Interview with Vilma Gonzalez for USA Today - Love in Suspense
Vilma: What inspired you to write Infinity + One?
Amy: I love the story of Bonnie and Clyde, but anyone who knows that story knows that it ended badly. They died, and violently! But the love story, the tale of two people against the world, going down together, is fascinating. I didn't want to retell their story, but I wanted to use it as a backdrop for my own Bonnie and Clyde, with a much better ending.
Vilma: Finn and Bonnie seem like very different people … they've lived very different lives up until the point when they meet. How would you describe their dynamic?
Vilma: What inspired you to write Infinity + One?
Amy: I love the story of Bonnie and Clyde, but anyone who knows that story knows that it ended badly. They died, and violently! But the love story, the tale of two people against the world, going down together, is fascinating. I didn't want to retell their story, but I wanted to use it as a backdrop for my own Bonnie and Clyde, with a much better ending.
Vilma: Finn and Bonnie seem like very different people … they've lived very different lives up until the point when they meet. How would you describe their dynamic?
Amy: I love how different their personalities are, how they play off each other, how they surprise each other, and how they spark. Yet, they discover, along with the reader, that they understand each other on a very elemental level. They also find they have a great deal in common, which creates a very strong bond almost from the beginning. That bond and understanding is the foundation for their love affair.
Vilma: This book has adventure, romance, suspense, humor and heartbreak. There are so many emotions evoked. What was your writing experience like? Was it different from any of your previous novels?
Amy: After the overwhelming success of A Different Blue and then Making Faces, it's always scary to put out a new book. The temptation is to copy a formula, but I challenge myself to be original and to write a completely different story each time around. I want the reader to have a whole new experience with every one of my books. There is risk in that, because every book is not going to appeal to everyone. As far as the writing experience, for some reason, Infinity + One really flowed for me. I didn't get stuck and I didn't write in pieces or scenes like I usually do. This book made me laugh and made me anxious for my characters all at the same time; I wanted things to go well, but I knew I had to make Bonnie and Finn work for their relationship.
Vilma: Each of your books tends to impart a bigger message which contributes to the reading experience. Is that your intention from the beginning or does that happen organically?
Amy: I like my books to have underlying themes. Sometimes I have to search for that theme as I go, and other times I know what it is going in. With A Different Blue, it was redemption. With Making Faces it was beauty, with Infinity + One, I think the theme is faith. Not necessarily faith in a higher power or anything religious, but just faith that there are second chances and brighter days and hope after heartache. I don't have any desire to teach the reader, or to instruct them. But for a book to really resonate, the characters have to grow and learn some things along the way, otherwise the journey is pointless and the story falls flat.
Vilma: Tell us about some of your favorite books! Any recommendations to share?
Amy: I just read a fascinating book called The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith. Think fantasy, sci-fi, religion and romance all blended in brilliant fashion. Not for the faint of heart, this one. I think it had over a thousand pages. Recently I have also loved Me Before You by Jo Jo Moyes, Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan, Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher, and I recently read Party Girl by Rachel Hollis, which was so much fun.
Originally posted on USA Today - Love in Suspense 6/9/2014
Vilma: This book has adventure, romance, suspense, humor and heartbreak. There are so many emotions evoked. What was your writing experience like? Was it different from any of your previous novels?
Amy: After the overwhelming success of A Different Blue and then Making Faces, it's always scary to put out a new book. The temptation is to copy a formula, but I challenge myself to be original and to write a completely different story each time around. I want the reader to have a whole new experience with every one of my books. There is risk in that, because every book is not going to appeal to everyone. As far as the writing experience, for some reason, Infinity + One really flowed for me. I didn't get stuck and I didn't write in pieces or scenes like I usually do. This book made me laugh and made me anxious for my characters all at the same time; I wanted things to go well, but I knew I had to make Bonnie and Finn work for their relationship.
Vilma: Each of your books tends to impart a bigger message which contributes to the reading experience. Is that your intention from the beginning or does that happen organically?
Amy: I like my books to have underlying themes. Sometimes I have to search for that theme as I go, and other times I know what it is going in. With A Different Blue, it was redemption. With Making Faces it was beauty, with Infinity + One, I think the theme is faith. Not necessarily faith in a higher power or anything religious, but just faith that there are second chances and brighter days and hope after heartache. I don't have any desire to teach the reader, or to instruct them. But for a book to really resonate, the characters have to grow and learn some things along the way, otherwise the journey is pointless and the story falls flat.
Vilma: Tell us about some of your favorite books! Any recommendations to share?
Amy: I just read a fascinating book called The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith. Think fantasy, sci-fi, religion and romance all blended in brilliant fashion. Not for the faint of heart, this one. I think it had over a thousand pages. Recently I have also loved Me Before You by Jo Jo Moyes, Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan, Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher, and I recently read Party Girl by Rachel Hollis, which was so much fun.
Originally posted on USA Today - Love in Suspense 6/9/2014
