A Chat With Amanda Kai
BTCole: I am very grateful to share with you today an interview with Amanda Kai. Be sure to read till the end as there is a chance to win a drawing. And be sure to follow this blog, etc.
BARBARA: Good afternoon, Amanda! I hope you are having a good day. Here in Kentucky we are under a winter storm warning and already have a couple of inches of snow on the ground. I Was actually in Texas on Sunday night, but only in the airport!
AMANDA: Hi Barbara! Here in Central Texas we are experiencing a sudden cold front with a dusting of snow. I am missing last week's weather, which was sunny with highs up to 80 degrees! Our spring weather is expected to return next week though, so I am looking forward to that.
BARBARA: That sounds like spring fever time! Here in Kentucky it did get up to 50 one day last week! I am definitely ready for spring! Amanda, I really appreciate you taking some time for this interview today.
How did you get interested in Jane Austen’s writings? I’m always interested to learn how authors found her fan fiction. We all have our stories.
AMANDA: That's a great question! I was first introduced to Jane Austen when my mom and I went to the Pride and Prejudice movie in theaters in 2005. I was hooked! I immediately ran out to buy the book, then all the rest of Jane Austen's books. Not long after, I began writing Pride and Prejudice fanfiction online.
BARBARA: A lot of authors I know have similar stories. Me, I had surgery in 2000 and a friend loaned me the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice VHS tapes to watch while I was recovering, and the first movie I saw after leaving the house was Bridget Jones’ Diary. Although I think I can miss the upcoming installment as Mr Darcy is dead. 😵
BARBARA: I really enjoyed your newest book. The details of the way Darcy was injured were very creative! In The Pleasure of Remembrance, Mr. Darcy is traveling to Ramsgate when his carriage is attacked by highwaymen. Things go awry, and he awakens with no memory of his identity at Longbourn, with the Bennet family who rescued him.
I actually still have some amnesia around an accident I had in New Orleans several years ago. But luckily, it’s only about 5-10 minutes I don’t remember. When my head hit the side of the car after it landed on that door. Therefore, I am always interested in amnesia stories. Have you or anyone you know ever suffered from amnesia?
AMANDA: Thankfully, no! But it's a trope that I enjoy in fiction. It was challenging to write Darcy’s injuries, making them believable but not too grievous and without making the reader too anxious for him. Ultimately, I always remind the reader that a happily ever after awaits, so no matter what peril I put Our Dear Couple through, they will survive! I try not to torment them overly much...just a little 😬
BARBARA: This is true! There aren’t many JAFF books written in the horror genre but I don’t think JAFF readers would like that much.
AMANDA: I liked that this setup allowed me to have Darcy and Lizzy fall in love without the usual prejudices and misunderstandings getting in the way.Their romance takes place fairly early in the story, and although their path to happily ever after isn't pain-free, we get to experience some of the sweetness and kisses earlier as a result.
BARBARA: Yes. I loved that. While variety is always good. The heavily angsty stories are not my favorite.
AMANDA: I hope that this story doesn't come across as heavily angsty. But of course, there has to be some conflict for the story to progress.
BARBARA: No. Your story wasn’t that way at all. It wasn’t completely mush either. A nice balance.
AMANDA: Thank you! I appreciate that, Barbara!
BARBARA: I understand you are a harpist! I was a music major in college and grad school. Piano and voice. Tell me about your experiences with the harp.
AMANDA: Always happy to share about my music! Before I became a published author, I had a career playing the harp for weddings and events. It led to a lot of interesting experiences that I plan to use in my next book series Wedding Planners in Love, a contemporary rom-com series set in my hometown of Austin. I also did a 2-month gig aboard a cruise ship, and have lots of stories that will someday make it onto the pages of my books.
AMANDA: The shift from being a performing artist and a music teacher to a writer really happened around 2015 after the birth of my son. We decided as a family that it was time for me to take a break from teaching and performing the harp to be a stay-at-home mom. It wasn't good that I was always working when my husband was off and vice versa and we were both super stressed.
To fill that creative void, I turned to my old hobby of writing Jane Austen fanfiction. I wrote when the kids were napping, and for an hour or so after they went to bed. Within 3 months, I had completed a whole novel!
I didn't think too much about publishing it until about 3 years later, when a publisher reached out to me, asking to publish my story. I ended up not going with them, choosing to self-publish instead. Now that my kids are older and in school, I write during the daytime while they're gone. It's a flexible career that allows me to be off when one of them is sick or has a school event, so I'm very grateful. Of course, I still allow some time to practice my music now and then, for my own enjoyment. 🙂
BARBARA: Sounds wonderful! What an accomplished woman you are! I think music opens the mind to learning in a different way. I wouldn’t trade my education in music, conducting, and voice. I was a music minister for a number of years before meeting my husband. So, I am a pianist and a vocalist, as well as a wedding officiant. Things I also hope to incorporate in a story somewhere along the line.
AMANDA: Sounds like we have some common interests!
BARBARA: Any other accomplishments that Miss Bingley would or wouldn’t approve of? A certain manner of walking, perhaps?
AMANDA: She'd probably be appalled that I chose to learn Japanese in High School over French or Spanish, and that I'm currently learning Chinese on Duolingo. These languages would probably come in very handy in the alternate world of Pride and Prejudice where the zombies have taken over and everyone has learned their martial arts in either China or Japan, haha!
BARBARA: Another thing we have in common! I am learning Spanish on Duolingo! And Miss Bingley wouldn’t approve of that either. Lol. Even though I eventually ended up working in addiction therapy (very long story), and I’m now writing a non-fiction book, I still have a heart for JAFF. Besides my two novellas, I have a couple of novels fully outlined and partially written. I am determined to finish one this year! Do you have a work in progress you would like to tell us about?
AMANDA: I always have my hand in something! As I mentioned, I'm branching out from writing JAFF with a brand-new series this year. The first book, Vows With the Vineyard Owner is Lila and Ethan's story. These two were childhood friends who made a promise that they would get married if they are still single by the time they're 30. They meet again years later, when Lila is working as a wedding planner and Ethan is now running his grandfather's vineyard. But by this time, Lila is in a serious relationship with someone else, and she is unsure of Ethan’s marital status based on some engagement photos she saw on his social media a few years prior. It will be a sweet, Hallmark-style romantic comedy, the kind you can just curl up with and enjoy for a little reading snack.
On the JAFF side of things, I’m hoping to begin turning my books into audiobooks, starting with the first book in The Other Paths Collection, “Not In Want of a Wife.” I’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign in March to raise the funds needed to hire Harry Frost and Stevie Zimmerman to narrate for me, so if you’re interested in making that happen, please join my newsletter list!
BARBARA: Sounds fascinating! Let me know about your progress. The book I’m currently writing is a book about the power of gratitude.
AMANDA: Gratitude is indeed powerful! I’m grateful every day for the blessing of my family, who have been so supportive of my writing career, and to God, for gifting me with a talent for something that I enjoy doing and for making it possible for me to pursue my dreams while raising a family.
I am grateful to you as well, Barbara, for inviting me to be at Darcyholic Diversions again and for spending some time getting to know me. It’s been a pleasure to get to know you as well.
BARBARA: You are welcome, Amanda!
About the author:
Amanda Kai’s love of period dramas and classic literature influences her sweet historical and modern romances. She is the author of seven award-winning books inspired by Jane Austen, including Sudden Awakenings and Swipe Right for Mr. Darcy. Prior to becoming an author, Amanda enjoyed a successful career as a professional harpist, and danced ballet for twenty years. When she’s not diving into the realm of her imagination, Amanda lives out her own happily ever after in Texas with her husband and three children.
The Pleasure of Remembrance- Available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited
What if Mr. Darcy lost his memory before meeting Elizabeth?
While traveling to Ramsgate, Mr. Darcy's carriage is attacked by highwaymen. He awakens with no memory of his past, in the care of his rescuer, the spirited Elizabeth Bennet.
As their tender friendship blossoms into something more, their hopes for happiness are shattered when Mr. Darcy's identity comes to light, along with the news that he is betrothed to another.
Meanwhile, a sinister plot unfolds, endangering both Darcy and his sister. Only by reclaiming his lost memories can Darcy escape from an unwanted marriage and rescue his sister from the clutches of the vile Mr. Wickham.
But after the turmoil subsides, Darcy finds that he must prove himself worthy of the one pleasure he desires most of all: to marry Elizabeth Bennet.
This captivating variation on Pride and Prejudice will keep you guessing until the very end. A heartwarming love story for Darcy and Elizabeth culminating in a Happily Ever After.
Enjoy all the Pride and Prejudice variations in The Other Paths Collection, standalone novels each with a different path to Happily Ever After.
Giveaway
To celebrate the release of The Pleasure of Remembrance, Amanda is giving away a set of 5 books from The Other Paths Collection, along with other book prizes. Click here to enter on Rafflecopter!
