentic as possible, and the great thing is that I have spoken with many people who have had life-changing experiences when they came to faith. And, of course, I know firsthand the difference faith has made in my own life.

In 2020, my urban public school was virtual due to COVID-19. I worked with a team of 5th-grade teachers willing to jump through hoops to engage students. We delivered work packets for students sharing devices with multiple siblings. We held educational challenges and drove from house to house with prizes. Best of all, we began giving virtual tours of local places with the hope we’d help students feel less trapped inside their homes. I joined Meegan, one of the owners of multi-vender vintage and artisan market, on a tour of the two-story warehouse. Watching the recording later, I realized students had been enthralled as Meegan demonstrated items they had never seen before, from record players to kitchen gadgets. They were full of questions after the tour. Two items at On & ON were the catalysts for the creation of Voices in the Sanitorium. One was a doll dubbed “Eleven” by the staff – when she would mysteriously topple over at night and her wig would fall off, she looked like the main character of Stranger Things. The other was a leatherbound scrapbook that became Bridget’s diary in my imagination.

Elsie Whitmore was the one novel I’ve written where I barely did any research, and I didn’t even worry about character development. I wrote it purely for fun and to avoid thinking of COVID-19 and all the political issues going on in the US with the 2020 elections. It was like a movie in my mind that just took over my fingers. If I were to rewrite the novel, I’d make the novel less idyllic and grittier -- and give the characters more flaws. However, there are many readers who appreciate the break from reality that Elsie Whitmore is for them, as well.

Don’t get stuck in the trap of thinking you are too busy teaching to use the gifts and talents that drew you to teaching in the first place. Venture into the professional world beyond teaching; you will have more to offer your students.

Three of my novels focus on immigrants in northeastern Pennsylvania. I am fascinated by coal mines and railways, the Industrial Revolution, Castle Garden… However, I loved writing about Victorian London and Durham just as much. I can’t wait to visit the Rockies and write another book for the Whispers in Wyoming series. I’m also itching to find the time to write the book I started that takes place in Scotland, especially since I was blessed to spend a good portion of May 2022 there.

I think it’s been about a year. I love the organization, the user-friendliness, and the beautiful graphics that are made and posted for me. I know I need to spend some time using AllAuthor more effectively. Never enough time!