We have talked to Eppie Award winner Christine Amsden about her latest book.
Q: Tell us a bit about your latest book, Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective.
Cassie Scot is the ungifted daughter of powerful… Oh, never mind! You’re capable of reading the book blurb. 
This is the story of a young woman on a personal quest for acceptance. It’s the first in a four-volume series and while each book is framed by a mystery, Cassie’s character arc will develop throughout the series. When I’m asked about the book, I find myself thinking about the big picture — in part because it’s done. All four books are written and under contract. And in part because at the end of this book, after the mystery is solved, there’s still so much more to come. Parts of the story I’m excited to share.
Q: Where did the story idea come from?
Cassie herself inspired me to write this book. She was someone whose story wasn’t being told – that of the powerless person in a world of magic. It’s a disability of sorts, one that affects her deeply though she tries to play it off. Yet she has value. Fantasy sometimes narrowly defines heroes as the biggest and the strongest, the one with the destiny to fulfill, but normal people can make a difference. That was important to me. This is not the story of someone who comes into power, it is the story of someone who discovers there is more than one kind of power.
Q: Can you give us an insight into your main character Cassie. What is it that make her so special?
Cassie cares about people. She’s brave, clever, and armed with a sense of duty. In part, though, she’s special because she’s normal. She could be anybody who set his or her mind to making the world a better place.
Q: Tell us about the cover and how it came about.
My publisher commissioned Ural Akyutz to paint the artwork for the cover. That’s right — ti’s a painting. The modern tendency in cover art is for computer generation or photo manipulation, so I was surprised when my publisher first suggested it. Nervous, too, if I can be honest. Whether they should or not, people DO judge a book by its cover. And here we were, breaking with current fads in favor of handcrafted art.
But I love it. It’s subtle, and I think it grew on me over time, but I definitely love it now. Here is what I see when I look at the picture:
The woman on the cover is Cassie, more or less as I envisioned her when I wrote her. I even provided the artist with a link to a picture of the outfit she is wearing, though he adjusted the color to better suit the background. She’s looking off into the distance, thinking of… well, any number of things. This series is written in the first person, and a lot of it takes place inside Cassie’s head. There is a mystery, some romance, and even a bit of action, but her own desire to be something more than she is drives the story. It will drive the entire series, actually, only resolving in the final volume.
There is a glow coming from the lake, one the crescent moon can’t fully account for. This is an abstract, a representation of a source of magic that Cassie can’t see and is therefore not looking at, though she knows it’s there somewhere. It is intentionally subtle, and I don’t expect readers to pick up on it. It’s enough that I know it’s there, and if you care to buy into it, then so do you.
Mostly though what I asked for, and what I got, was lovely cover art. There is some darkness in this story, but it is full of light, life, and hope. The leaves are green, the plants are in bloom, and Cassie has a snapdragon tucked behind her ear.
The body of water in the background is Table Rock Lake, a man-made lake that stretches for many miles through southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas. The story takes place in a fictionalized town called Eagle Rock, MO, a tourist town on Table Rock Lake in the Ozark Mountains.
There is a real Eagle Rock, by the way. An old friend of my grandfather’s used to live there years ago, and my family visited him when I was a child. He would take us out on the lake on his motor boat. I can’t remember exactly what made me think to use the town’s name and location for this story, but I assure you, it is fictionalized. The real Eagle Rock has a population of 1 or 2 dozen people, and if you blink driving through, you’ll miss it. It was a beautiful area, though, and going with the advice “write what you know,” I decided it would suit this story nicely.
Q: When did you first start writing?
I wrote my first story when I was eight years old. It involved Cabbage Patch Dolls going to Mars. I haven’t stopped since.
Q: How do you organize your writing?
Writing is supposed to be organized? Oh dear…
My process tends to involve a lot of free association and brainstorming. I never really do an outline, though I talk to myself in journal form for many pages before I get started. And every few chapters afterward, when I get stuck. And then before I start another draft. These brainstorming sessions involve a lot of this sort of thing: “NOOO! Wait! Forget what I just said. That’s not what happened. This is what happened. Or wait. On second thought, maybe I had it right the first time. Hmmm….”
Q: What is the hardest thing about writing?
Reading the same story over and over again. Coming up with ideas are fun. The rough draft is a bit of a roller coaster but more fun than not. Revisions are actually my favorite part because the skeleton is there and I get to fill in the details. But at some point when you reread your own work, you realize you can’t see the story through the words. I’m going through that right now with final revisions of Mind Games, book three in the Cassie Scot series.
Q: Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors?
I read a TON. My tastes span many genres from science fiction and fantasy to mainstream romance to mystery. A few of my favorites authors include Orson Scott Card, Jim Butcher, Karen Marie Moning, and Catherine Anderson.
Q: What’s next?
When I’m not doing final-round revisions on the Cassie Scot series, I’m working on two new books. One of them is a spin-off sequel to the series. A minor character, Madison, got a bit carried away when I offered her a subplot and is now demanding a book of her own. Another character, Kaitlin, is demanding the same thing, but I haven’t started her story yet. I’m also working on a completely new series called Dreamwalkers that involves some of the most complex world building I’ve ever attempted. We’ll see if it works out!
Thanks so much for having me here.
Christine
Christine Amsden
http://www.christineamsden.com
