Author Amy Harmon
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Q&A "The Song of David"

7/2/2015

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The last week of June, a couple of my bookfriends organized a The Song of David Read-Along, and at the end of that week-long event, everyone had the chance to ask me some questions. In case you missed it, you can read all the reader questions and my answers below. In the first part, you can find the anwers to some general questions about me and my books. The second part is focused on The Song of David. If you haven't read the book yet, please know that these questions and answers have some big spoilers in them.

Reader: What would be the most important points/tips you would share with novice writers?

It's all about the craft. Don't rely on clichés, on the stuff that comes to your head the first time. Sometimes you need to dig. Write, write, write. And write what you care about. Write what makes you tick. Don't write what's popular.

Reader: It doesn't matter how many of your books I read, I am always amazed at how you manage to show us some of the saddest situations life has to offer, yet you also show us how exceptionally beautiful life is despite these ugly moments. Is this a reflection of your own attitude towards life? If not, where do you find the motivation. If so, where do you find the motivation ?

One thing that always amazes me is when reviewers or readers complain that the hard things in the books I write about aren't realistic, that the suffering is too extreme, like people don't really go through these kinds of battles. And I always think to myself, 'well, bless your heart." Because life is DAMN HARD for so many. I know people who have lost both parents, siblings, struggle daily with debilitating disease, and that's just in the first 25 years of their lives. Life IS suffering. For almost everyone. We all have battles, we all have trials, and the charge is to find the beauty in life in spite of it.

Reader: How in the world do you write such intimacy without taking us beyond yet leaving the reader totally satisfied? I just love that!!

My favorite scenes to write are love scenes. Truly. I bragged to my son Paul after writing the scene where Tag and Millie make love - and I said, " I just wrote a love scene without mentioning body parts" He just laughed at me.
I don't do it because I'm a prude. I do it to focus on what's important when people love each other. What's important is not the body parts or the mechanics. It's the feelings. The sensations, the act itself. So, I enjoy creating the mood with my words and making people feel what I want them to feel without resorting to the usual methods. It's a challenge that I enjoy.
There is a time and place, though, for more graphic scenes. I refuse to leave stuff out just for the tender sensibilities of some. I want to be respectful, but I also want to be realistic. If I can be both, great. If I can't, authenticity will always win.

Reader: You said that each book gets harder. What do you mean?

Expectations for myself grow. Expectations from my audience increase. The desire to write quality, be original. That all increases. And I think the knowledge of how hard it truly is, is always daunting. Starting a new book is scary.

Reader: Were you a teacher Amy? What grade/subject level etc.?

I taught English and history to sixth and seventh graders at a little Christian school.

Reader: What is next?

I’m not sure what’s next. I feel like I want to step away from everything I know and write about an older heroine. Maybe I’ll write my story (wink wink) and make my character thin. That’s almost as good as being thin myself. No, seriously. I’m not sure. I want to give myself a chance in the next 90 days to just write without the pressure of publishing. I’m sure I WILL publish again, but I don’t know when that will be.

These 10 questions originally came from a French series, "Bouillon de Culture" hosted by Bernard Pivot. And were asked on the TV talk show, "The Actor's Studio". 

1. What is your favorite word?
Delicious

2. What is your least favorite word?
Fine

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Goodness. Selflessness. Music, art in all its forms.

4. What turns you off?
Bullies and bitches. Can't stand 'em.

5. What is your favorite curse word?
I love the F word. I never say it. But I love it. It's just so descriptive and filthy.

6. What sound or noise do you love?
I like the sound of running water. I love silence.  I love hearing my kids sing and I love laughter.

7. What sound or noise do you hate?
Anything that squeaks. When my son pushes chairs across the floor. Ish. That makes my skin crawl.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I would love to be a talk show host or a news anchor.

9. What profession would you not like to do?
Gynecologist. No thank you.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
The obvious thing would be, "Come on in." And I hope he knows my name.

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Exciting announcement!

6/12/2015

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While writing The Song of David, I kept playing around with a melody, just a little piece of a tune that kept coming back to me. I used to write songs before I wrote novels---I released a gospel CD in 2007---and music and words have always gone hand in hand for me. I finally got up from my desk and went to the piano and plunked it out. When my son came home from work, I played it for him and asked him what he thought. He is a talented singer/songwriter now working on his second album, and he is pretty picky about what he will and won't do. I'm a little bit country and he's a little bit . . . no, not Rock n' Roll, but definitely alternative. Very indie. But he loved the tune, if not the words. We fought back and forth over it. He had his words, I had mine, but we agreed on the melody. Finally, with a lot of give and take and singing and arguing, we found the right lyrics for this haunting melody. It perfectly complements the book. When I hear it, all the emotion of so many scenes in this story rise to the surface. I hope you feel it too. You can purchase the official Song of David single on iTunes and Spotify.

From Monday June 8th until Thursday June 11th, Totally Booked, Vilma's Book Blog, Natasha Is A Book Junkie and Aestas Book Blog each featured their own exclusive teaser trailer for The Song of David. Each one is different, each one is special, and they are glimpses (no spoilers) into the book.

Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page to watch all four official teaser trailers and the official music video!
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The Song of David: Cover Reveal!

5/18/2015

1 Comment

 
Here it is! The cover for my upcoming novel The Song of David!
Release date: June 15, 2015 and now available for pre-order on Amazon!
Design By Hang Le.
The Song of David by Amy Harmon
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Title & Blurb announcement!

4/15/2015

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I'm excited to share with you the official title and blurb for my upcoming novel slated to be released June 2015!


The Song of David

She said I was like a song. Her favorite song. A song isn’t something you can see. It’s something you feel, something you move to, something that disappears after the last note is played.

I won my first fight when I was eleven years old, and I’ve been throwing punches ever since. Fighting is the purest, truest, most elemental thing there is. Some people describe heaven as a sea of unending white. Where choirs sing and loved ones await. But for me, heaven was something else. It sounded like the bell at the beginning of a round, it tasted like adrenaline, it burned like sweat in my eyes and fire in my belly. It looked like the blur of screaming crowds and an opponent who wanted my blood.

For me, heaven was the octagon.

Until I met Millie, and heaven became something different. I became something different. I knew I loved her when I watched her stand perfectly still in the middle of a crowded room, people swarming, buzzing, slipping around her, her straight dancer’s posture unyielding, her chin high, her hands loose at her sides. No one seemed to see her at all, except for the few who squeezed past her, tossing exasperated looks at her unsmiling face. When they realized she wasn’t normal, they hurried away. Why was it that no one saw her, yet she was the first thing I saw?

If heaven was the octagon, then she was my angel at the center of it all, the girl with the power to take me down and lift me up again. The girl I wanted to fight for, the girl I wanted to claim. The girl who taught me that sometimes the biggest heroes go unsung and the most important battles are the ones we don’t think we can win.

Copyright © Amy Harmon


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