Art & Life with Amy Nichols

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Nichols.

Amy, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to be an author. I even wrote it down on a “bucket list” in high school, long before bucket lists were a thing. As I grew older, though, fear of rejection and the realities of making a living kept me from pursuing my dream. That changed on New Year’s Eve, 1996. While studying abroad, my husband and I celebrated Hogmanay in Edinburgh, Scotland. At midnight we watched fireworks over Edinburgh Castle, sang Auld Lang Syne…then promptly found ourselves being crushed in a crowd of 300,000 people. It was terrifying. And life changing. When we got back to the States, I dug out that old list and got serious about doing the things I’d written on it years before. One by one I crossed goals off. Finally, in 2003, I tackled the big one: being a published author. It took a number of years to write a novel-length manuscript that was good enough to get an agent and a book deal. My first novel, Now That You’re Here was published by Knopf Books for Young Readers in 2014. My second novel, While You Were Gone, came out the following year. And that’s how I got where I am today — Carpe diem.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I write novels for teens and middle-grade readers. While I write in a number of genres, science fiction is where I enjoy working the most. I love creating stories that live in that space between Science and Fiction, and I’m always trying to bridge that gap by using enough real science that readers are left wondering what’s true and what’s imagined. My greatest hope is that my stories will make readers wonder what more is out there, what more is possible. I want to leave them asking, What if?

Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities, and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
The thing I often have to remind myself is that not everyone gets to be an artist (in my case, an author). Not everyone has this gift or this opportunity. Yes, it can be difficult to make a living as an artist. More often than not we have to find a way to fit our art into our conventional lives. But making the time for art is worth it. You’ve been given a gift, a vision, a unique story to tell the world. Unless you tell that story, it will only ever live in your head, and the world will be poorer for it. Make time for your art, even if it’s just 15 minutes a day. Every small step forward moves you closer to your goal.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My novels are available from major booksellers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but I love when readers purchase them from our wonderful local indie booksellers, such as The Poisoned Pen and Changing Hands. The greatest thing a reader can do for any author whose books they enjoy is tell their friends. Word of mouth is essential when it comes to supporting the creative arts.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.amyknichols.com
• Instagram: @authoramyknichols
• Twitter: @amyknichols

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