For the September Chat, I am proud to introduce you to friend and fellow author Amy Field. Amy and I are members of Hi-Rev Writers. We retreat annually for several days of…HI REV WRITING! (It’s a very productive time.)

A. E. Field spent her childhood nestled in the mountains of Virginia, daydreaming and taking her barbies on epic adventures. In her high school and college years, she decided to take some adventures of her own, traveling to over six countries in a matter of a few years. Now, she resides in northwestern Illinois and her adventures are those of family, life, and the stories in her head.

When A. E. Field isn’t writing, she loves to read, spend time with her hubby and kiddos, and paint. Her writing buddies keep her laughing loudly and often and always give her excellent advice. Her favorite things include hoodies, homemade meals, rainy days, and lots of chocolate and scones.

Mrs. Field loves a good dystopian novel. She also has a fetish for swords, action, and a little splash of romance. She’s a sucker for an unpredictable twist and absolutely goes to midnight releases like a star struck fan! Whether a movie, a play, a book, or even a spoken tale, there’s nothing like a good story.

 1. I’ve known you as a friend and published author for several years, but I’d like to introduce you to my reading audience. Tell us a bit about yourself.

First of all, thanks for interviewing me, Mary. It’s a real pleasure to be a featured author on your site. Hello to all that are tuning in!

My name is Amy Field, but I publish under the pen name of A. E. Field. There’s not a huge story behind the pen name. I didn’t want to publish under my full name, so I went with my initials. I also thought it sounded better aesthetically.

I grew up in the mountains of Virginia in a small town called Vinton. After high school, I went to college in Texas, with a short overseas stint in Romania, then moved to northwestern Illinois after meeting my husband, Tim. We’ve been married for almost seventeen years and have two wonderful children­–Allie, who is twelve and Noah, who is fifteen. Being a wife and mother is the best! I wouldn’t change anything except to slow down time. My kids are growing up awfully fast!

I’ve done a little bit of everything in the work world from waitressing to missionary work. I spent a considerable amount of time working in a copy and print center and most recently I’ve been employed as a laboratory secretary. Every job has been a learning experience and each one has been useful in my journey as an author.

 2. I happen to know (and love) the reasons you became an author. Please share.

I became an author to show my kids that they could do anything they put their minds to. When I first started writing, I had just finished reading the third book in the Eragon series by Christopher Paolini. I loved those books! Then, I found out he was fifteen years old when he started writing the series. And if he could write a book at that age, I figured I could too. So, I took the ideas in my head and began the journey of writing. The further I got into the journey, the more I wanted to inspire my kids to reach for their dreams. I hope publishing these books shows them anything is possible at any age.

 3. You are an avid reader. What are you reading now? What books or authors would you recommend? And how have your favorites influenced you as a writer?

Right now I’m reading Legendary by Stephanie Garber. It’s the sequel to Caraval, her first novel and I love it so far! She is a master of description and her books have such a magical feel.

I tend to lean towards young adult in any genre and historical romance books. Some of my favorite authors are: Julie Kawaga (her Iron Fey Series is amazing), Kristin Cashore, Maggie Steifvater, Marcia Lynn McClure, and Julianne Donaldson. I would recommend any of these authors on any day.

I would describe my books, the Ghost Virus Series, as a mix between the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Divergent by Veronica Roth. Both are great authors and had a huge influence on my writing style. I love the world building in each of these novels and really gathered inspiration from both series. They challenged me to look at the world of the future in several different ways and that made me want to write my own take on it. Each author also had a romance within their books and I appreciated it! I love a juicy piece of romance that doesn’t take over the story but enhances it. That’s exactly what I aimed for in my series.

 4. You’ve recently published book three in the trilogy. Congratulations! What did you learn from writing and publishing Skyla, Metamorphosis, and Sting? What was the most enjoyable aspect; what was the most challenging part?

I learned that writing is fun but also it’s hard! When I first started the series, I was very motivated, but every author knows you eventually hit a wall at some point. It was a lot of writing, editing, then rewriting, and do it all over again. You have an idea of what the process looks like, then you actually do it and find out how wrong you were. My respect for my fellow authors has grown in leaps and bounds since publishing my first book! And writing the second and third book was just as difficult as the first. Each book has a life of its own that you have to build from the ground up. The joy is in creating the life of the book, the pain is in perfecting it.

After three books, I think what I loved the most was my characters. I got to know them inside and out. Finishing their story was like finishing a piece of myself. I will dearly miss them all.

The most challenging part was writing a series as my debut work. Committing to a series is committing to years of work. I don’t think I understood that when I began the process. Now I do.

 5. Besides the obvious marketing for your trilogy, 🙂 , what are you currently working on?

I just began working on a new young adult novel. I’m tentatively calling it The Girl With No Name. I’m in the very beginning stages of world building, but I can tell you I’m gathering influences from India and their culture. It will be an alternate-world novel, but not a current or future version of Earth. It will be a new world entirely.

The main character is a girl who questions her importance and is trying to figure out where she belongs in life. I’m reluctant to say too much more on her yet because I’m still building her personality. For now, I’m enjoying creating new characters, worlds, and situations. Daydreaming is one of my favorite pastimes! I can’t wait to share this new work with everyone and will continue to give updates on my Facebook page and website as the book takes shape.

Thank you for your time and insight, Amy, I wish you the best of luck in your writing endeavors!

In celebration of her new release, A.E. Field will be offering Skyla FREE on September 24th and 25th.
We hope you get hooked and read on!