A Plain Disappearance

Clash of the Titles is so excited to check in with Amanda Flower, one of the founding members of the COTT Family. From the looks of things, she has some pretty exciting things going on!

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USA Today recently hailed award-nominated author Amanda Flower for A Plain Death, calling it “the first Amish rom-com . . . bring on the next one!” As the enthusiastic reviews continue to mount, she’s back with her third Appleseed Creek mystery, A Plain Disappearance.

ABOUT THE BOOK
It’s Christmastime in Amish Country, and Chloe Humphrey has begun settling into her life in Appleseed Creek excited to see where her new relationship with Timothy Troyer will lead. Unfortunately it leads to murder when the couple discovers the body of Amish teenager Katie Lambright while on their first date. Near the scene there is evidence that Timothy’s friend and auto mechanic Billy Thorpe is involved with the crime. The police reveal Billy is not really who he said he was and has been living the last decade in Knox County under a stolen alias. Now, Chloe and Timothy must find Billy, bring him to justice, or prove his innocence.

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BUY NOW:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Christianbook.com 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amanda Flower started her writing career in elementary school when she read a story she wrote to her sixth grade class and had the class in stitches with her description of being stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel. She knew at that moment she’d found her calling of making people laugh with her words. Her debut mystery, Maid of Murder, was an Agatha Award Nominee for Best First Novel and the first in a series featuring amateur sleuth India Hayes. Like her main character, Amanda is an academic librarian for a small college near Cleveland. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. Her next mystery, Murder in a Basket, was released in January 2012 from Five Star. In July 2012, her first Amish mystery, A Plain Death, was released from B&H. For Penguin/NAL she writes under the pen name Isabella Alan. Visit her online at www.amandaflower.com.

REVIEW:

"The third installment of the outstanding Appleseed Creek series is a mystery with twists and turns and an unexpected ending that will keep readers up until the wee hours of the morning. Readers are reunited with characters from the first two books and will meet some new ones. Flower has hit it out of the ballpark with this series and continues to amaze with her knowledge of the Amish way of life."- 4 1/2 stars Top Pick RT Book Reviews

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Be sure to check back with Clash of the Titles for all the latest in Christian Fiction!

Favorite Protags: Saying Goodbye

Guest post by Amanda Flower

When you finish reading a novel, are you ever sad to see the protagonist go? Does it feel like you’re saying good-bye to a good friend? Those are signs of well-crafted main characters, like the ones in our excerpts this week.

There are many protagonists whom I’ve met in my life who have felt like old friends, and I miss them at the end of the book.

Here are eight of my favorite protagonists and their characteristics which I found most endearing as a young reader and still admire to this day:

1. To Kill a Mockingbird- Scout Finch’s imagination

2. Pride and Prejudice- Elizabeth Bennet’s wit

3. Mouse and the Motorcycle- Ralph S. Mouse’s sense of adventure

4. Charlotte’s Web- Wilbur’s loyalty

5. The Baby Sitter Club Series- Kristy Thomas’s organization skills

6. Jane Eyre- Jane Eyre’s conscience

7. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- Lucy Penvensie’s bravery

8. Mandie Series- Madie Shaw’s crime solving skills


My question for you, who is your favorite protagonist?

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Make sure to hop on over to COTT this week to get to know the authors of our current Clash:

Best Description of a Protagonist!

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Amanda Flower is an academic librarian for a small college in Ohio. Her first novel, Maid of Murder, was released in 2010. When she is not at the library or writing her next mystery, she is an avid traveler, aspiring to visit as much of the globe as she can.

She is the author of Maid of Murder

Contact Amanda: amandaflower(at)gmail(dot)com
Amanda's Site, Blog, Facebook

Why Do We Love Bad Guys?

by Amanda Flower

Every story needs a good bad guy or well-crafted antagonist. Both of our Clashers this week have created great ones. However, my question for you, dear readers, is “Why do we love bad guys?” What is it about them that makes us keep turning the page?

I’ll tell you why I love them.

1. They demonstrate the ongoing battle between good and evil, between justice and injustice. Hopefully good/justice prevails in the end.

2. They give you someone to dislike. I love disliking characters in books. These characters don’t have to be truly awful people either. It could be a character as simple as a snippy next door neighbor or a rude co-worker.

3. They are flawed. In some cases, horribly flawed. However, they reminded us all that we are flawed as well.

4. They keep the story more interesting. Of course, we want our protagonist to triumph in the end, but antagonists cause conflict and conflict creates a plot that gives us a story to read.

5. Sometimes, they transform and leave their antagonistic ways. They can be forgiven and demonstrate God’s power to forgive even the worst of humanity.

Those are my reasons. Now, share yours.

Get to know this week's authors all week at http://www.clashofthetitles.com and be entered to win a free book.

bio: Amanda Flower  is an academic librarian for a small college in Ohio. Her first novel, Maid of Murder, was released in 2010. When she is not at the library or writing her next mystery, she is an avid traveler, aspiring to visit as much of the globe as she can
She is the author of Maid of Murder

Don't forget to come back on Monday to meet my cyber-friend Elaine Cooper.  We'll be giving away her award-winning book.  Tell a friend!

A Note on Romance in Fiction

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and romance is in the air. Clash of the Titles is highlighting Most Romantic Moments for the next four weeks. We’ve kicked off our month of romance with two wonderful excerpts. The names and faces of the authors who wrote those excerpts have just been revealed, so be sure to stop by COTT and find out who they are! If you missed the excerpts, click HERE.

There’s a reason why Romance is the best-selling and most powerful fiction genre. It makes a story relatable to the reader. Even if the story stars non-human characters, like some fantasy, sci-fi, or speculative fiction, the romantic relationship gives the story a human side with which the reader can sympathize. The romance in the story doesn’t have to be happy either. It can be anything from mutual admiration to unrequited love. I hope in most cases fictional characters have a harder time with romance than real people. Authors, including me, do their best to keep conflict between the romantic leads in a story in order to make the plot more exciting. It might not be the nicest thing to do to these characters we love so dearly, but it sure is fun.

Every story needs a little romance, doesn’t it? What do you think?

article by Amanda Flower

Guest Amanda Flower

Readers, please welcome my friend, and fellow COTT staff member, Amanda Flower as today's guest blogger.  Amanda, thank you so much for being my guest today here at Adventures in Writing!

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Amanda Flower’s Pitching Tips

I’ve recently returned from the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in Indianapolis, and Michelle asked me to stop by and share with you some of what I learned at the conference.

I decided to go to this particular conference because I live in Ohio, so the conference was nearby. Also, it was the perfect opportunity to learn about the Christian publishing industry and pitch my unpublished novels to agents and editors.

The closer and closer I got to Indiana the more nervous I became. You see, I am a published author, but I’ve never pitched to an agent or editor face-to-face. I sold my debut mystery, Maid of Murder, in a less traditional manner you can read all about in my friend April Gardner’s blog.

However, when it was all over, I did come away from the conference with some pitching tips that I’m happy to share.

Tips:

1)      Pray right before your appointment. I believe my prayer went something like this, “Please, can you just make sure I don’t sound like a babbling fool for the next say twenty minutes. Amen.”

2)      At the beginning of the time, ask the agent or editor what he or she is acquiring. Save yourself from the anxiety and embarrassment of pitching a fantasy to an editor who is only interested in historical romance.

3)      Notice the agent’s or editor’s body language as you’re speaking. As a writer you are an observer of human nature, right? You can tell pretty early on if the person you are talking to isn’t buying what you are selling.

4)      When an agent or editor agrees to look at your work, thank them and wrap up the interview. Don’t use up more of his or her time than is necessary. You might look desperate if you keep pressing for the hard sell, when you’ve already succeeded.

5)      Remember that your life and writing career do not hang in the balance over how well you speak in the next fifteen minutes. This can be hard to remember as the wait for your appointment can be agonizing. At the ACFW conference, the organizers had us wait on a walled platform for our appointments, which they nicknamed “purgatory.” It was very appropriately named.

6)      Good or bad, reward yourself. I went to the mall and bought myself a sweater. However, you can reward yourself without spending money even if it’s a quick call home to your kids or a retreat to your hotel room to escape the crowd.

7)      Pray right after the appointment. I spoke with a few editors and agents and here are examples of prayers I thought afterward.

a)      “Yea! Yea! Yea! Thank you!”

b)      “Wow, that was a train wreck, wasn’t it? Can I have a do over?”

I hope this eases your mind a little as you travel to your next writers’ conference. The road to publication is not easy. If you don’t succeed at one conference, keep trying. Eventually, someone will stand up and take notice of how talented you are.

Thanks Michelle for letting me stop by the blog today!

To learn more about Amanda and Maid of Murder visit her online at http://amandaflower.com/. You can also follow Amanda on Facebook at http://tiny.cc/ejquq or Twitter at http://twitter.com/aflowerwriter.



 Amanda Flower is an academic librarian for a small college in Ohio. Her first novel, Maid of Murder, was released in 2010. When she is not at the library or writing her next mystery, she is an avid traveler, aspiring to visit as much of the globe as she can.



Status: Delivered

My book has reached its destination. It's a small thing, but reading that word, "Delivered", excites me!  It didn't get lost in the mail, it has arrived.  =)  Now, I realize that I am building this up way too much.  And that if I don't make the first cut this will all seem so anti-climactic.  But I'm willing to bring you all along with me on this ride even if it is very short.  Besides, it's not the only possible path on my journey, that's for sure!



**Tomorrow I will be welcoming Amanda Flower to my blog, so make sure and catch her post!**